Chapter Seventeen

Preparations

Everything was cold, dark, and hard; the ground, her body, the sounds, even the smells. Lorita tried to move but her body was stiff and would not shift. Desperately she searched her mind, trying to decipher where this place could be. All she could remember was the throbbing pain in her head.

"You have served me so well, my precious Wilhelm."

The sickeningly sweet voice made Lorita's mind feel foggy again but the final word brought everything to a sudden halt. Wilhelm! Everything fell into place now. She had been with Wilhelm and the queen had entered his mind. He had said something and then hit her.She wants you. That must be where she was now, she was with her.

Feeling her head throb as she did it, Lorita forced her eyes open. She could see she was in a wide circular room made of grey stones. In front and to her left was a throne that looked as though it had suffered great damages and been repaired insufficiently. Across from the chair was a small wooden door set into the wall. Between the two was a low table that was bare. Against the left wall was a small vanity and the right was a large gilded mirror that reflected the room in its surface. Beside the mirror was a golden plinth, holding an indescribable mass of crimson that seemed to be twitching methodically. However it was not so much the furnishings as the figures that caught Lorita's attention.

Standing in front of the throne was a tall, slender woman in a scarlet ball gown. Long brown curls were wrapped within an elaborate golden headpiece to reveal her pale neck. Her back was to Lorita, facing the only other person in the room. Wilhelm's eyes were slightly glazed as he stared back at the queen in silent admiration.

Self-awareness gradually seeped back into Lorita and she examined herself. She was sitting as though unceremoniously dropped against the wall of the room almost behind the throne. Her thin dress was a little tattered and her hair looked dirty. Most alarming though, were the thick ropes that held her wrists together and likewise bound her ankles. Twine cords ran from her bonds and were tied around a metal ring set in the wall at her side. She was a prisoner.

Panic began to set in and Lorita tried to slide her hands out of the ropes. They were a tight fit and the most she managed to do was rub the skin on her wrists till it was red. The metal ring clicked tauntingly against the stone and she let out a choked sob.

"Oh Wilhelm, look, our guest has awoken."

Lorita looked up to see that the queen had turned to her. She was beautiful, with smooth milky skin and dark, deep eyes. But there was something lurking around her smile that made Lorita uneasy even while she was slightly mesmerised.

"What do you want with me?" Lorita asked shakily.

The queen's smile grew and she took a few steps toward her captive. "How old are you, child?" she asked in a kind voice that compelled Lorita to answer before realizing she'd spoken.

"Twenty-four," she said. Then, angry that she had been ensorcelled, she added, "Which is nowhere near your own age, I hear."

"Yes," the queen said in agreement. "But you could be, couldn't you? You could live longer than I and still look young and beautiful. You cannot know how much I desire to possess your natural gift." Lorita felt the last bit of warmth leave her as she realised where this was leading. The queen seemed to notice the change in her expression and for a moment her smile was wicked.

"No, you wretched, miserable hag!" Lorita screamed in rage. "No amount of magic or sorcery will hide the fact that you are a terrible witch! All the beauty in the world could not disguise your evil or make you look desirable! You are an old cow!"

The queen's smile faltered. "Wilhelm, we cannot have her speaking to me in this way. See her mouth is shut."

Wilhelm nodded. "Yes, my queen." As he walked toward Lorita his eyes never left her face. When she gazed back she was shocked to see that there was life in them again. He was acting of his own accord now, clearly free from the queen's spell. Lorita thought her heart must be breaking.

"Will, please, no," she sobbed. "Please, Will." For a moment it looked as though his lip quivered but his stride did not slow. Lorita was openly crying by the time he knelt beside her, trapping her small body easily against the wall. His hands found the hem of her dress and he tore a long strip from it, his ears deaf to Lorita's choked pleas. She tried to shy away as his hands brought the thick cloth near her face but he pressed himself closer to her and she could not move. The dirty strip was forced into her mouth and as he leaned around her to tie it at the back of her head she could feel his warm breath on her ear.

"I'm sorry. I didn't mean for you to be involved."

The whisper caught her off guard but when she tried to turn and look at Wilhelm he gripped her chin roughly in his hand and jerked her head the other way. His hands returned to the knots and he hissed, "The heart is her heart. Kill it and kill her. Thank you for everything you've done."

Wilhelm pulled away, the gag securely tied, and he met Lorita's gaze as he stood up. She saw the purest sincerity in his eyes. Then his face was once again blank as he turned and walked back to the queen. As the two of them talked Lorita's eyes drifted to the golden plinth beside the mirror. The red muscle throbbed rhythmically, betraying what it truly was now that Wilhelm had given her the idea. That was it; that was how they would get rid of the queen. Then they could live in peace and Wilhelm would be free. They just needed to stab her heart.

There was a sudden disturbance as the door opened. A man that Lorita recognized as Herr Prinz came in, carrying a blanketed bundle in his arms. He looked winded but very pleased with himself.

"I have it, my queen," he announced. "I collected it. Then, as you asked, I waited for that Jakob Grimm. He knows we have taken it. I put him to sleep but he will awaken within the hour and be on his way. I have done it all for you, my queen, just as you asked it."

"Wonderful," the queen cooed eagerly. "Set it on the table. We must prepare." The man nodded and hurried to lay the bundle on the tabletop. As he shifted it the blanket fell away and Lorita saw the slumbering child.

"Aurora!"

Although Lorita had spoken, or rather had tried to through the cloth, the shout had not come from her. Wilhelm's face had lost all colour and he took a step toward the table. Before he could move further the queen had grabbed his shoulders, spun him back to her, pulled his face down and pushed her lips to his. Like a candle being snuffed, Wilhelm's face lost all expression and the life drain from his eyes. He was hers once more.

"Wilhelm," the queen said when she broke the kiss. "Who is the fairest of them all?"

"You are, my queen," Wilhelm replied in an emotionless voice.

The queen smiled. "See, dear prince, no love conquers my own. Your love of the child has not beaten mine, just as your love of the faerie did not." Lorita's eyes widened at this but no one in the room was paying her any heed. "Now Wilhelm, Friedrich, let us prepare for my revenge against Jakob Grimm."

Lorita stared at the face of Aurora, so deeply asleep that she appeared dead. Please hurry, Jakob.