THE CURSED PRINCE: BOOK 1, page 26
“I couldn’t think of anything else. But it should work.”
“What, that childish spell?”
“Hey, it's better than what you offered, which was nothing. Poe can hide amongst them and escape.”
“You’re going to get us caught.”
“Well if you’re so worried, why don’t you leave?”
“Listen—what is your name?”
“Justin. His name is Justin,” said Poe, who was standing behind them.
They turned, and Gabriel was startled to see the pumpkin there, but Justin was relieved his friend got away.
“Poe,” Justin whispered, thrilled. “You escaped. Come on, let’s go find the others.”
“That’s not going to happen,” Gabriel said.
Justin looked at him quizzically. “And why not.”
“Because he already knows you’re here,” Poe said soberly.
Before Justin or Gabriel could respond, Poe’s vines shot out and imprisoned their arms and legs in a spread-eagle position, presenting them to the magician.
Gabriel and Justin tried using different spells to free them but both failed. Gabriel thought only elders were able to perform counterspell with such concentration. He underestimated the magician.
The hare stared at the pair that hovered in front of him as Poe stood on the ground between them. The magician's ears stood straight up twitching listening to any surrounding sounds then went limp relaxing behind his shoulders. He looked at Justin and urged the vines to bring him closer. “You young rogue, I was expecting. I have something special for you.”
“Fuck you!” Justin snapped. What have you done to Poe?”
The magician’s head tilted to the side before looking at the small pumpkin. “What do you think I’ve done to him?”
“He wouldn’t be acting like this, you did something to him. Let him go.”
The magician’s eyes never left Poe, who only stared back. “Whom do they think you are?”
Poe’s head tilted, seeming lost to the question.
Justin wasn’t going to allow the hare to manipulate Poe more. “Come on Poe, snap out of it. I saw what you can do. You’re stronger than him!”
The rabbit marveled when Poe looked up at Justin. “Well now. you seem to have become close with the Rogue. Curious. Let’s see how you respond when he’s taken out of the equation?” The magician's command was sent and the world around Justin became distorted and enclosed on itself like he was being sucked into a void.
Gabriel watched as Justin vanished from his site. He noticed the Pumpkin’s vines that held Justin were gone as he regenerated the missing ones. He turned his focus onto the hare. “What have you done with him?” he insisted.
“You should be more worried about yourself than someone you just met,” responded the magician.
“Me?” questioned Gabriel. “I never worry.” As the Elf took a breath he said the incantation and vanished with the small pumpkin.
****
Justin’s morning light was replaced by a cold foggy night. The fog clung to every leaf and branch, lending an otherworldly, almost dreamlike quality to the surroundings. Silence enveloped the forest, save for the occasional hoot of an owl or the rustling of unseen creatures in the underbrush. The air was cool and damp, carrying with it the scent of damp earth and decaying leaves, as if the forest itself held its breath in anticipation.
In this mysterious and enchanted realm, Justin found himself suspended in mid-air, his limbs outstretched and ensnared by Poe's vines, their powerful tendrils winding around him like living chains on a desperate mission of liberation. As he struggled against his leafy captors, his breath visible in the chilly air, he could feel the tension in the forest—the very essence of nature itself. Alone now Justin sighed out his frustration in a puff of frozen air. “What now rabbit?!” he yelled out. “Are you going to throw vegetables at me?!” He bellowed just as the veins relaxed freeing him. Justin, now free from his bindings, hovered in the air for a few seconds before gravity pulled him down.
Surprised by his new situation, Justin was able to drop and roll when he touched the ground. He got his footing and scanned his surroundings which seemed to resonate an old memories he wanted to forget. He checked for his weapons finding only his dagger. Unsure which way to go he shrugged his shoulder and started walking. “I got to find Adam. Adam will know what to do.”
“Can’t you think for yourself, for once!” The sound of his father’s voice followed by the sound of the slap caused Justin to flinch, knowing he was the one who received the punishment.
The fog cleared and Justin saw the wagon train encircling the camp where they stopped for the night; when he was just a teen. He didn’t want to go near it and was going to turn back when he heard an almost forgotten voice.
“Leave him be, Rahilly!” she called out.
“Mind your business, whore! He needs to know his place!”
Justin crawled under one of the wagons and gained an eye view of his mother, Esmeralda. She was a young courtesan, working for a grand duke when the kingdom got invaded and pillaged by the legendary Scoundrel, Rahilly Shi, his hired men, and a few hundred mercenaries. Rahilly took Esmeralda as one of his rewards. The Guild Master kept her amongst his band of thugs abusing her whenever he wished. After two years, she became pregnant with Justin and was allowed to care for their son. That is until Justin became six years old and Rahilly decided his son needed to learn to be to be a rogue and work for his keep.
Justin suffered brutal training and harsh punishment; if he failed to perform a task, his father would deny him food or make him sleep outside with no protection. Justin quickly learned how to survive in the harsh environment. Only on that day, Rahilly caught Justin and his mother trying to run away. His men held them while Rahilly whipped them. Both mother and son collapsed from exhaustion.
“Amite it! That whore talked you into leaving!”
Justin knew whatever he told his father wouldn’t turn out well for either him or his mother. “No, it was my idea,” Justin begged.
Rahilly removed a machete and grabbed Justin’s arm yanking the limp teen up and placed the blade against his elbow. “I will dismember you, limb by limb until you tell me the truth, boy.”
“It was me!” Esmeralda cried out, her body riddled with welts. “I made him come with me.”
“Mother, no—” Justin cried out but his father lowered his weapon and covered his mouth.
Rahilly started at her once perfect body now marked with years of abuse done mostly by his hands. “So you confess?” he asked calmly.
She looked up at him, then at Justin, and saw the striking resemblance of the two. She knew she could never protect her son and his father would control him by using her as a bargaining chip. “I confess that you are a madman with an ego to match. You’re bent on suppressing your only son so he doesn’t try to surpass you and become the new Guild Master. But I’m here to tell you he will surpass you and you will wither away and be forgotten.”
Young Justin was thrown to the ground so hard he could only watch as his father kicked her face dislodging a few of her teeth. Justin in the present watched in horror at the gruesome site.
That’s not what happened, he shouted in his head. She confessed but never dared speak those words to Father’s face. She was sold off and I never saw her again. She wasn’t beaten. Justin wasn’t going to allow him to batter the only person he ever loved. He tried to crawl out from under the wagon when someone grabbed his leg and yanked him back out the other side.
He was wrenched so hard that Justin had to grip the earth to slide to a stop. When he looked up he saw his father walking towards him.
“Wasn’t expecting to see you again boy,” Rahilly said with a smirk.
Justin scrabbled back to his feet and saw they were alone. The caravan his younger self and his mother were gone. They stood in a small clearing surrounded by the woods. Justin couldn’t tell whether it was day or night. His focus was on Rahilly. Justin needed answers and he knew he’d never get another chance. “Where is she?”
Rahilly understood his question but ignored him as he reached into his pocket and removed a small vial that held a thick, black substance. “How do you open this?”
Justin recognized the bottle from the bag Yuri gave him to find the scroll. He never got to use it and was shocked Rahilly still had it. Justin knew Rahilly never asked for his help so he must be desperate.
Rahilly’s patience was at its limit. “Answer me, boy! How do you open this?” he shook the bottle at him.
Justin knew it was only a matter of time before Rahilly rushed at him with a closed fist. “If you’re having trouble do what you always do. Use a rock.”
“I used a rock, a gun, and magic . . . nothing worked.”
“So what do you think I can do?”
“You had it on you so someone gave it to you and told you how to open it.”
Justin agreed to some of what he said. But to his recollection, Yuri never told him how to open the bottle, he just assumed it was a normal bottle. “If nothing can open it then it was sealed by magic.”
“No fucking duh, dumb ass, I know all that! Give me the spell!”
“I can’t give you something I don’t have.”
“You little shit!” Rahilly didn’t flinch when he rushed at Justin.
Justin tried to evade him but Rahilly was always faster and proved that by tackling him to the ground. Justin was aware of Rahilly’s next move, punishing him until he grew bored. Justin braced for the impact when Rahilly swiftly went flying off of him. His father was replaced by a face he wasn’t expecting to see. “Gabriel?”
“Thought you got rid of me,” he smiled.
Justin felt his cheeks burn again as the Elf held out his hand to him. Justin clasped it and while he was helped to his feet, Justin’s reminded of the strength Yuri once had. The remainder of his fallen friend sent daggers to his heart. He struggled to contain his grief as he tried to let go of Gabriel’s hand only for the Elf to hold a bit longer.
“Are you in distress? Did he hurt you?” Gabriel asked with deep concern.
Justin could only at first shake his head as he swallowed his pain. “He didn’t have a chance.”
“I am glad to hear.” Gabriel reluctantly released Justin’s hand.
“How did you get away?”
“I have my ways.”
“Why didn’t you use them before he sent me here?”
“I couldn’t predict his actions. But I am here now.”
“And Poe?” Justin asked anxiously.
“You seem concerned for his wellbeing so I brought him with me. He passed out on the way here so I placed him down to help you.”
“Thank you.”
“Can you be sure he can be trusted?”
“Poe is loyal to his friends,” Justin snapped. “Sorry. It’s just he’s been through a lot after losing his friend, Shilo.”
“No need to explain. I’m sorry to upset you.”
Justin lowered his eyes taking a breath before nodding his head.
“Now, what should we do with him?”
Justin looked over at his father, who lay limp and wanted to finish him but he still needed to know where his mother was. His eyes drifted back to Gabriel who was smiling at him. “He’s my father a rogue guild master. He sold my mother off and won’t tell me to whom.”
“Well that’s easy to remedy,” Gabriel stated. “Also I found this on the ground. Is this yours?”
Justin recognized the small bottle with the substance inside. “It is.” Justin went to take it when Rahilly’s voice called out.
“Give it back! Or I’ll crush its head!”
Justin looked over and saw Rahilly had awoken, scrambled back, and was now standing with his foot on Poe’s head who was not moving. “Poe!”
Gabriel pocked the bottle and stepped in front of Justin. “What would be the point in harming the pumpkin? It’s clearly a child.”
“Like I give a fuck! That bottle is mine so hand it over!”
“You can’t even open it,” Justin affirmed.
“That’s a good point. So Elf, why don’t you open it.”
Gabriel seemed to think over his request, then removed the vial from his pocket. It took him a moment to recognize the spell’s signature cased on it then with a few incantations the seal was broken. “Done.”
“What?” Justin asked shocked. “That’s impossible.”
“I just needed to know the correct spell to unbind it.”
“But how—”
“Hello, still here!” screamed Rahilly. “And my foot’s getting tired,”
“Fine, here it is,” Gabriel held the bottle out to him. “Remove your foot.”
“Don’t fuck with me, Elf. I have the advantage, toss it to me or I dance on its head.”
Gabriel considered his options before Justin snatched the bottle from his fingers and walked towards his father.
“Here, you can have two for the price of one. Just don’t hurt him.”
Gabriel watched as Justin walked away and noticed the rogue was keeping Rahilly’s eyes on him. Justin was giving Gabriel time to counterattack. “Clever boy,” he murmured.
He waited until Justin was close but not in arms reach when he made his move, only to be blindsided by an invisible portal opening just off of Rahilly’s left side. A man Gabriel didn’t recognize came running out of the gateway, grabbed Rahilly, yanked him off of Poe, and dropped him into a body slam knocking him out.
Justin came to a stop watching Adam neutralize his father and save Poe.
The Ranger rose with a small hop and faced Justin flashing him a grin.
Justin's initial shock wore off as he gave Adam a smirk and shook his head. “What took you so long?”
“Sorry, had to grab the commander and lord first,” Adam said turning and moving to Poe.
Justin followed forgetting Gabriel who kept his distance, until the elf heard someone call his name.
“Lord Gabriel!” called Felix.
Gabriel’s head jerked with a start when he saw Felix walking up—followed by Felica. Gabriel threw his inhibition to the wind when he raced to the pair and embraced them. “You’re alive,” he exclaimed.
Felix and Felica were caught off guard but returned the embrace happy to see he was well.
Gabriel released them from his hug but grasped each of their palms to be sure they weren’t phantoms. “It’s been so long since I last saw you.” He tried to contain his emotions. “I’m so sorry that damn magician kept alluding me.”
“Well, now we’re here,” Adam said while binding Poe in a sling onto Justin’s back.
Gabriel glared at him. “And who are you?”
Felica stepped past Gabriel moving to stand with Adam and Justin. “He’s a Ranger who’s going to help release the young prince from his curse.”
Gabriel wasn’t happy Felica invested all her hope into yet another mortal man. “And how are you, Ranger, going to do that?”
Adam happy with Poe’s security turned to the Elf. “After we collect Pat. We’re going to storm the castle.”
“Who’s Pat?”
“He means the prince,” Felix corrected.
“What is the prince doing away from his kingdom?”
Felix grasped his shoulder catching his attention “It’s a long story but I assure you, you can trust the Ranger, he’s our only hope.”
Gabriel had his doubts but decided to comply as Adam took the lead opening another portal and leading them inside.
CHAPTER 40
Patrick desperately chased the black rabbit against his will. He remembered the outcome, but this time he was determined to shove his blade deep into the cold and uncaring magician’s heart. After all these years he had to hide his face from the ones he loved, missing out on making friends or falling in love. But then he realized what these days have brought to him. He found friends like Poe, Shilo, and Justin, along with Felica and Felix, and he had fallen in love—twice.
His steps led him to a familiar wooded area. The night star-filled sky was shrouded by the thick branches of the old forest. The rabbit Patrick was pursuing sat grazing on a wild berry plant, paying no notice to the prince who came to a stop near it. Patrick placed his hands on his knees as he inhaled and exhaled after his intense run. He looked back, hoping Adam was behind him, but he wasn’t. “Adam, please come find me,” he pleaded through telepathy.
“I’m afraid your Ranger will not hear you,” said a humanoid rabbit sitting on a mound, holding four small infant bunnies. Fireflies appeared to hover around them, illuminating their surroundings.
Patrick turned to him, startled, not sure if he remembered the magician being a highbred rabbit. He watched as disfigured shadows circled around them as if they were the magician’s minions. Patrick tried to stay strong, but his emotions were at a scale of eleven as tears welled in his eyes.
Even though the magician stroked the young bunnies’ fur and ears, he never took his eyes off Patrick. “You needn’t cry, young one. I am here with you. The darkness is only covering the same world as you see in the daylight.”
Patrick sniffed back his tears as he locked eyes with the hare. He used his sleeve to wipe away his tears and swallowed the knot in his throat. He could feel the blade Yuri had gifted him against his sore hip from his run, banging against him. “What do you want from me now?” Patrick demanded, forgetting his voice had changed since he reverted to being six years old.
“Such bravery since we first met. How I have longed to see how far you’ve come.”
“You have always been with me. In my nightmares in sleep and awake. When I have to hide my face and when I experience firsthand what your curse can do to me.”
“There’s that word again—curse. Why do you think it’s a curse?”
Patrick was put off by his question. “What else is it?”
The magician lowered his head as he placed the bunnies down onto the soft grass one by one.
Patrick took the opportunity to reach for his dagger and unsheathed it. He watched as the magician was preoccupied and charged him, with the blade ready to strike.
When the magician sat up, Patrick was already in striking distance.
