“Angelique, I feel there’s been a misunderstanding,” the queen said, her lip trembling. “Perhaps I should apologize?”
She suddenly had an idea. A truly wicked but deserving one. If none of Rothhavens could bear offspring, the royal family would eventually disappear for good. There would be no heir to the throne after all of Edward’s son’s passed away. Angelique knew that it would take one powerful curse to make it happen and the Wand of Aberdeen could definitely do it. The problem was that such an enormous task would probably break her wand. She would be left defenseless against Gaylen and in the end, she would probably hang.
Too angry to care, she raised her hands in the air and closed her eyes.
“From this day forward, no maiden will be fertile, or able to bear children for the royal family of Rothhaven. Their bloodline will die out and their reign will end,” she said, her wand shining so brightly, it lit up the entire cell.
“No!” gasped the queen, covering her mouth in horror. “What are you doing? Think about… think about all of the innocent people you’re going to hurt. My sons never did anything to you. Nor my daughter… please…”
The little girl with the kittens popped into Angelique’s head. She’d been the only one kind to her in Syracuse, not to mention how nurturing and sweet she’d been to her pets. It would be cruel to deny her motherhood. “Except for Mariselle,” she whispered under her breath. “Just as she loves her kittens, she will one day be a mother, if she so desires and after she turns eighteen. But… not to a Rotthhaven although it wouldn’t be entirely impossible,” she smiled to herself, adding an outlandish clause. “It would take the seed of all four princes to produce an heir to their bloody throne. A combined effort. If, by some miracle, it happens, only then will the curse end.”
When she was finished, a beam of blue light shot out of the wand, the force so powerful that Angelique went flying backward and hit her head against the wall.
21
MARISELLE, WHO WAS sleeping next to her mother, Karina, in one of the guest chambers, woke up to find her moaning in pain.
She sat up. “Mother, what’s wrong?”
“Stomach pain,” she rasped, holding her ribcage.
Worried, Mariselle touched her shoulder gently. “Are you going to be okay?”
Her mother moaned again and began to cry.
“Should I find Papa?” Mariselle asked, her own eyes filling with tears. She’d never seen her mother in so much pain and it was terrifying.
Karina gasped. “Yes. Maybe you should.”
Mariselle quickly got out of bed and headed for the door, her kittens chasing after her. Just as she was about to leave, her mother called out to her. She turned around and saw that Karina’s face had relaxed.
“Mother?”
A look of relief swept over her face. She sat up. “Oddly enough, I think the pain has passed.”
Karina said a silent prayer. “So, you’re okay?”
“Yes. I believe so.” She reached her hand under the covers and sighed. “It must be my monthly. I’ve never had cramps like those before though.”
Mariselle was confused. “Monthly? What are you talking about?”
Karina pushed the covers away and rose out of bed. “It’s something that will change you from a child to a woman.”
“Mother, you’re bleeding!” she cried, staring at Karina’s chemise, where there was a large red stain.
“Calm down, child. I’m fine. It’s normal,” she replied, searching through their belongings.
Staring at the blood again, Mariselle made a face. “It’s your monthly?”
“Yes, although I just had it,” Karina mumbled. “Strange that it’s come back so soon.”
There was a loud pounding on the chamber door, startling them both.
“Karina, it’s me,” Marcus said loudly.
“One moment!” Her mother ran over to the bed and grabbed the blanket. “Okay, come in!” she said, wrapping it around her waist.
Marcus stepped into the bedchamber. “Something has happened,” he said with a harried look on his face. He looked at Mariselle. “Your mother and I need to talk privately. Please wait in the hallway.”
She protested.
“It will just be for a second,” he said sternly. “Now, go.”
Sighing, Mariselle walked out of the room and waited. A short time later, her father called her back inside. Both of her parents had very troubled looks on their faces.
“We should tell her,” Marcus said, looking at Karina.
“What if you’re wrong?” she replied, her eyes searching his. She touched his hand. “There’s no need to worry her if it’s not true.”
“True or not, she should know. Besides, if we don’t talk to her about it, she’ll hear it from someone else.”
Karina sighed. “Fine. Tell her.”
Marcus turned to Mariselle. He explained how Angelique had snuck her wand into her prison cell and then used it to place a horrible curse.
“What kind?” she asked, her eyes wide.
He looked at Karina again. She nodded. “A spell that… won’t allow the royal family to have an heir.”
“I don’t understand,” she replied.
“Neither do we, exactly,” he mumbled. “Considering what your mother just told me, and what the queen experienced, I think it has to do with the women in the kingdom, more than anything.”
“What happened to the queen?” Mariselle asked.
“She experienced the same thing that I did,” her mother said, a terrified look on her face. “There was pain and blood, apparently. I don’t know what it means, but it can’t be good.”
“And you think Angelique caused it?” Mariselle’s eyebrows knitted together. “Why would she do that?”
“She wants to make sure that the Rothhavens can’t sire anymore children,” her father mumbled. “That would mean she’d have to make women barren, or the king and princes… sterile. I guess it could go either way. However, from what just happened to your mother and the queen, I think we have our answer. Let’s just hope I’m wrong.”
“But why?” Mariselle asked, confused.
“Because she’s an evil woman. Or, rather, she was,” he said.
“What do you mean, was?” Mariselle asked.
“She hit her head after using the wand. When they checked on her, there was a lot of blood and she didn’t appear to be breathing,” he replied.
“So, she’s dead?”
He nodded. “That’s what I heard.”
Mariselle gasped. Poor Angelique, she thought.
Karina looked worried. “Let’s just hope that there really isn’t a curse on the kingdom. If she’s dead, who’ll be able to reverse it?”
“Probably… no one,” he replied grimly.
Part Two
ANGELIQUE’S SPELL LEFT the entire country in turmoil. Women everywhere stopped menstruating and ovulating, all of them seemingly barren. Meanwhile, Gaylen tried everything in his power to try and break the curse, without any success. As for Angelique, her body disappeared soon after they pronounced her dead. Some thought that Hecate might have come for her. Others believed that she was still alive, but nobody knew for sure.
Months, and then years, passed by and when there were still no pregnancies, the villagers blamed the royal family for the curse and eventually a civil war broke out. Unfortunately, Gaylen didn’t come to the Rothhaven’s aid this time, and in fact, the wizard vanished completely.
Afraid of losing complete control of their kingdom, and unable to reach Gaylen, the Rothhavens called upon the help of King Roland, an ally and ruler of Baristara, another country located across the Red Sea, near Darylsyle. He agreed, but on the condition that Griffin wed his eldest daughter, Georgina, a woman much older and known for being a sharp tongued shrew. Edward reluctantly took him up on the offer, and with the help of Roland’s armies, the conflict became suppressed... but not forgotten.