The Shackled Sorceress' Mate

Father's Fury

He’s clutching his wand in one hand and stroking his impossibly long, white beard with the other. I can sense the fury radiating from his body like a magical heat that’s on the verge of exploding at any moment.

His knuckles are white, clutching his mystical wand with unbridled anger. He glares at my tattered dress and dirt-covered face in disgust. His lip curls slightly when he opens his mouth to speak. “Where have you been?” He growls.

“Why do you care?” I mutter back, turning toward the bowl of water on my dresser to get cleaned up.

“Were you with a man?” He asks accusingly. How does he know?

I continue to walk away from him. I don’t have the energy for this. “Again, why do you care?” I ask.

Without warning my body is lifted into the air and I’m dragged across the room like a little rag doll. He places me directly in front of his furious face, forcing me to look directly at him.

God, I hate it when he does that.

“Don’t you dare turn away from me, Drusilla!” He roars, blowing my hair back with the wind of his magical breath. “You need to learn your place!”

“I don’t have a place!” I spit back. “Not to you. Without magic I’m worthless to you.” As powerful as he is, I can’t just sit back and let myself be crushed under his thumb.

He raises a hand as if he’s going to strike me across the face, and I automatically recoil a little despite myself. I don’t like showing weakness, but his fist is… powerful. Luckily  he manages to restrain himself before his hand collides with my cheek. 

He drops it to his side and sighs. “You could still have worth,” He mutters, “As a lady-in-waiting, perhaps you could at least manage a decent marriage.”

“That’s it?” I say with acid on my tongue and pain in my chest. “I’m only worth something if a man decides I am?” It’s good to know how little he thinks of me.

He groans. “No man will want you if you continue to behave like this! Who wants a… tainted wife?”

My jaw drops open. “Tainted?” I ask, “Is that all I am to you?”

His face darkens. “Yes,” he mutters. “You’ve brought this on yourself, Drusilla. And if you won’t listen to my orders willingly, then you give me no choice. I must force you to listen.”

“What is that supposed to mean?” I ask, my heart beginning to race. He flashes an evil smirk at me, making a pit of dread form in my stomach. With a flick of his wand, enormous iron bars appear across my window. “No,” I whisper in shock as I realize what he’s doing. He’s literally going to keep me prisoner in this tower.

I look to the door, wondering if I still have time to run. 

But he’s too powerful, too angry. 

He storms toward the entrance, waving his wand at it with a furious flick as he walks. I watch in horror as a giant chain appears across it with a chorus of loud clanks. I swallow nervously when I see it. When that door closes I will have no way to escape.

“So that’s it?” I ask through burning tears, “You’re just going to let me rot up here until a man decides he wants me? Your own daughter?”

The word seems to soften him slightly. His shoulders slump a little. “One hour per day,” he mutters. “One hour outside… with a guard.”

Without another word, he slams the door shut with a loud thud. Suddenly it lights up with an enchanted glow, and I can tell that he’s placed a spell on it to keep me from escaping.

I stare at the door for a second, trying to process what’s just happened. A desperate scream escapes my lips, echoing through the stone walls of this empty tower. I collapse onto my bed in a fit of defeated tears. My father has always resented me, but he’s never done something this evil. This hateful. I don’t know how I’m going to get out of this one. 

My tears morph into desperate sobs as I realize how dire this situation is. You see, my mother died when I was born. To make matters worse, my father is King Richard’s closest advisor, and that man is a bumbling i***t. Which means that my father basically rules the kingdom. 

I’m at his mercy. I’m all alone.

I roll over and stare at the ceiling, allowing the crushing hopelessness to consume me. I just wanted to be free, to not be under the thumb of a man. Is that so much to ask?

But then, almost as quickly as they started, my angry sobs halt. I feel something stirring within me. It’s like a magnetic pull that yanks me out of my cloud of hopelessness and forces me to stand up out of bed. It’s like an unseen force is driving my body.

I walk over to the window and peer through the heavy metal bars, gazing through the darkness across the palace courtyard.

That’s when I see him entering the palace grounds, crossing under the giant arched opening in the stone wall and talking to the guards.

It’s Ladon.