Phillippe's Curse (A Ladyhawke Fan Fiction)

Chapter 3

A few months have passed. Phillippe is slowly starting to get used to his change. It still hurts when he does but it's not nearly as bad. Imperius still keeps him company when he goes back and forth just so he's not alone. He still feels guilty, but he knows Phillippe doesn't blame him.

Etienne and Isabeau spend every single moment of the day together, just trying to make up for lost time. Everything really is going great. Until it goes all wrong...

~time skip~

That night, Etienne had decided to go hunting. He had invited Imperius who accepted saying he had nothing better to do. He also asked about Phillippe, but Imperius said that he had already gone to sleep. It seemed that the boy slept all the time now. He always looked exhausted.

They went out into the woods each armed with crossbows. Imperius had wandered off a bit so this left Etienne by himself in the woods. He moved slowly through the trees when he heard the rustling of leaves. He peered between the bushes and spotted a solid white deer eating some barriers.

Etienne had never seen anything like it. He took aim and was just about to fire. "NO!" Too late Imperius yelled. In his surprise, Etienne's bow fired and hit his target. Luckily, his aim had gotten off and the arrow embedded itself into the deer's flank. The deer's eyes went wide, and it fell over.

Imperius ran over to it and expected the wound. "What were you thinking?!" he yelled at Etienne.

He was in shock "It's just a deer."

Imperius had to think of something quick "It is an albino deer! They are very rare! You should never kill one!"

Etienne now felt bad "I'm sorry. But the poor thing is injured now. We should put it out of its misery."

"No! Uh..." Imperius thought "I will take it back to my tent and see if I can heal it..." Etienne didn't look convinced. "Just go back to Isabeau. It'll be fine."

Etienne did as he said and walked back to their camp. Imperius looked down at the injured Phillippe. "I am so sorry. I can fix this I promise. You just need to hold on..." he gently picked him up and the deer let out a small whimper. He then carried him back to the tent.

~time skip~

When Imperius got back to the tent, he gently laid Phillippe onto his bed. He could tell that he was in pain but there wasn't anything he could do until he turned human again. He still had to wait several hours.

~time skip~

Imperius finally saw the sun starting to rise over the mountains. Any minute now. He turned and watched as Phillippe started to change back. As soon as he did he let out a blood-curdling scream as tears flowed down his face.

Imperius quickly went to him and tried to calm him down. "Shh... Phillippe it's going to be okay..."

"It... hurts..." he gasped in between sobs. The arrow was embedded deep into his thigh. Imperius would have to remove it before he could bandage it.

He waited for Phillippe to calm down a bit. "Phillippe, I know you aren't going to want to hear this... but I'm going to have to remove the arrow now..." Phillippe whimpered a bit as he nodded his head. "I will try to make it as painless as possible..."

Imperius grabbed onto the arrow as Phillippe gripped the side of the bed. "On the count of three. One... two... thr..."

"Imperius what was that noise a second ago?" Etienne and Isabeau walked in right as Imperius pulled the arrow out.

Phillippe screamed even louder than before and started sobbing.

"What are you doing to him?!" Isabeau asked shocked.

"I'm trying to help him..." He said as he poured a cleansing agent onto the wound. Phillippe winced as he continued to sob.

"What happened to him?" Etienne asked in surprise.

Imperius bit his lip "He was shot..."

Etienne picked up the arrow off the bed "This is one of my arrows..."

"How is that possible?" Isabeau asked confused.

Etienne racked his brain. Suddenly, it dawned on him "Last night..." Imperius refused to look at him. "You wouldn't let me kill that deer. Why?"

"It was a very special deer..." he looked to Phillippe who had passed out from pain.

"That deer was Phillippe wasn't it?" Etienne continued, praying he was wrong.

Imperius sighed "Yes it was."

Isabeau gasped "How is that possible?!"

Imperius wouldn't meet their eyes. "I was not completely honest with you when I told you how the curse would be broken. For the two of you to be released, someone would have to willing choose to take the curse from you." Their eyes widened in horror. "That potion you drank contained a drop of Phillippe's blood. When I first met him, I saw how loyal he was to the two of you. I had felt so guilty for breaking your trust, and Phillippe gave me the opportunity to fix my mistakes. I told him about how the curse could be broken. As I assumed he would, he volunteered to take it from you. I did this for you."

"You cursed a child for the rest of his life?! For what?! To ease you of your guilt?!" Etienne yelled in rage.

"Why did you not ask either of us?" Isabeau was sobbing. She knelt next to Phillippe and smoothed out his hair. "We never would have agreed to it if we had known the cost."

"Exactly." He answered "I knew if I had told you, you wouldn't let Phillipe go through with it. But face it, the two of you were never able to see each other for two years. Phillippe is the only one cursed now. You are both freed now! You should be happy!"

Etienne grabbed him by the front of his shirt "You used Phillippe! You don't really care about him!"

"Of course, I do!" he yelled "But frankly, he's just a petty thief! He was sentenced to be hanged before you met him! The two of you are nobles that deserve your happiness!"

"He is more than just a thief!" Etienne growled "He is our friend. An innocent child that you got wrapped up into this whole mess!" Etienne looked like he wanted to murder him. "As soon as you fix his leg I want you gone. Isabeau and I will take care of him from now on."

"But..." he started.

Isabeau stood up "Fix him Imperius and be on your way. You are no longer wanted here." He nodded solemnly and quickly finished bandaging the wound. As soon as he was finished, he packed up his things and left. He would never bother them again. 

(A/N - Thanks for reading!)