White Roses - ReVamped

Chapter Thirty-Two: So much for Prince Charming

Lowell moved stiffly beside me as we both looked at the horse man with seaweed hair. Every movement he made seemed soft and slow. The faeries circled around us with their axes and spears pointed at us. I had a feeling if we moved in anyway that seemed threatening, they'd be happy to use those weapons. The unicorn made a fire rope and tied Lowell and I together. 

I mentally kicked myself for trusting the unicorn. I should've known better. I should've known the moment that I saw him that something was off. And now because of my stupidity, I was being dragged through mud and thorns to some unknown location in the middle of Faerie. The rushing of water turned to a roar as we grew closer and closer to the unknown destination. I kept spitting blood and Lowell looked at me with wide eyes. I wanted to tell him that I was going to be okay. That this would all work out and we were going to be okay, but Lowell wasn't stupid.

I wasn't in pain and most of the heavy feeling in my stomach seemed to have gone away. The unicorn led the way through the dark forest.

"Not much of a beauty, are you?" The kelpie asked as he grabbed me by the hair. I bit my tongue to keep the yelp of pain in. I stumbled over my feet as he looked down at me. "I thought you might be with how much the others have talked about you."

"She's injured," Lowell said softly, "if you kill her by accident I doubt your court would be happy."

The kelpie stared down at me.

"If it were me, I would  be done with you," the kelpie said to me. "But the prince wants you."

Prince? He let me go and I stumbled next to Lowell. He carefully maneuvered himself around me so he stood between the kelpie and I. 

The roar of the water blocked out a lot of the rest of the world. 

A castle stood before us with high towers and a rushing river below. The castle floated in the air. The floating island didn't have any open area like the Lunae Lux court did. Buildings and towers rammed against one another with barely enough room for walkways. The black stones had designs cut into them around the windows. It had a medieval look to it minus the black stone that just gave it an Edgar Allan Poe feel to it and I thought about the story where the man lost his mind because he thought he heard a heart beating in the walls of a house. The place looked enormous and I suspected a small city lived behind the door at the end. The bridge was made of stone that ended at a large wooden door. The kelpie pounded his free fist into it and a loud thundering echo.

"Who is it?"

The voice sounded like it came from the Wicked Witch of the West.

"It's the prince's private guard." 

Of course his chest started puffing out at this. He smirked and the faeries around us chuckled. The doors swung open and a gust of wind hit us. Once they walked us in. The kelpie grabbed my hair and threw me on the stone ground. My cheek hit the stone and I sat up quickly as Lowell kneeled beside me. His eyes widened and I realized he was scared. His hands shook and I could tell he was trying to pull himself together. 

 "Boy, take them to the dungeon!"

The unicorn nodded and tugged on the rope. I scrambled to my feet. Unicorn led us through dark narrow passages with torches leading the way. They lit up and went out after we passed them. I wondered if this was his magic. I looked up at the towers and smelled food. Unicorn stopped and pressed his horn to a wall. A doorway appeared and he led us down some steps. I stumbled and Lowell caught me with his shoulder. 

The smell of rotting fruit hit my nose as we walked down. The roaring of water deafened me, but screams from the other prisoners broke through. At the bottom of the stairs a long row of cells with iron bars revealed itself. Long limbs tried to reach us and grab as screams echoed.