Goliath climbed all the way to the wall we were previously on. Once over the edge, I immediately let go of my savour, took a few deep, cleansing breathes, and blinked back at everyone. Of course, all eyes were locked onto me again; this time more confused than anything.
"Are you alright?" The big one queried. "Why'd you fall, lass?" The eldest followed up. Before answering right away, my hand lifted up to my chest. I still can't believe this is happening….. "W-what happened to you? You were stone and then you… you broke out of your stone casing…" I managed to get out in one coherent sentence. They glanced at each other ponderingly, then back at me.
"Once again, the curse has broken, princess," Goliath said. "Curse?" My eyebrow raised. The old one put his hand on Goliath's shoulder; he was standing behind him. "She does not know, lad. We were cursed the night she died; she cannot know our fate." "Unless the Magus saved her," the lanky one added. Magus? Isn't that another word for "wizard"?
Goliath's head nodded in understanding; at least one of us understood what was going on around here. My back straightened up as his deep, soulful eyes met mine. "The Magus thought that you were slain by Hakon that night. In an act of grief, he cursed my men to remain asleep until you returned to the castle. I asked the Magus to place his spell over me as well, after I chased Hakon and your captain to the cliffside." "D-did you kill them?!" I let out a gasp. He shook his head. "I didn't have the chance." Oh… oh, that's terrifying; he pursued them with the intention of slaughtering them. Why? He just saved my life, after all. So then why…..?
"So you were cursed to be stone statues? Are all gargoyles like that?!" The memory of gargoyles in Paris, Vienna, and many other places popped into my mind. Once more, they looked to one another like they weren't sure what was going on. I didn't get that- what did they have to be confused about? I'm the one who's lost beyond compare here.
"Uh, we turn to stone every sunrise, your highness." "That's how we sleep during the day," they attempted to explain it to me. In vain, obviously; this just brought more questions up than before. "Wait… so gargoyle statues aren't actually made of stone? You just turn to stone in the sunlight?" "From sunrise to sunset. Remember? Your ancestors pleaded to protect us during the day, and in exchange we would defend the castle." "We're supposed to protect you?!" My eyes grew huge. I'd never heard anything like that before. I knew they used to put up gargoyle sculptures to metaphorically protect old buildings, but I didn't know it was supposed to be the other way around too. It made sense though, if they were turned to stone and thus, vulnerable during the day.
"Princess, are you sure you're alright? You're acting… odd," the eldest scratched the side of his head. And that's another thing- they keep calling me "princess" for some reason. I'm very clearly not a princess; I mean just look at me. What kind of princess wears skinny jeans and Converse? A really cool one, but also a non-existent one. "Why do you keep calling me that? I'm not a princess."
This definitely caught them all off guard, as they now blinked at each other with very wide eyes. "What do you mean? You ARE the princess," the lanky one told me, like this was the most obvious thing in the world. "Yes, the curse was only lifted because you returned to the castle," Goliath elucidated. "You must be her. Who else could you be?" The big one also scratched his head curiously. "Plus you look like her," the smallest one grinned at me; he was the first one to smile around me tonight.
I watched them in utter… well just utter disbelief for a moment. I had to give myself a mental kick. They really think I'm their princess….. That's probably why Goliath saved me in the first place, though I hoped he'd save any human who fell from this height. But that contradicts what he said earlier about the captain and some guy named Hakon.
"N-no, I'm not…. My name is Billy O'Connell. I was born in New York. I just came to the castle for a visit." More perplexed expressions. "Billy O'Connell?" "New York? Do you mean Yorkshire?" "I thought you were born in the castle." "What nonsense are you babbling? You must be the princess of Castle Wyvern. How else has the spell been broken?" Goliath sounded like he'd had enough of my "nonsense". All I could was stare at them incredulously. It was so clear to me that I was not their princess, particularly because this castle hasn't had any royalty living here since….. Wait a minute.
"When were you guys cursed? I mean what year exactly?" I found the courage to venture. "Year?" The lanky one reiterated in a puzzled tone. "You know. Your castle had just been attacked by invaders," Goliath was of course, the one to tell me this. "Invaders? Who?" I continued to press forward. "Vikings," the big one responded. "The invader, Hakon, was the one who broke into your castle. With the help of your captain, he was able to overtake the castle, kidnap you, and destroy the rest of us." "Wait! You mean he killed your kind?! How many? Did he do it while they were stone? How'd you survive?"
Another long moment of awkward silence. I think I just asked the wrong thing. The eldest's hand reached up in a show of bewilderment. "You really don't remember a thing, do you lass?" "I…. don't remember because it never happened to me. I don't know the exact year, but from what I've learned in my Early Medieval European courses, the Vikings haven't raided Scotland in a looooooong time. Maybe like a thousand years or so. This is the year 2020, so if you were cursed back during the Viking Era, then…. you've been asleep for over a thousand years."
Yet another stunned quiet. This time their expressions were gigantic and very much alarmed. Goliath went from gawking at me to glancing over the castle; the others followed. I joined them too, but it was my turn to be shocked beyond words. No people- or other gargoyles- were around but to my awe and horror, there was actually light coming from the rooms below and beside us. It wasn't a bright like; more like what fire from a torch or bonfire would illuminate. What?! Where did all this come from? There was literally nothing when I arrived here earlier. No torches, no supplies, no furniture- nothing!
"But I don't…. No, this is impossible! It was barren right before…!" I guess my subconscious curiosity got the better of me as my feet started to dash towards the door leading to the staircase inside. None of them instinctively followed me until I waved my hand at them. "Come on!" I shouted. "Us? Go inside the castle?" The smallest one tilted his head to the side. "I don't know what's going on! This castle was abandoned before… I don't want to go inside alone. Let's go!" And I rushed through the door's threshold.
With one last look one another's way, they decided to cautiously trail behind after me.
