Page 1 of Bewitched

One

Being conceived from both light and dark magic was an imprisonment from which there was no escape.

It was also the bane of Medea de Bar’s existence.

Even with the darkness that often filled her heart, Medea decided she wouldn’t wish this life on anyone. No one, no matter how evil they were, deserved what she had been living through. It felt like being trapped in her own body. Hatred, jealousy, and extreme rage often reared up, seeded in her from her late mother. It consumed her to the point that there was nothing she could do to stop it. The darkness that filled her was sometimes so strong that she even frightened herself.

However, along with this great grief, also came a gift. A light at the end of the tunnel. Darkness made up only half of Medea. In her was also imbedded the spark of goodness from her father. That light sometimes shone so brightly that it somehow managed to push the darkness aside. There was a constant battle taking place inside Medea, one side winning over the other, and then back the other way again. Medea felt like naught but a bystander, as she was not in control at all.

At twenty years of age now, Medea realized she was no longer a child, but a woman, like her sisters, Rapunzel and Cinderella. She was a lot like all of her seven half-siblings, she supposed. The only difference being that she didn’t grow up with them around, and because of this, it made her feel empty and lonely. Loneliness was something that frightened Medea more than anything else.

Sitting back on her throne in Tanglewood Castle, she threw her feet over the arm of the chair, even though she wore a gown and it wasn’t proper or ladylike to act this way. Nay, she didn’t care what others thought of her, even if she was a queen now, since her mother was dead and she’d inherited the title. She actually didn’t care about anything anymore. All she wanted was to be happy, and needed to find a way to do just that.

Yanking the crown off her head, Medea studied it, running her finger over the jewels embedded into the golden circlet. Gemstones, coins, gold, wealth—these things seemed to make most people happy. Then again, Medea wasn’t like most people. Nay, she didn’t want these riches or even cared about them at all.

This crown had once belonged to the rulers of Tanglewood, before her mother seized the castle, making it her own. Hecuba’s victory was accomplished at the price of others’ lives. It hadn’t been a fair fight—it never was. The poor departed souls never had a chance against Hecuba’s use of dark magic.

Medea had inherited that same dark magic from her mother, but hers wasn’t yet as developed as it could be. With no one there to teach her or guide her, she didn’t know what to expect.

That made her wonder. What would it be like not to have this magic at all? What if she were just human, and felt like everyone else? It was an absurd thought, but still it made her wonder, since she had a curious nature. Lately, Medea found herself not able to stop wondering about it day and night. Thoughts like these filled her head constantly, ever since she inherited the title and position two years ago.

Drumming her fingers atop the arm of her throne, Medea struggled with feeling not only alone and unwanted, but also extremely bored. She needed to get out of here and go places. She wanted to do things! This sitting here thinking, but taking no action, was only going to drive her mad.

“My Queen,” came the voice of her head guard, Orson, walking up and stooping low as he bowed before her. Part of Medea liked seeing others groveling at her feet. Another part of her found it repulsive. Tension built up inside her, causing her to shake and creating sweat on her brow. Her skin crawled. It made her feel confused and as if she were going to burst.

“Stop calling me Queen! I don’t like it,” she snapped, knowing that stolen titles didn’t necessarily make a person worthy of them at all. “I’m not a queen. How many times do I have to remind you?”

“Nay, that’s not true, Your Highness. You are our Queen now, my lady, and our ruler,” said another guard, Riggs, entering the great hall and stopping to bow to her as well. “We answer to you now since Hecuba is dead.”

And before Hecuba, they’d answered to the true King and Queen of Tanglewood, she reminded herself. These men were naught more than puppets on strings. Why didn’t anyone have a mind of their own? The struggle inside her made her feel as if she wanted to scream or run. Sometimes she had admired her mother, and other times she despised her. But no matter how evil Hecuba had been, she was still Medea’s mother. Hecuba had been the only one who had truly cared for her and looked after her. She was also the one whom Medea severely let down in the end.

“You don’t need to remind me that my mother is dead!” she shouted. Anger filled her, growing stronger with each breath she took. She didn’t want to think about how her mother died. It hurt too much, and the guilt she harbored ate away at her blackened soul. If Medea had the ability to do it, she would erase the memories from her mind completely about that day and never be haunted by it again.

Medea threw the crown at the guards, almost hitting them. They both ducked as the metal circlet smashed into the wall behind them and then fell, rolling across the stone floor beneath their feet. If she didn’t leave here anon, she was going to wind up killing someone, of that she was sure. Mayhap her mother never had a qualm about killing or cursing people, but Medea didn’t want to follow in those footsteps right now.

“So sorry, my Queen,” said Riggs. “We didn’t mean to upset you.”

“That’s right. Our wish is your command,” said Orson nervously. He most likely only said this since he’d seen the extent of her powers and was frightened by them. They all were. After all, with just a flick of her hand, they could all be dead, or possibly turned into toads, or cursed for life. As far as Medea knew, there weren’t any limits to her magic.

Medea had no friends, or at least not real ones anyway. Anyone who pretended to like her, was only doing it out of fear or duty. No one wanted to feel the results of her wrath.

She let out a deep sigh of frustration, glaring at her guards. Taking a deep breath, she held it until the light within her overcame the darkness, smoothing out her emotions once again. Over the last few years she had been experimenting with being able to control her magic. Sometimes she was able to stop the darkness inside with the light, but at other times it worked in just the opposite way.

There was no one to turn to in order to find out the answers. Her mother had been pure evil, and her father and half-siblings were all good. No one understood what she was going through.

This time, she was lucky, and her breathing managed to summon the light within her. Slowly, she stood up, feeling relaxed and as if all the tension had been swept away. She had been trying hard to change her ways, wanting to be more like her sister Rapunzel and the others. Sometimes, she was able to stop the darkness before it consumed her completely; however, it didn’t happen often enough.

Bored beyond belief, she yawned, stretching her arms high over her head. It had been her mother’s idea to seize Tanglewood by means of magic, just to gain an army to go up against Lucio de Bar. Medea didn’t know anything about the previous king and queen of Tanglewood, and neither did she want to know. To even think about how the innocent rulers were killed by her mother would only make the guilt inside her grow stronger. That was something she didn’t need at all.

Medea supposed it should make her happy that she was a queen, but it didn’t. Not in the least. Making decisions, punishing thieves, and going to battle, was nothing she enjoyed. Medea wanted excitement in life! However, that excitement was something that she was going to have to create for herself, if she wanted it at all.

She also wanted a man in her life. Medea was curious about love. She’d been there when her sisters Rapunzel and Cinderella fell in love with their husbands Marco Drago del Rossi the third, and Sir William Fremont. She’d also been present when one of her brothers, MacKay, fell in love with the Snow Queen. Why were they all able to find a mate and fall in love, but she wasn’t? She was just as pretty as her sisters, and even more powerful than her Dragon Lord brother-by-marriage.

In the past, Medea had fallen hard for both Marco and William, but realized now it had been more infatuation than true love. All her magic couldn’t stop the men from staying true to her sisters. It was unbelievable that even MacKay and Queen Eira Koldottir ended up together. After all, her mother’s curse on MacKay made him infatuated with the wretched Snow Queen, who had naught but a heart of ice. The meaner Eira acted toward him, the more MacKay liked her. It was amusing, but still, it was all wrong. Or, at least Medea thought so. Right now, she was no longer sure. Her head became clouded and she seemed unable to make decisions on her own.

“Fine then,” she told her guards. “If you insist on pleasing me, I have a chore for you both.” A corner of her mouth lifted up into a half-smile as she thought of an adventure that would truly prove to be exciting.

“Anything at all, my lady,” said Riggs, keeping his head bowed.