Gabriel wandered through a stone labyrinth. He was looking for something, something important. He had to find it. He turned at a corner and found the demon standing in front of him. "You! What are you doing here!"
"Why so unpleasant, Gabriel? I only wanted to speak with you."
"I don't want to speak with you!"
"What you want matters little to me. Now, listen."
Gabriel made to shove the demon out of his way, but found he couldn't move. His arms hung limply at his sides.
"It seems that the little human girl has passed one of my…experiments. Surprising, that she acted the way she did, but I was expecting it. Now she has found her way into your heart, has she not?"
"You will leave her out of what ever it is you're planning!"
"Gabriel, Gabriel…I'm afraid that will be quite impossible, seeing as she is part of the plan."
He growled and tried to move against the demon's spell that had paralyzed him. "Leave her alone!"
"She has passed the first trial, seeing you exposed. And in passing, she has grown closer to you. She will no longer fear you, but that will be fine. There are many more, many difficult tests the both of you will be put through. And, should you both pass, you will come looking for me. This is unavoidable. If either of you fails, the other will be…punished. Is this all understood?"
"Why are you doing this? What did either of us do to you!"
"A life for a life, death for a death, Gabriel. Your family caused the death of someone very, very dear to me, in their foolish thievery. Now they have lost you, and you will loose Elizabeth."
"She has nothing to do with this!"
"Oh, but she does. You love her, now, don't you, Gabriel? Well, I loved the woman your family killed. And when Elizabeth dies, you will know the same despair I did."
"Try, and I'll kill you!"
"You will, will you? I'd like to see you try. Au revoir, Gabriel." the demon disappeared with a smirk.
"Demon!" he yelled. "Stay away from-"
"-Elizabeth!" Gabriel shouted, waking himself up. He rolled off the couch and fell on his on the floor, causing a lance of pain to shoot though his back. "Elizabeth!" He pushed himself to his feet and ran out of the library, sprinting down the hall of the West Wing. When he finally reached the hidden door than lead out to the gardens, he hastily opened it and ran outside into the bright afternoon sun, squinting as it half-blinded him.
"Gabriel! What are you doing? I thought you were asleep!" Elizabeth looked up from the her book, from her spot on a stone bench.
"I…I…" he started to speak then felt embarrassed. "Sorry. I had a bad dream and over-reacted…sorry." He leaned against the stone wall of the castle and covered his face with one hand. "Damn! I feel so stupid-!"
"What's wrong? You came tearing out into the garden like the devil was after you."
"It's nothing."
"You said you had a nightmare…what happened, in it?"
"It was that damned demon!" Gabriel punched the wall with his hand, making cracks spider-web from the stone. "He won't go away, even in my dreams! I hate that bastard!"
"Gabriel, calm down!" She set her book down and motioned for him to come sit with her.
"Sorry, " he repeated, after sitting down. He clenched and unclenched his fist. "It's just what he said-!"
"Tell me everything that you can remember."
"He said that him making me expose my self…your reaction…it was all a test! An experiment! He's using us as some sort of revenge, in some twisted game of his! He says he's going to kill you, because I lo---because my family killed somebody he loved. And now, he's going to put the both of us through some weird sort of tests, and if either of us fail, the other will be punished…" Gabriel gritted his teeth in frustration. "I don't think this was just a dream. I think he contacted me on purpose. Elizabeth, ange, you must be very careful. Demons are among the most cunning creatures, especially if they have nothing to lose."
"I'll be careful, but what about you? If you try something foolish…" she sighed and rubbed her temples. "I think that the worst possible thing to do right now is to panic. We should both try and remain calm, and make sure whatever he throws at us doesn't catch us off guard."
Gabriel sighed. "You're right. But all the same, be careful."
"The same to you." Elizabeth frowned. "Wait a moment…less then an hour ago you could barely walk, and yet you ran all the way here. How is that possible?"
"I heal fast, I suppose. My back already feels much better." He smiled and looked slyly at Elizabeth. "Or perhaps it is because an angel healed me."
She blushed and laughed. "Oh, stop it! I'm not sure how much longer I can put up with all this 'angel' flattery," she joked.
"Who said it was flattery? I am merely telling the truth."
Elizabeth picked up the book and marked her spot with a leaf from the ground, still grinning.
"What is it you were reading?"
"Oh! It's a faery tale I found in my room. I hope you don't mind. I've always had a weakness for these kind of stories."
"I've regrettably never read any. Are they good?"
"Yes! They have such interesting characters, and the most beautiful types of far-away places. There are faeries and humans, knights and peasants, kings and servants…"
Gabriel smiled mournfully. "Do they have monsters?"
Elizabeth wrapped her arm around him, carefully avoiding his wound. "Yes, and they are the most gentle and kind characters of all."
Gabriel gently put his arm around her delicate shoulders. The demon was right about one thing. I do love her.
I will protect her with my life.
Three weeks later.
"Whoa! Not so fast, Star!" Elizabeth tugged on the reigns, guiding her horse away from a gigantic snowdrift. Cantering in a broad circle, she gave Star her head, then looked over her shoulder. "You sure you can keep up with us, or do you need a break!"
"In your dreams, ange!" Gabriel increased his speed, running side by side with Elizabeth and Star. It had snowed overnight, and the court yard was covered in the soft white stuff. Elizabeth was wearing a warm winter dress, along with a thick cape. Gabriel only wore a pair of black breeches, as his fur kept him warm enough.
"Let's race!" Elizabeth urged Star into gallop. Gabriel quickly matched the faster pace, his tail straight out behind him, red eyes flashing.
"Too slow, Elizabeth!" Her jaw dropped as he outmatched Star, darting through the snow in front of her. "I think that old pony you're on is better suited to stay in the stables!"
"We'll see about that! C'mon girl!" She leaned down against Star's neck as she broke into a flat-out run. Gabriel grinned impishly as Star advanced on him, then grabbed her neck, swinging in a half-circle through the air and landing behind Elizabeth in the saddle.
"Fancy meeting you here!" he laughed.
"I didn't know you could run so fast!"
"Neither did I!" Gabriel stood up in the saddle and balanced on his feet. "Wooohoo!"
"Hey! Careful, you'll fall off!"
"Not a chance, Eliza-" his feet went out from under him as Star made a particularly sharp turn and fell head over heels in he snow.
Laughing, she turned Star around and circled a now very snowy Gabriel. "You alright?"
"Does this amuse you, Mademoiselle?" he asked in mock-anger. He stood up and shook the snow off of him like a dog.
"Why else would I be laughing?" she giggled.
"Because of this!" he scooped up a handful of snow and lobbed it at her head. "That's a very attractive look, milady. Not many women can pull it off!"
She wiped the snow out of her eyes and jumped off of Star. "You asked for it, Gabriel!" She packed the snow into a sphere and threw it at his head.
He ducked before it could hit him and grabbed another lump of snow. "Too slow again!"
Elizabeth threw up her hands and caught the snowball. "Ha! Nice try!" she threw it back at him, where it hit him in the center of his head.
"This means war, mon ange! Let's see how you look as a snow angel!" He quickly knelt down and began to gather more ammunition, as Elizabeth did the same.
"We'll see who will be talking at the end of this battle!" she shouted as she prepared to fire.
"Okay, okay! I surrender!" Elizabeth raised her hands in defeat, snow dripping from her hair and into her face.
"It seems this battle belongs to me, Mademoiselle!" Gabriel wadded through the snow and offered her his hand. "Now we should get you inside before you catch a cold." As an after-though, he added "With all your wet curls, you somewhat resemble a poodle, rather than a snow angel."
Elizabeth took his hand and smiled. "Look who's talking! At least I don't smell like a wet dog!"
"Very true," he laughed. "Come on. Ella and the others will attend to Star." Even as he said it, the three green-haired faeries appeared next to the horse and began leading her back to the stables. Mirei, who had decided to sit on Star while Ella and Fraya lead her, waved. Gabriel and Elizabeth waved back, then made their way, dripping wet, into the castle. Once in, Gabriel shook himself, water flying off his fur and onto Elizabeth, who squealed in protest. "Hey! Watch it!"
He shrugged with feigned innocence. "You're already wet."
"No thanks to you!"
Gabriel bowed and let go of her hand. "It has been my honor dueling you, brave Mademoiselle."
"As it has been mine dueling you, Monsieur." She wrinkled her nose. "Ugh, now I smell like a wet dog! I'll go take a bath now."
"Good idea. Meet you in the library in half an hour?" he asked hopefully.
"Of course. Remember, we've got a date with Romeo and Juliet!" Elizabeth had recently found one of Shakespeare's famous books, and was eager to start it. Gabriel was going to read it with her.
Leaving a trail of melted snow behind her, she hurried to her room, no longer needing the red thorns, which she recently discovered that Gabriel had designed and painted. Once she reached it, she gratefully shrugged off her dripping cape, crossing her room of morning glories to the bathroom, anticipating the hot water.
Half an hour later, Gabriel met up with her in the library, as promised. Being much quicker, he was already seated on his spot on the couch, flipping through the book absently. He looked up as Elizabeth came in, dryer and looking considerably less poodle-like.
"Hey! We were supposed to read the book together!" she reprimanded him as she sat down, sweeping her skirts under her. They were made of soft red velvet, meant for the colder weather. Her hair was pulled back with a matching ribbon.
"Do not worry, I was only glancing through it." He handed the book to her, careful not to graze her with his claws as their hands touched. All fear of him rejecting him because of his curse gone, so he usually just wore a pair of black pants and a light shirt. He always wore black, though. Gabriel had become accustomed to the color, ever since he was a child.
"Shall we start, then?" she made herself comfortable, laying against Gabriel and holding the book between the two.
As they read on in comfortable silence, Gabriel's mind drifted. The demon had not shown himself in the last three weeks. Since then, he and Elizabeth had grown closer, starting out in the morning by eating breakfast with each other, though Gabriel usually only had tea. His inhuman body required little or no food. The faeries ate with them, bringing the latest gossip from both human and fey alike. They had quickly grown accustomed to Gabriel's unusual appearance, and talked to him as well as Elizabeth. In the afternoon, they either read book that Elizabeth had picked out (usually they were her preferred faery tales), or hung around the music room. Gabriel found out she'd had a few piano lessons as a child, and worked diligently to refresh her memory, teaching her a few complex songs as she got the hang of it. She was very talented with many of the instruments, and soon with Gabriel's help, mastered the flute, the violin, and the harp, along with the piano.
When night fell, Gabriel would walk her back to her room, more out of courtesy than necessity. After he made sure she was asleep and safe (because he was still worried about what the demon was planning), he would go back to his room in the North Wing and fall asleep, only to be woken once or twice by nightmares of the demon slaughtering Elizabeth. After the first week, they eventually stopped, and he brushed them out of his mind.
Nothing like that will happen. The demon hasn't showed himself since last month, three weeks ago. He's probably forgotten the whole thing.
Pushing the demon out of his mind, for the time being, anyways, Gabriel focused once more on the book and Elizabeth, who was in another world, living out Shakespeare's play.
And this is how it should be. No demon, no sick games, no plans. Just him and Elizabeth.
Gabriel froze as a voice behind them whispered , "Have you missed me, Gabriel?"
A/N: uh-oh, yet another cliffhanger! Sorry to say, I won't start chapter nine till sometime tomorrow. I'm in a really, really b-tchy mood, and am tired, so I don't want to submit some half-hearted attempt at writing. Thanks for the reviews!