Short Stories, One Shots and Contest Entries

Magic Comes at a Price

Title: Magic Comes at a Price
Author: LiviieMarie
Type: original story
Reason: for rxmione and her writing contest
Note: I hope this is alright. I emailed it to you as well, but wanted to post it here too. Also, this really didn't come out like I hoped it would, but I hope you still enjoy it anyway.

"Amelia!" Arthur called for his sister as he strode down the hall of his London estate. As he walked, his polished shoes clicking against the marble floor, he shed his jacket and allowed the butler trailing behind him to catch it. "Amelia, where are you?"

He found his dark haired sister in the parlor, a large room with plush couches and an infinite numbers of vases holding flowers. She was hunched over like there was a great weight on her back, pushing her shoulders down. It took a moment to realize that his sister was in fact crying, clutching something to her chest.

"Amelia?" Arthur said again, softer this time. "Darling, what's wrong?"

Amelia didn't say anything, only turned to face him with her tear streaked face and shoved the small piece of paper at him so he could read the letter. The paper was slightly wrinkled due to being crushed in her hand.

Dear Mrs. Whitmore, it read.
We have the misfortune of informing you that one Thursday the 22nd of August, your husband, General George Whitmore was pronounced dead. The cause of death was by aerial bombing. We grieve with you during this loss, and will be arriving within two weeks to present to you his body.

My deepest condolences, and it was signed by someone with a very loopy signature.

"Dead!" Amelia wailed, clutching her hair like she wanted to rip it out. "He's dead Arthur! My talisman didn't protect him! My spell didn't work! This wasn't supposed to happen."

Arthur was frozen. He and Amelia had known George since they were children. Their families had been close. It was no surprise when George proposed to Amelia, and what should have been a lovely wedding, turned into a very hasty one as George enlisted into the Great War, no doubt to win some glory for his name and new wife. While Arthur had inherited a title and a younger sister to look after when his parents died that kept him safe from being drafted, George had an older brother to inherit his parents' lands. He would have been drafted anyway, he thought, but he was sure to marry Amelia before he left. That was a year ago, and George had been off to war since, sending Amelia and occasionally Arthur letters from the front.

She's barley 19 and already a widow, he thought as she continued to sob, now kneeling on the floor.

An aerial attack. Arthur read the letter again to make sure he had seen it right. Bombs falling from the air in planes. That was unheard of and unexpected. No wonder his sister's charm hadn't held against that. How could she have known to protect him from such a thing?

"Amelia," he said, crouching down beside her and gripping her arms. "Come, let's get you  to bed."

But Amelia showed no signs of wanting to move. She was dead weight in his arms as she continued to cry over her husband. Arthur couldn't quite lift her, especially with the weight of all her skirts on her dress. Both of them were careful about using magic in the house as most of the servants didn't know they could do it, but the parlor was typically off limits to them unless they were summoned. So, Arthur put his hand to Amelia's forehead and with a small flash of light from his palm, she slumped into his arms, asleep. That was probably the only way she would get any rest.

Arthur felt bad, but he stood and rang the bell, summoning a servant and ordering them to help carry his sister to her room so she could rest. Preparations had to be made for the arrival of the body of his brother-in-law and best friend.