The Kingmaker Prophecy

by Gemma Perfect

“So, I can make a poison – or a remedy, but again I would need intent, a focussing of my thoughts, my desired outcome... I can also make an antidote. For example, a love potion is required to make one person fall in love with another. Generally, the potion is consumed – without knowledge – and the victim is bombarded with feel-good experiences all centred around one person. Hence, the potion works.”

  Halfreda is still nodding, but thinking about Abe – the stories he tells, the way he makes her feel.

  “Halfreda. Pass me that pot.”

  The teacher points to a clay pot and Halfreda dutifully passes it to him. He barks out instructions – five pinches of this, some ground up root of that...it goes on for several minutes, the whole time the teacher instructing her on how careful she must be, how precise. He mutters words she cannot hear as he combines all the ingredients and finally mixes it with a liquid he pours from a tall see-through glass vial.

  He decants the finished concoction into a goblet.

  He passes it to her. “Drink.”

  Confused, she shakes her head.

  He touches her hand. “Halfreda, you need to drink this.”

  “Why?”

  “Because you are under the influence of a man who enjoys befuddling females; adores the thrill of the chase and abandons the prize once he wins it. You need to have clarity and distance when you next spend time with him. This will help.”

  She takes the drink but hesitates. “I don’t want to feel clarity. I like the way he’s making me feel. I don’t want to drink it.”

  The teacher looks at her quizzically. Halfreda – haven’t you heard my warnings? Do you think I am joking with you? I would never do that.”

  “I like how I’m feeling. About Abe. I like him.”

  “He’s very likeable. But dangerous. I want you to see him as someone disinterested might see him – to be able to view his flaws as well as his good points.”

  “It’s the first time I’ve been in love.”

  “You’re not in love. You’re bedazzled by him. Look, he is here for a few more days. Spend time with him, if you please, but remember, he will be gone soon, however you feel about him. He does not stay in one place for long, even if there is good company and a warm bed.”

  Halfreda looks at the liquid and feels a sense of grief, almost. Nodding to the teacher, her eyes filling with ridiculous tears, she downs the drink in one.

  “Now how about making a more useful potion? A simple sleeping draught. Depending on the strength, a dose could make someone sleep for a night – useful if they are having troubles and strife – or a week or more – useful if you need to disable someone for a longer period. What do you think?”

  She nods, sadness still colouring her face.

  “Do not mourn what you did not have – you are wiser than that Halfreda.”

  She closes her mind to thoughts of Abe and the loss of her first love and assists the teacher as he makes two different strength sleeping draughts. “We will give one to Mal tonight – he is not sleeping well since...And the second, for the longer time, we will give to an animal. It will not harm them, but if we tuck them away safely, down here, we can monitor them and see how long they sleep for. Go and collect one of the chickens, some hay, feathers, anything soft and downy to make a little bed for it.”

  Halfreda leaves the potion room and heads up the stairs, feeling strangely empty knowing that the potion she has drunk will dull her obsession with Abe.

  13

  She gathers all the things the teacher asked her to, as well as a squawking chicken and heads back inside. He passes her the sleeping draught they made for Mal. “Can you take it to him? I think he’s gutting fish in the kitchen. I hope you forgive me, Halfreda, about Abe.”

  Halfreda feels tears fill her eyes. “There is nothing to forgive. You rescued me from my life; it was unbearable. I know I haven’t made it easy for you – not always listening the way the other girls do – but I am grateful to be here, and glad that you are looking out for me.”

  “And Abe?”

  “Well, if he is meant for me, it shall come to pass, regardless of this potion. Correct?”

  The teacher nods his head, smiling at her. “You are wiser than I give you credit for. Maybe you didn’t need the potion.”

  “I’m afraid I did.”

  She nods to him, and heads to the kitchen. Mal is gutting fish, Abe is next to him doing the same. Menna smiles at her. Halfreda passes her the draught. “This is from the teacher.”

  “For Mal?”

  Halfreda nods, feeling Abe’s gaze upon her. She turns to look at him and smiles. He mutters something to Mal, grins, wipes his dirty hands on his apron and saunters over to Halfreda. “Are you well?” Concern colours his features, his eyes full of empathy for her plight. “The teacher seemed so cross...”

  Halfreda shakes her head. “No – he just wanted to show me how to make a sleeping draught. I brought him a chicken.”

  “You brought him a chicken?” He leans in closer to her. “What for?”

  She is aware for the first time of the difference between how he speaks to, and looks at, Mal or the teacher, and the way he looks at her and the other females. He has positioned himself between her and Menna and Mal, cutting her off, making her the sole object of his attention.

  “For the sleeping draught. To see how long it knocks the chicken out for.”

  Maybe sensing a change in her demeanour, Abe leans even closer, reaching out and tucking a stray strand of her hair behind her ear. She takes a step back – unflustered and unblushing.

  Abe stands up, and if she wasn’t watching him so intently she would have missed the look on his face: confusion and anger.

  She gives him a simple nod as she leaves the room, feeling his eyes on her as she walks away. It is better to walk away than have her heart broken by a cad, but he is the most captivating man and she cannot help – even with the potion working its way through her body – a quick glance back at him. He looks abandoned and lost, and she has to resist the urge to go back to his side.

  Joining everyone for the last meal of the day, Halfreda feels relaxed and happy. Ready to face Abe and see how different she feels with the full strength of potion working.

  He is already sitting, nestled between Nerida and Kinsey. Halfreda sits opposite them, taking a long slug of ale, and smiling at her friends first and then Abe.

  He barely looks at her, just nods and turns his attention back to Nerida. Halfreda closes her eyes for a second and smiles. She is not bothered by his lack of attention. She really isn’t.

  She wants to laugh but doesn’t. Instead she observes how he behaves with Nerida and Kinsey. Kinsey is very young, so he is charming to her, smiley and friendly – like a jovial big brother. But with Nerida, he has happily switched his charm and attention from Halfreda to her friend.

  He touches her arm, a lot. He dabs at a little sauce by her mouth. He brushes crumbs off her lap. Halfreda is detached but shocked by how transparent his flirting is, but also how effective. Despite teasing her friend that she likes Abe, Nerida is happily lapping up Abe’s attentions. She is smiling, laughing, fluttering her eyelashes and Halfreda almost wants to laugh. He is so obvious. And yet, without the teacher’s potion, she was exactly the same way with him; falling in love, despite not knowing his character or intentions. The teacher was right and Halfreda catches his eye across the room, nodding her thanks to him, and feeling ever so foolish. She had almost let herself be swept away by this man – her first crush, and now he had swiftly moved on to someone else, her friend no less.

  The teacher interrupts her, and she is glad not to look at Abe for a while.

  “We have had a better day, thank you. Zanna’s family will arrive later and her body will be gone by the morning. I shall head to my work room for a while and see you all tomorrow.”

  They all bid goodnight to the teacher, and Halfreda decides to head to bed herself.

  She doesn’t even look at Abe as she wishes Nerida and Kinsey a g
ood night. Nerida looks slightly awkward but Halfreda gives her the biggest smile, and sends as much peace as she can her way. Kinsey jumps up, “I’ll come with you.”

  Halfreda never wants to use her magic for an unfair advantage, or to hurt anyone, or to force her will on people, but she sends the smallest of warnings from her mind to Abe’s as she walks away. She cannot tell Nerida to be careful of this man, she cannot warn her in any way without it sounding like sour grapes, but if the teacher is right – and Halfreda knows he always is – she must keep her friend safe.

  She doesn’t look at Abe to see if her warning has worked; she knows it will. She is getting more and more confident of her powers as time passes and only five minutes after her head hits the pillow, Kinsey still chattering on about this and that, Nerida comes into the room.

  “I am too tired to stay awake a moment longer.”

  “I know that feeling,” Halfreda says and smiles.

  14

  After a dreamless sleep, Halfreda heads to the garden before breakfast. She is unsure whether the effects of the potion are still with her, or how she will feel when she sees Abe. She wants to clear her head, shake off the fog of sleep and prepare herself. Feeling foolish about how quickly she fell for his charms, she wants to be ready in case the potion doesn’t work. She does not want to fall under his spell again.

  She sits on a bench and closes her eyes, the hot sun warming her eyelids. A shadow falls over her and a bolt of panic makes her spring up, as she remembers Zanna’s attack.

  In front of her is the most beautiful woman she has ever seen. The woman smiles. “Halfreda?”

  Halfreda nods, unsure what to say. Her senses tell her that the woman is a friend not foe, but her instincts are all over the place between Zanna and Abe; she’s not feeling her usual self.

  The woman holds out a hand, creamy skin and white blonde hair shining in the sun. She looks like a creature from another Realm. Halfreda cannot move. Never before has she seen such a splendid woman. Is she a woman or an angel? A spirit? She does not look like a normal woman. She looks different.

  Before Halfreda can shake the proffered hand, the teacher barrels past her. The woman scoops him up off the floor and hugs him, leaving Halfreda feeling like an intruder on their reunion.

  “Ofia! How did I not know you were coming?”

  “Are you losing your edge?”

  “I hope not! But maybe, maybe!”

  The teacher is beaming and Halfreda can see a mutual respect between them – some affinity, some equality. “Halfreda, let me introduce you to my favourite person in the whole Realm. This is Ofia – sorceress, enchantress, bewitcher of man and beast.”

  Halfreda has never seen a woman more splendid, yet she cannot help but smile at the teacher’s description, and the look of pure elation on his face. “I am proud to call this woman my friend, my confidant, my colleague.”

  Ofia smiles at the teacher and her laugh is a magical sound. “You flatter me. I am proud to know you – you merely put up with me.”

  “Ofia is a keeper, like me.”

  Halfreda almost misses the sharp look Ofia gives the teacher, though it leaves her eyes quickly, it was definitely there. Irritation? Halfreda isn’t sure. They are friends, good friends, she can tell. But there is an edge to this encounter.

  “You are loose lipped with our secrets...” Ofia smiles, but the smile has a hint of ice to it.

  “Halfreda is special. You’ll see. I’m so excited for you to meet and get to know each other. How long are you here for? What for?”

  “For a few days. I have been visiting Marby in the castle – she is ailing fast and I always see you if I can, you know that.”

  The teacher is so enamoured of his visitor that he has missed the two subtle signs that she is not as happy as he.

  Halfreda sees them and tucks them into her mind. Little pieces of knowledge which may or may not be important or relevant.

  When she closes her eyes for a second, she sees nothing negative about Ofia, no warnings or spirits come, and yet...what? She shakes her head and follows them inside. She feels a sudden beat of excitement – she cannot wait to see how Abe behaves with this woman – she is not a woman; she is a goddess. Older than Halfreda by maybe a decade, she is mesmerising and Halfreda is smiling as she heads for breakfast.

  Halfreda feels like the most uninteresting creature as she sits with her friends for their meal. Ofia hasn’t taken a seat yet, she is talking to Menna, who is patting down her hair and smiling nervously. Nerida and Kinsey are open-mouthed. It is hard to describe how unreal this woman is. It isn’t just how beautiful she is, it’s how she moves, how she talks, how perfect every part of her is. “Who is she?” Nerida’s voice has a hint of panic to it. She is watching Abe watching Ofia with a sinking look of acceptance on her face. As quickly as Abe turned his attentions from Halfreda to Nerida, so he turns them to Ofia, and no one could compare or compete.

  Eventually the teacher clears his throat, a loud enough cough to gather the attention of all the diners. “Friends, this is Ofia – a dear, dear friend of mine.”

  Abe jumps out of his seat to greet Ofia, bangs his head on the beam, and stifles a groan of pain as Ofia smiles widely at him.

  “Abe. It’s been too long.”

  “I know, my darling, darling Ofia. I have missed you.”

  Ofia takes a seat opposite, and two seats down from Abe. It might have been a long time since they’ve met, but she obviously isn’t as keen as he is to get reacquainted.

  Halfreda feels like an audience member in a play now when she watches Abe. She is so far removed from him and his charms, it’s quite funny to see.

  There is more or less silence as they all begin to eat; Menna’s cooking as always is wonderful, and Halfreda again feels like an observer. Nerida looks sad; Abe hasn’t glanced in her direction even once, and Kinsey is open-mouthed as she watches Ofia. Ofia is regaling them all with stories now of her journey to them, when Halfreda hears her name.

  “Ah Halfreda – what an honour,” the teacher says, smiling fondly at her, pride evident in his face. He is proud of all his charges, but Halfreda especially so – he sees great things in her future.

  Halfreda blushes, having missed whatever it was Ofia said.

  Ofia repeats herself sensing Halfreda’s discomfort. “I was just telling your teacher that news of your powers have spread far and wide. I was on the other side of the Realm, visiting a good friend of mine when a band of players stormed through the town, bringing cheer, song and revelry and tales – oh the tales – of a young girl working with the teacher. The most able pupil he has ever had. So bestowed with magical gifts that he barely knows what to do with her.”

  The teacher snorts at this. “Of course I know what to do with her – though I am glad news of her prowess is spreading. She is made for great things, my Halfreda.”

  Ofia leans in. “Like what?”

  “I see her in the castle, replacing the wise woman.”

  Ofia nods, eyes on Halfreda. “She will need replacing soon. Are you ready?”

  Halfreda opens her mouth to speak, shakes her head and blushes all at the same time. “I-”

  “We are almost there, Ofia. I am hoping we have some time. Halfreda needs a little convincing.”

  “It is the most special job, not everyone would be able to do it. The Kingmakers, the sacrifice – so much responsibility.” She cocks her head to the side, watching Halfreda like she is observing an animal in captivity. “You’re right, she’s not there.”

  Halfreda sits up a little straighter. “I am. I was shocked, I admit, when the teacher first told me where my future might be – but I have learned about the Kingmakers now. I know how important they are, how difficult their lives are. I am ready. I can do it.”

  Ofia smiles – too easy to convince youngsters to do as you bid.

  The teacher raises an eyebrow at her and Ofia shrugs. He knows it too – though he is surprised at how quickly Halfreda jumped at the possibility
of life in the castle after seeming so reluctant.

  He just adores Ofia, sees her for the beautiful, mischievous creature that she is – beguiling, bewitching, troublesome. Halfreda and indeed the other residents of the little round house are in awe of her. She dazzles wherever she goes. He also knows how much magic is in her – capabilities that outdo even his. But she is wily too – anything to get her own way. He has no idea why she would want Halfreda in the castle, but it seems Halfreda has shifted her thinking quite happily.

  They eat, drink, talk and laugh until it seems as though the whole day will pass at the table. Abe fetches more ale from the kitchen, pouring for Ofia first, touching her shoulder and reminding her of some time they spent together by the East river. Ofia talks to him but pays him no special attention. She enjoys talking to everyone – even spending time with Nerida and Kinsey, leaving them dizzy with admiration.

  The teacher pulls Halfreda aside at the end of the meal. “Is that right? Is your decision made? Influenced by Ofia, but you’re happy with it?”

  “Not influenced so much as...I finally see the sense in what you’ve been saying to me. You know us all and you know the paths we might follow. I trust your guidance. And yes, maybe I didn’t like her hinting that I might not be good enough for the role. I am good enough, aren’t I?”

  “You are the only one for the role.”

  Halfreda is happy as she helps to clear the table, taking dishes through to the kitchen and storing uneaten food for later.

  She watches Ofia whenever she is in her sight, and she is as mesmerised as everyone else. She can understand why and sees her behaviour in a detached way. Ofia is breath taking, beautiful, there aren’t enough ways to describe how marvellous she is and yet the words, the descriptions, don’t do her justice. Not really.

  The teacher doles out jobs and tasks for the day and keeps only Halfreda and Ofia back. Ofia is a guest and isn’t needed for anything other than the pleasure of a visit. Abe has skulked off to assist Mal with hunting, not getting the attention he requires from Ofia.