[wattys 2018 shortlisted]
Humans see her as a dangerous threat -a witch that must be executed. With the uncontrollable ability to form ice at her fingertips, Ravenna is forced into hiding amongst the humans, stealing to survive. That is, until she h...
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THE AIR INSIDE Ravenna's lungs froze solid, skewering through the organs within her chest. Spoken words boomed across the room and through her ears. All she could register was a single sentence, "In a weeks time, after our royal wedding, a public execution will be held, ridding this world of their evil once and for all."
Her hand began to tremble. She slowly lowered her glass, as the other nobles around her did. The brim of the goblet brushed her lips. Wine stung harshly at her skin. Their cheers shook the banquet hall, yet didn't register within her ears.
She couldn't tear her gaze away from Vyses.
His eyes locked with hers. There was something inside of them, some unnameable emotion. She saw a flicker of crimson. Then Vyses closed one eye in a wink.
It wasn't reassuring whatsoever, however it shattered the spell that had captured her attention. Her organs seemed to unfreeze completely. The bustling world around her crashed into her senses, overloading her. She wasn't able to process it —but she could hear the laughter, the excitement. She could taste the aged wine that kissed her lips and smell its bitter scent.
Her stomach somersaulted as she watched Vyses and Lyth be dragged from the room. The doors slammed shut behind them. The humans around her shouted and cheered in glee. Imperial soldiers flooded the empty space in the room around her, standing behind the seated guests. Each were given a goblet of wine, a mug of mead —whatever luxury their hearts desired.
The King took his seat at the head of the table, surrounded by his women. Ravenna stared at the plate in front of her. It overflowed with bread and various cheeses —the first course.
A low chatter overtook the air, synced with the ambient melody that the bards and minstrels played. Ravenna concentrated on the guards that gossiped behind her. Several were regaling their legendary capture to the nobles that sat beside her. It was hard to listen to their words, verbatim. However, she believed she understood the gist of it.
Vyses and Lyth had been captured in a small town just outside of Zeporia. An innkeeper had been the one to out their use of magic to the Imperials. He had apparently witnessed Vyses speak to a 'tiny, magical woman' that stood in his palms.
At least, that was all the evidence needed for the Imperials to ambush them and haul them to the Capitol.
Ravenna had no doubt that she was the tiny, magical woman that the innkeeper had seen talking to Vyses. It was just like when she talked to him through the talisman. Part of her was somewhat surprised, however, that the Imperials seemed satisfied with Vyses and Lyth as the sole perpetrators. With all of the celebrations, it was obvious that the kingdom had their villains and that no one planned to search for the tiny, magical woman they'd spoken to.
Which was surprising to her, given how quickly the men of this world were to accuse women of witchcraft.
The more Ravenna thought about it, the more that she realized that there was a chance the innkeeper hadn't seen any telling physical details of the woman. It was possible that the Imperials gave up before a search even started, purely due to lack of details.
