The Curse of Thorns

CHAPTER TWENTY-NINE

Clutching Briar by the neck, the ogress hoisted her off the ground effortlessly. Briar's feet dangled in the air, her breath coming in shallow gasps. One wrong move and Briar felt certain that Marigold could snap her neck like a twig.

"Marigold, please," Theodore pleaded, stepping forward with his hands raised. "Let Briar go. She has nothing to do with this."

"No, healer!" Marigold bellowed. "Make me beautiful. And then I'll release her."

"Wait, what?" Briar sputtered, her voice strained as she stopped struggling for a moment. "You want him to make you beautiful?"

Briar had initially thought the ogress must be suffering from some kind of illness. Now she understood why Theodore had faced such difficulties in treating Marigold. The ogress's request was far more complex than a simple healing.

"Yes," Marigold growled, her grip tightening around Briar's throat. "Healer, I give you two days. Make my potion, or the girl stays with me."

"But why do you want to be beautiful?" Briar asked, her voice barely a whisper as the pressure on her neck increased.

"Who doesn't want to be beautiful?" Marigold snapped back. "Everyone desires beauty."

The ogress had a point, Briar realized, albeit a bitter one. She had always believed that the obsession with beauty was a distinctly human trait. It seemed, however, that this desire transcended species and boundaries.

"Besides," Marigold continued, "if I am beautiful, I will marry the prince and become the queen. And I don't have much time. The prince is hosting a ball to find a wife, and I can't go like this. He will not choose me. So, healer, make my potion, and I will release her."

"You can't take Briar!" Leon shouted.

Marigold turned her menacing gaze on Leon. "Do you wish to join the girl in my dungeon? We give our prisoners stones to crush, and every day, they receive a rat and a cup of water for their lunch."

"I'd rather die than eat rats!" Briar yelled, her stomach churning at the thought. The image of gnawing on a filthy rat flashed in her mind, making her feel nauseous.

"You will have to if the healer does not make my potion," the ogress said, a sinister smile creeping across her face. She then turned to Theodore, her voice taking on a deceptively sweet tone. "See you in two days." With Briar still in her grasp, Marigold began to turn away.

"Wait!" Leon shouted, leaping forward to block Marigold's path.

Marigold growled, her patience thinning. "You are beginning to irritate me, boy. Move, or I will take you both."

"You can't take Briar," Leon insisted. "If you want the potion."

"What do you mean?" Marigold asked, squinting at Leon with suspicion.

"Theodore can't make the potion without Briar," Leon said quickly. He turned to Theodore, who looked confused. "Isn't that right, Theodore?"

"Yes, yes!" Theodore nodded frantically, catching on to Leon's plan. "Briar's involvement is crucial. Without her, I cannot make the potion you need."

Briar, still suspended in Marigold's iron grip, felt a surge of panic. The boys were likely to get her killed faster with their plan.

Marigold looked between Briar and Theodore, her eyes narrowing. "Why is she so important?"

"Because... because," Theodore stammered, clearly struggling to fabricate a believable story. He looked at Leon for support.

"Because Briar is the head beauty healer!" Leon shouted, his voice rising in an attempt to sound authoritative. "She's incredibly talented and knows more about beauty than anyone else."