The Ghoul's Curse: Part Three

by _ana_2

Truths Revealed
Gildor was busy fighting with the guards. Jack sighed and pulled himself up into a tree. He was face-to-face with a... "Swamp Ghoul!" Jack cried, and fell out of the tree. At that, one of the soldiers shot an arrow into the tree. The ghoul fell out of the tree and into Gildor's arms as he caught it.

Then Gildor viciously fought off the guards. Finally, Jack and Gildor were alone. "Jack," said Gildor urgently, "Take her. There is a Monk's castle not far from here. Take her to him. He will know what to do."

Jack gave one look at the ghoul and said, "Definitely not! I get scared just looking at it! Didn't you see me fall out of the tree?!"

"You will do what I say!" Gildor shouted. Then he calmed down. "Look in her eyes. Why should you be afraid?"

Jack looked into what was a seemingly black hood. Then he saw two eyes. Two beautifully clear, blue eyes. The sight warmed him and he took the ghoul gently from Gildor.

"Hurry!" said Gildor, giving Jack the black Uni, "You musn't let her be destroyed!"

"What about you?" Jack called.

"I will stay here to guard our belongings. There is not enough time to pack. You must get there before night. Remember: If she dies, I'll rip you to shreds!" Gildor replied.

And Jack was off. Sure enough, Jack found a castle near afternoon time when the sun cast orange light high into the clouds. He clattered up to the old drawbridge, and an old, blue-gray Kacheek dressed in a brown cloak came out onto the tower above it.

"Who goes there?" the Kacheek grumbled loudly.

"I brought a ghoul!" Jack called.

"Take it away! What would I want with it?" The Kacheek began to go back inside.

"Wait!" Jack yelled, "This ghoul - it is Gildor's! He said you would know what to do! It's hurt!"

The Kacheek stopped. "Dear God! Bring it in!" he cried, lowering the drawbridge, "Hurry up, boy! We've got no time!"

The Kacheek took Jack into a room and asked his name. "Well, Jack, have you any idea how important this ghoul is to Gildor?" asked the Monk.

"Very important, I suppose," Jack replied, "But I don't see why."

"Then you shall know, you shall know. But first I must heal this ghoul. I need you to wait out here, if you don't mind." The Monk didn't wait for a reply and took the ghoul into another room.

"Oh no," said Jack, sarcastically rolling his eyes, "I don't mind at all!"

Later that night, Jack and the Monk, Sesare, sat exchanging stories at a blazing fireplace. Jack learned much about Gildor and Sesare both. But one story told him exactly what he wanted to know - What was the ghoul all about? "A long time ago," Sesare told him, "Two friends went out on a short spring walk, namely a Kougra named Gildor and a Usul named Diphinia. But they got captured by a Swamp Ghoul. This Swamp Ghoul cursed them, and the curse was this: The Kougra would be a ghoul by night and the Usul would be a ghoul by day. Then the Swamp Ghoul let them go. Only in the seconds between night and day could they see each other in their real forms. But they still love each other... It's a sad story, really."

"So, Gildor is in love with that ghoul? I mean, the Usul, Diphinia? But they can't see each other in the way they fell in love?"

"That's about it," Sesare replied. "But can't they live happily ever after? I mean, they can break the curse, can't they?"

"Yes, but they have to have the same Swamp Ghoul do it." Jack sighed, then remembered what Gildor had said, "But Gildor said that he wanted to destroy that Swamp Ghoul!" Sesare's eyes became wide.

"We can't let him do that! That'd mean forfeiting their love forever!" he said. Jack fidgeted. "I don't like being a part of this wild story at all," he confessed. "Well, there's no turning back now unless you want to destroy a relationship like Gildor and Diphinia's." Jack shook his head.

"Perhaps you'd like to see her?" Sesare asked. Jack nodded and Sesare showed him to Diphinia's room. Inside was the same Usul Jack thought he had seen in a dream. He knew now that the dream was real.

"Hello?" he said. Diphinia was asleep, but she woke up.

"Who're you? Where's Gildor?" she demanded.

"I'm Jack. Gildor's, uh, away. Don't try to move. You need to rest." Diphinia smiled.

"I'm not totally weak, you know. I can take care of myself."

"Well, you still need to take it easy," Jack insisted. Diphinia sat up gently.

"You're a nice boy," she said.

"Boy?!" Jack growled, insulted, "I happen to be the best thief in this part of the land!!"

Just then, some faint folk music started playing in the town by the castle. "Uh, can you... get up?"

"Sure, but I'm kind of..." Diphinia blushed.

"OH!" Jack squeaked, blushing too. He handed her some clothes from the stand next to the bed. Then he turned around, turning even more red in the face.

"You can look now," said Diphinia. Jack looked. Diphinia was beautiful, even though the dress she wore was only a dullest shade of sapphire.

"May I take this dance?" Jack asked. Diphinia took Jack's hands and danced with him for a while. When the sweet music faded away, they stopped and fell silent. After a while, Diphinia gave Jack a kiss on the cheek. Jack felt his face burning. He had never known his little green face could turn so red. If he did anymore, he'd look like he'd been splotched with a Red Paintbrush.

"I think we should get some sleep," he said quickly, trying to dismiss the matter. Diphinia slipped into bed and smiled at Jack as he tripped over a table leg and scrambled clumsily out the door.

To be continued...