I continued to glare at the wall, my anger in Epona and Eirwen simmering throughout my entire body. A knock on the door brought me out of my anger for a second and I went to answer the door. There a maid stood, and she seemed to almost be quivering. Her frizzy brown hair was pulled back underneath a kerchief and her blue eyes were staring at the floor.
"I hope I'm not disturbing y-you at all, y-your majesty." she stuttered. I rolled my eyes and motioned for her to continue. "There is a visitor, and the c-council has requested a meeting w-with you and the other chancellors."
I looked away at my closet, slightly irritated. "Give me a few moments!" I barked, and the maid cowered. I closed the door behind me and began to choose an outfit.
About an hour later I was somewhat pleased with my look, but couldn't do any better. I made my way to the council hall, which was two floors up and down several hallways from my bedroom. The High Chancellor Baldrick met at the door, his eyes casting disapproving glances at my lateness and my low neck line. I ignored his glares and accepted his escort into the council hall.
The other chancellors gave me the same disapproving glares as I seated myself at the head of the table. Chancellor Baldrick sat himself opposite of me at the other end. Once seated, he looked at me expectantly and sighing inwardly, I made the motion to proceed. A young man who had been hovering around the scarlet curtains stepped forward. I had not seen him there and he took me by surprise. At a glance I thought he looked familiar. After close scrutiny once he had begun to speak I realized he was the stable boy Evyn. I listened closely has he told his woeful tale.
"I am a stable boy here at this palace, though I live at home. My family is starving. The crops have been plagued by parasites, and many of those in my village are dying. What they are dying of is unknown, but they are slowly wasting away. There is no food to provide our families with, and even those who have jobs cannot pay the tax collectors who rob our families of what we have earned." here his voice broke and gained volume. "The kingdom is going to waste, and nothing is being done. Here you sit, healthy, with food on your table and enough table scraps to last for weeks while those of the kingdom starve. Have you no mercy? What do you need that you don't already have?" his voice was shrill and his questions seemed to be focused on me. However, I felt no emotion. I had what I needed, and I could leave the worrying up to the council.
The councilers looked at me expectantly. What did they expect me to say? I simply nodded and dismissed the boy at a wave of my jeweled hand. He did not go quietly though. His anger seemed to grow and he advanced towards me, only to be stopped by the guards stationed around the room. As the guards pulled him out the exits he continued to shout. "You shall pay for what you have done to my family! You shall pay for what you have done!"
I remained firm. Dismissing the council I rose and continued to my room, ignoring the protests of the others. Let them worry about the petty complaints of villagers. I had someone to take care of.
Upon returning to my room I assembled the ingredients I would need. The apple, as well as a few other more obscure ingredients. The hair of a siren. That one was easy, I had the clippings of Eleri's hair from when she was a baby. Blood from crow. Scale of a sea dragon. Talon from harpy. Those, while seemingly rare, I knew I could find in Maeve's bedchambers, as long as I avoided her mirror. The last fews ingredients would be much more difficult to obtain. Hair from one hated. Hair from one adored. Hair from one indifferent. Hair from one whose anger may surpass your own.
Well hair from one adored couldn't be too difficult, after all I adored myself. Hair of one hated. Instantly I thought of Maeve, with her cold blue eyes and long sleep black hair. I might be able to find a hair in her bedchamber. For the last two I had no idea.
Over the next few days I carefully brewed the potion, taking ingredients from Maeve's secret chamber, as well as my own stores. On the tenth day the hairs were ready to be added. First I added my own. Then I carefully added that of Maeve's, which I had extracted from her hairbrush. Desperate I did the same for Eirwen, hoping she would be either indifferent or angry. Unable to find any others I added the piece of Eleri's hair, missing only one ingredient. The potion was as complete as it could get.
The potion I let simmer for a few days, before carefully dipping in the apple, a ribbon and a comb. These I let dry and the next day I prepared myself for a visit to Eirwen's cottage.
I woke at dawn, just as the sun was beginning to peak through the trees. I had not slept well, my dreams troubled with a wooden door behind which stood horrors I could only imagine. Everytime I approached the door I felt inexplicable fear for what was behind it. I brushed away the last memories of the dream and put my plan into motion.
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Keir shook his head at the pitiful Maeve, who sat sulkily in the corner of his great chamber. "You under estimate the power of Redynvre." he said quietly. She sneered.
"Redynvre is nothing but a magician. A mere trickster compared to you and I." Keir shook is head at her words. As powerful as Keir may be, he had no control over what others did, unless he had contact with them somehow. He'd once had contact with Redynvre, but Maeve had been banished and now he must sit back and watch. He understood her power, even is Maeve didn't.
Resigned Keir sighed and let himself fade into a vapor, his way of calming down. Maeve just continued to sulk in the corner.
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Night had fallen. The cresent moon was hidden by thick clouds and there were very few stars in the sky. A perfect night for what I planned to do.
I pulled the cloak down further to hide my face. Concentrating I imagined my body older, and more haggard. When the process was done I looked into the mirror. My smooth, milk white skin had become a wrinkled, brown mask. My eyes had dimmed and my hands and neck were bony and puckered.
Carefully I lifted the apple basket from the bed stand. Opening the door slowly I looked around to make sure no one was looking. Quickly I imagined my self to be camouflaged against the walls, and prayed that it would work. I crept down the stairs. A sudden noise startled me and I froze. A young maid came running down the stairs, whipping past me. Once her footsteps faded I relaxed, knowing my spell had worked. Swiftly I made my way out of the castle, sneaking past the snoozing guards.
Once out of the castle grounds, I realized I didn't know where to go. Determined to finish what I had begun I headed out in the general direction I thought Eirwen had run.
I reached the edge of the woods just as what remained of the moon went scuttling behind the clouds, cloaking the forest in darkness. I took a deep breath before stepping into the dark woods, trying to remain calm. A twig snapped and I whirled around. Nothing moved in the darkness and I scolded myself for being childish. I continued forward, listening for any unusual sounds. The wind was still and the forest was enveloped in complete silence, with not even a rustle of leaves to break it.
Something brushed gently across my shoulders and I stiffened. Slowly a hand creeped around neck and I screamed.
My Reviewers: a measly two!come on now. please? jk.
Moonlight Enchantments: well... you'll see.
Scoutcraft Piratess: yeah only sorta of managed. glad u like Maeve. she was my favorite character to to create.