No.

No.

No.

I didn’t want this. I was just trying to live my life as a secret to everyone but myself, everything was for everyone but myself. I was trying. I was trying so hard. I’m sorry to all the elves and fairies with hopes, dreams and aspirations. I have failed you miserably…

I tripped on something and fell hard on the floor. It hurt so much. My head was throbbing and my knee hurt. I turned to see what had tripped me. It was a tail. It was the wolf king’s tail. He had moved. I scrambled away from him and plastered myself to the wall. I was not doing well. I was out of my mind scared that I had killed every living being by eating a magical flower that had grown again in a night. It had sprouted overnight in the same spot. The new flower was exactly identical to the first one. It was like deja vu and I knew exactly what would happen if I ate the flower. I would be in the wolf king’s dreams as he killed and killed and killed.

I ran to the window. I was going to throw myself off. I didn’t care how high the tower is, I was not going to do this…

I stopped. I stopped panicking, it was suddenly very calm and peaceful. A wave of peace and joy had washed over me. It was like…

“Magic” I whispered. Someone had used magic on me. Someone was watching me.

“Hello” I said looking around, “I know you’re watching me”

Silence.

“Please. I don’t want to be here anymore.”

“Where do you want to be?” a woman’s voice. An old woman’s voice.

“Where I came from?”

“The exile camp?” she laughed. Her voice was everywhere.

“With the elves.” I demanded.

“An even worse prison witch?”

I winced at the word witch.

“I’m not a witch”

“Oh?” the woman laughed, “Then explain that flower on the window sill. It looks like magic to me.”

“I don’t know magic. I don’t know what you expect me to do here.I’m not doing anything here.”

“Oh? Then explain his tail, it moved did it not?”

Of course they saw that. Even I was tripped by its weird positioning.

“I didn’t do that. He did it on his own.”

“How do you know that?”

“I…I…” I couldn’t answer.

“The witch girl is a bride.”she laughed.

“I’m not!” I shouted and the voice stopped laughing.

“He’ll kill so many people when he wakes up. What’s the point of waking him up?” I asked.

Silence.

“Hey!” I demanded.

“It is his right. The blood must be spilled.”

“Then I won’t wake him up.”

“Then you will die.”

I didn’t want to die. But they didn’t need to know that.

“I’ll do it myself. You saw me, I wanted to throw myself out the window.”

Silence.

“Answer me!”

“Then we will kill those you love.”

“I love no…”

“Aaron is his name?”

No. How did she know about that?

Ah. The conversations I had been having with the wolf king. She had been listening in on them. I was a fool. A complete and utter fool. I hated myself.

“You can’t…”

“Find him?” she was smiling as she spoke, you could tell, “We found you, didn’t we?”

“Listen here witch bride.” she continued “ The ball is in your court. Wake our king or he dies. Choose wisely.”

The silence continued. I was alone again. I could tell she was gone.

I felt so helpless and angry. Who would put such a choice on the shoulders of a young orphaned girl?

The wolf king and his people were terrible people. They were terrible beings.

“Aaron what do I do?” I choked and tears fell slowly down my cheeks.

I felt her presence as the old woman returned.

“You’ve eaten, I expected a fight.”

“I want to live.”

“Wise” she said.

“And I want Aaron to live.”

“Also wise.”

“But we make a deal.” I swallowed “A boon. A wolf boon with your leader.”

“Oh, the witch bride knows about the wolf boon.” She laughed, “Our leader sleeps girl. You’re right next to him.”

“I’ll deal with that.”

“And what’s the boon, witch bride?” the old woman asked curiously.

“He cannot destroy the Enchanted Valley for a year.”

And the woman laughed.