Chapter 9: The West Wing or Gaining A New Perspective:

Meanwhile, Chase walked to Jade's room, carrying a tray of food while repeating to himself "Alright, act like a gentleman. Act like a gentleman." and feeling considerable more nervous than he had ever been in his long life. He had taken his servants advice into consideration and had decided to try and apologize to Jade. He knocked on the door to her room and called out, "Jade?"

At that moment, the girl in question came walking down the hallway with Jack, Omi, Raimundo and Draculaura in tow. Chase hid himself as quickly as he could, as Jack was behaving in a manner befitting of a tour guide at a museum.

"And if you will just note this lovely sculpture of a phoenix, imported from the Fire Nation." he said as the group of five stopped at a golden statue of a phoenix rising from the ashes. "Note the craftsmanship, the attention to detail. Almost as if the bird is alive."

Jack's commentary was far from inaccurate. Whoever was the artisan behind this statue, they had been nothing short of meticulous. From the top of its magnificent crest to its sharp talons, from its ruby eyes to the very last golden feather, it was a fine work of art. But it was covered in a layer of dust and generally did not look like it had been taken care of all that well, giving this otherwise magnificent sculpture an aura of sadness. "Just like everything else in this palace." thought Jade.

Jade gave a slight smile and she said to Jack, "Oh, Jack, it's so beautiful." But then she frowned and added "It would be even better if he wasn't here."

By "he", she was of course referring to Chase. Raimundo and Omi couldn't help but nod in agreement before the group walked off after Jack.

Chase frowned as he emerged from the shadows. He tossed the tray aside as he said "Act like a gentleman? I'm nothing but a fool."

And with a heavy heart, he went back to the west wing.

As the group of five walked down another hallway, a thought crossed Jade's mind. She could not help but remember the moment when Draculaura punching Jack resulted in a strange metallic noise. It was obvious that the palace was under some sort of spell, could that have something to do with it?

"Uh, Jack?" said Jade, "Can I ask you something?"

"What is it?" Jack replied.

"I've been thinking. This place is under some sort of curse." said Jade.

"Your point being?" Jack said.

"My point being" replied Jade, "That I just want to ask you something. How did the curse effect you."

Jack stopped dead in his tracks, the rest of the group doing likewise. With a sigh, he turned to face the others and undid the clasp on his coat. He took it off and threw it on the floor, revealing a body that was not made of flesh and bone, but of machinery. In place of a skeleton was a crude metal frame that clashed with the more realistic head, hands and feet. There was a metal casing at the chest that looked well cared for, except for a crack that revealed the whirring gears inside. In a voice that sounded both annoyed and embittered, he said "The lady who enchanted this place had a thing for making some of our cursed forms...ironic. I always had a certain skill when it came to machines, so she decided that 'robot Jack' was a good idea. Maintaining this body has been a real pain and lately it seems like no matter what I do, I just keep falling apart. You think that it would get easier to deal with after a few hundred years, but you'd be dead wrong. Ya' happy now?"

Jade blinked as she looked at Jack's robotic form, then her expression shifted from surprise to sympathy as she placed a hand on his shoulder. "I'm sorry. What you have been through must have been hard. Hey, it must have even been hard for him. Is there any way to break this curse?"

For a moment Jack looked at her, his eyes giving off the appearance of a lost and lonely little boy. He sighed as he picked up his coat and put it back on. "There is a way, but we can't tell anyone. The woman who cursed us said that if we told anyone about how the curse can be broken, the curse is rendered permanent. No cure, no way back, nothing."

"Why would she do that?" Jade said.

Jack just shrugged his shoulders and said "Eh, just one of those dumb laws Enchantresses have."

At that moment, Jade spotted a staircase. She was about to go up it before Raimundo, Draculaura, Jack and Omi ran/floated over and blocked her path.

"What's going on, what's up there?" Jade asked.

"Where? Up there?" Omi said with a nervous smile. "Nothing at all." The ghost and the vampire girl had been shaking their heads until Jack gave them a look and they switched to nodding, as Omi added, "Absolutely nothing of any interest at all in the West Wing, none whatsoever. Just dusty, dull and boring."

"So that's the West Wing," Jade said.

"Nice going, chrome dome." Raimundo said, frowning at Omi.

"Ya know, I wonder what he's hiding up there," Jade said.

"Don't be ridiculous, the master is not hiding anything whatsoever." Draculaura said.

"Then it wouldn't be forbidden," Jade said, as she walked past Raimundo, Draculaura, Omi and Jack; but they quickly dashed up and blocked her again.

"Perhaps you would like to see something else," suggested Jack. "We have tapestries dating all the way back to-"

"Sounds cool, maybe I'll have a look later." Jade said, as she went past the four servants once more.

The four servants did not take long to block her path again, as Draculaura made a suggestion. "What about the gardens or the library?"

That managed to capture Jade's attention, as she asked, "You have a library?"

"Yes," Omi said, relieved that they had found something to take her interest off the West Wing.

"With books," Jack added.

The ghost, the vampire, the robot and the lion cub started to lead Jade away, as Raimundo said, "Gads of books!"

"Mountains of books!" Omi added.

Jade stopped in her tracks and glanced back at the West Wing, her curiosity getting the better of her. She walked back to the stairs, as the four servants made their way arm-in-arm to the library.

"Forests of books," Draculaura said.

"Cascades..." Raimundo said.

"Of books," Jack finished.

"Swamps of books!" said Draculaura.

"Books as far as the eye can see," Omi said with much enthusiasm. "More books than you'll ever be able to read in your entire life! Books on every subject ever studied, by every author who ever set pen to paper..."

Meanwhile, once Jade had gone up the stairs, she wandered down a dark hallway. With every step she felt a slight chill go down her spine. On both of the walls were candle holders shaped like ghastly parodies of human arms and mirrors that had many cracks. She glanced up ahead and spotted a massive closed set of doors with handles that looked like dragons. There was a frightening face on the door that seemed to be warning her, telling her to go back while she still had the chance. For a brief moment she considered turning back, the words of Chase Young still fresh in her mind. But her curiosity was much too strong, so she grabbed the handles and opened the doors.

She opened the right door partway and peered inside. It looked like a disaster had swept through the room and a person would only need a single hand to count the bits of furniture that were not damaged to some degree. Jade smelt the odour of decaying flesh and looked around for the source. She struggled to resist the urge to vomit once she found the source, the festering carcass of a deer.

Jade wandered around the room until she knocked over a table, catching it before it crashed to the floor. The young woman continued to explore the room and examine the broken furniture, until she spotted two things that made her gasp.

The first was a statue of a monk, his face looking very much like someone trying to maintain some kind of serenity despite dealing with a great burden. It was standing next to a massive curtain that was largely intact, but had still been subject to the passage of time. She walked over to it, curious as to whatever could be hiding behind it. She lifted the curtain and was greeted with the sight of a shredded painting of a man with long black hair and golden eyes, wearing a blue robe. Jade examined the painting and realized that that there was something strangely familiar about those eyes, though she could not tell what exactly. "Who are you? Why are you hiding this?"

"Because it pains him." said a voice from inside the room. She looked to her side and saw that the statue had not only come to live, but it was also looking right at her.

"Who are you?"

"Allow me to introduce myself. I am Master Monk Guan, an old friend of Chase. That painting you see is a remnant from long ago. Centuries ago he was unkind towards many people, with myself being amongst the precious few who was free from his wrath. I could have done something, anything to quell what was eating at his heart. But my friendship had blinded me and for that even the most innocent amongst the palace's residents are in a prison that they may never be free from."

"So because you failed your master, you're stuck in this wing watching him like some stone sentinel?"

Guan gave a solemn nod.

Before Jade could ask him anymore questions, a peculiar glow appeared at the corner of her eye and she turned around to see what was the matter.

The source of the glow was the enchanted panda lilly underneath its protective jar. Jade slowly walked over to the table it was on and lifted up the jar, eager to touch and curious as to its purpose. Though as we all know, it was curiousity that killed the cat.

"No, don't touch that!" Guan shouted. Jade turned around to ask him what was going on and yelped in surprise at the sight of Chase entering the room. The heylin rushed over to the panda lily and quickly covered it back up with the bell jar. He then turned to Jade and glared at her.

"Why did you come here?"

"Look, I'm sorry." Jade said.

"Did I not inform you that this was the one part of the palace that was strictly forbidden?!"

"Chase, please listen. The girl did not mean any harm."

"I did not ask for your opinion, Guan!" Chase shouted before once more directing his gaze at Jade. "Do you realize what you could have done?! GET OUT!"

Jade did not need to be told twice. She quickly made a dash for the door, as Chase ran after her and grabbed her by the sleeve of her jacket, as he yelled at her, "You have no right to be here, no right!" as she tried to escape his grasp. But when he yanked on her sleeve again, it ripped and she let out a sob of fear as she fell to the floor. She clutched her ripped sleeve and started crying, then she glared at Chase, who looked at the sleeve he was now holding. It only took a moment for Chase to realize what had happened, as his eyes widened in shock and horror at what he had done to Sophie.

"Oh no." was all that Chase could say before he tried to help Jade up.

"DON'T YOU DARE TOUCH ME!" Jade spat through her tears, as she fearfully scrambled away from him. Guan quickly helped Jade up and sent a death glare at Chase, completely enraged at his treatment of Jade, as the heylin tried to apologise. "No, I-"

But Jade angrily cut him off, whilst clutching her ripped jacket sleeve, "I've had it, I can't stay here another minute!" And with that, she fled from the West, as Chase cried, "No, don't go! I'm sorry!" But it was to no avail. Jade had already fled, along with any chance Chase could have had with her.

As soon as she left the room, Guan looked at his old friend in pure anger. "Now look at what you have done! She was our last hope at breaking the curse and you chased her away by acting like a monster!"

"Don't you think I realise that?!" He yelled in frustration. He walked away and continued talking, falling further into despair with every step he took and every word he said. "I didn't mean to frighten her, I didn't mean hurt her! It gets harder every passing day, every passing year, every passing century." He seemed to be on the verge of tears as he bowed his head and covered his eyes with one clawed hand, before saying, "There's just so little left of me, so little left." Then he began to sing.

Chase:

And in my twisted face

There's not the slightest trace

Of anything that even hints of kindness

And from my tortured shape

No comfort, no escape

I see, but deep within

There's naught but blindness

Hopeless, as my dream dies

As the time flies

Love's a lost illusion

Helpless

Unforgiven

Cold and driven

To this sad conclusion

He then looked into a broken mirror. He gazed at his fractured reflection and let out a sad sigh.

No beauty could move me

No goodness improve me

No power on Earth

If I can't love her

No passion could reach me

No lesson could teach me

How I could have loved her

And make her love me too

If I can't love her, then who?

Chase then looked over at the painting that Jade had been looking at earlier.

Long ago I should have seen

All the things I could have been

Careless and unthinking

I move onward

He then went out onto the balcony.

No pain could be deeper

No life could be cheaper

No point anymore

If I can't love her

No spirit could win me

No hope left within me

Hope that I could have loved her

And that she'd set me free

But it's not to be

If I can't love her

Let the world be done with me

Downstairs, Jade was running down the staircase, practically tripping over herself in the process. On her way down, she grabbed a nearby leave green cloak and put it on her, as she dashed past a very confused group of servants.

"Wait! Where are you going?" said Jack.

Jade frantically opened the door as she said "I'm leaving. There's no way that I am staying here, promise or no promise."

"Oh no, please wait," Raimundo said.

But Jade left, slamming the door behind her.

Outside, a terrible blizzard was blowing as Jade escaped the -palace on foot, clutching her cloak tightly. As she ran through the woods, she heard the sound of some wild beast and turned around to see what was the matter. She gasped in terror as a pack of wolves emerged from behind the trees, growling at her and eying her up for dinner. Jade ran faster and faster as she was chased by the wolves. She quickly ran side to side, making the wolves hit trees.

She did all she could to escape the wolves, but soon she was surrounded by a whole pack of them. The wolves started to attack her, but Jade grabbed a big stick and started hitting the wolves with it. It took a minute and several knocked out wolves before a large wolf grabbed her stick in their jaws, snapping it in half. Jade screamed "Bad day, bad day" at the top of her lungs, as two wolves knocked her over and another stared tugging at her cloak.

A big wolf was about to jump on her and all she could do was look on in fear, before she braced herself as the wolf leapt...

However, it was caught in mid-jump by Chase, who growled at the wolf and tossed it away, as Jade stared up at him in surprise. He stood protectively over her as the wolves turned their attentions over to Chase. Then he and the wolves began a ferocious battle. All Jade could do was look on in surprise as the fight went on, both sides putting their all into it and no one looking ready to give up anytime soon. The fight ended as quickly as it began when Chase tossed a wolf at a tree, knocking it out. The rest of the wolf pack fled.

Jade just stared at Chase, as he turned to look at her, his eyes simultaneously conveying exhaustion and despair, before he collapsed to the snow covered ground. Jade was about to continue her journey home, but she hesitated. He had just saved her life and she could not leave him to die. She went over to him, covered him with her cloak, picked him up by his left arm and took him back to the palace.

Back at the palace, Jade poured some hot water provided by Draculaura and Kimiko into a pale blue bowl. She soaked a rag in it, before she looked over to Chase, who was currently trying to lick the wound on his arm the way an animal would.

Jade came over with the rag and said "Here now. Don't do that." Chase growled at her Raimundo, Draculaura, Jack, Omi, Luna, Artemis and Diana backed off nervously. You don't spend centuries in the employ of someone like Chase without becoming savvy to his mood swings.

"Just hold still," Jade said as she tried to clean Chase's arm. As soon as the rag touched the wound, Chase roared in pain, sending Raimundo and the others running back to the shadows in fear.

"THAT HURT, YOU STUPID GIRL!" Chase snapped at her.

"Maybe if someone tried to hold still," Jade said "it wouldn't hurt as much!"

"If you hadn't run away, this wouldn't have happened." Chase said.

"If you haven't frightened me, I wouldn't have run away." Jade retorted.

"Then you shouldn't have been in the West Wing." Chase said, allowing himself a smug smile.

"Well, you should learn to control your temper!" Jade snapped. Chase tried to think of a response to this, but nothing came to mind. Raimundo and the others emerged from their hiding places. "Now just hold still, this might sting a little." Jade said.

Chase cringed in pain, as Jade started to dab the wound with the rag, before she paused and said "By the way, thanks for saving my life."

Chase looked at her in surprise. After all he had done to her, here she was thanking him and showing him a little kindness. As she continued dabbing his wound, he said softly "Your welcome."