"I'm your Mother. I know these things." A wry smile slipped over her lips. "But we don't have to talk about it if you don't want."
I nodded. "That would be good, thanks."
"A word of advice, though, if you want it."
I laughed, unable to help myself. "You'd give it regardless, just maybe not so bluntly."
"That's true. It's a mother's prerogative." She took a deep breath. "Just make sure he returns your affections for the right reasons. You're a princess and the heir to the throne. People will try and take advantage of that if they think they can get power just by marrying you."
I winced. "But they don't get any power," I pointed out.
"I know it isn't how it works, but some people won't take that into account. Just be careful, Kelis. You're too good to be trapped into a loveless marriage by someone who doesn't care about you." She rose to her feet and smoothed out the cape she was wearing, though there wasn't a single wrinkle in it. "I'll drop this off at the seamstresses on my way to bed."
"Thank you."
She leaned in and kissed my forehead. "Sleep well," she said.
"You too."
"Your Majesty, are you leaving us so soon? The room will be dimmer without your beauty to illuminate it," the mirror piped up.
Mother cast a side-eye at it. "You should get rid of that," she reminded me.
"Maybe we should have a ceremony where we destroy it. We could call it a mirror sacrifice and have tea and cupcakes to go with it." I quipped.
She flashed me a disapproving look, clearly knowing that I wasn't serious. Though, the mirror didn't. I'd probably get some peace and quiet from it until tomorrow now.
"I'll think about it," I promised. I'd do just that, but as always, I'd come to the conclusion that I didn't want to get rid of it. There was something about it that connected me to my past and made me reluctant to just destroy it. Maybe that need would go away in time.
Or perhaps I just needed it to give me one compliment before I could let it go. I wasn't sure I wanted to explore that option very much.
Mother waved goodbye and shut the door behind her. As I expected, the mirror stayed silent as I got ready for bed.
Another knock sounded on the door, swiftly followed by one of the servants bringing me a steaming cup of peppermint tea.
"Thank you." I smiled at her, appreciative that they respected my night-time ritual. There was nothing like a soothing drink before bed.
"You're welcome, Your Highness." She dipped into a curtsy.
I turned away from her as she left the room and grabbed the book I'd started reading earlier in the week. A little light reading of the history of our people never hurt. I might not be all that interested in performing magic, but the past of it fascinated me, particularly how the people from the other Kingdoms saw us. They'd used just about every word they could—witch, sorcerer, enchanter, caster—they'd all been used. The irony was that we didn't really have a name for ourselves. Magic was far too much of a part of who we were to be defined.
I waved my wand slowly in a swirling motion watching the peppermint tea go round in the cup. Unlike pretty much everyone else in Enchantia, I barely ever used my wand. Most people couldn’t function without it, but when using it, I feared dependency on it. Something about it took away my independence, the part of me that was just me. Plus, I wasn’t particularly good at it. I lacked the aptitude for magic other Enchantians relied on. I guess I was just different in all respects. I finished my tea and put the book on my nightstand.
Closing my eyes, I felt a frisson of nerves wondering what terrors the night would bring and if I’d wake up tomorrow with the same sense of dread I’d been waking up with for months.
9th October
The haziness of dreaming was easy to recognize but difficult to escape from. I found myself in a forest with dark trees and imposing shadows. My bare feet barely made a sound as I walked down the path, but the stones beneath them didn't hurt. This was a dream, after all.
I looked around, trying to work out what I was doing here. My mind must have a reason for showing me this. Somehow, I knew this dream was going to be different. Echoes of it would linger long after I'd woken up. Real memories rather than the echoes of feelings. I knew I was in a dreamscape, so I held on to it, trying to keep every detail so it wouldn’t float away as soon as I woke up.
Voices sounded from deeper in the woods, so I picked up my pace. I should run in the other direction, but the dream had a different idea and urged me further into the woods. My heart pounded in my chest, and my palms began to sweat. I wiped them on the ragged dress I was wearing. It didn't look like anything I'd normally wear, but that made sense. The woods didn't look like anywhere I'd ever seen in Enchantia. And yet, there was something about the place I recognized. I’d dreamed about this place before—many times. I’d just forgotten. There was something in the woods in front of me, something terrifying. I wanted to hold back, not to go any further, but my feet kept me moving forward toward whatever it was.
I came into a clearing to find a single coffin lying in the middle of it. There wasn't anyone around, which made very little sense. I'd heard voices; there must be someone here.
A dream. This is a dream. I had to remind myself of that. It didn't have to follow the rules of the world.
Dread pooled in the pit of my stomach as I made my way up to the
