The School for Good and Evil Prequel The Never Prince (fanfic)

Chapter 20

When he finally woke up, Garth thought he was dead. Every muscle, every bone in his body ached as if they had shattered. His vision was foggy, his ears ringing. He figured out he wasn't dead, but he wanted to be. He stayed still, closing his eyes.

Rather than seeing darkness, he saw Lilac's face. The ringing in his ears was replaced by her joyful laugh. Rather than feeling pain, he felt her soothing touch. It hurt to smile, but he couldn't help it. She was so lively. So beautiful. And he'd never see her again.

Garth opened his eyes. It was still raining, not as heavily, but still a downpour. He lay in the water, fur coat drenched. The world was still grey. He lifted his head, but dropped it back down. Everything still hurt. He took a breath, realizing he hadn't done so in a while.

He stared at his reflection in the water as he mogrified back into a boy. He was able to figure out the spell for pants and increasing the size of his sword. Everything still hurt, but it was a little better.

"Scar," Garth groaned as he pushed himself up with his aching arms. He looked around at the pond he was in, trying to find the wolf. "Where are you?" He stood up shakily and walked awkwardly out of the water. He collapsed on dry ground. Well, the muddy bank. But for him, it was dry ground.

Over here. Garth lifted his head, wiping the mud out of his eyes. Over here, the voice hissed again. The prince felt drawn to the voice. Like that first day in the Blue Forest, near the gates that lead to this forsaken place. He glanced back at the water, just to make sure Scar wasn't being left behind.

Over here. Garth slowly crawled toward the voice, dragging his legs behind him. When he neared a tree, he grabbed a branch to help get himself to his feet. He walked for a time in the rain, but slipped in the mud and fell again.

Over here. Garth kept going, not caring about the mud or the rain or the lack of direction. He had to know what kept calling him. What continued to pester him and want his attention. He simply had to know.

Garth got to his feet as he neared a cave. He stepped toward the entrance and looked inside. Darkness. He either went in and faced whatever was there, or he left. The prince looked around, not seeing any other option. He pulled out his sword and stepped into the cave.

"Anyone in here?" he called, his voice echoing off the walls. The further he went in, the darker it got. He could no longer tell if it was raining, but he was sure it was. He barely took a breath, fearing he'd awaken some creature.

Garth tuned in to someone's labored breath near the left side of the cave. He walked toward the sound, his only beacon in the pitch black cave. It almost sounded like a wheeze, happening less frequently every time.

Suddenly, a fire blazed. Garth pointed his sword at the spot, but only found an unconscious boy. The kid lay on the hard ground, some kind of dark fabric covering the lower half of his body. It was obvious he was in pain, his face expressing agony.

As Garth neared the boy, he saw his matted grey and white hair was wet. He could see a scar across the boy's left eye. Garth got on his knees and thought this guy couldn't be any older than he was. He gulped before carefully lifting the boy's eyelid. His eyes were blood red.