Apparently Lorria and the guys race off into the woods that grow by the countryside. Great. We have no way of reaching them, apart from the communicative earpieces we each got before splitting up. But I'm pretty sure you can't get a signal from the woods which are miles away. As if things can't get any worse, another Sophixian is eliminated during the following week.
The night before the second elimination feast, I begin to suspect we aren't the only intruders in this castle. It's the middle of the night, and I'm thirsty, so I walk out of my room, towards the kitchen. As I'm coming out with a drink of water, I hear voices.
I quickly duck into a corner. Four figures step out. Three of them are the strange women with tattoos I saw on the first day. The other is the younger prince, Prince Derek. He's shaking in fear as the three women lead him down the hall. I follow them, keeping to the shadows.
". . . and everything will be set in motion. All you have to do is play your part right, prince." A rough voice speaks. "But, um, are we sure we're doing this?" the prince asks. "Yes!" All three of the women hiss angrily. "You asked to be king, did you not? We are making that wish come true!" "Just do as we say, and nobody will get hurt." "O-Okay." They walk down the hall, and I come out of my hiding place. Those three women aren't here to win the crown prince's heart. They're here to kill him.
It's been almost half a month since we landed here. The Dynatos guys, who managed to somehow fix up our earpieces, are suggesting we go back, but we can't. Elytheia has a huge population. The Elytheians will support their king. Every one of them will join Zarina's army, making her forces indestructible.
The next day, Ayla is late for the announcements. After half an hour, I see her stumble down a staircase and collapse in the middle of the room. Gasps run throughout the room. I run over to her, and look for someone- anyone who can help.
I see Devon walk into the room with Prince Derek. I signal her to get over here. She manages her royal composure, and quickly walks over to us. Soon, doctors are leading Ayla away. I want to chase after her, but I know I can't. I just try my best to press down my worry as Princess Devona announces an unfortunate elimination due to illnesses.
As soon as the Queen announces the next task, I ignore all the practice sessions and run to find Devon. I see her talking with three doctors. All of their faces look grim. "Where's Ay- er, Talya Effith?" I ask. I almost say Ayla's name, but manage to say her alias just it time.
One of the doctors look and me, and say, "Miss, I'm sorry, but we're afraid your friend won't make it. She's somehow received a very ancient, dark curse. She's been carrying this curse around for weeks. The only cure is force-feeding her a potion with the curse castor's blood mixed in. And even if, by some miracle, we do find the castor of the curse, it will take at least a month to prepare the potion."
Fear overruns me. Ayla, the only friend I've ever had in Sophix, the friend I've had for seven years, will die. And it's my fault. I put the curse on her when I was being controlled. I can't fix this. Or can I? If only we had one more month. . .
"Stop time!" I shout. The other doctors turn to me. "I'm sorry?" one of them asks. "Stop time! I can get you the curse castor's blood. We just need one month. Create a frozen time period room thingy and put her in there! Then we'll have plenty of time!" Some look bewildered, and others look sad. "I'm sorry, miss, but creating a freeze in time requires the most powerful of spirits, and we're short of any spirits at the moment." I refuse to believe this. We have to at least try.
I concentrate. I purposely try and get sucked into Zarina's mind again. I need her power. She created a freeze in time over an entire city. A freeze in a small closet won't be hard then. Right? "Visiting again, Cilia Jewel?" A woman's voice reverberates through the room. "You wish for my power. . . And I will give it gladly. Your friend's time has not yet come. But in return, I wish for your rings. They are, after all, rightfully mine. . . Bring the rings to the main hall of the castle tonight if you decide to give them up."
I steady my breath. "One more day," I tell the doctors. "Then you can leave." They mutter something, but agree. After all, it's not every day you get a chance to spend a night in the Elytheian castle.
I've been so worried about Ayla that I haven't had time to focus on the bride task. It's ballroom dancing. Traditional Elytheian ballroom dancing. And I don't know a single step. Great.
We all gather in the ballroom, with the queen standing in the middle. She takes the king's hand, and together, they waltz. I try and memorize their steps, but fail miserably. After them, it's the prince's turn to waltz with the maidens. I feel sorry for him. He has to dance 70 times over and over again. Luckily, this task is spread out in a series of days, 10 dances each day. As the chosen partner of the prince, I'm first. I don't know anything. I can't dance. But I confidently walk up to the prince. Maybe they'll give me more points for active participation? Not that I care, of course. Our goal is to slip the potion to the king, not the crown prince. The other girls leave, and the music begins.
The prince places his hand on my shoulder and waist, and I copy him. He must have sensed I'm at an uneasy state right now, because he leads me across the floor, guiding my hands as he does so. He twirls me around, and takes each step gracefully. I follow whatever he does, and soon, our nervous dance becomes more natural. He looks into my eyes. I avert my eyes, but I feel him watching me. My cheeks grow hot, and I'm furious at my own feelings. I want for the music to end. And it does. We finish by bowing towards each other. Then I race out of the room.
I slam my room door shut as my heart beats faster and louder. I cannot like him. That's a necessary order. I cannot like him. I cannot like Prince Benjamin Rosemire, not one bit. For his own safety. The last few guys I've dated. . . They've had tragic ends.
First, it was when I was little. I was about twelve maybe? A boy in my Magic class offered to help me with the subject. We studied together, and we met up again the next day. For a week this went on. Then the boy mysteriously disappeared. A search for him followed for two whole weeks until we found him in the woods. He was hugging an old tree, and was insane. He kept pointing at me, muttering, "Skeleton. Zombie. Shadows. Blue." In the end, he was transported to a mental hospital in his hometown. He never came back to Sophix again.
Then, when I turned thirteen, I cautiously began to hang out with boys again. There was this one kid in my Combat class who I partnered up with one day. We practiced together a long time. For a month, we joked around, played, and had fun. After two months, I had my first kiss. Just a peck on the lips, but still. The next day, he was found with light blue sap dripping from his mouth. The doctors barely managed to revive him.
I stopped getting close with boys after that. When I was fifteen, I bumped into a boy in the library. My books spilled out, and he helped me pick them up. We exchanged smiles. That's all that happened. Two days later, he was discovered on the school rooftop with blue vines wrapped around his feet, dangling him off the edge.
Finally, there's Liam. We started going out about a month before this Zarina fiasco happened. Nothing happened during the duration of that month. I was beginning to think this curse thing was gone. That's when you know what happened. I nearly killed him- I broke half the bones in his body, causing his psycho brother to come after me with an ax.
Oh. . . Leo Rivera. I haven't though about him in a pretty long time, which I feel slightly guilty about. He's under Zarina's control, meaning he's doing something he doesn't want to do night and day, not knowing who he is. . .
Not that I'm beginning to worry for him, though. I still hate him.
Although I don't believe in superstitions, I'm convinced I'm cursed. I simply cannot go near boys. So there is no way I'm getting my feelings mixed up with a prince, especially since we're trying to get his dad to listen to us.
Besides, I have more important matters to think about. Like Zarina's creepy message about my rings and Ayla. I know I should save Ayla, but I know there's so much more to these rings than they let on. If I could only have a few more months with these rings, then I would be able to master all its secrets. Then I remind myself Ayla doesn't have a few months. She doesn't even have a few hours. I know what I must do.
At two in the morning, I crawl out of my bed, and ride the elevator down to the main hall. As soon as I walk out of the elevator, I hear a voice. "Freeze." My head slowly turns around. A small gun is pointed at my head. "Give me those rings." This is not Zarina's voice. That's for sure. But I can't see the wielder of the sword. She's concealed in the shadows.
"I'll give it to you once you give me what I want." I say confidently. I can tell from her posture and the way her hand is shaking that this person is more scared than I am. I would say she's just one or two years older than me.
The girl- whoever she is- fumbles around with her other hand, and brings out her hand into the light. She's holding a round vial full of blue mist. "This will be enough to fill a small closet. Now give me your rings." Her voice is trembling. I think about just disarming her and taking the vial by force, but for some reason, I don't think that will work out too well. Even if she is scared, and even if she isn't that talented with weapons, her gun is much more closer to my head than I am to her. I take off my rings, and set them on her hand. I take the vial. The girl disappears into the darkness.
The next morning, I run as fast as I can to the doctors' rooms. I yell at them to get ready. We've decided to use Devon's fourth closet as the time freezing room, since she'll be able to keep an eye on Ayla's body. Everything's set. I let the time freezing mist enter the walk-in closet. I wish on all the spirits that Zarina hasn't tricked me, and help the doctors put Ayla in the room. We lock the door shut, and the doctors put some air sealing charms on the hinges.
One month to make the healing potion. While the doctors are talking with our princess, I quickly cut my finger a tiny bit with a stationary knife. I let the blood drip into the empty vial. I walk over to the doctors, and say, "This is the blood of the caster of the curse. Save her." I walk away before the doctors can ask any more questions.