A Grim Fairy Tale

Chapter Thirty-Nine

Charlotte struggled and fought much harder than her captor expected her to. She clawed at him and even bit the hand he kept over her mouth.

"Ah!" He shouted in pain.

"Let go of me already!" She demanded as she finally managed to break loose from his grip. 

"Well you certainly have a lot of spunk." Her captor said.

"Who are you? Why have brought me here? I command you to tell me at once!"

"There's no reason to tell you anything. It wouldn't make any difference."

"What do you mean?"

"Look let's just get this over with. If you don't fight me, I promise to make it quick and painless."

Quick and painless. Charlotte may not have known everything there was to know about life, but she defintely knew what the words quick and painless meant when they were used in the same sentence. This man was going to kill her. 

"Please!" She cried. "Please you can't! Why would you want to kill me? I've never done anything to you!"

"Oh it's nothing personal your highness. It's just business."

"Business?"

"Long story short, someone wanted you dead so they asked for my services."

"Someone?" It didn't take long for Charlotte to figure out who that someone was. "You mean my stepmother?"

"Enough talk. You're only prolonging the inevitable."

He didn't confirm it but Charlotte didn't need confirmation. She knew of the other person who could have possibly wanted her destroyed. No other person who hated her so much. Still, she never thought that the queen would go this far. Yet why? Why would she want her dead?

But she would dwell on that later. For now, Charlotte's life was at stake and she had no intention of dying today.

"Wait!" She protested. "Will you at least allow me to say my prayers? Please! I can't die without saying my prayers."

"Oh yes, I forget you humans are a religious speices. Very well, I am not so cruel. You may take this time to prepare your soul but be quick."

Though it was a method to buy time, just in case herp lan failed, Charlotte did say her prayers. She got down on her knees and clasped her hands together.

"Dear God, I can't remember any sins I have comitted and I can't think of any reason why I should die, but I pray that you will have mercy on my soul and that you will forgive me for all my transgressions. If I do perish today then I ask you to please watch over and bless my sister Vagatha, my nurse Niffty, dear Dolores, and my best friend Alastor. And if my father is not already in heaven with you and my mother, then I ask that you bring him back safely to our kingdom so that he may help my people who are suffering. But if he has truly left this world, then I beg you, do not allow my stepmother to continue rulling the kingdom with an iron fist. If I cannot be queen then see to that somehow Vagatha ascends the throne in my place. She has no royal blood but she's as kind, courageous, loyal, and ture as any queen should be. Amen."

"Alright you've said your prayers." The assasian said. "No face death with dignity."

However if he had been paying close attention, he would have noticed that she knelt down to pray in a spot where several rocks had been left, and as she was slowly rised from the ground, she grabbed the biggest rock she could find, and hit it behind her back. With the cloak she was wearing, he wouldn't notice.

"Are you ready?" He asked as she approached him.

But she wasn't, and without warning, she struck him right across the face with the rock. He fell to the ground howling while she bolted. She ran as fast as she could, over stones and throns, she was pricked and scraped a few times but that didn't stop her. She didn't know where she was going and at the moment she didn't care. She just needed to get far away from that man. She'd worry about location later.