Текст книги "Cinderella Dressed in Ashes"

Автор книги: Cameron Jace

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Текущая страница: 12 (всего у книги 18 страниц)

27

A Cruel Choice

“Enough, Axel,” Fable said.

Since she’d woken up after her shivering seizure, he’d been feeding her everything from his bag. To Axel, the only way to help someone or elevate their mood was food.

“OK,” he said. “Don’t be so grouchy. I was worried about you.”

Fable on the other hand woke up feeling different in ways she couldn’t explain. She’d asked Axel about her hallucinations and he’d told her all about the Queen and Furry Tell. Never had she felt so connected to an otherworld. She had experimented with all kinds of magic before, but this was different.

“So you want to talk about what happened?” Axel wondered.

“Like I said, I think I was there in the Dreamworld with Loki and Shew,” she couldn’t stop glancing at the purple light.

“Did you actually see them?” he asked, still skeptical. He didn’t know why Fable believed she was in the Dreamworld. Maybe she was hallucinating out of hunger, lack of sleep, or the incredible adventures they had been on since Loki’s arrival to Sorrow.

“I didn’t see Shew,” she turned and faced Axel.

“And Loki?”

Fable looked as if she was afraid to speak Loki’s name, “I did,” she lowered her head.

“What’s wrong, Fable?”

“Loki,” she said softly. “It was horrible.”

“Take it easy, sis,” Axel said. “We don’t have to talk about it now.”

“I have to talk about it!” Fable snapped, raising her head again. Axel noticed her temper had increased since the shivering.

“OK,” he said. “Tell me whatever makes you feel better.”

“Loki was so evil, Axel,” Fable said. “I saw him as the Huntsman, working for the Queen.”

“It was him you were calling a Queen’s bastard?”

“Yes,” Fable said.

“So you were really there in the Dreamworld with him, two centuries ago?” Axel scratched his head.

“In a small village called Furry Tell,” Fable said. “He almost…”

“Almost what?”

“He almost killed me, Axel.”

“Loki. Killing you? He is crazy about you. You’re probably his only human weakness,” Axel said.

“That’s what hurts,” she said. “He had the Queen’s yellow snake eyes, just like when he was in the kitchen with Carmilla.”

“Why did he want to kill you?” Axel said.

“I don’t remember exactly,” Fable said. “It was a strange seizure. I felt like I was there in the Dreamworld but I also felt like I was here in the Schloss. I can’t explain it."

“Are you keeping anything from me, Fable?” Axel wondered. “I feel like you’re lying to me. There is something you’re not telling me.”

“Why would I lie to you, Axel? You need to stop being so suspicious of everything.”

“It’s just that I feel you’re different since what just happened.”

“I’m trying to remember, Axel. Why can’t you understand that?” she touched the small wound that Axel had taken care of.

“Don’t worry,” Axel said. “I took care of it. I stopped the bleeding.”

“Thank you, bro,” Fable said. “But the bleeding was the least of my worries.”

“I’ll take that as a thank you,” Axel rolled his eyes.

“Think about it. I was hurt in the Dreamworld, and bled in the Waking World. That was really scary,” Fable said.

“Are you saying Loki did that to you?” Axel stood up. “I am going to kick his sorry ass when he wakes up,” he made his hands into fists and stared at the purple light.

“If they wake up,” Fable commented.

Axel fidgeted, not meeting her eyes.

“Don’t you think it’s time to admit you deleted the part about how this dream could be broken?” Fable eyed Axel without hesitation.

Axel said nothing, tapping the phone in his hand. He had no doubt Fable was going to do whatever it took to find out how to unlock the dream.

Was it time to tell her? She would not like the answer.

“Do you know what it means that I am wounded here in the Waking World?” Fable pressed harder. “It means that I’m already connected to this Dreamworld somehow.”

“And I wonder how,” Axel confronted her with another suspicious gaze.

“How should I know? Didn’t you see me have a seizure a while ago? What’s gotten into you,” she stood up, still feeling weary. “Someone could kill me in the Dreamworld, and I’ll end up dead here.”

“This is all gibberish, Fable,” Axel said. “Why would you be in the Dreamworld? You’re not one of them. There is no place for you in the Dreamworld. What happened to you is some kind of magic or something, probably because you keep circling this stupid purple light. I told you to keep away from it.”

“You’re right, Axel,” Fable lowered her tone. “It doesn’t make sense that I was in the Dreamworld. I am not a fairy tale character. I have never been that special,” she let out a tight laugh. “But what if one of them is reaching out for us? Maybe they need us to help them. Remember when Loki said you should break the mirror in case they don’t wake in the previous dreams? Now, that we can’t reach it, they could be sending us a message with their minds. What if, Axel?” She walked closer to him, talking politely. “How would you live with yourself if you learned that they needed our help and you stood here, eating your useless food, and doing nothing?”

“I agree with you, Fable,” he said. “I would do anything to help, Loki. You know he is my only and best friend—I don’t care so much about Shew, to be honest. But I can’t help Loki, not even with the information I deleted from the phone—” he realized he was too late. He’d spilled the beans already.

“So you admit deleting how Loki and Shew can unlock the dream,” Fable said.

“Yes, I did,” Axel waved his hands and walked away from her toward the purple light. “So what?”

“So if we’re not going to be able to help them anymore, why can’t you just tell me?” Fable said.

“I guess I have to get it off of my chest,” Axel said. “But you’re not going to like it.”

“It’s been a very unlikable day,” Fable said. “I can live with one more letdown.”

“In order to break free from a locked dream,” Axel turned to face his sister. “The Dreamer or the Dreamhunter has to kill the other to break the spell. Only one of them can wake up alive.”

28

A Splintered Clue

“Are you crazy?” Shew snapped. It wasn’t as if killing the Huntsman was easy, but the thought of even trying to hurt Loki was unacceptable.

“I know it’s hard, but you will stay trapped in this dream forever if you don’t do it,” Alice tried to pat her on the shoulder but Shew pushed her away. “Carmilla has locked this dream with a spell, which means the Dreamworld’s connection is too strong for the Waker to wake Loki up. Even Carmilla can’t do anything about it—she probably didn’t know that, or else she didn’t care.”

“I don’t care either,” Shew brushed Alice away and walked closer to a window, longing to breathe some air of logic.

“Alright, Shew,” Alice lowered her voice to ease the tension. “I need to tell you a little story, if you don’t mind.”

“I thought you didn’t even have much time,” Shew said. “Now you want to tell me a story?”

“It’s the only way to explain the consequences of you staying trapped in this dream,” Alice said. “And what Cerené’s real role is.”

“Cerené?” Shew considered. Even in her darkest hour, she couldn’t resist knowing more about her enigmatic childhood friend. “You have my attention,” she nodded.

“It’s a simple story, just like any other fairy tale,” Alice said, “only much darker.”

“Loki likes those,” Shew mused. “I’m all ears.”

“Since the beginning of time, a mysterious artifact called the Anderson Mirror has been of interest to the forces of the so called good and evil sides,” Alice said.

“Why are you calling them ‘so called’?”

“Because there is no absolute good and evil,” Alice said.

“Also, mirror and glass hadn’t been invented until recently, Alice” Shew interrupted again.

“In our world, yes,” Alice said. “But not in the cosmic world. The Anderson Mirror has existed since long ago. It’s even rumored that Justus Von Liebig, presumably the first man to invent a shiny silvered mirror, was actually trying to replicate the Anderson Mirror,” Alice stopped for a breath. She started walking back and forth in the bathhouse like a teacher in a lecture, lacing her hands together. “No one ever knew who created the mirror or  what its purpose was. All we know is that it reflected the worst in people.”

“The worst? You mean the way the mirrors in my room show my mother’s true ugly nature?” Shew asked.

“Not exactly,” Alice said. “Ordinary mirrors show the Queen’s nature because that’s what mirrors are supposed to do. The Anderson Mirror shows a person’s darker side whether he is good or bad. It just shows the worst in people. Period.”

“Why would the world fight over such a mirror, then?” Shew wondered.

“The quest for the mirror wasn’t as bloody in the beginning as it is now, before it fell into the hands of the devil,” Alice explained.

“Oh, there’s even a devil in this story,” Shew didn’t know what to believe anymore.

“He’s an ugly troll. Long story short, the devil broke the mirror accidentally and its splinters spread all over the world,” Alice explained.

“So?” Shew shook her shoulders, disinterested.

How could this have anything to do with me?

“The splinters, tinier than a grain of sand, entered people’s eyes and hearts,” Alice said. “Each person with a splinter carried part of the darkness of the mirror within him, and so an army of darkness spread all over the world,” Alice continued.

“This really sounds like a dark fairy tale,” Shew said. “Why does it sound so incredibly familiar?”

“Because, the story was briefly hinted at in Hans Christian Anderson’s The Snow Queen,” Alice said. “Hans was another famous fairy tale writer like the Brothers Grimm,” Alice said.

“So the Anderson Mirror is named after him, and its creator isn’t necessarily called Anderson?”

“True,” Alice said.

“I thought our world was only related to the Brothers Grimm?” Shew speculated.

“Our world is related to everything, trust me,” Alice said. “But that’s beside the point. Anderson could have hinted to the story, or even forged it like the Brothers Grimm. My version is the accurate and real one, if you‘ll stop interrupting me.”

“Go on, then,” Shew said. “Let’s see where this is going,” her liking of Alice decreased with each passing minute.

“The carriers of the darkness usually have a golden tinge in their eyes. It shines very briefly and goes unnoticed unless you look hard enough. The children of those carriers inherited the darkness, and so the army grew all over the world,” Alice stopped, gazing sharply at Shew. “Do you understand what I‘m saying? The only way to identify the carriers is to look in their eyes for a splinter from the mirror.”

“Winter in their eyes!” Shew almost jumped, uttering the phrase. “It wasn’t ‘winter’ but ‘splinter.’ The huntsmen in Furry Tell were looking for children who were carriers of the darkness,” Shew was certainly interested now.

“And they were sending them to the Queen so she could have a bigger army and complete the darkness,” Alice nodded.

“Carmilla,” Shew sat on the edge of the window. Her mother wasn’t just a vicious Queen feeding on young girls. She was collecting the darkness from all over the world, wanting to become the Queen of All Darkness. “And you said forces of the so called good and evil wanted this mirror?”

“True. Imagine how powerful you’d become if you owned such a mirror. If a good person gets hold of it, he could rid the world of a great pain. If a bad one, like the Queen, gets it, well….I think you know what she’d be capable of already. It would greatly help her quest to find the Lost Seven.”

“But the mirror is broken into pieces,” Shew said. “Searching for those children with splinters in their eyes all over the world is absurd. It’s impossible.”

“Searching is what the Queen did until she found a better solution, and believe me, she’s very close to getting her hands on it,” Alice said.

“What kind of solution?”

“It’s been told that the nameless creator of the mirror created what he called a ‘clue’ on how to find it,” Alice said. “A clue that if found, will grant its discoverer the power of all splinters and thus all carriers of the darkness in the world.”

“What kind of clue? A scripture, maybe?” Shew suggested.

“No one knows what the clue is yet, but a few people in the world know where the clue is hidden,” Alice said, her eyes oozing with seriousness.

“Where would you hide a clue that grants power over all the darkness in the world?” Shew rubbed her chin. She was killing time, really, until Alice answered her.

Alice stood still, not answering, waiting for Shew to put the puzzle together.

“Would they hide it in the pit of a deep volcano in Hell?”

“No, Shew,” Alice said. “The creator of the mirror is much more sophisticated than that. The creator hid the clue inside a girl.”

“I’m not following?” Shew was about to make fun of Alice, but then she swallowed hard. The answer hit her and it felt like a ball of fire burning in her chest. She raised her eyes slowly to meet Alice.

The answer was on the tip of Shew’s tongue, but Alice uttered it for her, “the clue is inside a girl called the Phoenix, a teenage glassblower from Murano who can create life by blowing into a pipe,” Alice said. “Cerené holds the clue to the Anderson Mirror.”

“That’s why Bianca told her she was like Pandora’s Box,” Shew said absently. “Cerené holds the key to the darkness of the world.”

29

An Insurmountable Spirit

“So it’s not just about Cerené being one of the Lost Seven. She holds something very precious to my mother,” Shew said.

Alice nodded, “the Queen has no idea of how your relationship with Cerené blossomed two hundred years ago. You and Cerené were secretly best friends because no one would have accepted a princess befriending a Slave Maiden. The Queen had always kept Cerené safe from the bathhouse slaughters, though, because she’d been told that Cerené might hold the clue, although she could never prove it at the time.”

“Since I hid my relationship with Cerené from the Queen, who told her about the clue?” Shew wondered.

“Bloody Mary,” Alice said.

“What does Bloody Mary have to do with it?”

“I heard she has a personal history with mirrors, but I don’t know what it is,” Alice said. “I wouldn’t be surprised if she’s connected to the Anderson Mirror. She is a prisoner of a mirror, remember?” Alice said.

“Makes sense,” Shew replied.

“And now that Carmilla is watching the dream—probably watching us now—she’s learned about your story with Cerené. She knows about Cerené’s abilities, her history, and that she is the Phoenix. All she needs is to find Cerené in the real world and track her life’s beginning in Murano. The clue Cerené is holding inside her should be revealed in Murano.”

“Are you saying that now that my mother knows what she wanted, this dream means nothing to her anymore?”

Alice nodded.

“Let me ask you this, Alice,” Shew said. “If Cerené’s story is so complicated, are the stories of the other Lost Seven also complicated?”

“It’s not like the Queen’s quest is to find each one of them and rip out the piece of your heart from their chests,” Alice said. “Each one of the Lost Seven has a unique story, one that usually ties them to real historical events where they will have their own archenemy. They are real people like you. They lived for a long time, and some of them are even known historical people,” Alice explained. “In order for Carmilla to obtain the pieces of your heart, she’ll have to delve deeper into each one’s story. In Cerené’s case—and by that I mean Cinderella—she will have to rid her of the clue she holds inside.”

“Poor Cerené,” Shew said.

“It’s her fate. We all have to face our fate someday, and only you can save her,” Alice said.

“I’d do anything for her,” Shew said. “Tell me how.”

“The Queen will look for Cerené in the Waking World to get the clue to the mirror out of her,” Alice said. “Who knows what the Queen would do to her? Cerené’s only hope is you, Shew. You have a choice to make.”

“I have to wake up by killing Loki.” She said what Alice already knew.

“It’s the only way, Shew. It’s also part of proving you’re the Chosen One, to sacrifice everything that means something to you and save the world, even if it’s the one you love.”

“Can’t you see I don’t want to be the Chosen One, Alice,” Shew said. “I want to enjoy my life as a teenager like Cerené does. I learned so much about life, spending time with her. I want to ‘follow my bliss’ like Charmwill used to tell Loki. I want to find my Chanta. I want to free myself from foretold prophecies, and I want to find my own Art.”

“But you are the Chosen One, Shew,” Alice said. “Even if you forget it, your enemies won’t. They will come after you and kill you. Now, we’re seriously wasting time.”

The bathhouse’s door sprang open suddenly. Shew found herself standing in front of Cerené, who was peeking her head in from behind the door.

Shew and Alice watched her partially hide behind the door with her blowpipe ready to attack. Her eyes darted sideways before she asked, “Are you alright, Joy?”

“I am, Cerené,” Shew smiled, sniffing her tears away. “You could come in, you know.”

“A lot of blood had been shed in this room,” Cerené said. “I hate it. I should clean it.”

“But you’ll be safe with me,” Shew said with open arms.

“You mean you’ll be safe with me,” she said closing the door behind her. She had another long case with her. It looked like it had a long musical instrument in it along with a small bag. It looked too heavy for her.

“Let me help you,” Alice said.

“No, not you,” Cerené’s face knotted then turned to Shew, “are you alright? Did this girl hurt you?”

“Not at all,” Shew laughed, glad her best friend sensed her uneasiness with Alice.

“How so?” Cerené eyed Alice from top to bottom. “She is one of Loki’s huntsmen.”

“She isn’t, trust me,” Shew said. “So were you looking for me or did you just think you’d eavesdrop on what was going on in the bathhouse?”

“Of course, I was looking for you,” Cerené said. “I just finished cleaning and thought you must be hungry so I stole you food from the Royal Kitchen,” she giggled at the accomplishment, and handed her the bag. “Here, you look pale. You need to eat.”

Alice and Shew exchanged looks, trying not to smile.

“I’m the princess, Cerené, remember?” Shew said. “I don’t need to steal food from my own kitchen.”

“Oh,” Cerené said. “I forgot. Honestly, I didn’t steal it. A boy in a green hat helped me.”

“A boy in a green hat?” Shew squinted. “Are you referring to the thief who steals from the castle and gives to the poor? The Queen surely would want to catch this one.”

“His name is Jack Madly, but don’t tell anyone,” Cerené whispered. “I met him in the fireplace,” Cerené winked and bit on her lip.

“A match made in the fireplace—I mean Heaven,” Shew said. She remembered Jack, not that she’d known him well. He was the notorious sixteen-year-old thief who stole from the Schloss, only because he loved to make the Queen mad. Some knew him from Jack and the Beanstalk, a famous story about pissing off a giant and stealing his gold.

“You think he likes me?” Cerené wondered. “But nah. Not my type. I like the prince, or maybe—” she was going to say Loki but stopped, remembering what he’d done in Furry Tell. “Jack stole the food, but I stole this,” Cerené pulled out a box of liver, property of the Queen of Sorrow. “Don’t be embarrassed. I will look away while you indulge in your monstrous cravings. It’s like going to the bathroom; you don’t want to see anyone see you poop.”

Alice let out a laugh, unable to hold back. Shew found herself giggling at her warmhearted friend.

“What are you laughing at?” Cerené snapped at Alice, waving the case in the air. “This is between me and my friend. You’re not friends with her. Are you, Shew?”

“Alice? Of course, not. Alice is not my friend. She is only helping.”

Cerené smiled. Shew was worried if she’d told her otherwise she’d burn Alice in the furnace.

“So what’s that in the long case?” Shew asked.

“This is my gift for you,” Cerené looked happier than a woodpecker with a handful of trees. “I made it myself,” she knelt down, laid her blowpipe aside, and opened the case.

Something glittered from inside the case, something long and shiny, a handmade sword.

“See?” Cerené, still kneeling down, held the sword with both hands, presenting it to Shew like a Samurai swordsmith to a king.

Shew and Alice were both enchanted at the beauty of the sword. Cerené had forged it from her molten glass, using the Heart, Brain, and Soul. Shew couldn’t avoid thinking this sword had Cerené’s breath in it. It had part of her life in it. Shew had been given emeralds from across the ocean before, diamonds from the heart of Africa, and even exclusive mirrors and masks from Venice. But never had she been gifted with such a valuable sword. The glittery blade looked as if Cerené’s breath waved upon it. She wondered if she’d be holding a piece of her best friend’s life in her hand if she held it.

“Beautiful?” Cerené wondered, afraid Shew wouldn’t like it.

Shew nodded at a loss for words, her eyes shiny.

“Friends!” Cerené squeaked like happy doe-eyed girls in a Manga. The word ‘friends’ cut through Shew again. It made her want to stay in this dream forever, and slay dragons to take care of Cerené.

Shew held the sword by its grip. The Pommel was glass. She held it in front of her, feasting her eyes with its beauty, feeling spiritually connected to Cerené.

The blade was made of glass, not any glass, but Cerené’s secret ingredient glass. The edges were sharp enough you could feel a light cut in your eyes if you stared at it too long. The glass itself wasn’t transparent. It was white, milk white.

“You used Mermaid’s Milk on it?” Shew wondered.

“All of it,” Cerené bragged, standing up. “It gives it incredible strength. I wanted the sword to look like you.”

“Like me?” Shew wondered.

“Black hair, white skin, and blood red lips, so its grip is black and the blade is white.”

“But I don’t see any red?” Shew wondered, carefully flipping it around in case she missed something.

“I thought I didn’t need to add red. That will be your part,” Cerené giggled. “The red on the sword will be the blood of your enemies.”

“But I’m not going to use this sword,” Shew said. “I don’t plan to kill anyone.”

“I think you will,” Alice said, her eyes reminding Shew of Loki. “The perfect sword for the perfect ending,” she whispered behind Cerené’s back. “We’re wasting time.”

Shew realized that this was part of her memory when Cerené designed the Chosen One’s ultimate sword. She had once heard her father say ‘if you’re going to show me a sword, you better use it.’ Suddenly, she remembered all the training her father gave her. She’d been trained to ride horses and kill with her sword. Her father had prepared her for war.

So my power isn’t just my silly fangs and scary looks?

“You have to kill Loki,” Alice insisted again behind Cerené’s back.

Shew shook her head ‘no’, and Cerené noticed.

“What is she telling you?” Cerené said. “Don’t listen to her. She isn’t your friend.”

“If Cerené leaves again, you will be shifted to the memory of your birthday, and you don’t want that to happen,” Alice spoke aloud, neglecting Cerené’s confusion. “The only way to wake up from this dream is to kill Loki, or he will kill you on your birthday. You still don’t remember how you met the Lost Seven or how Loki fell in love with you because of Charmwill’s spell. If you’re transported to your birthday scene, it’s unlikely you can survive it.”

“Now she’s talking about dreams and Loki and all kinds of madness again,” Cerené puffed. “She is crazy.”

“I will not kill Loki,” Shew gritted her teeth with the sword in her grip.

“No, you will. You have to get back to the Waking World and find a way to go to Murano,” Alice whispered the ‘Murano’ word, pointing at Cerené. “You need to go to where you can find out what the clue is,” Alice looked up as the bathhouse’s door sprang open again.

Shew and Alice stood paralyzed as the Queen of Sorrow appeared slowly in front of them.

“Shew?” Carmilla inquired. “What are you doing in the bathhouse?”

“I—” Shew stuttered.

“I asked you a question, Shew,” Carmilla’s demanding voice stirred the air and sent shivers into the princess.

Shew wasn’t concerned about explaining her intrusion into the Queen’s forbidden bathhouse. She worried how she’d explain Cerené and Alice standing next to her. Trying to stall, she turned at Alice but was surprised to find she wasn’t there. Then she turned to look for Cerené, who was also gone.

The fluttering curtain by the window suggested they’d escaped. Cerené must have escaped, fearing the Queen. Alice must have followed trying to stop her or Shew would be transported to the next part of the dream.

“Answer me!” Carmilla was in her face now.

Shew felt dizzy already, knowing that she was about to be shifted to the next part in the dream. She wanted to seize the moment and tell the Queen to go to hell. A perfect line before she escaped this scene. Unfortunately, Shew was too late. The dream had shifted and Shew was worried she was the one going to hell.