AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“So what, you’re going to ravish me before you rip my heart out!?” Primrose squeaked out, bright green eyes widened with fear.
“Ouch, you wound me! Did I not just explain this?” he asked, walking away from her. “Let me reintroduce myself. Hi!” The man did a little wave as Primrose crossed her arms in frustration. “My name is Protego. I am not here to injure you, I am here because you are playing foolish games, and I don’t want to see you get hurt,” he huffed out.
“Why would you care about me? You don’t even know me.”
“Call it a favor for an old friend.” Protego waved two fingers from behind his head. A loud thud came from outside the room as he charged in that direction.
“Wait, where are you going?”
“Seeing as there is an actual monster on top of one of your towers right now, I am going to kill it,” he said, engulfing himself in darkness. Primrose was unable to see anything for a few moments. She stood there in fear, shaking as she heard a monstrous screech. The smoke cleared, and she heard loud banging sounds coming from the tower. She left her bedroom and immediately raced through the halls until she reached the parapet walkway.
Standing and squawking loudly on the top of the tower was a giant serpent with a bird-like head. Its green scales moved with its body, its claws nearly as long as her torso. Next to the creature stood Protego, eyes closed, violently waving his arms.
“What are you doing?!” Primrose screamed.
“A mirror. Bring me a mirror. And don’t look it in the eyes!” Protego yelled out. His eyes were flaring, the vibrant red now glowing with rage. The creature flicked its forked tongue at the man, but he ducked, crawling beneath the thing, and then kicked it in the back.
“A mirror? What is a mirror going to do?” Primrose cried out in horror.
“Fetch me a mirror, dammit,” Protego roared, rolling in the opposite direction of the monster and taking a running jump over the top of it. Long claws stretched for him, but he was just out of reach.
Primrose ran faster than her feet had ever taken her as she cleared hallways looking for any mirror. She saw a large one on the wall in an antique silver frame and tried to lift it but could not; she knew she was too weak to carry such a heavy thing. Primrose braced for impact and slammed it onto the ground, fracturing it into smaller pieces. She collected a few shards as swiftly as possible, slicing her hands. Blood trickled down her fingertips, and she stared at it, trying not to panic.
Primrose focused her mind.You can do this, You have to do this, she thought as she took a deep breath. Primrose sprinted once more towards the door, rounding a corner, then slammed into a wall. As she stood back up and crossed the threshold, she made her way back onto the walkway and screamed as loud as possible, “Protego! Catch!”
Protego was able to catch two of the three shards of glass without flinching. They landed perfectly in his grasp. He shined them towards the creature’s face, and a beam of light came out of the mirror and shot into its eyes. The bird-like lizard’s eyes began to melt and rot as it screamed in pain. Black ooze seeped out of its skin like nothing Primrose had ever seen before. It was a vile sight. The deafening screeches were too much, and Primrose covered her ears, head dipping towards the ground in agony. Protego conjured a silver longsword out of thin air. It was shiny and ornate, the hilt decorated with deep blue sapphires. Familiar swirls were engraved into the blade, matching the design of Protego’s jacket. He took the sword and swung it high, beheading the monster and putting it out of its misery. The black webs of rot gradually took over the creature’s entire body, turning it to a gray mush before imploding into ashes. The wind picked up and swept away the large piles of ash. Primrose and Protego stood there, quietly watching as the creature’s remnants flew away.
“Do you see now why I asked for a mirror? Basilisks can’t be killed by magic or human weaponry alone. They have to see themselves before you can behead them; otherwise, it’ll just grow back,” Protego said, wiping the sweat off his lip.
“Basilisk?” Primrose questioned. Her hair appeared ashy, and her dress and face were covered in dirt. They were both panting messes.
“You’ve never seen a basilisk before? I heard they’re quite common in rural Mid-Terra.”
“I haven’t seen much of Mid-Terra in a while, and before then it was only with guards or my parents’ supervision,” Primrose’s words rang solemnly.
“You don’t go outside? Or to town? You don’t jump in the ocean or run in the grasslands?! What kind of life is that, starling?” Protego questioned her.
Defensively, Primrose’s brow furrowed as she responded, “they did it to protect me! I still go outside; I just can’t go anywhere on my own or go too far. Everything they do is because they love me.”
“I see – Primrose, I want you to know that just because someone loves you doesn’t mean that they are doing what is best for you. They are just doing what theythinkis best for you. These are not the same.”
“Let’s just go inside.”
As they entered the threshold of the castle, Protego glanced down at the blood dripping from Primrose’s slender hands.
“You’re injured!” He called out and gently grabbed them. He was careful as he opened them, investigating the wounds. Red eyes looking up at her, Protego frowned.
“I’m fine. It doesn’t hurt anymore.” She grimaced, not wanting to bother the stranger who just saved her.
Protego put his hand on her back and guided her past the broken shards, moving down another hallway towards a bathroom. He opened a mirror to find a medicine cabinet and removed alcohol and gauze from the shelf.
“This will sting a bit,” he said, quickly dabbing the substance onto her wounds.
“For fuck’s sake!” Primrose called out, shaking her hands from his grip.
“Let me wrap them,” Protego insisted, taking the gauze and gently circling her hands with it. He tucked the ends into one of the layers.
“Thank you.”
