A Minute Before Midnight

~Chapter Six~

I awoke in a bedroom, alone. It was dark, and I couldn't see a thing. My throat was dry, and I swallowed a few times, in hopes that it would get better. But it only got worse. My muscles were tired and they ached like I'd run a marathon.

"Hello?" I called, as if someone would actually answer me. I already knew nobody would, but the silence that answered me still came as a semishock. I sat up in the bed I was on, and, ignoring the pain in my body, felt my way across the room. I hit my shin on something hard and fell, yelping as I did so. The thud of my body hitting the carpeted floor echoed around the room, and I prayed I would get out of here with a sound mind.

I pulled myself up into a sitting position and sat there panting for a while before I got my breathing under control. I'm not sure how long I sat there, but I didn't really care.

I heard the opening of a door but only the dim light of a lantern filtered in. I was dragged up by the arms and someone threw me over their shoulder.

"Hey!" I protested. "Put me down!" I pounded on the back of the person holding me, but I wasn't put down. "Let me go!" I shouted. Still, I was never set on the ground. I gave up, crossing my arms. In this position, it was uncomfortable, but it was necessary, to show that I was still defiant. I heard the opening of a heavy door and I was dropped onto yet another bed.

"Oof." I knew the sound was unattractive coming from my mouth, but it felt like my insides moved when I was dropped. I rolled onto my back to see who had brought me here and saw that it was a nameless guard.

He looked down at me, disgust etched across his bold features. "The prince will be here soon." And with that, he left. I sat up and leaned against the headboard. I looked around the room. I saw that it was dark out, and the moon shone down through the curtains. I noticed a set of French doors and I got up reluctantly and opened them. I stepped out onto the balcony, noticing that it was similar to mine, if not a little more extravagant. I rested my hands on the railing, if you could even call it that, and leaned over. Estimated, I was about fifty feet up, and I knew that any hopes I'd had that I'd be able to use this as an escape were crushed.

"Princess."

I spun around and gave a soft moan of pain before getting the pain under control and looking at Finn. His beautiful features seemed to be even more breath-taking in the moonlight, if that were even possible.

"Finn." I swallowed and blinked a few times so that my eyes wouldn't close. It was true that recent events were taking their toll on me.

He didn't say anything. He just came to stand in front of me, his hands in his pockets. He looked down at me for a moment, not saying anything. Then, "I'm not going to apologize for what I did."

I knew instantly he was talking about the whole chloroform thing, and I nodded slowly, averting my gaze to the ground. It was then that I noticed my amulet was gone. Panic surged through me, cold and powerful. I pressed a hand to my collarbone, where it should have been resting peacefully. I looked up at Finn, wide-eyed. I suddenly knew why I was so weak. I'd thought it had been an after effect of the chloroform, but it wasn't.

"Where's my amulet?!" I cried. My heart thundered in my ribcage, and I ran my other hand--the one that wasn't clutching my torso as if wishing for a miracle--through my hair. "Oh my God. I'm going to die." 

"Whoa, calm down. What amulet are you talking about?" Finn asked; surprisingly, he looked serious, which wasn't very normal for him. I rocked on the balls of my feet, and glanced down at the ground, wondering if I could climb down somehow. Finn grabbed my elbow and turned me to him. "Don't. You'll die even sooner if you do. Now, relax and tell me what amulet you're talking about and I'll go get it for you."

"No, I'm the only one who can touch it. Besides my-" I was caught off guard by the dawning realization that since Finn was my Second, he could very well indeed touch my amulet. I looked up at the moon, relaxing just slightly. "When you attacked me it fell on the ground in the dungeon."

Finn nodded and without another word, he turned and left. I sank to my knees because my legs were too weak to hold me up anymore. I held my head in my hands against the approaching headache. I sat there for a while before the door opened and Finn walked in, holding my amulet. I steadied my hurried breathing and waited patiently for him to bring it to me. He knelt on his knees beside me and held the amulet out to me.

"You should leave. I don't know what will happen when I put it back on." I rasped.

"Concerned, Princess?" Finn asked me playfully and any other time I would have chuckled, but now I just glared at him. "Besides," he said softly. "I'm your Second."

Hearing him say the words himself calmed me, and I gave a small nod before taking the amulet and dropping it around my neck. I closed my eyes as power rushed through my veins. I could feel it radiating around me, like a mini-explosion and I gasped when I felt another Presence join mine. A Presence is basically like a soul, but it's made of pure power and energy and emotion. The emotion was awe. I opened my eyes to see Finn. It looked like he had anotherr layer beneath his skin and it was glowing inside of him, so beautiful that I reached out and pressed my hand to his face.

"Claire," he said. "you're beautiful."

I couldn't stop staring at him, even after the glow dimmed. Even when my power released itself and was stored in my amulet yet again. Finn shook himself first and looked away, breaking my trance. He cleared his throat as he stood up and held a hand out to me. I ignored it and stood up on my own. He looked hurt for a moment before he masked it with absolutely no emotion.

"Um...where is Ash? And the others?" I asked. He raised an eyebrow.

"Why would I tell you that?" He asked. Instead of answering, I narrowed my eyes at him, crossing my arms across my chest.

"Because I'm the one who's asking. You're my Second. You kind of have to listen to me." I smirked at my own cleverness.

"Keep deluding yourself with that idea. Meanwhile, I'm living in a world where you're my Second. I'm royalty."

"I'm royalty too," I protested, starting to see some fault in my logic.

"Yes, but..." He paused, then snapped his fingers. "I'm a man. And you're a woman, which means I hold more power than you. Have you ever stopped to think about the old King and Queen situation?"

I huffed angrily and pushed past him, ready to make a break for it the second I got a chance. I sat down on the edge of the soft, plush bed, and I saw Finn watching me. I wondered if I could use this to my advantage. I stared into his dark eyes and held my hand out. I curled my index finger once, twice. I was pleased when he obeyed, coming to me as if in a trance. I fluttered my lashes, pouting my lips. To say I'd never done anything like this before would be an understatement. But I was sure I could manage.

I stood up, and this action caused me to press right against Finn. I heard a sharp intake of air, and held back my cry of triumph. I wrapped my arms around his neck, lowering my lids slightly.

"Won't you tell me?" I asked him softly.

He blinked, and I tilted my head, hoping it would look cute and not like I had an uncontrollable neck twitch. I heard him make a soft humming noise, and I suddenly realized whatever spell I'd put him in wasn't going to get him to fess up. Because he was so hypnotized he could barely form a coherent sentence. I sighed and started to pull away, but Finn put his arms around me. Oh no.

It seemed my plan was beginning to backfire...