I turn to Braxton, who reaches for my hand, but I keep it to myself, pulling it out of his grip. I shake my head. Not now.
“Can you show us what you got?” the king interrupts impatiently, tapping his foot in an uneven rhythm. Annie walks towards the king handing him a small bottle of something. It doesn’t look like poison ,but is filled with sparkles dancing around. She wants to step back, but Delilah grabs her arm. She looks to the ground, and I know it is because of my eyes.
The eyes she doesn’t want to meet.
I don’t recognize the bottle, and neither does the king seem to. He nods at Delilah.
“You can do the word, Annie. You did the hardest work. Take the credit you deserve.” Delilah smiles at Annie, pushing her forwards. Her short black pixie cut standing off towards the pale face of Annie. Sweet, sweet Annie. Or at least that is what I thought.
She finally finds the courage to look up and I lock my jaw in place.
Don’t show your fear.
Don’t show your panic.
But it is hard for me to fight the raising panic. So I breathe.
I do a breathing exercise in the quiet room until Annie speaks up again.
Steady your breathing and let this get over with.
I hold the railing of my seat tight and cock my head up, nose in the air. Annie meets my eyes and hers look glossy, like she wants to apologize, before she has even told me what she did. Neither does she know her next words will decide her destiny for her. I can wreck her, I don’t want to, but if she has destroyed something of mine I will consider.
“In this bottle are,” she stutters, looking down at her feet. “In this bottle are all of Eliane’s good memories,” she repeats herself, cocking her head up in the air, facing the audience. “She told me she thinks about them when she is panicking and that is why she values them with all she has.”
That bitch.
It explains a lot.
My memory loss, why I feel empty. She took a part of me, literally. A bitter taste fills my mouth, and bile floats up in my throat. I swallow it away, not wanting her to know my disgust. Not only did she take that from me. No, she also told everyone my secret—my weakness.
My panic attacks.
I hold on to the railing of my chair, push my nails in the wood. I blink. Try to blink the pain away.
Try to blink the betrayal away.
But I can’t because she did betray me.
My first friend betrayed me.
I feel my eyes turning glassy, the tips of my ears turning red. I want to look over in the crowd to find my da, but I don’t want to show them that this hurts.
It breaks my freaking heart.
The king widens his eyes, and I just stare at her.
“How is that possible?” he whimpers in some kind of shock, but it I dare to say a bit acted? I am not sure what is true and what isn’t anymore. I hate myself for it. But maybe I even hate Annie more. This time, Delilah speaks up.
“Well, ladies and gentlemen. Not only did I steal Eliane, her most valuable thing, I also would like to share a secret with y’all.” She holds her finger in front of her mouth as she strolls around.
“I would like to introduce you to the only witch I know,” she shouts, moving her arms into an introduction towards Annie. Annie smiles, but it looks like a farmer with a toothache. People start whimpering and discussing and all I can do is let my jaw drop to the floor. People are looking at me. I can feel their eyes burn into my flesh. I should have called her a witch, not just a bitch. I look to my side because Braxton speaks up.
“I am going to kill our servant.”
And this time I don’t correct him for not calling her by her name.
My eyes aren’t on the king anymore.
