Desdemona slowly savored each bite of her meal which disgusted her servants but they were wise to keep their revulsion hidden. The reason why her dining repulsed them so was because she was consuming the salted liver and lungs of a young woman. You see some of her witch ancestors would regain their lost youth by cannibalizing beautiful young women and then reciting the ancient chant in front of their sacred mirror. When Desdemona discovered the spell she began capturing young and fair women, devouring their organs in order to retain her great beauty. That's how she still appeared as young as she was on her wedding day. Though the effects of the spell were temporary and had to be renewed, unless she was to consume the heart of the most beautiful woman in the world. Then the spell would be permanent. She would be eternally young and fair.
"Flesh of thy maiden grant me her youth." She spoke the chant in front of the looking glass. "Blood of thy maiden grant me her beauty. Death of thy maiden grant me her life."
At once the mirror secreted a mist that surrounded Desdemona, causing the wrinkles on her face to fade and the few grey strands to return to their original black color.
"That's much better." She said admiring her rejuvenated reflection.
Her reflection then changed to the image of the spirit of her bloodline.
"Aren't you getting a little tired of this?"
"I admit it is a difficult process." Desdemona said. "Especially when those women struggle and the guards let their conscience get in the way but it's all worth it to keep my beauty."
"Your false beauty that is."
"What is that supposed to mean?"
"I take it you didn't read the side effects of that spell. There is reason your ancestors discontinued the use of that particular spell."
"Which is?"
"While the spell itself renews your youth, establishing an illusory form that is even more beautiful than you could possibly imagine, it causes your true form to become even more old and hideous. Meaning when the time comes for you to stop this process you'll gradually change into a very unsightly figure."
"Then it's best that I never stop then."
"And how long do you suppose it will be until the entire kingdom discovers your little secret? You can't just keep abducting and killing women, and assume that no one will try to look into it. Not to mention what the king will think when he learns of this."
"My husband will never know of this. How could he possibly know of it? He is fighting in the crusades."
"Not anymore. Bad news for you I fear, the crusades have ended."
"What?!"
"Well you didn't expect them to just last forever did you? Every war ends eventually."
"And King Percival still lives?"
"He lives and he shall return within a week's time."
"No! He can't return! He'll ruin everything! Does anyone else in the kingdom know of this?"
"Not yet but word has been sent. The kingdom should know by tomorrow morning and I really do not wish to put more stress on you but will be expecting to see his daughter at the castle. In fact lots of people will be expecting to see the Princess Charlotte. They've been asking why she's never seen in public and what with the crusades being over, you no longer have an excuse to keep her in the forest."
"I can't bear the mere sight of that brat! Each time I see her, she looks more and more like Evangeline! I will not spend everyday looking upon her face!"
"You would be wise to reconsider that. You know the king will not stand for his daughter to live away from him now that the crusades have ended."
"Then I shall simply cast a spell that will erase the girl from his memory forever."
"No good. Remember what I told you about that? You may rule his mind and his will but his heart and soul will forever belong to his first bride and the child she gave him. Witchcraft is strong Desdemona, but not even it's great power cannot overcome that which is true love."
"True love? Ha! What a laugh! True love is nothing more than a silly feeling. It's weak."
"On the contrary, it's the only thing more powerful than magic. No spell or potion in the entire book can expel the king's love for his daughter."
"Well do you have any suggestions? It's bad enough my husband is coming back but my stepdaughter's return is even worse. She's of age now, that means it won't be long before she ascends the throne."
"I suggest that if you must interfere, you do it in a very careful manner. Don't seem so displeased with either of their returns. You wouldn't want to be suspected would you?"
"That isn't exactly the suggestion I was looking for but you do have a point. I will have to be crafty about dealing with those two."
So the queen set to work devising a plan for what was to be done with the expectant return of the king and his daughter. Then at long last she came up with the perfect idea.
...
Alastor arrived at the cottage just as Dolores was serving dinner. Per usual he was happily welcomed by Charlotte and Dolores but reluctantly welcomed by Vagatha, he greeted everyone politely, complimented Dolores on her cooking though he did not partake of the cake she made for he never possessed a fond taste for sweet things. He stayed longer than he normally did when he visited in order to spend more time with Charlotte. He even stayed long enough to hear Dolores tell one of her stories.
"I was in love once." She narrated to them. "He was a traveling musician. He loved to play the violin and I loved to dance, so we would make money by putting together a little act in each town we visited. But music and dance wasn't just a method for getting by. It was what made our passionate love so strong. We'd sit by a campfire, take long walks under the stars, then my mother turned him into a donkey and traded me to your grandfather."
Vagatha, Charlotte, and Alastor burst out laughing at what they thought was a mere joke.
"Good one Granny." Vagatha chuckled. "But seriously I didn't know you had someone before Grandfather."
"I did. He was truly a remarkable man but your great-grandmother didn't believe he was worth dirt because he didn't make much money. So she married me off to the local miller. It wasn't a happy marriage."
"I'm sorry to hear that." Charlotte said.
"Did you and Grandfather at least like each other?" Vagatha said.
"Tragically no. I couldn't stand the man. He was dishonest, brutish, misogynist, a disgrace to the male specimen."
"So why did Great-Grandmother insist you marry him?"
"He was the wealthiest man in our community at the time and I was the best looking woman in our community at the time so, go figure."
"I think that's pretty much how all marriages are nowadays." Alastor said.
"It wasn't like that with my parents." Charlotte said. "My father and mother married only for love so that's what I'm going to do."
"And just what do you hope to fall in love with here?" Alastor asked. "Not many young fellows around here."
"I hate to admit it but he's right Charlotte." Vagatha said. "A suitable husband for you couldn't possibly be nearby. I mean I guess there are so decent young men in the village but I think most of them are married by now."
"Maybe a prince will come by someday." Charlotte said.
"You know I never quite understood the appeal of a prince." Alastor said. "I mean I suppose they aren't bad looking and they do have a lot of money but do they know how to hunt or build their own house or perform a hard day's labor like any normal man? I doubt any prince would know how to protect and support himself if he suddenly lost all his money."
"Another thing you might be right about." Vagatha said. "I bet a prince wouldn't last one day living in the forest."
"Well what one struggles with in one subject, they excel in another." Charlotte said. "I bet you two wouldn't know the first thing to do in matters of parliament or settling a war."
"Touché." Alastor chuckled.
Just then Eli stood up from Charlotte's lap, he yawned, stretched, and decided to change positions. He slowly and without making a sound, crept over to Alastor and sat himself down in his lap.
"Eli sure has taken a liking to you over the years Alastor." Charlotte said. "He's often skittish around anyone except me."
"That's probably because we have similar ideals." He petted Eli gently.
"Similar ideals?"
"We both like you and detest him." Alastor turned his gaze toward Raphael who growled at him.
"You leave Raphael alone." Vagatha said. "He never did anything to you."
"Oh no? What do you call this?"
He took off his coat and showed her the bite marks and torn fabric caused by jaws.
"If Raphael ever did you wrong it's only because he had good reason to."
"No. It's because you trained him to hate me."
"I trained him to be on guard of you. When we first met I wasn't sure if you could be trusted so I wanted Raphael to be ready to protect us if you were a threat. Though in all fairness maybe I trained him too well."
Charlotte laughed again. Having Alastor and Vagatha under the same roof definitely didn't make the moment dull. Most of the time she didn't like it when they argued though on a few rare occasions, she found their bickering a little humorous. All in all, they were her best friends in the whole world and she couldn't imagine living without either one of them. They had made her time in the forest so very happy. Only her father's love could have brought her the same amount of joy.
And that night, when the party ended and everyone had chosen to retire for the evening Charlotte said a little prayer.
"Bless Dolores for taking care of me. Bless Vagatha and Alastor for always making me smile. Bless Niffty and the other servants at the castle. Bless my mother and Vagatha's father in Heaven. Please help my stepmother become a better person. But most of all bless my father and bring him back to me as soon as you can. Amen."