This is the third story of the BP series. If you haven't read the first story yet, you can find it here :)
Find chapters 1 - 20 of Retribution (the second story) on my Steemit Blog.
About The World of Shadows
"In a world full of sinister creatures and treacherous terrain, Beatrix and Arthur must find their way to the castle where the dark creature resides.
Beatrix Percival fans can expect answers to many questions, many conclusions, and explosive battles of epic proportions!
Eerie beyond belief, and passionately romantic like never before, this third book in the series won't disappoint!"
CHAPTER 8
Arthur walked up to the pile and started digging through the stack of books. Beatrix studied the pile of objects, unsure what most of them were. As Arthur tossed books aside, she read the titles until she saw one that caught her attention that read Tome of Magical Instruments: Illustrated Edition. She picked up the old book and flipped through it. She identified the curious golden octahedron gadgets to be “farplegaks.” Farplegaks, though small, had the ability to fill an entire ballroom with black smoke in a split second. Their intended use was to cloak your surroundings to facilitate an escape. The witch or warlock who detonated it was immune to the effects, allowing them to see clearly.
Arthur glanced over at Beatrix, smiled, and said, “Careful with that—they can be a little touchy.” Beatrix blushed and carefully set the farplegak back onto the pile.
She sat on the ground and studied other objects in the book while Arthur continued digging.
“Found it!” said Arthur with excitement. Beatrix walked over to him and looked at the book he held in his hand: Spells and Enchantments. He opened the book and started flipping through the pages. “Let’s see…” he said as he ran his fingers across the page, quickly reading the headings of each section. His eyes lit up with excitement. “Ok, here is the spell,” he said, pointing at it in the book.
Beatrix and Arthur stood back from the pile of supplies. Arthur was just about to cast the spell when Beatrix said, “Wait!” She rushed over to the pile, picked up the suitcase, and rushed back to Arthur. “Ok,” she said, smiling. Arthur smiled and laughed slightly, for they had almost shrunk the suitcase too!
Arthur looked at the supplies and said, “Petiollah avecktrium!”
The air around the supplies warped as the pile shrank to the size of a softball. Beatrix walked over to the pile with the suitcase and began picking up the small items and placing them inside.
Arthur looked over at her with concern. “Careful with tha—”
With a small ping sound, the room filled with black smoke. Beatrix looked over at Arthur, who walked around with his hands in front of him. He tripped over a chair and crashed into the wall. Beatrix paused for a moment, puzzled. She looked down at the miniature belongings and realized she had accidentally set off a farplegak.
“I can’t see a thing,” said Arthur as he laughed.
“I’m sorry,” said Beatrix, embarrassed.
She walked across the room to help Arthur, who was heading straight for a shelf full of glass figurines. She took Arthur’s arm and led him to the bed. He tripped on his shoelace and they both fell onto the bed. Beatrix and Arthur laughed. They lay next to each other on the large bed, waiting for the effects of the farplegak to wear off.
The blackness faded from Arthur’s vision to reveal a smiling Beatrix. Arthur smiled back.
“I think we should spell the rest of the items into the suitcase next time,” he said with a grin.
“Probably would be best,” said Beatrix with a giggle.
They spelled the other supplies into the suitcase, along with their other belongings.
“We should probably get some rest,” said Beatrix. She walked over to the bed and collapsed onto it in exhaustion. Arthur lay down beside her. They looked at each other until their eyelids grew too heavy and sleep whisked them away.
That night, Beatrix tossed and turned in her sleep. Her hand grazed Arthur’s and suddenly she saw Arthur, kneeling on one knee with a golden ring in his hand.
“I have loved you for years. My time without you felt like an eternity I couldn’t escape from. You are so wise, kind, and most often graceful.”
Beatrix laughed as tears sailed down her cheeks.
“We only get one forever. We spend our entire lives searching for someone to spend our forever with—and I would be honored to spend my forever with you, if you will have me.”
Beatrix looked down at Arthur through blurry eyes. Tears of happiness raced down her face.
“Beatrix Percival, will you marry me?”
Beatrix fell into Arthur’s arms in tears. “Yes!” she said with a smile larger than a crescent moon. Her heart and soul were bursting with joy.
Arthur smiled at her as he took her hand and placed the gold ring on her finger. She wrapped her arms around him and held him tightly.
She stood up and held her hand out to Arthur to help him up. Arthur reached for her hand but the world around her suddenly vanished in a haze.
“Beatrix, it’s time to wake up,” said Arthur.
She opened her eyes to see Arthur sitting next to her on the bed. “Did you sleep well?” asked Arthur.
She looked at him with a smile and wondered if she had seen a vision or simply had a dream. Either way, she smiled with the thought and replied, “Yes.”
More Chapters will be published soon!
Thanks for reading! :)
