Love Spell

That night, I paid a secret visit to the maiden in her prison cell, bearing a basket filled with dried fruits and a loaf of bread. Her eyes widened as she saw the flickering light of the lantern shine upon the gate that stood between her and the shadows marking her freedom.

She stared upon my hand as I yanked the dungeon keeper’s set of spare iron keys out of my pocket (I was able to borrow them from the watchman who had been snoozing on the job), and unlocked the door to her cell. I stepped inside her chamber, and closed the door behind me until the click of the lock sounded.

The woman sat on her straw mat, hugging her long slender legs close against her chest and draping her porous cloak over her bare feet. Patches of dirt clung to her cheeks, and she gazed upon me with such an expression of amazement, that I found myself unable to find the words I had planned to say, and simply handed her the wrapped parcel of food without a word.

I was taken off guard as I watched her purse her lips, and murmur in a soft sultry voice that sent a quiver shooting down my spine, “You, crowned prince, have saved my life.”

I nodded, and my stomach did a series of somersaults. It is no wonder the people had accused this woman of being a witch. It was as if she had cast a spell upon me, which caused my heartbeat to quicken in a flurry as I glanced upon her delicate features. Even in this dungeon, with filth brushed against this woman’s face, she still appeared flawless, like a fallen angel.

She flashed a bright smile, and gesturing towards the straw mat, replied, “Please take a seat.”

My legs wobbled beneath the weight of my entire body as I strode over to sit cross-legged on the mat before her. She crawled on her knees, slowly approaching me, and took her place in front of the food parcel she had set between us.

She took one of the loaves I had packed into the parcel in her hands, and looked straight into my eyes with an expression of disbelief. “You are far too generous. I cannot accept this.”

I held up a hand, and replied, “Please, take it. You need some form of sustenance, and you’ll grow weaker if you only rely on the daily bowl of gruel given to the prisoners as your source of food.”

She shook her head. “Your highness, there must be some way I can repay you for the kindness you have shown me.”

“Of course,” I nodded. “You can begin by no longer referring to me as your highness. My name is Edwin.”

“Edwin,” she murmured with a soft smile. My heart soared.

“Are you truly a sorceress?” I inquired.

She raised an eyebrow. It was then that I realized how straight-forward I had been.

“I apologize;” I said sincerely, my cheeks hot with sheer embarrassment, “I simply wanted to know why-“

“Why it was that you were the only one able to hear me?” she finished my thought, taking a dried date from the food parcel and popping it into her mouth.

As I watched her chew and swallow the morsel, I felt my heart skip a beat. How I longed to kiss those luscious lips of hers. My entire being would swell up with jealousy if I ever met someone who had been given the chance to do so.

“Well Edwin,” she continued, folding her hands together and placing them onto her lap, “My question to you is, why would you consider the answer to that question to be of any importance? It is of no regard to you. A crowned prince is not obliged to worry about such trifle matters.”

“I can’t explain it,” I sighed, as I took in the magical feeling emanating from this maiden’s gaze. The air was practically soaking in it. “There’s just something different about you.”

She smiled softly as our eyes met and cocked her head to the side as she placed her warm hand against my cheek and said in a honey-sweet tone of voice, “My prince, I do believe that I have found a way to repay you,”

Suddenly, her eyes flashed towards the gate to her cell, and she flinched.
“Footsteps,” she murmured, taking a sharp breath in.

She jumped to her feet, accidentally strewing dried fruits and nuts across the stone floor as she kicked the parcel of food to the side in the process. In a single movement, she placed her hands across my shoulders and shoved me against the barred door of her cell. I would have given anything to wrap my arms around her waist and pull her nearer to me.

“You must go,” she whispered harshly, as she handed me the lantern and set of iron keys I had dropped while bringing myself to stand.

She forced the door open and shoved me outside of her prison cell before I could object. The barred door soon locked shut with a clank, and her eyes peered at me from behind the rusted bars. “Go on,” she urged me.

“Wait!” I objected, wrapping my fingers around one of the bars and shining the flickering flame of the lantern upon the maiden’s face. “You never spoke of your name,”

“Serena of Drelani,” she quickly answered, her eyes nervously shooting towards the walls framing the winding front staircase that led down to the dungeon. Serena. A lovely name; quite mysterious and enchanting like the flawless creature it was meant to describe. She shifted her eyes to gaze behind my shoulder at another shadowed figure that had become vaguely revealed by the light of the lantern.

“Edwin!” she warned in a harsh tone that called me to attention, “Quicken your pace, or you’ll surely be discovered.”

I also caught sight of the two figures, and realizing the need to remain unseen, took Serena by the wrist between the bars and planted a kiss on her hand, a gesture a prince would only otherwise make to a woman of nobility.

With haste, I rushed towards the secret doorway to the castle through one of the dungeon walls that I had discovered years ago as a young boy, and bid the fair maiden goodnight in saying, “Farewell Serena, ‘til it be sunset morrow.”

~♥~