Fairy Tale Devices

Chapter 5 - Save the Date

Gabriel slipped into his room, dragging his feet to the bed without bothering to even look around. He dumped his stuff on the floor and sat down. The aching of his feet was the only thing that convinced him that all of this wasn't a dream. He had really left. For a brief moment, he'd actually be free. It was... nice. Exhilarating. Terrifying. 

And he had left with a girl. I've actually made a friend. He laid down on the bed, thinking about how none of this would've happened if he had never met Cecily. 

But... Cecily didn't really know him. There was no grantee she'd stick around long enough for him to find his family. And he wasn't going to tell her about his curse. He has already made up his mind about that. 

He just had no idea what he was going to do next. He knew he wanted to enjoy his last days, not  spend them in a futile quest to break his curse. On his birthday he'd just end up sleeping forever and that was that. There was no point dwelling on it. Not to mention, he didn't want to spend his final moments trying to run away from the sorceress and her curse. 

Gabriel sat up suddenly. My bow?!  His chest tightened. He turned to his things, but the only things he had on the floor were his backpack and the cloak Cecily had given him. He pulled both up to bed, holding them close to him. He had thought he had been careful and made sure he didn't leave anything that could be used to track him down. That bow was so personal to him. He didn't doubt the sorceress's abilities to use it to find him again. 

The more he thought about it, the more he realized he had no idea what he did to it. He couldn't remember when or where he had dropped it. Or if he tucked it away.  He had been so focused on fleeing that he forgot about it entirely. Idiot!

If she realizes that's what I used to kill her beast... Gabriel didn't dare think of what she would do to him. He shuddered, wrapping himself in the cloak and laying back down with his body curled around his backpack. 

Now, he was even more exhausted than before. He pulled the cloak closer to his face. The fur was so soft... and it smelled so nice.... He let his eyelids slip close and sleep finally won, washing over him entirely. 

...

He snapped back awake as soon as he heard the sound of loud knocking. Sunlight was slipping through the curtains on the window to his right. He squinted through and saw he was sleeping in a small room. A quarter of it was taken up by what he could only assume to be the bathroom. So instead of being a perfect square it gave the room two extra mustard colored walls. The bathroom door was right next to another, and both were on his left. The bed was in the center of the room, with it's headboard against the back wall. 

The quick knock he heard rang again. This time sharper. "Gabriel!" A sweet voice called. 

He stumbled out of his bed to open the door, nearly knocking his backpack off the bed. He pulled it open and rubbed his eyes. Cecily smiled up at him. She was wearing a white button up blouse tucked into a high waist, long brown skirt. Her hair was done in a cute braided crown. He was a bit breathless. 

"Did I wake you?" she smirked.

"Urgh. Yes."  

"Well, I want to take you to get breakfast." 

Gabriel looked at his rumpled clothes and felt his cheeks heat up. He could only imagine the mess his hair was. There's no way in hell I'm going out like this. "Fine. Let me change."

...

Once Gabriel had changed into a pair of dark green pants, tucked in his white shirt, and slipped on his boots, he turned to his backpack. Out of one of the smaller pockets, he pulled out his room's key and grabbed his cloak. He stepped into the hallway, making sure to shut his door.