by Kylee Kosoff
The Market would be the perfect place to find a curse. Poisoned apples didn’t work, so I would need something customized. I was looking for a witch because they are one of the most convenient ways to get a curse.
“How may I help you, my little pretty?” An old hag asked.
“I’m in need of a curse,” I drawled.
She cackled. “What kind of curse.”
“Something special.”
“I’ll be needing something from your little pretty.” She laughed at her own joke.
I pulled out the pouch that had a few stray hairs from Henri’s head. “I believe this will suffice.”
Her mouth stretched into a toothy grin as she snatched the pouch from my hand. “It may take time for it to ferment properly.”
“Then when it is finished, you’ll have full payment.” I left her hovel.
Grim frowned at me. “This is a bad, evil, stupid, idiotic, and diabolic plan!”
“I’m a pirate this is just a good day’s work.”
She rolled her eyes. “You need a new job.”
“What would you know; isn’t your job matchmaking?”
“I wish,” she mumbled some nonsense about stupid pirates and doomed stories.
Grim
Writer’s block is something that all writer encounters. It’s just one of the hurdles writers have to go through to finish a story.
Every story is born with an idea. But an idea only gets you so far. You need a plot, a setting, and a conflict between characters.
But to tell a story, you need words. Descriptive and figurative words that add aesthetics to the story. Words that evoke feeling and connotations that manipulate the reader to feel what the author wants them to feel.
There are a few types of writer’s block
1. The story block—you literally don’t know what should happen. next.
2. The word block—you cannot find the right word to tell the story.
3. Or the editing block—the only thing worse than writing the story is editing it.
Every single author has to jump these hurdles because without getting through writer’s block, the story is never told. For the writer that’s the worst part because we are compelled to write the story even if it’s just for ourselves.
Chapter 10: He Loves Me? He Loves Me Not.
“You will always be the storm. And I will always be the ship you wreck.”
—Eric Van Vuren
HENRI
Tiger Lilly and I were hanging out in her cave. We were listening to Wrong Direction.
She was painting on the walls trying to capture memories. “The problem is that I only have blood-based red paint.” She sighed.
“No, the problem is that you can only do stick people.”
We laughed.
“Maybe you’re right.”
I sighed. I hadn’t slept well, and for some reason I couldn’t stop thinking about Hook. He was different from what I remembered. But then again I was different too. “I don’t know what to do about Hook.”
“Ooh, you mean the guy you danced with two times!” I knew she was trying to make me laugh.
She always deflected with humor.
“Don’t remind me.”
“So why is Hook a problem?” Tiger Lilly asked gently.
“Because I can’t stop thinking about him! Because he’s ghastly! And because—”
“Because you love him?”
“Yes—I mean no—”
“He seems keen.”
“But I can’t forget what happened,” I whispered. I hadn’t talked about it for so long.
“That was six years ago, Henri. Maybe he’s changed.”
“We both have, but I don’t think he’s changed that much. He only ever thought of me as a weird friend; and now, now he wants something. And I hate myself for wishing that he wants me.”
“That sounds like love.”
“How can it be when he refuses to be honest!”
“What do you want, Henri? If he had shown you this much attention back then, your fairytale would’ve come true.”
“I don’t believe in fairytales anymore.”
“Why?”
I didn’t reply. How could you believe in something that had never happened to you? “It doesn’t matter. I should go.”
I was walking through the tunnels back to my room. Mayfly was snoring in my hoody.
“Now why does little Etta have a frown upon her face?” Hook asked softly.
“Why are you calling me that?”
“What Etta, that’s your nickname isn’t it?”
“No one else calls me that.”
“I know it was always something between us. Don’t you remember?”
“Yes,” I said quietly. “I remember.”
“You’re not how I remember you.”
I snorted. “Really? I’m not a silly, little girl with a crush?”
He shook his head, “No, you’re a young woman who won’t give me the time of day.”
“Leave me alone, Hook.”
“Hey give me a chance! If you’re allowed to change, why can’t I?”
“Because you left!”
Hook flinched. “There’s not a day that’s gone by that I haven’t regretted it.”
“You never came back!”
“I don’t belong here—I never did.”
“What about me?”
“You were too young, Henri. You were better off without me.”
“But now I’m not? Since you’ve been back, you won’t leave me alone. Nothing’s changed! I’m still younger than you—”
“Everything has changed! Maybe I realized what an idiot I was. Let me take you out on a date.”
“If I do, will you leave me alone?”
“You were my friend once. Maybe I just want her back.”
I watched silently as he turned to walk away. “Fine, I’ll give you a chance.”
HOOK
Watching her disappear into the dark tunnels, I felt dirty like I was using her. It felt wrong. But I had gotten what I wanted. Wasn’t that enough?
I bought black, wilted roses and a box of screaming gingerbread men. I changed into black trousers; a silk, blue vest over my linen shirt which was open at my neck; and my dark blue, velvet doublet. Finally deeming myself presentable, I headed to meet with Henri.
She was wearing a bluish gray sheath dress that was off the shoulder. The chiffon fell right above her ankles.
“You look lovely.”
She blushed. “You don’t look too bad yourself.”
I chuckled and offered her my arm.
Her touch was soft and light—wary. “Let’s get this over with.”
“You’ve wounded me, fairy lady!”
Her lips quirked upward.
We walked out of the Wicked Mountains into night air.
“Where are we going?”
“You’ll see.”
I led her to the beach where Grim had helped me set up a romantic picnic.
Trapped pixies flickered from yellow to orange to red.
The crashing of the waves and the salty air brought a smile to my face.
Henri looked beautiful in the starlight. “I—I’m surprised,” She admitted. “This isn’t what I expected...”
“I have a lot to make up for. Are you hungry?”
She nodded.
We sat across from each other and enjoyed orange slices, roasted fish, and fried calamari.
“This is delicious!”
“I’m glad you like it.”
“I’ve never had anything like it.”
“You’ve never had oranges before?”
She laughed, and I remembered for a moment when we were younger. She had stuck to me like a barnacle. At first, I had been annoyed by the young girl, but she was like the ocean. Reckless, yet calming. And I had needed that.
She was lying down staring at the stars. “Sometimes, I wish for something more.”
Lying beside her, I admitted, “I do to
o.”
She squeezed my hand, and I squeezed back.
I had forgotten somewhere along the line what it felt like to have a friend. Staring at the dark ocean, memories threatened to overwhelm me.
Henri
We ended the night with a rich chocolate cheesecake.
I moaned in delight.
Hook laughed, “You still love chocolate.”
“Doesn’t everyone?”
“Not like you.” He helped me to my feet. “I suppose I should get you home.”
“Probably.” I picked up the wilted roses.
“Wait there’s one more thing.” Hook snatched my hand.
“What?” I asked.
He handed me a small package. “I know it’s late, but I’ve been holding onto this for almost six years.”
I hesitantly opened the package. Nestled inside was a simple necklace with a dark grey chain and a black pearl. The metal that held the pearl had tiny sapphires embedded in it. “Hook, this is too much.”
His voice was soft, “I—It was my mother’s.”
I shook my head and tried to give it back to him. “I can’t take this.”
“There’s no one else I’d rather have it.”
“Thank you.”
We walked back to the Wicked Mountains. The stars were as vast as the ocean.
“Goodnight, Henri.” He pressed a kiss against my hand.
“Night.”
Finally, alone; I took a shuddering breath. “What have you gotten yourself into?” I asked myself.
“How’d the date go?” I heard a girl’s voice ask.
“It was nice,” Hook replied.
“So, the plan’s working?”
“Yes, it worked like a charm. She loved it—everything from the lights to the food.”
“And you were on best behavior?”
“Yes, I acted exactly how we planned.”
“Good. You should have your happy ending before you know it. I think it’s safe to assume you’ll be married to Princess Henrietta before the month’s up.”
Tears slipped from my eyes as I felt my heart cracking. I should’ve known that it was too good to be true. I should have known.
HOOK
That night, I felt conflicted. I had been so sure of my course, but it felt wrong.
Could I win Henri honestly?
I wasn’t sure, but I couldn’t stop myself from pouring the curse I’d bought for her down the drain.
Over the next few days I had the distinct impression that Henri was avoiding me again. Only as far as I could tell, I had done nothing wrong. I had thought we were at least friends, perhaps even becoming something a little more. Now I wasn’t so sure.
Almost two weeks had passed since her birthday and our date, but I had barely seen her.
“That’s it.” I growled watching Henri duck down a corridor evading me again. I started down the passage. “Henri! For Jones’ sake tell me why you’re avoiding me?” I heard a disgruntled harrumph.
“I’m not avoiding you.”
“You’re lying,” I accused her.
“No, I’m not,” She mumbled.
“Yes, you are; and I don’t know what I did that suddenly made you run away from me.”
“You did nothing. And I’m not avoiding you!” she said and tried to march away.
I grabbed her arm. “Yes, you are. Just tell me why!”
“It doesn’t matter.” She yanked her arm out of my grasp.
“It matters to me!”
“Not everything is about you!”
“No! But this is about you and me. So, you need to talk to me.”
She literally growled at me. “You really want to know why I’m avoiding you?”
“Ah, you admit it!”
“You arrogant, jerk! I know everything!” she spat. “I know that you’re a liar who only wanted a fairytale ending!”
“What are you talking about?”
“I overheard you last night. None of it was real; you were just using me!”
“I do like you,” I insisted.
“No, you like that I’m a princess, and all you want is a free happily ever after. Your feelings were never real, and everything that’s happened between us was a lie!”
“Not necessarily.”
“Stop lying. I never want to see you again!” She stormed away.
And like an idiot, I stared after her wondering why my shriveled heart even bothered to care.
GRIM
“Grim, we need to talk, now.” Hook marched toward me looking like the poor man had gotten kicked while he was already down.
“What did you do now?”
“Henri knows why I did all of this.” He scowled.
“What does she know exactly?”
He sighed and raked his hand through his hair. “That I was using her to get a happy ending. That I knew she was a princess. That none of it was real,” he whispered the last words. “It’s over.”
“Hook, how stupid are you?” I basically shouted.
“I’m a cunning pirate, so not at all.” He snapped.
“No, you’re not because if you were you would have already figured out that Henri was falling in love with you!”
“What?”
“And if you were as smart as you think you are, you would have admitted that you were falling for her, too!”
Chapter 11: Broken Hearts
“She craved a love
That wasn’t just a wave,
But an ocean.”
—Marc Anthony
Henri
I couldn’t believe that I had fallen for Hook’s lies. I should have known better. Fairytales weren’t real.
But how had he sneaked into my heart? Why did I want to believe so badly that it was real?
“Henri, he wants to see you,” Dad said hesitantly.
“Who?” I asked.
“Hook. I know that something happened between you two, but I think you should see him.”
“Tell him to go away!”
My father frowned at me. “Henri, you should give him another chance.”
“He’s awful, Daddy! I never want to see him again.” I hated how my voice wavered.
“He’s a good man, Henri.”
“He’s not. He’s a pirate and a rogue. He’s a liar—and I hate him!”
“Sweetheart, he could take care of you, and I suspect he cares for you.”
“He wants something!” I insisted.
“He wants you, Henri! You’re the only one who can’t see it!”
“I don’t want him.”
“You do though, but you’re too stubborn. Give him another chance.”
“He doesn’t deserve another chance.”
“None of us ever do, but I can’t stand for you to be unhappy.”
“I’m terribly happy,” I lied.
“No, you’re not. You haven’t let yourself be truly happy since he first left. When he finally came back, he brought your fire back with him. And now? Now, I don’t know what he’s done, but you need closure.”
“F—fine let him in.” I sat on the chair and watched as Hook entered the room.
Hook sat across from me.
“I’ll give you two a moment.” Dad said kissing my cheek.
“Henri,” Hook began.
“Just stop,” I whispered.
“I must apologize.”
“I don’t want it.”
“I am sorry.” He said it anyway.
I stared at him hating my heart for fluttering at the sight of him. I hated myself for wanting to forgive him. “It wasn’t your fault I imagined things.”
“Because I let you believe it.”
“I was naïve.”
“Nay, I used your innocence to my advantage.”
Silence. I looked at the floor blinking rapidly. “You knew I was a princess?”
He nodded.
The silence was growing uncomfortable.
I didn’t know what I had been thinking. There was no closure i
n this. I felt just as broken as before. My heart hurt, and I was more confused than ever. “I understand why you did it. You just wanted to be happy.”
“It was never my intention to hurt you,” he said softly.
“You didn’t hurt me if anything hurt me it was my own imagination. I should have known that nothing would have come from it.”
“That’s where you’re wrong.” He chuckled darkly. “If I was half the man I once was, you would have been exactly what I needed. But alas I am a rakish rouge with a mangled heart.”
“Wounds heal if you let them, Hook.”
“Perhaps, don’t let a title choose your destiny for you, Henri.”
“Why does that sound like a goodbye?” I asked.
“Because it is. I’m leaving tonight; it’s for the best.”
With shaking hands, I handed him the necklace back.
Hook hesitated before he took it.
I couldn’t help but ask, “Why didn’t you ever come back?”
He froze his face twisted in pain. “I couldn’t.”
I was about to ask what his cryptic words meant when he pressed his lips against my shocked mouth.
His arm snaked around me briefly as his hand ran through my hair before he pulled away with a wry smile. “Goodbye, Etta.”
Chapter 12: Drunken Confessions, Purring Dragons, and Broken Rules
“The Sea is nothing but a library of all the tears in history.”
—Lemony Snicket
HOOK
I could hear the crew’s excitement as they prepared the ship for sea. A part of me wished that I could revel in it, but I didn’t want to leave. As much as I wanted to, I couldn’t fight the pull to the seas any longer. How I wished that I could stay—but it was a ridiculous wish. I had thoroughly ruined any chance I’d ever had with Henri.
Grim poofed into my cabin.
“Can’t you ever leave me alone?” I snapped.
“What? Is mister snappy pirate pants all sad and angry because he ruined his happily ever!”
I rolled my eyes and downed another bottle of rum. “You think I’m a beast, mayhap I am. But I was desperate,” I slurred.
“Why! Why do you need a happily ever after so badly?” she asked.
