When the princess awoke she had no memories of her past; she only knew her name was Candy. She was in an unfamiliar room, that had dark brown stone walls. There wasn't much inside the bedroom as far as she could see in the dim light. Her inspection of the room was cut short with a soft knock on the door.
"Little sis, are you awake?" A haunting voice asked quietly and gingerly.
"Huh? Who are you? Where are we?" Candy was anxious to get away.
The stranger frowned, "Oh no. You don't remember anything do you?"
Candy perked up, but she was still defensive. "I know my name is Candy. You still need to answer my questions!"
The stranger gave her a wry smile and took her hand in hers. "My name is Deborah and I'm your older sister."
"My sister?" The words didn't seem to fit Deborah or sound right when she said it. Deborah frowned and look of teary sadness crossed her face. "Yes. I so sorry you got hurt, those men rea-"
Candy stopped her 'sister' as a sign she took the bait. "What men?"
"Right I should explain. You see sis we are enchantress; we have magic, powerful magic. With magic come trouble. We were living peacefully with our parents in a small town until these men passed by. They saw you using magic and thought they could force us into doing their bidding. We fought for awhile, but you and I were the only survivors. I was so afraid I was going to lose you." Deborah on the inside was smiling at how easy it was to play the young girl.
Guilt and curiosity automatically washed over the kind girl. "I'm sorry I worried you. What magic do I have?"
Deborah finally let go of Candy's hand and took a seat on the bed. "Healing magic. Which is very both dangerous and good. It was the reason they didn't attack you as much."
"Why can't I remember anything else?" Now came the tricky part Deborah had spent the past few hours working on.
"Your healing magic must have locked away your memories or destroyed them at worst. You did witness our parents be killed. It was so horrible, it's best not to try to remember that stuff. To remember them will only bring you pain and guilt. I must bear that pain, though."
"I feel awful about this. I wish I could have done something. Is there any-" She didn't get to finish her concerned thought.
"Well if you insist there are a few things you can do. For starters, you must never leave the castle, to keep you safe. I was able to find this abandoned castle, we're in your room in the tower. Also, I'll have to leave on trips to get supplies and I'll be gone for days at a time. You'll need to take over the chores until I return home. I may also return with suitors, you must treat our guest with respect by doing as they please. Lastly, I will brush your hair whenever the pain is too much and you can use your magic to help me heal." Deborah did not hold back at all.
"How does-"
"You've forgotten about your own magic? Well, it's simple sis when you sing your hair can heal whoever is holding it. You can heal and bond with me again while I brush your hair. Most importantly I need you to know what I'm doing is to protect." Deborah hadn't missed the beat in making Candy feel like an idiot.
Feeling like idiot Candy shook away an feeling of doubt, "Ok, sis."
And for many years Candy listened to her 'sister' and her rules. When she was alone, which was often; she cooked, cleaned, tended to the garden, and dwelled in many arts to keep herself busy. She often would transcribe tunes and songs on sheet paper in her spare time. At least when she wasn't brushing her long hair or finding ways to keep it from interfering with her work. She was always happiest when her older sister would return, especially with guests. The only time she'd ever get to hear about the outside world was with guests. Her sister often brought men, but none stuck around too long. The curious Candy would always ask what was wrong with the suitor during their 'bonding' time. An array of answers where always presented, each was shallow and callous. Not that Candy minded too much, the downfall of the suitors was most men she'd be set up with weren't too kind to her. Her elder sister always got the nicer ones, the ones that Candy wanted.
Being the good person Candy was, she never confronted these men about her feelings. She never regretted holding her tongue for her sister's sake of happiness. They were too in love with Deborah to care, anyways. But one suitor always managed to wander into her mind, one of the kinder suitors she had met, a musician with black hair and steely grey eyes. He was a gentleman at first, but Deborah allowed him to tease Candy whenever she could. He became a slightly tougher person the more time he spent with Deborah. He still managed to be nice in his teasing. Candy still felt sorry for him when she knew her sister was going to break things off. Then Candy sadly made the mistake of confessing her feelings to her sister first when she felt the relationship was getting close to being over.
Deborah couldn't allow her 'sister' to be stolen away she spared the suitor no mercy with the break. The results were horrendous. An old friendship was broken, a rivalry was fueled, red hair, and the poor musician lost his will to play. That was the worst thing her sister had ever done to anyone before and slowly Candy stopped idealizing her elder sister. A tiny bit of rebellion was planted inside her and that rebellion was ignited by flaming red hair.
"Damn it all to hell! I know the castle is here somewhere." Castiel grunted frustrated and played with his lute's strap.
He, his dog, and his best friend Lysander had been walking for hours. In order to save the little money they had they choose to walk. They had been walking for days in order to reach the kingdom city of Amoris. There was music festival and word had traveled. The two had met because of their shared passion for music in a local bar. They formed a duo group, Lysander proved the singing and Castiel played the lute.
"I know I'm forgetful but how do you forget where a castle is?" Lysander asked amused by his friend's forgetfulness. It was a nice change for Lysander. "A huge place mustn't be that hard to find."
Castiel felt some rage boiling in him, but he let it all go with a sigh."Listen my old lover was paranoid. She lost her family after some travelers attacked her home. Her sister is the only family she has left now, so they live in a very well hidden castle. She has her sister sleep in the tower, for her safety."
The large black and brown hunting dog perked up. "Woof! Woof!" The dog barked happily and he jumped a little. He had become antsy. His red hair owned looked at his longtime companion with hope.
"Demon you remember where the place is right?" His question was answered with another, "Woof!".
"Then lead the way, you crazy mutt!" Castiel patted Demon's head with a proud grin on his face. He motioned with his hands to go ahead as he did whenever the two would hunt. Lysander followed silently amused at the display.
But a question crossed his mind. "Are you sure the sister will let us stay?"
Castiel shook his head without looking at Lysander."Absolutely. The girl loves visitors, she doesn't get out. Deborah doesn't like her leaving so she can't get hurt. Candy was sweet even when I annoyed her or when Deborah would yell at her."
"Her name is Candy? What does she look like?" Lysander was now more interested; Candy was such an odd name.
"Pale skin, amber eyes, thin, cute in a kid way, and very very very long pastel pink hair. The longest hair you'll ever see. She never cut it for some reason." Lysander was impressed how easy it was for Castiel to describe her. He got a feeling that Castiel may have liked her more than he would admit. "Interesting."
"Haha. There it is! What I'd tell you? As long as Deborah not home we got a free stay."
Castiel was grateful as he saw the peak of the tower he had referenced before. The two sped up their pace until the massive castle came fully into view. Though both of their spirits were lifted Lysander keep his calm and collected mindset. "Hopefully Candy will be kind to let us stay for free. We are rather low on money Castiel."
Castiel let out a growl slip. "I'm aware of that Lysander. That's why we didn't stop at that inn before." Lysander ignored the growl and continued being the voice of responsibility. "So how do we get in?"
"The same way Deborah gets in." He silently prayed Deborah wasn't home.
"CANDY!" Castiel screamed. He frightened Lysander and began a screaming match.
"HELLO?"
"LET DOWN YOUR HAIR!"
"CASTIEL WHY ARE YOU HERE?"
"YEAH, I CAME FOR A VISIT!"
"DEBORAH ISN'T HERE!"
"I WAS PASSING THROUGH! DEMON WANTED TO VISIT YOU TOO."
"Arf!"
"I'M NOT SURE DEBOR-"
"I BROUGHT A FRIEND WITH ME. HE'S FROM THE COUNTRYSIDE WHERE THEY RAISE HORSES AND RABBITS!"
A second later a massive length of beautiful pink hair landed with a soft thud in front of Castiel. Castiel turned back to Lysander, his eyebrows were raised, a smug grin spread across his face, and his eyes screamed 'I told you so.'
