Okay, final time it is! I'm not sure about killing Justin or not, though...oh well, you'll know by the end of this chapter!

Thanks for reviewing, Gage the Hedgehog, Bloodylilcorpse, Lonestarr, catherandwren, MccDB and Elizabeth Fire Ice Heart!

It was only about five minutes before Bridgette and Courtney had arrived that Justin had made his way to a shadowy staircase and gone up in search of the punky-looking lord. He couldn't have known that he was venturing into Duncan's quarters, but he'd had a gut feeling that the guy he was looking for was up there.

And Duncan was. It had only been thirty-six hours since Courtney had gone, but the news had spread quickly and he'd been up there for the last twenty-four. The servants had been truly shocked when he'd let Courtney go after all the work they'd done to bring them together. Gwen, DJ and Geoff had been tactful, but not all of them had.

"You were so close!" Emma had complained. "You're not just destroying your chances – you're destroying ours too!"

"I'm scared!" Lindsay had whimpered. "I don't wanna disappear! Beth won't really make me disappear, will she?"

"You can't just give up!" Sierra had raged. "It's not fair on you, or us!"

"She has a point." Cody had added tentatively, earning an unwanted hug from Sierra.

Josee had thrown one of her famous tantrums, eventually exhausting herself. Jacques hadn't even tried to calm her down, being furious himself, although he controlled his anger better.

Eventually, Duncan had had enough of them berating him, and he didn't have the heart to threaten any of them. He'd directed Gwen to get him a snack, which she obeyed. Then he trudged up to his quarters and had been staying there since. Sure, he was bored out of his skull, but at least he didn't have to face everyone else. But the main reason was the revelation he'd had.

"If you love someone, let them go. I let Courtney go...do I love her?" It was true. Courtney hadn't been gone that long, but she was still on Duncan's mind. He couldn't find a way to get her out of his head. He kept rewinding that moment when he'd let her go, imagining telling her to bring Bridgette back to the castle and have her looked after there, so she could keep her promise of staying. And he regretted letting her take the mirror. Now he couldn't even find out how she was.

The rooms in his quarters were heavily soundproofed, so Duncan didn't even hear the people coming. If he had, he might have helped out, being pretty skilled at unarmed battle, but as it was, he didn't hear anything until the door to one of his rooms was thrown open and a tall, handsome figure stood there, holding the hand mirror aloft.

"Lord Duncan." the voice said. It was a statement, not a question. "We meet at last."

Duncan stared the man down. "Who are you?" he finally said in his most dangerous tone. "And how did you get my mirror?"

"Oh, this is yours?" the man said. "I seem to recall that you gave it to someone else. Well, I'm sorry, but you don't always get what you want in life. Meaning, did you honestly think someone as beautiful as Courtney would want a punk freak like you?"

That did it for Duncan. He slowly advanced on the man. "Who are you, and what have you done with Courtney?"

"Oh, how rude of me." The man said. "My name is Justin. I don't think you deserve to hear my last name, especially as it won't be of much use to you once I'm finished. And for your information, Courtney is safe and sound and if she wants her sister to be likewise, she will be mine."

This enraged the young lord. In a swift movement, he snatched the mirror off Justin and said to it "Where is Courtney?" The mirror showed Courtney slowly coming up the same staircase that would lead her where they were standing right at that moment.

"I suppose I'll have to cut this short, then." Justin said as he looked at the mirror, reaching into a pocket on the inside of his clothes. Out came a small handgun.

Duncan may not have looked scared, but there was a reason. While he wasn't especially experienced with firearms, he'd been taught how to aim a gun when he was eight, when Jo (who hunted and killed most of the meat) had taught him how to aim a gun to make sure that he was shooting in the exact right place. And Justin was aiming too low – at that rate, if Duncan made a tiny jump at the right time, the bullet wouldn't even graze him.

As the shot sounded and Duncan dodged, the door to the room flew open and the brunette stood there, her eyes blazing. "Justin, don't even think-" she began furiously.

Justin turned. "Oh, Courtney!" he said in his most charming, velvety tones. "I'm sorry, but I could see you'd been brainwashed by this...creature. Stockholm Syndrome is serious, and I'll have to ask Dr McLean if he'll help you with that once we are married, but-"

"How dare you!" shrieked Courtney. "I wasn't brainwashed, and that creep isn't going to get anywhere near me or Bridgette! And even if it was true, no one deserves to die!" She jumped at him, wrestling the gun away from him, and finishing it off with a knee to the crotch, leaving Justin in incredible pain.

Duncan had been silent all this time, but he'd watched Courtney with incredible respect. If it had been a less serious situation, he would have registered that Courtney's combat skills were actually a turn-on. But as it was, he had a moral dilemma. While Justin lay on the ground, she looked at the gun, then at Duncan.

"Should we?" she murmured. "I know I said no one deserves to die, but..."

Duncan scowled at the guy on the ground. "If he just leaves, letting him live is all right."

Courtney smiled. "Good call." she said. She gave Duncan the gun and walked over to him ."Justin? Leave." she ordered. "Just don't bother anyone here again and we won't kill you."

But what Courtney didn't realize, was that Justin was stronger than he looked. It seemed like he was going to leave, but before anyone could react, he suddenly had the gun back, and shot. This time, he aimed higher, and punctured Duncan's heart. But Courtney saw it.

"Duncan!" she screamed.

At that moment, the doorway was darkened again, by several more people. But this time, it was a good thing

"He's in here, sir." a girl's voice said, and two men in dark uniform came in, followed by Bridgette. Instantly, all of them registered Duncan having fallen to the ground and Justin holding a gun. He spoke to Courtney.
"Excuse me, Miss." one of the men said. "But we got reports of unjustified vigilante action here."

It was a policeman. Courtney jumped to her feet. "Yes." she said. "And attempted murder." she indicated Justin. "We need an ambulance." She pointed to Duncan.

Duncan was dying, but he was still conscious. "No..." he began. "I...not allowed to..." He still couldn't talk about the curse, about how he actually couldn't leave the castle, but it didn't matter.

While Justin was cuffed by the policeman and led away, knowing that there was no way his looks could get him out of this charge, Bridgette hovered anxiously. "What happened?" she asked.

"Justin shot him." Courtney managed to say, her voice choked up. "How did you..."

"Your cellphone was in the car." Bridgette smiled. "I called the police. Should I call an ambulance too?"

Courtney nodded, starting to cry. Bridgette tactfully left, and Duncan looked up at Courtney.

"You came back..." he managed to say, not caring that he was stating the obvious.

"I had to." Courtney managed in a whisper. "I couldn't let you get hurt. Not after what you did for me."

Duncan smiled slightly. "I don't think...the hospital...can help me now..."

"Don't say it!" Courtney said fiercely. "You're not going to die! I won't let you!"

"Just..." Duncan knew that this would be the last thing he would say. "Live for me...and tell your sister...I'm sorry..." His voice faded.

Courtney couldn't stop the tears from flowing as Duncan's pulse faded. "No!" she whispered. "Please, please don't go..." And as she sobbed, a truth came to her that she hadn't realized. And just in case Duncan might still be able to hear, she whispered those three words...

"I love you."

And as she spoke, the last petal of the magical rose fell.

It's a sad moment in the movie, and it's a sad moment here. If Duncan had been shot in the heart without medical care, there's no doubt he would have died in a real world. But there's still hope.