The Witch and the Boy who Loved Her

Week 6+ The Curse

Once I made it up to my room I plopped down on my bed and rolled onto my side away from the door. I must have forgot to shut my door because I didn't even hear him come in. I felt a weight on my bed behind me.

"Please don't Peter." I couldn't cry. I was to angry.

"Layla, do you think I would wait all these years to come back to be with someone else?"

"I don't know Peter, it's not like were together or anything." I felt him tense up behind me.

"Were not? Then what are we?" He sounded so unsure and a little angry.. Was I wrong? Did he think we were together?

"I don't know. What would you want with me? I'm not the prettiest or the most popular girl in school, and you certainly got her attention." I felt him get up off the bed and heard his foot falls coming around the bed in my room.

He crouched down on the floor in front of me. "Layla, you are and have always been the most beautiful girl in the world to me." He gently caressed my cheek with the back of his fingers. "I don't care about anyone else in this world but you. I love you, Layla." A stray tear streamed down my cheek and he wiped it away. Leaning in close to me he hesitated right before he closed the gap between us and kissed me. My world was spinning. The boy I had been in love with since I was 7 and finally admitted he loved me back. As my eyes fluttered open I screamed! The black lines were back. What had I done! I didn't want to kill Peter!

"GRANDMOTHER!!" I screamed as loud as I could. Peter lay there on the floor frozen, choking, and the black lines spreading. Grandmother came in and did not hesitate. She had a tincture with her and was mumbling a spell under her breathe. After spreading the tincture on his skin the black started to recede slightly. Slowly he started taking breaths again. Thank goodness he was breathing again. He was shaking uncontrollably. I could see the panic in his eyes. What is happening? Every time I touch him this happens. Well, it didn't yesterday so what changed? How could yesterday be so wonderful and today he has almost died twice.

"What happened?" Grandmother broke the silence.

"I don't know?" I didn't really want to tell her he kissed me.

"What do you mean you don't know? One of you has to know something! That was some powerful dark magic! I could feel it pulsing downstairs!" I just sat on my bed with my head down. I didn't want her to kick him out for kissing me. I wasn't sure how she would react. I think Peter was still in shock. I definitely didn't want to look him in the eye after almost killing him a second time. "One of you had better start talking!"

"I'm sorry Ms. Merriwell. It was my fault. I shouldn't have kissed her." Peter's voice was a little raspy from choking.

"You kissed her? And this happened?" Grandmother sounded shocked, but not angry.

"Yes ma'am. I know I probably shouldn't have."

"Well, you are right you shouldn't have, but a kiss should not have caused this. Is that what happened at school? You kissed her?"

"No, honestly. She was holding my arm while I walked her to class."

"Layla, is that all?"

"Yes, that's all Grandmother."

"Well, let me ask you a question. Do you love each other?" I choked a little at the boldness of the question. "Well, tell me then. I need to know." Before I had a chance to say anything Peter spoke up.

"Yes ma'am. I have loved her since we were kids. She is why I came back." He blushed and looked at the floor.

"And you, Layla?"

"Y...Y..Yes, Grandmother. Since we were kids." I am sure my face was crimson. What did loving him have to do with anything. Grandmother turned and walked into the room across the hall. It is where she kept all her books. After a few minutes of awkward silence she came back in with an old looking book in hand.

"Well, I have only heard of this type of curse. I told you earlier I thought you were cursed and now after seeing it first hand I am certain of it. If I am correct it is called the Curse of the Black Heart. It takes a powerful witch to cast such a curse upon someone." She was feverishly flipping through the pages of the ancient looking book. "Ah ha! Here it is. She sat down on the edge of my bed. The page I could see was worn and faded. I almost couldn't make out anything on the page. Grandmother was concentrating, a scrunched look on her face. I braved a glance at Peter. He was still focused on the floor. My eyes lingered to long. He must have felt me looking at him. He looked at me and our eyes met. A burning embarrassment crept across my face. We had just confessed our love for each other in front of my Grandmother. With sudden clearing of her throat Grandmother broke the silence again. "I was right. So you dear, are cursed." She looked at me.

"What do you mean I am cursed?"

"Well, this particular curse must be cast by a powerful witch. A witch that was willing to sacrifice another human being to complete the curse. I have a feeling what ever your parents were into, it wasn't good, and someone is really mad about it. The book says the cursed person will fall in love and then that love will be doomed. You will eventually kill him if you stay together. The curse not only will kill him but it will make it impossible to stay away from each other. The more you are around each other the stronger the curse becomes. Eventually, just being in your presence will be enough to bring about the blackness. Eventually, nothing will be able to stop it, you, from killing Peter."

"How do we stop it? Can we stop it?" Peter spoke up about what we both were obviously thinking.

"It doesn't say there is anyway to stop it or lift the curse. Knowing what I know about magic the only thing I can think of would be to find the witch that cursed you. Though, I wouldn't have any idea where to even look."

"Wait, you mentioned it must have been something my parents were into. What if there is a clue in some of their old stuff? Do you still have the few boxes that arrived after I did?"

"I do. I have looked through them though. I don't know that anything in there will be valuable."

"I have to try Grandmother. You heard both of us. We are in love, cursed to be inseparable, and doomed to be miserable. I have to at least try." Some slight optimism in my voice.

"You're right. The boxes are in the attic. Just please, if you are both going, do not touch him Layla!" The seriousness of her words hit me like a truck. I couldn't risk touching him again. I loved him. It still felt weird to put that feeling into words. I jumped up off my bed and headed for the stairs. They weren't far down the hall and it was just a few steps up to the attic.

Opening the door I realized this was going to be a little harder than I thought. Grandmother had so much stuff in the attic. I wasn't about to give up though. Grandmother ushered me over to the corner where she thought the boxes might be. I got straight to work opening boxes, sliding ones out of the way that weren't useful. After about an hour I finally located all the boxes that were my parents. Now the real work was going to begin.