Make Your Move Katherine

He Needed A Spell

“The King apologizes my Queen,” Oni curtsied as she relayed the messenger’s words to her. When Katherine did not reply she left to dismiss the young page. The younger boy tilted his head in Oni’s direction and left with the simple message, “Thank you for informing me.”

The queen hadn’t spoken a word but Oni had grown accustomed by now, on how to respond on behalf of her queen. It was just breakfast and the king had relayed last night that he would like to have lunch with her today but like the last few days- he sent word with the teenage boy that he could not make it and sent his sincere apologies.

Kat was sulking. It’s been almost a week and Oscar was still busy. But Katherine knew although there was a slight chance of that being the actual truth, there was also a chance that he was with his girlfriend also. And Katherine was fuming mad about it.

‘Why am I feeling this way, suddenly? I despise Oscar.’

She was feeling as if her insides were calling out to him and each time she looked forward to his visit and he did not show up- something inside her felt like it was tearing apart. The pain had been so intense last night that Kat had screamed out clutching her chest.

Her eyes widened- Ju! She would know what is happening to her.

She picked up her cell phone and texted the mage, who responded almost instantly for her to come over.

“It’s the phoenix," Ju stated as if it was the most ordinary thing to say.

Kat blinked a million times a minute, staring at her from across the room, “The what?”

She remembered Anthony and Oscar talking about something similar when she had first come here. Did that have something to do with the ‘merge’ that had everyone kept tip lipped about?

“You honestly don’t know? He never told you?” the mage frowned as she crossed her arms.

“Tell me what?”

“Oscar is my king, I can’t betray him- if he has not told you then…”

“Then what?” Kat urged the woman but she turned away and fidgeted with her small jars on one of the long shelves while looking at the corner of her eyes at the empty air beside her.

“I’m sorry, all I can say is that the vampire is calling to the phoenix. The bird dwells in you.”

“The bird dwells in me?” Kat repeated in a comical tone- as if. What crazy- and her features grew serious when the mage turned to look at her.

‘Why not? We already have vampires and mages- add a firebird too in the mix. Oh my God, I have a Jean Grey inside me? I’m a mutant.’

“What about your dreams. You dreamt about a dragon yet?” the woman asked as if it was the most natural conversation to have. Kat remembered she had asked her this before.

“Still, no. What is this dragon- the firebird?” she shot at her before she took a seat. Speaking of supernatural creatures seemed to be taking a balance in Katherine’s mind, for while she had been a bit startled by the mage’s words, her mind seemed to adapt quickly now. Unlike when she had first come here.

“Golly no. The dragon king is over further east. In Yen. He’s the one that raged a war, years ago and almost destroyed Demkas. He’s King Drago’s cousin and feels that he’s been robbed of his rights and entitlement- thinks that Demkas belongs under his reign.”

“Does it?” Kat signed as she placed her hands on the sides of her cheeks and rested her elbows on the table- very unqueen-like and looked at the woman who was now propping herself against the counter behind her.

This is one of the rooms that Kat always felt she could almost be herself in. She sensed that Ju and her had a lot in common. That and the fact that she trusted the woman although here she is telling her that her loyalty lies with Oscar. Oscar first- Kat understood that- which meant that she is also hers to protect.

She was not put off as she had been when she had now arrived; full of her ignorance of the reality about the supernatural. A huge jar, maybe two feet tall and a little more than half a foot wide, contained sand. Other ones; stones, knotted threads, shells and smaller ones; herbs, flower buds, salt, vinegar, oil- she knew for she had asked. Nothing weird really as one would expect in a witch’s lair- like eyes of a toad and bat ears. Or black walls and a brewing cauldron with a crow cawing whilst looking evilly at you.

But she was wondering just what was in this concoction the woman had mustered up for Oscar. Her chest was still swelling with that thought as another heated blush rose to her cheeks.

“Who knows? We were told that the countries were always divided although there was a period of two hundred years where they were under one rule but later separated once more.”

“History books?” Kat raised an eyebrow.

“Well yes, they stated that no King had sons during that period- something like that. And when it did happen the younger stayed here and the older went there- the olden days where only men ruled,” she explained as she shrugged her shoulders.

“Right. We all know that even though the men are the face there is mostly always a woman behind-”

“Exactly. Men- disgusting,” Ju interrupted her grinning.

“Oscar seems different,” Kat piped in and Ju shrugged again. Oscar was not like that- he was modern to the times. Back in high school, he had been one of the few that had gone against the playwright of Romeo and Juliet. They had been arguing about how men were dressed as females back then to act in plays and who is to say that Juliet was even a girl, to begin with. Of course, it had been a ridiculous argument but that’s what Oscar’s team had been trying to get recognized at that time. A girl had auditioned for the role of Romeo and was refused the part.

“Maybe a little. But it’s not him, it’s the times that are changing. People, on the whole, are adapting.”

Kat agreed with her. She remembered the little ‘women aren’t allowed’ in his ‘knights’ room. She sensed that while Ju may be right about him, she felt Oscar was a good ruler. He seemed just in his actions- she sensed how he cared about his people and tried to do what was right by them. Something was going on she knew in the White room because she was instructed by Yeon to not come in until cleared by the king.

Oscar had even dipped a bit in advanced planting of crops. A healthier lifestyle. Anthony and Oni had even bragged about how he had been looking into solar energy.

Kat had even come to realize that Demkas and its citizens did not really litter- and recycling was huge here. Even the air seemed cleaner. Oni said he was aiming to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and prevent climate change.

Oscar seemed almost perfect- to an extent.

But that was not the reason behind this sudden change in feelings towards him. Kat had read somewhere, that women tended to ‘romanticize’ anything a man did when they had romantic feelings towards them, this was so not the situation with her. She is not going through a romanticism about him- it was the phoenix Ju had just said. A bird that was inside her. A bird that was calling out to the vampire- that explained why- she blushed when flashes of Oscar and her in her office took over her mind.

“You should just ask King Julian-"

“Ask him? He’s avoiding me,” she informed the woman who smirked, “Ah, that was why-”

“Why, what?” Kat asked as she drummed her fingers against the countertop looking up at Ju, on the other counter.

“This is funny. He has court and he,” a wide smile spread across the mage’s facial features and she bent her head trying to hide, “he was being distracted he said.” She cleared her throat, brought a fisted hand to her mouth, biting into her hand and snickered, “He needed a calming spell.”

“A what?” Kat tensed up.

“Oh, relax. It’s just a spell to keep his emotions in check, to not leave in the middle of proceedings,” Ju giggled.

Kat did not follow and the woman added, “He needed a potion to keep himself away from you- uh- like to not feel any- you know- things.”

The furrow on her forehead increased.

“Are you serious? Yesh, to not come running to you when the phoenix calls out to him,” she muttered looking at Kat as if she had the hardest skull- which indeed she had Kat realized when her words sank in.

She had been a distraction to him- not Nuwa!

Oscar had not been avoiding her intentionally- well technically he had but not as she had thought. It was not to be with Nuwa but to not be with her! She was disturbing him to the extent where he had to get a spell to not come running to her!

Kat’s ears burned, then her cheeks followed. Her entire face was a shade of crimson seconds later.