The Locket (13 page)

“Yeah, yeah, yeah,” Savannah rolled her eyes. “I already know all that stuff.”

Isabelle’s glance became a direct, serious glare. “You already know about the bad fairies?”

“Yes.”

“And the water sprites?”

“Mhm,” she nodded.

“And the ogres?”

She waved a hand in the air. “Yes, I know all about them.”

Isabelle lowered her head and thought. “Hmm. Well, I bet you don’t know what all of these creatures do.”

Savannah rolled her eyes. This was a waste of her time. If the walk she had to take to reach the general was three or four days long, she wanted to cover as much ground in as little time as possible. “The bad fairies will make you go in circles, the water sprites will make you forget, and the ogres will tear you limb from limb. It’s pretty straight forward.”

“Is that all you know about ogres?”

Savannah didn’t bother to hide her surprise from the question. “Isn’t that all there is?”

This time, it was Belle who sighed. She crossed her legs Indian-style on the apple, preparing for a long explanation. “It appears I’ll have to just tell you everything I know and if I end up recovering some facts you already heard, then oh well. Okay, first there are the ogres. You have said that you already know information on them. What you probably do not know is that they can hypnotize people and creatures.”

“Define ‘hypnotize.’”

“They will make you do anything that they please,” Isabelle said with a straight face. “If they want dinner and a show, which they often do, they can hypnotize you into singing and dancing for them and then make you jump into a boiling hot cauldron for their dinner. Then there are the bad fairies. Do not say anything to them that could be taken literally and cause you grief. It happened to a friend of mine once, poor girl. She ended up an only child after wishing in front of a bad fairy that her siblings would just disappear. Sad, really, they were—”

Savannah cleared her throat. “Ah yes, sorry. Anyway, next are the vampires. Not all of them are bad, but just like unicorns, they are becoming more and more rare to see. I cannot be certain why.

“Last but not least are the unicorns. If a unicorn ever crosses your path, it is said that your greatest desire will come alive. However, as easy as that sounds, it is very rare that one will come near you, let alone be able to be caught.”

Savannah tried comprehending that idea, her eyes narrowed in thought. “So whatever I wanted, I would get if a unicorn came near me?”

“Basically, yes. But it would only be your greatest desire, not just anything that you wished for. And do not be too upset if a unicorn doesn’t come your way in the forest. Again, they are very rare and tend to only come near a human when they know that they can grant your wish or that you are pure of heart.”

Savannah lifted a brow in disbelief. “How would they know what humans have wishes that they can grant and who’s pure?”

Isabelle tapped a hand over her chest. “A unicorn knows what’s in your heart, Savannah. They are very deep and intelligent creatures.” When Savannah nodded, Belle asked, “Any questions?”

“Yes. What about trolls? The king had mentioned something about them earlier.”

“Trolls are not that big a threat to you. They will not bother you if you do not bother them. If you do happen to bump into any of them, and they are not very excepting or lenient, simply offer them some form of a gift and they will go on with their daily lives. Now if you will excuse me,” she picked herself up and flew off the apple toward the higher branches, “I have some beauty rest to catch up on. Do not hesitate to ask someone else if you need any more help, which I imagine you will. Goodbye.”

Pausing, Savannah ran through everything that she had just heard, and once it all had settled in her mind, she started off again. No sense in thinking about something when you don’t know what you’re even going to come across, and if you have limited time and resources.

A half an hour went by, and she found nothing but a thick fog, some tall grass, and a million trees. Every figure that she passed held a hostile shade that made her skin crawl. Her body was getting weary from how long she had spent marching from one place to another, and finally she decided to relax and set up a fire.

She searched for a spot that looked inviting enough to stay for the night, and eventually she was able to find an area where the grass was trimmed down, the trees were clumped together, and the fog lifted to show the gentle starlight. She placed her sac on a nearby log and studied the area. “Okay, I’ve got my place to sleep. All I need now is some firewood.” Unfortunately, she was never any good at making a fire. It was one of her toughest obstacles during Girl Scout camp.

After several draining attempts, she at last was able to build a fire; then she opened her bag. “I hope they have good food,” she murmured as she took out a sausage and began cooking it over the flames. Within minutes she had devoured it and an apple for desert.

As she tried to fall asleep on the cumbersome ground, Savannah realized that it was next to impossible. She had slept on dirt before, so that was not the problem. But thinking about all the men who had died in the same place that she was in at this moment made her more than a bit nervous. She thought about the ogres and their sharp teeth and the pixies that could put spells on her. She thought about the witches and wizards who could hold her captive and torture her. And she thought about all the vampires that could drink her blood while she was asleep. For all of these reasons, she left the fire crackling, as if it were a nightlight.

To make things worse, she could not get all of the noises that were echoing through the night out of her mind. Some sounds were pleasant, like the breeze blowing and the crickets chirping, while others were bloodcurdling, like the rustling in the leaves that came from behind her. “H-hello?” She peered for any strange sights or gazing eyes. “Is anyone there?”

The only response she received was further rustling. “Hello?” She said with more courage and irritation as she stood up off the ground. There was still no answer. “This is the last thing I need right now,” she muttered to herself. Just as she turned back to the bushes to check again for any signs of danger, Savannah saw a quick flash of colors, followed by feeling a hard slam against her chest, knocking her flat on her back.

“Ow!” she yelled, although the blow did not put her in as much pain as she first expected.

“I’m sorry,” came a reply. “I did not mean to run into you. Here, let me help you up … as soon as you can get off of my legs.”

She suddenly became aware that her legs were entwined with this other creature’s legs, her body pinned against the soft dirt by its body. Her head pounded like a jackhammer, and putting a hand to her temple, she sarcastically answered with, “Yeah, sorry, my fault. I was, after all, just standing there.” Untangling herself, she was pulled up off the ground and into to the glow of the firelight.

Not sure whether to angrily rant and give this clumsy creature a piece of her mind, or to be relieved by its unexpected and thankful courtesy, Savannah took a good look at what knocked her over. And what she saw was not at all what she was expecting.

While the garishness of the fire reflected off of their faces, she was surprised to find, not razor-sharp fangs, but pearl teeth behind ample lips. She found not bald, rough skin upon its head, but golden brown hair that curled around a rugged face. And she found not eyes that were poisoned with pure hatred that glowed blood red, but sky blue eyes that sent a warm glow melting through her. This was not an ogre or a vampire … this was a human.

He gave her a charming grin that sent exciting chills down her spine. “I do apologize. The fault was entirely mine.”

Shaking off her momentary awe, Savannah’s face crumpled in irritation. “You should really watch where you’re going, you know. This may be a forest, but that doesn’t mean there aren’t people in it.”

The young man bowed his head in regret. “I’m sorry, I did not realize there would be anyone else here.”

She could tell his sincerity and, deciding she was more relieved than annoyed, forgave him. “Well, there are. Why don’t we sit down?” She gestured toward the log. “So, who are you?”

“Oh, pardon my impertinence,” he said, taking a bow. As he came back up he took her hand in his and placed the faintest whisper of a kiss on it. “My name is Christian.”

She stared at him wide-eyed, wondering if this guy was for real. “Savannah Morgan,” she replied, a little too breathlessly for her taste.

Grinning, he straightened himself. “Very beautiful. Are you from around here, Miss Morgan?”

“Uh …” Say something! She thought to herself. Say anything you idiot! “No.”

Nodding his head, Christian kept his face cool and calm. As long as he had a smile on his face, he was sure, he could appear completely genuine. Though on the inside, he had a battle with himself.

Oh, dear God, he thought. The first person I come across and I already almost give away my true identity. Christian, you moron, do not screw this up! I knew that I should not have done this. I should just be at home, in my bed, getting some sleep before my father’s announcement tomorrow. No. No, I cannot think of that. I must not think of that. The only way that I will be free to live life the way that I want to live is to run away. Far away. The last time I was caught much too soon after I left for my liking, and I do not intend for that to happen again. They will never find me here. If this maiden knows who I am, I am certain that she will turn me into the royal guards, because once everyone knows that Prince Christian has escaped into the Mysterious Forest, all hell will break loose. I just pray that she does not say a word.

“So if you are not from our quaint little kingdom, where are you from?”

“Um,” she began, clearing her throat. “Actually, you may not believe this, but I came here from this locket.” She handed him the necklace. “From my own world.” He did not show much interest toward the object in his hand, yet still opened it to take a peek at what was inside. “It’s not working. I tried to summon the portal back a while ago, but for some odd reason it doesn’t want to materialize, and I can’t figure out why.”

This time, Christian studied the locket a little closer. “You are probably just out of magic juice,” he announced, handing her back the chain. “Or you are here for a reason, and the magic connecting from your world to ours knows it. Things such as this are common in our kingdom. The people here are very superstitious.”

Well that just made no sense. How could a mere necklace know the fate or future of a person? Now I know how Alice felt in Wonderland, she thought. “Psht, magic juice?”

He shrugged. “The concept of magic juice just means that you have used up all of the magic within the locket, and it will take a couple of days for the necklace to recharge again.”

“Oh,” she replied, hugging the chain around her neck once more.

Christian looked her way. “You sound disappointed.”

“It’s not that the kingdom is boring or anything,” she said reassuringly. “I just want to go home. I’ve been away from my house for quite a while now, my aunt and uncle are probably really worried about me, and I neither understand one thing about this place nor know what exactly is going on here. Everything is so confusing!”

He didn’t have any more time for this. If he was going to successfully run away then he should head further into the forest so the guards did not catch up with him. Not that they would necessarily go into the woods or even think that he had, but just in case. Besides, this Savannah girl knew too much. She was not from this world, but that would not matter. She would find out soon enough who he was, and when she did, he would certainly not be there for her to bring him back to his parents. “Well, good luck with that, but I must be off. I have a journey of my own that I must continue.”

“Hold on a second,” she jerked his shoulder so that he was facing toward her again. “There are at least a million questions racing around in my head right now, and I want them answered.” Her tone went from helpless with a hint of fear and a tiny dash of hysteria, to forceful and confident in such a short time. It almost made his lips twitch to think about it.

But composure was a tough thing to maintain when faced with an attractive woman. It was hard to miss her long, slender legs when they were tangled up in his own at first meeting. He now tried to focus his mind on the situation at hand, which was difficult when staring into a pair of big hazel eyes. He skimmed his gaze down a bit to a small button nose, then to a full, soft mouth. His own began to water. “Okay, what would you like to know?”

She did not care for the smirk on his face, nor did she care for his smug attitude. This guy was well bred, that was obvious. But his attitude showed a rebellious side, most likely because either he did not like his upbringing or he just wanted to break his family’s norm due to boredom. It didn’t matter which one it was, Savannah was beginning not to like him, no matter how handsome he was. “First thing I want to know is why an entire kingdom would be waiting for my mother. She’s clearly been here before, or so I would believe if I didn’t think I was imagining this whole place.”

Christian had long since assumed what Savannah and Marie called the “male listening pose.” It consisted of the man in question folding his arms and then leaning forward a bit, sometimes putting most of his weight on one leg. In Christian’s case, he kept his back erect, though he still had his arms folded, and he cocked his head to the side at her last comment. It was cute at first, and then it started to bug her. “What did my mother do to make this world need her so much now?”

He let out a small groan. “All right, first of all, the time is different here then it is there, so your aunt and uncle most likely are not even aware of your absence. If you arrived here a few hours ago, then it has been nothing more than a few seconds there. Therefore, days here are like minutes there. Of course, you cannot always trust what the magic between here and there does, because sometimes it likes to bend the rules.” Seeing her puzzled expression, he continued. “Instead of days here being minutes there, a couple of days in your world can be but a few seconds here, as an example. It all depends on what the future has in store for the person or people traveling.”

After trying to think it through for a few seconds, she finally said, “Like I said, this place is beyond confusing.”

“Secondly,” he went on without a care. “That is why travelers come here at all: to learn about what they do not know already and discover something that they desperately want to know. You said that you wanted to know why your mother gave you her locket and why everyone here knows what you obviously do not about your parents. According to the townspeople in this area, you can learn these answers by coming to this world.”

“Oh, well that’s just silly!” she interrupted when he broke for breath. “How could you have all your questions answered by coming to one place?”

He put his arrogant face back on. “I did not say that all of your questions would be answered here.” Savannah sneered at him. Ignoring it, he went on. “What did you say that your last name was?”

“Morgan. Are my parents Gwen and Terrance Morgan? Yes. Are they here with me now? No.”