Seize the Day

Chapter Eighteen

Chapter Eighteen

“Lannie, you seem off today. Is everything alright?”

I started, nearly jumping out of my seat in the lesson room. A textbook scattered to the floor, bringing several writing utensils down with it. I glared at Clarice. “What?”

“You’re giving that brooch a death glare, Lannie.”

I blinked. First at Clarice, then at the pendant that was gripped in my hand. “Sorry.” I pinned it back on my blouse and gave a flimsy smirk to Clarice. “You may continue.”

“I’m done,” she told me, an aggravated edge to her voice. “I’ve been trying to tell you that.”

“Oh, okay.” I picked up the fallen supplies and stuffed them into my messenger bag. “Then you can go now.”

“Really? No homework? You really must be sick today.”

I rolled my eyes as I gathered the last of my things together. “Just go.”

With reluctance and a suspicious look, Clarice took her leave, promising to check up on me later in the day.

I sighed and glared at the nearest thing to me. In this case, it was the Sylph Queen’s portrait on the fireplace mantel. She was so full of knowing that it maddened me. “What are you looking at?” I was so agitated and angry and full of synonymous words that meant nothing to me.

But I felt guilty, too. I felt that my mother—somehow, some way—had done something to protect me. She had worried so much about me getting this “curse” that she became sick. Was I the reason she got sick? Mother said herself that she would do anything in her power to save me, even if it meant sacrificing her own life. Had she done something prior to her death in order to save me?

I didn’t want to think about it anymore.

I trailed my fingers across the mantel of the fireplace. The Sylph Queen looked down at me with that firm, commanding look about her elegant face. Her dark brown hair fell in waves across her shoulders and her pointed ears were barely visible. There was a brownish gold hue to her eyes, but I couldn’t pinpoint the exact color. I still had yet to figure out why such a painting was in this castle. Maybe the king had an affinity for beautiful paintings…of beautiful nymph queens. Seeing as he was married, that struck me as odd. I shook my head and exited the room. Foolish thoughts like that didn’t belong in my mind.

The activity of the castle was unusually high-strung today. It was because of the ball. Or the “Grand Ball,” as some would call it. I scoffed at the name. There was nothing grand about the ball, except that it was a grand waste of materials and supplies that were better used on the city itself.

I exited the castle with little trouble, but something continued to irk my thoughts. The pendant pinned to my blouse was something more, it seemed, than just a simple piece of jewelry. It was no coincidence that I had fallen asleep while holding it, or that it was glowing when I awoke. My mother had purchased it from the magic shop where a witch lived.

And I knew exactly where the shop was.

I drew the cowl of my cloak tighter over my face as I turned down a dark alley in the city square, directly across from the tavern. With cracked yellow stone, the magic shop appeared nondescript at first, but a closer look revealed jars of heinous objects displayed for sale in the window. I opened the wooden door, signaling the telltale welcoming ding of the bell. Inside was a mess of shelves and hanging talismans. It was quite tidy for a magic shop, but nothing compared to the cleanliness of my own home.

A clerical desk sat near the end of the shop, as brown and unassuming as everything else in the room. I touched my pendant for courage and approached the desk. On the oak surface, a bowl of partially eaten food indicated that someone had recently been here. I looked around for a bell, but the desk was empty, save for a small bottle lying lopsided on the top. Where was the witch?