The Enchanted Witch || M/M Romance|| #Fantasy #Fairytale

Chapter 8

[*Back In The Past*]

In The Echoes Kingdom:

Nathaniel entered his bedroom at the Echoes' castle and took off his leather doublet vest. He placed it on the back of a wooden chair located just a few feet away from his king-sized bed.

The Prince's room was brightly lit with twelve flame lit torches bolted onto the stoned walls. After the long day the Prince had, he wanted to snuff out the flames and fall into a deep slumber, but he couldn't. Something- someone- ran rampant through his mind, and he loved every second.

A soft knock caused the Prince to turn his attention to a pair of large wooden doors, which led out to the balcony.

In only his blue riding breeches, brown high boots and with his trusty sword still in its holster on the right side of his hip, he walked toward the doors and pushed them open to be greeted by the black night sky and frigid Winter wind. He walked further onto the balcony to find a basket on the ledge with a note on it.

The Prince looked around cautiously. He was met with green vines, which grew against the outside facade of his wall, and straight across his eighth-floor balcony was the amazing view of Sandston just a few miles away.

Nathaniel slowly placed his hand on the handle of the sword as he approached the basket cautiously.

In the basket was a small note on top of a purple blanket, but strangely an aroma of Apple Pie danced around in his nostrils.

He took the note and read it to himself:

"Nathan, I hope this is an appropriate means of gratitude. Do not fret, this contains no Poppy Extract or poison. - Jayson."

Nathaniel pulled back the small blanket and found a golden, warm and freshly baked apple pie inside of it.

A smile spread across the Prince's face as he imagined the struggle Jayson had to go through just baking it.

"Oh, there you are, Darling!" The voice belonged to a woman who stood by the doorway of Nathaniel's bedroom. Her voice made him flinch, and he turned to her nervously.

She stopped dead in her tracks, shocked at the sight of Nathaniel standing in the frigid cold, shirtless.

"Darling, it's frigid. You need to come in before you fall ill and," she stopped speaking as she noticed the basket on the ledge. "What in Heaven is that ghastly thing?"

"It's an Apple Pie," Nathaniel answered the beautiful woman, "it is a gift from a Witch I saved earlier."

"A Witch?" The woman gasped. "Surely you are mad if you think I am going to let you take one bite of something a Witch made! They are vile Beings! That pie is probably filled with bits of innocent children."

The woman was no older than twenty-nine, but her flawless features hid her age very well. Anyone who came across her for the first time would have assumed she was in her early twenties.

She wore a red ball gown embellished with beautiful Rubies. Her blonde hair was styled in a neat bun on her head, and around her neck was an Echoes family heirloom; a snake-like necklace embellished with Ruby and Emerald stones.

"I assure you, Cassandra, this Witch is different. He is a great person who is just trying to find his place in this Realm. Away from the people who judge solely based on who he is."

"He is a Witch, darling, there is no turning a blind eye on that. He is no more of a menace than a cult of Vampires descending onto a group of low life whores. It's what they do."

Nathaniel had to admit, the analogy Cassandra gave made no sense to him and he was one hundred percent certain, she had no idea what anything that came out of her own mouth meant. He smiled and took her hands in his.

"If it makes you feel better, I will discard the pie."

She smiled and gazed into his eyes, "that would make me feel exceptionally well."

He nodded and gave the woman a soft kiss on her forehead.

"Now if you do not mind, please come indoors before you fall ill. My mother is arriving tomorrow for the wedding rehearsal and I want to make sure, when she meets my fiancé, she meets the healthy and strong Prince I agreed to marry. Not some sick peasant."

The Prince once again gave her a nod. She softly kissed his lips and placed a hand on his bare chest. "I love you, Nathaniel."

"I love you too, Ja..." he stopped short when he heard the words about to come out of his mouth, and before Cassandra could sense something was wrong, he quickly fixed the situation. "I love you too, just give me a few seconds to pray... then I'll come back in."

Cassandra smiled, turned on her heels, reentered the room, and closed the doors behind her.

The Prince let out a sigh of relief and ran his fingers through his hair.

"That was a close one," a high pitch voice was heard in the dark night.

"Yeah, any closer and she would have heard you confess your love for Jayson."

Nathaniel watched as three glowing lights-Red (Rojò), Blue (Azùla) and Green (Verde) - fluttered down in front of him and he looked back at the wooden doors quickly. "I don't love Jayson!" he stated as he turned to face the Fairies and lowered his voice. "Two men cannot fall in love. That is forbidden. So please stop making up fictitious stories."

"The rules have been broken before," Rojò said.

"That is right," said Verde.

"You can't put rules on love," added Azùla.

Nathaniel rubbed his forehead in frustration as the Fairies had a conversation amongst themselves.

"Focus!" The Prince said and clapped his hands, which made all three to remain silent. "I need you three to keep watch over Jayson."

"Because you like him?" asked the Red Fairy.

"Do not be stupid, Rojò! Nathaniel doesn't 'like' the Witch... He loves him!" teased the Blue Fairy.

Nathaniel growled softly. All three Fairies went silent once again, and he inhaled deeply. "Please, just monitor him."

The Fairies agreed in unison and fluttered away into the night sky.

The Prince glanced down at the pie, he waved his right hand over it and in a blue light, it disappeared.

He smiled to himself as he turned around and made his way toward the double doors. He pulled the doors open, reentered his warm bedroom, and forced a smile onto his face, ready to continue living a lie.