Chapter Four - The Second Test

Alright, guys! You went over the amount, and I'm sorry it took me so long to get the chapter up! I've been brainstorming quite a bit, so I'm honestly curious as to what you guys will be thinking!

andgirl12 : Yes, he does! cx I wouldn't let him know that though...

Also, the "In The Past..." isn't always in order. ;) So, unlike the "In The Present...", In The Past could be happening at any time. Kind of like Once Upon a Time!

Teague's POV

In The Past...

I sit there, watching the princess step into the carriage with her parents. I can't believe it. That girl in the woods...Was Princess Wilhelmina? I knew that a princess had come with the siren king and queen, but I never bothered trying to look for her. I didn't want to meet her.

So the entire time she was in the Royal woods, she was allowed. Her parents might not have wanted her there, but she was allowed by the law. And yet, she never once corrected me whenever I made comments about her being a commoner. Never once did she tell me she wasn't one. Was it because she didn't want me to act different? Or because she liked being thought of as a commoner and having freedom? I can't tell.

It makes more sense now, the fact that she didn't care I was royalty. She was royalty herself. Although, her manners - in fact, she as an entire Fae being - needs some work as a princess. But...I think I'm going to miss her.

She was right. I am lonely.

I turn away from the window.

In The Present...

I sit in the library, waiting for the next princess to arrive. I lost track of how many came. There was the dwarf - or was it a gnome? Yes, I think that was it - who tried to fight the ogre, which is currently lumbering about the library, oblivious to me. And then there was the sniveling girl - Tawny, I think - who tried to sing it to sleep. That didn't work at all. Both times I had to save them. Not that it really matters. No matter the circumstances, unless someone is absolutely horrid, I know who I'll be disqualifying. And it'll be Tawny.

As I wait, I reflect on breakfast earlier, which I ended up eating with the princesses. It was very interesting, actually. Almost enjoyable.

It had started with Annalora raving about her kingdom's riches. She was probably trying to impress and perhaps intimidate the others, and I knew I was going to be in for a boring breakfast. I wasn't exactly sure why Annalora was placed so close to me at the table. She was right on my right, and it was one of the worst experiences of my life. I'll have to have that fixed.

And apparently one of the other girls was bored too, because during one of her statements a large spurt of water launched from her cup and hit her between the eyes. Her reaction was probably the best thing that happened today. She let out a wretched noise, and began to freak out about her make up and what not. There was quite a bit of snickering at the table, and Annalora made the logical decision and attacked the girl across from her, Estrella.

Except, it wasn't quite so logical. I had connected the dots, and there was one girl sitting at the table who would have a lot more ease at manipulating water than the other girls. After all, being a water Fae would probably enhance your ability, since you would practice with it more often. I looked up, and Princess Wilhelmina was silently laughing, covering her mouth to try and hide it. I could see her eyes twinkling with amusement and mischief, and somehow I knew it was her. Even if Ever and Diana, along with a few other girls, were cracking up more than her.

She had done things like that before, when we were twelve. She had shot spurts of water, and played with it. Most of the time it was because I ordered her too, for my amusement. A few times it was just because she wanted to, or because we were playing a game. The one time it was because she was angry, and torrents of water came flying at me. We'd stayed out there for almost the entire day those few days, and I have to admit, they were - and are - some of my best memories of my childhood. Does she really not remember?

I look up as the door to the library opens, revealing who else but Mina. A small smirk takes my face as I move to the shadows. This should be interesting. What attempt will she make to fight the ogre? How long will I let her suffer before I save her? These sort of questions echo in my mind as she moves cautiously through the room, surveying her surroundings warily.

And that's when the ogre comes out. I shift to an ogre too, in case she sees me, as I don't want her to know I'm here. She looks surprised by the ogre, but not by a lot. Obviously she expected something like this.

She ducks under a table and I can hear her sharp breathing from here. She's devising a plan as she hides under there, but the ogre quickly approaches, and throws the table aside. The books on it go flying and she grasps for something to protect herself as it approaches her. She ends up standing up and rushing over to a bookcase, scrambling up it. It's from that perch that she spots me, and frowns hard, before turning her attention back to the other ogre. I thin she's more worried about the immidiate threat, at least for now.

Mina is clutching a book, and glares down at the ogre as it reaches to climb up. After observing the book she holds in her hand, she holds the book out in front of her like it's going to do something. What on earth? Is she trying to get herself killed? I can't tell, but right when I'm about to do something, it does work. It begins to glow gold, and the ogre tries to scramble around and get out of the light. It doesn't work though. It's dragged inside, and swiftly the glow disappears, revealing that the ogre is...Gone? Did she just suck it into the book?

She turns to face me, but then shuts the book, and a small smirk appears on her face. "You can morph back now, Prince Teague."

That startles me, and I morph back out of shock. "How on earth did you know it was me?"

"You weren't attacking me. Ogres are stupid, and when one is attacking they all attack. Plus, a real ogre would've collapsed that shelf, or at least moved." Her logic makes sense, and I'm slightly embarrassed that I didn't think of that.

I decide to change the topic, and gesture to the book. "How did you do that?"

"Do what? The thing with the book?" I nod, and she shrugs. "It's not really something I can explain."

"Can I see it?"

"The book?"

"Yes."

She looks a little hesitant, as if she doesn't want to release her weapon, but ends up doing so, and hands over the book. "Fine."

I look at the picture. It's lifelike, showing the somewhat destroyed library and capturing the ogre perfectly. It's impressive Fae magic, really. But when I close it to see what it was, my face falls. One of my notebooks. I hadn't been able to write in this one yet, but I had planned on it. I had been hoping to write stories in it. Some made up by myself, some actual things that had happened, and some things that I heard from others. But, it looked like that wouldn't happen now. "Did you have to use this book?"

"Well, I'm sorry that I wasn't looking at what book I was using in order to defeat an ogre." She says sourly.

Great. I've irritated her again. But why do I care? I shouldn't. "You weren't in any danger. I would've saved you."

That just seems to irritate her even more. "I'm not a damsel in distress in need of saving. I am perfectly capable of keeping myself safe."

"Right. Right. Sorry." I turn to a door.

"Wait! What about my book?" She protests.

"It's my book in the first place." I argue, and she crosses her arms.

She still looks annoyed. "Fine." And then she turns to go, only to pause. "You obviously don't want to get married, so why are you doing this?"

"My parents said I took too long." I shrug.

"So your choice was taken from you?"

"Not necessarily." I step a bit closer. "I still choose who leaves and who stays. I can still, in the end, decide who marries me."

My eyes meet her's, and then she turns and follows the rest of the girls. Rather quickly, I might add. I call after her, "I guess I should get to work on finding another ogre!"

I don't think I'm imagining the snort.

After the rest of the girls go through - and Tawny is eliminated - I sit in the library, browsing through the Siren section, which - thankfully - suffered no damage. If it had, I could've very easily lost the only chance I had at finding out what happened. The valuable information could've been gone. I pour over the book to no avail, and I'm about to give up when I land on a heading in the current book I'm looking at.

Injuries to the Royal Sirens.

Injuries...Yes, she could've suffered some injury. I flip through, reading over subheadings, until I land on one. The royal carriage crash. Seven years ago.

Now especially intrigued, I scan the listed injuries after seeing that it mentions driving home from the negotiations with the Fates. Sure enough, there is Princess Wilhelmina's name...And it's listed she suffered a minor head injury. She lost the memories of the last few days, but according to what's recorded, her parents didn't think anything important happened and just let her go on without them. They had nothing to trigger her memories with anyways...

A trigger? Something could trigger her memories? Then it hits me. I could take her into the Royal woods to try and trigger her memories. I want her to remember. I really do.

It's time to devise a plan.

Oooh, look at that! She suffered a head injury and lost her memories...So Teague will be trying to retrieve them! Yay!

Remember, we need three reviews!

~ Dagger