I remained inside the tower, in my bedchamber, since my return from that engagement ceremony, where my presence was visibly unwelcomed and undesired. Not that I wanted to stay.
Still, it wasn't my wish to be holed up in my tower once more, where I could do nothing but look outside of the window of my room. Under the bright afternoon sunlight, birds could be seen flying in the sky freely.
"Wouldn't it be nice to be a bird and fly wherever I want to go?" I mumbled, envying these little animals.
"And then be killed by a slingshot or an arrow, only to be hung on a fire and then go into someone's stomach?" Martha idly commented as she busied herself tidying my gown and arranging the jewelry I removed after returning.
I glared at her. 'This old lady never forgets to break my happy bubble. Always so bitter.'
"Can we go out today?" I asked, looking at the busy Martha with hope in my eyes.
"His Majesty had ordered us to stay here till all the guests leave the palace," Martha informed me.
"Can't we... sneak out like always?" I asked, my voice low and my face sad. On some days, Martha and I secretly leave the Royal Palace in disguise, and those were the best days of my life.
"Today is not a good day," Martha countered, dashing my hopes once more.
I huffed. "I have been in this tower for the past seventeen years. At most, I could only go tend my small garden. When girls of my age go out and have fun, I can only see the outside world through this window. Still, I never complained. Today, I really want to go out," I pleaded.
Martha didn't reply.
"If only I were successful in running away a few years back, I wouldn't have to bear with this prison life," I frowned.
When I was seven, I tried to run away by fooling Martha and the guards. No one had thought a kid would even think, much less dare, to do so. Back then, I succeeded in leaving the tower's premises and even managed to escape the palace grounds. It was midnight, and as I was small, I could sneak past the patrolling guards.
Everything beyond the castle walls was surrounded by scary silence.
Deciding not to be scared of anything, I continued walking as fast as possible, hoping to put as much distance as I could between me and the palace. When I was in the city proper, I did my best to avoid the main streets where establishments were still open and a few night owls could be seen walking.
The alleys and the side paths looked as if so many eyes stared at me through the darkness. My will of not feeling scared started to shatter with the slightest sound made by the dry leaves and pebbles under my feet.
I remembered, just as I consoled myself that it was nothing, a scary figure in a black cloak who had its face entirely covered appeared in front of me. A long bony hand, with long nails, tried to grab me. I screamed out of reflex and ran back, but another figure in a black cloak came out of the alley to stop me from going back towards the palace.
I screamed once more, calling out for help, but none of the commoners nor the patrolling guards seemed to have heard me. All I knew, those scary figures in black cloaks came to be floating in the air.
I remembered my young self shedding tears, sitting on the ground, curling myself like a ball, and covering my face with my palm to not see those scary things.
A miracle did happen. Suddenly, everything turned silent, and the figures in black cloaks were nowhere to be seen. I lifted my face to look up, and I saw Martha standing at a distance, looking at me with a gentle expression.
Not delaying even for a moment, I ran towards Martha and hugged her tightly, crying my eyes out in fear.
Martha kneeled and hugged me back to calm me. We returned to the palace, and no one knew I tried to run away. Since that day, I never dared to step out of the palace on my own again.
Ten years had passed, yet the memory still brought fear to my heart.
Martha sighed as she went towards the wardrobe and pulled one set of plain clothes for me.
"Get ready," she instructed.
My eyes shone brightly, and I got the clothes from her. These were the clothes we used whenever we sneaked out of the palace. I hurried to get ready.
After wearing them and putting on boots, I looked at myself in the mirror as a cheerful smile painted my lips. I wore a simple yet elegant pink-colored, floor-length silk dress. Although these clothes looked too luxurious for the working class, the daughters of rich merchants and women from noble families outside of the palace wore such clothes; they were different from what royals wore. These kinds of clothes would easily let me blend in outside as this was the capital city of Abetha, and people generally wear silk clothes here.
Martha stood behind me as she held my hair. She braided my hair to make it look simple and tied one gold ribbon to fix the end of the long braid.
Martha also put on one circular hat on my head, which had delicate pink cloth surrounding it, long enough to cover my face.
It was normal for young women of the capital to put on a hat with a veil to cover their faces. In my case, this was necessary not to let anyone see my purple eyes, or else it would be a dead giveaway of my true identity. These rare purple eyes were known in the whole kingdom as the color of the witch's eyes. Martha could hide anything with her magic but not the color of my eyes.
Daily, Martha had always worn the dress that servants in the palace wore. However, most of the important servants serving respective royals had something different in their uniforms to distinguish them from the normal servants. Over the off-white dress, Martha had to put on a light purple thin fabric, a short cardigan that showed her identity of being my servant. Purple indicated the color of the witch's eyes, my eyes.
As we were heading out today, she took off that purple cardigan and put on one black robe to cover the dress and hide her identity as a royal servant.
"Shall we leave?" I asked with excitement, dying to go out.
Martha nodded and led my way out of my bedchamber. We walked till the end of the corridor, which later took a circular turn down by stairs. There, Martha worked her magic spell, and one rock in the wall was pushed back, only to open a secret door for us.
That door was the entrance to a tunnel that leads beyond the palace walls, towards the large river that wound outside the palace.
Looking at the peaceful river in front of me and the vast land teeming with greenery, I found myself mesmerized as usual by the beauty of nature. I inhaled deeply to enjoy the fresh air, fully relishing this rare taste of freedom.
"After so long... It feels great," I commented as I held my skirt and skipped my way towards the river, feeling excited like a kid who just got his favorite toy.
For someone like me, nothing but freedom could truly make me happy. It was more precious than any power or wealth in the world.
Martha followed quietly behind me, simply letting me do what I wish.
I made my way to the large boulders lining the side of the river and found a good spot to sit. As the rocks were surrounded by shallow water, I could dip my feet and play unhindered without getting my clothes wet. The calmly flowing water reached just above my ankles, and the cold against my warm skin felt wonderful.
As I was happy and smiling, as usual, one of my curses showed its effect.
The plants nearby that originally looked like ordinary shrubs, devoid of the beauty of flower blossoms, suddenly had buds grow on them that bloomed into colorful flowers. The entire place was transformed into a flower garden, and it was a dazzling view.
I looked at Martha. "Aren't they so pretty?"
"That's why my lady should smile often," Martha commented as she admired the view as well.
"Then you should bring me out often, too," I laughed, smiling brightly as the happy kid inside me was ready to come out.
Martha didn't reply, but there was a tinge of worry on her face, and I could understand why.
"Are you worried about what others will think when they see flowers blooming inside the capital?"
Martha looked at me. "It's a good thing to see so many flowers after so long."
As usual, Martha avoided answering me, but I knew what was in her mind.
"They will think this witch is happy after almost ruining the engagement ceremony of her sister, and these flowers in full blossom prove that."
"My lady should not be concerned with what others think," Martha commented.
I smiled. "I am not as long as I can be free like this."
Martha was a lady who never smiled and only thought about how to do her job perfectly. However, through her actions, I knew she cared for me. Seeing her constantly worry for me never failed to bring warmth to my heart.
"Won't you join me here, Martha?" I asked.
Martha sat on the rock beside me calmly.
"Today, can you honestly answer a question of mine?" I spoke.
"Only if I can answer it," she replied.
I took a deep breath.
"Are you a witch too?"
I had asked her this question before, but she never gave me a clear answer, not even once. Well, I would never stop asking again and again until she tells me the truth.
"Why does my lady think so?" she countered.
Her response was a pleasant surprise.
'Did she really say something instead of flat-out ignoring my question straight away? I didn't hear her wrong, right?'
Though surprised, I kept myself calm. I needed to grab this opportunity to make her talk more.
"You know magic spells," I replied.
"So any person who knows magic is supposed to be a witch?" she asked back.
Her words made me look at her face.
Although she was my nanny, Martha could not be considered old, probably just around the same age as my birth mother. Though she was a servant, there was something about her that distinguished her from normal servants of the royal family. Perhaps it was her temperament, coupled with her looks.
Grey shade of hair tied in a long braid, a pair of light brown eyes, a long face with fair skin, sharp and pointy nose, as well as a tall, slender body. Although my sense of beauty might be different from the people of my kingdom, I believed that Martha could be considered above average if not pretty by normal standards. If she were to wear luxurious clothes, no one would think she was a mere servant.
"You are old but still pretty. You are not ugly, so…."
"Who said witches are ugly?" Martha asked.
"Do I even need to ask anyone? If not that, then why would I have to cover my face?"
Martha opened her mouth to say something, but I stopped her. "I know! I know! You will say it's to protect me, but I can't stop thinking I need to hide my face because I am ugly."
"You are even prettier than your mother," Martha mumbled under her breath, but she was no longer looking at me. Instead, she stared at the river ahead, looking lost in thought. This was the first time I had seen such an expression on her face.
Moreover, she mentioned something about my mother, something other than the two things I knew about my mother. First, that she was a witch, and second, that she was the one to put this veil on my face.
'Could it be the beautiful view that reminded Martha something? A memory of my mother? Do I need to continue this to fish out more information from her?'
I couldn't help but make plans in my mind for the next time we sneak out again.
"If she was a witch, how can she be pretty?" I asked after I realized both of us had fallen in silence.
This time, Martha didn't reply, which didn't come as a surprise to me.
I had reached the phase where I could only ask questions and leave them for Martha to decide whether she wished to answer or not.
"So you personally know my mother," I concluded, not minding how she ignored my previous question.
Again, there was no reply.
"Were you friends, or did you serve under her, too?"
"How did you two meet?"
"Most importantly, is my mother alive?"
"How did she and my father meet?"
One after another, questions I hid deeply poured out of my mouth. However, Martha remained silent throughout. Before I could ask more, she stood up, and she stepped away from the waters onto the dry part of the riverbank. "We should leave, or I won't be able to take my lady to the market."
"She is my mother, but I know nothing about her. Can't you at least tell me something more about her?" I insisted, but I did get up from the rock and followed her.
'This old woman walks really fast,' I sighed, trying to catch up with her.
"She was pretty. Knowing this much is enough for today," Marth replied as she led me out of the river towards the city proper.
'This heartless woman. Just wait and watch what I'll do today,' I frowned inside, glaring at her back. 'If you think you can control me just because you know some magic tricks, then you are wrong.'
For one week, there would be only 10 chapters. The next chapters would be there after a week onward.
Paragraph comment
Paragraph comment feature is now on the Web! Move mouse over any paragraph and click the icon to add your comment.
Also, you can always turn it off/on in Settings.
GOT IT