Chapter Twenty One - Why I Hate Warts

Well, I felt the need to throw a funny name in there. Cause these chapters are kind of serious. Haha. I'm super hyped about the fact that this got it's five reviews in the same day. I will not admit to the fact that I was going to wait to update till I saw Evx's response...Or till the morning. Whichever came first. But I was going to. :p So you guys are lucky Evx reviewed, cause I was totally waiting for that one review...

And did you guys see the push out of the tower coming? I had it planned all along. :3 Of course, I was even more desperate to include it whenever people kept saying not too...Haha. :p Pure Dagger logic right there.

andgirl12 : We will have to find out in this chapter! :D I love leaving you guys in such suspense. It makes writing fanfiction so much fun. Hopefully you didn't die of impatience though! Like I always say, I don't want murder on my hands!

Guest 1 : Hehe, but I want you to be hooked!

Guest 2 : Aw, but it is supposed to happen! It spices the story up! c:

Guest 3 : Well, something is definitely wrong...Guess we will find out for sure what it was this chapter.

Guest 4 : Hm...Is the world so cruel cause it's fun? I have to admit, it's pretty fun torturing you guys like this. cx I know, cruel fanfiction writing side of Dagger has emerged.

Evx : Oh gosh, I laughed out loud at your review. Mainly cause it was in caps and I was waiting to see it cause I knew you'd freak out. But don't die on me yet. Otherwise you won't see what happens next. c;

Guest 5 : Well, Ferah is dead, so we can rule her out. cx Mina didn't save her life in this story.

themagicalmarissa : Well, I'm glad you aren't dead!

Guest 6 : No! I refuse to be a murderer!


Teague's POV


In The Past...

"Why do you look so afraid?" I ask, glancing down at her curiously.

This snaps her out of her fearful trance, and she looks up at me. "Teague, get me out of here!"

The panic in her voice is something I can hear loud and clear, and that same panic mingles with fear in her eyes. Is she really that freaked out? "What, do you not like being in that pit?"

"Teague!" Anger joins the fray of emotions that I see reflected in her gaze. "Get me out of here right now!"

"Geez, Mina, no need to yell." I stretch my hands down, and when she grabs them, I haul her up. She's trembling. Is that natural for someone when they fall into a hole? Is she just shocked? Did she get hurt?

She pulls away from me. Then, she goes over and slumps down by the base of a nearby tree. Of course, there's trees all around. We're in the forest. Her eyes are closed, but I walk over, and kneel beside her.

"Hey." I whisper with a sudden gentleness descending upon me as I try to talk to her. "What happened to you? You're trembling. Are you hurt?"

She hesitates before responding. "I have two ways that I never want to die. Well, two real ways that I fear dying. Cause drowning doesn't count." It obviously pains her to admit this.

"And they are?" I prompt.

"Dying underground and falling from very, very high up." She sounds pretty embarrassed, now that I think about it.

"Which is why you panicked in that pit you fell in." I manage to piece that piece into this complicated jigsaw puzzle. "But if you're afraid of falling to your death, why are you so insistent on climbing and leaping from tree to tree."

"For one thing, falling from a tree won't kill you. You proved that. As far as I go, well, I'm still frightened of being up there, but not as much as being higher up. I was trying to make myself feel better."

"So...Therapy, almost?"

"That makes no sense whatsoever, Teague. I'm not angry or depressed."

"Oh. Right."


In The Present...

It only takes me a moment to recover from the shock of Mina being shoved out of the tower and ripped from my arms. So, my first reaction is to stop her descent, which has to be a fast plummet. I can't have my fiancee dying on me. Can I call her that now? I hope so. I want to. After all, she did say yes to staying with me. So, I begin to slowly reel her up to me.

A snippet of our childhood conversations echoes in my head. She had always been afraid of a death like this. Hopefully she isn't freaking out too much.

I turn my attention to the culprit. Annalora, the defintion of ugly. "What on the plane do you think you're doing?!"

"Taking my life into my own hands." She spits the words like some desperate maniac. It's kind of scary. "I beat the door down. It took quite a bit of effort and pain, but I did it. The Fae trick you used on it wore off once the fish opened it, but I couldn't just open it. It would only open once. So, I smashed it down instead. Actually, it probably wore off when she touched it, but that doesn't matter. And then I ran up. You were kissing her, and she was distracted. You were too. It was the perfect opportunity to get rid of her." Her eyes sparkle with insanity.

"You're crazy!"

"Maybe I am. But I'm better suited to be a queen than stupid, gill-breathing Wilhelmina ever will be. She doesn't even act like a proper princess!"

"That's a lie. Mina is a better qualified friend, lvoer, and princess than you could ever be!" I snarl.

"Speaking of your supposedly qualified fiancee..." She glances at the shattered hole Mina made when she shoved her through it. "I haven't heard the sickening yet wonderful squish that signals that she's hit the ground yet. How high up is this tower, anyways?"

What a twisted girl. "You won't be hearing that squish any time soon."

Recognition glimmers in her eyes. "Clever. Very clever. I was banking on you being too shocked or distracted."

That's when flailing Mina - who's panic is alight in her eyes - is pulled back through the window, and over to me. It took a good amount of concentration and Fae magic to do that. Now, the power sets her down, and she ends up falling right into my arms. In any other scenario, I would teague her about this. But not here. Not now.

I turn my attention back to Annalora. She lets out a small chuckle as I glare at her. She really is crazy. I should've kicked her out ages ago.

"This isn't over." The crazed gnome snaps.

"Who said it was?" I snarl my response. A particularly loud firework hits the air. "Guards!"

"I will be back." It's a hunating promise. And then, in a flash of blinding red light, she's gone.

Mina presses her face into my shoulder, obviously not recovered at all from her near-death plunge from the tower. I wrap one arm around her protectively. Generally, she'd probably be mad at this protectiveness. She'd probably say she can handle herself, and I have no doubt that she normally can. But I take advantage of the situation. This time, I am the one keeping her safe. I like it.

With my free hand, I run my fingers through her hair as she shakes. The footsteps of the guards rushing up the stairs intermingle with the fireworks. All I can think about is Mina though. She's mine, at long last. After all this time, after all the midnight meetings and tests, I can call her my fiancee. And soon, I'll be able to call her my wife. I manage to muster a small smile, and use the hand I was stroking her hair with to lift her chin up. Once that's done, I gently kiss her for a moment.

"It's okay, Mina." I whisper, kissing her on the forehead. "She's gone. We're safe now."

And for once in her life, she trusts me.


Hehe, last chapter might've been my favorite chapter to write just because of the reviews. :p I know, I know, it was cruel. But it was worth it! Right?

And do I hear wedding bells? *strains ears* Quite possibly...

Now, if you guys can get us five reviews, we'll have our last chapter, not counting the flashbacks one!

~ Dagger