Crimson Rose: The Crooked Man and the Crooked Cat

Chapter 31: The Oath

Back at Hoots Manor, Mother Goose, who was awake, sat in a chair as she explained everything to the group. "I don't know how long I was possessed by that awful thing. I'm dreadfully sorry for the trouble I caused, even though it is not my doing." she apologized.

"We accept your apology, Mother Goose." Noir said. "You weren't at fault."

"Who knew that Mother Goose wasn't the villain at all? In fact, she's the kind old lady everyone knows and loves." said Hickory. "Indeed! I thought that she has turned on us and deceived us." said Hoots. "Who knew she was the puppet of an evil force?"

Mother Goose turned to Annette. "Rose Guardian, I am utmost grateful of you very much for releasing me from my curse. How can I ever repay you?" she asked.

Annette scratched her head. "Well, I don't really know. I don't think you can repay me with anything." she said. "Oh, but there must be something I can do to repay you, dearie." said Mother Goose. She thought for a moment, and then she remembered something. "Oh, I know." she said. She reached into her pouch and pulled out a whistle.

"Here, dearie. Take this." she said, holding out the whistle to Annette. Annette looked at the whistle. The whistle was golden and shaped like a cat with sparkling sapphire eyes. "Whoa! It's pretty!" she said, taking the whistle.

"It's a special whistle. Whenever you blow on it, help will come." said Mother Goose with a smile. "Consider it as a gift of my gratitude." "Thanks!" said Annette.

A few hours later, Annette and Noir headed back home. "So, how was she?" asked Annette as they walked through the Crooked Woods. "She's a bit weak, but stable. Hoots said that it seems she is deprived of her powers." said Noir.

"Maybe that creepy dude stole them." said Annette. "Creepy dude? What do you mean?" asked Noir curiously. "Remember that shadowy figure we saw earlier? He called himself 'The Sharpen'." Noir stopped in his tracks. His eyes widened.

"Maybe he..." Annette stopped talking when Noir suddenly placed his furry hands on Annette's shoulders. "What did you just say?" he asked, his voice strangled. Annette looked at him, confused. "Huh? I said 'the Sharpen'." she said. Noir felt the blood drain from his face. His mind raced. "The Sharpen? Could it be...possible?" he thought.

Annette glanced at him worriedly. "What's wrong?" Then she realized. "Wait a minute! You actually know that creep?" she asked. Noir nodded. "But, we mustn't discuss it here. The forest has many ears." he said softly.

They continued walking, not saying a word until they reached Annette's house. Noir shifted into his cat form as they approached the gates to Paris. Once they reached Annette's bedroom, Noir pulled the curtains, covering Annette's window.

"Now, Annette. Tell me, when you fought Mother Goose, what exactly did you see in her?" asked Noir. Annette raised her eyebrow. "Huh?" she asked. She thought for a moment.

"Somehow, when I looked into her eyes, I saw that she was another person. It seemed like she was possessed by something. Something evil and tainted." said Annette. "You know something about this Sharpen, don't you?"

Noir nodded. "Yes and no." he said. "I've heard many stories about the Sharpen, but I never believed that the Sharpen was real when I first heard them."

"Well, I didn't." said Annette. "So tell me, what exactly is this Sharpen, and what does he want?" Noir turned to Annette, his golden eyes shining. "The Sharpen is a shape-shifting being said to be made from the last drop of ink from the pen of Grimm. Once the last drop of ink fell upon the page, it suddenly became tainted, as if it was possessed by dark magic."

"Was that how the Sharpen was formed?" asked Annette. "The truth is, I don't really know." said Noir, rubbing his chin. "There were too many stories about the Sharpen that were outlandish. In fact, I don't think any of them were true."

"Noir," said Annette. "He also mentioned something about a Rose Crystal. What's that?" Noir was silent for a moment. His face instantly turned pale. He rubbed his eyes and sighed. "I should have known that from that first moment." he thought.

"Noir?" asked Annette. Noir turned to face Annette with a solemn expression. "Annette, I should have told you this before you summoned the Rose Sword's power."

"What?" asked Annette nervously. "The Rose Crystal is the Rose Guardian's life force. Once the chosen Rose Guardian summons the Rose Sword's power, the Rose Crystal is formed inside her body. It is the source of the Rose Sword's power. If the Rose Crystal is ever taken from you, then you will..." He couldn't finish.

"I will what?" asked Annette, pressing him. Noir sighed. He had to tell her. "You will enter a dormant death-like state and never awaken." Annette was silent with shock.

"If you hadn't came..." she trailed off. "I am so glad that I intervened before he took it. I never wanted to endanger your life. If anything were to happen to you, I would never forgive myself." said Noir, his voice heavy.

"Noir..." whispered Annette. Noir then embraced her. "Please forgive me, Robin." he whispered in her ear. Annette blushed. "Noir, you don't have to apologize. I'm not mad at you." she said.

"You're not?" asked Noir. "No. I'm really glad you came to my rescue. Thanks." said Annette with a smile. Noir smiled back. "So now what're we gonna do?"

"The Sharpen is still out there." said Noir. "And since he stole Mother Goose's powers, who knows what kind of bad things he's going to do with them?"

"Then we're gonna find this Sharpen, before he does any more damage." said Annette boldly. "So here's my vow. If the Sharpen's still out there, we'll find him. And once we find him, we'll put an end to his reign of terror once and for all! We'll follow him to the ends of the earth if we have to!"

Noir smiled. "That's the spirit, Annette! You truly are worthy of being my lady and mistress!" he thought. "If it is your wish, I will follow you everywhere. Wherever you shall go, Robin, I will faithfully follow."

"Yeah. Together, we can do anything." said Annette, reaching out her hand. "Absolutely." said Noir as he pressed his hand against hers.