Read Online Reckless (Free Preview) by Cornelia Funke - Free Book Online Page B

to his feet, and immediately drew back his
hands, cursing.   The stones were covered in
thorny vines.   They were everywhere, as
if the entire castle had grown a hide of thorns.
    "Roses,"
he muttered, picking one of the rose hips that grew from the twisted
branches.   "I've been searching for
this castle for years.   Sleeping Beauty's bed.   The Empress would pay a fortune for it."
    Clara stared
incredulously across the silent courtyard.
    "It is
said that anyone who sleeps in her bed will find true love.   But it seems" — Jacob gazed at the dark
windows — "the prince never showed up."
    Or he had perished
on the thorns like a skewered bird.   A
mummified hand stuck out from between the roses.   Jacob pushed some leaves over it before Clara
could see.
    A mouse
scampered across the courtyard, and Fox jumped after it, but she immediately
stopped with a whimper.
    "What is
it? " Clara asked.
    The vixen
licked her side.
    "Threefingers
kicked me."
    "Let me
have a look."   Clara leaned over her
and carefully prodded her silky fur.
    "Lose the
fur, Fox! " Jacob said.   "She knows more about humans than about
foxes."
    Fox hesitated,
but then she obeyed.   Clara stared at the
girl who suddenly stood before her, in a dress that looked as if the red moon
had woven it onto her body.
    What kind of world is this ? her face asked as she turned to
Jacob.   If fur turns to skin, or skin to stone, what remains?
    Fear.   Bewilderment.   And enchantment.   All
of that was in her eyes, and as she stepped toward Fox, she rubbed her own
arms, as if she could already feel the fur on her skin as well.
    "Where's
Will? " Jacob asked.
    Clara pointed
at the tower next to the gate.   "He's been up there for over an hour.   He hasn't said a word yet," she added,
"since he saw them."
    They both knew
whom she was talking about.

     
    *           *           *           *           *

     
    Nowhere did
the roses grow as densely around the circular walls of the tower.   Their blossoms were of such a dark red that
the night tinged them almost black, and their scent hung heavily in the cold
air, as if they did not feel the autumn.
    Jacob already
knew what he would find under the pointed roof before he started climbing the steep
spiral stairs.   He had to keep freeing
his boots form the thorny tendrils, but finally he was standing in front of the
room where, two hundred years earlier, a Fairy had delivered her birthday
present.
    The spinning
wheel stood next to a narrow bed that had never been meant for a princess.   The body that lay on it was covered with rose
petals.   The Fairy's curse had kept it
from aging, but the princess's skin was like parchment and nearly as yellowed
as the dress she'd been wearing for two centuries.   The embroidered pearls still shimmered in
brilliant white, but the lace at the hem had turned as brown as the petals that
covered the silk.
    Will was
standing by the only window, as if the prince had finally arrived.   Jacob's steps made him spin around.   The stone now also stained his forehead, and
the blue of his eyes was drowning in gold.   The bandits had stolen what was most precious — time.
    "No
‘happily ever after’ here," Will said, looking over at the princess.   "This was also the curse of a
Fairy."
    He leaned his
back against the rough wall.   "Are
you feeling better?"
    "Yes,"
Jacob said, lying.   "What about
you?"
    Will didn't
answer right away.   And when he did, his
voice sounded as cool and smooth as his new skin.
    "My face
feels like polished stone.   The night
grows brighter with every passing day, and I could hear you long before you
reached the stairs.   I don't just feel it
on my skin now."   He hesitated,
massaging his temples.   "It's inside
me as well."
    He walked to
the bed and stared at the mummified body.   "I'd forgotten everything.   You.   Clara.   Myself.   All I knew was I wanted to ride to them."
    Jacob searched
for words, but he