The Choice

The embers crackled and popped in the hearth, giving the room a moody feel as the shadows flickered back and forth, like they were living things with their own souls.

In the center of the room was a throne made of thorns and tree branches, creating its own menacing shadows on the stone walls.

"Good, you've arrived. I hear you are here to barter with me?" He said. His voice was deeper than the depths of the ocean and darker than the furthest corner of the world.

I squared my shoulders, trying to appear tougher than I felt.

Swallowing hard, I faced him. Fear infiltrated each one of my senses. I couldn't do this, but he was waiting.

"You took my sister." I said, finally finding my voice. It came out pathetically, a small squeak, as if I were a mouse trying to ight a snake.

He raised an eyebrow, challenging me. "Did I?" His eyes glittered treacherously, trying to hide the secrets that I already knew.

"I'm going to get her back."

His sigh echoed through the large room. The shadows shrank back as he stood and strode closer to me, so close I could see the ice in his eyes and the small freckles dotting his nose.

"Dance with me, and your sister will go home." He said simply.

It was too easy to get him to agree. I tried to find the hidden meaning in his words, but it seemed so simple. Just a dance?

I nodded.

"Agreeing so soon little fox?"

His smile was sinister, teeth almost at a point. He was eager, barely containing his excitement as he clenched and unclenched his jaw.

I nodded again and the music began. It echoed from across the room as a small band of masked figures filed in. The one playing was wearing a fox mask, a black ribbon securing it on his head. Then came a rabbit, a frog, and a cat. The king spirited me into the middle of the room. The throne was pushed to the side and he took me by the waist and grabbed my right hand. The music sped up suddenly. The king glanced at the musicians and a hard look passed between them. He twirled his finger, and the music went back to normal, the musicians straightened and played while the king took the first step.

I glanced over at the group and noticed the cat was shaking her head slowly, as if to warn me.

"Stop." I said, surprising myself. "What else don't I know?"

The king's horrible, pointed smile appeared on his face and he laughed. "Getting a conscience, are we?" He dropped his hands and the music cut off. "Dance with me, and your sister will go home, but your soul will be mine for all eternity."

I gasped, knowing I should have expected a catch somewhere.

"What's the other option?" I asked, bracing for the worst.

"Kill me and all the souls will be released. But someone must be tethered to the castle. You will take my place and collect souls until someone kills you." He whispered.

Chills erupted down my spine. How could I make this decision? I lose either way. I needed to save my sister, but these choices seemed impossible.

I sank to the cold floor, my gown pooling around me like a cloud.

"I need to think." I said.

"Of course. You have an hour to make your decision." He said as he disappeared in a cloud of smoke.

I shivered, the stone on the ground was digging into my knees and my life slowly flashed before my eyes. Learning how to drive with my dad as Sophie sat in the backseat, going swimming in the river during the summer, Sophie and I staying up late to watch rom-coms and talk about boys. A tear rolled down my cheek. If I lose my soul, I will save hers, she'll be free but I will never see her again. Or, I could try to kill him and maybe I could have Sophie visit me and we could figure out how to break the curse. The options swirled around in my head as I began to lean towards the second choice. But what would I kill him with? I searched the room for anything I could use as a weapon and saw a fire poker. I grabbed it and searched the room for anything else I could use. The masked musicians filed back into the room and played a slow number, something haunting. The clock above the throne chimed a deep, bone shaking chime, indicating my hour was up.

With a dramatic twirl of his coat, the king was standing before me once more.

"Did you make a decision?" He asked.

Without answering, I jumped at him, brandishing the fire poker in front of me, aiming for his heart.

He wrenched it out of my hands and it clattered to the ground. The shadows on the wall around us seemed to swarm around us, watching to see who would win. I screamed as he twisted my arm behind my back and whispered in my ear.

"I'm not that easy to kill."

With a screech I kneed him in the groin and twirled around, watching him squirm on the ground, trying to hold onto his pride. He snarled and a sword materialized in his hands. He ran towards me and raised the sword above his head with murder in his eyes. I scrambled for the fire poker that was behind me and crawled for it, barely reaching it before he brought down the sword. I rolled to the side and the sword grazed my side. I got to me feet and brought the fire poker down hard. It pierced his chest and went out the other side of his body. I crumpled to the floor in relief as he sank to the ground, blood spilling from his heart.

The music was still playing a slow tune as I stood above his dying form. "Where's my sister?" I screamed at him.

Slowly, he stood. I couldn't believe it as he tore the fire poker from his chest and laughed in my face. "You think it's that easy?" He said.

"I have no soul, you can't kill me without it little fox"

Everything in me broke, shattering out of me and melting onto the floor as I looked at him.

He grabbed my hand and rested his other hand on my waist and began dancing as the music grew more haunting. We danced through the puddles of blood on the floor, making our shoes slip on the stone. As we danced, I deflated. Something was broken in me and I didn't know how to fix it as I watched my soul leave my body, into a necklace he wore around his neck. I hadn't noticed it before. The necklace glowed a bright blue as my soul swirled into it.

"You're mine" He said.

I shivered violently, a hollow shell of a body existing purely out of his will to control me. I was freezing, unable to get warm.

"release my sister." I demanded.

He sighed. "I suppose a deal is a deal. With a flick of his hand, another soul flew out of his necklace and my sister appeared in front of me with fear written all over her face.

"Aspen!" She screamed, running for me. But she was gone with another flick of his wrist.

"Poor little fox. You never stood a chance." He wiped the tears off my face that I hadn't known were there as we continued to dance.