Keira found herself walking through the courtyard of her old castle. She knew it was just a dream but everything around her seemed so real that it almost was as if she had never been sent down to the mines of in the first place. She crouched down in front of one of the flower beds and reached out to touch one of the sunflowers it contained. As she as she made contact with it a wicked laugh rang through her ears and the air became cold. Suddenly the flower began to wilt and deteriorate and as soon as the first pedal fell and hit the ground everything else in the area began to suffer the same fate. The grass began to turn to a hideous brown color and all the other flowers soon wilted as well. The courtyards walls began to crumble and fall apart and the clear sky above soon filled with dark gray clouds.
"Tragic isn't it…?" A voiced said to her.
Keira stood up and looked behind her to see the wind begin to circle around and eventually form the figure of the witch that cursed her long ago.
"Long time no see Keira." The Witch Princess said with a grin.
Keira stumbled and fell back in fear at the sight of her old tormentor.
"I've been watching you for a while..." The With Princess began as she slowly walked up to Keira.
Keira began to slowly back away from the Witch Princess on the ground. "…"
"What's the matter? Can't you speak?" The Witch asked. "Oh yeah that's right. I stole your voice."
Keira let out a whimper only to suddenly realize that she had somehow been give back her voice.
"I guess it wouldn't hurt to let you have it back for a while." The Witch Princess said.
"What are you doing here?" Keira asked as she placed her hand on her throat for a moment.
"What, can't a witch come and say hi to an old friend?" The Witch Princess asked in a harsh tone.
"How! How are you still alive?" Keira demanded.
"Come on now Keira, I'm a witch. You have to give a little credit to the person who made you immortal as well." The Witch Princess said to her before grinning again. "At least for a while."
"What are you talking about?" Keira asked.
"As soon as that barrier that separated you from the outside world fell you became human again. It's as if I never cursed you." The Witch Princess explained.
Keira simply started at her in shock.
"Jack, he's such a nice friend of yours." The Witch Princess said.
"Ja… Jack?" Keira said almost as if she was unfamiliar with the name.
"He's so protective of you." The Witch Princess said as if she was going off topic. "The way he's willing to let his own animals and crops die to protect you."
"What?" Keira asked.
"Oh, you didn't know?" The Witch Princess asked. "All the death on his farm is your fault."
"What, what did I do? I haven't done anything." Keira told her.
"That's where you're wrong Keira my dear." The Witch Princess said. "If you hadn't accepted his invitation to the surface his farm would still be prospering like it was before."
"But what do you mean that he's protecting me?" Keira asked.
"I told him that if he'd send you back down to the mine I'd end my curse." The Witch Princess said before picking up one of the dying flowers and plucking its petals. "Foolish human, refusing my offer. He will in due time though."
"He… he'd never hurt me!" Keira shouted at her in anger.
"Oh calm down Keira, I know he won't. He made that quite clear after I tried to poison you." The Witch Princess told her.
"What?" Keira asked.
"How could you forget? Remember last season at the cooking festival you got sick off of that juice? Maybe you should've given you're compliments to the chef." The Witch Princess explained as Keira's eyes widen with fear.
"That… that was you, at the beach. It was you!" Keira exclaimed.
"I guess you're smarter than you look." The Witch Princess said as she threw the stem of the dead plant away.
"Why? Why are you doing this?" Keira cried.
"Because, I want you to suffer, just like I did." The Witch Princess switching her calm tone for a more menacing one.
"But why me?" Keira asked.
"Because you're the one who made me suffer!" The Witch Princess shouted.
"What did I do?" Keira asked in fear.
"You don't think I don't remember?" The Witch Princess asked as if she was just insulted. "You think I don't remember all that pain! All that heartache! All that anger!" She said getting closer to Keira with each word. "And it was all because of you!"
Keira continued to stare at her with fear, almost at the brink of tears.
"No matter." The Witch Princess said, returning to her calm self. "I was friends with Jack, I know how he works. It'll only be a matter of time before I find out how to break him."
"Friends…? You couldn't be friends with Jack… He would never be friends with someone like you." Keira said in disbelief.
"Oh you'd be surprised Keira." The Witch Princess said forming another grin. "He's aware of my intent to get rid of you but is too afraid to tell you about anything."
"You're… you're lying." Keira said.
"Believe what you want Keira. Just know one thing, this isn't over." The Witch Princess said as she soon began to fade away.
After everything that she had just heard Keira couldn't help but want to cry. What had she done to deserve this? Why was the Witch Princess so intent on ruining her life? And more importantly could Jack really have been friends with her this whole time?
As the first tear from Keira's eyes fell and touched the ground, so did the last pedal of the sunflower.
A/N: What was simply suppose to be a few short lines from the next chapter eventually turned into this. It seems a little dark to me but I find it fits perfectly in the story. Till next time people.