Yes, the beginning few chapters are short. Sorry.
I, meanwhile, was having the time of my life growing up among plenty of other children. They were not kind to me, however. I stayed with the witch. Lady Allodia, the witch of the Hetar, the capital of Corvaux.
"You must be a mini-witch too, since you live with her!" exclaimed a little boy. I shook my head.
"She's not a witch, and neither am I!"
"Face it, Mari, we know you're a witch. Just admit it."
"But I'm not a witch!"
"You're at her house a lot. Is it witch lessons?"
"My dad travels, he trusts her, so I stay there!" The children continued to tease me. It was during those days when the other kids picked on me that I learned of my writing talent. They always called Allodia a witch, so I wrote a story about her. I was only eight, but I enjoyed writing the story.
It was about a misunderstood woman who everyone said was a witch, but was, in fact, a mysterious fairy disguised as a human. Before her human disguise, she traveled all around the land, helping her dwarf and elf friend. At one point, they visited the mermaids. All of it was based on the history of Coravaux. At one point, I even longed to be elf. I considered running away to the northern forest of the elves, but I could not leave my father or Allodia. I loved them too much.
I showed the story to Allodia, who had a strange look on her face.
"Ella, that's a brilliant story," she said, still pondering. I had no clue what she was thinking, which is odd for me. I grinned, something my father said could light up the room. Then I could see an expression come across her face, one that I recognized. Worry.
"Allodia, what is wrong my fairy godmother?" I asked, playfully using my nickname for her. She looked up at me, examining me with her gaze.
"When you write, what do you feel?" she asked.
"I don't understand." Allodia sighed, sitting down.
"Do you feel special? Do you feel powerful?" she inquired. I shrugged.
"I suppose. I did for this story at least. But this is the first time. When I wrote the other stories, I just felt really happy because I love to write," I replied. Allodia nodded quietly. I could understand why people found her odd. But she wasn't a witch. That much I understood.
I continued to grow up, staying with Allodia when my beloved father went away on business. I played with the other children, never getting very close to them. I did, however, meet the young prince.
We were barely thirteen or fourteen. I had run away from the other children again, as they seem to never grow tired of calling Allodia and I witches. I sat in the gardens, crying. The prince ran in, also running away from something. I looked up to see him there, suddenly ashamed at my tears.
"Why are you here?" I asked. "You're the prince. You don't come to the town's gardens." The prince rolled his eyes.
"Says my mother. She wants to control everything. She's already trying to marry me, arranging for silly rich girls or princesses to come, hoping that I'll fancy one of them. They're all morons. I come here to escape. No one was supposed to be here. The gardens are usually empty," he replied.
"Begging your pardon, Your Highness, but it's a public garden. Beautiful gardens that anyone can come to. Now, I know most don't but still. I can be here if I want," I answered stubbornly.
"Call me Leo. I feel so…noble when people use titles like that." It was my turn to roll my eyes.
"You are a noble, dummy. Get used to it, Your Majesty," I said, using the terms just to spite the boy.
"I ordered you not to call me that!"
"No, you did not order me, and if you did at all, you ordered me to call you Leo rather than Your Highness. Your Majesty is different. Besides, I can choose to call you by a more formal title, seeing as I am but a commoner." The prince glared at me.
"Fine, I order you, um…what's your name?" he asked.
"Call me Mari. Everyone else does. Either that or witch. Most kids still call me that. It's so stupid. It's also the reason I come here." Leo nodded.
"Fine, Mari, I order you not to use a noble or royal title for me, and simply call me Leo," he stated. I sighed, defeated. "Why do they call you a witch?" he asked.
"Ugh, that whole business is nasty, something a royal prince wouldn't care about or understand. But I appreciate your attempt to understand the pain of being a commoner. And since you asked so very politely, I shall tell you. When my father is away on business, I stay with Lady Allodia. People call her a witch. Since I stay there, they call me a witch too. It doesn't matter that I can beat them at writing in school, or really beat them at anything. They say its magic. So, since I am so wrongly called a witch, I have no friends. But that is perfectly alright by me, since I have my writings to get me by," I replied. Leo shrugged.
"I suppose that's that. People are morons. Trust me, I deal with crazy and foolish people all the time. It's good to have escapes," he replied. I nodded, liking him more and more as the conversation wore on. He was not as selfish and obnoxious as I had first thought. I suddenly remembered that my father was returning home today, and I needed to be home at five. I looked at the clock. Ten 'till five already! I had to run! I nodded my agreement to Leo, then started to rush off.
"I've got to go! I may see you another time here Leo! Best of luck with your mother!" I exclaimed. He looked at me, confused and considering whether to chase after me or not. He stayed, and I ran home to meet my father.