Chapter 7: Believe Me, I Must Beg of You

Char POV

Slowly I surfaced from my dream of Ella and I, barely pausing to remember it as I heard a loud creaking sound, as if an ancient door had just been closed. I blinked my eyes in the flickering candle light, and I could have sworn I saw a door closing in the wall. What a ridiculous idea! I told myself, there is no door in the wall! My imagination is simply getting the best of me… but my imagination could most certainly not produce a noise like that so easily while I was in a state of semi-consciousness. Grumbling, I got out of the bed and paced around the room, feeling the walls for any might-be doors.

I had nearly given up when my finger caught on a catch in the wall. No, not a catch in the wall, I told myself, but the outline of a door that blends perfectly with the wall. But who would build a door in the wall, here in the castle? No one would know it existed, unless…unless it was meant to go from the other side to here, like the fabled passage way of the old castle! My fatigue was forgotten; my excitement over the door had wiped it from my mind. I had to find out what was on the other side of the door and where it led. And for some peculiar reason, my heart sped up at the thought of journeying through the passage. Does my heart know something I do not? I pondered as I attempted to understand how to open the door.

The door had no hinges that I could visibly see, so I suspected it used magic to open, close and remain concealed. The difficult part; how to open such a door without any magical talent. Pulling or pushing would most certainly not help, and yet I had no other ideas. Quietly I cursed as my head slumped against the door. I'll never see what's on the other side of the door I told myself with a melancholy sigh, just like I'll probably never see Ella again. What are the chances I can find her before something ill befalls her? I just, I just wish-

Slowly the door swung under its own power towards me, silent and quiet as it revealed the passage way beyond. At first I couldn't see the passage way; all I could focus on was the retreating figure in front of me, the one I longed to see and converse with everyday, the one who I dreamt of every night. It was her- the beating of my heart confirmed what my mind could only pray was true.

Ella was so close; there was no way I was letting her go this time, even if her curse put me in danger. None of that mattered anymore, nothing except that I had to catch up to her, or she would slip away forever. And there was no chance I would let that happen again.

"Ella!"

Her voice echoed from my lips as I ran after her, following her flickering candle through the passageway. I knew I was faster than her, but she was running with such speed that I wasn't completely confident I would catch up. Does she truly not want to see me that badly? I asked myself as I continued on. No, she loves me; I know that with my heart. I could see her begin to lose her speed; was something wrong with her? Why was she slowing down? She began to sway with dizziness as she dropped the candle stub and it rolled down the passage in front of us. She's ill I realized as she turned to face me, her beautiful face pale and her eyes cloudy.

"Ella, I-"

"Good bye Char," she cut me off as she collapsed towards me. I barely caught her, the hard dirt floor perilously close to connecting with her. I studied her frantically; she was unconscious and breathing so lightly it was almost hard to tell if she breathed at all.

"Ella, please…please, just wake up. Ella, please…" I was so close to tears in that moment, I scared myself. What was I suppose to do? There was only one option left, I realized quickly as I scooped her up in my arms; I had to take her to the other side of the passage and get Mandy, the one she described in her letters, to help her. I ran as fast as I could without endangering either of us down the passage way, occasionally trying to make out if her condition was worsening or not. It was difficult in the near dark to even see her, but I could feel her solid form in my arms, and that gave me the strength to go on.

In five minutes we were at the end of the passage, and facing a door that had been left slightly ajar, identical to the one that led into the new castle. I knocked it open with my foot as I found myself standing on the first floor of the old castle, looking at a startled person carrying a brightly burning candlestick.

"Mandy?" I asked her, hoping that she could help Ella. She nodded, clearly puzzled as to how I had appeared suddenly, when she noticed Ella cradled in my arms.

"Lady? Is she…oh no, not yet, not yet!" She cried as she felt the pulse in Ella's limp arm.



"Mandy, what's wrong with her? Why is she like this? Is she ill?" My thoughts rushed through my mind as I voiced my questions. The letter, written in her spunky, crabby handwriting, the words coming back to me in my mind in Ella's voice: To marry me would be to marry certain death. In telling you, I am facing certain death myself…"It's the death she spoke of in her letter," I mumbled out loud as I felt Mandy tug on my arm, taking charge as I followed her down the corridor, dazed over this revelation. She is going to die I thought numbly, and she knew it, and yet she told me anyway. Her desire for honesty between us has cost her… her life. Suddenly I found myself in a small chamber off of the hallway, in which lay a small bed and a candle flickered anxiously. Carefully, as gently as I could, I stooped and laid Ella on the bed, alarm coursing through my veins as I noticed her breathing was weaker than simply a quarter of an hour ago. I kneeled by her side, grasping her hand between mine. I never wanted to let her go again.

"Mandy, her breathing, it's weaker than it was not fifteen minutes ago! What is happening to her? Please, I must know." I looked up at the frizzy-haired woman, begging her to tell me what was wrong with her. If I knew, then maybe, just maybe I could somehow help her mend.

"Your Highness, there is nothing you or anyone can do to save Ella. You know about her curse?" I nodded violently, still pondering what her curse could do with her falling ill and her…inevitable death. Stop it! Don't think like that I scolded myself, of course she will live, she has to! She must! Or else…what else is there worth living for?

"When she was a small lass, her mother forbade her from telling anyone about her curse. Any command issued by someone who has passed on is permanent; it may never be reversed nor revoked. Telling you about the curse caused this illness that has progressed on for the past three fortnights; ever since the moment she wrote you those fateful words in that letter. And before long…she will die, her heart stopping while she lies in this endless slumber." Her voice cracked as a tear coursed down her cheek, but the ghost of a smile adorned her face. "You are all she has left in her dreams. I shall return soon to…to say good bye." Quietly she slipped out of the door, leaving me alone with Ella and my breaking heart.

"What am I suppose to say Ella? What am I to do? If only there was some way, anyway to save you, I'd do it in a heartbeat!" I whispered as I rested my forehead against my fists, all the while clutching her pale hand as if it were a lifeline. I lifted my head so I could smile at her, studying her profile in the dim candlelight.

"Do you remember," I asked her, even though I knew there was no way she could answer me, "When you wrote to me that I would have to discover your faults, your shortcomings? Well, I believe I have finally discovered your hidden fault."

"Ella, daughter of Sir Peter, citizen of Frell and Kyrria, you're shortcoming, as discovered by your royal prince, is that you have none." I laughed without mirth, feeling the joyless smile upon my face. "If anything, you care too much for others…especially for me. And for that, I find it…incredible as it is," I took a shuddering breath, "I love you even more for it. I do hope you wouldn't find it improper of me, if you could respond. If only you could respond with the wit I know you keep stored behind your emerald eyes. Somehow, even in a state such as this, I know you would have something to bring forth my laughter from where it has receded to."

Leaning closer, trying to convey all the emotion I could in words alone, I was too distraught to notice the tears falling from my eyes, rolling onto her pale skin. She looked as solid as a shadow, her image blurring as I found myself sobbing in a manner that would have shocked both of my parents.

"Already, I can feel a glimmer of what it would be like to live without you Ella. And that pain…I don't think I could bear it if you left me. Please, don't leave me. You have the strength, you have my strength," I promised, intertwining our fingers like the laces of a boot, "to fight this magic, to fight your curse. All you need to do is believe, as I do in my heart. For me. For us."

As our fingers remained laced, I sat back and waited with both hope and fear keeping company within my heart, wishing with all the strength I had that Ella would prevail in her struggle.

For anyone reading this, I'd like to mention that this is as far as I have written. I will be working as hard as I can on this story, but it might not be up till this weekend, as I'll try to make it as good as my other chapters. Thanks for understanding, and if you wouldn't mind, please review. I'd really appreciate it :)