“This is the day,” I thought aloud to myself as I twirled around in the full-length looking glass in front of me. I pondered the reflection, a young woman peering back at me in the mirror: honey-colored locks tumbling down her shoulders, a sanguine blush creeping up her cheeks, yards of green fabric billowing about her narrow frame. She looked like a princess - but was she ready for such a commitment? I wasn’t sure.

“Are you ready, madame?” A small voice interrupted my train of thought. I whirled around. A servant boy stood in the doorway. He shifted his feet back and forth, biting his lip as he waited for me to dismiss him.

“Oh yes,” I told him, waving my hand at him distractedly. “I’ll be there in a few minutes.”

The boy stepped quickly back into the hallway, obviously relieved to be out of my presence. I, too, was glad to be alone again.

My thoughts wandered back to the event awaiting me. I loved him, yes; I loved him madly. Yet - I wasn’t certain…

I turned back to my reflection. Seeing a few curls askew, I murmured a simple spell that sent them floating back into place. Satisfied with my appearance, I turned back to the door, and with a deep breath, I walked into the corridor, one step closer to my destiny.

~

The organ sounded, startling me and causing me to trip over my hem. My sweaty palms clenched the simple bouquet of red roses in my hands tightly. I could feel the rose thorns digging into my hands, but I didn’t care. Finger pricks were the least of my worries.

Slowly but steadily, I began my long walk down the aisle. I felt hundreds eyes fixated upon me. Critically, each examined each my unconventional wedding gown to the frightened look in my own eyes, which seemed devoid of a typical bride’s radiant glow.

As I walked, avoiding stepping on the bottom of my skirt, I looked toward the altar, and like in the fairytales I had so long renounced, I felt my heart skip a beat in my chest. There Gavin stood, adorned in a splendid blue suitcoat with polished gold buttons. Immediately, I knew that I had made the right choice.

The ceremony began as soon as I reached the altar. The priest recited a blessing as Gavin and I clutched hands, holding on tightly as if we’d never let go. I could not, however, help noticing the slight consternation reflected in Gavin’s eyes, although I was sure that my own eyes were shining as brightly as the opalescent beads dripping from my dress.

“What’s wrong?” I murmured as the priest recited another blessing.

He furrowed his brows. “Nothing,” he said. “It’s just—well—Alina, I can’t go through with this.”

Life as I knew it froze before me as my heart, previously soaring on clouds, dropped to the floor with a thud.

“W-what?” I whispered, my mouth dry.

“I don’t love you,” he continued. Then, turning to the priest, he said, “I think we’re done here” and stalked back down the aisle.

For a few seconds, I stood at the front of the church, shocked. Then, realizing that I had just been jilted at my own wedding, I fled the room, ignoring the fabric ripping under my high-heeled shoes and the beads flying off my dress with soft pitter-patters across the floor.

Tears leaked through my scrunched-up eyelids and began to trickle down my cheeks. There was nothing left for me here, now that Gavin was gone. My entire life, the life I had thought began today, had disappeared the moment I looked away.

As I wept, my sadness suddenly seemed to melt away, replaced by anger. How could he do this to me? After all I had done for him, this was his way to repay me? There was only one thing left for me to do, and that was to get my revenge.

I quickly gathered my belongings from my dressing room and returned home. Upon arriving, I immediately went to my bookshelf, my one solitary friend throughout the struggles life had thrown at me. However, instead of pulling out my battered book of poetry as I usually would, I pulled out three novels to reveal a drawer at the bottom of the shelf. I opened it, and a cloud of dust wafted out, enveloping me in foggy haze. A spider scurried out of the drawer and into a crack in the wall. I scooped up a book from the drawer, its cover faded, but still visible: a book of spells.

I paged through it frantically until I found the page I wanted.

“Lover’s Vengeance,” it read at the top in swirling cursive. I studied the page. The spell was indeed, a potion for revenge, and just the one I needed. I was well aware of the consequences. If I were proven right about Gavin’s selfish vanity, the years the spell added to my own life would be stripped away and given to him as time to break the spell. If not…well, I did not want to think about it.

I left the room to gather my ingredients and returned with several glass jars and, ironically, my bridal bouquet. I set everything on the ground before picking up the book once more.

Delicately, I poured together three spoonfuls of blood from a banshee, three drops of phoenix saliva, and four dragon scales into a glass vial. I emptied the remaining ingredients into a second vial.

Picking up my bridal bouquet, a fresh wave of hurt and resentment flooded over me. I angrily selected a crimson rose, its blooming petals perfectly cupping its vulnerable center.

With a shaky hand, I dipped the flower into the first potion. The liquid sizzled for a few moments before I pulled the flower out, black liquid dripping from each petal. Soon it returned to normal, red as blood gushing from a gaping wound.

Now it was my turn. I drew in a shaky breath before picking up the vial and quickly downing it. An immediate burning seized my throat. I coughed and nearly gasped to hear the hoarse, raspy sound. A searing pain took hold of my arms and legs. I looked down to see my soft, firm skin withering, the veins becoming visible, my nails growing long and brittle. The scorching sensation crept up my neck to my face and into my scalp, until, all of a sudden, it was over.

I inhaled deeply, wincing at the ragged tone. My limbs seemed to weigh a thousand pounds as I struggled to advance to the opposite side of the room, where my mirror was located. When I finally reached the mirror, I was stunned by what I saw.

A haggard old woman, hunched over at the back, stood before me. Her straggly white hair drooped around her wrinkled, careworn face. A green dress, accented by a few strands of beads, many of which had already fallen off, fell in tatters around her bony form. Her eyes, astonished to see her form in the mirror, were widened in shock, making her face look even gaunter. It was me.

After examining my appearance, I trudged to the stable to prepare a horse and carriage for travel. One of the horses gave a nervous whinny as I entered, and the rest appeared to be equally anxious. Nevertheless, I managed to gain hold of one of the horses, a pitch-black mare, and attach it to my carriage. Stepping gingerly onto the carriage seat, I grabbed hold of the horse’s reins as we began our journey.

~

After what felt like an hour, I finally reached my destination. An enormous golden gate reaching above the treetops towered over me. I slipped down from the carriage, carefully, as not to injure myself, and pulled at the gate, which swung open with surprising ease.

Before me lay a tremendous castle made of glittering white marble. Its towers were laden with gold, and cherub statues embellished the base of each spiral.

Uneasy, despite my having been here hundreds of times before, I started up the walkway to the palace.

The sky was growing dark, nearly the color of the horse I had left behind the gates. The darkness lent an eerie sense of mystery to the castle’s golden beauty. Shivers trickled up and down my spine as I continued down the cobblestone path, and my unease grew. I should not have come here.

I tried to reassure myself that this was no time to turn back. The spell had been cast, and unless I wanted to remain in this form forever, I would have to carry on.

I soon reached the front door. With my last bit of strength, I tapped on the door three times.

“Hello?” I croaked. “Is anyone there?”

I tried to knock again when I heard footsteps stomping towards the door. I shrunk back into the shadows.

The door opened, and in the doorway stood Gavin. The petulant look in his eye and his pursed lips alerted me to his irritation.

“Oh, Gavin!” a woman’s voice trilled.

My blood ran cold at Gavin’s cruelty. Not only had he left me at the altar, but he had also quickly replaced me with another woman.

“Who’s at the door?” she asked.

Gavin turned around to give her a lascivious glance. “Just a moment, my pet,” he said before turning back to me.

“What do you want?” he growled.

“J-just shelter. It is bitterly cold.” My voice came out husky and cracked. “I do have something in exchange.”

Gavin’s eyes grew interested, but they fell when I revealed the rose from beneath my cloak.

“A rose,” he scoffed, “in exchange for shelter? Leave my palace, old woman. You are not welcome here.” He began to close the door.

“Wait!” I said.

The door opened once more.

“Don’t be deceived by appearances,” I told him, “for beauty is found within.”

“What would you know of beauty?” he replied scornfully. “Now leave me in peace!”

As the door began to close a second time, I was enveloped in a burst of light. A cool sensation lit my fingertips and spread to the rest of my body. My skin grew soft, and my hair became full and blonde again. When the light dimmed at last, I saw Gavin staring in fearful awe at me.

“A- Alina?” he stammered.

“Never again will I be bewitched by you. I did not come here for redemption. I came here for vengeance.”

I forced the rose into his hands, and the magic at once took hold, erupting into a second burst of light.

Fur began to sprout from Gavin’s face and limbs, marring his once handsome features. His fingers and toes elongated into claws.

“This rose will continue to bloom. If you can learn to truly love and be loved in return by the time the last petal falls, the spell will be broken. If not, you will be doomed to remain a beast for eternity.”

The light diminished. Seeing his now monstrous form, I felt my heart freeze in my chest. That was when I realized: I still loved him. Senselessly, heedlessly, irrationally, despite his selfish nature, I still loved him.

I fled the room, not turning back to see his reaction. As I ran, I came upon a second realization: there’s no such thing as happily ever after.

Word Count: 1915 words

Impressum

Texte: Livvie May
Bildmaterialien: Public domain
Tag der Veröffentlichung: 14.06.2012

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