The Cursed Girl, #1

by Maria Vermisoglou

  Meow. Meow. Meow. Midnight kept yelling which was weird because she didn’t usually complain about the food. “What is it?” I asked. She pulled me by my sleeve, so I followed her to the living room, and she put a paw on Jonathan’s coat.

  “He forgot his coat. Now you make more sense. I will give it to him immediately. And I told him not to forget it.” I took the coat and ran to catch him before he met Alec. If he was with Alec, they could literally be anywhere. They took little streets, and I couldn’t go looking for them all over the village. It wasn’t a big village, but it had many streets now.

  I saw him and yelled. “Jonathan.”

  He stopped and turned. He smiled when he saw me. I heard the twang of a bow and watched as Jonathan was struck by an arrow. I felt like I was in slow motion. I always could run faster than the wind, but I felt powerless. Like my powers were not working. I reached him as he fell. I pulled leaves and herbs from my pouch to try healing him. I even used my own powers, but sometimes there was only so much you could do. Even if you were a witch. Even if you were an heir. There was blood, so much blood. I should have run faster. A warm, familiar hand rested on my shoulder and held me.

  “What happened?” Alec asked.

  I don’t know. “Someone shot him,” is all I managed to say.

  “Eva...” Jonathan’s voice was weak. “It’s all right.”

  I shook my head in denial. “No, it’s not.” I was angry, but I didn’t know with whom. I tried to hold back my tears.

  “You have given me more... second chances... than I deserved. You told me... you can’t... save everyone.”

  It was true, but couldn’t I save the one I loved? “But I want to save you.”

  He smiled. “Take care... of her please, Alec.” Alec nodded and he looked sadder than I had ever seen him look.

  “If it’s a girl, please, can you name her Lily?” Lily, his mother’s name.

  I nodded. “Please don’t go,” I begged him.

  “I will wait for you forever... and then... we will be together.” It was harder for him to breathe. I held one of his hands, and Alec held the other. Just the three of us. Just like it always had been.

  “I love you,” I said, and he was gone.

  It began raining and I knew I was the one doing it. It rained everywhere and washed away all the blood, his blood. There were thunderclouds and rain. It rained because he was gone. The angel is gone, the gold is gone.

  The witch is here

  The angel is gone

  The nature thrives

  What am I doing here?

  I loved you and I lost you

  The green is here in a circle that never ends

  The gold is gone in the wind that takes us all

  Come back. Come back to me.

  The gold is gone.

  I didn’t even know what that poem meant, but it was mine and it was in my head. Gone. He’s gone. He’s gone. I knew what those words meant, but I didn’t understand them. I didn’t want to understand them. I didn’t want to accept them. My brain couldn’t process the fact that he was gone. Alec was talking, but I couldn’t hear him. He shook my shoulder, but I was frozen in time. I wanted to go back. I heard a sound that nearly deafened me.

  “EVA, WAKE UP!”

  I was awake. At least I thought I was. I looked up and I saw Ritta with her hands on my shoulders.

  “We have to go.” Her voice was a little louder than usual.

  “Go? Go where?” I didn’t understand. There were people everywhere yelling. Where did they come from? I didn’t understand why they argued. Ritta took me by the hand and helped me get up. I didn’t know where we were going, but I trusted her. We passed streets and houses, but I didn’t recognize them. It was like I was in a foreign country I had never seen. All I could see was Jonathan lying on the ground. I tried to remove it from my mind, but it was stuck in my head.

  We stepped inside a house, and I knew it’s my mother’s because I could sense her in it, but all my other senses were numb. My mother took me and tugged me into a bed. She helped me drink something hot. Midnight rubbed her nose on my arm. I lay down and hugged Midnight. I said nothing, but the tears came. Midnight licked them, trying to make me feel better. But she knew he was gone and meowed sadly. I cried and she meowed. I thought I fell asleep early in the morning. My dreams were troubled. I dreamed that I saved him, but when I woke up, I knew it wasn’t true, and a new wave of tears came along with the pain to crush me. I felt these dreams would never let me go and I would wrestle with them forever. A white hand pulled me out of the dark pit, and it made all the bad spirits disappear.

  I woke up again, and it was the middle of the day. Maybe I slept for just one day, but I didn’t know. I went downstairs but I felt weak. Midnight was near me, and I had a hard time walking. Who knew there would be a day that I would need help walking? Me who loved long walks and could stay for hours outside?

  My mother was in the kitchen and exhausted, I sat in a chair. “So you are awake,” she said.

  I nodded and she put some tea and soup. I ate it before you could say magic. I ate two bowls of soup and drank three cups of tea, but my throat still felt rough for some reason. Maybe I was screaming? “Ritta went out for some shopping,” my mother said.

  I nodded. “So what day is it?” My voice was rough. My mother pursed her lips. She did that when she faced something unpleasant, so it couldn’t be anything good. Still, I couldn’t have been sleeping for more than a week, right?

  “Three weeks.”

  My hearing must not be functioning correctly yet. That was the only rational explanation I could think of. “Three weeks?”

  She nodded. I stared at her. She was not joking. My mother almost never joked. Three weeks. I had been asleep for three whole weeks? How was that even possible?

  “And it has been raining for two and a half,” she added, but I didn’t understand.

  “I have been asleep. I can’t be blamed for every little drop.”

  She smiled a little. “You slept and your magic worked. It did a miracle for the crops, and the people called it ‘The Rainy Month.’ It wasn’t all bad.”

  Leave it to the people to find something good in a bad situation. I noticed a basket in the corner filled with letters and papers. “What’s this?”

  She gave me a bitter smile. “Cards from people expressing their condolences. I wanted to throw them away, but Ritta said you should read them.”

  I took one card and read it out loud. “I am sorry for your loss,” I took another card. “They say time heals everything, but I rephrase it to it will get better but not completely.” I continued to read the cards. Some had flowers and herbs attached to them. “You will see him in heaven.” Tears filled my eyes, and I opened another card. “He will look after you from the stars.” I cried and my mother handed me handkerchiefs. Eventually, I managed to read all the cards.

  “I am sorry,” she said and hugged me. So am I, so am I.

  She told me then that the funeral had not been held yet. “Why?” I didn’t understand why they didn’t let him be in peace.

  “They made all the necessary preparations, but Alec wouldn’t do it without you.” He could have, but he didn’t. As much as I was touched, it wasn’t right for him. “He said you had to be there.”

  If it was a wedding, the wait would have made sense, but now? Maybe the wife had to be at her husband’s funeral, but still, it didn’t make sense to wait so long. I heard the door open and smelled the familiar scent of flowers.

  “There were so many people in the market I almost made them disappear,” Ritta said. “We are just a village and yet so popular. Unbelievable.” She put the food in the cupboards, and she turned to sit. “Oh, you are awake. That is fantastic.”

  It surely is unbelievable, but fantastic? She hugged me. “I am so very sorry, Eva.” She started talking about many things, and I couldn’t understand a word. I always could bear her babbling, but not today, not now.

  When she paused, I got
up from my chair and went to the bedroom. I took a piece of paper and I started to draw. I had no idea what I wanted to draw, but I knew I wanted to. When I was finished, I had drawn a dark castle—a prison—and dark clouds and a dark forest. Everything was dark. And rain, lots and lots of rain, black drops and black lightning and black clouds. Everything black and dark.

  In the afternoon, I took Sunshine for a ride. I had no idea how she had gotten to my mother’s house, but I didn’t care. “Do you want me to come with you?” Ritta asked.

  I shook my head. “No.” Some things you had to do by yourself. I rode to the palace, and people looked at me when I passed. They nodded and I knew this was their way of saying “I am sorry for your loss.”

  I dismounted and left Sunshine in the stables. The stablemasters knew her now and they didn’t cause me trouble. I went to the palace entrance, and the guard stopped me. “Who are you? State your business.”

  Security must have been increased with what had happened to him. Him. I couldn’t say his name. I knew the guard, but he didn’t know me or didn’t recognize me in black. Black and dark colors were the colors for grief in the human world, and I thought it was suitable because everything I saw lately was black. “How about you announce a widow?” I asked.

  Recognition lit his face. “I-I am sorry. I didn’t... I am so... sorry. I will announce you immediately.” He ran like the demons of hell were after him.

  The palace had changed. White sheets were covering the mirrors, and there were black rugs and curtains. I guessed I wasn’t the only one who was grieving. Jasmine came from another room with the guard. “Eva.” She hugged me tightly and whispered, “I am sorry,” and I nodded. Then she turned to the guard. “Why did you leave her standing?”

  The guard turned red. “I—”

  Jasmine shook her head and took me into the Warm Room. It looked like a cave. There were black curtains and a purple rug, but with the drawings and the fireplace, it looked like the whole room was a burning piece of coal. Dark on the inside and bright underneath. It was different, but I kind of liked it. It brought me peace. “I am sorry for the guard. He is kind of new, but he will learn.” Everyone learns in the end; one way or another, we all do.

  “You could have covered the drawings,” I said.

  “I would have, but I liked how they blended with the whole room.”

  I nodded. “On the whole, it looks like the room is a burning piece of coal.”

  “Yes. That’s how I feel, and it brings me peace. I always thought this room was magical,” she added.

  I shrugged. “There is magic in everything.” Even if you don’t see it. “How is John?” I asked. Now I was grateful they had shortened his name because I didn’t think I could have said his name even if it belonged to another person.

  “He’s fine. He understands something has happened because we are sad, but he doesn’t know what.”

  My daughter would never know her father, and I started to cry. Jasmine hugged me, and she whispered soothing things. After some time, I calmed down. Midnight came toward me and licked my face and I hugged her. She felt my pain and had come to me.

  “That cat is very perceptive,” Jasmine noted.

  “They say cats are very sensitive to human emotions.”

  She smiled. “That’s true. My cat also senses that something bad happened, and he is always around us. Normally he is lying in the windowsill or in the pets’ room.” Poor thing.

  I heard footsteps and the smell of silver filled the air. I knew silver couldn’t smell, but after spending so much time with the two boys, I could smell if it was gold or silver, or maybe I could sense it? Even with my eyes closed. “Eva.”

  I looked up and saw Alec, and he was in no better shape than I was. He lost his best friend and brother and I lost my heart. He hugged me tightly for some time. Then he sat on the floor near me.

  “You know, there are wonderful chairs up there,” Jasmine scowled at us.

  “Why would I waste my time sitting on a chair when I can sit on the ground and admire them?” Alec said, and I know that’s what he would have said. We laughed and we cried. If someone saw us from afar, he would have thought we were normal people in grief and not a king, a queen, and a hero.

  Alec cleared his voice. “I don’t know if you have heard...”

  I nodded. “I heard but you could have done it without me.”

  He hugged his knees. “I know, but I couldn’t have done it without you. He wouldn’t have wanted it.”

  I shrugged. “You could have asked my mother to wake me up.”

  He shook his head. “You weren’t the only one unwell all this time.” Oh, he was sick as well. “I don’t know if I will ever be the same again,” he said, and I saw his fear.

  I took out one of the cards they had sent me. I kept it with me with the hope that maybe someday I would understand its full meaning. I handed Alec the card to read as I said the words in my head. “They say time heals everything but I rephrase it to it will get better but not completely.”

  Alec read it and nodded. “That was wise. Who sent it to you?” He gave me back the card.

  “I don’t know. They sent me a lot of condolence cards, and some had herbs or flowers inside. They were really nice, but none of them was signed.”

  He nodded. “I received some cards too, but since they are from royals, I don’t think they meant it, especially since his resignation made them angry. If you are a royal, you send cards for weddings, funerals, and stuff like that because it’s the duty that commands it, but many times people don’t even know each other.”

  I rolled my eyes. “Imagine that.”

  He smiled a little. “I guess you haven’t lost your sarcasm or your humor.”

  We decided to have the funeral on Friday, and Jasmine asked, “Isn’t it a little short notice?”

  “It’s not like they didn’t know it was going to happen. Whoever wants to come can make time,” I said.

  Alec smiled. “That’s Eva, right there.”

  Maybe there were some pieces of the old Eva fighting to survive. We made all the arrangements, and I left riding Sunshine, but I didn’t go straight home. I went around the village, in the meadows, around the rivers, and near the forest. I let the wind take my thoughts and my pain away. When I stopped the sun was setting, so I watched it. Jonathan and I used to watch the sunsets together, and afterward, I would draw them. He would always ask why I bothered to draw each one of them, and I always said, “because they are unique. Not one of them is quite the same as the other.”

  When I reached my mother’s house Ritta and my mother were waiting for me. “We thought you were lost,” Ritta said.

  “I was not lost,” I said. “I went for a visit and then for a walk.”

  Ritta raised her eyebrows. “It must have been a pretty long walk,” she muttered and started preparing the food. Normally, I would be the one worrying about her. The roles were reversed now; she was the one who must take care of me, at least for a while. I told them about my visit and the news I had heard. Ritta didn’t say much, which wasn’t like her. I went to bed early. I was tired even though I had been sleeping for the past three weeks. My mother put a blanket on me so I wouldn’t be cold.

  The next day Ritta dragged me to the market. “But I am not sure I want to go,” I said.

  “That is why I am making the decision for you,” she said, determined. “It will be good for you to go back to your normal activities.” Which was what exactly? I couldn’t even remember. Ritta wasn’t wrong about me not being able to make decisions.

  We went to the market and Ritta bought some food. I was mostly looking around. People came to me and told me if I needed anything I shouldn’t hesitate to ask. They were kind to me, and some even said, “Whoever did this should rot in hell.” Maybe that was a little too much, but deep down, I agreed with them. I shouldn’t because he was only a human, only a human, but he had taken a life so important.

  On the way back, we saw Jasmine and little Jo
hn shopping and mostly walking because the little boy couldn’t stand in one place for more than one minute. Ritta and I took care of the little boy so his mother could finish her shopping in peace. You might wonder why did the queen do the shopping. Because she wanted to distract herself, and so that little John could get out and learn things.

  We stopped by a little river, and Ritta proposed that we let him splash in the water. The river was not too high, so we removed his shoes, and he splashed with yells and cries of joy. I sat on the edge of the river and watched him. With Jonathan’s passing, I guessed his parents didn’t take him for many walks, and it was a shame. It wasn’t his fault that he was gone. Being so much in the human world, I had started behaving like them, even talking and feeling like I was a human. But I was not a human, I was a witch. I shouldn’t care so much or be so sad. In our world, death was expected; we lost many to demons and battles. Some died because they had decided they had been in this world long enough; it was like a normal death. We were sad for them, but if Ritta had died, I would feel as empty as I felt right now. Maybe I was feeling it so much because I hadn’t lost someone so close before. So suddenly. Or someone I hadn’t been able to help before. I blamed myself for not being able to heal him like I had healed so many other strangers before.

  “Hey, Jay said you were here with John.” Alec sat next to me.

  “Jay? Seriously? You are joking, right?” He shrugged. “You shortened such a beautiful name like this? It’s like you take a bird’s wings. You leave it with nothing.”

  He smiled. “She doesn’t mind, but you are right.”

  “And your boy is here playing, something he isn’t allowed to do much lately.” I scowled at him.

  “I know, you are right. But I was sick and Jasmine was taking care of me...”