My first ever fanfic...I know it's not great writing, I was taking a lot from the actual book. I have just always wondered what things were like for Pippa, so I have decided to find out! Hopefully it will get better as I write! Please R&R, need constructive criticism here!
I own nothing!
Prologue
Utter chaos. I have never been so frightened in my life. My heart beats so hard I'm afraid it will come clear out of my chest as I scramble clumsily down the hill toward the river. They've gone. I can't find them. Where are they?!
"Where's Pippa?" I hear Fee shout. Fee! I have to get to her. Where is she? I've made it to the riverbank, but no one else is there! There's a boat on the water, maybe I'll be able to see them from there. I have to find them, before it gets them. Or me.
The wind is too strong, and I'm forced into the middle of the water. Sobs rack through me until I can't breathe. "Help me!" I cry out to my friends in vain. The wraith is on the riverbank, pacing back and forth to keep them from me.
"Yes, that's it…come for her…," I hear it laugh in its raspy voice.
" Please! Help me!" I cry desperately. I see Gemma's face, her green eyes as terrified as I felt. Her eyes flick toward the door of light. I suddenly understand. She's going to leave me.
"Through the door—quickly!" she shouts. I see Felicity hesitate. Good Fee, I think as I try frantically to make my way to the shore. She won't leave me.
"We can't leave Pip!"
"We'll come back for her!" Gemma screams and starts pulling them toward the door.
"No!"
Oh my God. Oh my God. They are actually leaving. Fee! What do you think you are doing? I realize that Gemma is the one person Felicity has ever left me for. My breath is ragged as I shriek, "Don't leave me!" All I can think is that I have to get to shore. I move toward the bow of the boat and climb up, tensing myself to jump.
"Pippa—no!" I hear someone scream, but it's too late. I'm immersed in water colder than death.
Water.
Ice.
Death.
Where am I? Who am I? What has happened?
Has it been an hour? A year? Or maybe just a few seconds?
Am I trapped here forever? Will I die? Can I die? Or am I to be eternally living in a watery grave?
All of the sudden, someone yanks on my arm and I am free from my prison. Red flashes before my eyes, and I have just enough time to understand that Gemma has returned for me before I start retching.
"Pippa? Pippa!" She tries to comfort me. I feel as if I have spent a century under that icy wall. I feel old. I open my eyes and stare at her. Her emerald eyes are wide and worried. I'd always envied her for her striking eyes.
"Pip, I've come to take you back," she tells me in a soft, measured voice.
"Back," I repeat, tasting the word on my tongue. It tastes bitter. "What will happen to me?"
"I don't know," she whispers honestly.
I realize then what returning will mean for me. "Mrs. Bartleby Bumble, then?" I ask. I reach out to stroke her pale face. I know she knows what I am thinking, and will try to dissuade me from my choice. But it has already been made.
"Please, Pip," she begs, sounded close to tears. It's odd, how I am so calm at this moment. "You have to come back. You just have to."
"Have to…my whole life has been that."
"It could change…"
I shake my head sadly. "I'm not a fighter. Not like you." It was true. I never had possessed the will Gemma had. I was just a silly girl trapped in a complex world. I wanted to be where things were simpler. Where I could do what pleased me, for no other reason than it pleased me. I look down at the grass and find a small handful of berries, no bigger than seeds. A smile echoes across my face. Like Persephone. I'll eat the berries, and have to stay. The thought made me happy. Persephone was a beautiful queen.
"But if you eat them…" she tries one more time to change my mind.
"What was it Miss Moore said? There are no safe choices. Only different ones." My final attempt to comfort her. To make her see what I saw. I think Gemma understands. Of all people, I believe she would. Glancing at the river that led me to this choice one last time, I bring the berries quickly to my mouth.
Their taste is sweet on my tongue, though slowly dissolves into sourness. All around me I can feel things changing. I feel myself changing, and not just in my appearance. I feel good. Like I had finally taken control of my life. For once, I had made a decision for myself.
My knight comes. I see his shadow on the pink horizon waiting for me, holding the glove I gave him long ago. The boat slowly drifts to the shore. It's funny; the boat that caused this is the one that will fix it. I climb into it and take one last look at my friend Gemma. I don't think I can bring myself to say goodbye. I smile, conveying every feeling to her I've ever had, and she smiles back. That's all I needed.
I board the boat and ride it across the water. My knight helps me out, his hand warm in mine. The sweet grass is soft under my feet as I make my way through it. I take one last look back, but Gemma is gone.