AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“You’ve always taught me to trust my instincts,” she says hollowly. I don’t have time for a lesson recap right now, leaping upwards to grab the top of the archway. My legs hang loose, the pull of the portal trying to drag me inside. Gritting my teeth, I stretch aside the heart, grazing my fingertips as a dagger spears through the center. I gasp, inhaling too much of the crystalized cloud. Razors slice at the inside of my throat, my boot just touching the frame long enough to kick myself backwards. Freefalling, I land hard on the ground and scramble away from the portal before I’m sucked inside.
“What the bloody hell was that?!” I shout, using Arabelle’s body to pull myself upright. She hasn’t moved, her head tilted and the hand that threw the dagger hovering in the air. Smoke spews from the cracks in the jewel, crimson intertwining with cyan. Floating down towards us, I try to pull Arabelle away but she’s transfixed. Not a single goosebump on her skin or tremor rocking through her body. I swallow hard, tightening my grip around her upper arm. She’s right – I did teach her about listening to our instincts, so with a weighted exhale, I close my eyes and trust hers.
The smoke drifts around my head, filling my senses. My eyelids fuse together, unable to open as an image takes root in my mind. The castle I reside in filters into view, from the tall white towers, rose-covered trellis’ and hearts carved into the arched entrance. But even as the sun continues to beam down, something doesn’t seem quite right.
Upon greyed twig bushes, devoid of leaves, red roses hang, death clinging to their limp, discolored petals. At the base of the bushes, yellow dandelions have sprouted, poisoning the land with weeds. The gardens are overgrown, trampled and derelict.
The Queen storms from the main entrance, her cheeks stark red, puffing in and out violently. The heart-topped crop clutched in one hand is weathered, a small hand clutched in her other. Red hair curls between her fingers, the face that appears too much like her own frozen on a silent scream. Arabelle. Movement shifts in the doorway and I see myself, walking on numb feet before falling to my knees, the body of my twin laying dead in my arms.
“You are my Champion!” the Queen screams down at me. “Defy me again and it will be your head!” The vision shifts, blurring and resetting.
The castle stands tall on a crisp summer’s day, the gardens luscious and green. Red roses thrive, not a weed in sight. Crowds gather on the steps of the large entrance, cheering as Arabelle strolls free from the doorway. Her body has grown, evident by the dress’s corset cinched to her waist, her breasts threatening to fall free amongst the waves of her vibrant red curls.
On a painted smile, she waits for Cash and me to step in behind her as stoic bodyguards, before raising the head of her mother high in the air. The crowd goes wild, praising her like a rockstar and what strikes me as the most damming evidence, is the smile rooted on my face. The vision clears, leaving my mind in total blackness as a voice speaks gently into my ear.
This world hangs on a precipice,
the outcome still unknown.
The Knave is the deciding factor,
on what happens to your home.
Should he choose correctly,
No more blood needs to be shed.
A soul intended to be a pair
Will fuse to the one he weds.
Heed this final warning,
Should you remain to stand.
For one queen to thrive, the other must fall,
by her descendant’s hand.
Find the final Caterpillar’s cocoon,
keep it hidden until the day,
That marks the twentieth anniversary,
of when Alice went away.
Blinking free of the smoke,finding it too has dissipated, my eyes lock on the jewel heart. Bleak, colorless. Dead. The exterior has shattered, tumbling to the ground and rolling into the portal’s depths. I stand, numb, confused, but the truth is as simple as it is horrifying. It wasn’t simply a jewel at all, but a prophecy holder. What would the current Queen have done with such knowledge? Would Arabelle be dead by morning? Turning to the young girl, she peers up at me with tears streaming from her eyes.
“Did you…see that?” I ask, only to fill the silence. I can see the truth in her dread-filled expression. She did. Shuddering, Arabelle falls into my body and wraps her arms around my middle. I pat her back slowly, trying to regulate my heartbeat so she can’t hear it pounding inside my chest.
“Talk to me, we can work this out. What do we know?”
“The heart said-”
“No, facts, Arabelle. What are the facts?” I give her a slight shake, bringing her attention back up to my face. Wiping away her tears on the back of her hand, she sniffs and nods. Her eyes fly wildly, catching the strands of her thoughts.
“We have two more days before the carriage arrives,” she says, almost to herself. I nod, urging her to continue. “And no jewel heart to present my mother. So…”
