AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“What would she require from an enchanter?” the Princess asked, her hand holding mine tightening.
“Well, I don’t know; half the fun is looking around at what’s on offer,” Heidi answered, huffing in impatience. “As I told Percy, I want to go blonde for the ball. I don’t want to dye my hair, but a brief enchantment would work well. I will commission one from the talented enchantress here. Her name is Mable. I do believe she was originally from House Flores.”
We stopped in front of the store, and the Princess looked down at me, her brows pulled together, clearly deciding whether I should be allowed in the store.
“Honestly, Selene, what is the matter?” Heidi asked.
“Enchantments are powerful and dangerous,” she answered.
“Powerful, yes, and dangerous they can be, but surely you know their benefits. Many enchantments protect you. Most importantly, they can be fun. Don’t deny your precious pet a little fun,” she argued.
I looked at the Princess curiously. Did she use enchantments? I wondered what for.
“Do you want to visit the enchanter?” she asked me, exhaling through her nose.
“I’ve never been to an enchanter with a store. We have an enchanter back home, but he mostly makes enchantments for our boats to be safe and our land fertile,” I explained. “I’m curious what’s inside,” I told her.
She smiled at me, her free hand rising to stroke my cheek. “I want to keep you safe,” she told me. “I do not trust others with you.”
“I don’t have to go,” I told her.
She shook her head. “No, you want to. Okay.” She turned to Heidi, “If anything happens to my pet, I will kill you slowly, in the most brutally painful ways I can imagine.” Her eyes glowed brightly with the warning.
“You’re not coming in?” I asked her. She smiled and shook her head.
“She can’t. She has powerful enchantments of protection. If she entered the store, half the stock would be made permanently useless. The other half would cease to be of any use while in her presence. It would be a terrible shame for Mable,” Heidi explained, walking towards me and taking my free arm in hers. “Come on then,” she said and looked between my hand held by the Princess and back up to her.
The Princess released my hand and turned her eyes to Heidi. “Heidi, do you swear to protect my pet from all harm while in your care?” she asked seriously.
“I, Heidi of House Coactus, swear to protect Percy Flores from all harm while in my care,” she replied formally. The Princess nodded, and Heidi led me toward the store door.
“What was that?” I asked.
“Oh, only promising to protect you or forfeit my life,” she answered easily. “Legally binding. I don’t know why Selene is so worried. Enchanters are neutral.” She pushed the door open, and I was aware that one of the Princess's personal guards walked close behind me.
The inside was old dark wood; it felt a bit dusty, but everything looked clean. A young man stood behind a counter with a glass top, and behind him were shelves of small potion bottles in various colours.
“How may I help you, ladies?” he asked as we approached the counter.
“Is Mable available?” Heidi asked him.
“She’ll be available in the next ten minutes or so. She’s working on an order. Do you plan to make an order?” he asked.
“Oh, yes, a glamour,” she told him.
“Wait here, look around, and I’ll go check on Mable and let her know she has a customer,” he said before leaving through an entrance separated by green and pink beads on strings.
“What do we have here?” Heidi asked, as she approached a spinning display stand with small trinkets and jewellery.
I stood beside her and watched as she spun the stand slowly around. “Are these enchanted?” I asked her.
“Yes. Small, amusing enchantments,” she said, stopping the stand, “This is a good one.” She took a small trinket that looked like a little yellow star on a chain, flipping over the card attached by a string. “’Never let the starlight fade, stay bright, stay bright’,” she spoke the enchantment aloud. The small yellow star began to glow brightly and remained so for about half a minute.
“That’s amazing,” I said. She turned to smile at me.
“These are cute,” she agreed.
I reached out hesitantly to pick up a delicate bracelet made of tiny pink and green marble beads, the colours bleeding into each other. I turned over the card attached, but there was no writing. The bracelet itself was pretty enough with no enchantment. I went to put it back, but Heidi’s hand stopped me.
