Gaining Confidence
"You are a witch, Clara," John revealed. My mouth dropped open in shock. Being a witch was punishable by death! "There is no way. I do not have any extra abilities to suggest I am anywhere close to being a witch." I countered. John shook his head, "You most definitely are. You are the first-born daughter of your mother's bloodline and your mother was the most knowledgeable and powerful witch in the world before her premature death." I blinked my eyes rapidly, trying to take in the new, forbidden information. John watched me closely. "You being first-born means that you are more powerful than your mother. King Edward has plans of violence, he revealed them to my father the last time they spoke. He is being helped by a powerful witch, one who uses dark magic and converses with Satan himself. The plans he has are terrible, many people will die to ensure he never loses his position as king, and will make him able to claim every kingdom he can get his hands on. You are the only one who will be able to stop him. Your mother had the gift of sight and was able to foretell the future. She foretold that you would be victorious in stopping his evil reign but only if you lost something near and dear to your heart." He spoke the last line sadly. "I have lost everything already, what else is there to tear away from me?" I said, dejected. "You have lived a thousand terrible lives in just the last few years. You deserve the world and I will help you get just that. You must stop thinking of yourself in such a negative light, Clara. You are capable of many things; in time you will see and I will not have to spend time convincing you." he said as he gently unpinned my hair and ran his fingers through it. "I am curious, do you feel the same pull toward me as I do you?" He questioned. I nodded and blushed. I could not lie; he was incredibly attractive and articulate with his words. There was an attraction there I could not explain and it was strange since I had only known him for a few hours at best. He smirked at me, "It must be because I am a handsome beast!" He flexed his muscles and I giggled. "Your laugh is beautiful. I must hear it more often!" He declared. I looked at him incredulously, nobody had ever said anything like that to me in the past. My stomach felt like it was fluttering and I did not understand the strange sensation. I pressed my hands to it to see if it would stop. "What are you doing?" John gestured to my hands. "My belly feels like it will flutter away." I innocently said. He raised his eyebrows as he laughed a deep, hearty laugh. "Tell me if It goes away when I do this," he whispered, leaning closer to me, and pressing his warm, soft lips to my cheek. I froze with my eyes wide. The flutters in my stomach swarmed to a crescendo. He laughed harder. "I guess they did not go away." I did not know what to say back to him as I had never been touched by a man before, let alone kissed.
Suddenly the door to my room opened and Mary stepped in. "No way, I thought mother was just being her dramatic self again." She said as she spotted John sitting next to me. She smiled at him politely and he returned the smile. "Hi, Mary. I enjoyed our dance earlier." He commented. "You are quite the dancer." She replied. They chuckled together and an abnormal feeling developed inside of me. I was angry at Mary but I could not figure out why. It passed quickly when John pulled me closer to him like he was sensing I was feeling off. "So, what now?" Mary inquired. "I will make sure that you have a bed and that the lock on the front of your door is taken off before I leave the palace in the morning. I will also be sure to have one of our private messengers sent here so you will have a way to contact me always." John promised, linking his fingers through mine. Mary glanced down at them and back up at me, wiggling her eyebrows. I giggled at her and she beamed a huge smile my way. "Shall I leave you two ladies to gossip?" John asked, amused. "Yes, good sir," Mary replied. "Well, here, let me give you something to talk about." He cockily said. Leaning down, he ran his fingers across the side of my face and then pressed his lips to mine gently. Mary gasped in mock surprise as I froze again, not knowing what to do. He pulled back and hugged me, "I will see you before I leave in the morn, my pretty lady." he whispered and then strode out the door.
"What did I miss?" Mary asked me, desperately looking for some interesting tidbits. "Not much. He told me about my mother. She was a witch, one of the most powerful ones there were." I chose to keep her father's plans from her to spare her. "Wow really?" she said, amazed. "Yes. I am the first-born daughter of her lineage as well which makes me even more powerful than she was. I am going to work on harnessing that power and learning how to use it." I announced, sure of the path I was about to take. Mary came over and pulled me into a hug. "You have always proven to be the strong one. I am not surprised that you are powerful." She said compassionately. "What would I have done without my best friend to help me through these harsh years? You saved me more times than I could ever repay you for." I squeezed her. "You being alive is payment enough for me." She said with finality. "Now get some sleep so you can see your handsome man in the morning." She winked at me and walked out of the room.
A strong, warm body pressed itself against me and I woke with a start. "It is just me. I wanted to sneak a little more time with you before I must leave," he admitted sheepishly. He pulled me closer to him, putting my head on his chest and wrapping his arms around me. I was drifting back to sleep as he kissed the top of my head.
The next time I opened my eyes, I was cold and alone under my ragged blanket. Sadness filled my heart at the thought that I would not see John for a long while. I got up, wiping the sleep from my eyes to try my door. Usually, it was locked and I would have to wait for someone to unlock it and let me out. This morning though, it was unlocked and I found myself shocked that I could leave the room to relieve myself in the bathroom instead of in the chamber pot in the corner of my room. I took full advantage of my freedom, even going as far as taking a bath and washing my hair. I had never been this clean in my life and it felt refreshing. I was slowly strolling through the corridor when I ran right into the queen's squishy belly. She stopped and raised her hand to slam me into the wall. I raised my arms above my head to block her hit when she stopped suddenly, growling, and then storming off. I could not believe my eyes; she had always hit me whenever she saw me. I blinked a couple of times in surprise and continued making my way toward the kitchen. I walked into the normal hustle of the cooks working on the various meals everyone enjoyed throughout the day. A few of them turned towards me confused to see me standing there, clean, and free from my prison. "What can we get you?" One of them asked. I racked my brain for the food I wanted to eat. Eggs and fried pig belly?" I asked. Sure thing!" and a few of them set to the task of cooking breakfast for me. Once I had eaten, I went wandering around the palace, exploring parts I had never been in before. I walked past something metallic that reflected an unfamiliar girl at me. I stopped, intrigued at seeing her. She had long blonde hair, clean and brushed for once in her life. Her eyes were hollow and full of despair, dark circles lining them. Her brown threadbare dress was see-through in some places and tight in the waist area. Her body was tremendously emaciated, her ribs sticking out and her skin stretched tight over her jawbone. Bright purple and yellow bruises dotted her skin. How did this contraption work? Was this girl me? "I see you have found one of the many mirrors around this place." a voice said behind me, startling me. I looked up into the mirror and saw John standing behind me with a smile. My heart started racing and excitement filled me at the fact that he was still here. I looked up at him in the reflection in the mirror. "Is that me?" I asked in a broken voice. He nodded sadly at me. "Even looking the way you do, you are still the most beautiful girl I have seen." He wrapped his arms around me and rested his head on top of mine. "I must leave soon, but I wanted to come and tell you goodbye. Also, I know of a witch who comes from my father's kingdom that I will send as my messenger to be posted here. She can help you get to know yourself and teach you how to use your abilities." He said as he grabbed my shoulders and gently turned me around to face him. "If either one of them touches you, send for me immediately. I will come as quickly as I can and I will take care of it." He said seriously. I nodded, tears welling in my eyes. I did not want him to leave, I feared the backlash he had caused by sticking up for me. He put his hand on the side of my face and kissed me again, this time harder, moving his lips against mine. I followed his lead and moved mine in the same fashion, tangling my fingers in his hair. He reluctantly pulled back and chuckled. "I will miss you, my pretty lady. I will be back as soon as I can." He said as he turned and walked back down the corridor, taking my heart with him.
It was later, around the time that the queen would be expecting her tea and cookies served. Out of habit, I found myself in the kitchen waiting for the cooks to procure a tray for me. One of them looked at me oddly when he entered from the grand dining room. "Miss? You need not wait; we have already taken the tray to the queen." He said awkwardly. I blinked a few times, feeling out of place at not having to do something I have been forced to do since I got here. I walked out of the kitchen through the dining room and past the queen stuffing her face. "You got lucky girl. Do not think for a minute that we will not find ways around that daft prince's threats." She spat at me, not looking up from her desserts. I was feeling bold, "You must be able to get up to do that and if you keep shoving those down that giant gullet of yours, your stomach will hinder you from doing that." I said, chuckling to myself and walking out of the room. I did not miss the way her jaw dropped at my words. It felt good to be the one serving the insults for once.