Kingdom

67. Laws of Magic (6)

Since the cat left, Nori's attention seems to be elsewhere. She has been peeling an apple for a while now, her eyes staring into the distance.

"Is something else bothering you?" Jimin asks, taking the knife out of the Princess's hands. "Besides the wild magic you felt all around you - is there anything else that worries you."

"I have feelings for another man." she says bluntly, dropping the apple on her plate. "A man I loved in the past. My ex-fiance."

A wave of dark and intense sensation spreads around her, her magic closes off, her warmths turns cold. Jimin has no longer access to her feelings. He can only trust her words.

Nori stands up and walks around for a moment, her eyes glued to her feet.

Whatever happened with her ex-fiance, might have been rather unpleasant. Her feelings on the matter are too personal and intimate to let others pray into them. Jimin respects that. He sits calmly and waits for the Princess to speak. The wizard should not pray into the past and ask what had happened. This is not the task he is here to perform. Yet, he grows more curious about this Princess with each moment. About her, and her little guard - a boy protected by spells he cannot read. Spells, routed in dark magic.

Nori perches by the corner of the blanket, sitting on the other side of Jimin, and reaches out to pet one of the bravest of chicks that has returned to snuggle at its edge.

Even in servant's clothes, relaxed and casually sitting, Nori bears an aura of elegance. If one observes her long enough they could tell she is no servant - this is a woman thought to sit and move in a gracious way; thought to speak calmly and to hide her feelings behind a mask of manners. Observe her for longer yet, and one can also tell that all those manners feel unnatural to her. Her temperament is hasty and spontaneous. She wants to break free of all pretense. Instead she hides, hides behind the mask she is asked to wear.

"When I was with the King last night, I allowed him to do a lot of things to me, to touch me and make me feel good." Her voice drops down to a whisper, so Jimin has to lean closer to hear it. The little chick chirps happily and raises its head towards Nori's hand. "I was lost in the sensation completely - everything else became a blur. But when the heat of the moment passed, when all the waves of pleasure washed away - the memory of that man returned. I could almost hear his voice in my head, calling me. It was painful to think of him. Coldness washed over me. Everything in my body hurt for a moment." Her hand trembles and she pulls it back."I got so scared."

Nori inhales deeply, the magic around her weavers for a moment, as clouds that open up; then closes again becoming a shield to protect her thoughts and feelings. She turns to face Jimin, her expression pale and forcefully calm. She looks like a porcelain doll whose fragile exterior is about to crack and break into pieces.

"You know about the matrimonial spell," she says." how I am forbidden to be with anyone before the wedding." She pauses, her eyes filling with tears. "But I was in love. I did belong to someone else in my heart. I fear this makes the magic act weird...I am terrified of that magic. I fear my love for my fiance might compromise my bond with the King..."

Jimin signs. "That stupid spell..."

"It's ridiculous!" Nori exclaims, "I don't even understand it fully. They told me all those scary stories about it; I was afraid to be close to any man..."

Jimin's heart sinks. Poor Princess might have been in anguish. All Royal women are scared to death of that matrimonial spell, their minds fed with so much bullshit passed from one generation to the next. It's wrong on so many levels. Jimin is more than proud that his Queen is looking for a way to break that spell.