A Hole in the World (21 page)

‘The prince got to Alexandra first,’ Scotty says. ‘He kissed her and she now thinks she’s in love with him.’

Daisy gives him a confused look. ‘How does that work?’ she asks. ‘‘Cause she sent Nissa to come and rescue me.’

‘What?’ Bianca says. ‘She did?’

‘Yeah!’ Daisy nods, vehemently. ‘Nissa turned up and she said that Alexandra had sent her to come and get me out of my prison... She did this wave thing... And I was free.  So, me and Cory got on our horse and came straight here because she pointed us in this direction.’

‘You know what this means?’ Scotty says to Bianca.

Bianca nods. ‘Alexandra still loves us. Or, at least, you guys. She remembers you and wanted to help...’

‘Nissa said something about it not being a conscious request, though,’ Daisy says. ‘So maybe her feelings for us are buried beneath layers of prince lip-mojo?’

‘Maybe...’ Bianca breaks out in a grin. ‘But you know what? It doesn’t matter because I’ll get her back. And even if she doesn’t remember me, I’ll make her. I’ll make her remember and love me again because... because we’re meant to be. We just are.’

Scotty smiles at her. ‘That’s the Bianca I know!’ he exclaims.

‘So, what’s the plan?’ Daisy asks, pulling her bow from her shoulder and grabbing an arrow. ‘Do we go in there and start slaughtering? Because I’m all for that right now.’

‘I think smoke bombs and arrows, followed by me coming in to kill the prince and Scotty gets Alexandra.’

‘Better idea,’ Cory interjects. ‘I get Alexandra.  I’m better on horseback – in case you didn’t notice – and Scotty hasn’t got enough upper body strength to scoop her up against her will.’

‘He has a point,’ Daisy says. ‘And Scotty can use his amazing sword-wielding talent to fight his way to the prince with you.’

Bianca nods. ‘Okay,’ she says. ‘Agreed.’

*

The crowds are cheering; men, women and children gathered around to watch the princess return to the castle on the arm of her Prince.  The Queen and King step out of the front doors, beaming, and they smile as Alexandra approaches them, curtseying.  ‘Mother, Father,’ she says. ‘I’d like to introduce Prince Michael; my fiancé.’

The Queen and King exchange confused looks. ‘Really?’ the Queen says. ‘This... man?’

Alexandra nods. ‘Is there a problem?’

‘No... I just... expected someone...
different
.’

‘See?’ Daisy says, from the small cliff overlooking the castle entrance. ‘Even her mother thinks she’s a dyke.’

Bianca smacks her around the head. ‘Shut up, Dais,’ she says.  She turns to Cory. ‘You ready?’

Cory nods. ‘As I’m ever going to be.’

She stands up and clambers onto her horse. Scotty climbs on behind her and Cory goes for the second horse, mounting up and, even as he reins in the bucking stallion, grinning in the direction of Daisy. ‘I’ll be back soon,’ he promises.

‘You owe me a burger,’ Daisy says.

Cory smiles. ‘I won’t forget.’ He kicks the horse and gallops off down the hill, towards the crowd, who shout in surprise at his approach.  He swings his mace, aiming to miss, and they all duck backwards, even as the prince and princess turn to look in his direction.

‘Come with me,’ he demands, stopping beside Alexandra and offering her his hand.

‘No,’ she says. ‘Why should I?’

‘Because we both know you don’t belong here; and there’s about to be a battle you don’t want to be in the middle of.’ He wiggles his fingers, invitingly. ‘Come on,’ he says.

‘Stop right there!’ the prince exclaims. ‘You can’t just come in here and try and take my princess away from me!’

‘She’s not
your
princess,’ Cory says.

‘No, she’s
mine
,’ Bianca announces, arriving on horseback at that moment. She smacks the hilt of her sword into the prince’s face and he staggers backwards as blood spurts from his nose.

‘Go!’ Bianca shouts at Cory, who grabs Alexandra’s hand and pulls her onto the back of his horse and rides away. 

‘Stop immediately!’ a guard yells.  An arrow soars through the sky and slams into his stomach.

‘Score!’ Bianca hears Daisy shout. She dives off the horse and lands on the ground next to the prince.

‘Hi,’ she says, as she pulls a can of hairspray from her belt. ‘Remember me?’ She sprays in his face and he shouts in rage and pain, reeling backwards. ‘You pinned me to a wall with your
tail
.’ She turns to the Queen and King, who are standing behind at least a dozen guards, looking terrified, even as the citizens run inside the walls of the castle.

‘Did you know your son-in-law to be has a
tail
he doesn’t tell anyone about? Oh, yes. He’s not quite
human
.’ She kicks out and slams the heel of her trainer into his groin.  His eyes cross and he falls backwards onto the ground. 

‘So, anyway,’ she says, standing over and glaring down at him, eyes flashing angrily, ‘you pinned me to a wall with your tail, you tried to choke me to death and, what was it? Oh, yes.
You took away the love of my life.
’ She stands with her foot poised over his crotch. ‘What do you have to say for yourself?’

The prince stands up, suddenly, and Bianca’s eyes widen when she realises he stood by pushing himself up with his tail. ‘I say I should have killed you in the tower,’ he says, before he slashes her with the sharp tip of his tail.

Pain explodes across her back and she chokes out a sob as she falls forwards onto her hands and knees.  Her vision blurs and she just sits there, staring at the grass.  Her back burns and she knows it’s only going to get worse before it gets better.  She looks up at the prince who, eyes lizard-like, talons protruding from his fingers again, blood-stained tail swishing from side-to-side, looks down at her with a smirk. ‘I think I like you better on your knees,’ he says.

She can hear Scotty, shouting her name as he fights guards off for her. He’s protecting her even now, as she just rests here, waiting to die like an idiot. After
all this
. She takes a deep breath and forces herself to stand, hand on her sword in its sheath at her side. She looks up at him through her dark fringe falling across her eyes and blows upwards. It flicks to the side and she smirks back at him through the pain.

‘I think I’d like you better on your knees, too,’ she says, sweetly.

He grins at her. ‘You’d never get me on my knees. You’re just a little girl. What are you, twelve?’

She smiles at him. ‘I’m eighteen, actually. I’m glad you think I’m twelve; it proves I have the advantage.’

‘How is that?’

Another smile as she unsheathes her bloodstained sword. ‘Because it proves you’re a
moron
.’

*

‘For god’s sake!’ Cory exclaims, wrestling with Alexandra as she tries to get out of his grip. He’s walking her towards a clearing and she’s fighting him all the way. ‘I’m not going to hurt you!’

She grabs his hand and bites it.  He shrieks in pain and shoves her away from him.  She turns around, backing into the nearest tree and eyeing him with caution. ‘Do I know you?’

He sighs. ‘I’m Cory. We used to hang out at school. Remember school? Short skirts, shorter ties. But you always wore yours long because you wanted to stick to the dress code.  You’d wear your hair in a long braid down the back of your neck and I used to think you were
so
amazing. I wished I was Bianca because
I
wanted to be your Prince Charming.’

‘Bianca?’ Alexandra says. ‘That girl! The one who attacked my prince!’ She runs forward. ‘I have to go back!’

He catches her by the shoulders. ‘No,’ he tells her. ‘Bianca will be fine. She’ll kill the prince and she’ll come back for you.’

‘No!’ Alexandra exclaims, panicked. ‘She can’t kill my prince! I am to marry him and be his forever! For he is mine! I love him!’

‘No, no you don’t.’ He holds her fast, even as she tries to escape again. ‘He planted a voodoo kiss on you and now you
think
you love him. I get the feeling if
I’d
done it, you’d love
me
, instead, but that’s not love.’

Alexandra sags. ‘You will not let me go?’

Cory shakes his head. ‘No,’ he says.  He pulls an iPod from his pocket. ‘Here,’ he says. ‘This is Bianca’s. Go... listen to music or something.  They’ll be back once the battle’s won.’

Alexandra reaches out and takes the iPod, instinctively tucking the earphones into her ears and going to sit on a rock nearby.  Cory sighs and moves to lean against the nearest tree. He doesn’t want to be babysitting a princess; he wants to be in the battle; helping Bianca and Scotty and most of all Daisy.
His
Daisy.

*

Bianca’s sword clashes against the prince’s as they duel. She can hear Scotty fighting behind her, but she blots it out, instead paying attention to ducking at the right moments and dive-rolling away from the slash of the prince’s tail.  Her back throbs painfully and she can feel the shredded remains of her tank top blowing freely in the breeze behind her.  There’s blood seeping down the inside of her jeans as she does a dive-roll towards a dead guard and grabs his abandoned shield, holding it up in front of her, sword clasped in one hand, shield in the other.

‘
I
don’t need a shield,’ the prince taunts.

‘That’s because you have
scales
!’ she shouts. ‘How is that even fair?’ She tips her head sideways, pausing. ‘In fact; how do you even
have
scales?’

‘I am the son of the Enchantress: Maglen, and the Dragon: Soran.’ He thrusts out with his sword and the tip barely misses her shoulder as she dodges to one side.

‘That’s like a
whole
new level of bestiality,’ she exclaims, disturbed.

‘My father loved my mother greatly and she loved him back!’ He slashes at her legs and she jumps. She makes a move to behead him and he uses his tail to lift himself off the floor.  ‘She promised him I would be happy and that I would live as human. The princess is my only chance to do that.’

‘I don’t know if you’ve noticed, bucko,’ she says, as she dodges another hit, ‘but the spell seems to be wearing off. You have a
tail
again.’

‘The princess’ devotion to me is linked to my control over my true self,’ he explains.  He’s watching over her shoulder now, but it could be a ruse.  She stands her ground, hands on her weapon and shield, ready to attack at any moment. ‘But I can still show my scales.’ He grins and for the first time, she gets to see the fangs where his incisors should be.  She shudders.

Another arrow soars through the air and stops a guard from beheading Bianca from behind.  Her heart pounds in her chest and she swallows, convulsively.  She’s starting to wonder what the odds are of her winning this battle or at least getting out of it with all limbs still attached by more than just ligament.

‘You know,’ the prince says, as though sensing her thoughts. ‘You can still surrender. I’ll let you go without a fight. I get the princess and you get to go home to your family. With your friends.’

‘All of my friends?’ Bianca enquires.

The prince lowers his weapon. ‘Of course.’

‘That includes Alexandra then,’ she says, promptly. ‘She was my friend long before I realised I was in love with her.’

‘I can’t make that deal.’ He slashes out with the sword and she dodges too late.  White-hot pain shoots through her left shoulder, followed by the feeling of steel being ripped out from inside of her.  She claps a hand to the wound as her other hand releases the shield, somehow managing to keep a grip on her sword at the same time. 

‘Hey,’ a voice says. ‘Are you okay?’

The prince spins around to find Scotty standing in front of him, unarmed.

‘Bianca, are you okay?’ he asks again.  He gives her a wink and she grins, ignoring the blossoming pain radiating from her shoulder and raising her sword up in the air.

‘Your death will be swift,’ the prince says, raising his sword.

Blood splatters as Bianca brings the sharpest edge of her blade down on his tail, severing it from his body.  He hisses and spins on her, hilt of his sword smacking into Scotty’s head and knocking him to the ground. She briefly sees blood splatter across Scotty’s face and then her eyes are ripped away as the prince reaches out with his hands and grasps her face with his sharp talons. They cut into her skin, leaving welts in her cheeks as he slides his hand – more of a claw, now, really – down to her neck and squeezes. Her vision blurs. She hurts all over and now she can’t breathe to top it off. Her hands shake as they grasp the hilt of her sword like a lifeline. ‘I’m done playing,’ he snarls.

‘So am I,’ she whispers.  She lifts her sword and slides it straight into his gut, right before she blacks out.

‘Bianca! Bianca, it’s over. Bianca. Bianca!’ Soft hands are poking and slapping at her face. ‘Wake up, for crying out loud! Now is
not
the time to take a nap!’ The hands get more persistent and Bianca becomes aware of the fact she’s in pain all over her body.  Her back burns, her shoulder throbs and the rest of her... god, the rest of her just makes her want to curl up in a ball and die.