A/N: Last chapter! I hope you guys were at least a little entertained by this story, and thanks for reading! :)
When I wake up, it's to the feeling of a soft pair of lips pressing lightly against my cheek, and a throbbing head that feels like it's taken a beating from a heavy rock. I groan lightly, feeling someone stiffen next to me, and it's then that I realize I'm lying down, and there's a person lying down next to me. A person who's just kissed me on the cheek.
"Spencer?" I whisper, my eyes fluttering open, and the first thing I see is a pair of blue eyes staring right back at me. She forces a smile, and I glance down, noticing her hands are tied, and so are her feet. When I try to move, I realize mine are, too. We're in the back of some kind of stagecoach, and the occasional clomp of horse hooves tells me that it's being pulled by a couple of horses. Glen's obviously in the front seat, whipping them occasionally so that they'll go faster. Mojo's around here somewhere, too; I can hear him screeching every now and then.
"Hey," she whispers back, kissing my forehead this time. "You've been out about a day. Glen hit you in the head with the handle of his sword." She looks worried. "Are you okay? How do you feel?"
"Like my head's about to burst," I say honestly, trying and failing to successfully sit up. "Where are we? Why are we in a stagecoach?"
Spencer bites her lip. "Glen carried you for a while, but then we ran into more thieves. He fought them all off and took their stagecoach, so…here we are." She swallows. "He says we'll get there in another day or so, now that we have this."
My eyebrows furrow, and I reach for the ropes on her hands with my own hands, starting to undo them. Spencer jerks her hands away sharply, surprising me. "What are you doing?" she asks.
"Untying you," I say like it's the most obvious thing in the world, because…uh, it is.
"Don't," she says gently, avoiding my eyes. "We're in the middle of nowhere, anyway. It's no use. Without Glen, we'll just be unprotected from anyone else that might attack us."
I sigh. She's right. "We're just as bad off with him, though," I point out anyway, and she nods.
"I know. But you're hurt and at this point I just want to get things over with."
"Things?" I echo incredulously. "Spencer, this is your life."
"I know," she repeats. "But now Aiden and Kyla will get married, your family will be set for life, and you can be happy."
"You know that's not true," I murmur. "I won't be happy if you're…"
"Don't worry about it," she cuts in gently. "Don't even think about it right now. I'm here with you." She leans forward, joining our lips, and I don't know what else to do but kiss her back.
"Almost home," Glen calls to us early the next morning, after Spencer and I have basically just kissed and slept for the past 21 hours, only eating on one occasion. My hands are trembling by now, and I'm regretting that one meal because I think it's about to come back up. Spencer looks a little pale, too, so I bury my face in her neck and tell her I love her, unable to put into words how completely heartbroken I feel right now.
I know she's wondering a lot of things right now, and that she's more scared than she's acting. Last night, she thought I was asleep, but I heard her whispering to herself, wondering aloud if it would hurt. I'm pretty confident I won't ever be happy again, and the current plan is to down every potion in Carmen's hut and hope it kills me too, because I don't want to live without Spencer.
I guess we will end up like Romeo and Juliet, after all.
Glen carries Spencer inside Carmen's cottage first, ignoring any pleadings we have, and then comes back for me once she's inside, lifting me up and taking me inside with him.
He sets me down, and, to my surprise, unties me, gripping me by the shoulder and practically offering me to Carmen, who's busy walking around Spencer in slow circles, examining her. Spencer's tied up to a chair by her chest, arms, and legs, and I can see her trembling by now. I'm all cried out at this point, and I think she is, too, because both of our faces are dry as Carmen turns to look at me.
"You fell in love with her," she states, tutting and shaking her head, and if I had Glen's sword right now, I'd kill her on the spot. "Not that I blame you." She traces a finger down Spencer's cheek, ignoring the way Spencer flinches away from her. "She's pretty, isn't she?"
"Shut up," I snap, and Carmen frowns like she feels sorry for me.
"Alright. I'll get it over with." She pulls a small glass tube out of her pocket, glancing over towards the steaming cauldron across the room, which draws my eyes to it. "Everything's ready. I just have to give her this. Her soul should pop right on out and head for the cauldron. Then you can head up to the castle and give this to Aiden." She takes a step towards Spencer, and so do I, wrenching myself from Glen's grip.
"Please don't kill her," I whisper. "I don't even see what's in this for you."
She pauses at that, then smiles. "What's in this for me? Why, I'm glad you asked." She glances over at Spencer, who looks back at her furiously. Carmen tilts her head to the side. "Do you remember me?"
Spencer's anger disappears momentarily, and her eyebrows furrow. "…No."
Carmen sighs, then turns back to me. "I'm the sorceress who put Spencer here to sleep. But it's not surprising that she doesn't remember me. I've changed a lot since then. I change my appearance often, actually." She claps her hands, spinning to face me again. "Revenge." She clears her throat. "Thirty years ago, I was just like you, Ashley Davies. I lived in a poor family, in a small house. My mother hated me. I'm sure you know the feeling. Then one day, back when I used to be into guys…" Ha! I knew she was gay! Well, sort of. "…I fell in love." She sighs, almost wistfully. "His name was Arthur Carlin."
Spencer's head turns so fast that her chair almost topples over, and my eyebrows furrow while I try to remember where I've heard that name before. Glen stiffens behind me. "That's right. Your father, Spencer. He left me for the prettiest girl in the city. Paula. They married, and I was completely forgotten. I dedicated the rest of my life to sorcery, intent on getting revenge on him, on them, for what they did to me. I settled in this very cottage, biding my time. Imagine my surprise when I heard they were ruling the city together, with a kid under their belts! So I put my magic to good use. I killed them, and to this day, nobody in that city knows for sure who did it or exactly how they died." She sighs. "So when you turned fourteen, Spencer, your aunt and uncle needed someone to take you to that castle, to the tallest tower, and put you to sleep. I took advantage. I foresaw what would happen. I knew Aiden Dennison would come stumbling into my territory years later, and I knew the perfect incantation to use on him. And what better way to get my final revenge on Arthur Carlin than to get a girl just like I was to bring his daughter to me?"
She steps forward, then, and lifts the tube to Spencer's lips. "Now open wide, Mrs. Pure Soul…" My feet are frozen to the floor as she forces the liquid down, but Glen dashes forward out of nowhere, knocking Spencer and her chair over as he pins Carmen to the wall by her throat.
"You killed my parents?" he growls, and I hurry over to Spencer, kneeling down beside her while she coughs, grabbing at her own throat.
"I said…no relation…" Carmen chokes out, and now Glen looks like he might cry.
"You lied! I spent my whole life an orphan because of you!"
"Spencer," I'm busy murmuring, shaking her lightly, and she finally stops coughing and opens her eyes, blinking a little. Her mouth opens, and I watch, horrified…until she lets out a small hiccup, and a small puff of black smoke comes out of her mouth. Then she smiles.
"That tickled."
I sigh in relief, grinning as I grab her hand and help her up, undoing her ropes while Carmen admires the black smoke rising towards the ceiling. Glen's still pinning her to the wall, his sword at her throat. "What does it mean?" he questions, glancing at the smoke and jerking her a little as her eyes continue to follow the black wisps.
"Interesting…" she finally murmurs, her gaze falling to where I'm still helping Spencer get untied. "I'm surprised I didn't guess this would happen." She furrows her eyebrows, smiling almost knowingly, and I've officially decided that she's insane. But I don't really care, because Spencer's alive, and that's all that matters. "You two had sex, didn't you?"
Spencer starts coughing again, and I pat her back awkwardly, watching her face flush.
"What does it mean?" Glen repeats, jerking her again, and Carmen rolls her eyes.
"It means her soul isn't pure anymore. It's been tainted."
"Aw, I tainted you," I whisper to her, wrapping my arms around her and pressing a kiss to her temple, and Spencer just buries her face in my shoulder and lets out a barely audible sigh of relief. I pull her even closer and close my eyes, smiling when she finally hugs me back.
"Alright, now what about me? Was I just a tool, too?" Glen growls, still focused on Carmen, and I break away from Spencer to look over at the two of them.
She laughs. "Yes. You're their son. Once again: who better to use to get their daughter here?"
"That's so fucked up," he mutters, running a hand through his hair.
"What about the potion?" I ask, jumping into the conversation. "Did you even need her for that?"
"Well, I was going to reward the both of you, for bringing her to me," Carmen replies. "Glen got the money; you got Aiden turned into a human again. So, yes, I did need her for that. But without the soul, it actually has the opposite effect of what all of you were going for. Without the soul, the potion just serves the same purpose as the incantation I used on Aiden."
"What does that mean?" Spencer asks.
Carmen shrugs. "It'll just turn the drinker into a horse."
The next day…
"Are you sure about this?" I ask tentatively, reaching over to put a hand on Kyla's shoulder. She swallows heavily, nodding at me without taking her eyes off the object in front of us. "Mom'll be pissed, not to mention…well, obviously, it's a big decision."
Her eyes finally leave Carmen's cauldron and find mine, and she bites her lip. "Ash, I love him."
I sigh, resigned, then nod slowly. "I know. I'm just…you're my little sister, you know?"
"I know." She forces a smile, then steps forward, wrapping her arms around me. I hug her back, smiling over her shoulder at Spencer, who's in the doorway of Carmen's cottage, watching us with what looks like baited breath. "I love you, Ash," Kyla whispers, stepping away from me.
"I love you too."
She nods, then turns around to look at Spencer, giving her a shy wave. Spencer waves back just as shyly, and Kyla whispers to me, "Am I going to like her?"
"You better. We're going to be spending a lot of time together over the next few years," I warn, and Kyla grins.
"Well, she can't be too bad if you fell for her."
"Hey!" a new voice calls from just outside, and Spencer steps out of the doorway to let Glen in. "Found him. Took forever to get him snuck out of the castle, though, especially since he wouldn't shut up. Luckily, though, almost everyone was still down in the dungeon, interrogating Carmen."
"Wouldn't shut up?" I repeat quizzically, and Glen beckons to something outside the cottage.
In trots Aiden…in horse form.
"Hey, babe," he says, and Kyla gasps in surprise, running towards him.
"You can talk?" she asks, watching him close his eyes contently when she pets him near his nose.
"Yup. You'll be able to too, hon."
"Oh, God," I mutter, but they both ignore me. Spencer smirks from the doorway, and Glen walks over to the cauldron.
"So how're we gonna do this?" he questions, reaching to stick his hand in, and I grab it quickly, stopping him.
"I wouldn't touch that stuff, if I were you."
"You're probably right," he agrees.
Kyla finally pulls away from Aiden and steps over towards the cauldron, and we all watch her intently as she dips her finger into the liquid. Spencer joins our little group and slides her hand into mine, squeezing lightly and sneaking in a quick kiss, then grinning at me when she can tell I'm upset she's pulled away. She gestures towards Kyla, and we all stare in silence as my sister sticks her finger into her mouth.
There's a little poof, and then the smoke clears.
"Ah…fuck," I hear her say, and even though the horse result is expected, it's still surprising to see one standing next to me where Kyla used to be. "My head has to start itching right when I can't scratch it. Do you think you could get it, Ash?" I reach towards her, wrinkling my nose. "Yeah…right there, between the ears…"
"This is so weird," I whisper to myself, and Kyla pulls away from me, trotting towards Aiden and nuzzling him gently. Even though he's a horse, I can see him smiling. Okay, they're kind of cute together.
"Alright," Glen says abruptly, all-business again. "So where are you guys gonna go?"
"We were thinking maybe somewhere rural, out of the way," Spencer tells him. "Are you sure you don't want to go with us?"
I can tell by the tone of her voice that she's thinking about the fact that he's her brother and they practically missed out on their childhood together, and I think Glen can tell, too.
"Nah. There are still more bandits to be taken care of." He reaches forward and ruffles her hair playfully. "But send me a letter or something. Let me know where you settle down. I'll visit sometime." He pulls her in for a hug, flashing me a smile, and I give him a hug, too. We follow Kyla and Aiden outside after that, and I help Spencer jump onto Kyla, who frowns noticeably.
"You know, even though I'm a horse now, this is still really awkward."
"I agree," Aiden comments. "And you're heavy, Ash."
"You'll get used to it," I promise. "I just wish we had saddles."
"We'll pick some up next village over," Spencer suggests, winking at her brother as Mojo flaps on over and attaches himself to her arm. "Hopefully I've inherited some of my brother's sneaking skills."
"I don't think it's genetic," Glen replies with a sigh. "But you guys take care of yourselves, alright? I'll see you around."
We all finish saying our goodbyes, and Aiden and Kyla start complaining the second Spencer and I dig our heels into their sides.
"God, just tell us to go," Kyla mutters, and Aiden swishes his tail up, whacking me in the back.
"Ow!"
"You'll get used to it," he mocks, and I flick the back of his ear, grinning when he whines and Spencer giggles.
"This is gonna be a long trip," she points out, and I nod my agreement, wincing when I hear a soft squelching sound from behind me.
"Aiden, are you shitting?"
"A horse's gotta go when a horse's gotta go."
"Ew." I force myself to ignore Aiden for the time being, looking over at Spencer to see her leaning down and whispering something to Kyla. My sister's ear twitches in response, and then she moves closer to Aiden, which, in turn, brings Spencer and me closer together, too.
"I love you," Spencer tells me, reaching over and grabbing my hand, and I squeeze it lightly, grinning at her in response.
"I love you too, Princess Spencer."
She smiles faintly, turning to look straight ahead for a moment while her thumb slides against the back of my hand. "Actually, I don't think I wanna be a princess, after all. It's way too much drama." She wrinkles her nose cutely. "From now on, just call me Spence."
"Only if you call me Ash," I agree, leaning over to kiss her and ignoring Aiden's and Kyla's "aww"s from somewhere below us.
And in our own special little ways, we all lived happily ever after.