The Last Petal Falls

by E. J. Powell

  My eyes widened in shock. An enchantress?

  Augustine lets out a soft sigh, turning to face me with his eyes downcast. “Sarabi was no longer the woman I claimed to love. As a punishment, she cursed me to remain twenty-one forever, and to show how angry she was, she turned the woman in my bed into a weeping stone angel.”

  A hand flies to my mouth, my eyes flitting up to the weeping stone angel. That poor woman! If only she had known the trouble she would have caused.

  “Shortly thereafter, the people revolted against me, and I came here to the estate to hide. My dutiful servants that wished to remain at my side became gargoyles as another part of the curse, for they would remain stone for as long as I lived as a beast.”

  My eyes go back to Prince Augustine. He stands in the center of the balcony in defeat. Reaching up, I rub at my arms that are beginning to tremble from the cold or the story of his curse, I do not know. Blue eyes fixate on me. “You are cold, I will take you inside.” He takes a step forward, holding out his paws for me to take if I wished.

  “Did you ever try and talk things out with Sarabi?” I ask, even as I take his paws and he helps me stand up.

  “No,” he replies bitterly. “I went to her cottage in the woods, near a lake, after sending a couple of gargoyles to search the area for her. I wanted to be changed back, I told her I had learned my lesson. For two centuries I had been cursed.” He scoops me up bridal style again, and carries me inside the ballroom. His claws make little click-clacking sounds along the tiled floor. “And she told me to go away, that I had done enough damage to her heart. So, after she left her cottage for a bit, I snuck inside and stole something very precious to her.”

  Sarabi lived in a cottage, in the woods near a lake? Why did that sound familiar?

  “What did you take?” I asked, sounding breathless.

  Blue eyes look down at me, as he whispered, “I took the only thing an enchantress needs the most to weave her spell. I’ll show you what I took.” He takes me out of the ballroom, through a maze of hallways, and up to his private west wing quarters. Opening up the door, he points with a claw to the glass dome sitting atop a tiny table. “I took that.”

  My heart sank with the knowledge. The witch had been right, he had taken something from her.

  The rose wand.

  14

  Prince Augustine sets me down on my feet, the dress tangling up with his claws. He lets out a small curse as I turn sideways and reach up to gather the material and pry it gently out of his hands. He watches me with those piercing blue eyes. “You are not mad.” His bushy eyebrows furrowed in confusion.

  “Should I be?” I asked curiously, as I move the material back down in place near my ankles.

  “Yes. No. I do not know,” he admits, averting his gaze. “I stole from Sarabi. I am truly the monster she cursed me to be.”

  Shaking my head, I touch his thick furred forearm. His gaze is drawn back to my face. “I do not believe that for a moment. A true monster would have left me to be eaten by wolves. A true monster would have allowed me to writhe in pain, instead of taking the time to be gentle and allow me to heal.” Augustine lowers his head and I realize how close we have become. My head tilts back a little, my heart in my throat. His ears flicker back and forth a few times, then he straightens up. He was going to kiss me.

  I watch him as he backs away a step, his beastly form shrinking into the shadows. I turn around, my shoulders slumping forward a little. I could not allow him to think that I was just another lady that wanted to be bestowed a kiss. Even Grant had not been able to plant a kiss upon my lips. Courtships meant everything to the villagers, and even the thought of their dead eyes watching us from the heavens sent a chill down my spine.

  My eyes flicker to the rose that is in a tiny glass dome, sitting atop a small end table. The rose seems alive, the red petals bathed in a soft glow. It’s the same rose wand that the witch had described, and my heart thuds against my chest. Sarabi is the witch, and she cursed Augustine, no wonder the two have such dark pasts. They’ve both been hurt.

  “You ought to return the rose to the enchantress,” I say softly.

  His deep growl echoes behind me. “I cannot do that, she would turn me away. Just as she has done in the past.”

  I chew on my bottom lip for a second, thinking. “What if I took it to her? Then she would have no reason but to lift the curse upon your household . . .” I take a few steps towards the glass dome homing the rose wand, limping towards the table, and reached out my hands. My hands touch the glass and warmth blossoms across my palms.

  A loud snarl echoes behind me, and I turn my head, blinking as Augustine raises up his arm and hits my side, I let out a cry as I am lifted up in the air and thrown through the glass doors leading out onto his balcony. I roll on the shattered glass, gasping with the breath knocked out of me. Tears blurred my vision, and I try to move my body, but the pain is so immense, I feel on the verge of fainting.

  My gaze moves to where the beastly prince stands frozen with the glass dome pressed up against his chest; his eyes wide. “This is my curse, Bella. I will not allow anyone else to touch it.” His upper lip curls back, the way a predator does right before snapping its teeth in a warning tone. His nostrils flare, and then his eyes move to where I feel pressure against my arm. I look down and body trembles at the sight of blood trickling down from the wound where the glass has punctured my skin.

  “Bella, I . . .,” he stops speaking when I turn my gaze back on his face. He takes a step backwards, and shouts for Marymagglyn. He does not reach out to touch me or apologize, only sinks away from the broken door windows and leaves me in the bitter cold. Swamped in blue and red.

  15

  Sunlight filters in from behind the dark curtains and shines into the room. I have barely slept with everything that happened last night. Prince Augustine leaving me alone outside his chambers on the balcony, in the cold and wounded. Marymagglyn had to help remove the pieces of glass from my arm and had to bandage my forearm to stop the bleeding once she had gotten me back into my chamber. Marymagglyn had been quiet throughout the entire ordeal. My heart ached about what Augustine had done. The female gargoyle had left soon afterwards, leaving me with my unbidden thoughts, and I barely slept; tossing and turning in bed.

  A soft knock sounds at the door, I turn my face away from the noise and burrow deeper amongst the blankets. If anything, I do not want to see who is at the door, even if I can probably guess who was on the other side. “Bella?” My assumption is correct, and I choose to ignore his voice that echoes in my room. “May I come in?”

  “If you are going to apologize then you might as well leave,” my voice croaks out. The other side of the wooden door is quiet, and then the handle turns before the door creaks open. I narrow my eyes, but do not look towards the door. “I told you to leave.”

  “At least give me the chance to explain,” Augustine begs. My lips purse into a thin line. My eyes settle for the crease in the blankets in front of me instead. “My behavior was unacceptable. I am aware that I hurt you, and I am sorry. It is my animal instincts, I could not help it.” I find my heart thawing and tilt back my head to stare at him. “That rose is the only reminder to me that this is real, that this curse I am living in is real.”

  I stare at Prince Augustine longer. He had not been cursed for his misdeeds, Sarabi had cursed him because she was jealous yet did not truly love the Prince for who he was. “Augustine . . .” My breath hitches when he drops down to his knees.

  “Please, say you will forgive me?” His blue eyes are wide and bright. I nod, and his shoulders sag in relief. “Thank you,” he thinks for a moment before adding, “how does your arm fare?”

  I look down at the bandage, “It will be well in a day or two, the wound was not deep.”

  “Good, and your ankle?” he asks.

  Moving my right foot, my ankle does not hurt as badly as it first had. “A little better. Walking will not hurt it as much.”

  “Then
this will make it all the more easier,” he says softly.

  My dark eyes move to stare at his face. “I do not understand.” I say, looking at him confused.

  Prince Augustine does not meet my eyes. “You may return the rose to Sarabi, and you may return home.”

  “I do not understand,” I mumble again. “You wish for me to leave?”

  “I think it would be best, yes,” he admits, turning away from where I lay propped up on the bed. My fingers curl against the blankets. “I will send Marymagglyn to help you dress, and I will have her send the rose along with you.”

  “You are allowing me to give back the rose?” I ask, bewildered.

  “Yes.” He lets out a heavy sigh. “I feel it would be in your best interest to give it back, seeing as how Sarabi will not allow me within her sights. Perhaps you will have better luck.”

  Without another word, he walks out of the chambers, and my heart protests loudly to stay here with the beastly prince.

  16

  Marymagglyn helped me dress an hour later after Prince Augustine had shown up at my door, demanding that I return home. To a home that did not exist any longer. “You look ill, child.”

  My eyes flicker to the looking glass mirror, looking over my shoulder to where the female gargoyle is hunched forward to pull the strings to the back of the dress tight together. I came to the estate wearing a tunic and leggings, the only thing I am allowed to wear back are the leather boots that the witch had given me.

  “I am saddened by the idea of leaving all of you,” I admit, averting my gaze away from the female gargoyle.

  “We are as well, but, Bella, you have a home and a family that are probably worried sick about you.” Marymagglyn finishes tying the dress and hobbles back away from me. I turn and climb down from the pedestal stool.

  “My family . . .,” I choke back a small gasp, feeling my lips go numb. I shake my head, and Marymagglyn pats my shoulder with her curved claws.

  “They will be glad to see you, I am sure.” She smiles, and the wrinkles in her stone face crack, but her smile dims. “The master has his intentions at heart.”

  My lips return to normal, even as I whisper, “Your master wanted me to stay, did he not?”

  She nods, her horns catching the light’s attention and shine brightly against the sun. “Yes. But the master has his stubborn ways. Even if he cannot admit that the thought of bringing you harm hurts more so than allowing you to leave.”

  My eyebrows furrow, “Even though I was not a prisoner?”

  “Yes, even though.” Marymagglyn agrees. “However, he will forever remain stubborn about wanting you to stay.”

  “What if I wish to stay?” I ask.

  The female gargoyle shakes her head, “Unfortunately his mind is made up. What he did last night…. He did that without a rational thought in his mind. The beast within his heart cannot be easily swayed by a lass as beautiful and radiant as you.”

  My face flushes with warmth. “Surely, you jest about such a thing.”

  “His words echo what his heart cannot bear to say.” Marymagglyn says as she gives me her backside and allows me to climb across her back once more. My arms loop around her stone neck as she walks out of the chamber I had called my own for a fortnight and carries me down the grand staircase.

  I stand outside the entrance to the estate. The air is bitter cold, and my breath clouds my face when I let out a tiny sigh. The clouds hanging above my head have cast out the sunlight and bring the promise of snow. Tilting back my head to stare up at the sky, the promise is kept as it begins to snow big chunks of white.

  A horse neighs loudly, and I turn my head to the left to where the sound is coming from. A small gelding is being led by the reins by the female gargoyle. She is the only one wishing me a farewell; not even the rest of the servants nor the prince himself are seeing me off. My chest aches when my head turns to look up at the tallest tower where, no doubt, the beastly prince is watching from behind the curtains.

  Putting my left foot in the stirrup, I sling my injured leg over the other side of the brown gelding, even if it is not very ladylike. At this point in time, I could hardly care less. Marymagglyn watches me as I clutched the reins tightly in my grasp. “Once you leave this estate,” she says, “you will not be able to return. It was by chance that you found us once, do not expect to locate us again.” Her face falls as she pulls away.

  My head once again turns to look up at the forbidden estate castle. The highest tower where Prince Augustine watches but does not bother to wish me a proper farewell. I scowl when I drop my head to the path in front of me. I nudge the mare in the ribs and she begins to trot down the stone path that has been cleared of snow as the horse takes us to the open iron gates.

  17

  The edge of the Forbidden Forest comes into view after spending the better part of the day riding the gelding through the snow and landing in the woods where it became spring once more. Being left alone with my thoughts for hours was making me wish I could turn the gelding around and bolt back to the estate castle. My ankle is sore, my arm throbs from the movement of having to steady the horse countless times, and I am pretty sure that there is no direction I am actually heading.

  I pull on the reins, letting the mare came to a halt when the tree line gives way, and the crystal lake where I had first met the witch comes into view. Her hut is still in the exact same spot. “Witch!” I shout, as I climb down on shaky legs from the gelding and keep a tight hold of the reins. The sky had darkened with a storm on the horizon. The wind begins to howl, almost cutting off my next words, as I limp to the hut. “Witch!” I shouted again, “I know you’re in there, open up!” My fist pounds on the door to the hut.

  “Who is trespassing on my land?” I hear the voice say within.

  My eyes narrow as the wind smacks my hair around. “You know who is trespassing. Come out, I have something that belongs to you.” I back away from the door as it slowly creaks open, despite the wind howling in my ears and tugging at my dress.

  “Have you brought what I desired?” the voice asks. ,

  I nodded, “Yes, yes, I did. Now let me in.” I push past the door. Thunder rumbles in the distance, and a flash of lightning illuminates the inside of the hut as I stumble inside. My teeth began to chatter as a downpour lets loose outside. The door slams shut behind me.

  “If you must, please do come in and warm yourself by the fire,” the witch said sarcastically, hissing out her words. She sounds more like a snake and less like the nice witch I had met two weeks ago.

  I look around the hut’s interior, as I hang up the cape she had given me on a hook near the door. My eyes stray to the table in the center of the hut, where the same platter of food had been left untouched, and it looked in pristine condition, as if it had just been picked and cleaned this very morning.

  I moved over to the hearth and put my palms outward to face the crackling flames to warm myself up. With riding the horse for the better part of the day, I felt exhausted beyond measure. Tapping echoed from behind me, and I knew the witch was growing impatient. “Produce to me what I have lost, and you shall have your reward,” she said simply.

  I angle my head to look over my shoulder to where she stands near the table and a platter of food. “If I give you what I have found . . . then we have to switch the deal we made prior.”

  Her violet eyes blink in surprise. “What on earth would make you think I would agree to such a notorious idea?”

  “Because unless you give me what I ask for, then you will not be getting your grimy hands on this,” I say, as I tug open the flap to the tiny satchel that contains the rose wand.

  The witch’s eyes light up with excitement, “It would depend on the offer, child.” Her lips curl into a sinister smile.

  I hold up the bauble in my hands, still near the hearth as I turn completely around. “I want you to free Prince Augustine and his servants from the curse you put him under. Your rose wand, for his curse.”

  The witch
pulls out a nearby wooden stool and has to take a seat. I think I have shocked her beyond words. Her violet eyes blink rapidly. “You wish for me to break the curse over the monster that has dared to defy me?” Her eyes narrow and her lips purse into a thin line. Then she’s standing up, knocking the stool behind her. “Do you think me a fool!?”

  Lifting up her hands, the interior of the hut crumbles, and I nearly stumble forward when the ground begins to shake. Behind me, the stone hearth is no longer standing, but the flames of the fire still flickers with life, as they begin to dance around me in a circle. I let out a scream and cover my face with my hands, beginning to inhale the smoke.

  Coughing, I try to find an opening, but my eyes are beginning to water. “Witch!” I shout over the sound of the roaring fire. The thatched roof over my head is gone, and with it, the mysterious rain cloud that is now only producing lightning.

  “Did you honestly think I would honor this end of the deal?” The witch cackles above the sound of the roaring flames.

  “We had a deal!” I shout, then bend at the waist coughing. The flames do not move any closer, and, for that, I am grateful, even if smoke is billowing in my face.

  “I never agreed to the promise, you little wench!” She laughs again. “I never promise anything, and now you shall die!” When my bleary eyes focus in on the witch, in her hands she clutches the rose wand, the wand that had somehow escaped from my satchel. The witch waves the wand in the air, even as she shouts in Latin, “Behold my thunder, rain of fire and torture!”

  The flames around me in a circle flicker to purple, before they begin to rise up to encase me in a dome of fire. I scream at the top of my lungs, “AUGUSTINE!”