Jazzy - In the Shadows

"This is getting me nowhere," Tony thought to himself. He had been up and back in and out of all the same streets and yet he saw nothing. The same people, same stores and shops, but he was positive that the crystal wasn't there. He kept wanting to go back to the barn for some reason.

Giving up on his search through the town, Tony finally decided to go with his instincts to go back to the barn. The closer he got, the more he heard. He was first surprised to hear Wolf's voice, he still thought he'd be laying in the hay. Then, he was shocked to hear another voice, female.

"No, no, not again," Tony muttered as he hurried to the barn. He peaked in through the door and saw Wolf and the girl he had met earlier. Wolf's back was to Tony, and he could barely see the girl.

From what Tony could hear, Wolf was angered by the girl, but Tony didn't know why. "It's just the moon, it's just the moon," he kept telling himself. Tony had to wince away as he saw Wolf shove the girl against the door, and then heard her scream for him to stop. Convinced he had to help her, Tony opened the door and headed over to them. Wolf said something softly and the girl then replied she had the crystal.

He stopped. She said what!? Tony had to take a step back. Wolf had been right when he said she had known something. Tony froze, he didn't know what to do. Why does she have the crystal?

"You're lying," Wolf said. He was determined to make her pay for such a lie.

"I'm not lying," the girl said confidently. Wolf had to believe her, he would be able to tell if she was lying, he could see it in her eyes.

Wolf shook his head and took it with both his hands. A terrible headache waved over him, he needed to eat, he needed to hunt. The smell of the girl was driving him mad. He couldn't hurt her! He had to get the crystal. Later. Hunt now!

Wolf turned and ran out the front barn door. He vaguely saw Tony or felt his own hand push him away as he ran by. As soon as he escaped the barn, he ran for the woods and didn't stop. Eating was the only thing on his mind.

"Are you all right?" Tony asked as he approached the girl. She sat down on the hay and rubbed the middle of her back, trying to ease the dull pain.

"I think so," she shrugged. Tony sat down next to her.

"I heard you. You have the crystal?"

"Yeah," she nodded.

"Where is it? How did you get it?" Tony had a million questions to ask her, but those seemed the most important at the time.

"It's a long story," she sighed.

Wolf was most likely going to be in his 'cycle' for a while, and they wouldn't be getting anywhere anyway. What could it hurt? It also might help them with finding the third.

"All right, let's hear it," Tony said as he settled himself into the hay.

She paused as if she wasn't sure she should tell her story, but then started. "Well, first of all, my name's Samantha. I've lived here all my life. So did my Mom. We were both working in my Grandfather's store one day, and it was getting late. My Grandfather had to go home early, he had a touch of the flu. I felt as if I was coming down with it as well. I didn't want my Mom to work by herself, so I kept it a secret and tried to cover my sneezes and coughs, hoping I'd get better, not worse. It was spring, so my allergies weren't helping either.

My Mom and I cleaned and locked everything up, and headed home. I remember my mother stopped me in the road and pulled me into the underbrush, telling me to be still and silent. I obeyed. We heard hoofbeats approaching. It was a beautiful carriage, covered in red feathers. It had Prince Wendell's symbol on the doors.

The horses stopped a few yards down from where we were hidden in a small clearing. I questioned my mother; it hadn't been the first time Wendell had visited our town. The people loved him, he was nice to the people and often brought gifts. I asked her why we were hiding from our Prince, and she whispered to me, "Why would the Prince come so late at night when everyone is asleep?"

The thought also puzzled me, so I remained quiet. Being so young, it was hard for me to sit still for so long. The carriage just seemed to sit there forever. No one coming in or out, no sounds or lights. Just silence. My Mother hugged me and reassured me we would be going home soon. She quietly sang songs to me to keep me calm. She stopped and I wondered why. I followed her gaze to the carriage.

Finally, the door swung open and I had a hard time keeping my gasp quiet. The Evil Queen stepped down from the carriage, followed by a few men. One in particular was holding a satin box.

The next day, the queen was going to be put at trial for the deaths of our late king and queen, and the attempted murder of the prince. I asked my mother why she was here, but my mother did not reply, she just watched the queen and her every move.

The queen took the box and pulled out a beautiful yellow crystal. In the box, I saw another crystal - it was green - and an empty place for another. I stared at it in awe, it was so pretty, even at night. The queen shut the box and handed it back to the man again. I still can never forgive myself for what I did.

A tickle was caught in my throat and I felt pressure building up in my lungs. I had to cough terribly. My allergies combined with my flu were coming together. Finally, I let it out in a deep, loud cough.

I still remember the queen as she snapped her head in our direction, and the fear that overwhelmed me. I froze in the grass. My mother pushed me away and told me to run out of sight and to stay hidden no matter what I heard or saw. I obeyed her once more and ran.

I ran into the woods and ran until I started to cough again. I covered my mouth and hid behind a tree. My chest was heaving up and down and I couldn't help but to cough again. Sweat poured from my forehead and I thought I was going to faint. I felt pale and cold, even though the sweat was covering my face. I was so sick.

I looked around frantically for my mother, but I thought she had hidden in the forest as well. As I Iooked through the darkness for her, my heart stopped as I heart a blood-curdling scream. My mother's scream."

Samantha had a hard time keeping the tears inside her. She rubbed away the ones that were threatening to fall and sniffed. Tony sighed to himself. Christine, his Christine, a cold-blooded killer. Not that he didn't already know that; so many stories he had seen and been told included her killing or destroying someone. Despite her tears, Samantha continued on.

"I stayed behind that tree for a very long time. Not daring to move, too saddened from my mother's apparent death. When I finally brought myself to going back to the hiding spot, they had already put my mother's body into the carriage, destroying all evidence of the murder.

The queen placed her hand on a knot in a tree near the clearing, and a small door opened up. She gently wrapped the crystal in a velvet pouch and placed it inside the tree. She shut the door on the tree and left.

As soon as the carriage was but a small dot in the distance, I ran over to the tree. I placed my shaking hand on the same knot and when that door opened, I snatched the gem without a second thought and ran home. The queen took something dear away from me, so I did the same. I told my grandfather of the news of my mother's death. He was so saddened, he never recovered from the flu, and died a few weeks later.

The queen was put in prison and I never found out the importance of the crystal, nor did I really care. I continued to work in my late grandfather's shop until a few months ago, when I didn't care anymore. So, I just live in my old house, and come into town everyday, pretending everything's all right, even though everyone knows it's not.

You can't imagine how happy I was when I learned of the Evil Queen's death by Lady Virginia. When the news came to our town, I broke down in the middle of the street and cried for joy. Finally, justice was served.

I eventually learned the story of you, Wolf, and Virginia and all your trials. When you came into town this morning, I wasn't sure how to react. I overheard you in the restaurant talking to Wolf about the crystal and eventually about what had happened to Virginia."

"I'm so sorry about what Christine put you through," Tony said. It was the only comfort he could get out. He was so overwhelmed by the story, he could hardly believe it.

"It's all right. I've learned to deal with it over the years."

"How old were you?"

"Four."

Tony shook his head; she'd been so young. Samantha raised out of the hay and went to the barn door.

"You need the crystal and I want to repay Virginia for what she did, even if she doesn't realize it."

"She will," Tony assured her and joined her by the front door.

Samantha smiled and lead him out the door. "Come on, I'll show you the crystal."