Cinderella: A Fractured Fairytale

Fifteen

HAHA AND NOW

FOR THE MOMENT OF TRUTH

Is Eric alive? Will he still be by the end of the chapter?

Ana's POV

Chapter 15

***

The halls were dim and gloomy, and the entire mansion seemed deserted. I didn't know where I was going, but I tried to follow the hallways up as much as I could. If Eric was here, he was probably near the top floor, where Black usually stayed.....

I tried not to keep track of how long I'd been wandering these eerie, lonely halls, but my mind was a clock of doom, proclaiming danger every minute that passed and panicking at every noise, though the only sounds I heard were the sounds of water dripping and mice running inside the walls.

Aaaand my heart pounding like it thought it was some sort of drum. Such an eerie, odd place.

Suddenly, a new sound caught my attention. The sound of talking. Voices.

Black.

I felt like shrinking away when I heard his voice, but I pressed forward, following the sound towards its origin until I came to a room with the door halfway open. I peeked through.

Eric!

My pulse raced at the sight of him.

Then I realized he was lying motionless on the floor. No. No!

Black was standing over him, fury written on his face. "You could have amounted to so much. So much."

I tiptoed through the door, terrified but needing to know if Eric was still alive. There was a large bookcase in the near corner, which I stopped behind and peeked out from.

"Instead, you betray me. You fraternize with the enemy. You go against everything I have ever taught you." Black kicked at his son's half-conscious form, and Eric's face twisted in pain as he opened his eyes for a moment.

He's alive!

"You might kill me," he gasped out, "but in the end it doesn't matter. It's already too late. You've lost."

Black's face was livid with fury. "We'll see about that, boy!" he shouted, turning abruptly to leave the room. He stormed out with such a look of hatred on his face that I shrank back when he passed my bookshelf hiding place.

As soon as I'd made certain he was truly gone, I hurried to Eric's side and knelt beside him. "Eric, are you okay?" Please be okay.

He groaned. "Now I'm hallucinating. Just kill me already. I'm in enough pain as it is."

"No!" I shook his shoulders. "Don't you dare to die. I came all this way for you, and I am not a hallucination!"

A faint smile formed on his face. "And you told me you were a naturally shy person. Look at you now."

I felt my eyes tearing up. "Don't go all sentimental on me. You are not going to die."

"You sure about that?" he asked weakly. "My heartstone..." He tried to point, but couldn't even lift his arm.

I glanced around, seeing the small stone in a shallow basin of murky water on top of the very bookcase I'd been hiding behind. Its glow was fading with every second that passed.

"No!" I hurried over to the case, taking the stone out and rushing back to Eric. I put it in his hand. "Dry it off. We can still save you."

"No, actually." came a cold voice from the doorway. "You can't."

Dread filled my heart and I turned slowly.

It was Black.