Chapter 21: Alexander
One day turned into two. That turned into a week. We huddled around Merlin’s mirrors periodically to check in on Anabelle. All of us were hoping she would take care of her father, show him that she was still alive, and return to us. I wouldn’t have blamed her if she never came back. Having her there in the castle had been a gift, but we were foolish to think we could have it forever. We were doomed to be beasts and even when Anabelle saved us from that fate, we were still trapped in our mistakes. They carried us towards the end of eternity in a binding that could not simply be erased by the touch of a woman. We were men again, but we were still lost souls twirling in the torment of our past. We created it, and while we were finally able to understand why it was the fate we were handed, life became more difficult without Anabelle. We seemed to drift into our own self-reflection. Without Anabelle there, we were no longer as united as we were before she left. The twins returned to the west wing, Randall spent more time hunting than he spent in the castle, and Arthur rarely left the northern wing. Boone and I were usually the only two in the main part of the castle and while we came together for dinner, it wasn’t as exciting as it was with her.
“I checked on her earlier. She’s researching Guinevere. I don’t understand these new books with moving pages, but it seems like she is hunting her.” Arthur pulled his chair close to the table, although he didn’t eat.
“We should have known she would do that.” Boone shook his head back and forth with a solemn look on his face. “It won’t end well if she manages to find the witch.”
“There is no magic we can use to contact her?” Braden looked over at Arthur. “Surely Merlin had some tricks up his sleeve that would still work in our time.”
“Most of the things he made were bound to him and to his very essence. It took a lot out of him to create items imbued with magic that would survive. He normally only did that with gifts.” Arthur looked around the room. “We have the mirrors...”
“If only you could find a way to wield Excalibur again.” Shane picked up his bread and took a bite. “That’s what we need right now.”
“It no longer responds to me.” Arthur sighed and looked down at his plate. “If there was a way, I would have found it in the years I’ve spent here. Excalibur is as useless as the utensils you use to consume your food.”
Hope was a gift that had started to sour in the castle with Anabelle gone. I watched her sometimes late at night when I had trouble sleeping. Her father seemed to be a new man, reborn with her nearby once again. I recognized the glimmer in his eyes, even if it was father’s love instead of the passion I felt for his daughter. Mine was fading as fast as his was growing. The beastly tendencies I had were starting to manifest again. My humanity was slipping away. I could see it in the others as well. They were struggling in our life without Anabelle. I tried to pry Excalibur from the stone prison that held it several times after Anabelle was gone. I knew m
y heart was far from pure, but I still felt like it was the answer. Anabelle seemed determined to find the witch and it worried me to no end. The worst part wasn’t that she was searching—it was my fear that with her determination, she might actually find her.
“COME QUICK!” ARTHUR’S words roused us from our slumber as we slept. I opened my eyes and looked over at him.
“What is going on?” I blinked until my eyes were in focus and sat up.
“It’s Guinevere!” Arthur motioned for me to follow. “She’s found Anabelle!”
“What?” My voice roared and I started to run as I got out of bed.
I ran to Arthur’s room as he started to wake up the others. When I pushed my finger into the mirror and wished to see Anabelle, I felt my heart sink into my stomach. She appeared to be at her house. The witch that I remembered from my time before the castle was standing across from her. Guinevere hadn’t aged a day. She still looked exactly the same. The rest of the men started to arrive and all of us had our eyes locked on the mirror. There was nothing we could do. Somehow, the witch had found Anabelle even as she searched for her. The screens in the background suggested she had been researching the witch as she arrived. There was a look of real terror on Anabelle’s face. She had no means to fight a witch. She was a mortal facing down the devil’s power. I wrapped my hands around the mirror as I stared. We couldn’t hear what was going on, but the sight told the whole story. Anabelle was in grave danger and there was nothing we could do about it. I saw her hold up her hand and squeeze it. She was activating the ring—that meant she was coming back to us—but it also meant she was bringing the witch’s wrath with her.
“What do we do?” I looked to Arthur. “If Anabelle comes to us, the witch will follow!”
“Quick!” Arthur ran to the wall and pulled down one of the mirrors. “These mirrors can reflect her magic. I saw Merlin do it in a battle with Mordred once. It won’t be enough to stop her, but maybe we can slow her down long enough for Anabelle to escape.”
“I’ll stick with my bow.” Randall pulled his bow off of his back and notched an arrow, pointing it towards the floor.
“If this is going to be the end, then we go down fighting like men.” Braden ripped a mirror off and handed it to Shane before pulling another one free for himself.
“We just need to hold her off long enough for Anabelle to escape—even if it kills us.” Arthur put the mirror in front of him.
“The witch will continue to hunt her.” Boone took a mirror and held it in his hands. “Even if she can escape, there is no way we will be able to hold the witch off forever.”
“This is the only chance we have.” Arthur’s knuckles were white as he clenched the mirror.
Chapter 22: Anabelle
It was time for me to go. I was torn between two worlds. One held the life I had known with my father who loved me very much and the other was with seven men who needed me. I wasn’t going to be able to tell my father the truth. I didn’t even feel like I could say the words. I wrote every thought down and left the letter on the table in his library. He would find it after work and the words wouldn’t make sense to him, but he would at least know I wasn’t in danger. Anyone who read it besides him would think it was nothing more than fantasy. I described what I found out after he left and how we had grown close. I left out the parts I didn’t think a father should ever hear about his daughter, but I made sure it was clear that I cared for them. I even described the witch, the curse, and King Arthur—even though I thought that was probably too much for him to wrap his mind around. He had seen the beasts, but their story was incredible. I was ready to use the ring bestowed to Arthur and Guinevere on their wedding day. I was ready to return to Camelot.
I loaded up my computer and looked over everything I had discovered about the witch, but none of it was a real answer. I let my hand close on the ring several times, but the courage inside me waned. When I was an instant away from being returned, I opened my hand and considered the choice I was making. As I stared at the band, I heard a noise and turned to see the most vivid set of emerald green eyes I had ever seen in my life.
“I never thought I would feel Merlin’s magic in this world again.” The witch took a step forward and her eyes reflected anger. “You’ve been to Camelot...”
“Guinevere...” I stood up and took a step back.
“You know my name.” She smiled and shook her head. “I guess that means you’ve met my beasts.”
“They’re not beasts!” I felt my heart beating wildly in my chest. “They’re men you locked away in a cage!”
“They were supposed to suffer for eternity for what they did. What is this I sense from you—this strange emotion. You care for them?” Guinevere tilted her head in confusion. “How is that possible?”