She Wasn't Always a Witch

A Challenge Issued (E)

I remember how that first meeting between him and I went. He was the love of my girlhood and he did not even know it. Nickolas. He was perfect. Everything about him was male. Everything about him screamed ‘I will protect you.’ I was captured in his very green eyes. His teeth were surprisingly white with no yellow stains or spots as papa used to have. His hair was red with an angular jaw. He was rather short. Not even 6'' but he was perfect. He stared in many of my girlhood fantasies of princes and princesses. He is the prince and I being the princess.

It has been five years since mama's death and not a day has gone by when I do not remember her smile or her eye color or her smell. She smelled of rosemary. Nursemaid left me last year because she said it was time to move on.

I do not believe her. Until now, I do not believe her and I told her so. She told me my young mind would not understand why she had to leave but that once I was a woman grown I'd understand. I am still trying to understand what she meant by such.

Sitting at my window, I look down to see Nickolas with my horse. Marsh was what I named him because that is where I found him-in the marsh trying to escape the water creature that was trying to make him lunch. I saved him by hitting the creature on the head with a rather large and thick branch over the head. After I made the creature go back to whence it came I told Marsh he was free to go but he just neighed at me and he has been with me ever since. That was three years ago.

Nickolas was the only one that thought what I did was foolish. He told me I could've been killed but really I think he was just shocked that at seven year old was more man than half of the man the stable boys were at fifteen.

As I looked down at Nickolas with Marsh, I was aware of a flutter in my tummy. A smile lit my face when Nickolas turned and looked right into my eyes. He was always able to sense when I was near or when I was watching him. It both pleased and aggravated me. It pleased me for a reason I did not yet know but it aggravated me because I was now not able to do the fun things such as sneak upon him and scare him.

Nickolas grinned at me and blew me a kiss. I blew him a big loud one as well. We just recently began doing this. At first it shocked me because Nickolas never openly showed affection towards anyone least of all me. I suppose that was because I was not doing well in mathematics. Nickolas was constantly teasing me about my trouble with multiplying fractions.

"Come down here, Anora! Marsh is lonely and I need a ridding partner!" Nickolas yelled up at me

I laughed, "But Nickolas, I do not want to embarrass you in front of your horse when I beat you to the apple tree and back!" I yelled right back at him

Throwing his back he laughed. He was very handsome when he did that, "We shall see who wins today my Lady Anora!"

With that last comment, I ran down to Marsh.