When the next morning eventually came, a blanket of clouds blocked out the rising sun. The air smelled grouchy. It was time for it to cry. However, the deteriorating weather did not affect the time that Artie turned back into a boy. He still changed at the first speck of daylight. He and Gwen ended up falling asleep together on his bed. By this time, instead of a wolf resting next to Gwen, it was Artie back in his human form.
He woke up first and sat up in his bed. The fifteen-year-old stretched his arms over his head and yawned, but a sudden cough soon replaced the yawn. Clearing his throat, he dropped his hands and examined them. Good. He was a boy again. There were times when he feared he wouldn't turn back into one.
Gwen woke up after him, but when she realized she had been sleeping next to Arthur, she cried out in disgust,
"Ugh!" The girl toppled off the bed and landed on her butt on the floor. The very thought that she slept with her brother scarred her. Who did that?! Yuck!
Artie crawled to the edge of the bed and gripped the side of it.
"What are you doing down there, Gwen?" he asked her.
"I slept with you! Gross!"
"But I thought my fur kept you nice and warm."
"Don't mention this to anyone!" Leaping to her feet, Gwen pointed at the boy, "Don't even speak of it!"
"Okay! Okay!" Artie held up his hands to protect himself, "My lips are zipped."
"Okay." Gwen calmed down when he said that, "Now that we've got that out of the way, it's time for breakfast. After we eat, we'll start your first musketeer lesson."
"Aw, heck yeah!" Overcome with excitement, Artie leaped out of bed and sprinted around the room. He picked up a book from his bookshelf and thrusted it like a sword.
"But let me warn you, boy!" Gwen called before he could get too excited, "It will not be easy! When you train with me, you train your little butt off!"
"I'm up for anything!" Artie spoke in an excited voice, "I've dreamt of this day for so long!"
"Really? Well then, let's head over to the dining, shall we?"
"Yes! Let's!" Even though Artie was a little nervous about returning to there after what happened last night. No on at the school, though, knew he turned into a wolf at night. Not even Percival. With Gwen next to him, he felt much safer. She would protect him, wouldn't she?
Under the darkening clouds and blustery wind, the two teenagers headed towards the dining hall for breakfast. Despite that Artie was so excited in his room, he fell behind Gwen. Behind him, up in the sky, was Arabella.
She nervously chewed on her nails when she saw how slow Arthur walked,
"It's starting. Calm down, Arabella. You did what you had to do."
"What's taking you so long, Artie?" Gwen asked over her shoulder, "I thought you couldn't wait to start training." Just as she said that, there was a clap of thunder. Then, from out of nowhere, it started to pour. Jeez! Weather changed drastically! It looked like it was going to be a rainy day after all. But that was perfect! Rain meant indoor activities. The lesson Gwen had in mind was perfect for the indoors. Now, if only Artie would pick up the pace. Then they could go ahead and start training.
In the pouring rain, Gwen came within reach of her brother and waved him on,
"Come on. Pick up the pace."
In a low voice, Artie admitted, "I...feel horrible. It's as if something is shattering inside me." Gwen gave him a funny look. Suddenly, Artie sneezed, and he rubbed his nose on his arm.
Gwen picked up his hand and patted it, "You're just hungry. Not to worry. I'll fix you up right away." Artie wasn't that hungry anymore.
To Gwen, he repeated, "I feel horrible. I don't want food, Gwen. Something is shattering inside me."
"Well, perfect!" Gwen laughed, "That means we can move straight to the lesson!"
"What about you? Aren't you hungry?"
"You know, now that I think about it, I could care less about hunger. What's important now is that we start your musketeer training."
There was another clap of thunder, but Artie didn't even flinch. "I feel horrible," he said for the third time in a row. Gwen had no idea what was going on with him. Did Artie truly feel horrible, or was he just trying to get out of training? Gwen could definitely see a dweab like him pulling that off. However, she started to have seconds thoughts when Artie suddenly swayed and fell forward.
Gwen quickly grabbed his arm, and when she spoke again, there was a touch of fear in her voice, "Artie?"
"Something is shattering inside me," he whimpered, and just like that, he collapsed into Gwen's arms.
To her relief, they were right in front of the dining hall.
Scared, she turned her head and called into it, "Help! Someone! I need a doctor! I NEED A DOCTOR!" Under Artie's weight, she slipped in a puddle of mud and fell onto her back. He landed on top of her. "HELP!!" Gwen shouted.
In the dining hall, three staff members: Nora, Dominik, and Balint (By-leant) looked up from their breakfast plates when they heard Gwen's pleas for help.
"Is someone calling for help?" asked Nora.
"HELP!!" A gust of wind tossed Gwen's voice straight into the hall, "Something's wrong with Arthur!"
"Arthur?!" Instantly, Nora, Dominik, and Balint leaped up from their seats and hurried outside to the pouring rain. They barely made out the form of Gwen and Artie in the fog, but they knew something was terribly wrong.
Only a short time later, the staff members and Gwen were carrying Artie back in the direction of the older orphanage. As they did this, thunder rumbled and the sky lit up with lightning.
Balint, who held up Artie's head, rubbed rainwater off his face and shouted, "Artie! Can you hear me?" No answer. Artie's right hand rested on his tummy while his chained wrist dangled lifelessly next to him. He was only semiconscious, and he let out a round of sudden, harsh coughing. What on Earth just happened to him? Only thirty minutes ago, he was perfectly fine!
Gwen looked up to the staff members and asked, "Is a doctor coming?" in a fearful voice.
"He's on his way," said Balint, "He just needs to ride his horse in from town. Until he gets here, we need to keep the boy calm."
Little did they know, but Arabella was following them from up in the sky.
She put her hands together in prayer and begged, "Please forgive me, Artie. For I did not want to do this, but I had to. This is your second curse."
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