Princess and Wicked Witch

by Julie Law

  Princess and Wicked Witch

  Cursed Queen, Volume 1

  by

  Julie Law

  This is a work of fiction. Similarities to real people, places, or events are entirely coincidental.

  PRINCESS AND WICKED WITCH

  Web Edition

  Copyright ©2017 Julie Law

  All Rights Reserved

  Table of Contents

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Epilogue

  Chapter 1

  “Stop struggling.” Amelie commanded, narrowing her eyes at the woman following behind her horse, hands bound in a rope tied to the animal. The witch threw her a glare, and grumbled something under her breath, but stopped resisting the horse’s pull, and they kept moving at a calm pace.

  The knight couldn’t stop from glancing back from time to time, understanding how dangerous witches could be when they were left unattended. She had to admit her luck in catching the other woman unprepared and taking her prisoner, and she wouldn’t waste it now by being reckless.

  The witch’s attire was one that almost made the knight blush when she paid attention to it, but she tried not to let it distract her. Any distraction could be deadly when one faced a witch, and there was every indication the witch behind her was powerful. Not that one would assume so from how easily Amelie captured her, but the princess had learned a long time ago to fight against those wielding magic.

  She had to.

  For a moment, she felt a pang in her heart, then shook her head and ignored it. She should be home, enjoying her family’s company, playing with her sister and talking about balls, not fighting against witches and monsters in the countryside of other nations. She should live as a princess should, and not as a knight.

  Amelie didn’t let those thoughts linger for long, used to her new life, knowing she was doing more good as a knight than she ever had as a princess. Maybe it would be different now, if she returned to Lyones, and could use what she learned to be a better princess, but it couldn’t happen. Not before she found a way to cure her sister.

  “My eyes are up here.” The witch said with a smirk, inhaling and letting her chest become more prominent for a moment, and Amelie narrowed her eyes, but turned her back on the other woman without a word. She would gain nothing from listening to her.

  They kept moving and the sun started to set, and Amelie scowled when she realized she wouldn’t have enough time to bring the witch in before nightfall. She had hoped to get rid of the woman at once, and give her to those who would judge her, but it didn’t seem she would have much luck there.

  She glanced back at the other woman once more. It would be easy for the witch to escape if she had enough time to focus on her magic, and Amelie resigned herself to spend the night awake, keeping vigil. It wouldn’t be the first time.

  More than once, the witch tried to get her to talk, but Amelie ignored her words, as if she couldn’t hear her. The witch huffed, tried to seem unbothered, and Amelie resisted the urge to flinch. She saw something in the other woman, a nervousness, or even fear, that surprised her. Most witches would be raving mad with anger, and trying to curse her, but then that would only make her more aware of the threat. By being silent and scheming, this witch was proving herself to be more dangerous than many of the others Amelie had faced before. More fragile also, and it bothered Amelie, but she tried to ignore it.

  Eventually, the magic user fell asleep. The enchanted rope binding her kept her from settling into a comfortable position, but Amelie wouldn’t be foolish enough to loosen her bounds for even a moment. They were all that kept her safe, after all. If she had bound the witch with normal rope she could have gotten out in an instant.

  The enchanted rope didn’t stop her from doing magic, but made it hard enough that she would have to focus for a long time, and chant it out loud, which would give Amelie more than enough time to stop her if need be.

  Even then, the princess didn’t relax for a moment. Despite being sure the witch was asleep, she couldn’t risk falling asleep herself, knowing the other woman could awake at any moment and use her powers if she wasn’t there to stop her. The memory of the curse the other woman had been weaving when she caught her was enough to jolt Amelie into full consciousness.

  The witch was dangerous, no matter what façade she tried to present. Only a truly powerful witch would be able to work a curse that affected more than a person, and this witch had intended to curse an entire village. Granted, from the ingredients Amelie found, the curse hadn’t intended to be painful, or deadly, at least not directly. She was almost sure the curse was related to something sexual, at least two of the roots the witch had gathered had uses in that direction, but something like that could be dangerous on its own way.

  More than once, her eyes fell close for a second or two, but she always jolted awake without delay, and shifted a little, trying to find a position that would make her a little more comfortable, aware it would make it easier for her to fall asleep, but unable to resist the temptation. A smile adorned her lips for a moment: temptation was always something she had difficulty resisting.

  She shook her head and focused, and sighed as she remembered the hours that still needed to pass by.

  It was boring, and hard to resist closing her eyes and sleeping, but it needed to be done. Night gave way to day once more, and Amelie shook her head, trying to focus, slowly getting to her feet. It was still early, obviously, but she could see now, her horse was rested, and she would be able to make her way into the village. Without hesitation, she nudged the witch with one foot, then grabbed the rope binding her and tied it to the horse before the other woman had woken completely.

  She grumbled when she noticed her situation, and shot Amelie a glare. The princess ignored it as much as she could, and had to resist the urge to let a smirk color her lips. It shouldn’t, but seeing the other woman pissed off, even though she was trying to hide it, amused her.

  It was petty, and she acknowledged it.

  They didn’t take long to reach the village the witch intended to curse, and Amelie felt another pang when she looked back. Despite what she attempted to show, the witch was scared, and Amelie hesitated for a moment. She was aware many of the witches she had caught in the past had been executed for their crimes, but most of them had been raving monsters, barely contained by their own skin. There had been a wrongness about them, a shadow lingering over their shoulders.

  This witch was different, which was something she had come upon before, women that had used their powers to harm, but regretted it later, or simply hadn’t thought about the consequences of their actions. Not every witch was a monster, and Amelie always hesitated before bringing those to justice. It needed to be done though, people had to pay for their mistakes, they had to suffer the consequences of their deeds, or the world would become chaos.

  She looked back at the witch, and paused. The woman was beautiful, but that wasn’t much of a surprise, many witches were, at least until they lost their composure and the darkness within came forth. Her hair was dark, almost black, and long, falling in curls behind her back.

  Her skin was pale, but not unhealthily so, contrasting with her hair. Lips red as blood were trembling slightly, and Amelie winced once more, then steeled her heart. She knew better than most what magic could do to people, and how its users could be cruel. Even if she hadn’t intended to do any great harm, the witch shouldn’t have attacked the village.

  Their eyes met, and Amelie hesitated once more. The witch’s orbs were a light brown, almost amber, and they hid nothing of what the other woman felt. Amelie turned her green eyes away and swallowed, then kept moving, trying to forget the fear and despair in those eyes, an
d unable to.

  Her semblance only lightened when she saw the village ahead, and the time of getting rid of her burden approached. One glance back showed the witch was contemplating fighting, pulling against the horse and trying to get free, but Amelie only needed to narrow her eyes to make the woman desist. The witch’s shoulders dropped, defeated, and they moved on.

  The first villagers that saw them pointed at them, then drew back when the witch glared, but regained their courage once they saw how she was bound, and that she couldn’t fight back. One of them made to grab a stone and throw it, but a glare from Amelie was enough to stop him.

  When she reached the center of the village, their leader was already there, waiting for them with four other men hovering behind him. Amelie exchanged a glance with him, then undid the knot keeping the rope tied to her horse and pulled, forcing the witch to step in front of the man. The look he threw at the witch, full of something like lust and anger at the same time, unnerved Amelie and almost made her pull the woman back.

  He wasn’t the only one looking at the witch like that, and Amelie gritted her teeth.

  The village’s leader leered at the witch, then glanced up at Amelie mounted on her horse. “You can leave her here, we’ll execute her as soon as we can. Olaf will bring you your reward.” He pointed to one of the men behind him.

  “Execute?” She asked, feeling a sudden tightness in her shoulders. That had not been what she had agreed to. “There’s supposed to be a trial.”

  “Whatever for?” He asked, spitting at the witch’s feet. “She’s as black as sin, that one. You just need to see how she dresses.”

  Amelie could grant that the witch wasn’t dressed as a respectable woman should, her skirt barely reached her knees after all, and her corset let an almost indecent amount of cleavage show, but that was no reason for one to lose her life. “That’s not what we agreed upon.”

  “A trial would only be a waste of time.” The nods of the men around him, and of some of the other persons that came to watch the scene, only proved him right. Any trial that was conducted by these men and women would condemn the woman she captured to death, even if she hadn’t done anything.

  Not that she believed the witch was innocent, but she wasn’t sure she deserved death.

  One of the men stepped forward, intent on taking hold of the witch, but Amelie moved before he could do it. It was almost automatic, she barely thought about it, but before he reached the witch she pulled the woman back, almost making her fall, but taking her away from his grasp.

  “I think,” Amelie said in the sudden silence that fell around her. “That I’ll be unable to agree to that.” The witch turned to look at her, and the sudden hope in those amber eyes was enough to reassure the princess. She sighed, and turned to face the village’s leader once more. “I’ll be taking her with me to the capital, and let the authorities there judge her.”

  The men in front of her almost surged forward at those words, but then she narrowed her eyes and they stopped. One of them wasn’t intimidated though, and kept moving, even after Amelie pulled on the rope and brought the witch to her side. When he reached the other woman, and grasped her arm, tightly, Amelie didn’t even think. In a move quicker than he could follow, she pulled her sword from its scabbard and pressed it against his throat, and he finally stilled.

  She could see the fear in his eyes, and the anger at being denied the witch, and for a moment she pressed deeper, letting her sword draw a drop of blood. He swallowed then, and tried to move back, though she didn’t allow him to, following him at first until he stopped and realized he was at her mercy.

  Amelie looked away from him and back to the leader. The older man wasn’t any happier about her decision, and for a moment she thought he would try to use force to make her change her mind, but he looked at the man under her mercy, then at the ones around him and saw them looking reluctant, and he spit once more at their feet. “Go, take her, and make sure she never appears here again.”

  The princess knew she should leave, but couldn’t stop herself from twisting the knife a little deeper. “My reward?” She asked, raising an eyebrow, and he almost growled, then gestured for one of the men behind him. He fumbled for a moment, but then threw a small sack at her, and she grabbed it from the air.

  She didn’t bother to count the coins, there was no time to be wasted. Without hesitation, she pushed the man that had approached the witch with the tip of her sword, careful not to actually penetrate his skin, and then grabbed the witch and pulled her into the horse. They needed to get out of the village as soon as they could, before any of the villagers changed their minds.

  The witch gasped in surprise, feeling the princess’s arms settling around her and the woman’s front against her back, but then the horse started moving and all she could focus on was the motion.

  They moved out of the village as fast as they could, the knight pushing her horse into a gallop, keeping one of her eyes on the villagers she passed by, aware they wouldn’t be happy about her decision. She didn’t regret it though: she had been willing to bring a witch to justice, but there should have been justice in it. The villagers had no intention to give the woman pressed against her a chance to live or justify herself, they would have burned her alive without another thought, if some of them didn’t try to use her first.

  Amelie couldn’t forget the glances the men threw at the witch, and she was almost certain that before being judged the witch would have suffered indignities.

  She couldn’t let that happen. She wouldn’t fool herself, she had made mistakes in the past, and some innocents suffered from them, but she wasn’t so far lost that she couldn’t recognize what was wrong and right. The witch was strangely silent, and for a moment she almost tightened her grip around the other woman, suspicious.

  They didn’t stop any time soon. Amelie doubted any of the villagers would try to come after them, but it was better to be careful, and so she kept moving away from the village for as long as she could, until her horse showed the signs of tiredness, and she slowed down and let the animal rest for a bit. It wouldn’t be easy for him to carry two women for so long.

  “Thank you.” The words surprised her for a moment, and she almost blinked when the witch turned to look at her, but then the woman smiled, a small smile that lighted her whole face, and Amelie looked away with a blush.

  That smile had made her uncomfortable. It was far too emotional for Amelie to ignore completely.

  “This doesn’t mean you won’t pay for your crimes, I will bring you to the authorities in the capital.” She said eventually, thinking that would make the witch despair once more, but all the woman did was shrug. “I just couldn’t let them do what they planned.”

  The words made the witch smile at her again, and for some reason that tugged at Amelie’s lips, but she managed to stop herself before smiling back.

  “I’m Madeline.” The witch said, eventually, after another few minutes of silence.

  The princess sighed, and hesitated, then gave in. “Amelie.”

  It was a simple introduction, it shouldn’t have changed anything between them, but for some reason it did. The witch’s warmth against her seemed to increase, and Amelie almost gripped the other woman harder for a moment, thinking she was planning something, then realizing that nothing was going on, Madeline had simply relaxed against her frame.

  It made Amelie blush once more, this close proximity to the witch, but she did nothing to stop it, even when she knew she should. A part of her enjoyed it, a part of her she always tried to keep hidden, but that resurfaced in some occasions.

  Amelie shook her head, and tried to focus. It wasn’t easy, but she succeeded and they kept moving without another word. They had to stop eventually, to give the horse a proper rest, and eat something themselves.

  She almost reached out and freed the witch’s bounds when they came to a stop, but held herself back at the last moment, aware of how dangerous a witch could be. Not that Madeline seemed to have noti
ced her slip, or gave any complaint. If anything, the witch was behaving as a perfect prisoner.

  Amelie gestured for her to sit, then grabbed some of her provisions and gave the witch water and food, taking some for herself afterwards. She would need more supplies soon, but they weren’t far from the capital, perhaps a two or three days ride, and she could get them there.

  The thought that she would have to part from the witch then bothered her more than she expected, but she didn’t let it show. She couldn’t think like that. In a way, she understood why the witch would draw her attention: she was powerful, there was no denying that, and maybe, just maybe she would have been able to help Amelie with the greatest challenge of her life. There were other things as well, no matter how much she might have wanted to deny it.

  Madeline was gorgeous and that pulled at something within Amelie, instincts she tried to ignore, ever since she was cursed. She breathed deeply for a moment and focused on ignoring them again, but it was strangely harder this time. When she opened her eyes, she found the witch curiously looking at her, and resisted the urge to look away.

  They exchanged glances for some moments and then returned to ignoring each other. At least Amelie tried to do so, but more than once she caught the other woman looking at her, and she almost asked Madeline why. She supposed it wasn’t too strange that the witch was keeping an eye on her; she would do it if she was in her position, hoping for any chance to slip away undetected.

  Madeline didn’t seem intent on escaping however, at least it didn’t seem so. She appeared truly interested in Amelie, and that bothered the princess more than she could explain.

  The witch knew nothing about her, or her life, she shouldn’t be so curious. Then she stopped and thought, and realized maybe she was wrong. After all, she was the one that captured the witch, and then refused to let her be executed by those who hired her. Wouldn’t she be curious about her captor in such a case?