A/n: I am aware that this is definitely overdue. I am terribly sorry, however, I have been battling major writers block. Trust me, it's more frustrating for me than it is for you, dear readers. Anyway, here we go, pulling everything together.

Chapter Nineteen

The stone was cold as I was flung into the room. I looked around as I stood up quickly, and threw myself at the heavy wood door. The guards who'd struggled with bringing me all the way up here smirked in between the doors small barred window.

"Cozy, ain't it, Princess?" one of them cawed. "Decorated 'specially for you."

I smirked back. "I can assure you, my parents will certainly give you a break if you help me out of here," I said smoothly.

The other laughed. "No thanks, Princess," he replied. "Have fun."

He and the other guard walked away, laughing. I frowned and felt my chest burn in anger. I stamped my foot and shrieked in anguish, looking around at my surroundings. It was planned, it had to be. The room was made of grey stone, circular, with a pure white bed in the center, draped in white gauze, as to hide it's inhabitants.

"How ridiculous," I said out loud. "What am I to do here?"

I walked to the bed and sat down. Looking up, I saw it. Sitting in the corner, made of shining wood, was a spinning wheel. Atop it's edge was a gleaming point. The spindle. I stood up from the bed and walked towards it to examine it. The wood was fine and smooth, rich in color. This is probably the only spinning wheel in the kingdom. How ironic. I ran my hand over the wheel, following the coarse thread to the spindle itself, sharp and shining in the room's candlelight. I pulled my finger away. I didn't want to get too comfortable with it.

I walked to the bed, and sat down, staring at the spinning wheel. There was something about it that I couldn't tear my eyes away from. The glimmering point, the thin wheel, the graceful legs it stood on. I got up again and walked towards the spindle, my hand outstretched, curiously entranced. My fingers reached the spindle's base before something within me clicked. I drew back my had, disgusted and scared. What is happening to me?

I sat back on the bed and laid down, closing my eyes and trying to think. I hoped Ophelia and Jocelyn would be on their way by now, riding to March, and that Chaz, Mac, and Tom were here, looking around for a way to get me out after I'd pricked myself. But most of all, I wanted Sidney and Sam in Frell, with my parents, planning something. I listened for a moment, hoping to hear a fragment of sound that could give me an idea of what was going on around me. Nothing. Silence enveloped me, and I fell asleep.

The sound of scraping awoke me. Fear rippled through my body; my immediate response was thinking someone was sharpening an axe. I laughed to myself, thinking how ridiculous that idea was. Lucinda had to keep me alive. However, the scraping sound continued as I rose from the bed and wandered around the room, searching for its source. Finally, I rounded the bed and found a long window, draped in gauzy curtains like the one on the bed. I looked down, and cried out.

Tom was hanging on the uneven stone of the tower, with Mac and Chaz right behind him. He smiled at me and gestured for me to back up. Confused, I edged my way towards my bed, before suddenly realizing what he was going to do. By the time I'd run forwards, shaking my head and waving my arms, his hand was already through the window and the glass had shattered--silently.

"What happened?" Tom asked, pulling himself into the room. "Where did the sound go?"

I shrugged. "I don't know," I said. "What are you doing here?"

"What you told us to do," Chaz replied, helping Mac into the room.

"I don't remember saying anything about breaking into Lucinda's castle!" I cried. "Or coming to see me!"

"Well, of course you didn't," Tom said, winking. "We're just good friends."

I stifled a laugh. "This is serious," I said, a smile playing on my lips. "We've got a lot at stake?"

"You've got a lot at stake, Nora," Mac replied. "So let's get to it."

"What do you mean?" I asked.

Chaz walked around my bed and peered at the rest of the room. "It's quaint," he said. "Poorly decorated."

"Is this it?" Tom said, cutting in front of Chaz and looking the spinning wheel over. "This is what your parents were so scared of?"

"Are," I corrected. "That is what my parents are so afraid of."

Chaz glanced at me, uneasy. "Are you okay…with it?" he asked.

I grimaced. "Well…" I said. "It's enchanting. Something about it memorizes me."

Mac nodded. "That makes sense," he replied. "You are under a spell."

"Exactly," I said.

The three of them looked at each other and back at me. Suddenly, the room's atmosphere became uncomfortable. I bit my lip impatiently. Something wasn't right, I could tell. They weren't telling me something.

"What's going on?" I asked warily. "Why are you really here?"

Tom coughed, obviously tense. "Listen, Nora," he replied, "we were thinking that it might be better for everyone if you… you know… got it over with."

"Got it over with?" I said. "You mean, prick myself?"

They nodded apologetically. I glared at them, blankly.

"I'm sorry," Chaz finally said. "Was that too presumptuous of us?"

I paused for a moment, thinking. If I was to prick my finger, right here and now, the three of them could leave and start getting everything in order. They'd know that I was sleeping, and wouldn't have to wait for me to finally make the choice myself. Plus, they could go back to the castle and let everyone know I was safe.

"No…" I replied. "No, I think it's a good idea."

"You do?" Tom said.

I nodded. "Yes," I replied. "I think it's ingenious of the three of you."

They beamed. "Thank you," Mac said. "It was my idea."

I laughed. "As usual," I said. "The brains of the operation."

The uncomfortable feeling began creeping back into the room. Anxiety and anticipation. A horrible sense of foreboding filled me as my eyes darted from their uneasy faces to the polished spinning wheel in the room's corner.

"Well," I said softly. "We don't have all the time in the world. Let's just get this over with."

"Are you sure?" Tom asked. "Do you want a moment by yourself, or anything?"

I shook my head. "No, no, that's not necessary," I replied. "Can you just pass a message on to everyone for me?"

Chaz nodded. "Of course," he said.

"Tell everyone that I don't want them to give up. I don't care if it takes one hundred years for them to rescue me, make them promise they won't leave me up here forever," I said.

Mac shook his head. "We'd never do that, Nora," he replied.

"Make them promise," I whispered.

"We will," Chaz said.

I nodded and gave them each a kiss on the cheek. Turning around, a wave of serenity washed over me. I took small steps towards the corner of the room, where my fate sat waiting. Silently, I outstretched my hand and delicately placed it on the crude string leading to the pointed spindle. With a deep breath, I pulled my fingers back, and reached towards the tip. I felt a sharp pain on the edge of my finger, closed my eyes…

...She fell to the ground, graceful as a swan, her hand unfolded like a flower. "Come on, Tom," Chaz said. "Let's lay her in the bed."

Tom nodded and helped him pick her up, and then placed her behind the gauzy curtains in the center of the room. Princess Nora Rose, although in a deep, cursed sleep, looked beautiful. Her chestnut hair was radiant and shiny, her cheeks flushed and dewy, and her lips red and full.

"There," Mac said. "Leave her. Sam will find her soon enough."

"Sam?" Tom asked. "Mac, it's Sidney. Sidney is the true love."

Mac chuckled. "If that's what you think, so be it," he replied. "My eggs are with Sam."

"Come on, you two," Chaz called. "Let's get out of here."

A/n: Okay, we're just where we need to be! I hope I'll get the next chapter up a lot faster than this one. I apologize, again, for the delay. Damn writer's block… REVIEW!