The Curse of Maledi Village

CHAPTER ONE

"Arthur, listen to me okay?" Jamia Bradford-Jones tried not to show any signs of fear in front of her terrified 13 year old son, she gently sorted out the collar of his brown jacket with a mildly trembling hand and tried almost desperately to look him in the eye. He had heterochromia, like his father, it was rarely passed down in families but her son had the same variety of blue and brown as her late husband. It almost broke her every time, seeing those eyes, knowing that he was gone, they would never see Andrew again, the queen had killed him as punishment for leaving the job as her maid. Her voice significantly softened as she continued, Brushing a curly brown lock out of his eye. "Arthur honey, do you remember when I worked for queen Ny-, for the queen?" Nobody spoke the name of the queen, Queen Nyxia was an extremely powerful woman and anybody who spoke of her in the village of Maledi would be found, no matter how quietly they said it or how often the name left their lips.

Arthur nodded. "Y-yes mother. Um, w-w-why are you scared?" She looked down and regained her confidence and placed a hand on his cheek, rubbing away a tear that had formed and noticing how much more he looked like his father, his rosy pale cheeks against her deep tanned fingers. He began to cry more but she had to explain, she needed him to know that it wasn't safe. "It was a week before I left, before your father...left us. I was going to serve her breakfast and I heard her talking, she was with a man, a tall man with-with purple skin a-and black hair. He told her that the sword was complete, that the souls could be taken. Arthur, I think it was the Potens." The Potens was like the god of the village, he was in control of the secluded town and was known to take the side of whoever he thought would win.

Arthur cried more and she hugged him, holding him to her chest and stroking his hair. "Shhh, calm down honey, it's okay. I just wanted you to know that if I don't come back, you need to stay here, stay here and don't listen to anyone. If it comes to be three days since I have disappeared you need to run as far away as possible and don't come back. Do not talk to anyone in the village and don't let them see you. She will not notice if you are not there okay sweetie? She has no heart for children, you will be safe as long as you are not there, I cannot warn anybody else as they think I am a madwoman and will laugh at me but I know that they will take their children and babies, there is nothing I can do about it, so long as you are safe all I will ever have needed to achieve in this lifetime. And Arthur, Arthur Jonathan Bradford-Jones, my baby boy, always remember that mother loves you."

She pulled back from Arthur, who was startled and scared, she was perfect still but tears still ran freely down his face. He shook his head as she kissed him on the cheek and turned to leave, closing the door on the way out. He fell to the ground with no emotion on his face and cried even more.

*

After a few minutes, he shakily got up to his feet and stumbled to the kitchen to get a glass of water, his eyes were cloudy and his head hurt. He took a small sip and placed it down, as if he had suddenly remembered what had happened he turned towards the door, his hand knocking the glass over and spilling water all over the counter. He wasn't going to let that malevolent witch take his only parent, she had already taken his father and she was never going to have the privilege of taking his mother too. Arthur grabbed his coat and pulled it on almost violently before sneaking out of the back of the house and towards the village hall, where the queen was holding her meeting with the whole village. The teenage boy ran past the town, past the empty stalls, it was so quiet it felt lonely, terrifying. Unlike his older cousins, Hope and Jessamine Tasker, he had never been allowed out at night in case he was taken by someone older and stronger as an offering to the Potens. He was almost mesmerized but remembered the task at hand and ran faster than before, towards the hall. He arrived but the doors were chained shut, he had no way of unlocking them. "MOTHER, MOTHER! Mummy..." There was no chance of getting in. He walked round to the window, hoping to see her again at least one more time. His eyes flickered over the people, confused but not scared. Aedan the friendly farmer and his drunk donkey Chester, who was barely standing up, his hooves clattering against the tiled floor constantly, eyes looking in no particular direction. Haydn the baker and his rude husband George, his caring teacher Miss Caliban, she had always insisted he call her Linda, everybody in the village. He hit the window with all of the strength he could but nothing happened, there were no rocks to throw at it and his shouting did no good.