Princess Carmelita (Chp Finale)

PRINCESS CARMELITA
(Adapted from the movie “El Laberinto Del Fauno” or “Pan’s Labyrinth”)

“Arise, my daughter. Come.”

Maya opened her eyes and found herself standing a great big hall made of gold and silver studded with precious jewels of all kinds. Her blood-soaked dress was replaced with a magnificent gown the colour of forest-green with diamonds and black laces everywhere. When she lifted her skirt, it revealed a pair of dark green buckled shoes that shone when it caught light. A diamond and ruby-studded tiara settled comfortably on her head and a long veil flowed down her silky brown hair, like she was in a wedding dress.

As she walked down the hall, she saw four thrones that towered all the way towards the ceiling and people of all forms of features, shapes and sizes sitting on both sides of the hall like one would in a stadium. The whole place looked like a church, with stained glass that let the light in, illuminating all the jewels in the hall, and her footsteps echoed as she walked towards the thrones. On the middle thrones sat a man and a woman in crowns and clothes as magnificent as hers who had silver white hair but had features as young as a twenty-year-old. Though she only seen them for the first time, Maya knew instinctively who they were.

“Father?”

“You have spilled your own blood rather than the blood of an innocent,” the King said proudly. “That was the final task and the most important.”

Suddenly Faun came out from behind the pillar that held the throne, followed by the fairies who danced around her, chirping happily and excitedly. Maya was both surprised and glad that the fairies she thought dead were alive and kicking, welcoming her back where she belonged. Faun walked towards her and took a bow.

“And you chose well, Your Highness. Welcome home.”

“Come here with me and sit by your father’s side,” the Queen said as she gestured her to the thrones. “He’s been waiting for you for so long. You may like who he has betrothed you to. He has waited for your return as well.”

It was then she noticed that there was a teenage boy dressed in dark blue and grey sitting beside the Queen. The boy noticed her staring and smiled, as if glad to be finally meeting his royal fiancé. The Queen was right; she did like who the King had betrothed her to, because her royal fiancée looked a lot like Pedro Sanchez, the errand boy that she loved.

As everyone in the hall gave her a standing ovation, she knew she had chosen the perfect ending for the Princess.

*

Pedro couldn’t stop the tears from falling. He had gotten to her too late. When he and his colleagues went to search for Maya, with the red string tied to his wrist so that they would not get lost, they saw the Count coming out of the centre of the labyrinth with Alexandra in his arms. Seeing himself surrounded by the law-enforcers, he knew he was defeated. He handed Alexandra to Pedro. He knew that although he was to be arrested and lose his Count title and rights, at least his son was in good hands.

“Tell my son that his father fought bravely. Tell him that…”

“No,” Pedro said as he backed away a little, holding Alexandra close to his chest. “He won’t even know your name. Take him away.”

Either it was the sedatives still in his system or the sense of defeat, he didn’t resist arrest as one of Pedro’s colleagues took him away, following the string out of the labyrinth. He then went into the labyrinth centre and found Maya lying on a pool of blood, struggling to breathe. The gunshot wound she sustained was fatal and there was no doctor in the world that could save her. All he could do now was make her passing more peaceful, and as he sung her his grandfather’s lullaby, he watched as she smiled and slipped away from his arms quietly.

He knew that his presence before she died was the happiest moment of her life, but the guilt of unable to fulfill his promise to her still remained.

And would remain till the end of time.

And it is said that the Princess returned to her father’s kingdom. That she reigned with justice and a kind heart for many centuries. That she was loved by her people. That she left behind small traces of her time on earth, visible only to those who know where to look.

Princess Carmelita (Chp 11)

PRINCESS CARMELITA

(Adapted from the movie “El Laberinto Del Fauno” or “Pan’s Labyrinth”)

Maya watched quietly as the Count sewed up his torn face in front of a mirror, his back facing towards her. She didn’t know what happened and didn’t understand what the Count went through to get that cut, but she didn’t have time to investigate. Her sole mission right now was to get her fiancée as requested.

She managed to trace a door on another side of the wall and find herself in the Count’s study. Ever since the Countess died, he carried his son everywhere he went with his portable crib. He would never leave the baby out of his sight, except when he had to go off on business, both legally and illegally. And right now, Alexandra was sleeping in his crib a few feet away from his father.

She hid under the table when she saw the Count done with his sewing, moving as silently as possible behind one of the bookshelves when she realized that the Count felt her presence. She felt like kicking herself when she saw her chalk left under the table she was hiding in plain sight of the Count’s view. He got out his gun and looked around after checking out to see if his son was alright. Maya’s heart thumped so hard she could hear it in her ears as she felt the Count moving closer and closer towards her position.

As luck would have it, the Count’s search was interrupted when one of the errand boys came in and asked him to go to the living room. The Count looked around suspiciously for a while before following behind the errand boy. Maya heaved a sigh of relief as she came out of her hiding place. She walked as quickly but quietly as possible towards the table and opened the bottle of vodka he had left on it, took out the sedatives she had kept in her pocket and emptied half of the content into the bottle. She shook the bottle to mix them all up together before moving towards crib and picked her baby fiancée up, whispering, “We’re leaving. Together. Don’t be afraid. Nothing is going to happen to you.”

Carefully, she carried Alexandra in her arms and attempted to walk out of the study when she heard the Count’s voice talking to one of Alberto’s men. Unbeknownst to her, that man was the only survivor of the ambush to make it to the manor to warn the Count about the incoming law-enforcers to arrest them and put his slave trade down the dumps. The Count ordered him to make arrangements to evacuate all the children from his cellar and call for the earliest ship possible to ship them all to one of his connections’ industry building until the incident blows over. The man nodded and went off to do his bidding while the Count poured himself a drink. They had left the door open, and the Count was busy tending to the pain of his face after gulping down the vodka, so all Maya had to do was sneak out of the study and make a run for it.

Before she could make it halfway out of the door, a sudden explosion was heard downstairs. The Count was alerted and saw Maya at the doorway with his son. He was enraged, but somehow, because of the dosage Maya put in his drink, the sedatives immediately kicked in and all he could do was say, “Leave him.”

Maya definitely did not want to do that and made a dash for it, leaving the Count trying to chase after her while fighting the effects of the sedatives. As they played cat and mouse with each other, they saw that outside, a huge battle was going as a huge group of law-enforcers ambushed the manor, taking down the people who tried to fight them and arresting everyone inside the manor. The Count didn’t care all that. Let the little people handle the situation. He had to save his son from his wretched daughter-in-law.

As the ambush, raiding and arresting continued, Pedro and a few of his colleagues stormed up to Maya’s room to look for her, but she was nowhere to be seen. Instead there were only the mysterious chalk markings of a door on a wall left behind after she escaped from the room to get Alexandra. Pedro feared the worse.

“Maya? Maya dear? Where could she be?”

Meanwhile, the Count continued to chase after Maya, his adrenaline overpowering the sedative effects, all the way into the labyrinth. Maya had to get away fast before he caught up after her—he was an adult after all to able to outrun her—but she was running out of roads to go. Everywhere she went was a dead-end and she was standing in front of one right now.

Just when she thought she was not going to make it out alive, one of the stone walls beside her opened, leading her straight into the centre of the labyrinth where the gorge was. As she went through the clearing made for her, every wall she passed through closed behind her, covering all her tracks before the Count could catch up with her. Faun was waiting for her outside the gorge and was happy to see her.

“Quickly, Your Highness!” he said as he gestured for her to come to him. Maya did just that. He then said, “Quick, give him to me. The full moon is high in the sky and we can finally open the portal.”

Maya saw the dagger she had retrieved from the creature’s lair in Faun’s hand and backed away, asking defensively, “What’s that in your hand?”

“The portal will only open if we offer the blood of an innocent,” Faun said as he tried to downplay his way of holding the dagger. “Just a drop of blood, that’s all. It’s the final task. Hurry!”

Maya shook her head and backed away even further. She was still reminded about Pedro’s words about fauns being tricksters and she was not taking any chances, not with him holding a lethal weapon. Faun was annoyed.

“You promised to obey me!”

“Obey you? I’m the Princess!” Maya exclaimed, making clear her supposed position in front of Faun.

“Give me the boy!” Faun growled but Maya held Alexandra closer to her chest.

“No! My fiancée stays with me! I promised him that I’ll make him my Prince, and if I cannot get that from you, I’m sure as hell not going to put him under your hands!”

“Your fiancee? Your Prince?” Faun asked, angry and surprised at the same time. “You would give up your sacred rights for this brat you barely know?”

“Yes, I would. He’s my future husband, and I’m not leaving without him.”

“You would give up your throne for him? He who caused you such misery, such humiliation?”

“Yes, I would.”

Faun looked up and stared briefly at something behind her, then smiled and said, “As you wish, Your Highness.”

Suddenly she felt a tug at her shoulder. She was horrified to see the Count right behind her. He had finally caught with her at last, but how long was he there? Was he there when Faun was threatening her, or was he there when Faun was gone? Without a word, he took Alexandra away from her and walked off.

“No! Father Garcia, please…”

Her words stopped abruptly as she heard a loud explosion and a sharp pain on her gut. Her eyes shifted to the smoking gun that was in the Count’s hand and realized that she was being shot. She knew this would happen sooner or later, but she didn’t think it would happen this way. The Count was leaving, taking her baby fiancée with her. He was taking away the only family she had left. The only family she could trust and belong to forever. The only family she ever loved.

“My…husband…please…”

Her body failed her. Blood was seeping through her clothes and her hand was covered with it when she touched it. She fell to her knees and onto the ground beside the edge of the gorge. Her breath grew shallower and shallower, her eyesight slowly getting more and more blur. The last thing she remembered was the soft touches of hands and Pedro’s voice humming the wordless lullaby.

As she slowly slipped away, a few drops of her blood fell into the gorge…

The Dark Corner

In almost every building, there is one corner, one small enclosure that no one ever looks at. It’s the corner in the basement that has been blocked by a disused sofa for years; the thin space in the attic between the wall and the stacks and stacks of crates full of junk you never use, but could never throw away. The space that never sees the light of day, or any other kind of light at all. Where darkness does not merely dominate, but practically oozes out from around the edges of its prison. No one knows quite how long a space must remain concealed for it to acquire this particular property, nor if there are any specific conditions it must meet. But it is a far more common occurrence than you might think.

In newer buildings, when this happens, the residents often report feeling cold when passing by, even in attics during the hottest of summers. Whenever contemplating taking a quick peek to see if there is anything actually there, an unnatural dread seizes them, and they leave the room quickly, if not quite running. Once left behind, the feeling passes, and it is quickly forgotten, or laughed off.

What actually happens in these forgotten sanctuaries of the dark? It is impossible to tell. For while many such corners have been exposed to reveal absolutely nothing, some brave souls have lost their sanity through nothing more than an ill-timed glance. The safest thing to do when encountered with such a phenomenon; close your eyes, rip away the area’s covering in a single motion, then keep a tight hold on what you’ve pulled away. No matter what you hear or feel, do not get up, do not look around, and do not try to cover your ears. You might be one of the lucky ones.

The Railroad

My cousin and I had gone to San Antonio, and we had heard rumors of some haunted railroad tracks. The story was, a school bus full of children had stalled on these tracks with a train coming. The train was going too fast for there to be time to get the children off. So they all died.

When we finally found the tracks, we stopped the car, parking it right on the railroad tracks. We were both a little nervous, and scared, and waited for something to happen. Just when we were about to leave, the car started rolling. We were both too freaked out to do any more than grab each other and gasp, eyes wide, mouths open. After what seemed like an eternity, (but was actually less than five minutes tops) the car stopped rolling. We looked around, and we were off the railroad tracks.

Now, that may not seem spooky, but what we saw next scared us enough to jump back in the car and make the six hour trip home THAT NIGHT. Both of us got out of the car and walked around to the back. After the first six hour drive, our car had accumulated quite a bit of dust on it. That's not scary, no. But what was scary was the little sets of handprints all over the back of the car.

All the size of children's hands.

Thomas' Reflection

I am Thomas's reflection.

Every morning, he rises from sleep and walks into the bathroom.

...and he makes faces.

I am so tired of the faces. He makes them for at least half an hour. Mocking, ridiculous faces. I have no choice but to mimic his every action, although inside I am seething with anger.

He does this every day... well, USED to.

One morning he awoke as usual, and entered the bathroom.

On this particular morning, against his will, he picked up a pair of scissors.

On this particular morning, against his will, he gripped those scissors tightly in his fist.

...on this particular morning, entirely against his will, he plunged those scissors directly into his right eye.

Thomas screamed, and screamed. I screamed and screamed too - with one difference.

I can't mimic his pain.

Just his face.

La Muerta Blanca

I am currently sitting in front of my computer, scared witless. Any moment now I am going to be killed.

Today a friend of mine told me a story.

His aunt had taken care of him since he was a small boy, and she told him last night about how his parents died. He did a very fair imitation of her (I knew them both pretty well):

“They were doing mission work in some nasty little south american country when a man burst into the mission hospital one night, terrified out of his mind. He told them that his sister had been killed by a Muerto blanco, and that he was certain that it was coming for him next. What is a Muerto blanco? Apparently it was some sort of bogey-man, something like that dumb chupacabra or whatever. They called it the White Death or the White Girl, because it was the soul of someone who hated life so much that they came back in their shrouds to kill those who told of them.

The man had been told about the vengeful spirit by his sister hours before her death. It was a girl with dead, black eyes that wept bile. The thing moved without ever actually moving its legs, and it stalked its victims back to their homes. Now, if you weren’t already aware that this thing was following you, once it got back to your house, it would start knocking on your door…

• Once for you skin, which she’ll use to patch her own decaying flesh.
• Twice for your muscle, which she’ll gnash her teeth on between victims.
• Thrice for your bones, which she’ll make knives to pick her teeth and kill her victims.
• Four times for your heart, which she’ll wear around her neck.
• Five times for your teeth, which she’ll polish and keep in a box.
• Six times for your eyes, which she’ll see the faces of your loved ones through.
• Seven times for your soul, which she’ll eat whole - you can never pass while you’re in her stomach.

She has to repeat this on any mirror or door between you and her.

You can try to outrun her, but she’s faster than the fastest man. And if you leave your home while she’s knocking on your door, she won’t be so courteous when she catches up to you.

Now the man was certain that this thing had killed his sister, that he had tried to tell the police, but they would not listen. Next he had tried to tell his priest, but the priest turned him away when he saw that the thing was following him now - oh, that’s right, I forgot about that - it can only get you if you tell someone else about it, or you saw it kill someone else. The man, after finishing his tale, stole a car from the mission, and was never seen again.

Apparently his mother and father had immediately called his aunt about this when it happened. They were found in the morning, skinned and dismembered. Their bodies were covered in tiny, child-like handprints.

His aunt was really drunk the night before, and had told him about that. He told me this story early in the morning today at school, before the cops arrived. His aunt had been murdered that night. I called him later that night, and he told me that he was being chased by someone, and now they were knocking on his door. I told him to stop shitting me.

He held the phone away from his face for a minute, and I could hear slow, deliberate knocking. A moment later, I heard the door rip from its hinges and the dying screams of my friend.

Then a little girl’s voice spoke over the line: “WITNESS.” I hung up.

Three minutes ago someone started knocking on my door. She has to knock 28 times on my front door, 28 times on the mirror in the hall, and another 28 times on the door to my bedroom. She’s doing it slowly… I think she wants to scare me some more, let me know that my death is just moments away. I will not run - I couldn’t get to my car in time anyway. She started knocking on my bedroom door a minute ago, she should be done any moment.

Nice knowing you guys, it’s been funjklm,.-

WITNESS

Princess Carmelita (Chp10)

PRINCESS CARMELITA
(Adapted from the movie “El Laberinto Del Fauno” or “Pan’s Labyrinth”)

Pedro knew it was now or never. He had to leave tonight. Suspicions were hovering around the manor and the Count, although he did not mention it directly, had his eyes especially on Pedro. He was handling the children with Alberto one day when one of them, out of anger, lashed out at him saying that they would be caught by the law-enforcers and burn in hell for what they were doing. When the Count asked what he meant, the child blurted out about some of his friends being smuggled out by an errand boy to be given to the law-enforcers in order to testify against him. The Count tried to squeeze more information out of the child, the child said he’d rather die than betray the errand boy and help the Count in his dastardly deeds and banged his head against the wall hard, killing himself instantly.

Pedro knew he was going to be in trouble. He had been involved in the dealings with slaves alongside the Count and Alberto, so it was no surprise that he was the first in the list of suspected people. He had to leave and report to the camp immediately. But first, he had to say goodbye to someone.

Quietly, he crept into Maya’s room and whispered, “Maya, Maya, wake up.”

Maya stirred and asked, “What is it, Pedro?”

“Maya, I’m leaving tonight. It’s not safe for me to stay here any longer anymore.”

“Where to?”

“I’m sorry, Maya dear. I can’t tell you.”

“Take me with you,” Maya said suddenly, catching him by surprise.

“No, no, I can’t. I can’t do that. You know the drill. I can’t, Maya dear. But I’ll come back for you, I promise…”

“I don’t care,” Maya said, hugging him tightly. “Take me with you. I have nothing here. I don’t mean anything to the Count anymore. I cannot do what I promised to Alexandra anymore. Please, take me away.”

After much persuasion (and a brother’s aching heart for a sister), Maya finally got Pedro to take her with him. Quietly and stealthily, the duo went out through the back door of the kitchen and out into the pouring rain. Armed with only an umbrella, they braved their way into the woods in search of Pedro’s colleagues’ secret camp. Halfway through, Pedro stopped short, looking around warily.

“I heard something,” Pedro whispered, then looked around for another minute or two before saying, “No, it’s nothing. Don’t worry.”

Pedro couldn’t be further than the truth, because as they spun round to continue their way, they saw the Count and Alberto and his men standing right behind them. They were found! They were busted! They were done for!

“Pedro,” the Count muttered venomously and shifted his gaze towards his daughter-in-law, “Maya. I should’ve known.”

There was no doubt something bad awaited their fate.

While Alberto and his men dragged Pedro to the warehouse, the Count dragged Maya back to her room. He grabbed her by the shoulders, shaking her and asked, “How long have you known about this? How long have you been laughing at me? You little bitch! I knew you were trouble the very first moment I saw you!”

The Count gave her a slap before throwing her onto her bed. As he went out of the room and locked it, he turned to a few of Alberto’s henchmen, who followed after him, and said, “Watch her. If anyone tries to get in, kill her first.”

Maya broke into tears thinking about what might happen to Pedro under the Count’s custody. Everything went so wrong. Ever since her failure of her second task, everything went horribly wrong. Not only had she brought the curse of Faun’s denouncing onto her, but to the person that she loved as well.

What could possibly get worse than this?

*

“You can go, Alberto. Leave him to me.”

Pedro was in the cellar with the other sobbing children, tied to one of the pillars that held the ceiling of the cellar together. While the Count handled Maya, Alberto and his men had their chance to ravage Pedro, and needless to say, when the Count came down the cellar, he was covered with cuts and bruises everywhere.

“Are you sure, Master?” Alberto asked, a little unsure.

“For God’s sake, Alberto, he’s only an errand boy.”

Alberto nodded and went up. As the Count came closer to Pedro, he struggled to speak.

“That’s what you’ve always thought. That’s why I was able to get away with it. I was invisible to you.”

“Damn, young boy,” the Count grinned, looking slightly impressed. “You’ve discovered my weakness: arrogance. But it’s your weak points we’re interested in. I want you to tell me who sent you and what are they planning to do with me, and I’m sure some of these things may persuade you to do so…”

While the Count talked, his back facing towards him and preparing all the torture devices he had beforehand to make him talk, Pedro reached for his back pocket for the small knife he had kept hidden in it and started cutting the rope that tied his hands together on the pillar. As an errand boy, there were things he needed to cut with his knife, especially ropes that get tangled on young calves and seals whenever there is a delivery from town, and the knife was slim and small enough to be hidden and remain undetected in his back pocket without rousing any suspicion.

As soon as he broke free, the first thing he did was stab the Count on the back. He added another stab onto his shoulder for good measure before pressing it threateningly inside the Count’s mouth. The children, who were witnessing all this, cheered him on.

“I am a law-enforcer, not some child you can boss around and torture at! I am not a little boy you can tell what to do anymore! You son of a bitch! Don’t you even dare touch the girl! If I see even a hair missing from Maya, get it through to your thick skull that you will not be the first chicken I have gutted!”

With that, he cut through the Count’s cheek and quickly made his way out of the cellar, promising to the children that he would come back for them. The Count, after struggling to get on his feet and fight the pain that was throbbing badly on his cheek, gave the order to Alberto and his men to give chase. They mounted their horses and chased after the poor Pedro all the way to the middle of the woods before cornering him. This is it, he thought. I’m going to die in enemy lines and in the hands of these dogs.

“Now then, Pedro,” Alberto said as he got off his horse and prepared to capture him. “You know we’ve been friends for so long, and you know I’m very fond of you. You’re my best friend, and the last thing I want to do is hurt you like this, but you betrayed the Master and I had no choice. It’ll be better if you come with me without struggling. The Master said if you behave…”

Alberto never got to finish his words because three shots were fired at him out of nowhere, killing him instantly. More fires were shot and exchanges of fire between Alberto’s men and the mysterious shooter, or shooters, ensued. After all the men were killed, the mysterious shooters revealed themselves as his colleagues. One of them, who so happen to be his cousin, came to him and hugged him, telling him that he had done a great job and everything will soon be over while the rest of his colleagues checked through the bodies to see if there were any evidence they could salvage from them.

Meanwhile, Maya was in her room contemplating about what her fate has in store for her. She dared not think of it, but she was sure she would get even worse treatment than she had just received from the Count. He might end up force her to do unimaginable things and would be at his mercy every single moment of her living days, or worse. In a way, she thought, I think I deserve all this. I screwed up the previous task, I broke the rules, and I killed my fairy friends. I deserve to be punished. I…

In the middle of her musings, the ever familiar sounds of cricket echoed through her room. She looked up and saw her fairy friend flying towards her, chirping happily as she perched onto her extended finger.

“I’ve decided to give you one last chance.”

Oh, how happy she was to see Faun standing proud and tall in front of her. She quickly got up and hugged him, relieved to see finally another familiar face. Faun chuckled and reciprocated, patting her head with one hand and stroking her back with the other.

After a brief moment of reunion, Faun made her face him and said, “Now, do you promise to do what I say? Will you do anything I tell you without question? This is your last chance.”

Maya nodded hard. She’s willing to do anything to turn things around and make up for her mistake.

“Alright, then listen to me. Fetch your fiancée and bring him to the labyrinth as quickly as you can, Your Highness.”

“My fiancée?” Maya asked, surprised.

“We need him,” Faun replied briefly.

“But…”

“No more questions. Just do as I say.”

“But the door is locked. I can’t leave.”

“In that case, create your own door,” Faun said as he took out another chalk for her. Maya took it and nodded before Faun disappeared into the shadows again.

It’s now or never.