Sleeping Beauty (Faerie Tale Collection) (13 page)

“Mother?” she gasped out, before stumbling to stand upright.

Something was wrong. She was not well. Taking a ginger step forward, she collapsed upon her knees, her hands bracing her fall became too weak and she crumbled into a sphere of swirling skirts and long dark hair. The dainty crown slipped from her forehead and rolled in front of her view. Aleyna watched as it teetered and collapsed—much the same as she had done—before her eyes became too heavy and all the world went black.

Instantly Villeria appeared in a sea of blue-green film and wisps and grinned down upon the sleeping girl before her. That was simply the easiest thing she had ever done. She crouched and lowered herself, her emerald skirts billowing around her, and mumbled a bit of unintelligible words over the motionless form. She grinned as the little queen disappeared from the room altogether.

The girl had been fun to tease, but now it was on to play with the boys. Silly men, they believe they know everything—how little their simple minds can grasp upon the concepts of the divine. She rose up to full height and snapped her fingers. Leaving the room barren, cold, and as lifeless as the rest of the castle was—just a small trail of blue-green swirled in a faint circle where she had been.

CHAPTER NINETEEN

EZRALON WAS SO CAUGHT up in discussing strategies that even he was taken by surprise at Villeria’s sudden appearance. No familiar warning had come, no inkling that all was about to begin—just woosh—and then Villeria appeared before them, in all her fiery-haired glory.

“Ahh!”

The men jumped up and scrambled to get away from the sorceress, their hands going to the hilts of their swords.

“I would not touch those if I were you,” she calmly stated. “Where is the girl I have come for?”

Darién glanced out the door, praying Aleyna would not choose this moment to make an appearance. “She is safe.”

“Oh, is she?” Villeria took another step toward him and grinned. “So are you the charming prince who has finally released the enchantment, then? Are you her dear savior?”

“I am Prince Darién of Lybrooke Court. Who are you?”

“You know full well who I am, boy. Do not patronize me.” Her eyes snapped for a moment before cooling into a chilly stare. “Where is the girl I seek? Where is my prize? I am here for her now. I have waited decades and I will not be thwarted longer.” She pointed to Darién and then the door. “Go fetch her, brave one, and bring her back alive or I will destroy you all.”

Darién glanced at Ezralon. The unicorn nodded his head to leave and Michael said, “We will be fine—go.” The look he gave Darién indicated he wanted him to run with Aleyna somewhere far and out of harm’s way.

“Will you swear an oath to keep them safe until I return with her?” Darién asked.

She smiled a sly smile and jutted out her hip. “Why? So when you return you can face me all together? Do you truly believe that will save you or them?”

Darién pulled out his sword and took a step forward. “Or we could end this now.”

“No!” Ezralon stepped forward.

Villeria laughed, a low deep chuckle. “Please, my dear, do not mock me or tempt me. I am in a playful mood at the moment, I suggest you do my bidding and be quick about it, or I may not be quite so friendly for much longer.”

“Are you threatening me?”

Her smile lingered, though her eyes became ice. “It is a simple fact. I do not enjoy being disobeyed. I suggest you fetch her
now
.”

“Go, Darién. We will be fine until you return.” Michael looked over at George, who nodded his head.

Ezralon’s horn shone brightly for a moment, drawing all eyes his way, before he stated, “There. All will be well until you return with Aleyna.”

“What did you do?” Villeria growled, her dressed swirling as she walked up to the beast. “I am through with your interference, and your belittling ways.”

“I do not belittle you, Villeria, I simply thwart what you are attempting to do from time to time.”

“I will not tolerate this! You may be an untouchable creature—but there are ways around every law of magic. I will
not
allow you to continue to govern my reign unjustly—“

“Go now, Darién. We are fine.”

Darién did not wait another moment, he fled the room and up the staircase, taking the steps two at a time, determined to locate the attics and remove Aleyna from the vicinity as soon as possible. Ezralon promised they would all be safe until he came back with the queen—so what happened if he never returned with her? Would not that logically signify that all will be safe? He could not risk the uneasy questions to plague his mind until he could sort out a better answer. As he rounded the corner at the top of the stairs, he was surprised to see Humphrey lounging his shoulder against the door frame of a room a few feet from him.

“What are you doing in the hallway? Where is Aleyna?”

Humphrey started at the sound of the prince’s voice and then quickly answered, “I left her some time ago to change into the gown we had found.”

Darién brushed past and knocked upon the door. “Aleyna, are you finished? I need you to come with me now.”

“What is amiss? Is the sorceress nearly here?”

When the queen did not answer, Darién rapped louder. “Aleyna! Aleyna? Are you there?” To Humphrey he answered, “She is here. Villeria is downstairs at this moment. Aleyna!”

“What?! Are you jesting?”

Darién shoved his shoulder against the door and burst into the empty room. There was no sign of the queen anywhere, though her old dress was laying upon an open chest full of clothing and the like. “Where is she?” he asked. His feet quickly walking around the large room. “Aleyna? Are you here?”

“What do you mean Villeria is here? Already? How could she have come so fast?”

“I do not know. It was a surprise to us—Aleyna! Aleyna, where are you?” Reaching the other side of the room, he whipped around to Humphrey. “Where is she? Are you certain she did not leave that door?” He pointed the way they had just come in.

“Positive.”

“How long did you leave her alone?”

“Fifteen, maybe twenty minutes. No longer. I swear.”

“ALEYNA!” he shouted, turning about the room. He caught a glimpse of an old spiral staircase that led upwards. Without another thought Darién ran up the stairs to find an decrepit abandoned room—the ropes of the bells dangling near his shoulder, Humphrey was close behind. He could just make out faint footprints marked in the dust, and a larger cleared off section, where it looked like someone or something had recently lied down. In the corner was a royal crown, completely out of place. “She has been here.”

“Where did she go?”

“Villeria! She must have her.” Darién rushed past Humphrey and back down the stairs again. He was nearly out the door heading toward the main staircase when Humphrey caught up.

“Where are you going?”

“She just showed up out of the middle of nowhere, just poofed into existence. None of us were prepared for her at all. Which means, if she can do that to herself, then why can she not do the same to someone else? She most likely has Aleyna somewhere none of us would ever think to look. Hidden in some forest cave or cottage or something.”

“So you are going to rush to the forest and attempt to find a needle in a haystack?” Humphrey asked as they began to ascend the stairs.

“I will do anything to save the woman I love.” His frustration was telling. “How dare Villeria toy with me in such a manner? I will leave at once.”

“Wait!” Humphrey grabbed his elbow, halting them both, as they were about to descend the next landing. “The queen is not allowed to leave this castle unless it is with you, correct?”

Darién’s eyes widened. “Great goodness, she is here!” He clapped his friend on the shoulder. “Well done, you. Well done. I would have searched the forest for years and never found her.” He spun around on his heel upon the landing uncertain as to where to search for her first. Should he go up or down? Left or right?

“If you were an evil sorceress where would you keep your bait safe?” asked Humphrey, his mouth grinning ever so slightly.

“Where do you think she has kept her?”

“Well, reflect on every legend you have ever known to have read or heard of. Where do all evil things dwell and where does all the mischief in the end happen?”

Darién’s eyes met Humphrey’s. “The dungeon.”

Humphrey nodded. “Of course.”

“Unless she wanted to do some serious mental damage, and then we may find her in her parents’ chambers upstairs, alone and frightened and remembering their deaths, or something equally terrifying,” the prince answered.

“If she was awake.”

“What if she has harmed her?” Darién’s stomach dropped.

“I will search upstairs—the whole of the upstairs—the sorceress may not know I am here. You search below and I will find you if I locate her first.”

“Thank you. Keep her safe, my lord, keep her safe.”

Humphrey nodded. “I vow I will die before she is harmed.”

“Godspeed.” Darién turned and worked his way down the steps as he heard Humphrey bounding back up the way they had been. He was blessed to have such brave men as friends and could not bear the thought of losing one. However, the notion of Aleyna alone and trapped somewhere, afraid, horrified him much more.

Making his way into the kitchen, he followed the steps down to the cellar. Collecting a torch from the wall, he located the flint upon a nearby shelf and struck it on the chiseled stone archway, and lit the old oil-covered cloth—thankfully it ignited without hesitation. Another few more rooms and he found a wooden door built into the floor. When he lifted it, there were stone steps leading into the damp darkness below.

“Aleyna,” he called, his voice ricocheting off the walls. “Aleyna, are you down here?” He stepped into a large main area, with several offshoots of rooms and cells around him.

The rooms were black and terrifying, a dank stench met his nostrils as his light revealed chained bones of the deceased that clung to the stone within almost all of the chambers’ cells, obviously forgotten prisoners of long ago.

He came upon a long twisted damp hallway to the side of one of the cells and rushed down it, his lungs heavy with the foul, moist smells and the pressure of the cavern. It was extremely chilly and forbidding down here in the depths of the castle. His light flickered against the walls, heralding the way deeper beneath the belly of the castle, when all at once, the winding hall ended. He stepped into the pitch black room, its iron doors open.

There was something remarkably different about this room, it was as if the atmosphere was denser here, as if he were not alone.

“Aleyna?” he whispered as his torch flickered to the left, caressing the barren mud and stone fortress, then slowly he turned toward the right, surrounded in heavy silent darkness—the only source of light dancing merrily against the eeriness. His heart began to pound as he inched the torch around the larger twenty foot room, though it was not until he turned fully that he knew he was most definitely not alone.

CHAPTER TWENTY

ALEYNA HUNG FROM THE wall, iron shackles digging into her motionless wrists and ankles, her head had lulled to the side against the shimmery-whiteness of her dress sleeve. Long dark hair spilled around her face, barely exposing one closed eye.

She was asleep—hopefully.

“Aleyna? Can you hear me?” With his heart pounding even faster he kept the torch focused on her person and saw the faint rise and fall of breathing. She
was
asleep. “Aleyna, what has she done to you?” He had to get her down from there immediately.

Searching the room, he found a wall sconce and quickly set the torch inside of it, lighting the whole area. Seeing the handle to loosen the chains that held her shackles up, he released it, slowly lowering her listless body to the ground. Within seconds she was in his arms, his eyes scanning the place for keys to remove the iron from her—there were none.

“Aleyna, wake up, dear. Wake up, I am here.” Wrapping his arms tighter around her languid form he rose her mouth up to meet his, intent on kissing her charmingly soft lips. His mouth had just touched hers when he heard a loud commotion—a roar—without the castle walls above him. “What is that sound?”

Ezralon lunged forward, his horn glowing brightly, trying desperately to prevent Villeria’s temper from escalating even more than it already was. “Now, my fair lady, you know the prince will return as he has promised he would. There is no reason you should be so upset, it has only been a few minutes, I am sure, since he has left our presence.”

“It has been over a quarter of an hour. I am not known for my patience.” She paced the ground, her eyes boring into George’s leg causing him to falter—sweat quickly encasing his brow, as he resisted every urge to cry out in pain.

“My lady,” Michael interrupted, “you win nothing by harming him. Please—”

“I win nothing?” she whipped around to the king. “Are you daft? I win the exclusive honor of watching you all groan in agony if I choose to. When I am hurting, I enjoy making others suffer, it is quite rewarding, if you understand the intricacies of such power.” She took a couple more paces before throwing her head back and laughing. “Ironically, it will take him forever to find her, so we have a long time to reward my hurt.”

“What do you mean?” asked Ezralon. “You know where she is?”

“Of course I do! Do you honestly believe I would come here and not have taken care of my protégé first?” she sniggered.

“So you have sent the prince on a fool’s errand?” Michael touched the hilt of his sword.

“Dear little king, unless you would like to have both your legs shriveled away before your eyes this instant, I suggest you remove your hand from your sword and step back a pace or two. Really, boys, you should understand by now how much I detest anyone dismissing my bad side. It is folly to do so and simply will only prove to make your lives more miserable. Right, little one?” she whipped her head toward George, her eyes boring into his leg again. This time he did cry out in pain.

Just then a loud roaring noise could be heard outside.