Before I start, I would just like to say a big thank you to everyone who
has reviewed this story so far. I really appreciate it! Thanks!
There, I felt kinda obnoxious just posting without thanking anyone.
This chapter is dedicated to Rivka, who is a shrieking master,
And to Jon, who can sometimes be a complete idiot.
There (
Now read and review!
-Your Trusty Warrior of the Kumquats
Chapter Four – Shrieking Beauty
For four days we traveled, through valleys and forests, swamps and rivers, until finally we came into view of a towering castle. An old, shabby, wooden arrow pointed straight for it and bore the words, "To Lord Emery's Castle" in a scratchy black scrawl that seemed as though it had been scribbled in a great haste.
From my perch on Brian's shoulder, I perked up my ears a little and listened. There was an odd sort of ringing in the air. The fur on Brian's back bristled.
"What's that noise?" I asked the wind. Brian shrugged, nearly throwing me off his shoulder. I flung out my clock arms and hastily grabbed his fur, the palpitation of my heart banging like a drum against my wooden chest.
"Never," I gasped, regaining my seat on Brian's shoulder, "do that again."
"Sorry," Brian mumbled. I crossed my arms irately and made no response. Brian heaved a little sigh and trudged forward, in the direction of the arrow.
The further forward we walked, the louder the ringing sound became until it was more of a noise that just a mere sound. It was not until we were standing in front of a strange jungle of vines and thorns about a hundred feet away from the castle that we realized what it was.
"Someone's shrieking in there!" I screeched, throwing my hands over my ears. The noise was unbearable!
"Magnificent is around here somewhere. Maybe she turned someone into a Banshee," Brian commented in his usual beastly rumble.
"Nah," came a voice from behind us. Brian jumped, causing me to fling my arms around him again in an effort to stay aloft and not plummet to the ground. Of course, in doing so I uncovered my ears and the shrieking was worse than ever.
A strange looking young man stepped up beside us, wearing a bemused expression on his face. He looked sort of bedraggled, as if he meant not to be but was anyway because he kept jumping into the thorny vines in front of us. His clothes were fringed and torn and his straw-like hair was a royal mess. He was staring at the odd jungle in our path as if calculating the simplest way to rip it out of the ground and mash it under his feet.
"What do you mean by 'nah'?" I demanded, as he seemed to have forgotten he was speaking to us. "What is that noise?"
The young man had indeed forgotten he had company for he jumped and looked at us as if for the first time.
"That?" he asked, staring at us with large, round eyes as if wondering why in the name of anything at all a clock was addressing him. "Oh, that's just Lord Emery's daughter."
I choked and stood up on Brian's shoulder.
"Excuse me?"
The young man looked confused.
"Don't you know the legend?" he asked. I stared blankly at him.
"Legend? No, I don't know of any legend. Do you, Brian?"
But Brian seemed to have lost all sense of awareness for he made a strange sound in his throat and said nothing.
The young man threw us a rather lopsided grin and scratched his head, looking all together like the village idiot.
"Well," he said, "a hundred years ago, a prophecy was made that one day a girl would be born who could not talk at all. It just so happened, that about eighteen years ago, such a girl was born to Lord Emery. Her name was Rosaline and it was rumored that she was the most beautiful girl ever to walk the earth." I snorted at that but the young man seemed not to notice. "A few months ago," he continued, "a young Ritch appeared at the castle." I groaned at that. Why was Enchantra interfering with everyone else's lives? "She said that prophecies were a load of trash and that she could make Rosaline talk if she wanted to. So, word around town is that she did some sort of spell and now Rosaline can do nothing but shriek at the top of her lungs." "Well," I admitted, "she did cure Rosaline of her muteness." "That she did," the young man grinned. "I'm Sam, by the way." "Argyle," I said shortly, hoping this Sam character didn't think I actually wanted to be friends with him. He smiled and I winced. "And what's your friend's name?" he asked. I nudged Brian sharply but Beast Boy was frozen stiff. "Snap out of it!" I hissed in his ear. When he didn't respond, I heaved an exasperated sigh and turned to Sam. "His name's Brian." "Oh," Sam said wisely. "Well, pleased to meet you. I've never been friends with a clock and a lion before." "He's a Beast, not a lion," I retorted, "and I'm not a clock. Brian and I were both put under an enchantment, speaking of which," I added, remember just why we were talking to the dense idiot in the first place, "have you seen a fairy named Magnificent anywhere?" Sam's eyes lit up. "Magnificent? She's here! She's in the castle, trying to break the spell on Rosaline! I've been trying to get inside that place for over a month now, but I can't get past this stupid vine jungle." My heart sank. "Magnificent's been here for over a month and still hasn't been able to cure her?" "What?" Sam asked distractedly, jumping into the vines before him. He got caught on the thorns and slowly extracted himself from their grasp, his clothes ripping a little in the process. I shook my head in exasperation. "I asked if Magnificent's been here as long as you have." Sam looked at me and started a little. Then he remembered he had been talking to us earlier. "Oh, um, no, I think she just came this afternoon." He hurled himself at the vines again. "I'm coming, Rosaline!" He cried, his voice muffled by the ropes of greenery that currently filled his mouth. He turned his head and spat out a few leaves. "Just-" he gasped with the effort of extracting himself once again from the jungle, "hang...on!" He fell backwards onto the ground and rubbed his lower back painfully, moaning. He looked like an abused scarecrow. I tried not to laugh and instead motioned to Brian that we should go. "Come on," I said, "we're getting nowhere with this guy." Brian nodded stiffly – he still had yet to utter a word – and began to turn around when Sam yelled out, "wait!" I turned my head as he scrambled hastily to his feet. "If you help me into the castle," he panted excitedly, "I'll help you find Magnificent." Brian and I exchanged a glance before I turned back to Sam. I eyed him critically for a minute. The boy was a dunce. That much was obvious. But he was a sincere dunce. "Alright," I said tiredly, crossing my arms in such a way that showed I was not to be trifled with. "It's a deal."
Chapter Four – Shrieking Beauty
For four days we traveled, through valleys and forests, swamps and rivers, until finally we came into view of a towering castle. An old, shabby, wooden arrow pointed straight for it and bore the words, "To Lord Emery's Castle" in a scratchy black scrawl that seemed as though it had been scribbled in a great haste.
From my perch on Brian's shoulder, I perked up my ears a little and listened. There was an odd sort of ringing in the air. The fur on Brian's back bristled.
"What's that noise?" I asked the wind. Brian shrugged, nearly throwing me off his shoulder. I flung out my clock arms and hastily grabbed his fur, the palpitation of my heart banging like a drum against my wooden chest.
"Never," I gasped, regaining my seat on Brian's shoulder, "do that again."
"Sorry," Brian mumbled. I crossed my arms irately and made no response. Brian heaved a little sigh and trudged forward, in the direction of the arrow.
The further forward we walked, the louder the ringing sound became until it was more of a noise that just a mere sound. It was not until we were standing in front of a strange jungle of vines and thorns about a hundred feet away from the castle that we realized what it was.
"Someone's shrieking in there!" I screeched, throwing my hands over my ears. The noise was unbearable!
"Magnificent is around here somewhere. Maybe she turned someone into a Banshee," Brian commented in his usual beastly rumble.
"Nah," came a voice from behind us. Brian jumped, causing me to fling my arms around him again in an effort to stay aloft and not plummet to the ground. Of course, in doing so I uncovered my ears and the shrieking was worse than ever.
A strange looking young man stepped up beside us, wearing a bemused expression on his face. He looked sort of bedraggled, as if he meant not to be but was anyway because he kept jumping into the thorny vines in front of us. His clothes were fringed and torn and his straw-like hair was a royal mess. He was staring at the odd jungle in our path as if calculating the simplest way to rip it out of the ground and mash it under his feet.
"What do you mean by 'nah'?" I demanded, as he seemed to have forgotten he was speaking to us. "What is that noise?"
The young man had indeed forgotten he had company for he jumped and looked at us as if for the first time.
"That?" he asked, staring at us with large, round eyes as if wondering why in the name of anything at all a clock was addressing him. "Oh, that's just Lord Emery's daughter."
I choked and stood up on Brian's shoulder.
"Excuse me?"
The young man looked confused.
"Don't you know the legend?" he asked. I stared blankly at him.
"Legend? No, I don't know of any legend. Do you, Brian?"
But Brian seemed to have lost all sense of awareness for he made a strange sound in his throat and said nothing.
The young man threw us a rather lopsided grin and scratched his head, looking all together like the village idiot.
"Well," he said, "a hundred years ago, a prophecy was made that one day a girl would be born who could not talk at all. It just so happened, that about eighteen years ago, such a girl was born to Lord Emery. Her name was Rosaline and it was rumored that she was the most beautiful girl ever to walk the earth." I snorted at that but the young man seemed not to notice. "A few months ago," he continued, "a young Ritch appeared at the castle." I groaned at that. Why was Enchantra interfering with everyone else's lives? "She said that prophecies were a load of trash and that she could make Rosaline talk if she wanted to. So, word around town is that she did some sort of spell and now Rosaline can do nothing but shriek at the top of her lungs." "Well," I admitted, "she did cure Rosaline of her muteness." "That she did," the young man grinned. "I'm Sam, by the way." "Argyle," I said shortly, hoping this Sam character didn't think I actually wanted to be friends with him. He smiled and I winced. "And what's your friend's name?" he asked. I nudged Brian sharply but Beast Boy was frozen stiff. "Snap out of it!" I hissed in his ear. When he didn't respond, I heaved an exasperated sigh and turned to Sam. "His name's Brian." "Oh," Sam said wisely. "Well, pleased to meet you. I've never been friends with a clock and a lion before." "He's a Beast, not a lion," I retorted, "and I'm not a clock. Brian and I were both put under an enchantment, speaking of which," I added, remember just why we were talking to the dense idiot in the first place, "have you seen a fairy named Magnificent anywhere?" Sam's eyes lit up. "Magnificent? She's here! She's in the castle, trying to break the spell on Rosaline! I've been trying to get inside that place for over a month now, but I can't get past this stupid vine jungle." My heart sank. "Magnificent's been here for over a month and still hasn't been able to cure her?" "What?" Sam asked distractedly, jumping into the vines before him. He got caught on the thorns and slowly extracted himself from their grasp, his clothes ripping a little in the process. I shook my head in exasperation. "I asked if Magnificent's been here as long as you have." Sam looked at me and started a little. Then he remembered he had been talking to us earlier. "Oh, um, no, I think she just came this afternoon." He hurled himself at the vines again. "I'm coming, Rosaline!" He cried, his voice muffled by the ropes of greenery that currently filled his mouth. He turned his head and spat out a few leaves. "Just-" he gasped with the effort of extracting himself once again from the jungle, "hang...on!" He fell backwards onto the ground and rubbed his lower back painfully, moaning. He looked like an abused scarecrow. I tried not to laugh and instead motioned to Brian that we should go. "Come on," I said, "we're getting nowhere with this guy." Brian nodded stiffly – he still had yet to utter a word – and began to turn around when Sam yelled out, "wait!" I turned my head as he scrambled hastily to his feet. "If you help me into the castle," he panted excitedly, "I'll help you find Magnificent." Brian and I exchanged a glance before I turned back to Sam. I eyed him critically for a minute. The boy was a dunce. That much was obvious. But he was a sincere dunce. "Alright," I said tiredly, crossing my arms in such a way that showed I was not to be trifled with. "It's a deal."