Page 55 of Bewitched

“Nay, I don’t suppose you would unless I explain more.” Rapunzel’s expression became sad. At first Rhys didn’t think she was going to finish her story, but then she continued talking. “Medea had to make a choice. She ended up sacrificing the life of her own mother in order to save Kin. It was a hard choice to make, but she could only save one of them. In the end, she did the right thing, letting the light outweigh the dark. To make up for all the pain her mother had caused my family, Medea chose to save Kin’s life instead.”

“So the light is stronger than the darkness after all,” said Rhys. “I knew it.”

“Mayhap it was at that time, but I’m not sure it still is,” said Rapunzel. “Medea has had nothing to do with the rest of our family. She can’t face us after that. She’s managed for two years now to keep her distance, hiding away at Tanglewood Castle. Her own father and siblings really know nothing about her. I know her the best since I was there from her birth.”

“It all makes sense now why she told me she feels so alone.” Rhys felt sorry for Medea. His heart ached for her return. “We’ve got to help her. Let’s go.” He hurried over to his horse, ready to do whatever it took to save Medea from the darkness and get her back into his arms again.

“Wait, Brother.” Darium hurried after him. “What are you planning to do?”

“There’s nothing we can do. She’s in control of the dragon now, unless you’ve forgotten.” Zann pointed out a very important piece of information. One that could change everything.

“I didn’t forget.” Rhys looked down and grabbed the crystal in his palm, giving it a light squeeze. “I am hoping to use that to our advantage. If I have to trick her, I will. But somehow, I will make certain that Medea and Rapunzel are both on that damned dragon when I open the portal and send them through.”

* * *

Medea rode the dragon in a circle over the Whispering Dale, so furious with Rhys that part of her wanted to strike him down dead right where he stood. She had thought she’d finally found the man for her, but realized now that she was wrong. Rhys was no different from any other man back in England. She still couldn’t believe that he had considered killing her.

She was only thankful she came up with a plan. Now that she could shapeshift, all she had to do was shift into the form of Marco and use a little spell, and the dragon listened to her. It worked like a charm, but she wasn’t sure how long it would last. Hopefully long enough to carry out the rest of her plan.

“Fly over the Pyramids of the Gods,” she instructed, sounding like Marco as well as looking like him. The dragon was easily fooled. It really must have thought she was its Dragon Lord, because it listened. This was fun and all too easy.

One circle around the pyramids, and she directed the dragon higher, liking the feel of the wind against her face. She looked like her brother-by-marriage, Marco, right now. However, she couldn’t stop thinking of how she looked earlier and also how she felt while at the Whispering Dale or spending the night in the field of lippenbur lilies with Rhys.

She pictured her long black braid entwined with the exotic lippenbur lilies and fae flowers that had made her feel pretty and enticing for the very first time in her life. So much so, that she even wanted to become a fae.

“Bah! Who wants to be one of the fae, anyway?” she asked herself, feeling the darkness inside her growing stronger now.

Power was more important than beauty. She felt invincible, and that was all that mattered. She was just as strong as her mother used to be. With each day that passed, her powers matured more and more. Soon she’d be even more powerful than her late mother. That was a great feeling, and made her excited wondering what else she could do. With power came fame, and wealth, and everything that went along with it.

“Fly higher,” she commanded. The dragon took off up to the tip of Mount Catskulp, the highest mountain peak on Mura.

Medea flew in a circle, peering down at the mountains and also inspecting the waterfall far below. The crystalline waters fell over the high cliffs, emptying into a clear pond filled with colorful floating water lilies of pink, and yellow. It truly was a land filled with magic and beauty.

As she noticed the land south of the mountains, things started to look different. This was the part that Rhys told her wasn’t magical at all. He said it was a horrible place to live because of the greed and fighting from the three kings of Mura.

She could see the three castles of the kings of Mura below, each one of them looking as if they had a fortified keep. They must also have strong armies, and defenses of all kinds. The kings ruled over their area, each wanting the others’ land as well. Serfs and villagers, along with knights, nobles, and soldiers, all answered to the kings, each of them living in their king’s castle or in a small village right outside the gates.

“I want that,” she said aloud, devising a plan in her head of how to capture each castle for herself. It shouldn’t be hard with a dragon at her command now, she supposed. All she had to do was to take what she wanted. Never did she need to yearn and wait until something was offered. Soon, she’d be Queen of all of Mura. Everyone, including Rhys, would bow down to her then. That part made her smile.

Deciding the first kingdom she’d conquer was the one where Rhys was a knight, she directed the dragon to the east coast where the kingdom of Kasculbough was situated. This would show him. Rhys almost agreed to kill her, following his king’s command. He was considering doing it to claim the throne someday as his own. Well, wouldn’t he be surprised when the throne was hers instead of his? If so, he’d have to answer to her. After all, he was supposedly the most loyal knight in the kingdom of Kasculbough, so there was no way he could refuse her orders.

As she rode through the sky, she started to feel sick to her stomach and didn’t understand why. Never had magic made her feel ill before. Putting her hand on her belly, she realized she felt severely bloated and uncomfortable. Something almost felt as if it was moving inside her. Actually, this ride in the air was making her dizzy and feeling as if she wanted to retch. She felt lightheaded, and decided she needed to land before she fell off the dragon altogether.

She directed the dragon lower, right above Kasculbough Castle now. Below her she saw the dark stones of the keep and the red roofs of the outbuildings in the courtyard. There were crops growing inside the bailey, as well as a deep pit situated off to one side. The entire castle was surrounded by a moat filled with water.

Take the castle. You deserve it. Rid yourself of those who won’t bow down to you. The thoughts in her head were so loud now that she could think of nothing else but this. It was almost as if she were listening to the words of her mother, but this time the thoughts were coming from deep inside her instead.

“Take the castle. Kill everyone if you have to!” she shouted, feeling the power of her mother flowing through her veins right now. Then she thought about Rhys again, and had the overwhelming need to be in his arms. She missed him. Her emotions were unstable and she couldn’t control what she felt at all. One minute she was angry, and the next she felt calm. Vengeance struggled with forgiveness inside her. This all made her feel extremely sad.

Greed overtook her next, and now she didn’t care. Then she felt ever so lonely once again, thinking about how good it felt when Rhys saved her from the sea serpent at the pyramids. She wanted to taste his sweet, strong lips against hers once more. Nay. She wanted so much more. She wanted to lie with him and spend another magical night in the field of lilies under the stars. That only got her thinking about Rhys deceiving her again. Before she knew it, the anger had returned. All of the emotions swerving back and forth was too much, making her dizzier and dizzier. It was getting harder to hold on to the dragon’s leathery mane as well.

“It’s the dragon!” she heard one of the guards on the wall walk shout out. She looked down into the courtyard of Kasculbough, realizing it was naught but a frenzy of running people down below. Women and children hurried to hide. Screams as well as crying filled her ears. King Osric’s soldiers formed a triangular formation, clutching their weapons and holding their shields high above their heads.

“Blast them with fire!” she shouted, and the dragon obeyed. As she dipped down from the sky, the dragon breathed fire right at the group of soldiers. Unfortunately, the soldiers were prepared. They lifted their shields made of metal, pushing them together and making a roof over their heads. The fire from the dragon bounced off without harming a one of them.

“Damn,” she shouted, taking off back up into the sky. Then she saw the King down below, and her lips turned up into a smile. She realized that she didn’t need to take out the armed men. All she had to do was to capture or kill the King, and she’d hold all the power over them.

“Swoop down there. By the King. He’s next,” she commanded the dragon.