"Do you deny the accusation of spreading false rumors about the prince's death?" The nobleman, dressed in a long purple coat, questioned.
Willow gulped. Perjury would mean a death sentence, but only if she's caught. Her last remaining hope was to wait for Wes to rescue her from this colossal mess.
"I deny it," she spoke, her voice wavering. "I deny all accusations."
Walking on thin ice.
"Nonsense!" Byron shouted. "I have witnesses who claim to have seen and heard you saying that the Prince is dead."
Yep, she's going to die.
"I was in the same market, my lord, and heard the rumors, which I then repeated, as anybody else in that market. In fact, I am sure there is not one person who has not heard the news and forwarded it to someone else."
Byron looked at the queen, silently pleading to not believe the lies coming out of the prisoner's mouth.
"Whether she spread the rumor or not," a co
"It is proven," Byron declared. "This girl, this human, infiltrated our kingdom with malicious intents, spread lies, and perjured herself in front of the queen. She should be punished without mercy."The queen remained silent for a brief period of time. Her court regarded her in anticipation. Willow closed her eyes, praying for Wes to show up, praying for an earthquake, a strike of lightning, a zombie apocalypse, or literally anything that would delay the verdict for a lifetime."Your majesty?""As I said earlier," the queen finally spoke, "those who commit perjury earn themselves a death sen—"The sound of the hefty golden doors opening cut her off. Everybody's attention was focused on the offender who dared to trespass and interrupt her majesty.When Willow recognized the person, she sputtered and tried to cover her mouth with her chained hand. The entire room wore the same expression as her. The queen's face featured a small smile.
The queen and Prince Wes entered the meeting room beside the throne room and took a seat at the giant rectangular table. The queen sat on her grand seat at the head of the table and Wes sat to her right. "Prince Wes," she began, "your kingdom and mine have a special relationship that predates your birth. But I am afraid my hands are tied. I cannot allow injustice and privilege to prevail." "Your majesty, this is not a common person that we speak of. She is a princess and my wife—" "A wife who had an illicit affair with my son." Wes' eyes widened and his eyebrows knitted. He was shocked to say the least, although he quickly deduced the possible conclusions and assumed that the alleged affair must have been a ploy to free Willow. He cleared his throat. "All the more reason to let her go. I will deal with this private matterprivately. In addition, I am willing to overlook the affair. I will not hold Prince Slade accountable
Willow, Wes, and Luke were back in the grey cloudy sky that was a contrast to Hieroland. Wes increased the speed of the car which blew the dust off the road as they passed the trees. "I had totally forgotten about Byron, and then they chased after us in the entire market," Willow narrated the entire story to Wes about what had happened with her and Luke. Luke chimed in too from time to time and Wes listened. "—And that's when you walked in!" she looked at him. "Were you afraid that I wasn't going to show up?" Wes asked, momentarily taking his eyes off the road to look at her. "No, I always knew you would." "Ugh," Luke said from the backseat. Wes slowed the speed of the car before pulling over near Willow's father's house. "You sure you don't want to go?" He asked. She looked at the house and smiled. "No, I'll come back soon when I have more time." If she went to her father's house she would have
Willow rushed back home in the afternoon and yawned while walking in. She heard a disturbance coming from the kitchen, like the clanking of utensils, and walked towards it only to find Wes, cooking. "You can cook? I'm hungry! What are you making?" She asked excitedly, looking at him stirring the cauldron. He looked up from the pot. "That's not for eating unless you want unlimited strength for lunch." "Wait, are you—" "Making a potion with the herbs? Yes." She walked closer and noticed a brown paper with the recipe kept on the counter. "Wow, you came prepared," she sounded impressed by his thoroughness. Willow rested her arms on the counter and watched him work expertly through the process. Once the potion had been made and cooled down, Wes transferred it to two separate vials. "Here," he handed over one vial to her. She looked at the brownish-green liquid sadly. This was the final order of their business
Wes entered the kingdom again after crossing the barrier. Even though everything had changed, it still appeared the same and as if he never left. It didn't suit a person of his stature, but he didn't care as he walked through the streets that provided the shortest route to the palace. He imagined Willow walking beside her, sharing some anecdote that she found interesting. People were whispering as he moved through the streets. Wes wondered what the point of whispering was when he could clearly hear everything. "He's back!" They said in low voices. "He's back after a month!" "Did he get married?" "Do we have a new princess?" 'Yes, I'm back. It's been more than a month. Yes, I got married. No, she's definitely not a princess,' Wes thought as he walked past the houses. The news of the prince's return traveled fast. Wes saw Raven driving towards him as the car stopped a few meters away. "Your majesty!" He got out of
Ava strolled through the palace's corridors. Since the prince went missing, her life had only gotten worse, so her relief at his return was palpable. Wes' door was open when she continued down the hallway, which was unusual because it was always closed. He was sleeping on the bed when she peered inside. Ava knocked without entering. She recalled the one and only occasion she had entered his room. It happened when she had just gotten married. The moment the prince noticed her in his room, he yelled at her, called her names, and threw her out. A long time had passed since then, but he had never invited her inside. She knocked on the open door again, this time more loudly, and saw him stirring on the bed. "Ava?" He said when he saw her, wondering what he was doing in the palace room. She saw him go still for a second before he vigorously started checking for something in his pockets. When he had his affirmation, he looked at her again. "D
What do you say to someone when someone close to them dies? I'm sorry? Are you okay? Here's 10 million dollars to make it all go away. Willow sat on the dining chair in her father's house as she looked at her brother playing video games right after coming from school. He was still in his sweaty, dirty clothes, and her father was yelling at him for it. "How many times have I told you to take a shower and complete your assignments before playing these games?" Over the years, her father had taken the role of a mother too. She had never said it to him but she immensely respected the way he parented her and her brother. Lord knows it wasn't easy. "Just one more game, dad!" Daniel whined. "I promise." It had been 'one more game' since three games. Willow laughed as she watched the scene. Her eyes were covered with the rose-colored glasses that she had bought from the magic marke
"Help!"Willow woke up to the sound of a voice crying outside the front door. She wiped her eyes and noticed the dusk through the window.There was a loud cry again, and this time it was accompanied by bangs on the door. Willow got off the floor and rushed down the stairs with the glasses still in her hand. The empty house came into view and then the front door that shook because of all the knocking.She placed the glasses on the table, went to the kitchen, and looked through the window to see a girl standing outside in torn blue jeans and a dirty white shirt. She had cuts on her legs that were bleeding profusely."Is anybody here?" She cried while knocking on the door. "Help!"Willow grabbed the biggest knife from the kitchen and went to the front door. She opened it with a thud causing the girl to startle. Willow pulled her in when she saw a vampire running towards the house. On instinct, she held her hand out and screamed.The golden ligh