Gizmo's Story of Stories (mcyt)

Curse of the Fire

She couldn't do this. It was too much stress, too much responsibility for her to take. She ran down the halls of the castle, away from her father, away from the guards, away from the boy standing with them.
The gardens appeared at the end of the hallway, allowing her to escape. She dashed to the willow tree at the back of the garden, slipping behind it to the one spot she felt safe, a place no one could find her.
The stone tunnel was old, but the roots of the trees in the garden held it together, even after several decades. When the tunnel came to an end, the glowing light of the sun filled the hidden grove.
The sun reflected off the dripping waterfall, like diamonds falling. Giant willows surrounded the grove, blocking it from the outside world. To one of the sides of the grove laid a singed target. Parts were crumbling to ashes, falling onto the already blackened surface below.
She walked up to the blackened circle, tracing her fingers along the faint lines oh what used to be red and white. A young rabbit hopped around her feet, its white feet turning gray in the ashes. She glances down, smiling as she picked up the little black and white bunny.
It snuggled into her chest as she held it close, walking over to the edge of the river that ran through one edge of the grove. When the feet of the rabbit touched the water, the crystal currents became littered with ashes.
The rabbit stayed calm as she washed it, cleaning all of the black dust off. When she was done, the rabbit simply clicked and hopped off, leaving her alone by the riverside.
She stood and walked back to the target, this time stopping a little more than 15 feet away.
The secret hideout was a gift from her late mother when it was just the queen and princess. Before they discovered what she could do. Before the king came along, taking her mother away from her.
The anger towards the man who claimed to be king boiled inside of her. He promised her mother that if anything happened, he would take care of the princess. Instead, he tries to marry her off to a spoiled prince. He wants the throne to himself, not liking the fact that she was the rightful heir to the throne.
She glanced down at her hands, watching them spark as her anger grew. The stupid curse wasn't her fault. It's wasn't even her mother's fault. It was her stupid stepfather's fault.
The curse of the fire in her veins was the cause of the king making a deal with a witch. The throne for the power to curse his wife's daughter.
Even from the beginning, he never liked the girl. When he was given the chance to make it worse, he took it without thought. Then, when the queen died in the hands of hers, he blamed it on her, on her stupid curse.
Now, she let her hands ignite with the burning anger. Lifting her gaze to the target she had used so many times before, she held up her hand shooting a jet of flames right into the center.
She smiled, shooting several more. Even if it was a curse, a pain to control her emotions, she quite enjoyed letting it out. Letting the fire running through her to leave, even if just for a moment.
As she shot another jet at the target, she felt a presence behind her. With a quick pivot, she raised her hand towards the boy standing before her.
He raises his hands in the air, silently telling her that he meant no harm. She lowered her hand causely, carefully studying the boy.
She had never seen him before. She would have remembered the bright hazel eyes. His hair was shaggy and to his shoulders, like he hadn't had it cut in years. What caught her attention was the fact that his hair was brown, yet seemed to fade into an almost pure gold color. His clothing looked filthy and out dated. Across his back was a quiver, a bow in his hand.
He seemed to be doing the same thing as her, studying her dark blue hair that she had dyed right before her mother passed. He looked over her clothing, a purple dress fit for a princess.
As he made his way back to her face he frowned, breaking the silence between then. "Why do you wear the bandana?"
She stood still, shocked at the fact that was all he wanted to know. Not if she was going to hurt him, not who she was. Only why did she cover her eyes.
She touched the yellow bandana that covered her eyes, especially made for her. One side, you couldn't see through it, while the other you could, almost like a one-way mirror.
She stayed silent, only glancing up at him. She glanced at the bow in his hand, wary of it. Even without seeing her eyes, he seemed to get the message and put his bow down to the side, resting his arrows with it. He stood, and faced her repeating his question, hoping for an answer this time.
Instead, she decided to not give him the answer he wanted, only asking him why his clothes were torn and filthy.
"When you don't have a way to clean or get knew clothing, you just have to live with it," he replied. "Now, I answered yours, you should answer mine."
She nodded slightly, still unsure of this boy but decided to trust him. "I was told to hide my eyes."
For the first time, the boy seemed to notice the fake flower crown on her head, the flowers made of rubies and diamonds themselves.
She watched as he connected the dots, looking up at her once again. "You're the princess, aren't you?" She only nodded, waiting for him to continue.
When he didn't, she decided to ask a question of her own. "Who are you, since you already know me?"
He shook his head, unsure as to why he seemed to trust this princess who had the power of fire inside of her, but he did. So, he told her. "My name is Alexander. Also, I only know you're the princess. I don't actually know your name. I guess living in the woods for 8 years cuts you off..." he trailed off, realizing that he was telling her quite a bit.
"Allison. Princess Allison." Before he could respond, she continued with the question that had been bugging her. "How did you find this place?"
"I... I don't know, Princess. It happened to stumble upon it, then spotted you helping the rabbit," he smiled at the thought. "You have a way with animals."
She sighed. It's wasn't a bad thing, only the reason she had it was bad. It had been a side effect of the curse, allowing her to speak with animals.
Before she could comment on this, a voice echoed through the tunnel, freezing both of them in place. Princess Allison quickly grabbed the boy's bow and arrows, setting them by the target before dragging him through the tunnel. She stopped at the end, motioning him to stay there and stay silent as she stepped out.
The guard was facing the other direction, calling her name. She stayed silent, waiting for him to turn and notice her. When he finally did, she recognized which guard it was. He smiled and bowed slightly.
"Princess Allison."
"Sir Leaf," she responded, greeting the guard. He has been her mother's personal guard.
Leaf frowned, not wanting to rely the message, but almost forced to if he wanted to keep his job. "Your father wanted me to tell you that you will marry someone. You have two months to choose, and if you don't, then he will choose for you."
Allison frowned, before glancing back towards where the tunnel and the boy were.
The boy that wasn't like anything she had seen. One the wasn't afraid of her power. A boy that she found she trusted more in just a few minutes of meeting him than she did of the rest of the castle.
Even as she didn't say it then, in her heart she already knew.
Alexander was her choice, and he will help her rule the kingdom, taking over the throne as king and queen.
The only thing now was getting him to agree.