The dark witch

‘Will you protect me?’

Under the moonlight, she looked so genuine. Her eyes were soft, like they were scared of his words. He would make any promise to her if it meant getting his darling back.

‘I would.’

The soft look disappeared. Her eyes went round. A cruel laugh echoed in the night.

She leaned forward and taunted in his ear, ‘Liar.’

A rush of anger swept through him, he grabbed her hair. ‘Listen. You do your job and find her. Remember, I have your family.’

Her clawed hands scratched his arms. He let go and within a second, she vanished into the night. It didn’t matter. She wouldn’t abandon her family.

On the day of her trial, he was determined to get the information out of her. He had made sure to gather all influential House leaders so they would learn that if they ever thought of hiding anything from him, they wouldn’t be spared. They would be put on trial just like the dark witch.

‘Tell me where she is.’

The witch, who had been thrown mid-dias looked at him through her hair. Her eyes were filled with malice and amusement. ‘Who again?’

‘Laurene.’

‘Laurene, your lover? Whom you’ve never met? Oh wait. You met her when you were kids and then you left her to get the throne. But something happened to her… isn’t that why you brought me your majesty? But how could I have done anything to that vile woman? I was simply serving my time in prision as your majesty had commanded.’

The king grit his teeth. ‘I won’t repeat myself. Tell me where she is. Now.’

‘I’ll make sure you never find her!’ she grinned. ‘I put the curse on you.’

The King struck his fist on the throne. He had had enough of this. ‘Kill her.’

‘Even if she was alive, she would never accept you, because you’re crazy. You’re mad!’

The king got up from his seat and headed towards the gate. ‘Meeting dismissed, unless everyone here wants to see the gruesome scene.’

The witch’s taunting voice carried on behind him. ‘But you knew that already didn’t you? So you’re searching for her to say sorry and capture her. She’ll never find you. She’d be dead before that.’

He was about to leave the court when it erupted into chaos. ‘What is it now?’ but the whole place was filled with the house leaders, he couldn’t see a thing.

He made his way through the crowd. ‘Oi look here, whats happening?’

An attendant rushed to him. ‘Sire! Sire! It’s the witch!’ By then he had broken through the crowd and saw what everyone was staring at. The grim smile on the witches body.

The king froze in horror as her appearance changed in front of his very eyes.

‘It was a death disguise spell’ someone whispered.

‘It had been Laurene, right from the start.’

And then the witch, who was also Laurene, said the most hurtful thing she could’ve said.

‘Remember that you killed her,’ her grin was manic. ‘Laurene.’