The Witch's King

Chapter 1

 The sound of her name, title and all, bristled on her eardrums. The Witch rolled her eyes at the soldier sitting so tall and proud atop his majestic white steed who underestimated his own roll in the delivery of the message from King Eric.

The horse bounced to the left, jolting his rider who ripped the parchment he read from in his haste to grab the horn of his jewel-laden sale. Adeline smirked beneath the deep hood of her cape. She flicked her fingers again and the horse continued to dance, keeping the messager off balance and unable to hold the scroll open.

When he saw the Witch raise her hand, fear froze his ability to react. He waited for death with his eyes closed.

"Please hand me the scroll," the voice of a young woman came from the figure before him. He opened his eyes to a burst of long red locks blowing in a breeze he could not feel.

"I, I'm, I,' the messenger stuttered. "I apologize, my lady. My message is for the Witch." The young man lifted his eyes to the forest in front of him. "I was told she would be here."

Adeline shook her head at his words. She had been away from the village for far too long. Dried leaves swirled up the horses' legs causing him to jump from foot to foot. The scroll removed itself from the fingers tightly clenched into its folds before the messengers' eyes and appeared in the waiting hand of the beautiful woman standing in the shadows.

Before the boy could think his next thought, the horse turned around so abruptly he needed both hands around the horn to stay on top of the animal instead of under it.

She waited to open the scroll until she could no longer see the horse as it ran full speed back to the precious lands of King Eric. If the rider was still in his saddle, the Witch couldn't tell and didn't care. Maybe next time he'd know to keep his opinions to himself.

Gently Adeline unrolled the soft parchment, knowing the King had dictated the words so elegantly penned across the page. She wondered who had dictated the words to the King.

Tears fill her deep blue eyes. She fell to her knees as the shadow lifted itself from the page and passed through her heart. How anyone could be so cruel was beyond even her ability to reason.