A Tale That Never Was
Chapter 23: Red Sun Rising

With the rising sun on their left, Red and Jack rode into Our Lady amidst a pall of black smoke. A great fire was raging near the center of the city and Bigbad pounded down the streets toward it. Jack’s heart raced as his mind conjured up images of Selvina’s charred body surrounded by ashes. He shut his eyes and forced them away but they soon returned, relentlessly creeping into his thoughts like scavengers surrounding dying prey.

“Jack,” Red said to him. “Stop squeezing me so tightly!”

Snapping to attention, Jack loosened his hold in Red’s slim waist. He had been unaware that his grip had intensified. “Sorry, Red. I…I’m just worried for Selvina…and Cindy.” Truth be told, his mind had been filled with only visions of Selvina. He cared for Cindy and liked her as a friend but only Selvina made his heart feel the way it did when his eyes set themselves upon her. Mind, heart and soul, the beautiful young woman had a hold on him even when absent.

“So am I,” Red replied, her eyes ahead.

Beneath them both, Bigbad kept up the pace, as full of energy as he always seemed to be. Despite two small scars where Gaston’s arrows had pierced him there was no evidence that the huge wolf had ever died at all. Two holes in Red’s crimson cloak were the only signs of her demise as well. Amalthea had performed a miracle and Jack would forever be eternally grateful. He only hoped that he and his newly reincarnated friends arrived in time to save Selvina from whatever harm she might be experiencing.

The cobblestone street opened up to a wide square and before them loomed the terrifyingly beautiful Cathedral of Our Lady. To their left were three piles of smoking ash. Flames rose from buildings across the square, some of them little more than rubble. A large crowd of people was gathered around the burning buildings, tossing buckets of water on them, having as much effect as spitting on a volcano. Strewn about the area were dead soldiers, their throats slashed, their heads lopped off, their bodies cleaved, and some appeared ground to a pulp. Puddles of blood dotted the ground and in some of them floated strands of grey hair. Red dismounted and knelt at one such puddle, examining it closely.

“Beast was here,” she said as she picked up one of the coarse hairs.

“Beast is here,” Jack corrected, staring across square.

Red looked up at him and he pointed ahead. She followed his gaze to where he saw Beast walking toward them, claws extended and fangs bared. His pale eyes were frowning and he appeared every part the monster people saw him as. Jack unsheathed his dagger, knowing already that it would do nothing against Beast but desperately needing some small measure of hope.

“Put it away, Jack,” Red told him as she stood up. She didn’t appear afraid of concerned in the least, despite Beast’s terrifying appearance.

“Red, do you not see how he looks at us?”

“Bigbad isn’t concerned so neither am I.”

She was right, Jack noticed. Bigbad was watching Beast approach but was panting without a care and appeared completely at ease. If the wolf saw him as no threat then Jack supposed he should do the same and slowly sheathed his dagger.

Beast stopped a few feet from them and narrowed his eyes. He sniffed the air a few times and then sighed heavily, his shoulders dropping and his expression changing from one of rage to one of weariness. “Belle is relieved to know you are alive, Red Riding Hood,” his rumbling voice said.

“How did she know what had happened to me?” Red asked, her eyes narrowed in suspicion.

“We share the same body,” Beast answered. “It is a secret we have carried our whole lives but all of Our Lady knows of it now thus there is no harm in me revealing it to you. Our souls are completely different and we are separate individuals but we inhabit a single shell, albeit a changeable one.

“Belle was there when Gaston shot you. She saw it happen through my eyes and wept as you fell. She would thank you personally but I am yet unconvinced that Gaston has left the area.”

“So he was here?” Jack asked Beast, still trying to wrap his head around how two people of different genders could share a body.

Beast growled. “That he was. I may have broken his leg and cut him up but he managed to escape me. He could be miles away or watching us from somewhere nearby, I do not know for certain.”

“Were Selvina and Cindy here?”

Beast nodded, pointed to the three piles of ash, and Jack’s body went as cold as ice. “Those mounds used to be wooden posts on which Belle, Selvina and Cindy were bound. Frollo, the fiend, branded them all witches and sentenced them to death by fire. Belle sacrificed our secret and allowed me to come forth. I broke through her bonds and immediately set upon Gaston who was watching us burn. Selvina managed to escape somehow as I encountered her during a battle with some knights. Last I saw of her she was fleeing to the dockyard in the company of Captain Hook and a man from the Sauradian kingdom.”

“Sinbad,” Red clarified, a smile on her face. She looked at Jack, joy brightening her features and making her blue eyes shimmer. “She’s alive, Jack!” Her smile suddenly vanished and she fixed her gaze on Beast once more. “What about Cindy? Where is she?”

Beast’s head bowed ever so slightly. “During the battle with Gaston I managed a glimpse at the burning stakes and flames had enveloped hers completely. I am sorry but she is gone…”

Jack felt as if a knife had thrust itself into his gut. Cindy was dead? She had so much to live for… She could have had a better life than the one she had in Kenmard. A brighter future had been in her grasp and now it was gone. He closed his eyes and bowed his head. Standing beside him, Red sniffed back tears.

“You said Selvina was heading to the dockyards?” Jack asked Beast, forcing himself to think of something other than Cindy’s death.

“That is where I last saw her go. There was a massive explosion soon after I defeated the knights, however, and I believe it may have been Captain Hook’s ship. It is possible he is in the process of acquiring another and you might have time to catch up to him and perhaps meet up with Selvina.”

“Captain had no money for another ship,” Jack said, shocked to hear of Jolly Roger’s destruction. That ship had been his new home after leaving his father’s farm. He had shared many wonderful memories on its deck, especially the one of his first meeting with Selvina, and now that was taken away from him as well. He did not know what Captain Hook would do about getting himself another ship but Jack’s main concern at the moment was finding Selvina. If the captain and his quartermaster were at the docks with her, then that is where he would go. Jack met Beast’s gaze and gave him a nod. “Thank you for the information, Beast. What will you do now?”

“I must ensure that Gaston is truly gone for the moment I lower my guard he will strike me down. If he has left then Belle and I have decided to once again search for a new home. The kingdom of Frenis is no longer safe for us. We may attempt to find a way to the Empire of Noyr. Empress Rhiannon is no friend but she should be more understanding of our condition, considering who and what she truly is.”

“I wish you both all the best,” Red said as Beast began to move away. He nodded to them both before rushing away, his nose to the air, sniffing for Gaston.

Red and Jack exchanged glances before the former climbed atop her wolf and guided him to the dockyard. Flotsam of all size floated in the harbor and some of it appeared heavily burned. It seemed that Beast’s story about an exploding ship rang true. Jack glanced up and down the dockyard and far to his right he saw four figures staring out at the sea. He recognized Captain Hook’s tricorn hat immediately. Red saw it as well and with a sharp whistle Bigbad was clawing across the cobblestones to the captain’s position.

As they neared the four figures, Jack was able to discern them more clearly. The one standing to Captain Hook’s right was no one other than Sinbad. To the captain’s left was a short, dark-haired woman hugging a ragged cloak around her body and off to the side stood a hunchbacked man nervously playing with his fingers. Selvina was not with them.

“Quasimodo?” Jack asked the hunchback when he arrived and slid off Bigbad’s back.

The hunchback eyed him for a moment before shaking his head and staring at his feet. “We all tried, Jack… We all tried our best…”

“What are you talking about?”

“Red?!” the woman screamed in disbelief. Jack looked away from Quasimodo to see Red and the young woman embracing tightly.

“Cindy!” Red cried in the same tone. “Beast said you were dead!”

Cindy wiped her dripping eyes on Red’s shoulder, the two still embracing, and said, “Fire doesn’t hurt me, Red. Remember the fireplace on the Jolly Roger? My hand didn’t burn when I touched it. The fire burned the stake around me and made me feel really hot but I wasn’t hurt. I lost all my clothes but the rest of me is just fine. I guess I’m fireproof.” She saw Jack for the first time and wrenched herself away from Red to hug him tightly as well.

Overjoyed to see her alive, Jack returned the hug, smiling wide and feeling a rush of relief and joy flow through his veins. He gave her a kiss on the cheek and said, “I am so glad you are alive, Cindy. I’m beginning to think we probably should have left you in Kenmard. You don’t deserve any of this.”

“Shut up, Jack,” Cindy replied playfully. Though she had meant it in jest Jack was only reminded of the many times Selvina had said those words to him and a stab of cold pain jabbed his heart. “I’ll take all the bad with all the good that I’ve had in joining you guys. I wouldn’t want it any other way.”

“Jack,” a deep voice said, shattering the warm reunion among friends. Captain Hook was looking at him with a hard look in his eye. Jack instinctively went into his role as a crewman of the Jolly Roger and stood straight as he waited for his captain to continue. Hook smiled lightly, as if finding it amusing. “There is no need for that anymore. I am a captain without a ship. I am nobody now. You are free to live your life as you wish.”

“My services are forever yours, captain,” Jack responded, meaning every word. Jolly Roger might not exist anymore but Captain Hook was like a father to him and Jack would never abandon him. He owed him his life many times over and had made a promise to himself that he would never leave the captain until his debt was repaid.

His words seemed to give the captain strength and his chin lifted slightly. “I thank you for that, Jack. We have bigger problems, though.”

Just as Jack had feared. He waited for news of Selvina’s death to touch his ears, tensing his body and preparing for the excruciating pain that would come with them.

“He has her,” Hook said, his voice lowering to an angry growl.

“Selvina?” Jack asked, heat escaping his body and his heart battering against his ribs with severe intensity.

“Aye. That damned pirate took her! Pan took her, Jack! Sinbad and I fought him with all we had despite being already wounded and weary but it was futile. He knocked out Sinbad and Quasimodo and I was too weak to even swing my blade when he took Selvina in his arms and floated off to the gods-know-where. I don’t even have a ship to search for him!” Hook clenched his hands into fists and began to pace, his anger turning his skin as red as the morning sky.

Sinbad put a hand on his captain’s shoulder and spoke to him in a calm, quiet voice, slowly but surely easing away his fury. As he did so, Cindy eyed Red with narrowed eyes.

“How did you survive?” she asked. “I saw the arrow in your chest. I’ve seen dead bodies before and you were truly gone. What happened?”

Red exchanged a glance with Jack and he nodded to her. If they couldn’t convince Cindy of what they saw then they had no chance with Captain Hook or Sinbad. They might as well find out how much difficulty they would have making their friends believe. Red told Cindy about Amalthea and the task she had pressed upon them. Jack added the information about Selvina’s role in it all and how important it was that they found her. Cindy took it all rather well and waited a few minutes before responding.

“So the last unicorn brought Selvina to stop an evil force that wants to rid us of our free will?” she asked both of them, her eyes darting from Jack to Red and back again.

“Yes,” Jack replied. “Amalthea also told me that you had powerful magic.”

“Me?!”

“She also said your name was Cinderella.”

Cindy’s face flushed at the mention of the name and she gulped. “Well…she’s right about that. Cinderella is my full name but no one’s ever called me that, not since my mother. I almost forgot about it. I don’t know how much magic I truly hold but if my ability to resist fire can help us then I’ll definitely join you.”

“We need to find Selvina first,” Red said. “She’s the key in all of this. Once we have her we can sail west to Empress Rhiannon.”

Captain Hook approached, Sinbad at his side. Both of them were frowning. “What is this you speak of about the empress?” the captain asked them.

“We need Selvina,” Red answered. “Once we have her we need to talk to Empress Rhiannon.”

“Why do you need to speak to her?” Sinbad asked, his eyes narrowed in suspicion. “Who is she to you?”

“Just listen,” Jack said, chopping the air before him with both hands, “Red and I met up with the person that brought Selvina to this world. Her name is Amalthea and she’s a unicorn, the last one to be exact. She brought her here to stop this evil being called The Writer from spreading across the land and removing free will from every single person. The Writer is behind the troop mobilizations and the threat of war. It’s corrupting the minds of sovereigns and turning them on one another so it’ll have an easier time in corrupting the rest of us. Selvina, somehow, can stop this from happening. We need to find her and take her to Empress Rhiannon. She’ll know exactly what we have to do in order to stop The Writer.”

Captain Hook exchanged a glance with Sinbad and rubbed his beard, pondering deeply. Sinbad put his hands on his hips and twisted his lips to the side, eyeing nothing in particular, as the gears in his mind spun rapidly.

After a few minutes, Hook said, “I’ve heard of the name Amalthea before. Wendy once told me a tale about unicorns and I remember her speaking that name. You’d have no reason to lie to me, Jack, and I trust you thus if you say we need to take Selvina to the empress then so it shall be. I would aid you but I have no ship and I do not know where Peter Pan went.”

Sinbad cleared his throat and raised a finger. “I might know a way to find her.” All eyes were on him and he continued. “I’ve a relative in the southern kingdoms, a cousin, and he’s got ways of finding people, even at sea. I haven’t met him in a few years but for a price I’m certain he’d help us. Our only problem is we have no way to get there.”

Captain Hook rubbed his beard again, faster than before, and Jack knew that meant that an idea was forming in his head. He waited for his captain to speak and didn’t have to wait long before he did.

“We might be able to hitch a ride on a merchant ship,” he offered. “I haven’t been a passenger on a ship in ages but merchants are always transporting cargo to and from the southern kingdoms and finding one leaving for there shouldn’t be too difficult. Here in Frenis our situation is even more fortuitous as King Charming and Sultan Ali Baba have a strong friendship. Trade between these two nations is constant and heavy, meaning that our chances of finding a vessel are even greater.”

“Why have you never mentioned this cousin of yours before?” Jack asked Sinbad. “If he can find anyone I’m sure he’d have been able to find Peter Pan long ago.”

Captain Hook nodded and eyed Sinbad suspiciously. “Aye, the boy’s right, quartermaster… Why are we hearing of this cousin only now?”

Sinbad appeared nervous and almost embarrassed, an expression Jack had never seen on him before. He had initially assumed there may have been a more nefarious reason for Sinbad’s unwillingness to reveal this information but now it appeared that he had only done so to spare himself some humiliation. “Well, captain, considering the world is in peril and all and we need Selvina to make it right again I decided that revealing this information would be in everyone’s best interest.”

“And why did you fail to tell me about it long ago when we first started chasing Pan about? We might have been able to catch him and prevent this from ever happening in the first place!”

“You’re right, I should have said something earlier and I didn’t for foolish and selfish reasons but we have no time to dwell on that if we want to find Selvina before Pan does what he plans on doing to her.”

Captain Hook crossed his arms over his chest, tapped his foot, and chewed his lip, his gaze hard and menacing. “I’m not stepping foot on a ship’s deck unless you tell me what I want to know, Sinbad. You are walking on the edge of a blade and I’d hate for you to fall and for my trust in you to vanish.”

Sinbad sighed and nodded slowly. “All right, captain… The reason you only know about this now is because my cousin said if he ever set eyes on me again he’d kill me.”

Hook raised an eyebrow. “Why is that? What did you do?”

Sinbad hesitated and briefly glanced at Red and Cindy before saying, “I…may have…accompanied myself with his wife… They weren’t married at the time and were hardly seeing each other but…nevertheless…he was not impressed to say the least.”

“Men,” Red muttered with a roll of her eyes.

“How long ago was this?” Captain Hook asked Sinbad.

“About a month before you saved me and I joined your crew.”

“Do you think he’s over it by now?”

“Doubtful.”

“What is his name?”

“Aladdin...”

Captain Hook’s brows lifted in amazement. “You slept with Princess Jasmine?!”

“I saw an opportunity and I took it! It’s how I’ve always lived my life. She was disguised at the time and I had no idea who she was until Aladdin confronted me about it.”

“Prince Aladdin has a powerful navy and a huge army, Sinbad. There is a chance he might not help us at all.”

“He has to help us!” Cindy exclaimed. “He’d be dooming the world if he didn’t!”

“Betrayal is painful, Cindy. It takes years to heal and most of the time never fully does. We have no other choice, however, so no matter the risk, we have to take it.” He gave Sinbad a pat on the shoulder and a wink. “Just keep your eyes off the princess this time, eh? We’ve a little more at stake than your dignity this time.”

Sinbad, uncharacteristically bashful, nodded. “Aye, captain…”

“I wish you all the best of luck,” Quasimodo, who had been quiet this whole time, said to them as he began to walk away. “I would stay and join you on your quest but I dislike water and am not very fond of ships. I have a score to settle with Frollo anyhow. It’s time Our Lady is freed from his cold grasp.”

The others watched him leave, wishing him luck and thanking him for his aid, before turning to the long piers stretching out into the sea. One of the many moored ships would be the one to take them south. They had nothing of value and no money to trade with but they would find a way to get aboard a vessel, Jack was certain of it. Captain Hook was anything if not resourceful.

Belle appeared, dressed in an unblemished blue and white skirt, and she walked up to them just before the captain and his quartermaster were about to search for a ship. She appeared tired and sported a few bruises and cuts on her arms and face. She strode up to Captain Hook and, appearing rather shy, said, “I couldn’t help but overhearing how you might be heading to the Kingdom of Noyr? Beast has good ears and I did not mean to eavesdrop.”

Captain Hook and Sinbad exchanged glances before the former responded. “Aye, we’ll be heading there eventually, after we find Selvina. Why do you ask?”

“I know you don’t have a ship but if it would please you, would it be within your grace to accept me as a crewmember, at least until we reach Noyr?”

“That isn’t up to me, Belle. It would be up to the captain of whatever merchant ship we decide to hop aboard.”

“Well, in any case, would you be against the idea of me joining you?”

Captain Hook spread his arms wide. “You are free to do as you please, Belle. You need not my permission. However, if somehow I do end up procuring a ship of my own I would be honored to have you on my crew, so long as the beast inside you is controlled.”

Belle, her face lighting up, nodded and smiled. “Beast is in as much control of this body as I am. It was not always the case but you have nothing to fear from him. If you have need of his services he tells me that he would be most willing to help.”

“That is good to know. Perhaps you can join Sinbad and I as we search for a willing captain to take us to Saurabia. A pretty face might help persuade him to agree.”

Belle agreed and the three set about walking along the piers in search of a transport.

Jack watched them and managed a light smile. “A beauty, a beast, a captain and a sailor walk down a pier together. What strange company we keep.”

Red nudged Jack’s shoulder playfully. “What does that say about us? A giant-slayer, an archer, a fireproof girl and a horse-sized wolf aren’t exactly normal company.”

“None of this is normal,” Cindy said with a smile. “I wouldn’t have it any other way.”

Bigbad barked, adding his input.

The three humans laughed.

“Come on,” Jack said as he began to walk down the pier. “Let’s go save Selvina.”

Sᴇarch the FindNovel.net website on Gøøglᴇ to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.