A/N: So, this is a very short story, but I liked writing it:D And I hope you all liked reading it!! R&R, please!

-Jacki :)

Chapter Five: How to Break a Curse

Derek ran back down to the park, searching for Verdd. He finally got back to the little place where he had hidden the magician. He approached him out of breath and looking very worried.

"Arthur, what is wrong? Where is Elizabeth?"

"They- they took her." Derek said, collapsing onto the roots of one of the trees.

"They took her? Took her where?!"

"I don't know! That's the problem!"

"Well, we have to find her!"

Derek bit back a sarcastic reply, "Do you have any magic to help me find her?"

"I do have a tracking globe. It might help."

"Can you show it to me?" Derek asked, losing his patience.

Verdd nodded and slowly sat up. He rubbed his hands together, and then spread them apart as if holding a large sphere. Then a large glowing ball appeared in his hands and he handed it over to Derek. Derek carefully took it into his hands and stared into it.

"Just say her name, and it will find her." Verdd's voice was growing weaker, and he was sliding down the tree.

Derek nodded and said in a whisper, "Casey McDonald."

The gas-like substance in the ball swirled around until it created the form of Casey. She was tied up and gagged and looked like she was in a concrete room. The view panned out and suddenly Derek saw a large boiler behind her. Then the view panned out again and Derek was looking at his high school. He jumped up.

"She's in the basement at the school!" He cried, but then looked down at Verdd who was breathing heavily, "But what about you, Verdd, you need some help."

"I'll be fine for the moment. Elizabeth needs you much more than I do." The old man positioned himself more comfortably on the roots.

Derek nodded, "Thank you." and with that he took off.

He began running to the school, trying not to think of what those goons were doing to Casey. If anything happened to her, Derek wouldn't know what to do. Wait, when did Derek get to be like this? He was usually cool under pressure. But that pressure was never having the girl he lo-

Having Casey near death. Derek sped up trying not think, just to run. He finally saw the school and let out a deep breath. How was he supposed to get into the basement? It was a Saturday afternoon, no one was there. But Casey and the three brothers had gotten in there, so he could, somehow. He circled the building until he was in the very back. He spotted where someone had broken through. He grinned and ran over to the broken window. He carefully climbed into it, making sure he did not cut himself on the broken bits of glass. He fell soundlessly onto the floor and quickly checked the empty halls.

He was in. Now all he had to do was find the way down to the basement. He began to creep down the hallways, trying to find a doorway or something trying to find some sort of sign to get down to Casey. He heard a loud, but muffled cry come from somewhere close and he turned around. He saw a large black door that looked out of place. He ran over to it and threw it open. There were stairs right as he opened the door and he quickly began to run down them. They ended in a dark room. Derek saw a small light a good distance ahead of him, and he slowly made his way to it.

He now heard laughter and a deep voice, "Vince, we now have the girl. We should kill her now. We don't need the boy. Without her, he can do nothing! Let's just kill her and get it over with."

"Quiet, Robert. This plan will work. He will find her, and then we can kill them both."

Now a smaller, voice spoke, "But what if we have the wrong two. How are we certain these two are the ones?"

The second voice, Vince, spoke harshly, "Michael, how dare you doubt my ways!"

"I was just saying, it could be possible that these are not them…"

"Oh shut up Michael!" this was the one called Robert.

Derek chose that time to step into their little group by the boiler. Casey looked over the brothers' shoulders and saw him and her eyes widened. The brother in the middle took notice and swiveled around. He grabbed Derek by the collar of his shirt and threw him on the ground by Casey. Derek noticed the blood on her leg as he lifted his head up off the floor. He quickly sat up and moved over to her. The brother on the right drew his gun and pointed it right at Casey. Her eyes widened once more, and she scooted back as best as she could to the boiler. Derek scooted in front of her and the shot rang out, echoing in the large basement.

The bullet pierced Derek's chest and he fell on top of Casey's lap. He could hear her muffled screams and stared up at her. He slowly removed her gag and she looked down at him, tears in her eyes. The brother on the left tackled the brother that had shot Derek. The gun fell to the ground as Derek tried to speak to Casey.

"We… we never broke the… the… curse."

Casey shook her head, "Derek, I think what it meant by 'come together' was for us to fall in love. For me to look past my hate, and you to stop being so vain, and for us to fall in love." She took a deep breath and put her hands on his cheeks, "And Derek. I've loved you for a long time."

He took a sharp breath, and smiled, "How long? I bet it's not as long as I've loved you."

He scrunched up his face in pain as he tried to breathe again. Casey leaned down and kissed his lips softly. She broke away and smiled at him, as he slowly lifted his hands behind her head and brought her down to kiss again. Their lips lingered for a moment and they stayed close, smiling at each other.

But, suddenly, the noise of the three brothers stopped and the pain in Derek's chest was gone completely. Casey's hands and feet were no longer tied up and she was no longer sitting against a boiler. Derek sat up beside her and they both looked around. They were no longer in a basement, but in a large stone-walled room. It was elegantly furnished and it was brightly lit by the sunshine coming in through glassless windows. Casey looked down at herself and found that she was wearing a long, elegant dress that looked like something from the Middle Ages. She looked at Derek and found he was dressed in a white long sleeved button up shirt, brown Capri-style pants and white knee-high socks.

Derek noticed their wardrobe change and cringed at what he was wearing. He pulled open his shirt to inspect his bullet wound. But when he looked at the place he knew the bullet had hit, there was not a scratch on him. He looked up at Casey whose mouth was open and eyes were wide.

"What do you think-" she began, but then an idea struck her, "We must be back in King Richard's castle. Derek, this means we've broken the curse!"

"Or, we're dead in heaven…" Casey gave him a look, "Yeah, I like your idea better, too."

She smiled and then stood up. He did the same. He took her hand and he led her out of the room, trying to discover where exactly they were at. They came to a large room where two people were standing at the far end. One was standing in front of a large golden chair and the other was standing next to him. As they came closer, they recognized the second man was Verdd. The first man had a large gold crown on his head and a long, royal robe. They recognized him as soon as they saw him, they now suddenly had both Elizabeth and Arthur and Bobby and Daniele's memories. This was King Richard.

Derek and Casey bowed and curtsied low, in respect for the king. As they stood once more, they smiled at Verdd.

"Elizabeth and Arthur, I am guessing, by your sudden reappearance, that you have broken the curse?"

Derek nodded, "Yes, your highness, I believe we have."

Casey smiled, "It took us three tries, but we finally got it right."

The king nodded and smiled at the two, "Then you have my full gratitude and thanks."

"It was no problem, sire. If we had not done this, we never would have realized that we actually do love each other." Derek said, smiling down at Casey as she squeezed his hand.

King Richard smiled at the two young teenagers, "Now, Arthur and Elizabeth, you now have a choice to make. You can either stay here, and stay Arthur and Elizabeth, or you go ahead in time and live your other lives again. Now, which one would you like to choose?"

Derek and Casey looked down at each other. Casey bit her lip, "As much as I have always wanted to live in the Middle Ages, I believe our place is in the 21st century. That feels most like home to me."

Derek nodded, "I feel the same way. But, how do we go forward in time?"

King Richard motioned for Verdd to come forward, "Verdd can perform a spell that will take you to your future lives. You will be brought right to the moment before Verdd had come into your lives."

Casey stepped forward, "Will we still have our memories of what happened?"

King Richard nodded, "Yes, if you want them. We can rid you of them if you do not."

Derek took his place right next to Casey, "Nothing would make me want to forget this."

Verdd nodded, "Alright, now, if you two will just be patient with me, I will have the spell ready shortly."

Derek and Casey nodded and looked at each other, "Derek, how will we explain us to mom and George?"

Derek shook his head, "After all that we've been through, you worried about how to explain us to our parents?"

Casey smiled, "I guess it does seem a bit weird."

Derek laughed, "I don't really care what we'll say, I just want to remember this, and to be with you always."

"Aww, Derek, you sound like a Hallmark card."

Derek put a hand on his chest, and pretended to be offended, "I just spoke my heart to you, and you make fun of me."

She giggled, and stood on her tiptoes to give him a quick kiss, "To be honest, I feel the exact same way."

He smiled and wrapped his arms around her waist. They heard someone clear their throat and they turned to see Verdd standing in front of a large red archway. Through the

archway was what looked like the nighttime sky.

"This is your way back to the 21st Century. You two have my best wishes."

"As well as mine!" King Richard said and walked over to them.

"It was nice seeing you two again." Casey said, smiling and then walking over to the archway.

Derek followed her and took her hand in his once more, "Yes. Thank you Verdd and you as well, King Richard."

"Good-bye, Arthur! Good-bye Elizabeth!" Verdd called as Derek and Casey stepped into the archway.

-------

Casey stood up from her desk and hurried out of her room. She ran into Derek's room just as he was turning off his stereo. She ran over to him and smiled up at him. He smiled back and wrapped his arms around her. He leaned down and gave her a kiss. When they broke apart, Casey laid her head on his chest and smiled, very happily. Derek laid his head on her head and grinned.

"It feels good to be safe again, doesn't it?" he said.

"Yes. But it feels even better to be in your arms."

Derek laughed, "Now who's the Hallmark card?"

Casey smiled.

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When their parents got home, Derek and Casey were sitting on the couch, watching a movie. They made sure they were a good distance apart, and then they smiled up at them.

"So, did you guys have a good day all by yourselves?" Nora asked as she and George took off their coats.

Derek and Casey smiled at each other, "Yes. It was just a normal day."

Nora and George smiled and went into the kitchen as Derek and Casey laughed to themselves and put their hands underneath a blanket, intertwining them.

Arthur and Elizabeth were no longer. But, now Casey and Derek had broken the curse and were now able to live happily ever after.

For the time being anyway….