👑CHAPTER ELEVEN👑
·Simon's Final Words·

Rochester, New York; Williams Estate🗽

7:30 p.m.

-Saturday; night-

-Simon-

Promise me that you'll never tell him. He must never know the truth about us or who he truly is. Please...keep him safe. Those were the last words I ever heard from Ms. William. And just like her, now, I must say mine.

I sit here in my living quarters, bags packed, pen in my hand, and a stack of papers laid out on my mahogany desk. With every stroke of my pen, I attempt to say my final goodbye.

Dear Jack,

My eyes planted on the page but no matter how long I stare, neither the pen, nor words touch the blank paper. Out of frustration, I roll it into a ball and toss it backwards towards the trashcan, adding to my other sad attempts. I continue searching for the strength to say farewell but the twenty-five years of heartfelt memories keeps pulling me back.

Buzz-buzz. My phone shakes intensely, sending vibrations throughout my entire leg. I reach into my pocket and grab it. The Caller ID read: Unknown. It rings three times before I finally cave-in and decide to answer.

"Hello?" No one speaks. There is only silence on the line. I remove the phone from my ear and slide my finger near the "End call" and suddenly a voice speaks up.

"I wouldn't do that if I were you, Simon." The voice sounds familiar - a woman no doubt - but who? And how does she know my name?

"Who is this?”

"Who I am doesn't matter. What matters is you have something that belongs to me and I'm willing to do whatever it takes to get it back."

"What are you talking about and how do you know my name?"

"That's not the only thing I know, my friend. I know all about you, and your connection to the William’s, formerly known as the Daemons.”

She really does know everything. Has she been spying on me - us? I stay on the line, paranoid, searching throughout my room for any hidden cameras.

“Did I scare you away, darling?”

“What do you want from me?"

"Oh, I'm sorry. I must have given you the wrong impression. It's not you I want. I seek something much more valuable."

"What is it, then? Get to the point!” I yell, out of frustration.

"I want the boy, you know, the one who's been in your care for the last two years.”

"Leave him out of this!"

"I'm afraid I can't do that. My mistress's orders are clear. Tell me, has his condition worsened yet?" She snickers.

This is bad, really bad! Lily said they'd come for him, eventually. We knew It was only a matter of time before our luck ran out, but I didn't think it would be so soon. If I don't find him quickly, Jack’s life will be in danger.

She quickly hangs up and in just a matter of seconds the doorbell suddenly rings, grabbing my full attention. I'm not expecting anyone and we don't get many visitors, so who could that be?

"Who's there?" I ask, aloud. No one answers. I open the middle drawer of my desk and remove the fake wooden panel I built inside, opening a secret compartment. The exposed opening reveals a black box with a blue aura emanating from it; sealed shut by a magical lock. The aura brightens as I rub my hand across the boxes ancient symbols forming the word Magia - Magic.

I speak out to it, Da mihi virtutem - “Give me your power" - and the magical lock shatters and crumbles into dust. Inside the box, covered by a thick, green handkerchief, sat a silver pistol with a green lotus design wrapped around its entirety.

The doorbell rings again. I step past my doorway and into the hall and make my way to the front door; standing behind the translucent glass stood two blurry figures. I peek through the peephole but it's too dark for me to make out who it is.

I hold the gun up with a firm grip while my finger rests on the trigger. I grab a hold of the doorknob, taking long deep breaths before swinging the door open. The sight of gold badges caught my wandering eyes and I quickly take the gun out of sight.

“H-Hi, officers. What brings you by this fine night?” I say, hiding the gun in the back of my jeans.

“Excuse us, my name is Officer Monroe, and my partner Officer Simmons. We're looking for a Simon Finkle.”

“Present...”

“I believe these belong to you.”

Simmons steps forward, handing me my hat and my other belongings.

“How did you get all this?”

The two men pass each other a glance. “We have a bit of news concerning the boy who's been in your care.”

“Jack? What happened, is he okay?”

“You may want to sit -.”

“I'll stand… What happened to Jack?”

“We're sorry to inform you that Jack William passed away earlier this evening.”

“W-what?” My knees suddenly feel weak. The weight of this overwhelming pain is pulling me down, like cement blocks are chained to my legs. I reach out and grab the door to keep myself from falling. “How did it - do you know what happened to him?”

“We didn't see it ourselves, but several witnesses said he jumped off the pier and into the Genesee River. They say he drowned before anyone managed to get to him. We're really sorry for your loss.”

“He drowned?”

“That illness of his must have been too much for him. He must have just given up.” He turns and starts to talk to his partner, occasionally glancing back at me but averts his eyes as I stare in his direction.

“How did you -?” Before I finish my sentence I notice a mysterious object flying through the air; there's a loud “crack” in the background as it smashes the back window of the police car.

“What the hell was that?!” They yell, as they rush off towards the car.

I quickly shut and lock the door. I rub my hand down the base of the door and chant “obice”; a magical barrier appears and covers the entire entrance. Something's not right. Did that woman send them here?

As I back away from the door, I hear a sudden squeak from the floorboards. I turn without delay and I can't believe my eyes.

“Jack?” He steps out from the darkness and just stares at me. “Jack, what are you -.” I quickly stop, noticing that he no longer looked different, he looked like himself, actually… but this is where things get unsettling. The spell he was once under, set to be removed at midnight--four hours from now--has been removed way before its deadline. Something is off, or that phone call has really got me paranoid.

“When did you get back?” I want to mention it but I keep the cops arrival to myself.

“Just now. Sorry if I scared you. The spell wore off too early, so I just came home.”

“I’m sorry for forcing you to use magic to get rid of your condition.”

“It's not your fault, I needed it, right?” He shrugs. “What else was I supposed to do?”

“So, do you have any other ideas?”

“Not at the moment. But, it's been a long day, I can barely keep my eyes open.” He rubs his eyes and walks past me, heading towards the staircase. “I'm going to sleep on it and get back to you on that in the morning.”

“In the morning? You remember what tomorrow is, right?”

With a grin he says, “Sunday…” and then begins making his way up the steps.

I stare at him, feeling uneasy, just before walking back to my room. What's this feeling? Why do I feel so uneasy? Was it something he said--was it something he didn't say? I rewind the conversation in my head and analyze each verbal exchange piece by piece. “The spell wore off too early”-- no--“I’ll get back to you on that in the morning”--not that either. Come on, what was it? It suddenly hits me. Everything leading up to now has been off: the cops, the broken spell, Jack's irregular speech pattern; everything is off. There's only one way to confirm my suspension. I rush over to my desk and rip a piece of paper out of my notebook. I write down a word stretching across the entire page and rush back towards the stairway.

“Jack, wait!” I quickly rush up the steps. Jack stops mid-step and turns to me.

“Is something wrong, Simon?”

“I-I just forgot to give you this.” I hold the paper out in front of me and he comes back down and grabs it.

“A spell?”

“From the Mother of Magic, herself.”

“Really? You'll have to thank her for me.” He says, still examining the paper.

I ball up my fist and then drop my index finger. That's one...

“I wanted to work on it with you, but I didn't expect you to get back so late. As you know, new spells can be pretty tricky to master.”

“I don't think that'll be necessary.” He crumbles the paper into a ball and tosses it into the air. “pila glaciei.” His voice triggers the spell and the piece of paper instantly turns into a solid ball of ice.

Another finger drops. That's two…

“Your use of inscription magic and your language skills have improved. I’m impressed.”

“What did you expect from a prodigy?” He smirks as he tosses the ball of ice to me. I lift my hand in the air to try and catch it and I suddenly sense a dark presence behind me.

The third and final finger drops. That's three… I duck down, reach for my gun, and turn all in one swift movement. Behind me stood another Jack doppelganger with a dagger in its hand. Musa Ventosa!--gust of wind. I pull the trigger and a sharp gust of wind shoots out of the barrel of the gun, tearing the doppelganger into pieces; leaving a pile of dust where it once stood. Before I could fully turn around, I hear “Ignis” being shouted; a fireball shot in my direction with tremendous speed. It’s speed removed the option of simply dodging and left me with only the choice of taking it head-on.

“Clipeum!” A magical shield appears in front of me, enduring the blazing impact of the fireball. The fire did me no harm but the impact was strong enough to send me flying backwards off the second floor staircase and onto one of the low-hanging chandeliers.

“You still got a little fight in you, Simon. I was afraid being a “butler” would have made you soft. I must admit I was only half-right. You’ve still got the moves, but the past you would have caught onto my presence before I even stepped foot in the house.”

I rise on one knee, facing the imposter. “Who are you?!”

He chuckles. “Fine. I’ll show you who I really am.” A dark aura showers over him and every bit of Jack’s appearance began crumbling away. The imposter grew taller, the black hair was now red, and the plaid shirt and skinny jeans were replaced by a black, hooded robe. Pale hands remove the hood and a familiar face is revealed.

“Lilith Azazel…I should have known. Back from the dead, I see.”

She chuckles while flipping her hair. “Magic is a wonderful thing. It's been awhile, Simon. I’ve spent one too many days in Hell, now it's your turn.” She puts her hood back on and hides her face. “scalpere.”

A white glow covers her finger as she lifts it into the air and then she drops it diagonally. A surge of power passes by me and I feel something sharp hit my cheek. I run my hand across my face and blood covers my fingers.

“Is that it?" I smirk. "I guess I'm not the only one who's gotten sloppy.”

She chuckles and says, “I wasn't aiming for you.”

I quickly turn around and notice the wire holding up the chandelier had been cut and was barely holding itself together. I try to find a way down but before I could even gather my thoughts I hear a “snap”. The wire rips apart, the lights shut off, and gravity begins to pull the chandelier down towards the ground, like a fancy meteorite. Just before it makes impact, I jump off and roll to safety.

As it plummets it produces an ear piercing sound caused by each glass shard breaking apart. I look back up towards the second floor and Lilith is nowhere to be found.

“Let's finish this, Lilith. Just me and you, leave Jack out of this.”

She stays silent; not a sound is made. I wander in the darkness, completely on guard, playing both roles of a deadly game of hide and seek.

There's a sudden “crash” and I turn my attention to it. I make my way towards the noise and it leads me to the garage. I put my ear to the door and I hear the noise on the other side. My hand drops onto the doorknob and turn it slightly. Before I can do it myself, the door jerks away from me and another Jack doppelganger is standing right in front of me.

“Simon?”

I put him in a choke-hold with one arm and press the gun against his skull.

“I'm not falling for it again. Time for a new trick, Lilith.”

“Lilith? Who's Lilith? Simon, it's me, Jack.”

“Cut the bullshit.” I cock my gun and surprisingly he starts panicking.

“Wait, wait! Simon, please!”

I shove the gun in his face and threaten to pull the trigger. “Who are you?!”

“It's me, Jack! Don't you recognize me? Is this because I treated you like crap at the beach? I'm so sorry. Please, please, please, don't shoot me.”

I turn him around and notice that he was different from the rest of the doppelgangers. The spell used to alter his appearance is still active. “Jack? It's really you? The cops told me you died, what's going on? What's that smell?”

“The cops are the reason I'm like this. They were going on about me being some kind of murderer and then they tried forcing me to use magic or else they were going to shoot me.”

So they know who Jack really is. Must be working with Lilith. I knew something wasn't right with those guys. Just a couple of crooked cops.

“Um, Simon, why do you have a gun?”

I lower my gun and start heading back to my room. “You have to go, Jack. It's too dangerous for you to be here.”

“I understand you're still mad at me, but come on.”

I head back into my room and he follows behind, trying his best to get my attention.

“Simon, talk to me!”

I pause before saying another half-truth. “It's to protect you.” I don’t know how to answer the question without revealing to him, the terrifying truth. And at the moment time isn't on our side.

“Protect me from wha-”

He stops and I notice him looking over my shoulder; I suddenly feel the dark presence from earlier returning. I turn and beyond the doorway I see fire blazing in the living room.

He tries to rush past me and I immediately grab his arm.“Simon, what are you doing? The house is on fire!”

“She’s out there. If Lilith gets ahold of you, it’s over; this all would have been for nothing.”

“I don’t care who she is, we have to do something!”

“Jack--Jack! I need you to listen to me. Focus… There are things in this world that don't make sense right now, that’s my fault and I’m sorry. I’ve been keeping so much from you, thinking that I was sparing your feelings, but all I was doing was being selfish.”

I reach into my pocket and take out the crown-shaped locket that I kept all these years, and place it into his hands. “This belongs to you, Jack, It always has. It's the key to our salvation. Unspeakable danger lurks around every corner, so keep it with you at all times. All will be revealed soon. You just have to trust me. Please….”

He stares at me with watery, yet, focused eyes, and reaches out to me with both arms. I go in for the hug and Jack quickly ducks and snatches my gun away. He pushes me into my bookshelf and rushes out past the doorway and into the fiery living room.

“Jack, no!”

“Show yourself!” Jack screams.

Within the rising flames, Lilith speaks out. “Jack. Sweet, innocent, Jack. You've finally come. My mistress will be so happy to see you. Come to me and we can leave this wretched place.”

“I'm not going anywhere with you!”

“What a shame. I'm disappointed in you, Jack. I had such high hopes for you. Taking the same road as your parents will only lead you to your grave.”

“Shut up!” I see Jack pull the trigger and a powerful gust of wind shoots out of the barrel. The recoil was so strong that it blew him backwards onto the ground. Lilith evaded the blast and the wind only made the fire more intense.

I rush to his side as he gets up, hoping to prevent him from firing off another shot. I try taking the gun away from him but it quickly turns into a game of tug-of-war. “Jack, give me the gun!” I yell, but he refuses.

“Such disrespect.” She chuckles. “My orders were to bring you in alive, but I'm sure a few injuries here and there won't be a problem.”

“Run, Jack! I can't protect you if you're here.”

I spot Lilith in the corner of my eye, creeping closer towards us. While I continue to fight Jack over the gun, Lilith was preparing her next attack.

“Vitae” She yells. The shards, broken off from the chandelier, begin to lift into the air creating a wall of heated glass. “Vade!” The glass reacts to her voice and shoots off towards Jack and I.

“Jack, move!” with all my strength, I push him out of the way. In an instant, before I can fully grasp what’s about to happen; before I can conjure another spell, the shards pierce my skin, sinking deep into my chest. Intensive waves of pain shoot through my body as I fall to the ground. My heart throbbing at the sight of the puddle of blood underneath me.

“No, no, no!  Simon! Get up, man. You have to get up!” He grabs me and sits me up against the wall.

“You have to go, Jack, now!”

“I'm not leaving you, Simon. We're leaving here together.”

I grip his arm and look him in the eye. “Jack, I'm here to protect you and right now, I don't think I can do that for much longer. No matter what--dead or alive--I will always be with you.”

“What am I supposed to do without you, you're all I got left.”

“You're wrong, Jack. There are others. If you ever find yourself in a sticky situation, read the words engraved on the back of your locket, they will keep you safe.”

“Simon, I-I don't understand.”

“But you will. Maybe not now, but soon. Now, go.”

Simon -.”

“Go!”

He grabs me with both arms and hugs me sincerely. He lays my gun in my lap then rushes off into the garage.

This is it. Lilith stares from across the room, an evil smile planted on her face.

“Such a sad ending to the final moments of your life. I admit, I kind of feel bad for you, but you should know better than anybody that happily ever afters no longer exist.”

Slowly but surely, I try my best to crawl back into my room; smoke filling my punctured lungs. I get inside and slam the door. “Obice”.

“You have nowhere left to run to, Simon. This is the end.”

I use all my strength to pull myself up into my chair. I gather up my paper, grab a pen and begin to write my final words. My hands shaky and my vision blurry.

“Ignis!” Lilith repeatedly screams the word, slowly destroying my magical barrier. Each strike making it weaker, allowing flames to quickly sneak their way into the room. In a matter of seconds the fire had already made its way around my room, burning all of my belongings. I can feel the fire’s warmth brushing up against my skin, while the blood from my wounds drip onto the wrinkled paper.

Dear Jack,

Secrets...dishonest loyalty...dying wishes. My reputation stain'd like dirty dishes.

A smile planted on my face but secrets hidden deep, I'm sorry for the lies, conscious of my deceit.

The truth on the tip of my tongue, sure to be exposed at any moment. Each day I see you, the truth nearly slips, I can no longer control it.

Day by day I attempt to create never-ending bliss, but my happiness was taken from me with a gloomy, dying wish.

"Please keep him safe," is what she said, as her sentenced ended with a fading gasp, I check her pulse to verify, and the final results left me terrified. She had others to ask but chose me instead I was no help to her as she sat in my arms and bled.

Two years later an unexpected phone call leaves me surprised. A threat has arisen; our safety may be compromised. "I'm coming for the boy. I'm willing to do whatever it takes." In need of assistance but I'm the only person trusted for these high stakes.

I was given a task. I knew it was risky but it was worth a try. All these years I've been keeping secrets from you and I know that's not right.

I kept this all a secret thinking that I could spare you more anguish but I see now that I was only being selfish.

...

So, there, that's the truth. I made a promise, now I have to see it through. I hope my trust isn't too hard to mend. But the time has come; this is the end. These are my final words, Jack.

"Farewell, old friend."

Sincerely,

Simon Finkle, The Unlikely Caregiver

Be safe, Jack. Succeed where I have failed, and restore balance to our broken world. You may just be the only one left who can do it, we're all counting on you. I know you're lost in this big open world right now but don't worry…

All will be revealed soon.

👑

Sorry for the delay, guys. I hope this chapter (the longest chapter so far) makes up for it. Over 4000 words--I really outdid myself on this one. But there are some things I want to make clear real fast...

I love how this chapter came together, but I was a little afraid of taking the story in this direction. I was nervous, mainly because the original idea for this story had no hint of Fantasy other than the fact that it's a modern-day fairy-tale. If I was going according to the original plot from when it was in TheWattys, Chapter 13 would be the last and final chapter.

So, I'll say this, the original story got to the point a lot quicker but it lacked character development. In the beginning, the only characters that I created that mattered were the protagonist--Jack--and of course the sequels protagonist, Violet--whom will have her time in the spotlight soon.

Now, the new version of The Unlikely Prince has better character development but the chapters are a lot harder and longer for me to write because, believe it or not, this is the second book I've ever written (that made it passed two chapters), I'm pouring so much detail into to it, and i'm expanding it as I go, so it makes me really happy to know that you guys are enjoying the story so much. I'd like to hear your thoughts on the fantasy-route. Do you like it, do you hate it--let me know.

Fun fact: Today is actually my birthday...
^_^
-April 25-