“You are a fool, blinded by a father’s love that she is undeserving of!” I could not contain the volume in my voice and my words shrieked against his face.
“Then tell me, Melaina, how are you so certain it was my daughter that killed your pets?” William’s voice stiffened, matching his rigid body.
The harshness in his voice caught me by surprise and I did not care for the way he said my name, like it threatened to sicken his stomach. My eyes shifted and the weight of my sadness bore down upon me. When I spoke my words were hushed, “One of my birds survived. He’s weak and broken, but he still found the strength to tell me that it was Lillyanna.”
A wave of disgust washed over William’s face and his eyes narrowed. He shook his head disapprovingly, and turned away from me. “Birds speak to you now, do they? Telling you of murderous intent? Leave. I cannot look at you.”
And I did. With a heavy heart, I went back to my own chambers, locking myself inside. I found comfort only when I looked upon the fragile bird inside his cage. With loving fingers, I lifted him in my hands. One wing was broken and I wrapped it gently with a band of silk. I placed a soft kiss on his beak and said, “Worry not, I will care for you. Your wounds will mend soon enough and you will be as good as new. Then, you shall be my true companion: my heart, my comfort, my hunter.”
I looked at his dark eyes and a curdled smile twitched at my lips. “Hunter, it is a beautiful name.”
I fell asleep with my bird beside me, resting on my pillow, and dreamed thoughts of revenge.
***
For seven days I stayed inside my room, refusing food and tending only to Hunter’s needs. On the eighth day a soft, yet persistent, knock rattled against my door. I tried to ignore it, but it refused to go away. When I answered it, I saw William standing before me. The lack of sleep he suffered wore heavily on his face and dark circles formed below his eyes.
“I do not wish to leave things so strained between us,” his voice was thin and drained.
Seven days of silence and loneliness had darkened my heart and my bitterness had grown rampant. I did not care to make amends with a man that did not trust me and let his repugnant brat get away with murder. But I said, “Nor do I.”
A part of me still loved the man that had saved me.
Relief echoed in the sigh that escaped his lips and a small smile stood on his face. “I have brought you something. It cannot replace what was taken from you, but it’s a token of my affection nonetheless.”
He motioned to the side and I leaned my head out of the door. Standing beside him was a gorgeous full-length mirror. It was narrow and delicate, wide enough only for my body to fill the mirror. Its frame was a thin wall of iron, adorned with cascading hearts and feathers caught in a web of metal ivy.
“It’s beautiful, William. Thank you,” I whispered.
He did not answer me, however. He only wheeled the mirror forward and placed it beside my bed. I followed him in, closing the door behind me. I caught my reflection in the mirror and relished in the sight. My body looked wispy and lovely in the slightly smoked glass. My skin glowed flawlessly and my eyes shone. A sudden desire to see my naked skin inside the mirror’s reflection pulled at me. With eager fingers I undid the tie from my bodice and slipped the fabric from my body. William turned, want burning in his eyes. With lusty fingers I stripped his clothes away and pushed him on the bed. I sat against him, sensually easing my thighs apart, taking him inside me. And as I rocked over him, I watched the sway of my body in the mirror. It was like white sand rippling against the fingers of a chilled breeze. Fire flamed inside my eyes and my chest heaved as I reached the peak of my lust.
I rolled off of William’s body, listening to his panting breaths, but watched the way my body flowed in the mirror. I heard the slight sound of my door opening and caught the look of infuriated green eyes glaring in at me. A wicked smile crossed my lips. When I saw the look of revulsion in her eyes, I laughed fully into the silence, letting each note fill the room. The door re-latched, and then I fell asleep gazing longingly at my image.
***
I woke to the sound of gurgled breaths gasping for air, and the smell of wet copper. Sleep-dazed, I looked over and caught a horrid sight in the mirror. Lillyanna stood over William. Blood dripped from her fingertips and splattered against her cheek. Her skin was like ice in the moonlight and the blood was the color of a ripe plum. There was madness in her eyes. She had torn open William’s throat with a twisted dagger. His eyes were fading. His life’s blood was draining and his strength followed it.
“They will never forgive you for this,” words slithered from her mouth and stung my ears.
Tears were hot on my cheek and my body trembled against the cold realization that I would be blamed for my husband’s death. Then the weakness of my reflection caught my attention and stirred bursting anger inside of me.
“Guard!” I screamed into the night.
“Charles! She’s killed her father! Hurry before she gets away,” I could hear my panicked words skip down the hallway and echo in the main entryway. They would be impossible to ignore.
For a moment, Lillyanna’s eyes widened in despair. She looked down at her blood soaked fingers and the twisted weapon clutched in her hand, and fear melted away the look of victory she’d had.
“The king is dead! She’s killed him!” I screamed again.
Distant footsteps stirred and Lillyanna bared her teeth like a wild animal. She took her hand from the dagger, leaving it buried inside her father’s throat, and ran. The whisper of her feet disappeared quickly into the silence.
“She’s getting away!” A moment later four guard’s men, Charles, and Richard were standing at my door.
Flustered and dumbfounded, they were unable to move at first. The sight of their bloody king took them all by horrid surprise. Finally, Richard neared my bed.
He looked at me, my eyes red with the hot tears and my upper body exposed. I saw his eyes linger for a moment, and then he lowered them. When he looked at his father, fury raged inside of him. “Who?” was all he could manage.
“I know it’s difficult to believe, but it was your sister. Her eyes were full of madness, diseased by jealousy. You must find her.” My words were hoarse, but the strength in my quiet voice was chillingly commanding.
Richard looked at me, not sure how to continue, but then he nodded and his resolve hardened. He turned to the others and unsheathed his sword. “We must find her.”
“But, your grace …” Charles started to argue. His untrusting eyes landed on me like I was something filthy.
Richard did not give him the chance to finish, however. “Now! Before she gets away.”
And the men turned, storming out of my door with fervent purpose. Richard ran behind them, but I called to him, bidding him to stay a moment more. I reached towards the cage and unlatched it. I pulled Hunter from his sleep and whispered softly in his ear, “Find her and bring her back to me.”
Black wings took flight and headed toward my chamber door. “Follow him and let him guide you. He will be your huntsman, seeing things in the night that you are unable to.”
Richard nodded. Then he turned, following Hunter’s piercing cry into the night.
Eerie silence wrapped around me, playing with the darkening vengeance that grew inside of me. My eyes found William’s remains and lingered on the spray of blood that glowed in the misty darkness. The dagger, however, caught my attention. The blade was twisted. The handle was thin and a crowned heart rested on the top. I pulled it from his throat and watched as the blood glistened in the night light. I turned towards the mirror, twisting the dagger in my fingers. Its reflection flashed in the smooth surface of the glass. Rage built behind my eyes as the sharp blade twirled beneath my fingertips. As I watched, my image began to waver. The mirrored picture of my bedroom began to fade, turning to shadows. My eyes were replaced by hardened, cruel eyes. A haggard face swam into focus, aged and worn beyond years. Frozen with fright, I gripped the
blade tighter, ready to fight the strange spirit.
“Do not fear me, child,” the hag whispered. Her voice scrapped like gravel.
“Who …” but I could not say anything else.
“A friend, dear one. One that would set you on a proper path to vengeance,” she cackled.
I held the blade tighter until the pointed tip of the heart’s crown dug into my palm and opened the delicate flesh. Tiny blood droplets dripped against my wrist and I shivered at the warm sensation.
“What would you do if I delivered the one that took your king’s life?” her voice was chilling in my ears, but kindled the hatred living in my heart.
I looked at the twisted blade, red with drying blood, and focused on the sharpened tip. Despite the pain, I gripped it harder, letting the metal bite deeper into my skin. “I would rip her heart from her chest, much like she has done to me.”
The old woman shrieked her laughter into the darkness. The echo of it bounced off the mirrors and burned in my ears. “Good, but messy. What if I could offer you another solution, one that would keep her sealed in an agonized body without any chance of escape?”
For a moment I was disappointed. I wanted to see Lillyanna’s heart ripped out and her blood pooled on the ground. Then a voice inside my head said, Pierce her chest and she feels pain only once, but keep her alive in constant misery and she suffers for a lifetime.
The thought brought wicked pleasure and I smiled at the mysterious witch inside my mirror. “What must I do?”
“Take this,” and a hand plagued with gnarled fingers slowly started to materialize. In its clutches there was a small vial. It was deep red; the color of fall fruit, ripened almost to the point of rottenness. It was corked with a silver, leaf-shaped, stopper. When I took it in my hand it was cold against my skin, like dying breath.
“What will it do?” I asked as icy bumps trickled over my arms.
“Trap her in a world of bitter torment,” the hag chuckled. Then she faded away, leaving only my reflection behind.
I held the vial in one hand and the dagger in the other, clasping them both to my chest. A burning in my heart seeped out and coursed through my body, making my limbs blaze. They itched to strike down the girl that had caused me so much pain. Unwilling to let my vengeful desires go unquenched any longer, I slid from the bed and dressed in a gown of black leather and lace.
Armed with the only two weapons I had, I rushed through the door, leaving William behind in his eternal sleep. The sound of hurried feet met me as I stepped from my bedroom, and I saw Richard running toward me. His face was drawn in pain and all the color had drained from his skin. His eyes were hard and his lips were a tight line. Ragged breath pumped in his chest and the sound marched down the hall. With trembling fingers, he held his right side. I went to him and took his hand, seeing the bright stain of blood on his skin.
The tremble in my panicked voice matched his shaking fingers. “What happened?”
“Charles has gone wild. He and my sister plan on taking the kingdom for themselves. He thrust his sword in my chest and drove it as deeply as he could,” he said, life draining from his eyes with each word he spoke.
I forced myself to look at his wound and cringed at the sight. A deep gash splayed the dark material of his shirt and opened his soft skin. There would be no closing the wound. It was only a matter of time before all life flowed from him and left him a breathless mound of flesh. Still, I held him and begged him to rest.
Richard shook his head, pulling from my embrace. “You must leave this place. They will come for you. Already my sister is gathering a small army and they march this way. You have little time to escape, but you must try.”
My mouth hung open and shock widened my eyes. I could not leave. There was nowhere for me to go and no one for me to turn to. She had taken everything from me and I could not let her continue. Even with an imminent death standing before me, I had to stand strong.
“Go!” Richard’s scream shook me from my stunned state and pried me away from my inner panic.
I turned, leaving him bleeding where he stood, and ran. Through a dark door I fled. One of the bridges that spanned the towers lay before me. Apprehension gripped my ankle, but I shook it off as I took the first step onto the stones. My feet carried me to the middle of the bridge, and I stopped when I heard a familiar sound flowing like liquid joy into my ears.
“Hunter,” I whispered and held out my hand for him to land.
He looked into my eyes and I saw the worry that lingered behind the black orbs. He knew we were trapped. A cold sensation tickled my fingertips, reminding me that I still held the small bottle in my hand. Gently, I uncorked it, making sure not to spill a single drop.
“Dip your beak in here, my pet, and find Lillyanna. Pierce her flesh and let the poison work inside her veins. It is the only chance we have.” Quietly my words melted through the silence.
The bird looked at me, understanding my words completely, and did as I bade him.
As I set him free, torch fire lit the pitch black sky. War cries quickened the night and chilled my resolve. But it was too late to think of escaping now.
I watched them come nearer, brandishing axes and picks into the darkened air. Firelight burned red against the sharpened metal and threatened everything around them. Black wings flew closer and closer to their mark. Lillyanna sat perched on a white mare, her beauty radiant even in the shadows. But a sharpened beak found its way to her flesh, breaking through the soft skin of her cheek.
Blood the color of her lips ran like trickling tears over her face. At first nothing happened, and I thought the potion had no effect on her. Then her eyes widened as a sea of pain rocked through her body. Her skin began to twitch and her limbs writhed in agony. Green eyes slipped closed and she fell, limp, off her horse.
The men around her paused, unsure of what had happened to their beautiful leader. One man, unmistakable to my eyes, hurried to her side. Charles wrapped his strong arms around her, cradling her tenderly. Tears stood out in his eyes, waiting to spill. He let a yell of frustration split the blackness that surrounded us, and then the army came toward me once more.
Seething scorn burned in their eyes, mimicking the harsh flames that lit the blades of their archaic weapons.
I let them come.
The thought of jumping from the bridge crossed my mind, but I could not bring myself to do it. A terrible vision of my face smashed against the gray stones cemented me where I stood. I waited for them to take me. When they finally found me their strong hands grabbed at me. They struck me with the handles of their pickaxes until welts rose against my skin and tears burned my eyes.
I fell and consciousness left me. When I woke, I was in a dungeon far below the castle. Only dim firelight burned, playing savage tricks with the shadows around me. Slowly, as if they were trying to drive my senses mad, footsteps drew closer. Lillyanna materialized out of the gloom, her beauty slightly marred by a tiny scar on her cheek. I shrunk back in terror, wondering how she could have escaped the horrible effects of the poison.
“Don’t be so taken by the sight of me. Black magic cannot prevail when love is the opponent.” The words slithered spitefully out of her upturned lips.
“The only blackness I have ever encountered is the way of your heart.” I tried to find my strength, but it was dim like the light.
“Not any longer. For now you shall be cloaked in blackness, and dark shadows will be your only company.” She fingered the iron bars of my cell and laughed.
I could not reply, but the quiver of my lips and the whimper of my fright betray me, revealing how terrified I was.
“I did bring you two gifts, however. I could not let you pass your years in utter solitude. That would be cruel.” Lillyanna clapped her hands twice and a guard rounded the corner.
He was pushing the mirror that William had given me, and on the top was perched my beloved raven. Gray eyes stared ghostly into nothingness. A lump, too big for me to swallow, formed in my throat.<
br />
“A mirror, to reflect who you truly are, and your pet, stuffed and preserved since I know you prefer them better dead than alive.” Her words coiled around me.
The wheels scratched against the uneven stones, screaming into the rocky prison. When he closed the door behind him, the clanking metal caged my heart. I was trapped forever and at the mercy of a loathsome captor.
“Did I not tell you? False love is fleeting,” she whispered.
I looked at her, my eyes narrowing. “What of Charles?”
“He remains the charming man I fell in love with. I, unlike you, did not have to trick him into loving me in return.” Lillyanna turned, leaving me to rot.
***
For years without number, I have been alone in the dark. Shattered pieces of my mirror lay littered around me; shards of a life I used to have, spoiled on the floor. And when I look into them, I see the old woman that came to me that night, offering me a failed solution to my problems. Haggard eyes stare at me and wrinkled lines mock the beauty I once held.
Darkness and my beloved pet are my only companions. Hunter’s lifeless body watches as I deteriorate. My only comfort is that sometimes I can still hear him speak to me. He talks of the one that took his life and destroyed my own. “Skin as white as snow. Lips as red as blood. Hair black as ebony.”
About the Author:
Emily Fogle was born and raised in Southern California. Her dream and ultimate goal was to get her Master’s Degree in English and become a teacher with enough time to write, as well. However, she soon found out that the best dreams often come true when they aren’t planned. Instead of fulfilling her teaching goal, real life took over and she married the man of her dreams.
She now has an amazing 8 year old son and a beautiful baby boy. She dedicates the majority of her time taking care of her family, volunteering at her son’s school, and being a Cub Scout Den leader. And though she loves every minute of it, the thought of being a writer still tugs at her heart. So, after the busy days are done and everyone is finally sleeping quietly, she squeezes in time for all the other loves in her life: the characters running wild inside her head.
Unhappily Ever After: Fairy Tales With a Twist Page 12