Chapter 20 | Promise
Something was up.
I could feel it in the air. The castle was awfully silent and my daily morning cup of coffee is missing which means Mrs. Potts is busy. But, that doesn't explain why the castle is silent. I breathed out a sigh as my foot tip-toed across the cold marble floor. They were so cold I was regretting not wearing any slippers. They were only helpful in calming my nerves down.
The atmosphere was tense and my eyes widened when I heard a soft melodic voice of a lady down the hallway. I froze, frowining. Who is she? My footsteps became faster and when I reached the balcony. I saw everyone assembled there and Jack looking really tense with his fingers clenched tightly.
What made me even stressful was the lady standing infront of the door, in a cloak and she had a magical aura radiating off of her. She seemed powerful and I couldn't see her face. They were well hidden within the cloak making me bite my cheek in frustration. Suddenly, the woman's head craned up and her face was directed to me. Everyone else turned and all of them were now looking at me.
Jack looked shocked and scared at the sight of me. After a few seconds he gestured for me to go away. Being a rebel, it was hard for me to follow the advice and so I did the exact opposite. I climbed down the stairs looking at the woman and her gaze followed my movements. Once I reached down, I stood beside Jack and his jaw was tense, partly because I didn't listen to him. But when I went near him, his hand immediately clasped onto mine, holding them tightly, in a protective stance and my heart smiled.
The woman said, "If she did, wouldn't you have changed by now?"
Jack's hand on mine tightened and I feared for him, not understanding the topic at all.
"Time is ticking by Mr. Napier. Only five petals left... Do you really think she loves you?" She said, her voice low and sarcastic, it had a sinister tone to it and I gulped, finally realising who she is.
She is the enchantress who cursed him.
"Ofcourse I love him. Who are you to say what I feel?" I asked and she narrowed her eyes at me, before looking at Jack. Jack's hand seemed to tighten more around me, asking me to stop it, afraid that I might get hurt.
"If you do, then he would have changed by now." The woman spoke and I frowned.
"Changed?"
"Don't you have a family? Don't you worry about your family? What a heartless person you are."
"Enough!" Jack shouted, making everyone flinch, including me. The rage he felt out shined through his voice and I shivered at the intensity of it.
She was right. I thought about my sister, my grandparents, my parents. I have been here for more than a month. How can I be so selfish and forget about them? I wonder how they are. I wonder how they are coping up. Suddenly, just for a moment, I thought of leaving Jack, but the mere thought made my heart sink and I was torn between what to choose.
They are my family. But, he is becoming an important part of my life too. I can't leave both of them. My mom would be absolutely horrified by the news of her missing daughter. My sister would be devastated. Everyone would have thought that I am gone forever.
That maybe I am dead.
My sister knows that I am in the forest. Maybe they would have sent a search party for me. It has been more than a month, and they still haven't found me.
Maybe I didn't want to be found.
I looked up, feeling a mixture of emotions. Anger, frustration, yearning, guilt, sadness and many more. But the more I thought of my family, the more guilty I felt.
Jack was looking at me, understanding my feelings and thoughts and he absolutely seemed heart-broken. The next words that tumbled out of his mouth, seemed painful for both him and for me.
"You should meet your family." Jack said, his voice wavering at the end and tears pooled my eyes at the thought of leaving him.
"I-I...." I stammered for words, not wanting to go.
"Look at your mother, Harley." The woman said and suddenly, a mirror appeared in front of us, formed by golden dust and it floated elegantly and slowly towards me.
It stopped in front of me and my lips quivered when I saw my mom lying on bed, with my sister comforting her. She seemed so weak and fragile, I was afraid she would break by a soft touch.
"Where is my daughter?" She whispered, a tear falling from her eye and it did in mine as well. Her voice was too raspy as if she hadn't drank water for a long time. She seemed like she was dying.
"She will come back mom. I'm sure she is safe." My sister replied, staying strong for my mother but when my mother turned away, a tear fell down her cheeks and I had a strong urge to wipe them away.
I missed them.
My mom needs me.
My family needs me.
I have to go.
I turned around to see Jack's eyes pooling with salty water as well. He gave me a weak smile, and I gave one back. The woman who was standing in front of us, was walking away outside the door. She stopped and turned around to look at me.
"Your carriage awaits Ms. Harley." She extended her arms, showing a brown horse and I gulped down all the cries that threatened to come back.
I turned around and smashed my lips on Jack, it surprised him but his hands quickly circled me and he kissed me back just as feverishly as I did. It was filled with promises and goodbyes. I pulled away and looked at him deep in his eyes.
"I will come back." I said firmly and he nodded, not a firm nod and I gave him one last peck before I pulled away, walking away to the front door as I muttered words of goodbyes to the others. Everything went in slow motion and my heart was slowly tearing apart as I kept looked behind to see Jack, giving me a smile. I broke down completely when I saw Chip. He looked utterly sad and I wanted to bring him with me.
"Pwomise me you will come back." He said.
"I promise." I wiped a tear away from my eye.
"Pinky pwomise?"
"Pink promise." I muttered, giving him a happy smile before I walked away.
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Hey!
OSCAR OSCAR WOOHOOOO! YAH BABY! By the way guys, check out my new book Should Have Told You. Its not a Jarley story. Its a really short story about a guy in love.
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