sᴛᴇᴘ 1: ᴅᴏɴ'ᴛ ᴀᴄᴄɪᴅᴇɴᴛᴀʟʟʏ ᴋᴛss ᴛʜᴇ ɢᴜʏ ʏᴏᴜ ʜᴀᴛᴇ (EVEN if he's in mortal danger-trust me, it'll screw up your life) Thorn I like living life on the edge. As an orphan by ten in a world full of monsters, magic, and creepy candy witches who want to eat you alive...I have to be. Well that or become supper. I know which one I'm choosing. But that doesn't mean I LITERALLY like to be dangling off a castle ledge, hundreds of feet off the ground, my overprotective best friend hovering in the air beside me, making worried faces and whimpering sounds. "I'm fine!" I call, even as I miss my handhold and have to hold on for dear life, so as not to plummet awfully and quickly to the-VERY HARD-ground. My stomach swoops and I takes several deep breathes, head light. "Are you SURE you don't need my help?" Xay asks nervously, biting down close to the quick on his nails. "I'm fine!" I repeat, a little more breathy. Why oh why did I agree to come here? The gold. Yup, I remember. The fancy dude offered me a whole lot of it if I'd come save their prince from some sort of curse. And while I'd like to say I do just fine on my own... That much twinkling currency could probably have me bark and fetch like a dog if it meant not starving to d34th in the imminent future. Xay swallows, then covers his eyes. I glare at the boy. He's tall, with smooth bronze skin and midnight black hair. He appears around my age, but that's just a trick of the magic. Xay is around juvenile age for his kind. Jinn. Or more specifically, what you probably know better as 'genies'. Yup. My boy here is at least a few centuries old, with the power to grant wishes. But I only have two left. And I like to keep them safe, just in case. You never know when you might accidentally drink p0si0n. Or fall off a hundred-foot tower... Xay's been with me for around four years now, and despite our differences-both physically and otherwise-we've come to be pretty close. So maybe I'm also just reluctant to lose my only friend. Whatever. I grunt, swinging my leg up higher, then pushing myself up. I'm quite good at climbing. Unusually good, honestly. Perhaps it's just a special talent-most have them. I hope climbing isn't mine. It feels a little lackluster. Some people can weave straw into gold, some can charm any being with a single word... And I'm like a human squirrel. Figures. But even for me, this has been a lot. I'm exhausted. But I only have to reach the window and... I heave in a breath and continue, until finally I hoist my leg onto the ledge and pull up. I nearly retch over the side from the work it took. My body is shaking, my hands dotted and scraped with cuts and bruises all over from the hard cobblestone. But I slowly straighten and pull out a rock from my satchel, one I brought for this specific reason. I heave the rock through the glass and am greeted with the satisfying 'SMASH'. Lovely. Once I squiggle through the window I creep down the hall. I really should've gotten some more details. Am I in the enemy's castle? Or the prince's? Either way, I doubt they'll be very happy the little orphan girl just smashed through their window. Eh, it was fun anyway. I enter a large room, swathed in fabrics that scream 'money'. There's a huge four poster bed in the middle, with drapes hung around it. I peer over, standing on my tiptoes. "There's a boy over there." I mutter, mostly to myself. Xay snorts. "Oh really? I thought you were supposed to be breaking a curse on the velvet drapes." "Shut up." I say, cheeks going pink. I go to stand beside the bed, looking down at the boy atop it. He's about my age-fifteen or so-with thick, dark brown hair and slightly rosy cheeks. His features are smooth and slender, his build strong. I have the irritating notion that if he stood, he'd be a good few inches taller than me. I also have the prickling feeling in my brain that I know him. Or that he's familiar at least. Maybe I know his mother or father from the fairytale books? All the royal families go back a long way. "Is he...?" Xay asks quietly and I shake my head. I can see the subtle movement of his chest. The boy is breathing, his heart is beating, he's not d34d. I shudder. Thank goodness. I quickly scout around the room, looking for anything that could be projecting the curse. I look for a necklace, or a bracelet, or a belt buckle on him that gives off a magical feel and might be causing it. Nothing. Of course it wouldn't be that easy. "What should I do?" I mumble, feeling a sinking feeling. How awful would it be to return unsuccessful, admit that I'm just the useless, dumb, crazy orphan girl like everyone thinks. "Maybe you have to ktss him." Xay suggests like we're talking about whether or not Damil will have crumble cakes to spare from her shop. I choke on air. "KTSS HIM??" I practically shriek. Xay makes a shushing motion. "Quiet! And why not? Isn't that what they do in the stories?" "Those-those are just stories!" I splutter. "Based off history!" Xay shoots back.
I can feel my face going fifty shades redder. The truth is...I've never actually ktssed a boy. I don't have any idea how to go about it, even when not trying to break a curse. Plus, I'm probably filthy. The last time I washed was at least a few days ago, my strawberry blonde curls are matted and there's bl00d from my scratches all over my hands. I wipe them on my trousers, hot shame going through me. It doesn't feel right, especially when he's laying there, so still and perfect, like a China doll, dark locks fanning over his face like each one was artistically placed to be the most aesthetic. I grit my teeth. "Fine. I'll ktss the guy." "Sweet." Xay sits cross-legged on the other side of the bed, watching intently. I wipe my hands again, biting the edge of my lip. Then I look up and scowl at Xay. "You're not watching." "Jeez, it's not like a real ktss anyway, it's not like your his-" "Shut up." I say, and since he is bound to me until I complete my wishes, he must. I feel a little bad at the forlorn look he gives me. I haven't given a command and meant it in years-but this whole ktss thing is getting me flustered. "Please...?" Xay sighs then retreats into the teapot I keep in my satchel. Yes, teapot. Yes, I tease him about it. No, he won't tell you the story. Trust me. I've tried. I take in a deep breath, trying not to faint. That would be...really humilating. /It's just a ktss, Thorn!/ I tell myself, trying not to wince. /It'll be fine./ I'm not entirely sure it WILL be fine but nonetheless, I lean in, close my eyes, and put my mouth to his. One moment. Two. Three. His eyes fly open and he gasps for air. I scramble backwards to the other side of the room, trying to get as FAR AWAY as possible. My face probably looks like Lil Red's cloak right now. Brighter, possibly. But then the boy sits up and stares at me. Stares at me with bright, impossibly blue eyes. And then I'm the one who's running out of breath. "Castor?!" sᴛᴇᴘ 2: ᴅᴏ ɴᴏᴛ ɢɪᴠᴇ ʜᴇʀ ʏᴏᴜʀ ᴄᴜʀsᴇ (Sometimes you may do so on accident and if so-there is absolutely no reason for her to yell at you) Castor Imagine my surprise when I awake after a brief nap to find a very familiar pair of green eyes in my face. If you were thinking 'quite surprised' you are correct. "Castor?!" I wince. Ivy spat my name like it was something vile, something she couldn't bear to hold onto for more than a necessary moment. "Ivy?" I ask, genuinely curious and very, very sore. Why am I so sore? And where exactly am I? And why is she here?! "It's Thorn." She grinds out, eyes dark. I always used to think of that gaze as similar to a fox's, but right now, I think a wolf would fit better. She looks like she might pounce on me at any moment. I scowl. "What are you doing here? WHERE is here?" "I don't know." She says, still giving me a look like instead of waking me, she wishes she had s1!t my throat while she had the chance. "I was sent to break your curse." Quick, almost fast enough that I miss it, her gaze drops slightly down to my mouth. My jaw drops and my brain falters. "Did you-you didn't-right?" Ivy-Thorn whatever-goes red. Well, reddER. Which is basically a full fledged confession. "You were in some sort of magical sleep, I woke you up. You're welcome!" My mind is spinning. "But doesn't that...doesn't that mean you're my-" "NO." "But in the stories it says-" "NO!" "All I meant was maybe-" "CASTOR BAILEN CHARMING SHUT YOUR MOUTH NOW OR I WILL MAKE YOU!" I blink, then smirk. "I'd like to see you try." Ivy stalks closer, her fury so palpable I can't help shrinking back a step. "I meant-with my kn1f3." She smiles sweetly, holding a d466er longer than my forearm just shy of my throat. "All it would take would be a quick sl1ce right here and-" I smack her fingers away from where she'd traced a line across my neck. "Alright, alright I get it, no talk about-" "Don't even say it. We're not each other's 'true love' we're not 'soulmates' and I DID NOT just save you with 'true love's ktss'!" I shrug. "You said it not me." The growl she makes is legitimately scary. "It must've been something else. True hate maybe?" "You wound me." I mumble, but then my face goes pale. The oh too familiar words of the old hag who'd visited me before I fell into the magical sleep run through my mind. 'Until you cause your greatest enemy to feel the sweetest love, you shall be bound forevermore, toxic to anyone other than the long lost dove'. I swallow, flinching. "I...I think I spread my curse to you..." Just in time, a bright, golden light flares out from my chest, snaking through the air and into Ivy's. She watches it until it fades then meets my eyes, hers blazing. "I'm going to k-!! you."
