Chapter seven
I quickly looked at prince Edward, and something in my eyes must have alarmed him, as he jumped on his feet to interfere.
´Mother. I mean Queen. May I call you Mother, though? The gardens look absolutely marvellous this time of year.¨
Queen Renee shoved him out of the way and I gasped. How could she put her hands on the prince of Chicago? Edwards' mouth opened but he couldn't move. His brows drew together as he tried to figure out what was happening.
Renee's eyes reddened in the meantime and I tried to grab Sophia protectively. Her soft biting assured me she was fine, but we soon wouldn't be.
My mother rose to her feet and grabbed me by the collar of my tight dress. My breathing became panting while she dragged me out of the room. Even though prince Edward tried to stop her, I knew there would be no stopping Renee once she made up her mind about something.
Edward stood still, as if someone made time stand still. He couldn't move. Oh god, he really couldn´t move, now could he?
To my surprise, Queen Renee suddenly threw a scarf around my shoulders as she harshly escorted me to my room. I saw Jacob on our way there and tried to make eye contact with him, but he couldn't even see me.
How was that possible? I could almost touch him!
´Don´t bother. No one can see or hear you at this point,¨ Queen Renee harshly whispered into my ear.
´What do you mean?¨ I moaned.
Renee squeezed my shoulder, and a cold shiver ran down my spine. ¨Child, you´re not the only witch in this kingdom.´
I tried to look around me and find something to free myself with, but the scarf made everything blurry and my panic started to arise. Where were we going? What was happening? Why wasn´t anyone helping me?
I got pushed towards the stairs and came to a stop in front of an invisible wall. My mother let her hands rest on the wall and it got pushed open. She let me in.
´I told you to keep that little rabbit of yours hidden. Now, look at what you´ve done!¨
I refused to enter that dark corridor and tried everything to stop my feet from walking further. ´What are you doing to me?¨
The Queen raised her brow at my disobedience. ¨What I should have done the first time I sensed your magic. I´m sending you away!¨
I thought about all the training I took with Victoria. I balled my fists and locked my feet, while I tried and failed to remove that scarf around me. I fought against an invisible force, but it did not help me in the slightest.
The Queen stood and waited until my tantrum was over. She looked almost amused. ¨Did you really think your magic is in any way comparable to mine?"
The left side of her mouth turned upwards into a grin I had never seen before. I saw her pointy teeth turn yellow and her soft brown hair suddenly looked like a mane. Her face was the same, but I could not recognise my mother in the creature that stood in front of me.
"Mother….," I pleaded.
"Child… silly child," she hissed. "Did you seriously think that that mere woman is still in this castle?"
"What… mother?"
I shivered and realised I was in more danger than I anticipated. If my mother stood in front of me, I still had a chance to escape as she would never hurt her only daughter. But now? I had no idea who was in front of me!
Her eyebrows rose and her nose got bulky. Her face changed and her skin got green. Her baby-soft skin became rough and she showed me her pointed teeth.
I backed away and felt the hard surface of the chambers underneath my back. I could not panic! If I had any way to escape, I needed to think straight!
The snake in front of me, or the dragon in front of me, whispered something I couldn't hear, and I got pressed into the back by an unseen force.
I hoped and prayed she would leave soon, so I could plot my escape. I hoped Sophia was still with me, so she could keep me company. I hoped Victoria would miss our practices and come looking for me. I hoped Jacob realised something was wrong. And I hoped Prince Edward would be fine again, as he couldn't move when he tried to help me.
"Your mother is still alive," the creature in front of me hissed. "For now, but I can't make any promises."
"Why are you doing this to her? And to me?" I asked.
I should not have asked that. She pointed her green claw at me and I felt an immense pain in my chest. Everything got blurry and I tried to hold back vomit. The pain exploded into tiny daggers of pure agony. It got into my veins and I swear it tried to get out. Everything inside me got cut open and rewired.
Still, I could not let her see me vomit. I would not give her the satisfaction. So I swallowed back my pain. I somehow found the strength to ignore the response to cry, scream or vomit.
She took a step back and made her way out of the door, without looking back.
"Child, my sister was asking for it."