The Cursed Girl, #1

by Maria Vermisoglou

  “And have your leg cured also...”

  “That too. And be grounded for life. Let’s go back to our boring life again.” We said our goodbyes.

  The flower wasn’t truly a flower. It was a naiad that lived in a flower, and the naiad said we could ride deer for our return home. In addition to a quicker way home, the naiad gave us two dresses to express her gratitude. We tried to refuse, but accepting a ride on deer would be better, especially for my injured leg.

  We rode through the remainder of the night, and we arrived home with the sunrise. The journey home took a fraction of the time it had taken to reach the forest since these were not normal deer. The deer delivered us right to our door. As we dismounted, I wondered how the deer had known where to go. We bowed to the deer and thanked them. Yes, we could talk with animals too.

  The door opened and Mother stood inside with her hands on her hips. Anger frosted her voice. “Where did you go? I absolutely forbid you to go. Where did you injure yourself?”

  “If you don’t know where we went, why are you yelling at us?” I asked, trying to throw her off. But, of course, it didn’t work. I have no idea how my mother could see right through me.

  “I know where you went. Why can’t you sit at home like all the other girls and be nice, good, and kind?” she said while I sat in my bed exhausted and with my leg hurting very badly.

  I looked at Ritta. “Go, take the medicine to the palace. It seems like she will be yelling for a while. Mothers.”

  She nodded and discreetly took the medicine, and left like a thief, without making any noise at all. My mother talking and fuming applied some medicine to my leg. She advised me not to walk for any reason while the medicine did its work, and this time I was determined to follow her orders. Poisons were nothing to joke with. I changed my clothes and lay down and then Ritta came into my room. “How is it going?”

  “Better. How about you?”

  “Potion delivered to Alec and he expresses his gratitude once again, but I didn’t stick around to see if it worked. Sorry.”

  “It’s all right.” I was a little disappointed, but we would wait and see. We had done what we could to save him.

  “I went in and out like a cat except from here.”

  I raised my eyebrow.

  “I don’t know how she does it, but your mother... it’s like she has cat senses and she told me what she thought of me about letting you go on such a dangerous journey, although she was glad I was with you.”

  I almost laughed at that. “She must have been a cat in one of her previous lives.”

  “That’s certain. Let’s go to sleep, while we can.” Ritta slipped into the bed and got under the covers.

  Within minutes, I was fast asleep, and I didn’t wake up until noon, and I felt fully rested when I woke.

  The sun was out and the birds were chirping. I hoped that was a good sign. I remembered everything about last night, and if my legs would carry me, I would go running to the palace. I couldn’t move because of that stupid poison.

  My mother came into my room. “Well, look who’s up.” She smiled a little and then examined my leg. She declared me better, but that was by no means a sign that I should move.

  I waited while she brought me some food, and I dug in fiercely. When was the last time I ate? Yesterday afternoon? It felt like ages ago. Ritta came into my room and told me news from the village, but there was nothing interesting.

  “Did you go to my shop?” I asked anxiously.

  “Yes, and I had to tell the people that you were sick in bed, or I don’t know how long they would have waited for you. They are very faithful to you,” she asserted.

  “Poor things. I wish I could help them.” I thought of all the people who couldn’t get any treatment, and suddenly I was sad.

  “I am sure you will help them when you get better. Worrying won’t help anyone. So focus on trying to get better, all right?” my mother said.

  She was right, of course, but I was still sad.

  “Oh. Some of your customers gave me these flowers and roots for you. They said they were for good luck and health.”

  I took the flowers and the roots. There were lilies and gardenias, but I didn’t recognize the weird-looking roots. “Thank you.” I smiled at her.

  “Don’t thank me, thank them.”

  A loud knock on the front door echoed through the house. My mother went to answer the door. We raised our eyebrows while I looked questionably at Ritta. It wouldn’t be surprising if one of Ritta’s “admirers” dropped by without an invitation. It was one of her gifts—she was charming and beautiful and attracted men like bees to honey. Why she hadn’t married yet I do not know, but I didn’t want to ask either. After all, everyone had secrets.

  I heard Mother talking with someone at the door, but I couldn’t make out the words, and then I heard the squeak of the door as it closed. I started scratching Midnight behind the ears. A strong smell wafted into my room along with a sense of gold. Now you might wonder how I knew something was gold if I couldn’t see it or how could I smell gold? Things in my world were different than things in your world. I could smell gold as clear as I could see the sky. Gold? Wait a minute. Oh my God. This is not happening. “Close the door!” I almost screeched at Ritta.

  Strangely enough, she got up quickly, shut the door, and locked it. She must have recognized him too or she wouldn’t have obeyed me so fast. She’d been around him a lot of times, and she was able to pick up the smell too. “It’s him, isn’t it?” she asked.

  “Shh,” I said. “No one’s there, all right?” I whispered.

  “All right. That was fast.”

  “Too fast. And where are his manners? You shouldn’t visit a girl at her house. What is he? A stalker?” I was trying to find my thoughts. He caught me off guard and if there is one thing I absolutely hate was to be caught off guard.

  “An admirer?” questioned Ritta.

  “An admirer knows some simple rules. You should never follow a girl at her house if she doesn’t invite you. If she says goodbye, she means it. You don’t send spies after her. If it is absolutely necessary to talk to her, there are pigeons. Or messengers. You have to wait awhile, but patience is a virtue.” “You forget—” My thoughts were so disjointed, I had started talking out loud again. I couldn’t risk him overhearing me, but before I could switch back to telepathic speech, Ritta replied.

  “You forget... he is a prince and he is allowed anywhere.”

  My eyes flashed. “He isn’t allowed in my house and without my permission. He will get out of my house faster than my cat catches a mouse.” I tried to compose myself.

  “Why are you so angry anyway? I thought you loved him.”

  I looked at her trying not to strangle her. “I never said I loved him. I said I kind of liked him.”

  She looked at me with that funny smile that meant she was up to something. “That’s what this is all about? You don’t want to love him, and that is why you find all these meaningless excuses—”

  “Meaningless? Excuses? Fine. I don’t want to love him, but that doesn’t mean that these are meaningless or that they are excuses.”

  Ritta looked at me. “Really? That is why you saved him? And why do you not want to love him? He is charming, good-looking, good manners...”

  I raised my eyebrows. “I saved him because he is a nice person... probably.”

  “All right, your idea of manners is a little higher than everyone else’s, but besides all that, he wants to travel and so do you. He has the means for it which is also a good point.”

  I stared at her. She had to be kidding, right? “First, I don’t know if you noticed, but he is a mortal, and second, he is a prince, even worse, and no, I am not going to marry him because of his good looks or good manners, which he doesn’t have.”

  She looked at me like I was crazy. “Are you crazy? Do you know how many like him are out there?”

  “I am sure a lot.”

  “None. And you are throwing out
one because you have high standards?”

  I looked at her strangely. “I don’t have high standards. He is a mortal. End of story.”

  She looked stunned. “So?”

  “So? He is bound to die sometime, and his life will feel like nothing to me because I will live hundreds of years or more than him, and he will break my heart leaving me the job of trying to piece myself together. So do not try to persuade me to fall in love with someone who will leave me. If I was going to fall in love, I would choose someone who would live much longer.” She didn’t say anything. I hugged my cat and started petting her. “Sorry.”

  The door opened and my mother entered my room without anyone with her. It was nothing for her to unlock a door with her magic. Hopefully, she had felt my mood and had shooed him away. I was in no condition to walk, so there was not much for him to do other than leave.

  “Your... acquaintance came to tell you he is much better, and he wanted to thank you personally, but I kind of shoed him away since it was improper.

  I raised my eyebrow. My mother never talked to me in my mind, not even if I begged her just because I wanted to hear her voice. I smiled, but I didn’t comment any further since I was sad anyway, after my talk with Ritta. Talking about feelings was an exhausting process for me. It just tired me very much. The truth was that I had already fallen in love with him, but I was denying him for two specific reasons: he was a mortal and a prince, and our worlds may cross from time to time, but we could never stay on the same plane. Because I was a witch, I would have my heart broken because he would die whether I was with him or not. Also, I couldn’t let him live in a lie with me, so none at all was my best choice. A hard one but I would be happy if he was safe and smiling even without me. Or so I was telling myself.

  The next day passed calmly with me still in bed and my mother taking care of me and Ritta. Midnight was staying close to me too. Someone knocked on our door. Not again, I thought. Can’t we just have some peace for one day? Why can’t he just leave us alone? But I was wrong. My mother came into my room. “It’s your friend Alec. Should I let him in?”

  “Sure.” Alec was easy to be friends with. He never asked difficult questions and was always trying to help. I could be myself with Alec, mostly, and only had problems with his friend. Tapping on my door interrupted my thoughts. “Come in,” I called out.

  Alec entered my room alone. “Eva, I came to see how you are feeling. The note in your shop said you were sick, but hmm looks like you had an accident.”

  I smiled. “Well, it can happen to the best of us.” He grinned and sat in a chair next to my bed. “I also came to tell you that your medicine worked miracles. We gave him your medicine, and within five minutes, he was up and working. How did you do that? It’s amazing.”

  I felt my cheeks go pink. It was one thing to be praised by someone like me, another witch or a warlock but a human? And a human who didn’t even know who I was? It felt uncomfortable and dangerous at the same time. “Well... um... I like studying flowers and herbs and plants... learning about their abilities... so I can help people with natural means. You can learn a lot by studying them.”

  Alec’s expression was what I feared: awe. It was dangerous to be praised by humans. They could become interested in you, and you never knew when they, or others they knew, might be watching you or show up unannounced. That meant you couldn’t practice any magic at all. If a human saw you, you risked being caught and burned at the stake. I liked practicing magic and I was practicing it at home mostly and in the White Land, of course.

  “So where did you get hurt?” he asked, worried.

  “Um... I was in the woods gathering the ingredients for the cure, and one tree had poisonous weeds, and I didn’t notice.” That was almost the truth.

  Alec looked concerned. “So, you could have died?”

  That was a little far-fetched. “No, Ritta had some ointments to slow the pain, and my mother cured me. After a few days of rest, I’ll be up and out of bed.” I smiled reassuringly at him. “Don’t worry. I am fine.”

  He seemed preoccupied. “If I knew it was that dangerous, I would have come with you.”

  “Don’t worry, Ritta was with me. I am fine, really.”

  Alec didn’t look convinced. “Jonathan came to visit you yesterday, but, um, he said you weren’t feeling well.”

  Actually, I was avoiding him. “Yeah, I wasn’t feeling very good at that time.”

  He nodded. “He wanted to thank you for everything.”

  A letter would suffice. “Well, there is no need for that; it’s my job to help people.”

  “I don’t think going deep into the woods and getting poisoned by roots is part of your job.”

  It is if the situation calls for it. “Well, every job has its dangers. Besides, I like going into the woods and discovering new species. You never know what you will find. Sometimes the answer is staring you right in front of your face and you don’t know it.”

  He looked at me with a funny smile.

  “What?” I asked.

  “Sometimes, I think you are the wisest of us all. I wonder what would happen if you were in our place.”

  I scowled. “Because I am a girl? Or because I am poor?” He was kind and good, but he was still a royal.

  “I don’t think that has anything to do with you being a girl or poor. I think wisdom comes from many places, and it doesn’t make any difference if you are rich, poor, white, black, woman, or man. Even if you studied a thousand years, that wouldn’t make any difference either.”

  What a strange thought. “Now who’s the wise one?”

  He smiled. “It’s just what I think.”

  “To answer your question, nothing would happen if our places were reversed because I would have never been rich.”

  “Isn’t that a little absolute? Maybe not now but later in life?”

  “Even if someone gave me the choice and even if I was really, really poor, I would have turned it down.” Alec looked surprised.

  “Why? Why do you hate being rich so much?”

  It’s not about the money. “I hate rich people. Well, not you, but in general, I hate them.”

  He frowned. “What did they do to you?”

  Not just to me. “Nothing, but that’s just it. They do nothing. They care about themselves and their inner circles and not about everybody else.”

  “No, they care—”

  “You might care, or your friend, but what about every rich man in the world? Let me ask you something: If somewhere in the street a rich man found a poor man bleeding would he help him?”

  “Um...”

  Even if they didn’t admit it, everyone knew the answer. “No, he wouldn’t. They don’t want to get dirt on their boots. The poor man would have helped him without a second thought if the rich man was bleeding out. They are mindless creatures that would fight for little nothings, and all they care about is balls and styles and riches and how to kill each other faster. They can’t love or care about anything but themselves. Even if they have children, they don’t love them—they just want someone to put on the throne next. Oh. And they care about their lines, being pure and whatever, but that’s what makes their children sick.”

  He looked impressed. “I see you have a very strong hatred for the rich. What do you mean about their children getting sick?” he asked interested.

  “I don’t hate everyone. I have met rich people who are nice, and they care about others—these ones are alive, not dead inside. Like you and your friend. I mean, if you mix the same blood—for example, someone marries his sister—which is disgusting—their children will be born sick, like from some disease or something.”

  His eyebrows lifted. “Really? I didn’t know that.” Alec was really surprised.

  “So, how do you explain all these children getting sick and die? Children of mixed bloodlines?”

  He shrugged. “Well, I thought it was just a coincidence.”

  “I don’t believe in coincidences, and in my opinio
n, there can be only one of them.”

  “I guess you are right. I think I knew it all along, but I didn’t want to see it. I grew up among them, so I can’t just blame them. I can see the kindness and love in my family, but in others, like you said, there isn’t much.”

  Try none at all. “Maybe your family is different. They can be like you and see things and people differently.”

  “I hope so,” he said seriously.

  “Fortunately, the rich ones are not the only people walking on Earth. If it wasn’t for the simple and the needy, I would have gone a long time ago,” I said.

  He smiled. “How is that?”

  “The kindness and love you find in poor people. You can find friendship that is the truest there is. A mother’s love for her children doing everything to protect them. The lovers’ love for each other. The kindness and compassion someone can show you even if you are a stranger. These things made me stay and that is why I help them.”

  Alec looked at me oddly. “I don’t think I have ever seen someone like you, and I have traveled a lot. You have the most interesting ideas. I have to say you are quite exceptional.”

  I doubt he has seen many witches in his life. “I don’t think I am that interesting, but you are. You have a very kind heart.” I looked outside; it was getting dark.

  “Thank you. You are the only one who has said that besides Jonathan. Everyone thinks I am being stupid looking after everyone and going to see how the poor live.”

  “Well, they’re wrong. I would like this conversation to continue, but it’s getting late, and I don’t want you to be late for dinner.”

  Alec looked outside and said, “You are quite right, Eva. I’ll be on my way now. I hope you feel better soon. I’ll visit you another time with Jonathan.”

  I would like to avoid a visit with Jonathan if possible.

  He bowed and left. I tried to remain calm, but I couldn’t. I escaped Jonathan once, but a second time? It was impossible to get rid of him.

  Ritta came inside, sat at the foot of my bed, and petted Midnight with whom Alec was thrilled with. Pets weren’t allowed in the palace, and he loved cats. “Your friend left with the carriage. He seems nice.”