Chapter 143 The Beast

Chapter 143 The Beast
ERINA -

The rainbow smoke thinned and parted like a quiet mist. When it thinned enough, Erina could see the Cheshire Castle's courtyard surrounding them.
"She sent us back." Kai murmured. "I wonder if she knew that my core was drained, and that's why."
Erina looked up at his shining blue eyes and wondered how tired he must be.
They'd been through so much recently that she could only imagine how exhausted he was.
A piercing roar made her jerk in Kai's arms and pulled her eyes to the cage that still sat in front of the fountain.
The little mushroom that she still had snuggled up to her chest, jumped and turned aggressively to the noise, and Erina couldn't help but smile.
When the Jabberwocky quit screaming, she pulled the little fungi up to her lips and pressed a gently kiss to his cap before she said, "Don't worry. That's a friend. He's just very mad right now."
The mushroom didn't relax and instead continued to stare intently at the roaring beast inside the cage.
Erina looked around the courtyard at the tables on their sides and burnt chairs that accompanied them. Even the air tasted burnt.
The forgotten trees and foliage that hadn't been burned to a crisp had taken over the courtyard, climbing in and out between the tables and bricks that covered the ground.
There was movement behind one of the tall evergreens that sat bushy and full of life but when Erina turned her head to look at it, whoever or whatever it was dodged behind the tree.
She didn't have time to question it because another roar came from the Jabberwocky, and Kai bent his head and said, "Let's finish this. I'm sure Bella has waited long enough."
As they moved up to the cage, Erina could see that his massive body heavy with every breath, his black scales shimmered as if they were wet and oily. The fur that wrapped around his neck and the base of his haunches stood on end as his head craned back to roar at the sky.
His jaws gaped wide in a scream that was not one sound but many. It was layered in rage and madness.
Erina's heart clenched, and the mushroom in her hand made a noise that wasn't anything like what Nibblenook had made. It mimicked the Jabberwocky in a cute yet fierce way.
When she squeezed it into her chest it made a soft, worried coo, its cap pulsing a dim blue that seemed to light up in pace to her racing heart.
Kai bent and grabbed her other hand, his fingers warm compared to her cold and sweaty palms. Yet, she could feel the tremor in his grip and noticed the way that his shoulders sagged. It was enough to betray how close he was to exhaustion.
Bella watched them walk up as she stood motionless next to the thrashing Jabberwocky. Her hair was somewhat disheveled, and she too looked exhausted. Her shirt was pulled from her brown pants, and she stood with slumped shoulders and an expression that Erina couldn't place.
Thankfully, it looked like the cage and Kai's magick surrounding it was still holding strong. It swirled, blue and black around the cage like something alive.
When they reached the cage, Kai drew in a slow breath before he loudly said, "Bella." trying to be heard over the roaring.
At his voice, the Jabberwocky whipped his head toward them and smoke poured from his nostrils in thick ropes.
"Can he breathe fire?" Erina asked, truly fearful for the first time, even though Kai stood right beside her.
He can't protect her from flames.
"No," Bella answered. "It's a lot of bluster. We're not sure why he can breathe smoke, but he's never created any flame."
That's relieving. Erina thought, relaxing a little.
He screamed a roar that was loud and piercing through the bars at Kai's face, which cut off mid-scream, leaving a ringing silence that felt louder somehow than his roaring.
"The Spirit Goddess has spoken," Kai said, his voice steady despite the exhaustion carving hollow dark spots under his eyes. "She promises to remake the Hatter. He'll become a Cheshire Cat. The first to be born this way, since long before the time of my father's father."
At his words, Bella's face lit up, and her exhaustion seemed to fall away. Her eyes grew large, and the smile that fell over her face seemed to have entranced the Jabberwocky because all of his thrashing and roaring stopped as he stared at her face.
"Truly!?" She asked, in obvious disbelief.
Kai nodded, but finished with, "But you must break the curse first, and he must agree to serve whatever Cheshire King reigns. To obey and never break our laws."
Bella's lips parted in a wide smile, but no sound came out.
A rumble came from the Jabberwocky's throat, like he was trying to speak but was unable to.
Finally, soft words came from Bella. "Then I guess it's time to end his curse."
"How are we supposed to do that?" Erina asked. She'd wanted to know more about it since the last time they spoke, but they hadn't had time to talk.
Bella's soft eyes fell on Erina before she said, "I have to speak my love to him. Not just own it in my silence."
She turned to the beast then and touched her mouth with her soft, white, fur-covered fingers.