A/N: All right, the klepto gnome is actually based on a conversation I had with my friends. We were pretending to be a Southern dysfunctional family, and the shortest of my friends were our magical talking klepto garden gnome that we bought from Alabanians on E-bay. Lol. And Hyrene doesn't really have a meaning. I've only played Zelda once, and it was just so I could ride the horse and try to drown Link. Lol.
Enjoy!
Aurora POV
We were all following Piper as instructed, and it was quite a task keeping up. "I've got both Mary and Bo there, too," she prattled, waving her hands as she walked. Pafoofka reached forward to grab her flute, and she smacked his hand away.
So far, I had come to the realization that we were going to help her scare the living souls out of a dozen royal physicians in the garden. I was actually quite worried. Some of them were elderly, and would be easily shocked. I dearly wished to be safe from the horrors of a heart attack. Tarrant grinned reassuringly at me, and I could not help but reply with an equally forceful smile. He kissed the crown of my head warmly. "I'm sorry about the other day," he murmured. I shrugged nonchalantly, wrapping both arms round his one. "It is of no consequence." And, in truth, it was so. I did not care if he had lost his control in a foolish bout of distress; he had rescued me from a most dire plight, just like the knights in all the stories.
"Do you love me, Tarrant?"
"Of course I do."
Yes, that was most assuredly all that mattered.
Rapunzel and Dante were shoving each other, and to my surprise, Rapunzel was winning. "He's letting her win, you know," Tarrant whispered. I smirked, liking the way his lips tickled my ear.
Piper, however, seemed much more anxious than the rest of us, as she was currently ten feet ahead of us. "Hurry up!" she hollered, whirling around and bending forward slightly in aggravation.
We all raced to meet her pace, which grew quicker with each moment. She was worried about Jocelyn; that much was quite obvious.
We arrived at the circle of royal physicians. They were clustered in a small circle round something, which I supposed to be Jocelyn, their stark white robes gleaming in the moonlight. Mary and Bo were posing hesitantly by the fringes of that learned circle, fingering their hair and muttering nervously.
Piper stalked over to them, gripping her flute firmly in one hand. "Well?" she snapped, cocking her head to the left. Mary stepped forward, hands clasped together beneath her chin. "They – He is convinced he is dying; they have told him so."
"That's codswallop!"
"He did bite one of them, though," Bo added helpfully.
Piper lifted the flute to her lips with a sigh, but did not play. She frowned at all of us as some mother with disobedient children would. "Align yourselves round these toads, behind them is preferable. Try not to be noticed, please." A wry smirk twitched at the lines in her face. "At least not yet." Her fingers danced nervously along the holes of her pipe as our feet danced along the grass. I halted the waltz of my own toes a few feet left of Prince Charming, and to my right Tarrant rested. He smiled encouragingly at me, and I simpered in return, quietly praying for both Jocelyn and those encircling him.
Piper began to play. The first few notes of her haunting tune rolled outward like waves of fog, and the tendrils of it twisted the air to its will. My heart froze within me as the sound and its poignant willpower bound me; there was cold and nightmare circling the garden, twisting flower after flower into beast and creature in the mind's eye. The dust of study was not enough to protect the royal physicians from the marrow-deep chill of Piper's song. The learned men stood straight and peered wildly around them in search of the source.
Suddenly, cries of panic sprang through the air, splintering the frozen ice that was the song. "My knife is missing!"
"The wolfesbane as well!"
"Poultices, too!"
"Where's my snagroot?"
"Where have they gotten to?"
They did not notice the small little gnome darting under their legs, wooden arms full of surgical tools and herbs. He winked at me in his short dash, and tilted his head towards Piper. She was gone. Yet the music still played.
The physicians, turning in their various searches, caught sight of us. And for some reason, our faces gave them quite the fright. They screamed in horror and raced from the area, abandoning their patient easily. Rapunzel and Dante took full advantage of this momentary fright, and egged them on with roars and howls befitting beasts. I slowly brought my hands into claws and hissed. As I did this, feeling quite foolish, I looked over at Tarrant to try and get him to join me in this fool's act. What I saw scared the dickens out of me.
His formerly white teeth had become a horrible shade of spinach green, and they formed curling fangs that bent under his chin. His eyes were a nasty piercing ginger, and his lips a chapped purple. His tanned skin had taken on an indigo shade of death.
My appearance was obviously similar, for he backed away quickly, eyes wide with horror. What witchery was this that had made my love into a beast? I felt my own cheek, expecting scales or fur. It was the same as it had always been. I fingered my hair, and found it to be the same light blonde it had always been. Why then did Tarrant fear me so?
Amidst the retreating footfalls of the royal physicians, Piper suddenly reappeared. Her flute was in her hands, and she was grinning wickedly. Tarrant's evil appearance vanished as quickly as she had resurfaced, much to my relief. At the surprise on my face, she giggled. "It was only an illusion, Aurora. Had you touched him, he would be the same as he always was."
Both Tarrant and I sighed in relief, though I was still hesitant to come near his teeth. However, I allowed for his strong arms to wrap themselves round me, and curled readily into his embrace. The inviting blue eyes peered down into mine, and I swear that I could have fainted in relief. Normal, human blue eyes; handsome, strong, human arms. Thank all goodness for that.
Piper dropped her flute unceremoniously and knelt down beside Jocelyn, who was having trouble breathing. He whimpered quietly when he saw her, and tried to sit up. She gently pushed him back down, cooing. "Hush, hush. You'll be fine in but a moment, I promise." His fingers were clutching the hilt of the dagger in a death hold, and he was quaking with pain. "I'm not that stupid, Piper." He winced, trying to pull the nasty weapon out of his stomach. She stopped him as kindly as she could. "Remember what I said about my pipe? How it's not exactly what it seems?" He nodded dumbly, seeming quite ill. "Baldechrit," he gasped, shuddering hand jerking forward to seize hers.
I backed away, wondering if he would die soon.
Piper reached for her discarded pipe and smiled at him. "Pity we couldn't get Archibald, eh?" He nodded, face deathly pale and lips an odd color. "Would have been a lovely scheme, it would." Piper smiled at him again. "A grand one, I'm sure." She squeezed his thin hand with such force that it stopped shaking. "This is going to hurt," she warned, reaching for the dagger's hilt.
The gold and jewels that snaked round the handle glimmered in the moonlight, calling attention to its worth.
I guess it was just too much for the little gnome.
Pafoofka dashed across the lawn and ripped the dagger from Jocelyn's stomach. The wounded did not even release a grunt of pain it had been so quick. "Mine! Mine! Mine!" The little gnome laughed maniacally as it dashed off with the blade. Piper blinked a few times in surprise. "I suppose that's one way to do it," she mumbled, making Jocelyn laugh.
However, laughter was obviously rather painful, because he soon stopped, clutching his bleeding side. Piper helped him sit up while the rest of us stood around them uselessly. I wondered on what grounds Piper drew her vain hope. It was obvious to us all that he was dying – a painstaking, agonizing death to be sure.
After being assured that he could keep himself upright, Piper stood. Her eyes fell to the grass, which was now a deep crimson color. I think, for that moment, she realized what a hopeless cause this endeavor was. But then Jocelyn smiled weakly at her, cocking his head to the side. Her expression flashed with pain for a single hesitant breath, but Jocelyn's return simper brought renewed determination sparking to her eyes. I wrapped both arms around Tarrant. There was nothing we could do.
Piper brought the flute to her lips and closed both eyes. Something in that music made me feel oddly happy, as if there were nothing wrong with the world. I was, after all, with my dear Tarrant. Nothing could possibly be so wrong that I need be disturbed by this sight. I stared at my fingers in amazement. I had all five of them; how lucky I was! And what was this? Both eyes as well? What a stroke of good fortune!
And I noticed that my injured knuckle was no longer bruised.
My head snapped up and I stared at Jocelyn, who was as shocked as I. Slowly, deliberately, his gaping wound was closing up. He stared at Piper in fascination as she continued to calmly whistle out the notes. In fact, we were all staring at her. How did she do that?
It took nearly five minutes of that music to close up the wound, but it was finally done, and Piper was desperately proud of herself. She knelt down beside Jocelyn, face crimson with exertion. "Are you all right?" she asked, brushing hair from her face. He nodded slowly still watching her with caution.
"Pity you lost so much blood before I could get to you," she whispered, quite breathless from her recent melody. He shrugged. "I'm alive."
That broke the tension, and Piper laughed. "Hopefully, eh?" Both of them grinned at each other, and I thought I saw something there that just mayhap had been there along. Tarrant obviously noticed it as well, for he raised his eyebrow. I nodded and smiled tolerantly. There was most assuredly something there.
A/N: I hope you liked this one! And, once again, thanks for reviewing and/or reading! Either way you rock!!!
Enjoy!
Aurora POV
We were all following Piper as instructed, and it was quite a task keeping up. "I've got both Mary and Bo there, too," she prattled, waving her hands as she walked. Pafoofka reached forward to grab her flute, and she smacked his hand away.
So far, I had come to the realization that we were going to help her scare the living souls out of a dozen royal physicians in the garden. I was actually quite worried. Some of them were elderly, and would be easily shocked. I dearly wished to be safe from the horrors of a heart attack. Tarrant grinned reassuringly at me, and I could not help but reply with an equally forceful smile. He kissed the crown of my head warmly. "I'm sorry about the other day," he murmured. I shrugged nonchalantly, wrapping both arms round his one. "It is of no consequence." And, in truth, it was so. I did not care if he had lost his control in a foolish bout of distress; he had rescued me from a most dire plight, just like the knights in all the stories.
"Do you love me, Tarrant?"
"Of course I do."
Yes, that was most assuredly all that mattered.
Rapunzel and Dante were shoving each other, and to my surprise, Rapunzel was winning. "He's letting her win, you know," Tarrant whispered. I smirked, liking the way his lips tickled my ear.
Piper, however, seemed much more anxious than the rest of us, as she was currently ten feet ahead of us. "Hurry up!" she hollered, whirling around and bending forward slightly in aggravation.
We all raced to meet her pace, which grew quicker with each moment. She was worried about Jocelyn; that much was quite obvious.
We arrived at the circle of royal physicians. They were clustered in a small circle round something, which I supposed to be Jocelyn, their stark white robes gleaming in the moonlight. Mary and Bo were posing hesitantly by the fringes of that learned circle, fingering their hair and muttering nervously.
Piper stalked over to them, gripping her flute firmly in one hand. "Well?" she snapped, cocking her head to the left. Mary stepped forward, hands clasped together beneath her chin. "They – He is convinced he is dying; they have told him so."
"That's codswallop!"
"He did bite one of them, though," Bo added helpfully.
Piper lifted the flute to her lips with a sigh, but did not play. She frowned at all of us as some mother with disobedient children would. "Align yourselves round these toads, behind them is preferable. Try not to be noticed, please." A wry smirk twitched at the lines in her face. "At least not yet." Her fingers danced nervously along the holes of her pipe as our feet danced along the grass. I halted the waltz of my own toes a few feet left of Prince Charming, and to my right Tarrant rested. He smiled encouragingly at me, and I simpered in return, quietly praying for both Jocelyn and those encircling him.
Piper began to play. The first few notes of her haunting tune rolled outward like waves of fog, and the tendrils of it twisted the air to its will. My heart froze within me as the sound and its poignant willpower bound me; there was cold and nightmare circling the garden, twisting flower after flower into beast and creature in the mind's eye. The dust of study was not enough to protect the royal physicians from the marrow-deep chill of Piper's song. The learned men stood straight and peered wildly around them in search of the source.
Suddenly, cries of panic sprang through the air, splintering the frozen ice that was the song. "My knife is missing!"
"The wolfesbane as well!"
"Poultices, too!"
"Where's my snagroot?"
"Where have they gotten to?"
They did not notice the small little gnome darting under their legs, wooden arms full of surgical tools and herbs. He winked at me in his short dash, and tilted his head towards Piper. She was gone. Yet the music still played.
The physicians, turning in their various searches, caught sight of us. And for some reason, our faces gave them quite the fright. They screamed in horror and raced from the area, abandoning their patient easily. Rapunzel and Dante took full advantage of this momentary fright, and egged them on with roars and howls befitting beasts. I slowly brought my hands into claws and hissed. As I did this, feeling quite foolish, I looked over at Tarrant to try and get him to join me in this fool's act. What I saw scared the dickens out of me.
His formerly white teeth had become a horrible shade of spinach green, and they formed curling fangs that bent under his chin. His eyes were a nasty piercing ginger, and his lips a chapped purple. His tanned skin had taken on an indigo shade of death.
My appearance was obviously similar, for he backed away quickly, eyes wide with horror. What witchery was this that had made my love into a beast? I felt my own cheek, expecting scales or fur. It was the same as it had always been. I fingered my hair, and found it to be the same light blonde it had always been. Why then did Tarrant fear me so?
Amidst the retreating footfalls of the royal physicians, Piper suddenly reappeared. Her flute was in her hands, and she was grinning wickedly. Tarrant's evil appearance vanished as quickly as she had resurfaced, much to my relief. At the surprise on my face, she giggled. "It was only an illusion, Aurora. Had you touched him, he would be the same as he always was."
Both Tarrant and I sighed in relief, though I was still hesitant to come near his teeth. However, I allowed for his strong arms to wrap themselves round me, and curled readily into his embrace. The inviting blue eyes peered down into mine, and I swear that I could have fainted in relief. Normal, human blue eyes; handsome, strong, human arms. Thank all goodness for that.
Piper dropped her flute unceremoniously and knelt down beside Jocelyn, who was having trouble breathing. He whimpered quietly when he saw her, and tried to sit up. She gently pushed him back down, cooing. "Hush, hush. You'll be fine in but a moment, I promise." His fingers were clutching the hilt of the dagger in a death hold, and he was quaking with pain. "I'm not that stupid, Piper." He winced, trying to pull the nasty weapon out of his stomach. She stopped him as kindly as she could. "Remember what I said about my pipe? How it's not exactly what it seems?" He nodded dumbly, seeming quite ill. "Baldechrit," he gasped, shuddering hand jerking forward to seize hers.
I backed away, wondering if he would die soon.
Piper reached for her discarded pipe and smiled at him. "Pity we couldn't get Archibald, eh?" He nodded, face deathly pale and lips an odd color. "Would have been a lovely scheme, it would." Piper smiled at him again. "A grand one, I'm sure." She squeezed his thin hand with such force that it stopped shaking. "This is going to hurt," she warned, reaching for the dagger's hilt.
The gold and jewels that snaked round the handle glimmered in the moonlight, calling attention to its worth.
I guess it was just too much for the little gnome.
Pafoofka dashed across the lawn and ripped the dagger from Jocelyn's stomach. The wounded did not even release a grunt of pain it had been so quick. "Mine! Mine! Mine!" The little gnome laughed maniacally as it dashed off with the blade. Piper blinked a few times in surprise. "I suppose that's one way to do it," she mumbled, making Jocelyn laugh.
However, laughter was obviously rather painful, because he soon stopped, clutching his bleeding side. Piper helped him sit up while the rest of us stood around them uselessly. I wondered on what grounds Piper drew her vain hope. It was obvious to us all that he was dying – a painstaking, agonizing death to be sure.
After being assured that he could keep himself upright, Piper stood. Her eyes fell to the grass, which was now a deep crimson color. I think, for that moment, she realized what a hopeless cause this endeavor was. But then Jocelyn smiled weakly at her, cocking his head to the side. Her expression flashed with pain for a single hesitant breath, but Jocelyn's return simper brought renewed determination sparking to her eyes. I wrapped both arms around Tarrant. There was nothing we could do.
Piper brought the flute to her lips and closed both eyes. Something in that music made me feel oddly happy, as if there were nothing wrong with the world. I was, after all, with my dear Tarrant. Nothing could possibly be so wrong that I need be disturbed by this sight. I stared at my fingers in amazement. I had all five of them; how lucky I was! And what was this? Both eyes as well? What a stroke of good fortune!
And I noticed that my injured knuckle was no longer bruised.
My head snapped up and I stared at Jocelyn, who was as shocked as I. Slowly, deliberately, his gaping wound was closing up. He stared at Piper in fascination as she continued to calmly whistle out the notes. In fact, we were all staring at her. How did she do that?
It took nearly five minutes of that music to close up the wound, but it was finally done, and Piper was desperately proud of herself. She knelt down beside Jocelyn, face crimson with exertion. "Are you all right?" she asked, brushing hair from her face. He nodded slowly still watching her with caution.
"Pity you lost so much blood before I could get to you," she whispered, quite breathless from her recent melody. He shrugged. "I'm alive."
That broke the tension, and Piper laughed. "Hopefully, eh?" Both of them grinned at each other, and I thought I saw something there that just mayhap had been there along. Tarrant obviously noticed it as well, for he raised his eyebrow. I nodded and smiled tolerantly. There was most assuredly something there.
A/N: I hope you liked this one! And, once again, thanks for reviewing and/or reading! Either way you rock!!!