Fake Princess
CHAPTER 36
“ I don't like it. I don't like it, ever since I knew your mother. So I didn't tell you. I guess I was hoping, if I didn't say it, you'd be spared from it,”
A wry and grim smile fell on my lips.
“ Well, the magic is inside me.” Slowly I stood up. I don't know what to do, but I know tonight I won't be able to think of anything else.
“ I want to sleep. Tomorrow morning I'll find out what to do, that's all if I don't burn the bed in a dream.”
Aunt Vania did not even nod her head. She only gawked as I, with magic cringing under my skin, walked into the bedroom, lay on the bed, and fell asleep.
The next morning I woke up and knew what to do. I was confused last night, but when I woke up everything felt clearer, not sharper. So many things happened in one night, and they all intersected so much that I barely had any room to breathe. Now around me were many sharp edges, sharp-tipped bushes that would jolt me if I moved in the wrong direction, and there seemed to be only one path free from those sharp bushes.
Aunt Vania is no longer in her bed, or maybe last night she didn't even sleep in this room.
Last night I went straight under the blanket, still wearing a dress. Now I forced myself to get up and approach the map placed in the corner of the room. My esophagus seemed to be choked by something the size of a fist as I looked at the map of King Ardan on top of my belongings, but I moved it with a slightly trembling fingers.
Near the bottom of the coffin I found the thing I was looking for; a dark green dress I had brought from the palace and thin and flat slippers matched. When I took it out, my hand touched a small bag of gold tucked into the corner of the chest. Guilt is hurting me. Maybe I should have offered it to my aunt when I got here, or maybe I should have offered it now. Then I shook my head and folded the other dress to cover the money bag. No, I need it to carry out my plan.
I found it behind the house. In front of him was a barrel filled with water, along with a few plant baskets & a pile of wool thread rolls, but it seemed like he had not touched anything since putting it there. My aunt's gaze glared towards the forest and she looked around as I cleared my throat aloud.
“ Amelia,” she said without looking at me. His voice sounded hoarse, and I'm not sure if he slept last night.
“ I thought about it. About what you said last night, and I think you're right. I'm being unfairly hoping you don't have magic powers.”
Aunt Vania said it in her usual sharp tone, with a slip of the tone indicating that this was an apology.
“ In the village of W there is a woman, a traditional witch. I bought some medicine from him when your father was sick. The cure didn't work as well as I expected, but it seemed to work out to make it a little more comfortable. If I go to him, maybe he'll teach you.”
While brushing off the invisible dust from her dress, my aunt suddenly stood up.
Seriate