Thief

9.

//word count:906//

I sat up with a start.

"Shhh calm down, it's okay, your okay." A voice calmed.

I was hyperventilating, eyes wide as they adjusted to the sudden light. I was in a clean white room, the fairy godmother stood over me, magic wand in her hand.

"What. What happened?" I croaked, my throat feeling like sandpaper. She gave me a sympathetic smile.

"I think he wants to tell you that." She said, pointing at the sleeping freckled boy in an armchair. She nudged him slightly and he woke up with a start.

His face lit up when he saw I was awake.

"Jack!" He said, cradling my pale body.

"Carlos." I whispered cuddling into his body which smelt oddly like ham sandwiches.

"I am so happy your okay." He exclaimed, still holding me tightly.

"What happened?" I asked him and he scooched over on his chair and began to talk.

"JACK!" I heard someone yell and I was then tackled by huddle of people.

"Hey guys." I chuckled, pushing them off me. Wyatt and Felicity stepped forward, holding each others hands.

"You took my advice." I laughed, forcing myself out of bed. Felicity blushed and nodded.

"You guys are a good couple." I smiled, nodding. I turned back to Carlos.

"I need to go find my mother." I whispered looking down to my feet.

"So your leaving?" He asked, his face dropping. I nodded sadly.

"I'm sorry." I said, pulling my leather jacket on. He just nodded and looked at a smiling Mal. I left the room with Wyatt who held onto Felicity.

"Do it please." I said, sighing slightly. He gave me a sympathetic look. His hands worked as they dug at the ground and the blue light flashed.

"Jack! JACK! Wait!" I heard a voice yell from behind me.

"Carlos." I sighed. "Ben said I could come with you." He said a huge smile etched onto his face. My head snapped up. "Really?" I asked excitedly. He nodded, holding onto my hand. Wyatt looked up from spinning disk, mud smeared all over his face. "It's done." Carlos bit his lip nervously as he stared into the blue circle. "It's not scary just... Unusual." I assured him and dragged him into the the circle.

"Wow, this is amazing." He gasped, spinning around 360 degrees. Wyatt and Felicity looked at me, as if they were waiting for instructions. "Go to the Caterpillar see if he knows anything that's happened." I cocked an eyebrow. "And if he says no, tell him I'll come looking for him." They both nodded, turning on their heels and walking to the opposite direction to us. I watched Carlos run around like a small child and I smiled to myself, grabbing a bit of toadstool and placing it in my satchel. "What's that?" He asked, pointing at my hand. "Don't worry, we need to go." I said, heading down the stone path that led up to the castle. He jogged to catch up, still marvelling at my home. "So you live here?" He asked, his hands brushing along the leaves on the trees. I nodded. "Come on we have to get to the castle before dusk!"

My heart dropped once we got to the gates of the castle, a few of the cards' heads had been cut off and the huge iron gate was swinging on its rusty hinges. Carlos slipped his warm hand into mine as we made our way up to the castle. "Let's check in her bedroom." I said, my voice cracking slightly. He gave me a soft smile as we ascended the stairs.

I sighed in frustration, tugging on the ends of my red hair. "Where the hell is she?" I screamed angrily. Carlos' arms wrapped around my torso, his hands massaging my back. "We'll find her I promise." I shivered as I felt his hot breath against my neck. "There's one place we haven't looked..." I murmured."The dungeons..."

"MOM?" I yelled, every so often peering into on e of the dingy cells. I heard a soft groan from one of the cells. "Jack. You came for me." She whispered, her English accent coming out. Her matted blonde hair was falling out of her usual perfect bun, her red tiara was perched messily on her hair, dirt was splattered across her face and dried tears stained her dull coloured face. "Mum." I whispered, letting my English accent come out and ditching my normal American one. She smiled, fresh tears rolling down her face, "Is she still out here?" She asked worriedly, hiccuping slightly. I pursed my lips and shook my head. Her eyebrows furrowed. "I killed her mum." Her frown broke into a smile and her arms slipped through the bars of the cell to hug me. A jingle of keys came form behind me and a small cough. Carlos stood there sheepishly holding the keys to the cell. "I thought you might want these." He held them out, I grabbed it running back to my mother and unlocked the cell. She crushed me into a huge hug. "I love you Jack!" She whispered, playing with my knotty hair. "I love you mum." She released me from our tight hug. "I have some things to discuss with you Jack..." She said sadly and I followed her back up the stairs, Carlos tagging along behind.

If only I knew what she was going to tell me...