The Sleeping Princess Ch. 05

"My darling Jamie, are we celebrating already? I fear I must have missed the invitation."

Jamie took several calming breaths, his hand waving dismissively to Stephen who had stepped forward with a stuttering apology. Jamie knew that his man had never even considered inviting the sorceress to celebrate the defeat of her spell. Jamie would have told him no in any event. How the enchantress even realized that it was broken he didn't know. However, if Jamie had had any doubts that the curse had finally been lifted they were gone now. Lady Severna wouldn't have shown so soon for anything less.

"My apologies, my lady. You will, of course, join us in our revelry?"

He never expected that she would be placated so easily, but he was surprised at the lack of anger she showed. Her smile grew wider, her white teeth shining against the rich purple of her lip paint. She looked triumphant, and it did more to set him on edge than any amount of anger would have. The cold insincerity that laced her whispered response sent a chill down his spine.

"I'm afraid I must decline, your majesty's generous offer. I have merely come for what is owed to me."

Rosella was taken aback. Not so much by the woman's strange words, but by the way the color suddenly drained from Jamie's face. He never did tell her how he succeeded where so many others had failed. Had he truly been foolish enough to make a deal with this demoness? Jamie's anger was palpable as the color returned to his face with a bright flush.

"You are mistaken, lady. I have fulfilled my obligations."

Lady Severna's laugh rang through the halls, pealing like a demented church bell. Even her chariot pullers winced at the malevolence in her glee.

"Mmmm, yes, and it was quite... satisfying. However, I am not referring to you. I am referring to your precious queen."

Everyone turned to stare at Rosella. She was so shocked that she could barely stammer a reply.

"I... I don't understand..."

"Of course you don't. But you will."

Rosella backed up, pressing herself tightly against Jamie as the sorceress advanced, reaching out to gently touch the queen's flat stomach with a heavily bejeweled finger. Rosella pulled away, gritting her teeth in anger.

"Your family broke its word. You were conceived through my magic, but your parents never paid my price. So now it is up to you to restore your family's honor, or doom your entire line to be cursed forever!"

Jamie held Rosella tightly. He had some idea what the sorceress would demand in payment, he hoped he was right. If it was simply a matter of pleasure, as before, he felt confident he could find a way to satisfy her. The great hall, however, was not the place for this discussion.

"Perhaps we should adjourn to the solarium to discuss your price, my lady?"

Severna didn't move an inch, her face a mere arms length from the royal couple. Her fingers reached up to stroke his face again.

"Oh no, sweet king, it will not be as before. You will not be able to satisfy me with pleasure this time. Although, it is tempting..."

Severna was thrilled to note the flare of jealousy that sparked in the queen's eyes. Sowing the seeds of envy was the first step.

"This price must be paid by your queen, from her own body."

Sir Jamie was growing more and more concerned. Surely the sorceress wasn't expecting a girl who was so recently a virgin to satisfy her vile appetites?

"I shall extend the same deal to her that I did to her mother. I will leave you and yours be, if... you give to me your firstborn as my apprentice."

The whole hall stood in shock. Jamie couldn't believe what he'd heard. The woman wanted his heir. He couldn't look at Rosella, but he did feel her body begin to shake in his arms. Mistakenly he thought she was frightened. It was only when Rosella lunged at the sorceress's throat that he realized his mistake. With a speed he hadn't thought possible, Lady Severna stepped aside and Jamie only just caught his queen in time to keep her from falling to the ground.

The woman's laughter drowned out the queen's enraged screams as Jamie struggled to hold his wife back from attacking the sorceress a second time. Lady Severna indifferently turned her back on the raging queen and leapt back into her chariot.

"I can see you will need some time to dwell on my offer. I shall give you until the child is born to decide. If I do not receive an answer in nine months, then I shall curse you and your descendants to be consumed by madness for all time. Think hard, dear queen. You are a woman of strong passions, deep love. It is time you decide who is more deserving of that love: your child or your husband. You can only have one, for he will be the first to fall to the curse of madness."

The hall was silent except for the crack of her whip and the grunts of the men as they pulled the chariot out of the hall. The wheels clanged against the stone cobble of the outer bailey and kicked up a cloud of dust as they left the village. Finally, as the chariot disappeared from sight, Rosella let out a roar of frustration, her knees giving way as she sagged in Jamie's arms. He scooped her up and strode towards the tower, nodding once to Stephen to handle the guests.

Jamie had to think. They might have nine months before the sorceress's wrath came down upon them, but decisions had to be made now. Jamie wanted to reassure Rosella that all would be well, but he couldn't bring himself to do so. He laid her on the bed, watching her sob her frustration into the mattress. There were only two options that Jamie could see, aside from accepting the curse of madness. They could give the sorceress their firstborn, who even now was growing in Rosella's womb, and try again for another, or they could fight.

Jamie didn't have much faith in a fight against the sorceress. However, he didn't know how he would tell his wife that she would have to give up her child.