Stone Prison (A Macabre Gothic Tale) by Ward H.M

Author:Ward, H.M. [Ward, H.M.]
Language: eng
Format: mobi, epub
Publisher: Laree Bailey Press
Published: 2012-03-03T16:00:00+00:00

CHAPTER EIGHT

An hour passed as I stood with the witch. My toes were aching, pressed together tightly within the glass slippers. I wished I could kick them off and run through the room barefoot. But I knew that wasn’t possible. Many things were not possible. The witch did not waste time scolding me. Instead she wanted every detail of our conversation from the time before the Prince stormed off. Because that was what it had looked like to everyone else – that I’d said something that angered him. Prince Phillip had left the room and not returned. At the toll of the clock, my heart lurched. It was past eleven. Normally, I would be leaving now. But not tonight. There was no escape from the witch’s control, and she wanted me to remain until the prince claimed me as his bride and went to the gardens.

She smiled while she spoke, “If you are not withholding anything from me, then I am certain we can fix this, quickly. We must have you home by midnight.” She fussed with a stray curl, putting it back in place. “Listen carefully. The spell upon you makes other men covet you. Simply dance with another and the charm will invoke the Prince’s lust for you.” She spoke so coldly. Her mind was such a twisted web of thorns that she didn’t notice that I truly cared for him. The Duke’s son smiled at me. A girl slightly older than I was, was on his right arm. My mother stepped in front of the boy, causing his date to step aside. “May I have a word, your eminence?”

The boy smiled at the flattery and bowed his head acknowledging my mother. She said quietly, “I believe my daughter has offended the Prince. But since we are mere women, we cannot figure out what it was that she has done. Perhaps you would find it in your heart to dance with the girl, and help her discover her mistake?”

The boy’s eyes widened. There was a second’s hesitation. But, he extended his elbow for me, and I held on. He led me away from the witch and to the dance floor. I smiled and nodded, playing along as the dumb girl trying to mend her mistake with the prince. Before we circled the ballroom twice, the Prince appeared. I felt his eyes on the back of my neck, slipping across my cheek, and finally meeting my eyes as we danced by. Others approached the prince, but he was despondent. His eyes were transfixed on me. When we were to pass the prince again, he stepped in front of us, blocking our path.

“If I may...” Prince Phillip said, and cut in. His hands gripped me hard as he took the boy’s place. As we danced away, I saw the Duke’s son back away with sorrow on his face. My mother’s spell was thick, and it was as if the boy mourned me, though he only spoke to me for a moment.

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