Fabled (15 page)

Life went on like this for a couple more weeks. Some days I’d spend it slowly bonding with the wolf and others I’d sit awkwardly, almost entirely silent with the man. I looked forward to the days he left just the wolf and I. I’d talk to him and pet him. I genuinely made friends with him. Often I thought about trying to manipulate the wolf and figuring out some way to leave, but the wolf’s eyes always made me fearful. Though I had seen the domesticated side of him, I knew there was a wildness about him too. The spark in his eyes made him unpredictable, and I didn’t like the idea of taking any chances. Though death wasn’t an option here, serious pain was.

One morning, I awoke to the man staring at me. I sat up, startled.

“Good morning,” he said. Those were the first kind words he had ever said to me. I was taken aback by this and forgot to answer. He had a look of disappointment on his face and retreated back to the rock he always sat on by the fire.

“Morning,” I replied minutes too late. It was obvious he had no idea what to say next. “How was your day yesterday?” I continued, trying to evoke some sort of small talk, but he didn’t respond. He just kept dancing his glare from me to the fire.
 

“It got a little cold, but luckily we were able to keep warm. The wolf and I. I can completely understand what people used to say back home about a two-dog night…” I continued on awkwardly about the weather. I wanted desperately to have a conversation again.

“You like the wolf?” he finally asked, avoiding my eyes.

“Yes. Very much.”

“I think he likes you too,” he said quietly.

“What’s his name?”

“Cale,” he responded.

“Oh, that’s nice. I have wanted to know but was too nervous to ask you. I’ve just been calling him ‘wolfie’ or ‘boy.” I laughed. “What’s your name?”

“I go by lots of names in the kingdom. Few of them appropriate for ladies’ ears.” His voice was flat and cold. I could sense resentment and anger approaching, so I found my inner quiet and embraced it.

Hours went by in silence again.
 

Just as the fire had softened to a dull glow, and I was on my way to see Chester or Dashielle in my dreams, he spoke.
 

“I think your friend can be saved with a little help.”

I sat up and looked at him, surprised. His words echoed over and over, either by emptiness of the cave or by the replay button of my mind.

“How do you know about Madeline?”

“I’d been following you a long while before I took you,” he admitted. I thought that, of course, but I’d only ever seen the wolf.

“Are you willing to help me then? Is that what you’re saying?” I shook my head in disbelief that my captor would agree to help me with anything. “Wait. This doesn’t make sense. Why would you care about helping my friend? I’m nothing to you but an abandoned play toy. Why don’t you just let me go? Chester and I can manage by ourselves. Please just let me go,” I interrupted him before he could say anything. My begging frustrated him. He stood and paced in front of the fire. His black hair shined in the light, and the shadows made by the dim flickers only highlighted his chiseled features. His brow cringed in the middle, which made me anxious for what he was about to say.

“I had to do it. You don’t understand. I followed to keep my eye on you. The forest is no place for a vulnerable newcomer to be stalking around. And that boy — Chester you call him — has no idea what he’s getting into. I couldn’t let you walk into Dresdem’s trap. I had to take you — hide you — until things quieted down in the kingdom. The royals expected you right away, you see. We needed to give them some time to think you weren’t going to come, so that maybe his guards would get sloppy and into a routine,” he rambled. I tried to follow what he was saying, but this came as a complete shock to me. In a moment, my capturer had become my savior.
 

“You did all this to protect me?” I stood and slowly approached him until we were only feet apart. I had never been this close to him before now. I saw he had a slight scar over his right brow that was strangely familiar.
 

“Your safety,” he said as he reluctantly allowed his eyes to meet mine. I took a step closer.
 

“Thank you, but I still don’t quite understand. Why would you be so concerned about me? I have never met you before?”
 

“You have.”
 

I thought back for a moment. Just then, we heard rocks from above the cave start to fall near the entrance.
 

“Stay back,” he demanded and went to inspect the noise. I stood silent.

He looked around the outside of the cave for a while. I heard Cale growl. I couldn’t see him, but I felt he was nearby. When my capturer… or savior was satisfied we were safe, he returned.

“We’ll need to leave first thing in the morning.”

About an hour passed in silence. I could tell he was trying to keep his ears available to pick out any other disturbances outside the cave, just in case. I sat next to the fire entranced by the embers. Once he felt we were safe, he came and knelt down next to me. His left elbow rested on his other knee. He looked gentlemanly in that moment. I could tell he wanted to say something, but he hesitated. His brows crinkled, and his face contorted every time he looked me in the eye.

“What is it?” I finally asked, hoping to relieve his anxiety.

“I need you to do something…something that I don’t know how to do.” He turned away as if ashamed.

“Okay. What do you need me to do?” I searched for his eyes, letting him know it was okay to tell me.

“It’s stupid,” he said in a low whisper. His eyes met mine and then looked down at the ground.
 

“Just tell me.”

“I know her. Your friend. She’s the reason I’ve been following you and the reason I hung around the Tresels’ estate. I was trying to figure out a way to help her escape, but you and Chester beat me to it. Now she’s under Dresdem’s spell, and there’s no way I was going to let the two of you get her into any more trouble. It’s going to take a perfect plan to get her out in one piece,” he said.

“How do you know Madeline? From what she told me, she has been enslaved for ages.”

“It wasn’t until she befriended Humbert that I found her. I looked for her all those years, and one day I received a letter. She told me where she was and what happened. I’ve made it my life’s mission to free her.
 

“I love her. Always have. Her parents refused to let their beautiful daughter marry me. They didn’t want to have their name bred with a beast. They’d rather brag to their friends about having a daughter who works in a castle than have her marry me. The last time I saw her, we were at the town’s dance. She begged me to dance with her, but I refused because I didn’t know how. Little did I know that it’d be the last time I’d ever get the chance to embrace her. When I see her again, I want to finally agree to that dance, so will you teach me?”

“Of course,” I said.
How romantic.
And yet for some reason, it was comical for such a burly man to want to learn how to dance. I could easily envision this guy hiking Mt. Kilimanjaro, wrestling a gator barehanded, or ripping out someone’s throat but dancing, really? When I felt I had adequate control over my restrained laughter, I found his eyes and sincerely answered, “I’ll teach you.”

He stood and awkwardly put his hand out to help me stand. I took his warm palm and stood up, seeing my intimidating kidnapper for the first time as just another guy made a smile escape from somewhere deep inside. One side of his mouth tilted upward for a moment. My eyes must have widened incessantly to see a smile approaching his lips because within seconds we were both laughing. I let out every fear in that laugh, and for the first time in a long time I had hope that everything was going to be okay. I took his hand and placed it on my hip, wrapped one arm around his neck, and extended our other hands outward.
 

“You never did tell me your name?”

“I know,” he said with a grin.

I taught him how to waltz just as my dad did me when I was nine in our living room when preparing for a fathers-daughters dance. Mom stood smiling at the doorway and let out a big laugh every time my shoes crushed my father’s feet. The memories flooded my mind, and I rested in them for a moment. I repeated the instructions my father gave me, and within minutes the two of us were dancing. He was dancing with his captive in the cave; I was dancing with my father in my home.

Chapter 14

I genuinely had a good time, but I fought the homesickness the memories had brought. It felt so good to laugh again, though. I think it took him a little bit longer to catch onto waltzing than it did me, but by the end of the night, we were circling the entire cave. Our footsteps and laughter echoed through the walls providing the music to our dance. Finally, we sat down by the fire, exhausted. We smiled bashfully at one another and lay down to sleep.
 

“Thanks,” he said sincerely.

“My pleasure.”

I drifted off to sleep, still feeling myself swing throughout the cave. Our dance continued until I awoke to the sound of my name.
 

“Rowena?” he whispered so quietly I barely heard him. I lay for a moment wondering if I had actually heard anything. I looked around but saw nothing.

Chester materialized.
 

“What are you doing here?” I asked, sitting up. The fire, still ablaze, illuminated the cave. Even though Chester’s gift would make him invisible anytime he wished, he still felt the need to cower in the shadows.

“Come on. We’ve got to get out of here quick.” He held out his hand, and I took it instinctively. I got up and followed him towards the mouth of the cave.

“Wait,” I said, “I can’t just leave. He’s helping me. He just wanted to protect me.” I glanced back at him sleeping. Chester tugged my arm to get my attention.

“You’ve got to be kidding me, Rowena. Please tell me you don’t seriously believe that this guy, who kidnapped you, is really here to protect you?” his voice quivered in frustration.

I considered this for a moment too long. Just then, he awoke. I saw Chester’s eyes grow in anticipation. I turned around to face him and explain to him that I couldn’t leave without talking to him first, but his fists were balled so tightly his fingers turned white.

“Wait! We weren’t leaving!” I shouted to him. It was no use. His face turned red, and I could feel that familiar cold rise back in him.
 

“Run!” Chester screamed. I heard his feet crushing the dirt and rocks beneath as he hurried out the cave. I felt the anxiety but was crippled by my fear and confusion.
How could he just forget what a good night we had? How could he turn evil again so fast?
I stared into his black eyes. He glared past me in the direction of where Chester was heading.

“Come on!” I heard Chester yell.

I saw his features change. His hair lengthened, his eyes darkened, and his body crouched onto all fours. Within seconds, he was Cale. The beast.

He howled.
 

I ran.

I took off into the darkness following Chester’s voice until I saw him. We ran blindly into the surrounding wilderness. I didn’t feel like I could look back. I couldn’t risk being swallowed up by my capturer again. I ran until I didn’t hear footsteps any longer, but I couldn’t be sure. I darted until my legs felt like they were running without my permission. They felt wobbly and uncontrollable, but somehow, they were getting me closer to Chester.
 

After several minutes of bat-out-of-hell running, we reluctantly slowed until we collapsed. We both stared behind us, wondering if he would jump out of some dark crevice at any moment, but we didn’t see anything. Chester soon found us a hole in the base of a large tree to hide in. We scooted inside, and Chester squeezed me. In that moment of embrace, I felt all the worry he’d experienced while I’d been gone. We embraced. Soon his anxiety dissipated. I smelled him in and felt comforted that he had risked his life to come and get me, but then it hit me.

“You ran,” I said, pulling back stiffly and looking at him with a raised brow.

“I realize that looks pretty bad, but I knew he wasn’t going to hurt you. I, on the other hand, was like a steak dangling in front of a dog,” he grimaced.

“How did you know he wouldn’t hurt me?”

“Well, do you remember when the rocks fell earlier that night? He went out to investigate.”

“Yeah.”

“That was me. I stayed invisible until you both fell asleep. I thought he would have been aggressive with you, but imagine my surprise to see you both laughing and dancing, of all things,” he paused. I sensed he didn’t like that too much. “Anyway, I knew then that he wouldn’t have hurt you, but I still needed to get you out. There’s no telling what he had planned for you, Rowena.”
 

“He wanted to help us with Madeline. He told me you didn’t know what we were getting into,” I said but instantly regretted it.

Chester sat there in silence for a moment, and I could see the pain in his face. By me saying that, he knew I doubted him too.
 

“I’m sorry. I just meant he may have been able to help, but obviously, that’s not going to happen.”

“Maybe he’s right. I mean, I’ve never faced the royals. In fact, I’ve done nothing since I’ve gotten to Mezzanine but run from them. What was I thinking?” The frustration and anxiety was building in his voice.

I didn’t know what to say. I finally placed my hand in his and squeezed.
 

“We’ll figure this out,” I whispered.

We heard the multiple echoes of howling. I squeezed his hand tighter.

“How many of them are there?” I whispered.

“I don’t know, but I’ll tell you this — one is too many.”

After that, we were afraid to speak. We didn’t want to take any chances of anything hearing us. Eventually the exhaustion, silence, and darkness crippled me into sleep. My legs remembered the actions of the night and painfully replayed them.

 
I awoke to the sunlight burning my arm as it reached into our tree housing. It didn’t take me but a second to notice that Chester was gone. I began to panic.
Chester wouldn’t leave me out in the woods alone.
My mind quickly raced with ideas of Cale snatching him in the middle of the night while I lay completely oblivious. But that didn’t make any sense.
If Cale found us, he’d take us both.