Fairy Tale Wedding (Book One: The Road to Ever After)

Chapter Twenty-One

The rescue party felt surprised to find the land of Distress so... well, peaceful. The three humans and horses did not stop their race to Lady Jacqueline's country until finally they crossed its border. Their pace never slackened, night or day. The news the Shadow Person brought was horrible enough to keep haste flowing through the group's minds and bodies. They had to get to Distress before the worst occurred; before Princess Adeline became the wife of Lady Jacqueline's son.

Now that the six brave creatures were finally within the borders of their destination, they felt somewhat scared to find Distress a rather quiet land. The place was dark and the air burned their lungs, but, in the main, the kingdom was dreary. An attitude of apathy overshadowed all other feelings. This appearance of sluggishness worried Gill, for he knew such an appearance of lack of defense could not be trusted. He had to resist the temptation to think this rescue was actually going to be easy. He knew Lady Jacqueline had to have some trick waiting for them, sooner or later.

"Alright," Gillroy said, squatting next to his companions as they hid behind a great boulder. Lady Jacqueline's castle was in sight, so close and so very haunting now they were in its shadow. Its black, glass exterior came from a nightmare and it did scare the willies out of the rescuers. A little honest fear never killed anyone.

"Getting to Adeline and getting her out of this place before the wedding is our top priority," Gillroy instructed the others. Even though the scene before them was pretty ominous, a fresh excitement was pulsing through his veins. It would be a relief to finally do something on Adeline's behalf.

"Not to contradict you on minor details," Prince Darrik piped up, "But isn't saving Princess Adeline our only priority." Eudora shot him an annoyed look. "Just wondering," Darrik added.

"It's not the only mission here," Knightley said. "Am I right, Gillroy, sir?"

Gill nodded his sandy-coloured head. "No, it isn't. Saving Adeline is only the easy part."

"I dislike your next statement already," Darrik commented. "What is the so much harder part?"

"Vanquishing Lady Jacqueline," Gillroy said. "We came all this way, we might as well see the whole thing through. And really, I don't see another way of saving Princess Adeline without coming up against Her Wickedness. To achieve the one goal, we must defeat the other. We have no choice."

All the horses and humans sat in silence, their stomachs turning sour. No one liked the thought of meeting Lady Jacqueline up close, especially in circumstances where she would be pretty piping hot. The enchantress would not let anyone dash her grand plans for Fairy Tale. Any soul that tried to stop her would face all her fury, and the horrors of her wrath were as yet unknown. Each member of the rescue squad breathed in very deeply. They needed all their courage to accomplish this mission.

"We should split up," Gill said resolutely.

Prince Darrik shut his eyes and groaned, "How did I know you were going to say that?"

"You disapprove?" the steward asked.

"No, no," Darrik said, making sure his gloves were tightly fitted upon his hands, "Just sad to ruin the surprise. Ah well, that's life. Come along, Eudora," he stood while lifting the handmaiden to her feet, "You're coming with me."

"Thanks for asking," Eudora sarcastically smiled. "I'd be glad to play your sidekick, Prince Darrik."

The prince gave the fair lady a boyish wink and took his sword from his belt.

"What should we do," Dark Journey asked his master.

"I want you three to keep an eye on the stables. If you see any dragon activity, you'll have to be quick. It's your responsibility to keep all winged creatures busy, or we humans won't have a fighting chance. Will you do it?" Gill questioned.