The Locket (26 page)

“Is ‘neither’ an option?” Chris asked smartly.

“I’ve decided!” The ogre shouted, ignoring his remark.

“That didn’t take long,” Savannah whispered.

“I am very hungry right now, so I’ll just cook you for dinner instead of holding myself to temptation.” With that, he pulled out the dagger that Savannah had foolishly left behind and began to cut them down.

Savannah’s hope that the two of them could take on the one ogre was squashed when the ogre powerfully threw her over his shoulder and locked Christian under his other arm. Though he may have been stupid, this ogre was certainly not weak.

A few minutes later, they reached his new campsite. “Luckily for you two, I came upon this lovely cage while on my walk over here,” he explained, slurring his words in the process, as he threw them in. “Another ogre must have left this years ago before we were all banished to the other side of that foolish trail! I cannot wait to give that king a piece of my mind!” When she glimpsed over, Savannah noted that Christian looked enormously livid and defensive, as though he himself were about to go into war. “Anyway, for reasons I cannot say, I just decided to bring it along with me. Charming contraption, isn’t it? It truly is something nice to have when you do not have a babysitter for your dinner.” His smug grin showed those yellow, pointed teeth that made her feel sick.

Fortunately for them, the cage was relatively large, or at least spacious enough to hold up to a dozen people if they squished. However, they both had already scanned it enough to realize that the bars were too tightly placed together to squeeze through and that there was going to be a lock on the door. “Now,” he continued, as he made sure everything was secure. “I am going to go and get the firewood, so you two can spend the last of your time praying or thinking up convincing ways to beg for your freedom.” The ogre cackled as he left into the trees.

Yes, this was certainly not a bright ogre. They were in the middle of the forest, a highly wooded area, and he walked away to find firewood. He could have saved some time and gathered the sticks and dry leaves at his feet.

“Now what are we going to do?” Savannah sighed. “I can’t fit through the bars and he probably has the key on him.” She sat on the base of the cage. “It’s useless.”

“Don’t say that. It is not useless, not if we make a hard enough effort!” he tried reassuring her. When she did not say anything, he leaned down next to her, and put his fingers under her chin to lift her head up. “Look at me, Savannah. We have gotten to where we are now without so much as a flesh wound—if you call a mild concussion smaller than a flesh wound. Either way, we are alive and the point is that we were smart enough, brave enough, and determined enough to make it this far.”

She nodded, and did something for the first time that she never thought she’d do: she brushed off her negativity and started to use her imagination to think around the logical. “Then what do you suggest we do?”

He thought twice about their condition and tore his gaze from hers. “I do not know.” She sighed again as he stood up and rested his hands on the bars of their prison. She would come up with a plan, she knew she would. She just had to think outside the box for once.

They waited around for somewhere close to a half hour. Silence had coated the air long ago with only the chirps of crickets and frogs being heard to announce that night was drawing near. The sky was gradually dimming, and though there were not many stars out yet, there would be shortly.

Just then, something broke the silence and seized the attention of Christian’s ears. He couldn’t be sure of it at first, but as it drew louder, the beats and pulses became unmistakable. Music was floating through the air, making its way to them quick and fast. Lively and bouncy, it was not something Christian was used to, though it was too irresistible not to like.

Enjoying its rhythm, Christian knew he liked it, at least until, for reasons he could not place, he started to dance. Without his mind’s consent, his shoulders began to rock back and forth and his hips moved from left to right. Not long after did his arms and legs catch up to the rest of his body.

Savannah stared at him in both amazement and amusement. “When I asked earlier what you thought we should do about our dilemma, I didn’t think that dancing was something that would go on our list of top solutions.” His only response was more dancing and a tense glare in her direction. “Why are you doing that anyway?”

“You cannot hear it?” he asked a bit anxiously, speeding up his pace.

Savannah rolled her eyes while she watched him do a few moves she hadn’t seen since the Backstreet Boys and was about to turn away when something caught her body. Her limbs went very still at first, as if they were no longer under her control. She stood up as if on strings of a marionette, looking all around for a source of this magic. And then she heard it. The rhythms and beats of the music quickly became very clear, opening a door to what Christian was hearing.

Unable to stop herself, Savannah began to roll her hips and sway her body. “What is going on, Christian? What is this?” If it were not for the fact that she was so taken aback and a little terrified, she would have been laughing and even having fun. Though considering that the two of them were in a mythical forest where almost literally anything could happen, it gave her a worried rush to not be able to control her own body.

“I am just as oblivious to the reasons behind this as you are, Savannah,” he explained, twirling her. “I have never been in this kind of trance before.”

“Can we stop it?”

Pulling her to him, he dipped her and paused. “I am not sure. I do not even know how it started, let alone how to finish it.” Dragging her back up, he twirled her once more before they synchronized their dancing individually.

They continued to dance for an entire song, all the while thinking of the few scenarios in which they could end up in the spell they were under. Dozens of possibilities filed through Savannah’s mind: pixies, witches, demons … anything was possible. Suddenly, it hit her and a  light bulb went off in her head as she thought of what Isabelle had told her. “The ogres! I was told that they could hypnotize people.”

It didn’t take Christian long to remember that he had been told the same thing a long time ago, and his eyes widened in awareness. His parents had both made sure that he and Rupert were well prepared in the event that they would one day have to embark on a mission in the woods. “You are right, Savannah, but why would he make us go through with this if he himself is not here to watch it?”

“Because he is imagining it,” she answered, still collecting her thoughts. “When you were out filling the water canteen that morning after we met Dimitri, he told me that an ogre could hypnotize simply with its mind, picturing what he wants us to do. He is probably just envisioning how he wants to watch us dance when he gets back.”

At last, after many twists and turns, the music began to slow. Assuming that it would slow to a stop, Savannah let out the breath that she didn’t realize she was holding in. “Finally, the nightmare ends!”

She prepared for the dancing to come to a close, secretly saddened that the small amount of fun she was having was over. More so, she wished it wouldn’t because then she wouldn’t have an excuse to keep touching Christian, even if it was a simple holding of hands for a moment or a graze here and there as she moved.

When the music didn’t stop but merely slowed and changed, Savannah’s heart jumped to her throat. The wild and energetic pulses were soon taken over by a sweet and smooth melody. Her body tingled with the anticipation of a slow dance with Christian, though that fantasy quickly vanished, leaving her heart to sink, when she realized that she could control herself again. “That’s odd,” she said to him. “How come we can move now? The music hasn’t stopped.”

Christian shrugged in reply. Then, abruptly, he straightened himself and looked over at her. She stared at him in marvel and confusion, wondering why she had control but he didn’t. Her eyes widened as he made his way over to her and, though she could move her body any way she liked, she was frozen in place, gazing at him with a longing she didn’t know was evident on her face.

Her eyes focused on his, causing more and more of the strength she had once built up to escape the tight grasp she tried holding on to. “What are you doing?” She tried to sound sturdy and failed, her words coming out with a slight shake.

He smiled as he placed his hand on her shoulder, realizing that he was making her nervous. And with the music still gliding through the air, the deliberate waves and pulses surging through their bodies, the two waltzed from side to side of the cage.

After all this time, Savannah still did not want to admit the feeling that Christian gave her, especially when they touched. Her body shivered when he placed his hand on her lower back, while the other was holding onto her own hand. She couldn’t deny the light he turned on inside her or the contented rush that ran through her. The butterflies that young girls would dream about having, she felt now. She wanted to protect him and knew somewhere in her that when she needed it, he would protect her too.

The main question was—was he real? Could he have been just some part of a dream, as with the rest of this place?

If it were not for his eyes and smile completely draining her thoughts away, she would have looked a second time at these ideas. But as for now … they were just dancing. Nothing could stop their floating on air or the warmth that flowed between them. For now, they were creating a magic all of their own.

Christian never thought that he would be in a position like this. All his life, no maiden has ever made him feel so alive. Savannah was unique, in more ways than one, and she brought a sense of peace to his mind that has been missing for years. Every inch of his body just wanted to pull her closer and hold on forever. He was so in love and knew that he would adore her for the rest of his life. He just wished that she felt the same. After that night in the cottage, she made it very clear that having relations with him was not what she wanted.

But that was what he wanted.

The music faded little by little, leaving nothing more than faint taps of rhythm and the soft sounds of nature left. As a finishing stance, Christian dipped her down, leaving her head to nearly touch the ground if it were not for him holding her firmly in his arms.

In that instant, they were motionless. Christian didn’t know whether he should take advantage of the situation and lean down to kiss her or if he should pull her up and pretend like this chance for him had never happened. It was undeniable that he was on the edge of restraining himself, and when Savannah looked up and her gaze met his with an unmistakable glint of desire, he gave in.

The kiss was long and passionate. From the moment his lips caressed hers, they could both feel a heat powerful enough to transform an ocean into steam. He was gentle and sweet, creating a tingle that shivered up her spine. How could she have rejected this before?

When they separated, Christian brought the both of them back up. He did not regret what he had done at the same time that he knew that he would have to suffer through the consequences of his actions. The embarrassment that he would undergo this time would probably far surpass the embarrassment of the other night at the cottage.

As he dreaded, she stood silent and still. She did not lift her eyes up to his, but kept her head down with a hand to her open mouth. Then, she lifted her eyes to his and stared at him in a way he couldn’t decipher. He was so frightened of being refused a second time that he turned his eyes away, trying to think of how to get out of this situation before she gave him the refusal of a lifetime.

To his astonishment, Savannah brought a hand onto the side of his face and drew his attention back to her. This time, it was she who met his lips with hers and held him closer. Another, longer tingle surged through them.

Surprising him further, she parted his lips slightly with hers, allowing her tongue to softly collide with his. Women in his kingdom did not kiss like this, at least not the ones he had … socialized with. Relishing it, he wrapped his one arm around her while the other first ran through her hair and then rested on her cheek.

Pulling back for a shaky breath, Savannah kept her eyes closed when she rested her head against his. Her breath came out in sighs, a little piece of their souls mingling with every gasp they let out. Unable to keep the quiver of need that coursed through her at bay, she leaned in once more to him.

Moments later, Savannah was at last able to pull herself away, longing for more and now completely powerless to control the rate of her heartbeat. Her eyes still closed, she opened her ears to the sounds of the night that were recently drowned out by all thoughts of Christian. Crickets surrounded the cage, their sounds synchronizing on and off. Owls took the place of songbirds, reserving their noise to every few minutes rather than seconds. The air cooled a bit, unnoticeable from the heat she and Christian had just shared. A gentle breeze whispered on her cheek, allowing the fresh air to be pooled throughout the entire forest.

Opening her eyes, she saw Christian’s own, so full of passion. His smile made her legs weak, but before she even had the chance to toy with the idea of swooning, something appeared in the corner of her eye. Looking away from Christian, she saw a creature so magnificent and so beautiful that she could not take her eyes off of it.

“Savannah? What is it?” he asked.

She did not move. She tried, but it was useless. Her mind was not even cooperating. All she could accomplish was a half-dropped jaw, a pair of awestruck eyes, and a sound caught in her throat.

Deciding that she was not going to answer him anytime soon, he turned his head around and immediately knew why she was so captivated.

The unicorn was snow white and stood both as tall and as poised as a stallion, though it held much more grace. Its mane ran half the length of its curved back with texture as smooth as silk. Its neck was slender, while its head held high in confidence that and demanding respect. A horn as sharp as an ice pick stood long and lean at the top of its head. The eyes that shimmered a deep purple stared knowingly at them, as if nothing they could say or do could ever be hidden from this wise creature.

Of course, that was why he could not control his urge to kiss Savannah—the unicorn had snuck across their paths and brought out his greatest desire. He glanced again toward the girl next to him, who was still gawking at the beautiful creature. But if that was my desire … what was hers?

“Do you think that we could somehow coax it to come over and help us out of here?” she wondered, not ungluing her eyes from the being in front of them.

“Perhaps,” he replied, returning his gaze to the creature. “Although unicorns are a bit tricky to handle. There are mostly two kinds, the sympathetic ones and the stubborn ones. If it is a stubborn unicorn, he or she will be hard to please, such as if you talk too much. It will either run away in boredom or annoyance. On the other hand, if we are fortunate enough to be in the presence of a sympathetic unicorn, it will usually find either pity or the inner beauty of the creature trying to talk to it.”