The Cursed Girl, #1

by Maria Vermisoglou

  A hand covered my mouth, and when I tried to kick the attacker behind me, a knife was put to my throat. “If you do anything, I will end your days.” He was Spanish but why? Did he recognize me somehow? Or was it something else? I could free myself without him noticing anything until it was too late, but I wanted to see where he would take me. I had a feeling I knew where. We walked from the road to the other side of the mountain, and I saw two figures: the king and Jonathan.

  From the angry gestures I saw, the two were arguing. The soldier threatening me pushed me forward until we drew close to the king. “I see my guest has arrived,” said the king with his cold voice.

  Jonathan turned and his face froze. “Eva?” His voice was strained and surprised. His eyes asked a thousand questions: What happened? Are you all right? Did he hurt you? Why aren’t you in Italy?

  I couldn’t answer him, but I gave him a look I hoped he understood: I am all right. The king approaches me, and I wanted the soldier gone so I could kill the king. I didn’t care if he was the king—although legally he wasn’t and was just a replacement, and I didn’t care that he was Jonathan’s uncle. He was a monster, a demon. He deserved to be killed—no, not killed; hit, fried, shot, and then killed. You might think I was heartless, but this “thing” had caused so much pain that he didn’t deserve to die peacefully. I had compassion only for people, and he was too far gone to be considered a person.

  “I see you are caught at last. Tell me why someone caught a blonde girl of age seventeen and then she seemed to have vanished from her cell? Did you have anything to do with this?”

  Because you are stupid. Maybe it runs in the family. “Of course, I had something to do with it. You caught the wrong girl. I am not seventeen anymore. You miscalculated,” I said mockingly, and I saw anger in his eyes—he didn’t like to be told that he was wrong.

  “I see, but nonetheless, you are here now, and we can begin the conversation. Everything is set for you. I have questions.”

  That was obvious, but I didn’t intend to tell the truth, or maybe I wouldn’t speak at all. Jonathan stared at me, and he was as much “chained” as I was. A guard was looming behind him and I didn’t think he was there for Jonathan’s protection.

  “How someone like you—uneducated, poor, and dirty—achieve such a thing? To hide the most wanted persons in all Spain? And no less a prince and an ex-king.”

  I smiled. “He’s still a king. You are the ex-king.”

  His face reddened. “Answer me.”

  I was still smiling. “They say royals have manners, but I don’t see any of these fine manners they all say you have.” Jonathan smiled a little. He had learned his lesson the first time we met.

  The king inhaled and tried to compose himself. “How could you be so calm when they threaten you?”

  I shrugged. “It’s not the first time, and if you don’t remain calm during a crisis, then you have already lost.”

  “Tell me. How did you hide them?” He looked at me coldly. “And why everyone said they were killed? And they saw their bodies?”

  “Because the people you send are uneducated and stupid like yourself.”

  “Tell me,” he roared, spittle flying from his mouth.

  “Why would I? You will kill me anyway. I have nothing to lose, whereas you have everything to lose.”

  His face was deep red now and a vein throbbed in his temple. “I am your king.”

  I cocked my head as if that was interesting. “No, you are not. Here is the real king.” I pointed at Jonathan. “You are not the king and certainly not mine. I obey whoever I want. Do you want to know how I hid them? I hid them and went to places no one would have dared, and I did things no one would ever dare. I am smarter than most men, and that is not gloating. It’s the truth. If you don’t believe me, ask your nephew.”

  The king turned to Jonathan who smiled. “So?” the king asked.

  “You can fight with all the men and weapons you want, but you can never win against her.” I blushed.

  “You seem to think highly of her, yet she is just a peasant and a girl. Queens and princesses are much better educated than her and obviously more beautiful than her.”

  “No, I think most princesses are stupid, and they seem beautiful only because they use beauty products. Same goes for most of the queens who don’t use their minds to make things better for their people.”

  If it were any other situation, I would have stared at him. This was the first time I heard him talking like this: wise and truthfully. A movement from above caught my eye, but I kept looking straight ahead. I kept my expression in check when I saw Alec on the branches of a tree. He saw me and I put my palm facedown which meant wait. A slight tilt of his head let me know he understood.

  I focused on the king. I needed him to turn toward me, which wouldn’t take long. He faced me and sneered. “You are nothing. You will be nothing.”

  “I can be everything, and you are nothing. You killed your family, you are heartless, and monsters don’t deserve mercy.”

  He laughed. “Mercy? I won’t give you mercy.”

  “I meant my mercy, not yours. Because you have no power over the people. See these people? They fight you.” I pointed over to the battlefield. “They will never stop. They will fight you over and over and over. It’s better to be loved than to be feared. When you are loved, no one will fight you. When you are feared, humans gather enough courage to stand up. And they hope that they will defeat you and end your reign of fear.”

  He waved his arms around. “I don’t need people to rule.”

  “Really? And who are you going to rule? The trees? The flowers? And who is going to wash your clothes? Bring wood for the fire? Sew the curtains? Cook? You? You can barely walk straight. You need them.” He was so angry, all he could do was sputter. I had him in the corner, where I wanted him. I pointed three fingers to the ground, hoping Alec understood. I folded my fingers, leaving two fingers pointing at the ground and then one. I heard a jump and yells. My guard was so startled that he almost let go of the knife. I kicked him and he fell and hit his head. Jonathan had disarmed his guard, who was now lying at the base of a tree.

  The boys pointed their swords at the king’s chest. The king laughed. “You think that now you have me under control?” He glared at Jonathan and Alec. “You are under mine. You were always under mine.” His cold, chilling laugh sent shivers down my spine.

  “Enough talking,” Jonathan said.

  “Are you going to kill me?” the king asked.

  “I am going to do something much worse. I am going to let you live,” Jonathan replied.

  “Is that so?” the king asked, but I saw something was wrong. Either he was truly insane or the game was not over. He put his hand in his pocket and took out a bottle, and I knitted my eyebrows. “Do you know what this is?” the king asked the boys.

  “No, nor do I care,” Jonathan said sharply.

  “Maybe you should ask your servant. She might know.” I am not a servant.

  “She’s not a servant. She is a friend.”

  The king laughed. “A peasant for a friend? That is not true.” He held the bottle high so I could see it. The moment I saw it, I wished I hadn’t. No, please no, no.

  “Eva?” Alec said, but I barely heard him. “What is it?”

  I blinked, but the bottle was still there. It wasn’t a dream. “The Devil’s breath,” I whispered.

  The Devil’s breath was the deadliest poison ever invented, and it had no antidote. It was used to kill several people at once, like an army. You didn’t understand what was happening until it was too late. The symptoms were mostly pain: in the eyes, in your breath, and in your arms and legs. Then you collapsed. It was called Devil’s breath because it was a smoke poison that was transmitted through the air.

  “Are you insane?” I yelled. “These are your people too.” It was a stupid question considering he had summoned dark forces like the Red Death, but I asked it anyway.

  “Why should I care?
I didn’t care when I gave the order for their execution...” He tilted his head in Jonathan’s direction, and I understood what he meant at the same time Jonathan did.

  “You killed my parents. Why?”

  The king shrugged. “The cause justifies the means.”

  Jonathan pushed his sword farther toward the king’s chest. “What cause?”

  “But the king had a heart attack,” Alec said.

  The king laughed. “The queen used her stupid herbs to make you think so. I ordered his execution and your parents’ execution, too.”

  Alec stared at him. “What are you talking about? My parents died in an accident...”

  “Yes, in a volcano. How rare is this?”

  I understood what had happened. The Ignis were released by the royals’ executions. There was a window of opportunity: if a soul was killed violently and for a bad cause, then it could be possessed by an Ignis, and so the three Ignis were responsible for the opening of the black grand portal. The king was responsible for that and for the death of all the witches who died in that battle.

  I was seeing white and black now and I couldn’t see gray anymore. I ran and kicked the king, and I pushed him into a tree, placing my knife at his throat. “Tell me you are lying and you might live.” As I said it, I knew he was telling the truth.

  “Why would you care? You don’t even know them.”

  I stared angrily at him. “I might not know them, but I feel sorry for them. With their deaths, you triggered a series of events, and my friends were killed. And it’s your fault.”

  He raised his eyebrows. “I couldn’t care less”—he tilted his head in the boys’ direction—“as I don’t care for them”—he tilted his head into the army’s direction—“... or them.” He glared at me. “Now you can say that I have won.”

  Alec yelled, “The bottle.”

  I punched the king, and with my knife that turned into several knives, I pinned him to the tree. I ran and jumped into the battlefield.

  “Eva!” Jonathan screamed.

  I saw the bottle. I was close to it. I was so close I could almost catch it, but it had already opened. In a few moments, it would infect the first people. I took a small pouch from my belt and the bottle and the poison was sucked inside. While doing it, I was burned from the poison. Great. Now what? I was falling and landed on a horse with no rider.

  I galloped away from the battle because if I stayed, I would be killed for sure. On the other hand, the poison would kill me, so why did it matter? I didn’t want to be killed on a battlefield full of people I didn’t know. I stopped under a tree and waited for the end to come. I saw the sunset, and it was beautiful. I wished I had enough time to enjoy it.

  “Eva.” Jonathan ran toward me. I thought how ironic the whole situation was. I had thought I would live for years and that I would see him die. Well, fate had a weird sense of humor.

  “Are you all right?” he asked.

  I had no idea. “It’s all right. The poison didn’t reach the people. They are fine... well, as fine as they can be on a battlefield,” I said, avoiding the question.

  He shook his head and repeated the question. “Are you all right?”

  Before I could answer, Midnight ran up to me, jumped into my arms, and meowed. She licked my hands and then my arm where I was burned. The burned areas were slowly turning black.

  “What happened to your arm?” Jonathan asked.

  I shrugged. “Ah, well... you know. Dangers of the job.”

  “You didn’t have this before.” He knitted his eyebrows and stared at me.

  “You shouldn’t play with poisons,” I said at last.

  His eyes widened. “Then do something. We can find the right herbs...”

  Yes, we could if they existed. “That poison is so rare that everyone thought it was extinct. It’s one of the most dangerous poisons I have ever encountered, and it’s the only one I know that has no cure.”

  It took a moment for my words to sink in and for him to understand what I had said. “No.” He shook his head. “No. There must be something we can do.” He looked helpless.

  “Don’t you think I would have done it if there was?” I looked at the sunset and I wished I could draw it.

  “That’s not fair. You have done everything and we can’t save you... I can’t save you.” He had a desperate look on his face, and I wished I could do something to wipe it from his face—to make him happy.

  “You can’t save everyone.” His face was a mask of pain. I wished I could say something, but there wasn’t anything to say. Mother. Ritta. I am sorry. Midnight licked my wound. Stupid cat. She thought she could heal me. I petted her one last time. One last look at the sun, at the trees, at Jonathan. I smiled at Jonathan and then my knees gave out. I could no longer stand. He held me tight, and I said, “Just don’t do anything stupid, all right?”

  He didn’t respond and let his tears fall.

  I smiled. “What kind of man are you? Men don’t cry.”

  He tried to smile but he couldn’t. “I... am... a poor example of a man.” He held my injured arm tightly, and I didn’t feel any pain. Can you be sad that you die? Is that possible? “Eva... don’t leave me,” he said.

  I felt pain now—pain that someone close to me needed me and I couldn’t help him. I felt my tears in front of my blurred vision, and I let them fall. I couldn’t see anymore. There was only darkness and then I saw light. It was a white light, like when I thought I had died after my battle with the black knight. But was I really dead? Could the dead think? Or feel the grass underneath them?

  I opened my eyes slowly. I saw the stars and I heard silence. Where was I? I sat up and saw no one. Maybe I hadn’t been moved. I turned to the right and saw two figures. I recognized Alec who stared at me with an open mouth. Obviously, he thought I had died, and then he ran over and hugged me. “Oh, oh,” I whispered.

  “I... can’t believe it. We thought you were dead.” I felt tears from Alec who was always strong. Alec helped me up and I stretched.

  Jonathan stared at me like he was seeing a ghost. “You know... this business with the dying two times is getting on my nerves. Finish the job or don’t. Simple as that.” Jonathan came to see the “ghost” and hugged me tightly. He pulled away to look at me. “Don’t ever do that again,” he yelled, like it was my fault.

  “Well, you get the feeling now...” I said and walked away.

  “What feeling?”

  Alec replied, “The one she had when you died or almost died.”

  “Midnight,” I called, and she came immediately with her ears perked up and meowed as though she was hungry. “Yes, it’s time for food, and if you can tell me where Sunshine is, that would be great.” Meow. She licked my hand. I looked at it, but it was no longer black. I had no idea what had happened. Before sleeping, I will have to try to contact Ritta.

  Midnight climbed up and settled on my shoulders. Jonathan took one of my hands and Alec took the other. “Where are we going now? What happened?” I asked.

  Alec smiled brightly. “We won. Upon the king’s capture, his army lost faith, not that they had much before. He is held in a cell in Versailles. The palace agreed to have him as a prisoner until his trial.”

  “What trial?” I arched an eyebrow.

  Jonathan held my hand tightly. “He is going to be tried for his crimes. What do you suggest we do with him?”

  “Me? How should I know? And it’s hardly my place to say anything.”

  Jonathan was a king now again, and we were right back where we started. But we were still friends... complicated friends, but still friends.

  “Well, you usually have good ideas about what punishment to give...”

  I stared ahead so they didn’t see my anger. “I know what punishment to give to men that are thieves or have done minor things or need to be taught a lesson. Not to criminals. I don’t know what to say about them, and I should be the last to say something because of my personal involvement. I think someone objective should giv
e his opinion.”

  Jonathan smiled. “See? That’s a good advice.” I didn’t think I had said anything useful.

  Aftermath

  We walked to the same inn we had stayed at before. I saw our horses and I hugged Sunshine immediately. Oddly, the inn looked better than before, and the colors were brighter. Maybe because we were not at war anymore?

  “One more thing you should probably know...” Jonathan said, and I turned and stared at him suspiciously. “Eh... um...”

  “What did you do, Jonathan?”

  “We might have told someone that you were dead...”

  Heavens. “Who did you tell?” He stared at the ground. “Who did you tell?”

  He jumped. “Only two or three people.”

  And those people had mouths. “You have ruined my business.”

  He looked ashamed, and Alec came to his rescue. “But we thought you were dead.” Alec was right, but they didn’t have to announce it.

  “I can make an announcement,” Jonathan said.

  “No, you will make it worse. I will just wait until things have somewhat settled, and everyone will assume it’s just a rumor that someone was stupid enough to spread.”

  He looked annoyed. “I am not stupid,” he said angrily.

  Alicia was inside the inn, and she stared at me like I was a ghost. “But I thought... oh, never mind.” She hugged me fiercely and I hugged her too.

  We tried to eat, but there were many knocks at the door to our room. Alicia’s parents visited us. They were glad I was alive, and I congratulated them for staying alive. They smiled. “Ah. Madonna looked after us.”

  Many of the other visitors came to see Alec and Jonathan. With the current change of power, the people had to consult the king for everything, and obviously not let him eat. Maybe they thought he didn’t need to eat. Another visitor knocked and entered, but I continued eating. I wasn’t going to stop eating because someone entered—the food would get cold.

  “Your Highness.” The man bowed, but not to me. Jonathan waved at him to continue, but the man stared at me, obviously wondering who I was and what I was doing in the royals’ room.