The door to the small shop banged open and the cloaked woman strode in purposefully. The old, bent woman sitting in a tattered winged arm chair watched the girl's approach. A scrawny black cat jumped onto the back of the crone's chair. The woman passed under the drying snake tails and mermaid eyes to stop before the chair. She was there for black magic. That was the only reason anyone came into the witch's shop. The girl had travelled far to reach the little shack on the edge of the city. She was from the upper city and was obviously unaccustomed to being so far removed from high society. The witch chuckled to herself. This young woman held pure hatred in her heart and a touch of madness in her head - the ideal client.
"I need a spell," She snapped.
The witch stroked her pet that had jumped from the back of the chair into her lap to stare at the woman before them with large orange eyes. "Spells are expensive. Are you sure you can pay?"
"I have money."
The old hag cackled and stood up. The cat jumped from her lap to the dusty wooden floor. "The price for black magic is not measured in silver or gold. What sort of spell were you looking for?"
The woman followed as the witch limped around to a tall bookshelf filled with rows of unmarked jars holding all manner of sinister body parts from a variety of animals. Some of the jars held nothing but glowing liquid or what looked like black sand. The witch ran her hand along the glass, her long yellow nails clicking on each jar. "I need a spell to get rid of someone."
The wrinkled hand stopped over a jar that held a still beating heart. "You want to kill them?"
"No, I just want them out of the way."
The witch looked thoughtful. "I have a potion that turns flesh to stone. No? Well, then how about something to make them fall in love with a person of your choosing?"
The woman's face lit up in an evil grin and she nodded. "That would be perfect. How much do you want for it?"
Nestled in between the jars was a tiny vile of black liquid. The witch held up the vile between two fingers. "True love cannot be replicated. This potion will induce intense feelings of lust for the first person that is seen after it is drunk, but make sure no intimate action occurs or it will break the spell. Any great shock to the person under the spell and it will be broken. It is a difficult potion to make and the price is high."
A young hand reached out to take the vile, but the witch clenched it tightly in her fist. "Payment first," she croaked. "You are a pretty young thing. I just want a taste."
The woman's pretty face creased in confusion, "A taste of what?"
"Do you accept the exchange?" The witch demanded. It had been so long since someone so delicious had come into her shop. The woman contained so much wickedness under her pretty skin. The woman nodded in agreement. "Then the bargain in struck."
Deceptively quick for someone of her age, the witch grabbed the thin wrist of the woman to keep her still. The fingers of her other hand grew into long claws and the blood of all the ones who came before stained her arm black. The claws plunged into the girl's chest and she screamed in terror. The little wench would survive; it would only hurt for a few minutes while the witch fed on what little goodness there was in her, but she would be forever changed. The hoarse cackles of the witch mixed with the woman's horrified screams.
Gasping for breath and barely able to stand, the cloaked woman leaned heavily on one of the small tables. It was over now and she had the potion in her hand. The wrinkles that had lined the witch's face were smoothed out now and she stood a bit straighter. She smiled and left her customer where she stood and retreated back into the shop. Her job was done. The black cat hissed at the woman angrily. She looked up at where it was perched on top of the bookshelf and scowled. She would get out of this disgusting shop and go see the effects of what she had bought. Ebony Valix would never get in her way again. It was late so she would wait until the wretch went out in the morning. She knew the girl needed a new dress for the ball and she would be waiting in an alley to strike. In the meantime she would find the lucky man Ebony would fall in lust with. He had to be important enough to be seen at the balls. Ebony had to be brought down in the eyes of her little lover boy. He also needed to be unscrupulous enough to go along with such a plan. She knew just the man. It would not be hard getting him to agree to such a thing. He lived at the edge of the upper city and was a notorious scoundrel. He lived alone in a small villa paid for by the fortune his parents left him.
The woman marched up the steps in front of Count Garen's villa. Where the witch had impaled her was sore, but nothing further than dark bruises marred the skin. She slammed the heavy brass door knocker against its metal plate. Within minutes the Count himself was standing before her in the open door. She smiled at his apparent drunken state. Yes, he was the perfect candidate to keep Ebony out of the way. He smiled lecherously when he laid eyes on the blonde woman before him.
"Hello, kitten, have you come by for a midnight snack?" Garen slurred.
The woman did not blink and boldly stepped past him into the house. "I have a proposition for you."
Now that she was inside, the count closed the door and circled around her. "What's that, baby? I'm all ears to any lovely little thing that comes to my door in the middle of the night."
The woman watched him as he walked around her. "I need you to do something for me. I need you to take someone off my hands. I'll pay you well for every day that you keep her here."
"Ooh, I do love the female types. Who's the little lady I'm taking off your hands?"
"Her name is Ebony and if she comes here you have to keep your hands to yourself or else the deal is off. You will have her drink this and she will become obsessed with you, but if you do anything that is at all jarring to her the spell will break."
"So you're going to pay me to watch some girl for you?" Garen asked. The woman nodded. "You got yourself a deal, kitten."
The woman saw her quarry approaching carelessly. Ebony was unsuspecting as she passed in front of the small alleyway on that morning. Before she had a chance to cry out or fight back, a rag was shoved in her mouth and tied firmly in place. Her wrists were tightly bound as well despite her violent struggles. It all happened so quickly she did not glimpse her attacker. There was a man there. He examined her and smiled unpleasantly. She jerked away as he reached a hand out towards her face. That was the last thing Ebony saw before they knocked her unconscious.
The man helped the woman drag the girl to a carriage he had waiting. They dropped her inside and he was handed the small vile. "Now, remember, she must drink this as soon as possible and if you are the first person she sees it will be you she lusts over." The woman instructed.
Count Garen smiled at their prisoner. "Lust – I like the sound of that."
His comment earned him a slap. "Don't even think about it. If the spell is broken then our deal is off. I'm only paying you as long as she remains with you. So keep your hands and other body parts to yourself." The woman said angrily. She hoped he would be able to keep his end of the bargain. The ball was tomorrow night and they didn't need anything to go wrong there.
"I can control myself." The count argued.
"Make sure that you do, or else all of this is getting pinned on you. Now go quickly before someone sees us together."
Count Garen climbed into his carriage and propped the unconscious girl up on the seat. "I hope this works." He mumbled as the carriage pulled away.
He removed the gag from her mouth and forced the inky black concoction down her throat. She did not wake, but her face changed. She looked blissfully happy while she slumped against the seat. Garen had seen similar looks on people who had passed out from too much alcohol. He lightly slapped her face to see if she would wake and look at him. She stirred and sighed. Her eyes fluttered open and looked straight at the count. "My love," She mumbled before closing her eyes again. Garen smiled. That Giselle had actually come through. Now he would be paid to parade this girl around everywhere with him. He just had to remember nothing too intimate or the spell would break. He smiled and leaned back, it would be the easiest money he had ever earned.
...and that is why I did not post this chapter when I knew I wouldn't be updating much. This is the beginning of the end, folks.