Hey guys, actually the plan is that this chapter will be the chapter which reveals which character becomes what, but it turns out longer than expected so you have to hold the wait for a biiit more. Well, more time to guess, no? :)
ToOH: nope. more of a Hawkeye fan (partly reason why I equip Reine with bow this time round) ^^
ScipioPB: thanks for dropping by and reviewing, welcome to my story (ok, not exactly mine since this is a rendition but you get what I mean). I hope you'll enjoy the rest of the ride!
Guest: Thanks! Your question is covered on this chapter!
Chris: HAHAHA I see! I'm glad to see you again here! I'm smiling when you used the phrase 'reine-like' since it means that Reine's personality has shone through all the stories she is in! ^^ by the way, just to clarify, what do you mean by "quick to call upon people who do wrong"? Is it something like pointing to them where they've gone wrong or I have misinterpreted it? Thanks!
TMCP: yeah, Allen has blue eyes. But he is not the only one, since blue eyes are quite a common trait in HM characters. ^^
When Gwen opened her eyes, she was already covered in warm blanket with a pot of tea and a cup prepared next to her. A vague image of a coat stand bending down was replayed in her mind.
Was that a… dream?
It was then a birdlike voice broke the silence, "Oh, you woke up!"
Gwen's breath hitched and she turned her head sharply at the direction of the voice. Soon, another voice joined in, "Ssssh! Didn't I tell you to stay quiet?"
"You… you can talk, too?"
The teapot turned and Gwen could see a pair of warm brown eyes and a motherly smile on it, "I know it must be shocking for you, dear."
Shocking is an understatement. Gwen said inwardly, for she was afraid of hurting their feelings if she had said it out loud.
The earlier coat stand entered the room, "Oh, you've woken up, mademoiselle!"
Gwen nodded gingerly before she watched the teapot moved on its own to fill the cup with some warm tea. The cup then hopped closer to her, "Drink some tea will make you feel better!" it assured her.
Gwen blinked her eyes and sighed long. "Thank you," she finally said, reaching out to take the cup.
"I have to apologize, mademoiselle," the coat stand said, "It seems that I am still a lady killer. Must be due to my length."
Gwen eyed the coat stand carefully. It was slightly taller than her, indeed. "Well… I can see that you're long," she said, "but that's not it…"
The coat stand chuckled. It was obvious that the young woman didn't understand the innuendo. "In any case, please take a sip of the tea."
Gwen nodded and did what it told her to.
Would she spend the rest of her life with animated household items?
Soon, Reine reached a huge, black gate with overgrown vines spiralling around each spike. Reine stepped down from Thor, "You wait here." She said sternly.
The huntress knew about this area, but never ventured here ever since she started hunting on her own, for most of the time this certain area gave off very eerie, dark aura that no hunter dared to step in. She had even heard that the animals in this area were especially fierce and bloodthirsty—and more resilient to arrows—further increasing the incentive of not going there. However, just now her ride had been smooth, to say the least, although it could be because of her focus on finding Gwen that she couldn't care less of how the scary this part of the forest were.
In any case, she was here now, and much to her surprise she didn't feel that the sight before her was entirely foreign.
Swatting any unnecessary thoughts, Reine touched the gate carefully, trying to avoid the thorns on the spike, and it swung heavily inwards with her lightest touch—Reine was sure she hadn't pushed it. "That's strange…" she murmured under her breath, but she stepped in anyway.
Reine walked into the garden, and looked around; there were overgrown bushes everywhere, but for one small area. Out of curiosity, Reine peeked at it and found red rose bushes, trimmed neatly and bloomed beautifully although this wasn't the season for red roses.
It was as if this rose garden was nourished by magic: as if there is magic in the first place, Reine commented cynically, it is a work of a very dedicated gardener, I'm sure… but why only this space?
Reine's attention was suddenly caught by the sound from a nearby bush. She quickly reached for her bow and shot an arrow to the moving bush, "Yikes!"
A moment later, a candelabra fell. Reine approached it and was about to take it when it suddenly stood up on its own. As a reflex, Reine reloaded her bow and aimed it at the candelabra, "Wait! Wait! Don't shoot!"
Reine felt her heart skipped a beat. She swore she just heard the candelabra speaking. A moment later, she noticed that the candelabra had something resembling a pair of eyes, light blue in colour, in contrast to its golden coating. She could even see something like a mouth below the eyes—as if the candelabra had a face.
However, she didn't put her guard—or her bow, for that matter—down. "What are you?" she asked.
The candelabra blinked a few times, and there was a brief moment of silence, before it suddenly declared: "It's another girl!"
"Another?" she questioned, not caring that she was talking to something that was supposed to be insentient. "So there was another girl before me?!"
"Yes!" the candelabra replied excitedly. It took a closer look on Reine and it said, "She looks a lot like you, but she has brown hair."
Reine became alert at that information. "Bring me to her!"
"Sure!" the candelabra replied, "but could you put your bow down? It's a bit… scary."
Reine sighed and let the bow down and put the arrow back into her quiver. The candelabra hopped towards her and pointed at the door of the castle, "This way!" it said cheerfully.
Having a candelabra as a guide had certain benefits, including automatic lighting when entering a pitch black room, just like what Reine was experiencing when she entered the castle. All the curtains were drawn to completely cover the glass windows, and since the curtains were dark in colour, even sunlight couldn't penetrate into the grand castle.
Suddenly, there was a deep growl and Reine heard brusque steps approaching them. She quickly reached for an arrow and drew her bow just as a dark towering figure appeared before them.
"Another human?!" it growled, "What's wrong with these few days?!"
"Where is my sister?!" Reine roared back. "I know she is here!"
"That's none of your business!"
Reine aimed slightly off the beast's shoulder and shot the arrow, purposely missing the beast since she still needed to know where Gwen was being held before quickly reloading, this time aiming at the space between his magenta eyes—the most visible part of his body, "Answer me or the next arrow will pierce your sorry heart!"
The candelabra quickly interfered, "Please don't attack my master!"
"Your master better not harm my sister or I will—"
"Why can't you let her go?! She was the one walking into this place!" the beast interjected impatiently.
"Our mother is sick! And she is the one who knows herbs and potions to take care of her!" Reine retorted. "If you are so desperate in having a hostage for whatever, take me!"
There was a brief moment of silence before the beast snorted, "Fine! Have it your way—fetch that girl!"
The candelabra looked between the pinkette and his master, unsure whether everything would be fine if he left, but he was the only servant around and his master had the temper of gunpowder, so he left. Soon, the clanking sound of the bottom of the candelabra against the hard floor was too faint to be heard.
Even in darkness, Reine didn't put her guard down. In fact, she grew even more vigilant. She rarely hunted in evening, but that didn't mean she couldn't aim properly in darkness, and the beast was aware of it.
"Do you know what you're doing now?" it asked, its voice really sounded like it had had an eternal sore throat to Reine.
"Obviously." Reine retorted.
A moment later, Reine heard the clanking sound again, this time accompanied another sound—footstep. Soon, Reine could see Gwen's face in the dim light of candles and she immediately put her bow down and rushed to her sister, "Gwen!"
"Reine! What are you doing here?!"
"Don't waste my time!" the beast growled before Reine could answer her. It hauled Gwen and stomped to the door and pushed her out before closing the door in front of Gwen. Soon, Gwen's distressed voice was heard together with the banging of the door.
"Reine! Reine!"
"What have you done?!" Reine roared as she tried to force her way through, but the beast swung its arm at her and easily topple the young woman on the floor.
"Learn your place!" it growled back, baring its teeth in front of Reine. Reine didn't flinch, but instead glaring back at the beast. The beast turned to the candelabra, "Take her away!"
Gwen slumped in front of the castle's great door. Everything happened too quickly for her to process. She walked into a cursed castle, met talking furniture and beast, and then Reine and the next moment she was being thrown out.
"Take the coat with you," a familiar voice said. Gwen turned and found the coat stand. "How did you…"
"Back door, duh," the coat stand replied, "but I would suggest against going back to the castle."
The coat stand turned and noticed the orange sky, "You have to leave quickly, and cover your body in this coat."
"Why?"
"Oh, I'd love to regale you with a tale, mademoiselle, but I am afraid that time is not in our favour." It made a restricted motion towards Thor behind the gate, "There's a horse there. Is it yours?"
Gwen nodded, "That's Thor…"
"Leave, mademoiselle—your sister will be fine."
"But…"
"Before the sun sets, mademoiselle."
Gwen noted the urgency in its voice, and in the end she could do nothing but nodded weakly and walked away, defeated, towards Thor.
Reine takes Gwen's place as a hostage while she seems to be unfazed by the Beast!
What will happen to the sisters?
Stay tuned for the next chapter!
Thanks for reading! Please rate and review! ^^