Modern Prince (Chapter 9: Sabotage)

Chapter 8 recap
Phelia used the notebook to locate where Craedon had ran away to. She found him at a cliff and apologized to him when suddenly his right leg disappeared. He lost his balance and shortly his left leg disappeared as well, causing him to fall off. Phelia grabbed hold on him as his legs returned to normal. She tried a couple of times to pull him up safely. She ended up breaking down because she knew that she shouldn't have buy the magic notebook because of the person she created to fall in love but also to make him suffer. She also showed him the  magic notebook which he realized that his first few memories were from her story. He also found out that the more he hung out with Phelia, the more new memories he will create and they were automatically written at the back of the notebook. He told her on how blessed he was for living as a human and he got to love her. Once Phelia was comforted, she was about to kiss him when suddenly she spotted Jordan and Cynthia coming towards them. The couple escaped off to Madame Cyprine's store. When seeing that the owner of the store was absent, they turned their backs to see Cynthia blocking the door. 

Modern Prince
Written By: Michele Hii
Chapter 9: Sabotage

"Give it up, Phelia!Hand over that boy to us now!" Jordan ordered as he stepped in.
I spread out my arms behind Craedon,"Never! I'm not giving him to anyone who wants to reveal his true identity."
Jordan raised one eyebrow, "Guess we have to do this the hard way. Cynthia?"
The red-haired lady snapped her fingers. Suddenly, I felt something burning hot chaining round my hands and feet. As I looked down, coal-coloured binds were stinging on my skin. Craedon, who also had binds locked around his hands and feet, let out a cry of pain. A barrier was immediately summoned all over his body and he was sent up to the ceiling.
"Oppa!" I stared in shock. Cynthia bent her finger, motioning the bubble to bring him down to them.
"Phelia!" he panicked. He banged the trap with his fist, but the bubble had the walls of a tortoise shell.

"We've got him." Jordan snickered, "Now let's go."
"No, we're not done yet." Cynthia checked her black-polished fingernails.
Jordan looked at her confusedly, "Wh...what do you mean we're not done yet. We get Jordan to make him our next big star, that's the deal."
"Let's say," she said, "there's a change of plans."
Jordan kept on staring in disbelief. He didn't noticed that she held out one hand and aimed a white plasma bolt  right to his stomach. He was pushed right against the store window and he was knocked out.

"What the..." I gasped, watching the attack in horror. A ribbon of black smoke surrounded her body and she was transformed into the elder with the silver bun and a devilish smile.
"M...madame Cyprine?"
"Surprised eh?" she snickered. She turned to Jordan and muttered, "Loser."
"What did you do to Jordan? And why are you kidnapping Craedon?"
She hovered her right hand in the air as more smoke rose from his chest. She absorbed it with just a strong suck from her mouth.
"Gross." I cringed.
"Silence!" she boomed.
"I'm not gonna shut up until you give me an explanation."
She looked at me with the same scowl as Cynthia would show before giving in, "I've been spying on you in and out of this shop. And thanks to my human metamorphosis spell, I can use your friend here as a host and to check out this hottie that you've created."
Oh my gosh this witch...
"So it's you who have been flirting with my Oppa all along." I frowned, "What do you want from him?"
She stroke her cage with her right index finger. Her long fingernail scratched like a cat's claw and it made me cringe even more. "Why, to get what I want, of course. You've made a wonderful man out of a fiction, and so I thought it'll be perfect if I made him mine."
"You wouldn't." ,
"Oh!I would! Ever since I spied on you taking care of this prince of yours, I'd already hatched a plan on how to steal him away from you."
"Oh yeah! Your plan is to kidnap him in that sphere? That's all you got?" I raised my eyebrow.
"So you're insulting me, huh?" she smirked and fished in her dress pocket for a tiny vile. Through the glass was a bluish green fluid filled close to the brim.
Wait a minute...I've seen that before. 
I immediately remembered my second visit to Madame Cyprine when she was using a dropper to add the same kind of liquid into a jar and she pushed it away when she saw me coming in.
"With this, this boy will turn evil. His whole heart will be darkened by my magic. And who knows, he'll be the perfect sidekick." she grinned.
Oh no she wouldn't!
"You've been giving me warnings and advice all this time." I exclaimed, "Why would you do this?"
"You still don't get it, do you?" she rolled her eyes, "I create the notebook, Phelia. And with it, I long to see someone who would benefit me with a partner. For a thousand years, I've been painstakingly helping and giving advice to all of the buyers of the notebook. Even though I secretly hate helping people, I had to be all nice and friendly. Ugh! I feel like throwing up."
She went on pacing here and there while keeping an eye on Craedon in her trap. I scanned around, hoping to find something to break the binds. Whether it's magic or not.
"After every time the notebook erases all of its contents away and new ones are replaced, I spy all the time, hoping to get a man born by magic. I even whisper in every user's dream to order them to create a character,however none of them are interested or weak under my power to do it.", she suddenly switched her gaze to me like a flash of lightning and I could feel chills in my spine, "But when you come along, I see a weak heart in you, vulnerable to magic, and so when my command of creating a man actually works, I know that this is my chance to steal your creation. To  make him mine instead of a foolish, useless woman like you."
She snapped her fingers as the barrier disappeared. She suddenly went super close to him and kissed him on the lips...right in front of me. My throat went completely dry. My eyes bulged out of their sockets. Craedon's eyes widened too. I tried to move my feet but then I realised that I was still in these freaking binds.
I couldn't even do anything. All I could do was to stand there and watch with my heart breaking in chandelier pieces.

Before I decided to look away, she suddenly pushed him away and glared in fury, "Did you just bite my tongue?"
"Hell yeah I did." he glared back, "Your lips taste like onions by the way."
"You bastard." she hissed, "Guess I have to lure you in plan B."
Craedon sighed as the villian unscrewed the cork and raised the vile in the air.
"You have no right to force me to fall in love with you." he said.
She let out a screechy laugh. I was about to give up on searching until I spotted the crystal ball on the counter. Another flashback appeared in my head.

"This is my spy gadget. I've been watching you and him the whole time."
"You did what?" 
"I've been making sure that you don't involve him in your life, and I thought you're a trustworthy girl. But I was wrong."

Not only she has been using Jordan, but also myself. Since she have been spying on me the whole time, I guess it's time to give her a taste of her own medicine.

"What are you talking about? Love has no limit. No laws. I don't care whether you're in love with this  peasant or not. You're mine and that's it.", she said.

I spotted a boomerang on a shelf a few inches away. I winced at the sight of my feet being tied by the binds, but I waddled as quietly as I could to get my weapon.

"But when you love someone, you can't stop thinking about that person." he looked at my direction and I looked back, "And you will commit yourself to that person. Even when things get worse, you'll still want to protect that person, because you want to keep your feelings true to that person."
"Craedon." I stared in surprise.
"So go ahead, poison me with your wicked, fake love. But my heart will never change for my sarang, Phelia Song, the most amazing writer, animator, and woman...I've ever met.
That sounds super cheesy, but awwwwwwwwwwwwwww! Oppa! <3
"You rude boy! You ought to be punished!" she snapped and grabbed hold on his neck.

With one grip on the wooden toy with my teeth, I prayed that it would flew to the crystal ball before swinging my head and letting it go. It swiftly sank down which got me panicked because it was my only chance. However, as I squeezed my eyes shut, hoping that it wouldn't drop on the cement floor, I heard a loud CRASH. I quickly opened my eyes to see a jagged bottom of the crystal ball. The counter was littered with broken glass.
Huh, even the boomerang is magic.

"NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!", a cracked scream rang throughout the store.
She immediately dropped the vile, ignoring the potion that spilled on the floor. She scrambled to her precious "spy gadget" and picked up the pieces.. As she stubbornly tried to fix it, the binds suddenly vanished from my hands and feet. The barrier and binds poof off from Craedon too. The potion dried up in ashes, as if the incantation was no longer valid.
"Look what you've done! You've ruined my lucky charm!" she cried.
"Well, you deserve it." I folded my arms, "You're a liar all along. I shouldn't have trusted you in the first place."
"You...I'll get you.." she paused when she coughed violently and grabbed hold on the counter. She cupped one hand over her neck, looking like she was out of oxygen. She collapsed on the floor and gripped her chest.
"What's going on?" I gasped. Craedon ran to my side and predicted, "I think she's running out of energy."
We watched Madame Cyprine catching quick,short breaths as if she just finished a long marathon. Her hair seemed to be diminishing lock by lock till her head had gone bald. Like what Craedon had suffered, her heels started to disappear till the fading crawled up to her dull dress, her hands, and up to her face.
"Aaaaaaaaaaahhhhhhhhhhhhhh!" she screamed in pain. Her head was tilted back till her purple-lipsticked mouth, widened eyes, and wrinkly skin vanished before us.

Silence filled the room. Craedon and I looked at each other, still couldn't believe what just happened.
"Do you think she's..." I uttered.
"Yeah, she's gone...I believe the crystal ball is her source of power."
I sighed in relief and smiled, "Then...it's over! She's gone!"
He smiled back and pulled me into a hug. I cushioned my head onto his chest. I spotted a tiny speck of dust floated around the broken crystal ball. It rose up in the air like chimney smoke and disappeared. Still, I was immersing into his teddy bear squeeze.
"I still can't believe Madame Cyprine betrayed me." I mumbled.
"It's not your fault, Phelia. She's the one behind all this,not you." he said as he rested his chin on my head.
"Then...do you think she's right?"
"About?"
"That she set me up on writing the story...instead of myself?"
"Phelia, that's not true." he cupped my face as I looked into his eyes, "You create me, not her. She had manipulated you, but you followed your heart to care for me and love me."
I giggled, "Now I feel better."

We were about to head off when suddenly a loud whimper. By the cracked window, Jordan was awake and he held his head with one hand. "Where am I?" he muttered.
"Are you okay?" I walked to him and squatted.
"Phelia?" he exclaimed, "What the hell...what's going on?"
"He's back to normal." I smiled at Craedon.
"What in the world...ow...my head! My back!" he yelped. He closed his eyes tight as he tried to withstand the pain.
"It's a long story, buddy." Craedon replied.
"Hang in there, Jordan. I'm getting help right now." I said, pulling out my phone from my pocket.

I walked a few feet away while waiting for the paramedics to pick up. I peeked at Craedon who explained the whole situation to the victim. Poor Jordan. Good thing the way he acted these past few days was not from him at all.

Somehow I thought I saw a trail of black smoke passed by the store, but as I looked to my right, I saw nothing. Meh...maybe that's just me.