Enchanting Beauty (The Twisted Villain Chronicles Book 1)

by Bianca Mckay

  "Oh, Mari! It's Aribelle. I don't know what made her do it. I don't know why she would. I can't look. I can't see her like that," Agatha mumbled nearly incoherent.

  Mari's gray brows drew together in confusion, her wrinkled face pinching.

  "My friend, you aren't making any sense. What is it that Aribelle has done?" Mari asked.

  "She jumped! Over the Goddess damned edge!" Agatha screamed.

  Mari let out a tinkling laugh that felt like a slap in the face to Agatha. Never would she have thought her friend of many years would laugh in her face over the death of Aribelle, the child Mari herself watched and helped raise.

  "You have the wrong of it, my dear friend. Aribelle's been doing that reckless stunt for many moons. I, too, became practically hysterical the first time I witnessed her diving off the edge of The Pit. But she is perfectly fine and likely already sparring down there. You've nothing to fret over, go see for yourself before you mourn a daughter you have not lost," Mari said gently.

  "You've seen her do this before and never thought to tell me? This is madness! She could die!" Agatha said, her body quaking with tremors as the warmth of impossible hope warred with the chilling image of a broken Aribelle that kept flashing in Agatha's mind.

  Mari gave her a long, strange look before saying gently, but firmly, "Perhaps you should speak to Aribelle about this."

  Agatha snorted loudly, shaking her head and raising her fist in front of her friend's face.

  "I am asking you. Why have you not discussed this with me? If Aribelle is out of control, I need to know. I cannot protect anyone, including her, from herself if I do not know these things," Agatha fumed.

  "Aggie, you really should speak to Aribelle. But I will say that if I thought anyone, including Aribelle, was in any danger, I would have brought it directly to your attention," Mari said, sounding hurt.

  Agatha was growing more worried about Aribelle's behavior by the minute; she just discovered that Aribelle's vision was developing into that of a true beast of the night, and now this? What else was Aribelle hiding from her? She wondered. Then there was Mari, who should have come straight to her with knowledge of Aribelle leaping from the edge of a thousand-foot drop, but instead, Mari had kept that hidden from her as well.

  "I know that. Of course, you would. I am sorry. My emotions are just a little frayed right this second. I'll catch up with you later, I am going to go see with my own eyes that Aribelle is alright," Agatha said half-heartedly.

  Only half of her words were sincere. Yesterday, she would have never questioned Mari's loyalty to her, to their coven. Today, everything seemed so different. It was quite odd. She had been worrying herself over discussing some very important changes with Aribelle later tonight, but it appeared that over the past several months, things had been changing in Jurot. How much changed, Agatha did not know, but she would get to the bottom of things tonight, and goddess willing, she could keep the beast tamed as she implemented these changes.

  Her legs still felt shaky and weak as she descended the steps into The Pit, but Agatha pressed on. After twenty minutes, she reached the bottom step and entered the training area. The Pit was a mile long on all four sides, filled with steaming springs, a waterfall, and towering pine trees. It was a private forest dedicated to only training for magic and battle, a secluded area where the lives of others would not be interrupted or endangered by inexperienced witches, beasts, and the few humans who had sworn loyalty but declined the gift of a beast counterpart.

  Agatha walked towards Aribelle's favored training area, where the more skilled swordsmen sparred. A particularly icy patch of dirt had her grasping onto thorny bushes to keep her balance, tiny pinpricks of pain radiating up her arm. After her near fall, Agatha strolled carefully through the woods, noting there were no sounds of distress, just the usual grunts of exertion, yelps of pain, and shouts of triumph. With each passing minute, Agatha grew more reassured by Mari's earlier words of confidence that Aribelle had easily survived the jump over the edge. What was not reassuring was that Agatha could not convince herself that any excuse Aribelle gave her would be sound enough to justify why in the Goddess' name she chose to jump in the first place.

  "You must be prepared to kill when there is no other option than your life or theirs," Aribelle's voice hissed.

  The reverberating growl that rumbled through The Pit with her words set Agatha's teeth on edge, the hair on her nape prickling. Standing hidden behind the brush, Agatha stared out into the clearing before her, where Aribelle stood aggressively over Wren's small frame cowered on the ground.

  "I don't want to kill anyone," Wren whimpered up at Aribelle.

  Agatha's heart ached for Wren, who looked utterly pathetic, lying on the ground at Aribelle's feet. Wren's blonde hair was matted, dirt and blood caked into the snarls that hung below her waist, and though Agatha's eyesight had been deteriorating as of late, the look of fear on Wren's face was unmistakable.

  "Then go back to the kingdom from which you came," Aribelle shouted. "It was Olthaire, was is not? Tell me, did they feed you well there as you lay dying on their streets? Did anyone offer to help you without payment of your body or coin? You were neglected and abused by the very people you wish to spare from harm! This calls into question your loyalty, Wren. I will not be disobeyed, so if you cannot stomach punishing the very same ones who left you to die on the streets of Olthaire, then go back to that life of starvation and homelessness."

  "I don't want to be like them," Wren cried.

  "You have until tomorrow to give me your decision, Wren. I will not tolerate another hesitation from you. You have no other choice but to kill or be killed by them, so next time you fucking kill them, or you will no longer be my burden to bear," Aribelle growled, stalking away and leaving the woman to cry in the field alone.

  "It is not polite to spy on people," Aribelle said dryly from Agatha's left side.

  Gasping and clutching her chest, where her heart thundered a frantic rhythm, Agatha turned wide, guilty eyes to Aribelle.

  "H-How did you--"

  "A lot has changed while you've been doing Goddess knows what," Aribelle said, waving a hand in front of her.

  Agatha led the way back to the stairs, her mind reeling. Indeed, it appeared much had changed, but one thing was clear: Aribelle was still in control of the beast. If her control had waivered in the cottage, it was clear now that it was the crystals that had lost some of their magical charges. A beast out of control would have ripped Wren's prone form to shreds, leaving nothing but cleanly picked bones.

  "About where I've been...I was hoping we could discuss that over supper," Agatha said, steeling herself.

  "Of course, Momma. If you'll excuse me, I need to see Nilzan before I leave here. I will see you for supper and look forward to truths coming out," Aribelle replied.

  "What truths?" Agatha asked, swallowing loudly.

  When there was no answer, Agatha turned around and was startled to see that Aribelle had disappeared without a sound. With an uneasy chuckle, Agatha decided to add stealth to her growing list of concerning new behaviors. Quickly ascending the steps, Agatha hurried home to make Aribelle's favorite dinner of beef tips soaked in gravy with a side of peppered potatoes. After dinner began to simmer on the stove, Agatha cleaned the cottage and went about her daily chores to keep herself busy and her mind off the difficult discussion she and Aribelle would have later.

  Several hours later, after the cottage was scrubbed spotless, the laundry folded, and the table set for supper, Aribelle was shaking with anger in her chair across from Agatha.

  "I must have lost my Goddess given hearing. I could have sworn you just said that we should consider an alliance with Vildaheim and Olthaire," Aribelle said, her spoon halfway to her mouth as anger flashed in her blue eyes.

  "Much has changed in twenty years, my beauty. An alliance would ensure that our people--"

  "My people," Aribelle interrupted.

  "Pardon?" Agatha asked sharply.

&nbs
p; "They are my people. They became my people when I was the only one here to lead them, while you were off apparently sipping wine with our enemies," Aribelle said matter-of-factly.

  "None of these people would be here if it wasn't for me, Aribelle. The coven. I protected them when the troops invaded Meyorn. I created the beasts, saved them from their tragic lives of poverty and endless hunger," Agatha replied curtly.

  "That is true," Aribelle conceded with a nod of her head.

  Agatha relaxed a fraction, her back still ramrod straight as her blood simmered in her veins.

  "It could also be said that all of this is your fault," Aribelle said.

  Agatha felt the blood drain from her face as Aribelle sat across from her with an arched brow and a wicked smirk.

  "You know," Agatha said shakily.

  Agatha should have heeded Aribelle's earlier words because now there was no escaping certain truths coming out.

  Three: Breaking Point

  “I don’t want to hurt people anymore, Momma.”

  “You must, my beauty, lest they hurt you first. Everyone is your enemy.”

  "Of course, I know, Momma. Did you think it would remain secret forever? Did you not think that the very beasts you created for me would, in turn, become loyal to me?" Aribelle sneered.

  Sweat beaded on Agatha's brow, her instincts demanding her to flee in the face of the beast's anger, but she dug her fingernails into her palms, forcing herself to show no fear.

  "You put on a fantastic façade, but it is of no use to you anymore. Fear became a distinct scent on the eve of my eighteenth birthday. You stink up the cottage with your weakness on a daily basis, so you can stop pretending you are fearless. Unless, of course, such fallacies soothe you at night while you toss and turn, stuck deep in the throes of your night terrors," Aribelle said with a cruel smile.

  "I was young and foolish. I let my anger and humiliation get the best of me, my beauty, you can understand that, right?" Agatha pleaded.

  Agatha could see it happening, the beast rising swiftly to the surface as it's snarl of rage rattled the windows. She flinched as claws sprouted from Aribelle's fingers, digging into the wooden table, her eyes flashing crimson.

  "You cursed an infant to spite a woman who insulted you at the market," Aribelle snarled. "You damned me just hours after I was born, yet you raised me to call you my mother."

  "I saved you, Aribelle. I may have cast the curse, but I was not the one who abandoned you," Agatha whispered brokenly, her cheeks glistening with tears.

  "Saved me?" Aribelle choked out incredulously. "You forced their hand, did you not? Tell me, mother, what would have become of me, of my parents, if when I shifted at the full moon just weeks old?"

  Agatha buried her face in her hands, shame flooding her. Nothing could have prepared her for this day, the day when Aribelle discovered the truth about how she ended up here with Agatha in Jurot.

  "Answer me!" Aribelle roared, fur bristling up from her arms as her fangs descended.

  Agatha cast a terrified glance around the room, the crystals still dimmed, but fully charged with her magic. Her gaze snapped back to Aribelle, horrified as her adopted daughter let out an evil chuckle. Aribelle stood slowly, moving with predatory grace, as she crossed the room to the nearest crystal embedded in the wall. One claw-tipped finger dug into the stone, neatly dislodging the crystal. Aribelle turned back to Agatha, looking her in the eye as she closed a fist over the stone, crushing it easily until it was nothing but a powder that slipped through her fingers like sand.

  "Your magic does not fully enchant me any longer," Aribelle said.

  Agatha's heart lurched upwards towards her throat.

  "That cannot be," Agatha whispered, appalled.

  Aribelle cackled humorlessly, baring her teeth, her fangs gleaming in the dim lighting.

  "You are wrong. It should not be true, but yet it is. This, too, is your fault. If you did not start disappearing for weeks at a time, I would likely have stayed under your enchantments for the rest of my life. But things become clearer when your food isn't being drugged, and you aren't locked inside a prison of spelled walls," Aribelle replied.

  Agatha watched warily as Aribelle stalked around the table across from her, going back and forth in agitation.

  "Mari had no right to tell you all of this," Agatha said quietly, unable to think of anything better to say.

  "I accuse you of lying my entire life and keeping me enchanted with your magic to suppress the very beast you created, and you direct the blame to someone else?" Aribelle snarled, then added as an afterthought, "This was not Mari's doing."

  Agatha scoffed, betrayal burning deep in her belly, overpowering the shame she felt for her past indiscretions. Mari had always coveted the position of coven leader, and at last, found a way to achieve such status without having the skill or power to overthrow Agatha honorably. Well, one thing Agatha was certain of was that shaming her out of coven leader would not work on the others, and Mari would never have the support of the other witches and warlocks of Jurot. Mari played a dangerous game that would have her falling on her own cauldron because, after this, Agatha would make it her mission to see the other woman banished from the safety of Jurot.

  "Of course, it was Mari who told you these things. She has envied me for years and has longed for the leadership position over the coven," Agatha said with a shake of her head.

  "It was the merchants of Vildaheim who told me the whole sordid tale, not Mari. Though Mari did fill in the blanks, like how you've controlled my beast, why you created more beasts, though I stand by what I told her. I think she is well and truly misinformed about your intentions with my people," Aribelle replied.

  "Y-you left the forest? After all, I've done to protect you from those savages?" Agatha shouted, then cringed when Aribelle leaned over the table, putting a fur-covered nose and crimson eyes just inches from her face.

  "Should I thank you for protecting me from the persecution and my inevitable murder that never would have fucking happened if I were left an innocent human child?" Aribelle roared. "This has never been about me; everything has always been about you and how you felt and what you wanted. There you were nineteen years ago, alone and ridiculed because of your magic. A couple of halfwits tease and abuse you, and before you know it, the legendary Agatha Crowle is being chased back to her home. You were humiliated and sought to do the same to those who had upset you so much in the market. But you didn't just find the couple, no, you also found a newborn babe and decided that an innocent life should pay the price of her parents' ignorance."

  "How do you know all of this? That was so long ago. I didn't think anyone would still remember," Agatha confessed in a whisper, a shaking hand covering her mouth as more tears fell.

  Aribelle reeled backward as though she had been slapped, her eyes turning back to their sparkling blue as hurt flashed across her face.

  "Again, I reveal the truth, and you are more worried about who to blame for my knowledge than you are repentant of your own actions," Aribelle said, sounding mystified. "If I did not know how deeply your betrayal runs, I'd say I'm glad to have such a ruthless bitch by my side. As for how I know, I will tell you the story of my eighteenth birthday."

  Aribelle pulled the chair from the table and sat down. She looked upon Agatha with an expression of eagerness and excitement, and Agatha knew she would not particularly enjoy this story. Clearing her throat loudly, Aribelle began to tell her tale.

  "On the day of my eighteenth birthday, I had begun to think you had been found spying in Vildaheim. You had departed three weeks prior and never had you been away from home for so long, not as far back as I could recall at least. I awoke that morning, feeling uneasy like something was amiss. I had, by then, already suspected you were drugging me, and the instant calming of the crystals in the house stopped working. I could still feel their magic, but it was a..." Aribelle's head cocked as she searched for the right word. "...aggravation, an itch that crawled over my skin. So, I
called a meeting with everyone in The Pit, ordering only the children and the elderly to stay behind. I explained to one, and all my suspicions about whatever magic I was ingesting, and the coven confirmed that it was likely. Even so, I wanted you saved. I would lead them all to victory against Vildaheim, rescuing you from their evil clutches.

  "When I failed to hear a word of your disappearance in the villages and their bordering towns, I went to the marketplace. A man approached me and asked my name. I told him I was Aribelle, Queen of Beasts, and you know what he did? Laughed. I quickly realized my mistake. These were people who would be terrified of me, of what I turned into. So, I laughed along with them, allowing the growing crowd to think I was merely jesting, but they wouldn't let it go. They were a bunch of bullies in need of a new person to torment, which led me to believe that they were the ones responsible for your disappearance. Imagine my surprise when I started shouting about a witch and a filthy woman dressed in rags clutches onto me, her bloodshot eyes wide and fearful as she told me the story of the witch who cursed her," Aribelle said the last with a knowing smile.

  Agatha felt sick to her stomach. The woman she had cursed so many years ago, Aribelle's true mother, had been the one to reveal this awful truth.

  "That was not the only thing I learned that day, however," Aribelle said with menace. "Those people in Vildaheim, they are awful, prejudice, arrogant, and overall just foul. But they did not fear me. They were not terrified when I said I was the Queen of Beasts. They wanted to hurt me because they thought me weaker than they. They wanted to push me around and bully me because they thought themselves capable of doing such things. In the marketplace of Vildaheim, I was the only threat, so it made me wonder why you raised me to believe so differently."

  Agatha's mouth flopped open and closed like a fish, no sound escaping. She could think of no excuse for the many twisted truths and outright lies she had told Aribelle as she grew up.

  "I figured you would have nothing to say. You only have redirects and lies to mutter, but when faced with a simple question like why you did something, it just simply is not in you to take responsibility. I wonder how you will feel about the end of my story?" Aribelle said