A Murky Past

Facing agony

The battle lasted about an hour with the witch eventually on the verge of defeat as a jolt of lightning deflected off father’s sword and hammered her chest as she was thrown backwards. She lied on the ground whimpering as my father lifted his sword to terminate her. “My dear lord, she whispered in pain. Pardon me, I went astray, though I am a witch, I loved your daughter and brought her up.” A change came over father’s enraged face, his eyes weren’t bloody anymore and rather took the form of mercy but with the sword still held in his hand in mid-air.

"No father no!” I kept screaming pointlessly as I was kinda aware of the outcome. At that instant, a voice sounded from behind, "King Eric.”

It was a tall figure with a mask, shaped as a vulture’s beak, on his face which stood flabbergasted at the scenario. Father turned his head and gasped “Prince Gerald,” and at second, with one thrust in father's armour, Malena removed his dagger with the right hand and slashed his throat, as a blood splashed over her body while King Eric’s torso collapsed on the ground, motionless.

Gerald gave a bawl of fury and dashed towards her. And with another movement of her hand; a flicker of her wand flung a sparkling jolt of light. The howling of Gerald halted, as he froze on the ground, apparently rooted to the spot. I thought she froze him with some sort of spell. But horror struck me, a he looked below with my eyes following him from the side. Blood was dripping continuously without halting, and with one final glance at the witch, his body sliced into two from the waist.

Meanwhile, Malena raised father's head high in the air and laughed triumphantly, with King Eric’s blood splattered across her. I ran forwards, with my eyes filled with tears of revulsion and distress, as I foolishly attempted to pounce over the witch.

My eyes opened in a flash and I was back.

"How can you be so despicable?” I wept feeling defeated while the witch screamed with exultation.

"That's a compliment dear. Well, not just your dear father, but I might also enlighten you with the fact that I murdered your lovely mum too. I released her from her misery while she was in labour with you” she exclaimed in a sing-song manner. This new revelation had a storming effect on me as my heart cursed her bitterly. Words like vicious and sinister were too petty to describe her, as she was someone beyond any usual evil this world had probably seen.

“Do you have any idea, how many centuries I have waited for you? For your soul, which could free me from this wretched castle and provide me with eternal youth and beauty!” she laughed coldly, which gave me goose pimples. “Your re-incarnation is my salvation, which perhaps was your destiny Talia You could provide me with something that not a single soul could ever have, as was revealed to us witches shortly before your birth….. and now your soul is mine-” she broke off as there was noise across the castle, as Matt, Judy and Alex burst in calling out my name.

They froze in terror seeing me stuck to the wall above the ground.

“Ah, Ellie's friends, I completely forgot about them. How about I let the soul witness a few more deaths before absorbing it…” she whispered.

“Run!” I howled at them.

Malena waved her hand and Alex, who attempted to scamper, was lifted high off his feet and hurled straight across the wall. He fell with a gut-wrenching thump onto the ground.

“No, please no, kill me, let them go!” I pleaded her, tears drizzling from my eyes. But it was all in vain as she flickered her fingers, and with the immense force of a magnet being attracted to a metal, a spear from one of the armoured statues in the hall detached itself, flew across the hall and pierced Alex through the heart, causing him to perish instantly.

"ALEX!” howled Judy breaking down on the ground and passing out. Matt sprinted towards the witch with a mad fury, however, he was brought to a halt in a second with a gesture of Malena's palm.

"Ahh, yes, this is the lover boy isn't he, who adores you little Ellie, just the way the masked boy had done if you remember sweet Ellie. His heart beats for you right, just the way Gerald’s did, oh yeah that was his name wasn't it? And mind you I killed him too.” she cackled pompously, revealing another of her inhumane deeds displaying no signs of remorse whatsoever, which burned a desire in me to s***h her head off. “Now let’s see exactly how his beating heart looks.” with this statement she gestured her hand into squeezing something, as Matt’s agonizing scream filled the castle.

Blood poured out gradually through his chest but advanced, battling the pain like a warrior. I had never seen anything more gruesome in my life, while I squealed helplessly against the wall. With each step he took, a hole in his chest poured some blood out, I didn’t know how much of the agonizing pain he could bare.

And with one huge splash of blood, she ended his agony as his heart burst out, being shot like a bullet towards Malena who caught it triumphantly. She held his heart in her hands and crushed it like sponge, while Matt collapsed lifelessly onto the ground in a pool of blood. I wailed like a baby helplessly, wishing my eyeballs to be squeezed out before I had to witness any further cannibalistic murders of my loved ones.

"Now, finally, the moment has come for me for what I had been waiting for, little Talia. Bid adieu to your soul-” she couldn't utter the rest as Judy jabbed a spear across her chest which froze her for a while, in utter shock and broke the spell which had so mercilessly bounded me. Next moment, both of us attacked her like vultures using whatever we could get our hands on, but our efforts went futile as her wrath broke out, she expressionlessly removed the spear out her chest, and with one quick wave of her palm we both went flying through the air, Judy smashed into the chandelier and fell like a skeleton onto the ground, knocked out cold. While I circled in the air and slammed against the wall and slid down. My body felt extremely numb and motionless.

"Enough! I think it’s time I gave you a demonstration of what I have in store for you Talia!” she proclaimed in an unrecognisably towering voice totally unlike her. She placed a hand in her robe and drew out as what appeared to be an elbow-length brittle stick….a wand.

Malena aimed it at Judy and with a quick flicker, Judy was raised into the air. She was carried by invisible hands towards Malena. My mind was racing; I felt like I knew what she was going to do. Was this the end of both of us? What had we ever done to perish so viciously? I implored for help desperately in my mind.

At that point, I noticed a white light appearing few inches away from me. The light took the shape of a figure. While observing closely through my half closed eyes, it appeared to be a stout elderly figure, with white hair tied in a bun, wearing what seemed to be a sleeping gown. It neither ghost nor human, but some sort of a hybrid. The face was wrinkly with distinctly sharp blue eyes.

"Nurse.” I mumbled putting some effort to raise my head, utterly flabbergasted. The lady beamed at me, revealing sparkling white teeth and placed her wrinkled palm forward, which presented a glossy dagger. With a slow but hasty movement, I grabbed it from her hands. I observed the dagger which displayed an unusual gloss as if polished and sharpened a minute ago. It seemed sharp enough to s***h away a hugely thick branch from a tree, and had tiny carvings on it which read: King Eric.

“Yes, dear child, she announced in a soft, apparently ghostly manner. This is indeed, your father, the great King Eric’s blessed dagger. And the same one which was used against him by that witch and made it cursed. Her ghostly but more like, revenant voice turned vicious and dangerous as she uttered this.

“You are very well aware of what is to be done…Princess Talia” she whispered as she vanished with a wisp of glowing smoke. Leaving me to continue staring at the dagger with a mixture of ferocity, revulsion as well as desolation and sorrow built up inside me.

With all the energy I could muster, I pulled myself up to face the sorceress, who was on the verge of sucking off my best friend’s soul.

“You were right Malena….I began, with a bold and victorious smile emerging across my face which had a drastic effect of wiping hers off, as she looked at me with horrified bewilderment. About my destiny of being re-born. But you failed to fathom one fact…. it wasn't meant to free you. But to bring about your termination!” and with a massive bellow I rushed forwards towards the sorceress, who had a second to apply her empty hand to defend herself.

She directed her wand towards and shot red sparks which I deflected, quite skillfully. The lady growled viciously and again applied her dark magic, as a wisp of smoke began to arise out of nowhere. It moulded artistically like clay being moulded into shape by a potter, and within seconds.....took the form of an enormous serpent.

My legs froze on the ground, as if chained from below. The little color my pale face had regained after seeing nurse, drained off like water, at the sight of the massive and intimidating creature which was either summoned, or produced, by dark magic.

"Meet my little wand-made pet darling" shrieked Malena, with purely terrifying bliss in her eyes.

The gigantic serpent was of the length of a standard great white shark. Its fangs, the size of human fingers, with emerald eyes which gave me the feeling that it could kill with just a stare. It possessed a purely black body with white stripes. It kept ogling me, while hissing ferociously. Perhaps preparing itself to spread its venom across my body. And I couldn't help but stare back, however, in utmost horror.

"Oh my dear ravenous boy," exclaimed Malena loftily , stroking the serpent. But you do not have to wait for long as its dinner time. And with a freakishly hissing sound, she instructed it to attack.

The serpent barged forward to strike in a flash as I closed my eyes in defeat. But just on the brink of death, an extreme force of warm hands pushed me aside...it was Judy. I fell sideways rolling as I noticed, Judy being thrown in the farthest corner of the hall , the snakes head had collided with her body.

She fell on the ground with a bone crushing thump and lay their lifelessly.

"Judy!", I screeched madly and with a furiously courageous effort, I struck the creatures body with the dagger, which left a s***h onto it, leaving it to flinch crazily.

However, it quickly recovered and got back at me. And this time, with a swish of its hugely overlong tail, I was sent flying over the grand dining table and fell atrociously onto it which splintered into two.

I moaned in agony, as I couldn't muster the strength of a seed to force myself to rise. How much more torture could my body endure, I thought desperately. Nevertheless, it came off as an astounding realization to me that in my position another person, irrespective of gender would have perished long ago.