Fabian's POV
We were in the woods, searching for that dreaded castle. It was on Murder Hill, which was not too far from here. We should all be back at the cottage in 2 days. Hopefully Nina will have forgiven me by then.
"Do you think I should head back to apologize?" I asked Mick. I already knew what Mick would say though.
"No, we can't back out now! We need to save Mara from Patricia that blasted witch!" Mick shouted at me. Everyone turned to face him. Even some animals.
"Shh! We need to keep quiet so the guards won't come." Eddie whisper yelled. "Let's keep going, we should rest as soon as we are in the perimeter of the castle." Eddie added. We all nodded.
"Sorry I yelled at you, mate. I just really want to see Mara. Nothing can come in between us now." Mick whispered, his voice happy. But I knew one thing that could come in between them. Jerome could.
You see, a few days after Mara was cursed, I was looking for my axe. I thought Alfie and Jerome had hidden it, so I looked in their room. I was looking under Jerome's bed when I found his journal. I thought it might have a clue to where my Axe was, so I looked through it. And one of the pages said that he loved Mara! I hadn't told anyone, but I always tried to avoid Jerome so I wouldn't blurt it out.
"Fabian?" I was brought out of my memories to see Alfie staring at me.
"Yes Alfie?" I asked.
"Do you think the rumors are true about the castle? How it's all black and has the horrible stench of death?" Alfie rambled, his hands shaking.
"I'm sure of it. I heard she hanged her own parents 13 because they called her ugly." Eddie said to him. He was watching our area through a telescope, probably looking for the castle.
"What is that over there?" Mick questioned, pointing to a black blob over to the east.
"That, my friend, is the castle." Eddie said, his face grim. We all gulped. It's time to save Mara.
Mara POV
I was walking down the aisle. I was holding a bouquet of dead flowers and dressed in my rags. The crowd was gaping at me, utterly shocked. I looked down to see the groom beaming at me. He liked the rags?
"So, couldn't find a white dress?" He joked. I couldn't make out his face, but his voice was familiar.
"You may now kiss the bride." I heard the priest say. The man kissed me softly, and I kissed back. Then I realized who it was. It was Jerome.
My eyes fluttered open. I was still on the cold marble floor in front of an open window in the foyer. I wish I could go through it, but because of the spell, I can't. I must be her slave forever, even in death.
Wait, had I just dreamed of marrying Jerome? I can't believe it! He's like my big brother! I thought. But we did almost kiss before Mick came along.
Flashback
I was running into the woods. My mother was going to kill me for stealing that bread! It didn't matter anyway, since I had been caught. I am now on the run.
"Oh, what am I going to do?" I cried, sinking to my knees. Tears spilled from my eyes and I put my face in my hands.
"What are you doing?" A voice asked me. I looked up to see a tall blonde man with blue eyes looking down at me.
"N-Nothing! Please leave me be." I whispered as I wiped my eyes.
"Do you need a place to stay, because I'm sure my roommates won't mind." He asked me, his voice gentle. I nodded, smiling at him. He offered his hand to me and I took it.
"So what is your name? Mine is Jerome." Jerome said, still holding my hand. I didn't let go of his hand.
"Jerome. I like it." I said sweetly. He blushed, ducking his head. "My name is Mara." I added.
"Mara is much better than my name. Tell me, why were you crying?" Jerome asked softly. My eyes watered.
"You don't have to tell me! Please, don't cry." Jerome rushed, looking at me, his expression worried.
"It's okay. I stole some bread but the palace guard caught me. I ran for it, leaving everything except for this diamond necklace and my mother's scarf, which are my only family heirlooms." I said, a tear streaking down my face. Jerome faced me and wiped away my tear with his thumb.
"It's okay, Mara. You look beautiful, by the way." Jerome said. We were leaning in when a blonde girl came running to us.
"Jerome! We were worried sick you know! Hey, who's your friend?" She asked.
End flashback
Sometimes I wish we had kissed. It would make my love life much easier.
"MARA!" I heard a voice screech. I sighed. Oh Patricia, why can't you be nicer? I ran up the stairs to find Patricia in the hallway, glaring at me with her ugly appearance. I held back a wince.
"There are some men in front of the castle who don't look like palace guards. Can you identify them?" She asked me, her weird voice hoarse. I looked through the window in the hallway to find 4 men trying to barge through the doors with a cut down tree. Wait, those men were Fabian, Eddie, Alfie, and Mick! But where was Jerome?
Crash. The doors came crashing down to reveal the guys. They rushed in, trying to find me. Alfie and Fabian split up together while Eddie and Mick saw me.
"Mara!" I heard Mick say, as he rushed toward me and hugged. I hesitated, but hugged back. Meanwhile, Eddie had Fabian's axe, and was running towards Patricia.
"I'M GONNA KILL Y- wait, you're the witch?" Eddie asked. Patricia nodded, covering her face.
"Well, your eyes are beautiful." Eddie said in a daze. Suddenly, the room glowed white. I watched in shock as Patricia turned to beautiful. She was dazzling. When the glow faded, the beautiful Patricia went up and hugged Eddie.
"Thank you so much! I was cursed by this fairy named Joy, and she said only people who could see true beauty could free me. Thank you!" Patricia said super fast. Eddie patted her on the back awkwardly.
"Is that why you were so mean?" I asked, shrugging out of Mick's arms. Patricia stopped hugging Eddie and nodded.
"Oh, I have something for you!" Patricia said excitedly. She raced up the stairs to bring me a good as new diamond. "I never wrecked that other diamond. I found a loophole in the curse, and destroyed the fake. Sorry I scared you." She added, looking guilty. But I hugged her tightly.
"Thank you." I told her, my voice pouring emotion. I meant it, even after she did all those horrible things. I'm forgiving her. And I think she got what I meant.
"Hey, why is everyone hugging? Oh no, did Mara die? Did Patricia utter her roadkill smell she calls her breath at Mara? What are we going to-"Alfie started to say, emerging from the west wing with Fabain, until Mick cut him off.
"No, you idiot! We're hugging because we found each other!"
"So is Patricia the witch still as she says she is?"
"No! She changed." Eddie said, sticking up for her. Alfie took one look at Patricia and shook his head.
"You still can't trust women, mate." Alfie said, giving Patricia the "I'm watching you" gesture. I smiled.
"Come on, let's get moving. The sun is rising." Fabian said his tone sad. We all followed him out, trudging to the west, where the cottage was.
"Mara, I've missed you so much! So, how have you been?" Mick asked me. We kept talking for the whole journey. But as I answered his questions, my mind always lingered to Jerome. How he was always cautious, how his pranks were always perfectly planned, they way he styles his hair….wait, why was the door to the cottage open.
"Fabian, something isn't right." I told him, my voice spiked with fear. Fabian and I ran to the cottage at full speed, while the others followed.
It was empty. Not only physically, but it feels as if it's missing something, like it's heart. Nina. There's blood on the floor, and everything's a wreck. Fabian wondered to the table, and sank to his knees. His body was racking with sobs.
"Fabian, what's wrong? Fabian!" I yelled, shaking him. He handed me a dirty piece of paper.
"Dear members of this household, we would like to say that we have gotten the chosen one and her believed accomplices to her treasonable acts. But please help us look for her Osirain. Sincerely, King Rufus." I read aloud. I stood there in shock, planted on the spot.
"They probably sent this to everybody." I heard Eddie say. But I wasn't listening.
They took my Jerome.
Hey guys, sorry I left another cliffhanger, I just love them! I hope you guys liked this chapter! But please review; I need your suggestions for the next chapter! Oh, and thank you to the people who reviewed! It made my day
Disclaimer: I don't own HOA