The True Story Of The Original Witch

Chapter 10: Say You Love Me

I waited under the tower that night, waiting for Joseph's signal. Of course Briar Rose would be in the highest tower in the whole castle. I looked up, seeing that window above me. Once in a while, I could see her, wearing a simple purple gown. Nothing special, for a princess at least. Something about it made me despise her all the more.

That's when I felt it over my hand. I remembered the feeling of that hand over mine. That ring. "Clara." I said. Surprisingly, I found myself saying it through gritted teeth. Why was I suddenly so upset with her?

"What do you think you're doing?"

That shocked me. That was Clara's voice. I was hearing her. Was she projecting her voice to me? Before I could process that, I saw a glowing blue arm rest itself on my shoulder. It was pale and wispy, like a ghost's arm. I turned around and screamed.

Clara, now standing behind me, placed a finger to her lips. She was pale and blue, a pale aura around her.

"You look like a ghost," I said.

"I didn't have much time to get this spell to you," she responded. "But my powers have grown ever since my skin finally finished turning."

I did notice that her skin looked more white than usual, but I had originally dismissed that as the blue glow. "So you're... actually white now? As in, the same color as a cloud?"

Clara sighed. "Yes, yes. I'm a walking cloud. But that's not important. I came here to talk to you. What exactly do you think you're doing?"

I leaned up against the tower wall. "What does it look like? I'm securing my future with Joseph."

"By killing the princess?"

I shook my head, walking back up to her. "I'm not killing her, Clara. She's just going to sleep."

"For eternity? That sounds like death to me," she said.

I groaned. "And you say I'm the goody-two-shoes. Clara, if Joseph and I are going to be together, then sacrifices have to be made," I let my face fall into a smile, my eyebrows curled down. "And besides, the girl is a porcelain doll. It's not like she acts awake and active. What difference would being asleep make?"

Clara backed away. "Elise, why are you talking like this? This isn't you."

"Yes, it is!" I shouted, but remembered that we were still underneath the princess's window, and I shook off some of the rage. But my hand still felt hot. Looking down, I saw it was on fire again. I quickly brushed it off on my skit, putting out the flames.

Clara looked at my hand, now smoldering. "What happened to you?" I didn't say anything, but Clara already knew. She sighed, pursing her lips. "Joseph. He's the one that's put these thoughts in your head," she said. "Elise, he's corrupted you. With powers like yours, corruption like this could destroy you."

Clara tried to get closer to me, but I moved away, not even looking at her. "Joseph loves me, Clara. He told me himself," for some reason, I felt I had to add, "more than I can say for you."

She was suddenly more interested. "What are you saying?"

I turned back to her, fists clenched and growing warm, glowing with those smoldering marks. "What does it sound like? He told me he loved me right away. You hid it from me until the last second," I said. "Joseph didn't hide his love for me. He's sacrificing his crown for me, he's helping me put the princess to sleep. You have never supported me the way that he does," I backed away, a look of cold anger in my eyes. "And yet you claim to love me."

Clara's fists clenched as well. "I... I didn't think you could accept it."

"And you were right," I got closer, face-to-face with her. "I could never accept the love of a person who won't be honest with me. Who won't support my wishes."

"Who could support your wishes when they become this dar-"

I interrupted her there. "Joseph, that's who. He loves me enough to sacrifice everything for me. Would you do that, Clara? What would you sacrifice for my sake?"

Clara sighed. "Elise, please. I don't want to see you go down this path."

"You're not answering my question."

"It doesn't matter right now."

"Wow, you can't even answer me? Thank goodness I never chose you."

Clara grew silent once again. Typical. "Maybe I didn't really love you in the first place," she said. "Maybe... it was just a friendship I saw as something else, maybe it was love, I don't know. But neither does Joseph. You both are in love with being in love. And that love is pretty dark, Elise."

I stared down at my hands, now slightly cooler, but they still held that powerful warmth, a warning of things to come. "Well maybe I like darkness," I said. "Joseph, he lets me set it free. Unlike you, pretending that it doesn't exist, shoving it down in a futile attempt to muzzle me."

"I'm not trying to-"

"Clearly not, because your attempts are failing," I turned away from her. "Leave me alone Clara. I like the darkness. I'm going to use it as long as I want."

I was about to start walking to the other side of the tower just to be rid of her, when Clara suddenly stopped me in my tracks. "This is about Beau, isn't it?"

I couldn't even look at her. "Beau made you feel happy, didn't he? You felt strong, and safe. Joseph makes you feel those things, too. But Beau, he-"

I cut her off. My hand was ablaze in seconds as I shoved it through her midsection, my hand sticking right through, as if she really were a ghost. Clara started to gasp in pain and shock.

"Clara, for some reason, I feel the need to ask you, why do all of our conversations always seem to circle back to Beau?" I twisted my hand around, promoting a painful groan from Clara. "I don't know what your obsession with him stems from, but I think you should know," I leaned in. "I'm. Not. Beau." I removed my hand, and Clara fell to the ground, panting heavily. "I'm someone different. I'm Elise Brandt."

Clara almost smiled at that. "See? I always told you, someday you'd find yourself envying him."

"I do not envy my brother. He's dead."

Clara stood back up. "And if you keep going down this path, you will be, too."

My eyes narrowed at Clara. Despite everything, she was still smiling. I leaned in towards her. "Say it," I said. "Say that you love me. If you can say you love me, more than Joseph, more than Beau, then I'll give up, right here, right now."

Clara backed away, almost stumbling onto her back. I let a disgusted "tch" fall out of my mouth. "Go away, Clara. I'm done with you. Whatever I had for you is gone."

Almost on cue, the fire on my hand disappeared. I watched as Clara's figure faded away. "I'll stop you."

"Just try."