Chapter Fourteen: The Decision

Life was a strange occurrence.

Caterina understood that now as she journeyed down the overly familiar path that brought her to Hollywood Arts. It was the only plausible explanation, because how else could you go from being completely ordinary, the girl that everyone tolerated because she was either too slow to keep up with them or too fast too keep up with... into the girl that was pivotal importance to this entire universe?

Life was just that, a series of crucial moments, that if chosen incorrectly, would be detrimental.

The world was suddenly different. It was as if she had spent her whole existence half awake, eyes glazed over for so many years to disguise the hidden wonders that lurked at the other end of the spectrum. But Nate had wanted it that way, he wanted to give her the best chance to lead a life without responsibility and for that she was grateful. He had given her some of the best years of her life; she had been apart of the most prestigious arts school in Los Angeles, she had experienced the incredible highs and painful lows of being a teenager.

Everything slotted perfectly into place where it hadn't before; why Nate always looked so pained at her birthday parties, why he was always so mad at her for being reckless, why he wouldn't speak to her about anything... because he knew too much.

Every birthday was a cruel countdown to this moment.

But he had he kept her away from their kind for too long? Was she now so inexperienced that she did not stand a chance, because to her that is exactly what it felt like. She allowed her mind to wander, which was a dangerous thing to do at a time like this. Suddenly she was imagining a completely different life located at the end of this path, something completely unattainable that it made her heart so full that it only made her yearn for it more. She saw her brother; as he should be, happy and healthy, his arms extended ready to embrace her. Then she saw Tori, smiling warmly at Cat, no scratch marking her perfect porcelain skin, her heart as pure and kind as the first time Cat had ever laid eyes on her, not tainted by world she should never had been exposed to.

And then she saw him, the boy who had saved her life only a handful of times, the boy that made her mind confused and her stomach squirm... the boy with the puppet. He was sitting in Hollywood Arts at the asphalt café, waiting patiently, waiting for someone. Somehow she just knew, the moment that their eyes connected.

That this whole time he was just waiting for her to feel something back.

Suddenly she doubled over, her hand flying to her breastbone. Taking long, slow breaths, she forced herself to concentrate on what was real, rather than what would never be. It was beginning, she couldn't explain how she knew, her mind was beginning to play tricks on her. Although woozy from her sudden nausea, she forced herself to keep moving forward. She refused to let everyone think that she was a coward.

For once, she was not going to cower away like a petrified child.

It was odd thought that as she smiled at every person who crossed her path, they would never know who they were walking past. that this petite girl with the red hair, who everyone was convinced was crazy, is actually the only person who can save them all from eternal damnation. But there was no time to dwell on that, because Cat was trying to achieve the impossible.

She was going to attempt to break her curse.

Hollywood Arts was her home ground, so technically she should be at an advantage. Years of exploring the area meant that she knew every room in the school. But she was running out of time, Agnes had promised her an hour, which meant that she only had an hour to figure out where exactly she had imprisoned Nate and Tori and free them. Then using every single acting skill she had required over her years at school, would she then return to face Agnes and call her bluff.

But of course she could have never predicted what awaited her when she entered the threshold of Hollywood Arts, the building was encased in a toxic green mist that swarmed every pore of thick grey walls. The sulphuric scented gas poured out of every entrance; every door, every window, nook and cranny. The curious thing about it was it only surrounded the school, the mist would reach the edge of the sidewalk and begin to rise and circulate back into the building. The very sight of her school made her gag, even her lack of training told her that this was strong magic and it was pulling her in. She yelped as the mist snaked around her ankle and tugged her through the entrance door.

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Something had happened, something comprehensible... he was stuck, or lost... or maybe both, it was becoming increasingly difficult to tell. Robbie was moving, he was sure that he was moving. He was propelling his legs forward, but he felt that this movement was about as useful as a hamster running in a wheel- he was getting nowhere and wasting a lot of energy.

He was aware of how vulnerable he was, he was basically an open target. This school was crawling with blood-thirsty and starved fallen angels and here he was, trapped in what seemed to be a never-ending corridor in a school that was slowly morphing into a maze. It was all too calm, he could hear no screams of pain, no sinister laughs from Agnes... and maybe he would have preferred it that, because nothing was worse than being isolated with his thoughts. It consumed him, the thought that he would be too late, and it was becoming more and more likely as the each critical second sped by at a rapid pace.

Then he noticed it, at the bottom of the corridor there was a menacing essence heading towards him. He spotted the eyes first, they lit as bright and as vicious as a burning beacon. He slowly backed away, his hand hovering over his unsheathed sword. How had they managed to capture one, there was only a few left in existence. His eyes fixated on the thick scaly monster in front of him with leathery wings and wicked claws that could slash his skin into ribbons, he took another step back, his concentration focused entirely on not making a single noise. If he could just figure out how to get out of this area without the dragon noticing, he could maybe escape a fight he could already predict would not end well for him.

His wish for sound was answered at the worst possible moment; he heard the scream. The scream that captured the attention of the monster, whose throat rumbled with anger as he lunged at the young Prince. It was a stomach dropping screech that he recognised instantly. It confirmed his worst fear:

Cat Valentine had entered this twisted game.

Hey Guys! Did I mention how good it is to be back?! Jesus, it feels like coming home or something! :P

Anyway just a little filler chappy to reinforce my return to you all!

and hello to all my faithfuls! Especially my wee mate SilentHopes! Glad to see you are still writing!

Hope you all enjoyed it, leave me a wee review telling me what you think will happen :P

Love Sweeney7760! :D xoxoxo