Part 2: Victor, Rhymian Forest
I had ridden ahead of my uncle in a vain attempt to arrive at the castle before sunset, but I forgot to factor in a couple things. One that my horse would need more rest than usual for a long distance. And secondly, Murphy's Law: anything that can- will go wrong.
A crescent moon shone in the starry sky. Despite the little light that the moon provided, I could see a white strand streaming down the castle tower and barely made out a small figure scaling the last bit. My bets were on the elusive princess, who I was on my way to meet. I don't know why I thought this, but my assumption was soon confirmed when the figure transformed into a large red bird at the foot of the castle, grabbed the homemade rope in her talons, and threw it back through the window from whence it came.
Huh, I thought. Curious. What would have prevented her from flying down in first place? Some kind of enchantment that prevented transformation from the inside? Regardless, the why was not important. I was more interested in where she was going.
And so I followed her. Which was much more exciting than sitting around as the Queen flirts with my uncle, and then having them both stare at me. Waiting and listening for the enthralling conversation I should be having with the princess, which never comes because I am so nervous, because they are staring at me!
But I digress.
Sleep was pulling at my eyes. There was no way I could give up after going this far, surely. Finally, she began her descent. I slowed to a trot and got as close as I dared, dismounted and followed on foot. We walked for another hour or two until she decided to lie down and rest for the night in a little meadow. I tied my horse to a nearby tree, and laid down for a little shut eye before I would 'accidently' stumble upon her in the morning. The perfect plan.
However, instead of waking up to the sun's early morning rays through the trees, I awoke to a vision. A vision in blue with long dark hair, pale skin and was standing next to my horse, feeding it an apple.
"Good morning, sunshine," she exclaimed cheerfully.
I yawned and stretched my arms as far as they would extend and answered back with a quiet, "Morning."
She waited for me to continue, but I just stayed, as I was, silent. What do you say when you've been caught following someone? How much did she know?
"Can I help you? Are you lost?"
"No." My reply was soft and sounded juvenile.
"I don't mean to pry, well, yes I do. I'm curious, how did you happen to come out here, to this meadow? It's a bit far from the path."
"Just out exploring. As a part of my duties." Not really a lie; technically the truth, most of the time. I am just out of my regular jurisdiction. "What are you doing in a dark wood all by your lonesome?"
"Oh, I'm just roaming around." She seemed to hesitate and for one anxious moment I thought that I was caught. What if she knew that I had been following her all night? "I woke up this morning and saw you. Actually, I heard your horse first and I thought it was unusual for someone to abandon a horse out here, but then I saw you and you seemed to be wandering all alone. I know these woods pretty well, so, I figured I could be of service, and here I am."
I was a little shocked and offended. This was supposed to be my job, helping lost people from the desolation of the woods. However, she did have the bird's eye view, which was slightly to her advantage, but she didn't know that I knew that… yet.
I said nothing, and despite my unusual predicament, I felt strangely at ease with this girl. Which was really abnormal since it usually takes me quite some time to get comfortable with new people.
"Oh," she said absently. "Where are my manners? We haven't formally introduced ourselves. Who are you?"
I smiled. To be honest, I had forgotten that I knew more about her than she suspected. I liked her already. She was spunky. But to her, I must just be some idiot, lost in the woods, refusing to ask for directions: a stereotypical male. So, I swept her my finest. "Do excuse my manners. The name's Victor James when you're cross, but since we've just met, and I hope that infers we are on good terms, you can just call me Victor."
The sun rose higher in the sky and the rays flooded the forest. She stared at me in the growing light for a brief second, and gave me a weird pondering look as if she knew she had met me before or found my name vaguely familiar. I was mildly disappointed when she did not seem to recognize my name, especially since I gave her my full one. However, I supposed it was childish to hope that she would remember me after ten years. Nevertheless, you would think that a princess would take the time to know the names of her guests… Maybe I had changed a lot.
I suddenly grew hideously self-conscious, but then she laughed.
"My name is Pippa. Do you want to come along for the ride? But I think you should know, after you say yes, there's no going back." She smiled and I could have sworn I heard her murmur under her breath, "or I'd have to kill you."
"By all means," I enthused, not to the killing, of course, but for the ride. "Where are we going?"
"You'll have to wait and see."
Lying never really suited me. Well, to be fair to myself, I never lied; concealed is more like it. I simply purposefully omitted the truth with the intention to deceive for an undetermined amount of time. I am generally a sincere and truthful person. And this lie grew and festered within me like a deep infected wound.
On the third day, we reached the Retsinis Forest. By that time I had told Pippa a lot about myself, minus the part that I am a prince and I followed her from the castle. I told her about my border control and scouting duties, which explained what I was doing in the woods, albeit far from my usual domain. My father had always told me that the best way to run a kingdom is to know all the ins and outs, and that routine scouting leads to the meeting new friends and informative travelers on the way, especially ones who are always willing to share their story over a pint. My treat, of course.
We followed a clear water stream until we reached the source. Water cascaded from the rock face, creating a small bathing pool, before allowing the rest of the water to travel the great distance to help quench others' thirst. The water gushed and whirled as the glittery diamonds fell from the sky, but other than that small disturbance, the water had a smooth, gentle current. I picked up a relatively flat rock, and skipped it. It skipped three times. I'd done better.
"Ugh, I am so muddy," Pippa complained. "I'm going to go sit on the rocks with my feet in the pool."
She then proceeded to take off her shoes and hop across the big rocks towards the pool. I leaned down to pull of my boots. I had gotten only one boot off when I heard the splash. "Pippa?" No answer. I ventured closer to the pool. There was no sign of her, but the expanding ripples in the water. "Pippa?" I tried again, hysteria already apparent in my voice. If she's just pulling a prank… I dismissed that thought after a minute of absolute silence except the chirping of crickets beside the pool. I pulled off my other boot and ran in the direction of the splash. It wasn't hard to spot the blue fabric billowing beneath the surface. I checked for potentially dangerous rocks and then dove. This was especially the time to be cautious, if we both ended up unconscious under the water, we'd be food for fish, or things of a more repellant nature. My hands reached out in the dark space and I tried to find Pippa. I felt the delicate laces of her corset and wrapped my hand around her waist. I kicked as hard as I could, fighting our increasing water weight. It felt like time was thickening as I finally dragged us out of that pool.
"All clean."
Yes, that was the first thing that came out of that girl's mouth after I saved her. I gawked at her faintly smiling face, and let out a laugh that turned into a cough and a mouthful of water. "Please do not tell me you jumped in on purpose."
"Ok, I won't." She grinned. I groaned. "You're a real decent person Victor, you really do put others before yourself."
Salt in the wound. The deep festering wound gauged into my heart with a needle and thread of lies. I'd sewn the pain in myself. I didn't feel like a decent person while I was still concealing my real identity. The sun was setting and pink and gold rays danced around the contours of her smiling face. "Pippa, I have to tell you something. I'm not-"
She put a finger to my lips. "I know exactly who you are. I'm not completely daft. Don't think for a second that I wouldn't take the time to know every little thing about the guests who come to call." She laughed. "I knew you were coming that night, but I'm really glad we met under these circumstances. Or else we wouldn't have had so much fun together!" Her eyes shifted around. "Well, I'm going to go change."
That night, when my eyes had adjusted, I just laid there and stared at her bare left hand. I suddenly tried to remember all the rumors that had circulated. Was it a change of heart that had all the princes from far and wide coming to 'build future alliances'? Despite the calming affect Pippa's steady breathing might have on most people; I had trouble falling asleep due to the uncontrollable fluttering in my stomach.
"Son of a bitch!" The distant voice was high, laden with anger, but it was definitely male. I waited quietly with eyes closed for what felt like hours as the footsteps approached. When I felt cold steel against my throat, I reluctantly opened my eyes. It was still dark and the moon above lit the clearing. "Stay where you are," commanded the unfamiliar voice. Luckily for my throat, I found that there weren't many places I needed to be for the time being. However, I tried to somewhat lift myself up a bit, but was forced back down by the unrelenting blade. I heard Pippa scream, and the stranger relaxed the pressure against my jugular. I watched in awe out of the corner of my eye as it took three men to hold Pippa down and the fourth had ropes that he obviously intended on binding her with. It made me feel a little pathetic.
"Who are you? And what do you want?" I spoke before thinking; never a great idea when you are on the verge of death.
"If I were you, I'd stop talking. I'm not particularly pleased with you, and the slightest utterance will probably throw me over the edge."
"I don't-" I started to go exactly against the advice he had just given me, but the sword swiftly moved from my throat to the inside of my mouth. I took that to signal the end of the discussion. The stranger relished my dismay and shook his head with a malicious grin plastered on his face. He pushed aside the hair that had fallen in his face to reveal a pair of vicious dark brown eyes. He stared at the sky and scratched his stubby beard.
"Oh, Discontented Men," he began. "Since this thing refuses to listen to the words of his captor, what should we do first? Cut out his tongue or destroy that pretty face?"
"Oh, stop it." The voice was Pippa's. The stranger rolled his eyes and snapped his fingers. A blur of a tiny man flew towards me, and pulled out a small peashooter. Oh, no. I tried to block whatever was flying through the air, but I was too slow. I felt something prick my neck and I tried to smack whatever it was off. I looked down at my hand, and found a tiny dart.
"Ah, still a bit groggy. That dart is under so much pressure that it releases its entire toxin into the blood stream in a matter of seconds. And unfortunately for you, it is a mild paralytic, so sit back and enjoy the show."
My struggles died down, and, as he said I would, I lost all control of my limbs. No one guarded me anymore. I saw their point; it was ridiculous to guard someone who can't move. Good Grimm, I was useless.
Pippa was not faring much better considering she was tied from head to toe. She made one last lunge away from the stranger to no avail.
"Feisty as ever," he smirked, casually brushing long strands of brown hair out of her face.
"And always the gentleman," replied Pippa sardonically through several layers of bondage. "But, do tell me, are you in the habit of not being able to contain the prisoners you capture? The standard of crime must have deteriorated significantly if it takes four armed savages for every defenseless civilian."
Mordred's mouth tightened and lifted a hand to strike, but he clenched his hand and then relaxed back into his soft, easy smile. Mordred's finger slowly traced the outline of Pippa's jaw and gradually descended the front of her neck. He gave her a small kiss on the nape of her neck and ordered his men to leave him alone with his prisoner. Prisoner. Singular. I wasn't even worth counting. How embarrassing.
"You," he continued as if I too had left, "are always the exception." If I had the muscle capacity to throw up, I think I would have. But as it was, I was forced to sit and wait for the drug's effect to wear off. Pippa rolled her eyes. I was dumbfounded. Why was she just standing there?
Oh, and then it hit me. The angry wakeup call… the extreme measures to incapacitate me, while enjoying my misery… Well, bugger me backwards; it was the crazy ex-boyfriend.
I couldn't hear them talking anymore. They spoke too quickly for me to even try to read their lips, but then again, I wasn't that good at lip reading to begin with. They seemed to be having a heated discussion. I could tell that much. I would have to say that Pippa was winning the argument, but I could be a little biased. Something blazed in Pippa's eyes, like real flames, and Mordred took several steps back. Then Pippa's body became consumed by fire in a matter of seconds and the red bird I had seen at the castle emerged and started to fly away.
Mordred made no move to stop her, but merely said, "Interesting choice."
Then he reached down under his bag and pulled out a bow and arrow. He followed her movements briefly and let fly. I didn't see her fall, but I heard it. I heard the smack of the body as it made contact with the ground and the crunch of the bones from the impact. I wanted to cry out, but the cry only resounded in my head. A huge knot began to form in the pit of my stomach and I felt a tugging sensation as if someone had stuck a grappling hook inside me and was trying to rip out my soul. Against all odds, I thought I was going to be sick.
"Fyodor," the voice was smooth and unperturbed. "Fly to her Majesty, and tell her that we have found her daughter and the package will be delivered at the checkpoint."
The little man, the one who had poisoned me, stood at attention in mid air, saluted, and flew off. Mordred turned to the rest of the Discontented Men, who must not have been that far off. "Go get some shut eye, or I'll shut them permanently. Do not mess with me tonight."
I tried my best to rest and calm down, but it was pretty difficult, considering my eyes were paralyzed open. In the end, I ended up counting stars to keep my mind off of the night's events. Mordred had left after he sent the men to bed, so I was all alone.
Counting stars was tedious and tiring. I always lost count, but that was the idea I guess. It should tire you out and you fall asleep. My eyelids started to droop. That was an improvement. I was instantly awake again. I waited impatiently as I gained more and more control of my body. As soon as I was able, I started dragging my useless body in the direction of where Pippa fell. She hadn't gotten that far; she must have tried to get height before distance. A new surge of adrenaline rushed through me when I discovered her and that she was breathing. I searched for her wound, but couldn't find it. Her hand grasped mine.
"You alright?" It was a stupid question, but my voice was hoarse and my lips were still a little stiff, so I was thankful to even croak out at least those two words.
"Who, me?" Pippa smiled affectionately and touched my cold face with her surprisingly warm hands. "Oh, you know, I'm feeling quite chipper actually. In fact, my favorite part was when the arrow pierced me right here-" she said, stroking a raised pink line.
"What happened? How- where?"
"Hey," she said, putting a finger to my lips. "Shh, I'm sorry, I'll explain later. We'll be alright; I'll get us out of here right quick. Stay here, I'll be back."
She crawled off. I closed my eyes, relieved that I could do so again, but there was no way I was going to sleep until we left this place. Eventually, I found that I had recovered the use of most of my limbs. However, I still felt pretty weak. I started to crawl on my hands and knees in the direction I had seen Pippa go, but I stopped dead in my tracks after only going a couple feet. There was Pippa, and to my left was- me? I must have been dreaming; I had never had an out of body experience before. It was very realistic.
"Victor?" I watched from behind some bushes as Dream Me hoppled over to Pippa. Pippa was clutching our combined backpack. I put my arms around her and she nestled her head close to my chest as I pulled her tightly to me.
I leaned my head down, and gave her a kiss on the forehead, "I'm so glad that you're alive." Pippa's returned by kissing the Dream Me on the lips. It was funny, I kind of felt a twinge of jealousy, but that was ridiculous. How could I be envious of myself in a dream? Pippa pulled away and stared intently at Dream Me, especially at my dreamy eyes. She pushed Dream Me away from her and sighed, "Mordred, his eyes are blue, not brown." The Dream Me held tight and flashed a wicked smiled.
I knew that smile, and it's not something my face would ever wear. With a soft chuckle, the body surrounding her, morphed back into its original form. "I don't know if that compliment belongs to me or him. However, I was hoping you'd settle for someone with a little more a backbone. Don't worry, I'll totally forget this little fling when we get back. Second thoughts are natural. Come, your mother is wait-"
But Mordred never got to tell either of us anything about Pippa's mother, because that is when the boy with no backbone got on his feet and grabbed something big. Mordred had turned too late to react to anything. He fell with a resounding thud, and I dropped the now bloody log. It had taken almost all my energy just to get up, let alone pick up something large to hit him with, but it had ended with the desired effect. Unfortunately, with that done, I collapsed to the ground. Pippa ran over to me.
"Promise that you'll explain all this later?" I asked. Pippa smiled and nodded. "Good, let's get out of here."