THE WITCH'S CROWN

The assassin had been tortured all night, I could hear his screams all the way from my chambers, and when sleep finally took me, his screams were all I heard.

He had been beheaded at dawn, his head and body hung simultaneously where they had hung Regina's. He'd be there for a long time.

I held the pendant that hung on my neck tightly, remembering the witch who had been killed on my account, all because she was fulfilling her duty by revealing to me that which I didn't know. I would never forget her, not in a thousand years.

Robert and Damian were serious about the tightening of security around the castle and the city, guards now stood in almost every point in the castle, and Alice came in two hours late. The first of its kind since she came into my service because of the mandatory search at the southern and northern entrances to the city.

I needed some time to think, not about fulfilling my destiny, because again, that would not be happening, but the course of my life henceforth.

I wandered through the gardens, lost in thought. Being a witch felt surreal, at least saying it was, I didn't feel any different even after I was ordained.

For generations, my family had hunted and killed beings like me. Now, I was one of them.

Again, destiny had a way of toying with me.

As I strolled through the long winding path, the soft rustle of leaves caught my attention. I ignored it, assuming it was just the wind. But when the sound came again, I stopped and listened. The rustling grew louder, and I followed the sound to a nearby thicket.

My heart skipped a beat as I pushed aside the branches, revealing a sleek onyx snake. Its body tensed, and it hissed, baring its fangs. Fear prickled at the edges of my mind, but as I looked into the snake's golden eyes, I felt a strange sense of calm, and so did the creature I assumed as our gazes locked on each other.

A pang of sadness washed over me as I looked deeper into the snake's eyes, dreading whom they reminded me of. I felt an inexplicable pull, as though the snake was calling to me, drawing me in with an otherworldly connection. Strange, I thought as it just bared its fangs at me few seconds ago.

Without thinking, I reached out and gently scooped up the snake. It wrapped itself around my arm, its body warm and supple. I felt a sense of peace settle over me, as if I'd found a long-lost friend.

"You're coming with me," I whispered, smiling at the snake. "I think we could use each other's company."

As I walked back into the castle, the snake securely wrapped around my arm, I felt a sense of belonging I hadn't experienced in a long time. Maybe this little creature was exactly what I needed to navigate my new life as a witch.

I cleared an old glass box that had apparently been lost somewhere in my chambers and kept the snake inside, she quickly made herself comfortable.

The snake was female, I could tell.

My door creaked open, and I made no attempt to conceal the creature. Acrisius strode toward me, worried etched on his features. I don't think I could stomach it if anyone looked at me like that again.

He had been away from the castle when the events of yesterday occurred, and I was glad, I don't think I could be able to live with myself if Acrisius had been harmed by the assassin.

Yes, I would rather the assassin had killed Ramiel if it spared my cousin's life.

"I heard what happened, are you okay?" he asked, opening up his arms for a hug. I found it unnecessary but welcomed it anyway.

Acrisius and I were different in many ways, and one of those ways lied in the manner in which we displayed our affection for each other. I express my emotions towards him when necessary, he does it all the time.

"I'm okay Ace, I wasn't in the city when it happened" I told him.

His brows furrowed in confusion "Where were you then?" he asked.

I sat him down on my navy-blue sofa and told him everything that happened.

He looked at me perplexingly, and I understood him. It was a lot of information to process at once.

"So… you're a witch?" I nodded. "And a high priestess?" I nodded again.

Some part of me prayed he didn't view me differently, it's one thing to share my idea that not all witches are evil, but another to find out that your cousin is one.

The silence that stretched began to irritate me "How do you feel?" I finally asked.

He took my hands and entwined them in his, concern written all over him "How do you feel?" he returned the question.

"I'll be fine" was all I could say.

Acrisius' eyes narrowed slightly, his brows furrowed in concentration. He seemed to be weighing his words his gaze darting back and forth between me and the surrounding environment. After a moment, he spoke, his voice measured and cautious "The other high priestess declared that you are the one destined to bring back the old ways-" I cut him off.

"But I must first claim the crescent throne for myself," I completed "which we both know will not happen" I said.

He tried to speak about it once more, but I dismissed it, telling him I did not wish to talk about it any further.

It was futile, and I did not wish to dwell on something that would never be.

His gaze turned to the glass box beside him, he shifted uncomfortably in the sofa, "What the hell is that?" he asked, visibly disturbed by the sight of the snake. "Just a little something I picked up," I responded, "Magnificent isn't she?"

She was unlike any snake I'd seen before, her scales black as night and her eyes like molten gold.

Instinctively I looked at my pendant, at the snake carved on it. As if our meeting was set in stone.

"Do you even know what kind of snake she is?" he asked.

I shook my head. But that doesn't mean I couldn't find out.

She was magnificent, she was rare, and she was mine.

"Do you at least have a name for her?"

I smiled at his question, my eyes gazing at the snake who lay comfortably in the glass box.

"Regina"