Cinderella: A Fractured Fairytale

Forty-Seven

Jovette's POV

Chapter 47

*****

I should never have left, was the thought that kept circulating through my mind as I lay awake, staring at the cold stars glinting like ice in the frosty sky. Why did I leave?

Eric was still awake, too. He was gazing into the fire with an intensity that made me think he was trying to distract himself and take his mind off all that had happened.

"I'm sorry," I said quietly.

He stirred. "What?"

I sat up, abandoning the pretense of attempting sleep. "I said, I'm sorry." I whispered. "I know how you feel."

He met my gaze with a question in his eyes that said, do you? He obviously didn't think I did.

"I miss Ethan," I mumbled, almost too quietly to be heard.

Eric started. "What?" he said again.

I stared at the ground. "I know. I'm hopeless."

He shook his head as if to clear it. "Ethan? Like, my brother, Ethan?"

I nodded slowly. "He's not a bad person," I whispered softly. "He just needs help."

Eric watched me for a moment. "Do you really think so?"

"Yes," I replied emphatically. "If he was selfish, he would have kept his bedroll instead of giving it to me to use. If he was truly hopeless, he wouldn't have-"

"Jovette," Eric interrupted hopefully. "Did you see a stone around his neck?"

I nodded, surprised. "Yes, actually. It was black when I first saw it. But then it had veins of blue in it later."

Eric seemed excited. "Are you sure?"

"Uh... yes," I replied, puzzled. "Do you know what the stone is?"

Suddenly, I noticed something I hadn't before. "Hey! You have a stone, too!"

He shushed me. "Not so loud. Yes, I have one, too. It's called a heartstone. All sorcerers have one, but it's a closely guarded secret. Heartstones are like... like our second heart. They store our magic. If they're harmed or submerged in impure water, they lose their glow, and we die. Ethan's heartstone used to be blue, but then..."

"Black did something," I finished knowingly.

He stared. "How did you..."

"Ethan has nightmares." I whispered. "I hear him calling out every night. It's terrible, Eric. I want to help him."

Eric tilted his head. "Is this the same Jovette I knew a week ago?"

I groaned. "Don't bring that up. I guess this whole... incident has changed my outlook on things."

He smiled. His first real smile since I'd seen him today. "And you think maybe Ethan isn't as bad as he seems?"

I nodded. "I know he isn't. I got him to talk to me. I got him to smile. I even got him to laugh."

Surprise flashed across Eric's handsome features. "You did?"

I winced, remembering. "And then right as he began laughing, he started having one of his attacks."

"Attacks?"

I looked at him, surprised that he didn't know what I was talking about. "Did he not have them before?"

"What attacks?" Eric looked genuinely puzzled.

"Every time he smiled, every time he laughed, every time he displayed any emotion at all... he would suddenly double over as if he was in incredible pain," I whispered. "I think it has something to do with emotions... we had a conversation where he was trying to make me see that having no emotions is better because you never feel pain or sadness."

Eric snorted. "That's ridiculous."

"I know," I replied. "But he seemed to really mean it."

He looped back to the previous subject. "So, let me get this straight. When he first kidnapped you, his stone was pitch black. But then, as time passed, you noticed blue veins in it?"

I nodded.

He thought for a long while. "Hmmm," he finally said. "Well, that gives me a lot to think about." He shot me a look. "You might be good for him," he mumbled, mostly to himself.

I shifted, trying not to think about that. I didn't want to get my hopes up.. "What are we going to do about Anastasia?"

He sighed, and I saw his eyes twist with pain. "I... I don't know. I don't know if she wants to be rescued. She doesn't... want me. She doesn't love me." I could tell the words were incredibly hard and painful for him to say.

I didn't know what to tell him. How could I judge what has happened? I hadn't been there.

Eric sighed and stood up. "I'm going to sleep," he mumbled.

"Good night." I said to him, remaining upright.

I had to wait until he was asleep, or at least not watching. He couldn't know what I was about to do. I knew he would try to stop me if I told him.

When he had turned his attention away from me, I slowly stood and crept away from camp, ducking between trees and making a hasty getaway before anyone could see me leaving.

In the dark, the journey back to the castle seemed much longer than before. The cold air made me shiver, and the full moon reminded me of werewolves and wild beasts.

The courtyard was dim and eerie in the chill of the night, and I hurried through it and up to the door.

Then, with foreboding and anticipation pumping in my heart, I lifted my hand and knocked.