Chapter Sixteen - Killing Your Conscience

Hey guys, I'm back with yet another update of Little Black Star! I've been feeling especially motivated and inspired to write this story since I outlined it and have so much planned (although as I think stuff over I tweak it in my head, although I have it mostly planned out in my head and I'm mainly sticking to the outline)! :D Hopefully you guys are as excited as I am. There are quite a few twists we haven't even gotten to yet, and I want to see how you guys will react. :3

Also, I recently realized a few of my emoji faces don't come across correctly. cx So I will be trying to avoid using those now. xD

Evx : I'm glad you finished it, and that the chapter was lovely! And no problem! I love updating this story. c: As for things with Mina, well, I can offer no guarantees. Although would it be a story if everything was fine and dandy?

tardiscompanion101 : I'm glad this is pretty good so far, and that you can't wait to read more! I'm not sure how far you've read, as you reviewed on Chapter 2, but none the less I hope I surprise you! And ah, yes, the spelling errors. I've been getting better at catching those in later chapters, but I'm glad besides that everything is good!

Guest 1 : I'm glad you love this fanfiction so much! I really enjoy writing it. ^-^ And thank you so much! It means a lot to be told that, as I really love writing. I'm jut always worried that I'm not any good at it.

Now, on with the chapter, right?

She croaks out in a voice I can't identify but I know I've heard before, "Help me, Mina, please!"

I reach my hand out towards her. "Here, take my hand!"

It's too late though. She loses her grip, slipping backwards, and her hand barely misses mine. I lean downwards, trying to reach her, but she drifts away. I blink, and then she's clinging to the branch, and my hand is hanging down for her to grab. She takes it, but I don't save her this time either.

"You're gonna pay for what you did. I want you to bow." Then, she let's go of the branch, pulling me down with her.

I shut my eyes as the darkness whips past, and the girl releases my hand, seeming to pull away. I keep plummeting downwards, wind rushing past me and whipping my hair all around, until it stops. I open my eyes as my feet collide with solid ground, and groan in pain. A figure flickers in and out of my vision in front of me, looking a bit like a girl who doesn't seem much older than me. Every now and then a few other girls appear in my vision, but she's the only one that's constantly flickering.

"You're getting closer." I can tell she whispers the words and I shouldn't be able to hear them, but I manage to anyways and they are left to echo in my head.

I sit up straight, gasping as I do. I can tell I've barely gotten any sleep, and I don't feel much more rested. But I have to go. I stand up on wobbly legs, left to try and figure out what that dream meant. Everything I've had happen in my dreams seem to be coming true, so those must mean something. But what?

You're getting closer. That's what that girl whispered. But what is that supposed to mean? And who was she, or the other girl that fell? How is Savannah playing for this? And why am I still getting warned about Templestiltskin?

Mina's Point of View (I promise, eventually we'll have a chapter - hopefully more - not in her perspective, but that'll be in a little while)

I walk along, breathing hard as my fingers try and pry the gold collar-necklace-thing Templestiltskin gave me off my neck. It hurts my fingers to do so, but the thing hurts my neck, so I need to get it off. However, no matter how hard I try, I can't get it off. It's growing warmer too, so it makes me even hotter. Soon, it might burn my fingers, unless Temple makes some progress and gets closer to where I am. Which I don't want.

Although I admit it would be a relief to have some of the pain disappear.

I continue to walk through the forest till finally I reach the edge. Literally. The forest stops at a cliff side, and I frown. That's not good. I try to figure out if I should go left or right, but I honestly have no idea. This might just be hopeless. What am I supposed to do? What if there isn't an actual way out of this book? Or, what if I pick the wrong direction, resulting in me never finding it?

I lean against a tree, sighing. Maybe I should just give up.

That's when I remember that my dad died in order to save my life awhile ago. And how I did all this training that I haven't even used. And how Jared-Teague saved my life so many times, including when I tried to take it in order to get his attention. And how I had to kill Ever in order to survive. And how Nix died because he was trying to help and protect me. And how I had to escape Scylla in order to survive. And how I kind of had to escape Templestiltskin again in order to make sure he doesn't escape, because he'll catch other girls and escape if I don't manage to escape without him. If I give up now, all of that occurred for nothing. I can't let that be the case.

That's when I hear a voice. "Help!"

The voice shakes me to my core. I look around, trying to pin point the source. Where is it coming from? I can't identify the location, but I know I have to. I need to know what on earth is going on. What are they doing in here?

"Help!" They cry out again, and this time I realize it's coming from the cliff.

I walk up slowly, kneeling down on the ground and laying on my stomach for safety before peering over the cliff edge. My hands grip the grass, as if that'll help me stay on and not let me fall off the cliff if something like a gust of wind were to try and get me off. It may be irrational, but when I peer over I don't even think about that. I'm just shocked at who's there, because I thought there was no way in reality that my identification of the voice was right. But it is.

"Savannah?" I manage to croak the name out, staring at perfect blue eyes that are filled with horror as she clings to a root.

Her hair is a tangled mess, no longer it's perfect look that it used to be. I can't tell how lung she's been clinging onto that root jutting from the ground, but she seems to be sweating, so it has to be longer than anyone would like. I stare at her, not sure how to react. How on earth is she here?

"Don't just stare you idiot!" Savannah barks the words at me, bringing me back to reality, and I frown as she goes, "Save me!"

"Why should I save you?" I ask, moving backwards ever so slightly.

In my dream, she attacked me in the school cafeteria. She sent me into the wall. I don't know what that's representing, but it's obviously not something good. I can't trust her. I push away, standing up. I can't save her. I will not endanger myself. She was awful to me, and there's no doubt that she'll continue to hurt me. I just gave myself a pep talk that had to do with not getting myself killed now. Temple will be getting closer. I have to go now.

"Grimes!" She screams the words at me as I begin to move back towards the tree line, so that I won't see her as I walk away. "Grimes, don't do this!"

That's when I get a punch to the gut as I remember my most recent dream.

I flip around multiple times, landing on my knees and hearing a thicken crunch. I let out a cry of pain, and the ground slowly disappears around me till I'm standing on a little piece of land floating in darkness. A small stick juts out, and then I see a hand is clinging on to that stick. I lean down to see a girl with dead eyes staring back at me, but I can't identify any color on her.

She croaks out in a voice I can't identify but I know I've heard before, "Help me, Mina, please!"

I reach my hand out towards her. "Here, take my hand!"

It's too late though. She loses her grip, slipping backwards, and her hand barely misses mine. I lean downwards, trying to reach her, but she drifts away. I blink, and then she's clinging to the branch, and my hand is hanging down for her to grab. She takes it, but I don't save her this time either.

"You're gonna pay for what you did. I want you to bow." Then, she let's go of the branch, pulling me down with her.

I recognized the voice in the dream. It was telling me about this. I don't save her, and then she'll end up killing me later. I don't know how, but my dreams have always been right so far, whether literally or in some symbolic way. I have to save her. I can't make the same mistake.

I dive down on my stomach, extending my hand. "Grab on!"

I'm too late. Her hands slip off, and she tries to grab mine. Like in the dream, it's to no avail. As I look at her, her eyes grow to look rather dead. All emotion leaves, and this rather deranged smile slips onto her face. Just like my dream. She opens her mouth and shouts something as she drops. I wish as hard as I can that I won't hear what she shouts, that the wind will block it out, but it doesn't in time. I hear it.

"You'll pay for this!" Those are the words she screams.

And I know I should believe her. I stand up, and something inside me registers the fact that the necklace has loosened a little and grown a bit cooler. Temple is closer. I have to go. I turn and run, but my mind is still focused on watching Savannah fall. What does she have in store? She's going to die from that drop. So how is she going to make me pay?

I run till I'm out of energy, which is partly from running and then jogging for as far as I did, and partly because the necklace - which I have now decided to call it officially - has tightened to what it was and then grown even tighter. Not to mention it's grown hotter as well, though not as much as expected. I'm slightly afraid now that I won't have to worry about what Savannah is going to do. I might just kill myself from trying to escape Temple with this necklace on.

"There's a girl there." A voice from the right.

"Do we shoot her?" Another one, also sounding male, says from the same side.

I swing around in both directions, and see nothing. But I'm in the middle of the woods, and it's getting dark, so I can't really say anything about whether or not that can tell me anything distance wise. I grab a stick, trying desperately use the Fae magic that has been eluding me all along, and that's when something else hits me. I don't think I've eaten, or had anything to drink, all this time. How on earth am I still alive? Distracted, I almost miss the arrow that gets shot at my face. Almost. My hand flies up to protect myself, but the arrow stops, an inch or two away. At first, I think it's my magic, and I grip the stick harder. It'll turn into a dagger if I need it too. I know it.

But when I try to make the arrow drop, it won't, and I realize with horror that it isn't my Fae magic that stopped it. Is it Prince Teague's? Is he saving my life again? Or is it someone else's?

"Why would you do that, idiot? She wants her alive!" That's another man's voice.

"For now." That's another ominous guy's voice.

That's four in all, right? So I only need to take on four men - Fae men, which makes things worse - armed with a stick and no Fae magic of my own for reasons I can't figure out. I could change into my Fae form, but I can't use Fae magic now. Why?

The arrow flies back to a hand that pops out from behind a tree to catch the shaft, and then I feel hands grab my neck.

"Night night." Once again, I find myself choking, and I try to pry them off. This, plus the necklace tightening, is too much though, and as I once again pass out the same guy says, "Sleep tight."

Oopsie. Poor Mina is getting choked again. Just so you guys know, it's completely intentional now that she keeps getting choked. I want something kind of consistent as a danger, so that I'm not overusing other ones in attempts to be creative, if that makes any sense. This way, we have something expected, and so then I can also throw you guys off with unexpected stuff when you guys expect choking. So ya! cx

Anyways, please review with reactions. What did you guys think about the whole Savannah meeting? Why do you think she's in the Grimorie? And how do you think she got there? How is she going to get her revenge? What's up with these guys? Who do they work for? Do you think we know them, or nah?

Now, I'll see you guys at my next update!

~ Dagger