Crimson Rose: The Crooked Man and the Crooked Cat

Chapter 24: Face-Off with the Crooked Man

The Crooked Man stood before them menacingly. "What's this? Have you been playing a game with your prey when I specifically told you to kill it?" said Edmond darkly. Annette put herself in a fighting position, pointing the Rose Sword at him.

"Noir, don't listen to anything he says. He's nothing but one of Mother Goose's illusions." she whispered. Noir nodded. "I understand. I won't be deceived by any of her trickeries." The Crooked Man walked towards them, his red eyes glowing ominously.

Annette shivered. His presence made her feel uncomfortable. But she willed herself to focus. The Crooked Man turned to Noir. "I should have expected you to be obedient, but somehow you managed to defy my commands. How, may I ask?" he asked.

Noir stiffened. He wasn't one to defy his master but his real master passed away. This person is nothing but a doppelganger, a cheap imitation. "Because I only obey my true master. Now, my master has been long gone. I obey no one." he said calmly. "What nonsense is this?" said Edmond angrily. "You have a master! I am your master! I fed you, I kept a roof over your head, and I gave you all the attention that you needed!"

Noir didn't say anything. He just stood there, glaring at the Crooked Man coldly.

"Enough games. Noir, this intruder has something of great importance. Take it from her." said Edmond. But Noir didn't stir. He still just stood there, glaring at him aloofly. "Are you even listening to me?" asked Edmond. Noir didn't respond. Rage filled Edmond's eyes. "Are you disobeying a direct order? You dare disobey your master?" With full force, he slapped Noir right across the cheek.

"Noir!" Annette gasped. But this time, Noir didn't recoil. He merely touched his cheek. The cheek did stung with pain, but it wasn't enough to make him cry. He continued glaring at him icily.

Annette was terrified of they might do next. After a few moments, Noir simply turned and walked towards her. Then, much to her surprise, he placed his furry, clawed hands on her shoulders. Annette shivered a bit. His touch was very gentle but firm.

He then leaned towards her. "Annette, get ready." he whispered in her ear. "For what?" whispered Annette.

"It's time for you to seal the pact with me." Annette nodded. "Right." Noir then gently grabbed her hand, making Annette blush slightly. "On the count of three, I'll run and you'll try to steal my cat bell."

"You make it sound like it's a game." said Annette. "Indeed so. But this is not a game. This is a test to see if you are worthy of being my mistress." whispered Noir in her ear.

"Okay." Annette winked at him. Noir secretly counted to three. Then, with a flick of his crooked tail, Noir turned into his cat form and ran off. Annette chased after him. The Crooked Man looked at them in confusion. "What on Earth are they doing?" he thought. Then he narrowed his eyes.

"If they are planning to mislead me, I shall show them no mercy!" With a wave of his cane, he banged the end on the ground. Large thorny vines sprouted from the ground. "Capture them." snarled Edmond. The large vines started to go after Annette and Noir. Noir noticed the vines following after them. "Whiskers!" he thought.

He quickly transformed into his human form and ran to Annette. "Annette, behind you!" he yelled. Annette turned and saw the vines coming toward them. "Split!" she yelled. Immediately they ran off into the opposite directions. But the vines also split and followed them relentlessly.

Annette zigzagged across the forest, dodging branches and hopping over logs, desperately trying to outrun the vines. Suddenly, she made a sharp turn and dodged the vines. The vines crashed into a tree. Annette gave out a laugh. "Ha! You missed!" But then, more vines came at her.

"Oh, boy!" thought Annette as she continued running. "Annette, come my way!" yelled Noir as she ran towards her. Annette ran towards him and they both ran in the same direction. Annette reached for Noir's bell, but Noir dodged her reach and ran off.

But Annette continued pursuing him. She didn't know how long she could run. She was starting to get tired. Her lungs were getting sore.

"Oh, man! I wish they would cut me a break already! My legs are starting to cramp!" she thought. But she knew that the vines were still after. If she stopped now, the vines would catch her and it would be the end of her or worse.

"Oh, man! I'm at my limit!" she thought as she started to stop. "I can't run anymore! I'm so exhausted!" Just as she was about to sink to the ground, she felt the Rose Sword scabbard.

"Oh, yeah! I almost forgot!" She quickly unsheathed her sword and confronted the vines. As the vines came closer, Annette swung her sword at the vines, slicing them in two. More vines came at her, but she hacked away at them with ease. "Oh, yeah! Now that's what I'm talking about!" she said triumphantly.

Little did she know that the Crooked Man quietly walked up behind her. He waved his cane and quietly chanted a spell. Large vines sprouted from the ground and sprung towards her. "Watch out!" a voice suddenly said. With lightning-fast reflexes, Noir leapt towards Annette and pulled her away just before the vines struck her.

Noir landed on the ground with a thud. Annette fell on Noir's body. Annette looked at him. When she realized she was on his body, she sat up and blushed. Noir smiled at her, then he looked up. "Watch out!" he yelled again. He suddenly pulled Annette close to him and rolled left. The large vines missed them by an inch.

Noir crouched over Annette. "You all right, Annette?" he asked. Blushing, Annette nodded slightly. "Be careful. We're not out of danger." They stood up and faced the Crooked Man. He glared at them with rage. "You poor, simple fools! Do you honestly believe you can defeat me? I'm growing weary of your incompetence!" he snarled.

He raised his cane and started chanting. As he slammed the cane down to the ground, thousands of thorny vines sprouted from the ground and sprung towards Annette and Noir. Annette slashed at the vines with her sword while Noir clawed at them with his razor-sharp claws. Even thought they tried their best, there were too many vines. After an hour of chopping and slashing, Annette and Noir were growing exhausted.

"Gosh, they just don't give up, do they?" said Annette, panting. "That's the Crooked Man's magic. They bend to his will when he uses his magic cane." said Noir.

Suddenly, the vines grabbed him and lifted him high. "Noir! Hold on!" Annette yelled. She ran towards the vines and slashed at them. But then, the vines grabbed her too. "Hey!" Annette yelled as the vines pulled her up. She struggled to break free, but the vines are too strong.

The Crooked Man laughed. "It is over! There's no escape! Hand the Rose Sword to me! Or the cat will..." He made a motion with his hand. Noir was lifted high above the woods. Annette felt her heart tighten. She had a disturbing feeling of what was going to happen.

Noir looked up with fear. He realized what was going to happen. As he struggled and squirmed, the clouds were starting to reveal the moon. Just as they feared, when moonlight touched Noir's body, he gave out a bloodcurdling caterwaul. Annette cringed with fear and sorrow and looked away.

Noir was writhing in pain and agony, suffering in the hands of this evil madman. She couldn't stand watching the awful scene helplessly above her. "Oh, Noir...!" she thought worriedly. Tears started to stream down her cheeks. "Stop it...Please stop it!"

"Help him...Please...Give me the power to help him!" she thought desperately. Then, she saw the Rose Sword started to glow a brilliant light.