My Black Heart

Chapter Twelve

A few days of slowly walking through a never ending forest passed with not much excitement. I had practised hiding myself from being found by magic as more infernos attempted to attack us. Not one of them spotted me. Edmund had grown tired over these few days which is why we were walking rather slower than before. I was a little worried about him, because he looks so frail and tiresome. Bex and Jam had been their usual bubbly selves, jumping up and down all of the time with too much energy and showing me the extent of their electric powers. They had grown to be less annoying, and I could even have a conversation with them without it being irritating. I had slept well last night so I was a happy person this morning.

We were taking a stop by some trees when I heard it. Bex and Jam had been adapting my hearing to hear the slightest of sounds, so I noticed it instantly. It was the sound of the air element. I recognised it because it was almost calming unlike the blaze that the fire element created. The unusual thing about it was that this air noise was coming from above me.

            "Hey Edmund, what's that noise?" I whispered, careful not to draw attention to myself.

            "Quick Zack! Hide," he yelled at me. I ran in towards the bushes, Bex and Jam following, and stood behind the tree.

            "Hide yourself Zacky," Bex giggled. Even though this was a serious situation, she still kept giggling. I told her to be quiet and she looked guilty but stopped making so much noise.

            "Nobody can see me. Nobody can hear me. Nobody knows that I'm here," I whispered quietly. The elves repeated. It was after this that I realised that Edmund was not with us. "Edmund!" I yelled, noticing that he was still by the tree. He shot me a warning glance and whispered something, but I could not make out what he said.

We sat in the bushed watching Edmund in silence for a few minutes, anxiously awaiting what was going to happen. It made me feel so nervous, and goose bumps started to appear on my arms. It was like waiting for a death sentence. Finally, the reason for the panic was revealed, and I was too shocked to speak. Too shocked to even move.

In front of Edmund, I knew there was the most beautiful girl I had ever seen in my entire life. Father had brought many eligible girls to me before for me to marry, but none had caught my eye. This girl, however, was my sun of all the stars. Her long black hair cascaded all of the way down her back, shimmering in the sunlight from above. I could not even see her face, but I knew it would be breathtaking. I wanted to come out of hiding immediately and introduce myself, but there was one thing stopping me. The girl was indeed; the Black Witch.

I drew in a quick intake of breath without making a sound. I mentally kicked myself for ever thinking of a girl who was such a monster in that way. She murdered people, I thought to myself. Then, the situation in front of me unfolded.

            "I am sure you know who I am," the girl purred at a very shocked Edmund. Her voice made my heart pound a million times per second. It was making my insides melt faster than candle wax when the flame was hot. I wanted her, but it was impossible.

            "You are the Black Witch," Edmund stammered, his eyes flashing with fear. My instincts had been correct; it was the murderess that I was dealing with. Edmund looked in my direction, and this time I caught his words. He was telling me to stay put.

            "Well you are smart," she cackled sarcastically. "So I've heard that somebody is going to kill me." When I heard these words, my whole self froze. How did she know somebody had taken the Quest. Questions similar to this spun around my head, taking away any sanity that I had in the first place.

            "How do you know?" Edmund asked. To this, the witch just laughed.

            "I have my ways, do you know Prince Paul?" she added. What did she want with my brother? I wondered. It was so strange to hear his name for such a long time away from home.

            "I do," Edmund replied, his face becoming paler.

            "Well don't expect to see him again," she said bluntly. I did not need an explanation. She had murdered my brother. For that she was going to pay. I just had to choose the right moment. Edmund also gasped and the Black Witch laughed again.

            "You will meet the same fate," she teased, stroking his face with her hand. I wished that she would stroke my face, but then kicked myself mentally for even thinking of such a thing. This girl was a manipulative murderer. Suddenly, she pulled away from him, raising her two hands in front of her. Her hair swept backwards in the wind. Amazingly, two balls of colour shot from each hand and straight into Edmund's chest. I lunged forwards, only to be stopped by two mischievous, annoying, bodies.

            "Do not move, we cannot lose you too," they both whispered. I frowned at them both and shoved harder, but I was bound. When I turned back around, the girl had gone; leaving Edmund slumped against a tree.

Suddenly I felt the bounds release me. Panicking, I raced as fast as I could out of the bushes with two little elves following me.

            "Edmund!" I yelled. He was still breathing, but only just. I out my hand on his head and laid him down, careful not to hurt him. "Stay with me Edmund," I screamed at him. His eyes flickered open.

            "Zack," he gasped.

            "I'm here, sir, I'm here," I mumbled.

            "Take the sword," he whispered. I looked at him, confused at what he had said. "Take the sword Zack," he repeated, but this time I saw his finger point towards the mystery silver sword in his belt. "You are the true owner of it." I protested - I couldn't be anything he had said. I had never seen the sword before.  But he motioned for me to take it again, so put my hand on to the handle of it and pulled it out of the sheath. My body burst into a thousand tiny shocks, as if I had been struck by hundreds of bolts of lightning repeatedly. My hands touching the swords sheath felt like they were on fire as they heated up intensely at the contact.

            "What happened?" I shouted at Edmund, whose eyes had closed once again.

            "As I expected," he mumbled. "You are the real owner of the sword of time."  After he said this, his eyes rolled in their sockets taking me by surprise.

            "Stay with us Edmund," I pleaded. "Please, stay." However it was no use. He was gone forever.

Crouching beside him, my head burst into a cloud of anger. How could she do this to innocent people? A tear escaped from my fierce eyes, making me feel even worse. I should not cry. I was a Prince of all things! A man! I fell on to the ground and lay beside him, wishing that I was dreaming. No matter how hard I tried to wake up, I realised that I was already awake.

            "Come on Zacky," a little voice whispered from behind me. I was about to tell her to leave me alone, but I saw her red puffy eyes and realised that we needed each other. I pulled Bex under my arm, and Jam under the other. They started whispering to each other.

            "Zack?" Jam said, catching my wandering mind and gaining my attention. "We need to take you somewhere, somewhere where there is somebody who can help," she added. My eyes widened, and I realised that both of them had a plan.

            "Can this person tell me about this sword?" I wondered. I wanted to know what it was, what it was for, who I was.

            "She could tell you everything and anything," Bex grinned, but slowly sank back into sorrow.

            "We shall go to her then, lead the way," I whispered. Bex and Jam shook their heads.

            "It is time you experienced teleporting, the elf way," they both said simultaneously. They both grasped on to one of my hands, and I held Edmund's with the other and I was taken into a whirlwind of the unknown.

Hello!

Sorry for such a long wait for the upload - don't be mad! I had lots to do, and then I got ill. But I'm okay now so should be updating more.

Please check out my other story, The Curse, The Reader and The Map That Changed Everything, it is almost finished.

Thank you!

Comment/Vote/Fan if you want to! <3

Bex :)