"No," Briar whispered, staring at Kilan. Her nails. Her nails! They had cut through his skin! Why? Why had she woken up?
She wasn't supposed to wake up!
Kilan slowly pulled away from her, one hand planted on the bed to steady himself, the other holding his head as he stared at the bed.
"Kilan," Briar cried – her voice a fraction as loud as it should have been as she pushed herself up, her body stiff and aching.
Mother's laughter sliced through her voice like a dagger.
"Now isn't this just perfect," she laughed, "Everyone has their wish! I woke Briar up for Kilan, I didn't kill Kilan for Briar, and I still get to punish the boy who ruined everything." Her laughter started to grow in volume, almost a shriek.
"Why?!" Briar cried, catching Kilan as he started to stumble. "Why? I said I would stay! I changed my mind, what is the point to all this?!"
"Why?" Mother copied, looking at her, then smiled with a simple shrug. "Why not?"
Briar stared at her.
And a gunshot rang out.
Everyone looked towards the stairs as Daily appeared, a pistol in his hand, one made of silver, strange engravings etched into the barrel that he aimed at Mother.
"Wretched fairy!" he snarled, aiming the gun at her.
Mother rounded on him and the gun fired again.
Despite Mother's form not even being of the real world, nothing more than smoke and dream, the bullet struck her in the arm, making her shriek and recoil, gripping her wound and staring in shock before she looked at Daily.
"Remover," she gasped, terror in her eyes as Daily scrambled up through the trap door, looking from Mother to Briar before spotting Kilan.
"Kilan?" he gasped. "Kilan! What happened?"
"Her..." Kilan gasped, barely managing to point towards Mother, "She... she woke Briar up... to curse me."
Kilan's knees failed him and he collapsed to the ground, Briar catching him under the arms, almost falling out of the bed herself.
Daily turned on Mother, aiming the gun at her again and suddenly she was gone. He blinked, spinning around to try and find her but she was gone, leaves laced with gold fluttering to the ground where she had been.
"Goodbye, Sleeping Beauty."
Mother voice echoed around them and in that second, Kilan knew the curse was lifted.
Through his blurred vision and fogged mind, he saw the mist that hovered in the room begin to collect together, forming the shape of a person before it was blown away from a body, revealing Stephanie.
The cat that slept on the edge of the bed lifted his head, looking around before a light covered him, his shape changing, becoming that of a human, and there was the Charles from Kilan's dream, whole and normal again.
No sooner had he sat up then the mirror at the vanity table shattered. The shards tumbled to the ground and petals, rose petals, lifted up from them, coming together in the shape of a man, and when they fell away, there was Edward, no longer trapped in the mirror world.
The three servants all looked to each other before turning to see Briar and Kilan.
Seconds later two more people appeared in the stairs.
"Kilan!" Beldon gasped, rushing up into the room.
"Briar!" Luka cried, following Beldon up a second later.
"Luka," Briar sobbed, one hand reaching for him as her brother ran to her, "Luka, I scratched him! His face! Luka, what do I do!"
A hand struck Briar's and she recoiled. It was the hand that had been supporting Kilan and he collapsed as soon as she pulled away, falling into Daily's waiting arms.
"Kilan!" he shouted, wiping the blood from Kilan's cheek so he could see the wound, "Kilan, stay awake, I need you to stay awake."
Kilan's eyes opened slightly. He looked exhausted and dazed, like he hadn't slept in weeks.
"Ry," he whispered, "Is she alright?"
"Briar is fine, she's awake."
"Will... stay... awake?"
"She'll stay awake, her sleeping curse is gone. Mother lifted it. Kilan!" He shook him, jolting Kilan's head, making him open his eyes again. "Wake up! You need to stay awake until I figure out how to fix this!"
"Sorry, Ry," Kilan said, a smile forming.
"Sorry, nothing, just stay awake or I really will kill you!"
"No... I think... I want to sleep," Kilan muttered, his voice slurring.
"NO!" Briar screamed, tears bursting forth into her eyes, streaming down her face as she lunged from the bed, her weakened legs unable to hold her up as she collapsed to the floor beside them, tearing Kilan from Daily's grip, holding him close against her chest, sobbing as she shook him.
"Let go!" Daily shouted but Briar pulled Kilan away, curling over him, cradling him in her arms.
"I'm sorry!" she cried, "I'm so sorry! Forgive me! Kilan, please! Wake up! Please!"
"Briar," Kilan muttered.
Briar lifted her head to look at him, her tears tumbling down onto his cheeks, smearing down the cuts.
Kilan looked up at her, and smiled again.
"Go see the world," he said, just before his eyes closed and didn't open again.
~~~~~
Next Up: Tomorrow (Thursday)
Art by: http://jenyotaky.deviantart.com/
(Still don't kill me)
YOU ARE READING
Sleeping Roses
FantasyKilan is on the run. From men he knows all too well in a forest he does not know well enough. And running into that tree didn't help. But when he wakes up, the forests are the least of his concerns. Kilan finds he has stumbled upon a castle...
