Morgana’s eyes dimmed but continued to spark with magic. She walked away to where she had originally stood upon her entrance into the conflict and there she turned to face them all.
She raised her hands before her and shivered as cold air slipped under her cloak. “Líhting,” she said. Corinna gasped as her arms went lax by her sides. The others seemed to have undergone the same freedom. Gavin could be heard checking on Isabelle, but Veronica was still unconscious. Corinna was staring blearily at the sky when shadows covered her view.
“Corinna.” It was Alexander, all hairless skin and contours.
“Can ya here me?” Alastar. Corinna wanted to smile, but she shivered instead.
“Morgana,” Alexander called, pleading. Corinna could hear it in his voice – he wasn’t sure if Morgana was trustworthy, but she was all they had.
The witch strode over and knelt slowly by the three. She placed a hand on Alastar’s shoulder to support herself.
“Corinna,” she spoke. Her eyes had ceased their glowing. Their green was surprisingly clear in Corinna’s sights, even while everything else was growing foggy. “I’m sorry. Please allow me to help.”
Corinna shivered again but managed to nod. A very warm, very human finger wiped at the blood trailing down Corinna’s cheek from her mouth. It was on Alexander’s side of her, if the voices were to be trusted. She smiled at what she hoped was Alexander’s face.
“Gelácnian,” Morgana said, low but clear.
Corinna closed her eyes and felt the most pleasant sensation run through her body, originating from her punctured stomach and the cuts on her fingers. It was warm and spread throughout her stomach, chest, and throat like a quick moving honey. A gasp escaped her lips and then she sighed. All pain vanished from her, every minor bruise or bump along with the mortal wound. Corinna slowly opened her eyes and took in a deep breath.
“How do you feel?” Morgana asked.
“Brilliant,” Corinna said, voice soft and airy.
Morgana smiled and lifted from the ground. Corinna was about to push herself up, but two sets of strong arms lifted her together. As soon as her feet were on the ground, Alastar pulled his hands back, and Alexander pulled Corinna into his chest.
“I thought I had lost you forever,” he said. Corinna smiled and reveled in the smoothness of Alexander’s chest, the firmness of his muscles. It was odd, Alexander not being large and hairy, but this one felt just as good with his around wrapped securely around Corinna.
“I thought you would be a beast forever,” Corinna said. “I suppose we were both wrong. Alexander… You love me?”
The prince’s face had never been as pink and human as it was in that moment. He took a deep breath and leaned his forehead upon Corinna’s. They kissed then, something richer and cleaner than the first time.
“I owe you my life and my soul,” Alexander spoke against Corinna’s cheek. “I only let you go because I was trying to save you from me. But I do. I love you, and I will keep you forever.”
Corinna laughed then and was met with another kiss. Her face was hot and so was her heart. For a moment, she felt at peace, as though what had just happened had been nothing but a horrible daydream. Then Alastar cleared his throat and brought it all back into stark reality.
He was standing by Morgause’s body and watching them. With the toe of his boot, he was pushing around Morgause’s arm like that of a doll. When Corinna’s eyes landed on him, he shook his head and pressed a hand to his empty scabbard. His hand clutched around air a few times and then he grew anxious, spying his weapon on the ground several feet away. He took a deep breath.
“Why did ya help us?” the young duke demanded, turning from the lovers to Morgana and pulling his dagger out. “Ya have a sudden conscience? You were still part of the plot.”
“What was the plot?” Morgana asked. She crossed her arms about her chest and set a steady gaze on Alastar.
“I heard what yer sister said. You were gonna massacre the people of Paesaggia, even the innocents. Wouldn’ take the two of ya long to move on ta another kingdom, would it?”
“That was not the plan,” Morgana snapped. Alastar flinched away from her, and she frowned. “At least, it wasn’t in the beginning. That’s why I helped.”
Belle stepped up by Corinna and ran her hands over the other’s slightly exposed stomach, self checking that the wound was healed. Corinna smiled and embraced her.
“So what was the plan?” Gavin asked. In his arms, he held the limp body of Veronica.
“When the king began his rampage against magic, Morgause and I devised a plan to force the king to rescind his orders. Or… I originally felt that was the plan. Morgause would place a curse on the prince and only remove it once the king had made amends. However, the curse she chose was the Creature Curse, and she could not guarantee the removal of that one. When I heard what she had done, I went to the castle and promised the king I would help his son. I would prolong his life.”
“Shitty life,” Alastar grunted.
“Well..,” Alexander mused. He put a hand on Corinna’s shoulder and then nodded. “Yes. Pretty much.”
Morgana smiled sweetly, as one would smile at something cute a toddler had done. “I took you away from the negativity and the doubt. I brought you to live in nature, where you would have more time. You would not have lasted a year with your father hovering around you.”
“And Morgause went along with your changes?” Corinna asked.
“She felt the seclusion would work to make Alexander worse. She felt it was the best possible choice. We made the decision – I would stay and look after Alexander. She would live in the cities. It would keep us out of range should the king hire a seer to hunt us down.”
“How would that help?” Alexander asked. Morgana set her gaze on Corinna, as though her next words were for her and not the prince.
“We’re sisters. That does not happen often in magical families. There is usually only one child. When we are together, our powers are amplified. When she uses her powers around me, she is also using mine. Same when I use my powers,” Morgana explained.
“So she partially electrocuted herself?” Alastar asked, a bemused smile creeping upon his lips.
“In part,” Morgana admitted, smiling in return. A frown quickly replaced it as Morgana looked upon her fallen sister. “I don’t know when she started to hate the people of Paesaggia so much. I never wanted to harm the people, only the king.”
“So then why did you electrocute her?” Corinna asked. “Are you planning to kill the king for starting the purge?”
Morgana looked stunned and pressed a hand to her chest. “No,” she said. “Alexander will punish the king as the rightful living heir to the throne and by derailing his war-like agenda. I shocked her because she started the purge.”
“What? Why on Earth would she start the purge against her own kind?” Gavin asked. In his arms, Veronica groaned and her eyelids shivered in waking. Alastar shrugged and retrieved his fallen sword.
“Corinna, you recall my anger over Niviene when you left the other day?” Morgana asked, turning to her. Here the ancient witch paused and pressed her lips together. Her cloak slipped off her shoulders and she walked over to Alexander and threw it over the prince’s shivering shoulders. “Morgause caused Niviene’s disappearance.”
“You didn’t seem to believe that when I left,” Corinna said. Morgana frowned and looked at the ground.
“You heard her say it,” Morgana murmured. “She took out the court sorcerer first. Niviene said something like that before she disappeared. I never thought to believe her.”
“So what happened to Niviene? I’ve seen her.” Corinna absently spun the golden bracelet on her wrist, which hadn’t stopped shaking since Morgause appeared in the field of winter trees.
“I think Morgause must have cursed her as well,” Morgana said. “Once I take care of Morgause, I’ll look for the truth and try to make amends for my part in the deceit. I’ll try to help her break
whatever curse my sister has inflicted.”
“What will you do with Morgause?” Alexander asked. Morgana’s cloak looked too small for him, but he pulled it around him regardless to block out the cold. Morgana herself bent down by her sister’s unmoving body. Breath was evident in the small rise and fall of her chest.
“There are places I can take her, places of the old ways. Until this is all sorted, I don’t know how far I can trust her. She’ll be safe where I take her, and she won’t be able to do any harm,” Morgana said. She reached a nimble finger out and brushed the hair out of her sister’s face. “I am sorry for not stepping in sooner. She’s my sister. I wasn’t aware she would go so far.”
Morgana stood and looked over the group with a sort of fondness that Corinna had witnessed in much older women looking at their grandchildren. Her eyes lingered over Alexander, and Corinna couldn’t help her bubbling jealousy at how openly she watched him, though everyone was doing it. Corinna stepped in front of Alexander and feigned feeling cold as the reason.
“Humanity suits you, Prince Alexander,” Morgana said and curtsied, her head lowered in a subservient bow.
“Loyalty suits you,” Alexander replied. “I’m glad to know you’re not against me.”
“Not today,” Morgana teased and smiled. “So what do you plan to do now?”
“I shall return to Paesaggia, of course. Morgause mentioned a new heir. I have a kingdom to defend from war and a crown to defend from usurpers,” Alexander said. Morgana gave him a long and hard stare, and Corinna understood that the response had not properly answered her question.
“I,” Corinna began but found her breath hitching in her throat. Her eyes glanced over to Alastar, and her heart skittered anxiously. Alastar shrugged and emitted a noncommittal noise.
“Prince Alexander,” he said. He walked around before Corinna and Alexander and held his sword horizontally before him, balanced between his hands. “I apologize for my actions. Enchantment or not, I tried to kill you.”
“My curse is broken,” Alexander said. “Your wounds are gone.”
Alastar shook his head and knelt down in the snow. “I offer my sword to yer service for as long as I shall live in recompense for my offense. Yu’ll have an alliance with the house of Ragnelle for as long as I have some power in it.”
“I accept your oath of fealty, but we will need to make this nice and legal once we arrive at the capital,” Alexander said. He was smiling as he slid his hand down Corinna’s lower arm and into Corinna’s hand. Alastar did not miss the movement.
“I wish the two of ya all the happiness,” he said, rising too his feet. “Though I don’ know how I’ll find another one like ya, Corinna. My heart belongs to you.”
Morgana folded her arms together to block out the cold and let out a stream of steam from her lips. Corinna glanced over to her as the bangle gave a particularly noticeable shudder. Morgana looked smaller without her cloak, but her energy was no less formidable. She winked in Corinna’s direction.
‘Take care,’ she said through telepathy. ‘There will be lots of revenge from others in the future.’
‘You told Morgause you hadn’t seen our futures,’ Corinna pointed out.
Morgana shrugged. ‘I said I had not foreseen this day. I said nothing about the days to follow.’
‘Will we see each other in the future?’ Corinna asked.
‘The future is always flexible, Corinna. We shall meet again – but on what terms, I can’t say.’
‘Until then.’
Corinna nodded to her, and she tipped her head in return. Then Corinna watched as Morgana’s eyes sparkled with infant light, and she and her sister faded from the yard. Corinna squeezed Alexander’s hand, made entirely of flesh and bone, and leaned back against him.
“It’s cold,” a tiny voice spoke up. Corinna smiled over at Veronica, barely conscious in Gavin’s arms. She cast her eyes to the sky and took a deep breath. Winter had barely begun, and it was the same with the war. The curse was broken, but there was so much more to yet go through.
Chapter 27 – Speaking of Forever
Just west of the village and farms of Lagra, through a dense but manageable forest, there was a great kingdom, called Paesaggia. Everyone in Lagra strived to make a least one tour of its capital, a city of the same name. It was known for its extensive market and its grand and towering palace. The castle was a masterpiece of smooth stones and granite, a strong defense for every wall and an iron fast gate to protect the bailey. The entire castle sat on a leveled out hilltop that was as long as it was wide and could be seen from half a day’s journey away should the rest of the terrain permit. Majestic and fearsome gargoyles stood sentinel on every tower, and red and gold banners hung from every window and flew from every flagpole.
In Paesaggia, the castle was the jewel. It was built on a nearly perfect square of raised land. The bailey was large enough to support roughly two-thirds of the population of the city – standing room only. Defenses around the wall made it nigh impregnable. It was twelve feet of hard stone. The gatehouse was reachable only across a drawbridge, which was drawn up if a threat of any sort was discovered whether inside the castle walls or without. The moat ran with very little water at the base, but it made the sides muddy and slippery. On the upper half of the ascending walls, pikes were placed to stab any attempt to leap the moat. Battlements allowed for a well prepared army to make a grand stand.
Inside the walls, the king housed a great number of people – from the court physician to the court blacksmith or seamstress. Also living within the walls was the stable master. The royal stables resided inside the protective walls and a wide grazing field took up a good portion of the right side of the interior. This area was littered partially with training grounds for knights. Currently grazing in the field was a proud, black Thoroughbred mare and a deep brown Clydesdale with an unusual silver mane. The armory stationed by the training grounds was busy with moving spectators, who had come to gaze at the glimmering sword of a visiting noble.
Three towers spread themselves evenly around the main center of the castle where the king and his attendants and guests took residence. In the back left tower, winding stairs circled up two flights before evening out into a large, unused room that rose up another two floors with more stairs leading up higher within the room. This room was dusty and cluttered, with books and broken vials spread about the room as though someone had either fought to stay or had left in a hurry. This was the old court sorcerer’s room.
Corinna dragged her fingers across a pinned open scroll and wrinkled her nose at the layer of gray that collected on her finger.
“Your father certainly doesn’t like to look back on the past,” she said. “I doubt anyone has set foot in here in a decade.”
“Niviene was a taboo topic when I was a child. Even during my most reckless rebellions, I never once dared come up here,” Alexander admitted. He kept his hands to himself, avoiding the tables and walls like they would curse him if he brushed against them.
“Since you bring up being rebellious, you were brilliant down in the main hall yesterday.” Corinna leaned against the table and simply hoped it wouldn’t crack and fall under her weight. Alexander smiled in that smug way he had and shrugged.
“I think he took my return rather well,” he said. “The people should be very pleased at the party tomorrow night, as well.”
“Because you’ve returned alive or because you’re being crowned official heir to the throne?”
“The populous will cheer me as the heir. It will be the nobility who crowd about for rumors of my whereabouts for the last eight years. But you know what?” Alexander asked, stepping close to Corinna.
“What?” Corinna asked. She reached up and ran her fingers over Alexander’s ear while her eyes darted between that and the prince’s eyes.
“I’ll be with you the whole time after the crowning, and they can all moan about it in beautiful silence.” Alexander leaned down and captured Corinna’s lips with
his own.
“That thought doesn’t make a whole lot of sense,” the peasant pointed out. The prince chuckled.
“Neither does your fascination with stroking my ears,” he said.
Corinna smiled sheepishly. “I’m sorry. It’s just a lot to get used to. Remember, two days ago, you were quite different.”
Alexander kissed Corinna’s forehead and then ruffled her hair. “Yes. Two days ago, I could have killed you with claws. Today, I could just throw you in the dungeon.”
Corinna watched as her prince moved away and examined the room. He tried to hide it, but Corinna could see the child-like curiosity oozing out of him. This was a new room for both of them. Out of the tour Alexander had been giving her, this was the only place Alexander had never been either. The blonde stepped around the room with a hesitant inquisitiveness, peering over the open tomes on the desk and the walls of other literature. He stared through half empty, stagnant vials and at a partially opened drawer that contained some sort of long, thin plant.
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