Royal Rebellion, page 4
“Do it again and imagine that the heat has dried us.” Isaac encouraged. I tried it, but it didn’t work.
“Close your eyes. Imagine the white light within you again, then open your eyes and imagine the spark.”
This time the flame stayed on my fingers.
“Stare into it and imagine we are warm and dry. Picture it. Close your eyes again if you prefer.”
I closed my eyes, and a minute passed.
“Mercy, look at me.”
I stared at Isaac. Isaac who sat there perfectly dry. I felt at my own hair and face. Not a single drop of water remained.
He took my hand again. “I need to finish the spell.”
He looked to the now unlit candle. “We thank you for your welcoming of Mercy into your great family. Blessed be.”
Isaac smiled at me.
“I don’t feel any different.” I said. “I thought somehow I’d be changed.”
“You’re still Princess Mercy Elizabeth Northcote of Winter Court.” Isaac smiled.
I smiled back.
“Thank you for your help. Now what?”
“Now I have today and tomorrow morning to teach you some basic witchcraft, protection spells and suchlike. And then we travel to Earth.”
Chapter Five
Mercy
I had lived behind the veil of what magic could bring. Isaac was an extremely accomplished sorcerer, and he placed a spell on the palace staff that meant they were convinced my sister had gone to visit the Summer Court as part of her pre-coronation rituals. He called it a simple power of suggestion, but to my mind, that which could make others believe an untruth was anything but simple. How did I know that he was not saying such suggestions to me also? I had to trust him at his word, and at the fact that he had taught me more protection spells than I knew nursery rhymes. He had pretended to leave the Court, but we had worked late into the night and he had slept in a bed in the East Wing when I had to return to my own chamber. The next morning he ‘arrived’ to be greeted by Saira and once again, after breakfasting, we went through even more teachings. I was exhausted by the time lunch was upon us and felt I couldn’t take in another word.
“Eat up. You’ll need your strength for the afternoon.” Isaac stated.
I watched Saira’s eyebrow raise, and I blushed. Isaac realised what he had said.
“For sitting still for a long time takes great stamina.” He added. “We shall need to accidentally bump into your sister so that I may capture her exact likeness. Twin or not, she will exude her own personality and I need to capture that.”
“You will have to make do with photographs as she is on a sojourn to the Summer Court and will only be back just before her coronation.”
“Ah, a pity.” He replied, playing his artist role as well as any stage actor.
Following lunch, I excused myself to take a rest, when actually I was taking a shower. I had left the East Wing room open so that Isaac could do the same. We met in the ballroom afterward and followed the ritual I had found in my sister’s grimoire. And then it was time.
We knelt on the dance floor. The amethyst stone and paper clutched within our held hands as we faced each other.
Isaac adjusted the words slightly but spoke the spell.
“Send us in flight
Oh, dearest friends
And accompany us
To our destination's end
With our feet on the earth, the heat of fire
Please assist us on travel, and ensure we don't tire
With the breath of air, the cleanse of water,
We ask that you protect your daughter,
and me, your son,
Please grant us safe passage
until our journey is done.”
I heard an almighty crack and my body jerked in the strangest of sensations. My eyes had automatically closed while I accepted my unknown fate.
“Open your eyes, Mercy.”
I opened them and looked at Isaac. And then I closed them and opened them again.
Isaac was kneeling in front of me still clutching my hand. He looked the same except he was wearing jeans and a dark-blue t-shirt. I wasn’t sure how I knew what these things were called. I just did.
I couldn’t help it. I giggled.
Isaac smiled. “What are you laughing at?”
“You look funny.”
“You’ve not seen yourself yet.”
I looked down to find myself also in jeans and sneakers, but I was wearing an orange t-shirt that was so short it showed off my abdomen. I let out a squeal. I hardly ever even showed off an ankle in Andlusan!
This caused Isaac to dissolve into a fit of laughter and he laid down giggling on the carpet. I took in my surroundings. I was on the floor of a living room. The room had beige walls, and dark wooden furniture. There was a television, a CD player.
“Isaac. How do I know what all this stuff is?” I asked him with a frown on my face.
“It would be rather obvious and boring if we had to teach you everything from scratch, wouldn’t it? So magic prepares you.”
“I’m going to explore.” I told him, and standing up, I began walking around the house.
My legs felt strange inside the tight jeans and I kept trying to pull my top down. After a while, I reached what was obviously mine, or should I say Leatha’s bedroom, and I opened drawers until I found a black top that covered me down to my bottom. I stared at myself in the mirror on the back on the door. I’m still me inside, I thought feeling a little calmer. I was just in Leatha’s body dressed in weird shit. Weird shit? I didn’t speak like that. It would take time to get used to these strange tweaks.
I heard footsteps behind me and Isaac walked up onto the landing where I went out to meet him. He opened a door and I could see inside was another bedroom. I followed and peered in.
“So this is my room. While we are here, I’m your older brother and there’s just us, okay? Not that anyone else will question it anyway.”
“So all I have to focus on is to find out what Leatha did and fix it?”
“You got it.”
“Okay. Perhaps I should start to search her room then. See if I can find any clues here as to what she’s been doing while she travelled the planes.”
“I’ve put our paper and amethyst in my bedside table drawer, okay?” Isaac stood beside it. “Whatever happens, we travel back together or not at all, okay? I’m not losing you in the planes between realms.”
“Got it.” My stomach rumbled. The noise echoed around the room.
“Okay. Now seeing as time is not passing at home while we’re here, and given we need to keep our strength up, I’m going to take you out for a burger and fries. Followed by ice cream. Yep, that’s what we’ll do.”
“You’ve been here before, haven’t you?”
“I might have visited Earth before.” Isaac’s eyes crinkled with mischief.
“But how will we pay for things? Andlusan money isn’t going to spend here, is it? It’ll just draw attention.”
“Mercy, Mercy, Mercy. Will you just trust that the magic has this shit handled?” He reached into his pocket and took out a wallet, opened it and showed me the notes and coins inside. “Let’s go.” He nodded towards the stairs. “Are you ready for your first time in a car?”
I was relieved to see it wasn’t the one from my dreams, but still I trembled slightly as I sat back in my seat. Isaac reached over and fastened my seat belt for me.
“Ready?”
I took a deep inhale. “Yeah.”
But I wasn’t. As it set off, my eyes widened before I covered them up with the backs of my hands. We travelled by horses and carriage in Andlusan. This was blowing my mind and scaring me half to death. Especially when others on the road came so close.
Once again Isaac burst into guffaws. “Oh this is going to be as much fun as it is a serious rescue mission. Your face.”
I glared at him. “Is it my fault I’m in a strange place where I have to sit in fast moving metal that I have dreamed causes fatal accidents?”
His face fell serious at that comment. “Ah yes. Your dream. Sorry, Mercy.”
“I shall only forgive you if this burger thing is worth it.” I told him, lifting my chin haughtily.
Boy, was it worth it!
We’d entered the fast-food restaurant. Its tables were all small and rectangular, a far cry from our exquisitely carved banqueting tables. I took a seat while Isaac went to order. He came back with what he explained was a cheeseburger. I bit into it and a flavour explosion hit my tongue.
Mustard and onion relish dripped from the corner of my chin as I demolished it. “That is so good. Can I have another one?”
I ate two more burgers and some fries. My stomach was groaning, but then I saw a child go to the ice cream machine and whirr out white goodness. He then decorated it with different types of candy and sauce.
“You want one?” Isaac asked, though he was already getting up to order.
I loved it. But it wasn’t until the cold from the ice cream hit my mouth that I realised I’d not given any thought to the weather. I stopped mid-bite and ran outside, Isaac hot on my heels.
“What’s up, Mercy?”
“It’s warm.” I told him. “The sun shines and it’s warm.”
“And you only just noticed?” He was once again amused by my behaviour.
I shoved him in the arm. “I’ve had a lot to take in.”
“That you have. Now shall we get back inside before they tidy up the rest of your uneaten ice cream?”
By the time we got back to the house, I was groaning and clutching at my stomach. “Dear Goddess. I am going to die.”
“You are so dramatic. You aren’t going to die, though you might suffer from some digestive issues. You’ve overeaten food you aren’t used to. Go and lie down on your bed. We’ll start our investigations tomorrow.”
I didn’t argue with him. I needed to sit up in bed still and straight and let this food settle.
On entering my room, I looked around for something to do. There was a magazine on the side and so I settled back on the bed. Soon I was so entranced in what I was reading that thoughts of my stomach left me entirely.
An hour or so later, feeling much better, I started looking around Leatha’s room, heading straight for her desk drawer. But there was nothing of note to be found, just writing implements. I checked her wardrobe at the bottom, and checked underneath her bed. Still nothing. Then I started on her drawers. Underneath a pile of what were modern day undergarments, I eventually found a ruled book with a black cover. Opening it up I found it was Leatha’s diary.
I took it back to the bed and began to read.
Chapter Six
Mercy
Leatha’s fancy script swept across the page. My heart panged for my sister in that moment as I took in her words, picturing her in my mind’s eye.
It’s August 2018 here on Earth! On Earth. Can you believe that? I had travelled to the different Courts so often now that I’d found it beyond boring. I knew I’d be able to travel to a different realm. Our gran had spoken the truth. I am a witch! Now that I am confident in my craft there will be no stopping me. Excitement, here I come.
And the best thing? Time stays still at home in Andlusan. So not one single person back home knows I am about to experience life here in this place they call Misley. Mercy would have stopped me without a doubt. I can hear her voice now in my head, ‘You have your royal duties, Leatha. You must settle down and concentrate’.
I don’t want to settle down.
I don’t want to concentrate.
I don’t want to be Queen!
So while ever I am here, and time does not pass at home…
Well, that’s just perfection.
I met some people my age in a coffee shop. Thinking I had nothing to lose, I just went and said hi as they looked the same age as me. They’re in the Sixth Form of a school just around the corner from the coffee shop, but luckily, it’s now the summer break. They think I live in a house at the other side of town even though I’ve never said anything. It’s strange. They just accepted me straight away as a new person moved into the town.
There’s a boy there. He’s seventeen like me, and he is so good looking. His name is Billy. Billy Buckley. He sounds like he should be on stage.
Billy saved me a seat today! I’m spending my time in the house watching films, television, and reading magazines. Anything this new crowd is talking about, I’m checking out. There was a mobile phone in the house when I got there, and I knew what it was! Magic is incredible. I’m also studying my craft more. I may make a love spell! Or perhaps I don’t even need one if Billy is saving me a seat already.
Only me and Billy showed up today because there was some trouble between the rest of the group. One of them, Aled, has apparently been selling drugs. I looked into what he was selling, researched it on the internet. It sounded like fun to me, to completely let yourself go in the moment. I said something similar to Billy, and he told me I was being stupid. He was angry with me. I’ll be sure to not say anything like that to him again. Anyway, he must have felt bad for getting cross with me because he asked me if I fancied eating dinner at his house, rather than the cafe. We walked there. His mum was at work, and he fixed us bacon and egg. His brother was at home on a day off. Aaron is two years older than him. They look similar, but Aaron looks serious and no fun. Must be a sibling thing.
I met Aled in secret and he gave me some weed to try for free. I felt so mellow. He’s going to get me some more. I told him I want to try everything. He grinned and said I was his kind of girl. Then he kissed me. It wasn’t what I imagined my first kiss to be like. He smelled of stale cigarettes. Anyway, I’d been hoping it would be Billy who’d kiss me.
I tried more things, and I didn’t like them. I also read about what some of them could do to you. So I told Aled that I didn’t want anything else. He told me not to be such a spoilsport. He’s ruining things. I’m trying to get closer to Billy, and Aled keeps coming and putting his arm around me. Tonight I told him to leave me alone, and he said no one got to tell him what to do. He scared me a little. I’m going to look at my spell books tonight and see if there’s anything I can do. I’m not supposed to cast anything that can bring harm, but what if I need to be kept from harm myself?
Aled told me I was a prick tease today. I was so mad that when I got home I called upon fire and asked for all his bad drugs to be destroyed. That wasn’t wishing harm, right? It was protecting everyone else. The fire at his house didn’t cause too much damage. Billy said Aled is keeping a low profile because his dealer is looking for him. He wants the money he’s owed…
I asked Billy if he wanted to go to the cinema with me and while we were there, I reached over and held his hand. When we left he kissed me. It was like fireworks fizzed in my stomach. This was the kiss I had hoped for!
The diary entries had all been from July and August 2018. I wondered what the date was today? I put my mobile phone on. Monday 27 August 2018.
Flicking through her diary I noted that the last entry had been that Friday evening, the 31st August. It read:
I heard Aled was talking shit about me. Who cares? I know I can take care of him now if I need to. Nothing came of my fire, no retribution. Me and Billy are spending the day together. I want to go for a drive tonight into the countryside and take a picnic. I’m going to give him my virginity though he doesn’t know it. I’m sure he can guess though. We have done one hell of a lot of kissing. He hasn’t passed his test yet, but he can drive. I watched him have a practice test. His mother has a car. I’m sure I can persuade him to take us out in it if it’s worth his while…
Oh my goddess, Leatha. My sister had been living the life of a human girl and enjoying being ordinary. No royal duties, no sanctions. She’d been doing whatever she liked. But she’d messed with this Aled. Was what happened to her and Billy a tragic accident or connected with this guy? I needed to ask Isaac all about drugs tomorrow and show him the diary. For now, I needed to get to sleep because there was one thing in this diary I wanted to explore at first light. Under the entry about visiting, Leatha had written:
It’s the strangest thing. Billy and the rest think I come from across town, but I only have to walk around the corner to get to their house. His brother drove me home with Billy the other night after I missed the last bus and it took twenty minutes. It makes absolutely no sense but who am I to question any of this? Tonight, I did a spell to show me Andlusan. I saw Mercy sitting at her desk pouring over the boring Court paperwork. I wish that just once she would let herself go and experience some life. She is in a prison of her own making and my heart bleeds for her. Why can we not rule the Court and also our own hearts? They’ll make me marry for duty there. Why would I want to go home? I miss my sister, but I do not miss the Court.
My sister pitied me. At the bottom of the page was a sketch. Of this house and how she had walked to Billy’s, plus his address. I set the alarm on my phone for five am, turned off my light and went to sleep.
The nightmare returned that night. This time I could feel the thrill inside me, the excitement for the speed we were going at. But this time I could hear thoughts.
Oh Aled, can’t you see? I choose Billy, not you. He’s my destiny. I’m sure of it. No one makes me feel as alive as he does.
And then it came again. Billy turned to me and his eyes met mine, widening before me. I saw his perfect white teeth as his mouth opened in a silent scream. His thigh tensed on the brake, pumping down on something no longer working. This time I heard his words.
