Okay, Bridgette is in this chapter! Hope you enjoy it! Thanks for reviewing, Elizabeth Fire Ice Heart, Gage the Hedgehog, StarHeart Specials and the guest reviewer.
Courtney found the house silent. "Bridgette?" she called. No answer.
"Bridge?" Still nothing. But then Courtney listened, and she could hear that sniffling sound. Something she'd known since she was two years old and Bridgette was just a baby. She ran to the bedroom the two girls shared.
"Bridge, what's wrong?" Courtney asked, seeing her sister curled up on her bed.
"I don't think I can show up for the contest." Bridgette said softly. "I couldn't do any of my tricks today. I could barely even stand on my board – I'm hopeless!"
Bridgette, despite being younger, was usually the more levelheaded one of the two sisters, but when it came to her passions, things were different. Courtney had heard these insecurites before, and knew how to handle it.
"You say that all the time." she tried to laugh her sister out of it. "You know you're great at surfing. All you need is a little confidence! You know you'll win the hundred grand on Monday! And when you come home, we can sell our house and use the money from that and your winnings to move into a city where it's normal to love surfing or seek more than marriage."
Just the thought of that was enough to make Bridgette cheer up a bit. "You think so? I know I'm up against older, more practised people."
Courtney grinned as her sister's frown disappeared. "Older, practised...that doesn't mean they're as good at surfing as you are. You can do it, Bridge." she said. "I believe in you, and I'll be cheering you on the whole time, even though I won't be with you."
Bridgette sighed. "I wish you could come watch." she said softly. "It'll be weird, you not being there."
"Hey, you're only away for three nights." Courtney consoled. "Call me once you've landed, okay, and just before you come home."
The two girls had a long, tearful goodbye at the airport, just before Passport Control. Bridgette tried to smile, though, surfboard in hand, ready to face the others at the nationwide contest. Courtney waved, wishing her good luck and a safe flight.
The flight was only an hour long – it shouldn't have been a problem. But no, the plane flew right into a freak storm, and fifteen minutes from their destination, the plane crashed. Fortunately, it crashed into a river, and everyone survived. But while most people could call, Bridgette's cellphone was waterlogged, and it went dead.
"Oh, what can I do now?" Bridgette panicked. She decided to try and find a house, so she could ask to use their phone, and started through a forest, feeling terrified, but pressing on. Being alone in a dark wood was her worst fear, and as the sky grew steadily darker, she started to feel as if she was being watched. The gnarled trees seemed to say Turn back! Danger! But Bridgette had come too far to turn back now – her only hope of finding life was to keep going.
Luckily, by the time it had gotten completely dark, she found a building. Yes, it was a creepy-looking castle, but still. If anyone lived there, she could use their phone. And if no one did...well, she could stay there for the night. It was starting to rain, and it was getting too dark to go anywhere else.
Bridgette reached up to the knocker, and rapped on it several times. No answer, but the door was open. She heard whispers, so she called out. "Hello? Is anyone there? I was wondering if I could use your phone. I'm stranded, and my phone broke, so..."
She heard whispers, closer, this time. "That poor girl. She must have gotten lost."
"Shh! We don't have a phone, and we can't risk Lord Duncan knowing someone's here."
"C'mon, DJ, she's not doing anything wrong! He'll never know if we just show her a little hospitality! And besides, she might be the answer to our curse!"
All the same, when Bridgette called out again, she jumped when a blonde-haired guy with deep blue eyes appeared in front of her. He was wearing a cowboy hat, and smiling in his friendliest way. "Yo." he greeted her. "What's up?"
"Oh, uh..." Bridgette stammered. "My p-plane crashed, and my cellphone stopped working. I need to call my sister and let her know what's happened, and -"
"Do you have a place to stay for the night?" the guy asked.
"Well, now you mention it, no." Bridgette said. "But I don't want to impose-"
"Oh, it's okay, we're cool with it! Just keep it down, and things'll be fine! Come on!" The guy began to lead her to another room, which looked warm and inviting.
Another guy, a big, dark, strong-looking one, appeared from further up and started to protest. "No! Excuse me, Miss, but you can't-"
"Oh, stop being a killjoy, she'll be fine!" the blonde guy insisted. Bridgette wasn't so sure, but the guy continued insisting on it, pulling up an armchair in front of the fire for her.
A pale girl with teal streaks in her hair was the next to appear. She was wearing an apron. "This is not going to end well." she muttered, but she smiled at Bridgette. "Do you want a drink or something? You're shivering, and you look like a drowned rat." she said bluntly.
"Thanks." muttered Bridgette, but she smiled back tentatively. "All I really need is a phone so I can call my sister and then I can find a place to stay-"
"Yeah, there's no phone here." the girl said. "I just thought you could use something hot, since you were caught out in the rain. I'll get Cody to get you some hot chocolate, if that's okay?"
All Bridgette could do was nod, but now she knew there was no phone, she started panicking inwardly. The girl in the apron didn't seem to notice, though. "Cody!" she called.
A puppy-like boy with blue eyes came into the room. "What is it?"
"Could you get our guest some hot chocolate?"
"Sure, Gwen! I'll be back in two minutes!" He smiled and ran out, tripping over the carpet on the way.
Gwen rolled her eyes. "He's such a goof sometimes." she sighed. "But he's nice, I guess."
But at that moment, everything went dark. The fire went out and the doors to the room flew open. Gwen and the two guys stepped into the shadows, and Bridgette shivered, terrified. What was going on?
"What is this girl doing here?" a voice growled.
It was the guy in the cowboy hat who answered. "She just wanted to use a phone, and she didn't have anywhere to go-"
"I tried to stop them, my Lord." the tall dark guy interjected, "But-"
But it was obvious this 'Lord' wasn't here for explanations. He stepped in front of Bridgette. He was only barely taller than her, and possibly only a couple of years older, about Courtney's age, but he was intimdating, with dark hair that was partly dyed green, and piercings that looked like he'd done them himself. "Who are you, and what are you doing here, in my castle?" he demanded.
"I – I..." Bridgette stammered out "My plane crashed, my phone went dead, I got lost, so I just asked to use the phone, but they said there was no phone and that I could stay, since I don't have anywhere to go-"
The guy laughed humourlessly. "You don't have anywhere to go? Well, I can assure you, you're not going anywhere! Trespassing is against the law, and while I don't set much store by laws, waltzing straight into my home is not something I'm going to forgive." And at that moment, he picked her up like she weighed nothing, and carried her to a dungeon.
Miles away, in the middle of nowhere, locked in a dungeon. Bridgette blinked back her tears, but she sighed. Could her life get any worse?
Oh, Bridgette...can it? So yeah – the servants are human, but they're all sixteen, just as they were when the enchantress came. Duncan has grown up from nine to sixteen, but the reason he didn't want Bridgette here is because he's given up hope and would rather spend his last days alone...or so he thinks.