Chapter Eight - As The World Falls Down
Hey guys! I'm back, with yet another update! I'm hoping you guys will enjoy it. This chapter will have a time skip in it - like last chapter - but both halves will hopefully be moderate in length, if not better, so hopefully its okay. c;
09Who knew90 : It's fine! I almost forget sometimes too, so I'm glad he hasn't entered the story yet in case I forgot while writing. cx It's fine that you forgot! It happens to everyone. c; And yes, he probably does know. So yes, Mina is kind of scared by it. But at the same time, considering Jared won't tell her exactly what this curse is going to entail, she can only rely on her mom and I think Mina doesn't completely believe her. I'm glad that you loved last chapter! I'm excited to see what you'll think of this chapter, seeing as Jared and Mina are gonna run away. And indeed, Teague will probably be unpredictable. :p How that affects Mina and Jared? Well, we'll just have to find out. And haha, I can't tell you why Forever Jared is what I was aiming for. c: You'll find out though...Eventually. As for whether or not this is a trap by Jared like in Fairest? I can't say. We'll just have to read and find out if you're right! And yes, poor Mina with no one to bring. ;-; I can't say what Jared's motives are, but we'll find out...eventually. I'm glad there were no typos! And ah, I forgot it was Valentine's Day too! cx Happy Late Valentine's Day to you (and to anyone else who reads my rambling/the story). c; It's totally fine. I feel like I might remember which one you're talking about, but I can normally figure out what people mean in their reviews, so it's fine. :3 I'm glad you still love the constant updates! I'm hoping to get two updates today on Little Black Star, but I'll settle for one if I can't make a second, good one. c: And I'm excited to see your reaction to Killer of My Heart updates! I actually have an outline of what I need to cover in all the chapters to get to the end, so I will be excited to see if I can finish that story up or not in it's "week of updates."
Now? On with the show!
"What's that supposed to mean?" I raise an eyebrow, growing rather confused. "What did you figure out, Jared?"
"I figured out a way to get past the curse, Princess." Jared's face is pretty much an inch - maybe two - away from mine, and I can feel his breathe. I'm completely frozen, unsure of what to do. "There's an area that Prince Teague won't be able to get into. If we can get there, you won't have to go. We can stay there. But we have to leave now, or there's no way we can make it. And even if we did go now, we might not make it." He frowns, biting his lip. "That is, if you want to go."
"If I let Prince Teague take me, I'm never going to see you again, am I?" I ask, the realization only just dawning on me.
"You probably wouldn't see me, no." He sighs, staring at his feet.
It doesn't take me too long to get an answer. "I don't want that. You're my guardian, and I don't think I'll be able to cope without you after everything that has happened. I denied it before. But now, I realize that I do need someone to help protect me. Let's go, Jared."
"Do you need anything?" He asks, but I shake my head the moment after the question leaves his mouth.
"Nope." My heart almost breaks when I answer him, because I realize how pitiful it sounds. "I don't have anything of value."
"Your bike is near here, right?" He asks, and I nod. "Good. Let's go there. I can turn it into a truck," I'm relieved to hear him say that and not a motorcycle, "and we'll drive there. Hopefully we'll make it. But before we go," That doesn't sound good, "I need to make sure you understand one thing."
"Okay." I ask, a bit nervous.
"If we don't make it in time, Prince Teague will take you. And when he does, there's no telling what his reaction will be. Are you willing to risk his wrath?" It's a genuine question, and when I think about it, I find that I'm a bit frightened.
And yet - at the same time - I'm not. "Let's worry about that hurdle if it comes."
Mina's Point of View
We've been driving for awhile now. We drove all of Sunday - right into Monday - and we're still going. I slept in the car, but Jared doesn't seem to need any sleep at all. What type of Fae is he? How does he survive without sleeping? I really hope he doesn't do anything stupid because he actually is tired, like make us crash. Sometimes we've talked, but generally the drive has been silent.
However, with all this time to think and reflect, I've had time to think more deeply. Maybe it's just because Jared is so close, but I've been thinking a lot about the deja vu I've been feeling. I get it a ton when Jared is around, and from the oddest things at times too. That's not even counting the odd behavior he has at times. I've started to draw one conclusion when I think through all the facts, but I have no idea what to do with it. I might just be over analyzing everything, but now I really need to know if I'm right or not.
The only way to do that is to ask.
"Jared...?" I look over at him, but he keeps his eyes on the road.
"Yes, Princess?" While he doesn't look over - which I have to admit, is good seeing as he's the driver - I can tell that he's paying attention to me.
Now I'm kind of nervous to say anything about my conclusion, and I find myself beginning to beat around the bush. "I have a question."
"I figured that's why you asked my name instead of just saying it." A bit of amusement slips into his voice, and I swear I start sweating when it does. He's taking the fact that I'm nervous to ask him something so casually, where as I'm shaking a little.
"D-Did we know each other?" I ask, and I can see Jared stiffen.
"What?" He sounds confused when I ask, but I notice his grip tighten on the wheel.
I decide to rephrase the question, as it wasn't what I wanted to ask exactly. "Have we met before?"
"Why would you think that?" He's not trying to answer my question. He's avoiding it and asking one of his own.
"I keep getting these odd senses of deja vu." Even as I say it, I get the feeling. "Strangely enough, most of the time it's only when you are around. So, I decided to ask. Is there a time before you gave me the tip for throwing my knives that we met? And not just one time. Are there multiple times?"
"I don't understand." He shakes his head.
"I think you do, Jared. Have I met you before? Did we know each other before then?" I ask, becoming even more insistent.
"Mina, wouldn't you remember if we had?" He shoots another question back at me, and I frown at this.
I would, wouldn't I? Unless Fae magic was involved, like it was at my school. "I dunno..."
"But, to answer your question, no. We haven't." I'm almost disappointed.
"We haven't?" I ask, as if to make sure that's what he really means.
"No." He repeats, and then says, "Jared and Wilhelmina Grime have never met before I showed up to you in the woods while you were throwing knives."
Time skip to three days later
"Jared?" I whimper, staring at the wrecked car as I stand beside him. "What are we going to do?"
"We would've made it, if I hadn't crashed the car." He says, pacing for a moment. "I can't believe I was stupid enough to manage that!"
"Jared..." I plead, grabbing his arm and forcing him to look at me. "What are we going to do? It's almost sundown. You said that was when the Prince planned to come."
He nods. "It is. He always comes at sundown."
"Then we have to go!" I'm starting to sound a bit desperate. "Jared, if we stand here much longer, then there is going to be no chance whatsoever of us making it."
"Princess, we're going to need a miracle as it is." Jared shakes his head, looking so defeated that it hurts my heart.
"We can still make it!" I respond, staring up at him.
"No, we can't! Don't you understand? Without a car, we will never make it!" He's starting to gt angry with me, and I swear I almost begin to cry. Why is he so mad now? What did I do wrong?
"We have to try!" I respond, and the upset feeling that's been growing inside me vanishes, only to be replaced with anger.
"We will never make it." He shakes his head, sitting down a log.
My voice raises. "Make a car, then!" I'd try myself, but I've never been able to do something that big, and it took me ages to even be able to make weapons that worked properly with Fae magic.
"I'm not a genie in a bottle, Princess!" He shouts back, putting his head in his hands.
"You...You know what?" I'm shaking due to my anger, and also due to fear. I've only see Jared this mad once, and that was only for two minutes after I tried to kill myself. However, I've come up with a plan that might not work, but it's all I have. What is that plan? It's for me to try and get there myself. If I follow the road, I'm sure I'll find it. The only question is if I'll make it in time. "Fine! Be that way! I don't need your help."
Spinning on my heel, I begin to head in the direction we had been going. I brush some hair from my face angrily, and I'm walking right now. Mainly because I know Jared will try and get me to come back.
Right on cue, I hear Jared. "Mina, it's not safe for you to go by yourself!"
"I'm not going to stick around with someone who gives up so easily!" I shout back over my shoulder. "Have fun with your car crash, Jared. I'll drop you postcard if I make it to where we were going. And if I don't? Well, I'm sure Prince Teague will love talking to you about you convincing me to run away from the curse."
And on that note, before Jared can respond, I begin to run.
I push myself to run for around five minutes, before it's too painful and I have to go to a jog. I can see the sun beginning to set, but I keep trying to jog. After awhile, I go to walking, holding my side which hurts more than words can survive. I'm panting, but I keep going anyways. I have to make it. If I don't, I'll never make it. Finally, I see the entrance to the safe place. A blue, shimmery wall, which is actually a dome according to Jared. Once I'm in there, I'm safe.
Except the sun begins to set right as I see it.
Even if I couldn't see it, I would know it set, because I can hear Jared - I don't know how - in my head. "I'm sorry." And I somehow know that it's a sincere apology. But what exactly is he apologizing for? Because there's a long list. Unless he's apologizing for everything?
I begin to run towards the wall. I'm so close though! Tears streak down my cheeks, but as I run towards it I realize something. Who exactly am I even running to now? No one. When I was running with Jared, it was going to make a difference, because Jared would be there when we arrived. I was going to lose my friend if I didn't run. But now? Nobody is going to be there. I'm running for absolutely no reason. I already lost Jared, after all. And so, I stop.
Not that it would really matter, because I end up plowing right into someone maybe three feet from the bubble-wall-thing.
"You're pretty brave, throwing yourself into my arms." The voice makes my heart ache when I hear it. It sounds so much like Jared's, but it's different. I remember hearing it before though, after I fell from the tree.
I try to take a step back, but I'm held fast by his arms. "And you have some nerve, claiming that I've thrown myself into your arms."
He gives a light chuckle, and releases me as he steps back. Now, I get a good look at him, and he's just like I remember. He has icy blue eyes that chill the soul, and almost give you the feeling that he can see exactly what's going on inside your head. His black hair is a mess, but it's the drop-dead-gorgeous kind of mess that people - me included - think is attractive. He's dressed head to toe in black - which reminds me yet again of Jared, making my heart hurt even more - although unlike the first time I saw him, he doesn't have gloves or a cape. When I think about it, he almost looks like a normal person, except for the fact that he's dressed in black.
He chuckles at my comment. "You certainly have a tongue. But tell me, do you have claws?"
"I'd rather keep my life in tact for now." I cross my arms, looking Prince Teague in the eyes. "If I showed you those claws, I'd be signing my fate."
"Fair enough." He laughs for a moment, but then becomes rather serious. "Of course, you were fine with playing around with your life, what, five days ago? And if you wanted to keep your life in tact, you would've thought of that before you ran."
"You're going to kill me?" I swear I nearly have a heart attack. Jared said Prince Teague would be mad. But I never imagined he'd be mad enough to kill me!
"No." He shakes his head, and I let out a sigh of relief. "But you might wish I had."
That stops me dead in my tracks. "Jared wouldn't tell me what the Grimm curse entails. No one would. I just know it's going to be awful. What exactly is it...?"
"Patience, my dear Mina." I don't know how I feel about him calling me that. "Patience. You'll find out in due time what the final phase of the curse - the worst part - entails. But, for now, I believe you're to come with me." He extends a hand. "The question is, are you ready?"
I have a feeling he'll take me even if I say I'm not. "Yes."
Taking his hand, I can only hope that I haven't made a mistake.
Woah, what did you guys think of all of that? Was it good? Bad? I'm excited to see what the opinions are on this chapter, seeing as we have different things to think about! Next chapter we'll be seeing the Fae plane, a bit more of Prince Teague, and finding out something - hopefully - that might make a few heads spin!
Until next time! Please review if you read this story, so I can see everyone's opinion on this!
Also, I just want to thank Evx and 09Who knew90, because I feel like I don't thank them enough. You guys are the reason I keep writing this story! c; Your reviews are always inspiring. It's definitely the fans in this fandom that keep the fanfictions alive. It's such a good community, that seems like a family.
~ Dagger