The Queen's Keeper

“Let’s go for a walk,” the old woman reached out her hand, with long, disgusting nails at least three inches long. “Follow me,” she beckoned to Evangeline who stood still.

“I… why are you here?” Evangeline asked confusedly, “what business do you have here, old woman?”

“What business do you have outside the gate?” the old woman retorted, beckoning her once more. “I won’t harm you,” she assured her, “Why would I want to?”

Evangeline let down her guard a bit, stepping forward hesitantly. “I don’t trust you,” she
said, “I don’t know you.”

“I don’t know you either,” the old woman replied, stepping forward faster than Evangeline could move back. She grabbed her with such force that Evangeline was stunned.

“What are you doing?” Evangeline cried, grasping the old woman’s arms, which were wrapped around her waist in a vice-like grip. The old woman’s hands wondered up to Evangeline’s chest, causing her to breathe heavily. “W-what --”

She stopped when the old woman’s hand found the key and pulled it out. Quietly, she leaned towards Evangeline’s ear. “I know what you want,” she whispered, “I know you.”

She thrust Evangeline forward and dangled the key from the string attached, in between her fingers. “My name is Amaia,” she told her, “And I mean you no harm.” Still, Evangeline eyed her warily and stepped forward cautiously. Her hands brushed through her hair and she straightened her dress up.

“What do you mean, ‘you know what I want?’ Are you a spy?”

“No,” Amaia shook her head, disappointed, “I am not. I’ve come to seek your help. And… help you in return.”

“I don’t think I can help you,” Evangeline stated, “I don’t know what you want.”

“Then how do you know you can’t help me?” She stepped forward and grabbed
Evangeline’s arm. “Come with me and I’ll explain it all.”

“Alright, but just so you know, I can handle a sword.”

The old woman cackled and led Evangeline away from the gate. “What has your aunt told you?” she asked, looking up to Evangeline, who was a good foot taller than her.

“Not much,” admitted Evangeline, “not much at all.”

The old woman nodded thoughtfully, “You took the key from the young man?”

“Yes.”

“How?” Amaia questioned.

“Er… distraction,” Evangeline answered, embarrassed. She knew she had been wrong to do what she had done; she had been planning to return it. Life was too nice for such a thing to mess it all up.

“I see,” she said stiffly. “You know what the key goes to?”

“Of course!” Evangeline replied impatiently. “Please tell me what you came to say.”

“Alright,” Amaia cackled, “you are the Queen’s Keeper.”

“Yes, I know that-”

“Let me finish,” Amaia stopped along the way, where a large boulder was on the ground. “Sit there and pay attention. We haven’t long.”

“Alright,” Evangeline sat upon the rock uncomfortably, straightening her dress around her legs. She looked up at the moon, which was partially covered. There was a light breeze blowing; it sounded as though the trees were whispering to her… or beckoning her to run away.

“I have seen your hearts desires, Evangeline,” Amaia said, raising her hands, “I have seen what you seek. It is attainable…”

Before Evangeline could interrupt, Amaia waved her hand, silencing Evangeline. “It is attainable. But there is only one who can create the appearance of love. It is a delicate curse, or spell, that requires great skill. It has only been achieved twice; and that is by the same witch.”

“Who?” she asked, though she somehow already knew the answer. With a crooked finger, the witch pointed towards the castle. The entire forest seemed to hold its breath, in either apprehension or hope. The gnarled limbs had long been dead and were rotting in the very soil planted by the Queen’s men. It was because her sleeping body was taking the energy away, ever so slowly, away from everything beyond it – sucking it up. The longer she slept the longer she grew stronger; and the stronger she became, the greater the chance of her waking up became. Someone had to wake her up; someone needed her favor. Her mercy.

“The Queen is the most powerful witch to have ever lived,” Amaia told her, “And she can grant any of your hearts desires.”

“I think… I should go,” Evangeline stood up quickly, frightened out of her mind. “I don’t like where this is going.”

“Sit,” Amaia ordered, gathering her shawl off her shoulder. She let it drop to the ground and closed her eyes, listening to the way the wind blew. When she opened them again, she smiled. “Don’t you want to be Queen and rule over vast lands?”

“W-well, well I don’t-”

The witch smiled smugly. “What a coward you are. I should have known. I’ll be on my way.” She gathered her shawl once more, threw it over her shoulders, and began walking away.

“Wait!” Evangeline cried, standing up. “How could I be queen?”

The witch smiled to herself, having accomplished what she had hoped for; she knew Evangeline couldn’t take being called a coward. She wanted to prove the witch wrong; and in doing so, she was doing just what the witch wanted.

“You could wake her,” she replied slyly, turning her head towards the moon, “and her beasts. Control them and you control the entire kingdom. She will grant any five favors to the one who wakes her – you – and allow you to live when she overpowers everyone else.”

“But, she was Queen before. She will not let me be queen.” Evangeline sensed something off about the whole situation. She wasn’t sure if she could trust Amaia or not.

“That depends,” the witch kneeled on her feet and drew symbols in the earth, “on the five
favors you ask.” They looked at one another cautiously.

“You are leaving something out,” Evangeline said, cocking her head to the side, “I can feel it.”

Amaia sighed and wiped her wrinkled face, dirtying it as she did so. “Evangeline, if you could trust me… if we could trust one another to each fulfill her part, and then I shall tell you everything it is you wish to know. But now, feel blessed. Your ignorance is your bliss.”

“Well,” Evangeline said, “perhaps you are right. Perhaps I don’t want to do this. And maybe I shouldn’t know things. But for me to trust you, I must at least ask that you prove yourself before I agree to anything.”

Amaia nodded and stood up straight, placing her hands on her back and stretching.
Evangeline cringed at the sound of bones cracking; it made her skin tingle in the most unnatural way. “Alright, Evangeline,” she agreed, “I must first tell you what to do when I prove myself. The pond behind the castle, you know of it, I am sure.”

Evangeline nodded vigorously and the witch paused, as if sensing someone else was there. The trees seemed to perk up to, as if ready to attack anyone who dared interrupt their redemption.

“You mustn’t tell anyone what I am about to tell you: promise me, Evangeline.”

“I promise,” she said, eager to hear the dark secret.

“It is I,” Amaia said, “who put the Queen in her eternal slumber. I… took her soul. It was the only way to keep her from waking, you see. She was too powerful.”

“And, what exactly did you do with her soul?” Evangeline asked dangerously, growing frightened.

“I intertwined it with my own,” Amaia answered, “quite dangerous it was. But it was the only way. After our souls were intertwined, I… placed it into the water.”

“The pond?” Evangeline shrieked, standing up. “I – I’ve been swimming in it. Oh god, oh god… oh god.”

“You don’t believe in him,” Amaia said unfazed, “don’t pretend to now. You must listen to me, carefully, now, Evangeline. To wake the Queen you must drink her soul from the pond. All you must do is swim to the bottom; that is where it lays. Once you find it, you will have to find a way to confine it and then you must drink it. You will then have to breathe life into the
Queen. It must be you and only you.”

“How will I know that I’ve found it?” Evangeline questioned.

“You will know,” Amaia answered darkly, “Oh, you will know.”

“How shall I breathe life into her?”

“A kiss,” Amaia answered. “A lover’s kiss.”

Evangeline recoiled in disgust. “But that’s…”

“The only way,” Amaia interjected. “And the Queen’s soul never had any indentifying gender. It was what the soul chose to embody; it can be a crippled old man, or a young dashing prince. It can come in the form of an animal or it can be a beautiful woman.”

“That is nonsense,” Evangeline cried, “A soul cannot do such things.”

“You know nothing,” Amaia spat, “of the spirit world. Spirits are souls that can choose to be what they wish. Forget what you were taught as a child, Evangeline. It is all lies and stories. They are dangerous and extremely powerful, almost impossible to kill. But now… now we are close.”

“Close to what?”

“Killing her. The spirit gives its host eternal life and terrible, vile powers. But… there is something I have yet to tell your aunt. She must be awakened for the spell to work. For her to die, she must be awake, with the soul in her body. That way they both are dead and forever gone.”

“Wait, wait,” Evangeline said, “was… was the woman whose body it took over someone else before?”

“Yes,” Amaia nodded, “yes. She was a princess. A young maiden who lived in a simple cottage with her mother and aunt and sister until it would be time for her to marry the prince.”

“What was her name?”

“Aleera,” Amaia said, “and she had dark hair and fair skin and she loved to play in the fields and play games. She was lovely…” the witch paused, closing her eyes, almost seeming remorseful. “She was naive and easily fooled by the spirit. It came to her as a man, whose body was fading. The man it was in could not contain its powers. It had searched for centuries, trying to find someone strong enough. So you can imagine how excited it was when it found her and replaced her soul with its own. With the spirit in her, she became powerful… more powerful than you can imagine. Within two years, she was hideous; her skin was decaying, and she had the reputation of being the world’s most powerful, evil witch.”

“But now she is young again,” Evangeline said, “how?”

“The spirit finally figured out that by going to its birth place it could grant her beauty and youth once more.”

“Spirits have birth places?”

“Yes,” Amaia nodded her head, “spirits are born into this world just as we are. And they regain their strength from where they were born. This was the time that the war was going on, over this very land. And that is why she made the bargain in the first place.”

“I don’t understand though. Is it one spirit or two? Could she possibly be saved from it?”

“No, no, no,” Amaia said, “the spirit and she are one now. It has intertwined itself with her soul and taken over her mind. And what’s worse, it passes off its powers to any of her descendants, which, unfortunately, are great in numbers. Lust was only one of the side effects of the spirit.”

“If she was so powerful, why couldn’t she just… do what you did? Cast the spirit away?”

“Because, the spirit gave her her powers. I, on the other hand, acquired my skills and powers over the many years that I have lived, perfecting my craft as I go on.”

“You are immortal then?” Evangeline asked, finally understanding.

“Yes, a curse and a gift it is. I must tell you, Evangeline, I only grow more dissatisfied with everything as time goes on. But I also want to see what happens… how everything goes. I must see the end.”

Evangeline bit her lip, unsure what to do. It sounded awfully dangerous. “So… forgive me, Amaia, but I am not sure which side you are on. You have told me two different things: I wake her and she takes over, and then you say wake her and kill her. Which will happen?”

“That,” Amaia said, “all depends on you, my dear.”

“What does that mean?”

Amaia shook her head and leaned closer, “It matters not. I have said all that I will say. I must now have something in return before I do anymore favors. But, fear not, for I will prove you can trust me. Tomorrow, you will have a visitor. And I think it’s safe to say that the news this bearer brings will delight you greatly.”

With that, Amaia bowed deeply and backed away, never once turning her back on Evangeline. And in the blink of an eye, the witch had disappeared.