Witch Way Now? Ch. 03

Eva sighed as she watched the ball land on the castle floor. She bent over in frustration to pick up the cloth ball for what seemed like the thousandth time. Lost in thought, she didn't hear Stephen enter the tower room.

She gasped as she felt a large hand land on her shoulder and quickly turned around to see her lover frozen in mid-greeting. She rolled her eyes and sat down in a nearby chair, waiting for the handsome soldier to unfreeze. True, she could unfreeze him by running into him, but her shoulder needed a break.

"Eva," he finally said, several moments later, looking around for the young witch. He smiled when he finally spotted her in a nearby chair with her arms crossed and her lips pursed. "I'm guessing you haven't gotten your powers under control."

"You know not to sneak up on me!" she said, sounding annoyed as she got up from her chair.

"Perhaps you should be a little less jumpy," he teased as he gently cupped her face to kiss her.

"Easy for you to say," she mumbled against his lips.

He spotted the ball in her hand and took it. "You just need to focus," he lectured as he tossed the ball in the air. "We already know that fear triggers it so think of something frightening and channel that feeling."

She straightened her back, took a deep breath, and tried to search her mind for something frightening. "Okay, I'm ready. Toss it again and I'll freeze and grab it."

Stephen smiled a lopsided smile and tossed the ball up. Eva put her hands up and channeled her thoughts to stop it in mid-flight. Instead, the ball just fell back into Stephen's open hand. She softly cursed as she deflated in disappointment.

"What were you thinking of?" he asked curiously.

"Spiders," she began in a defeated voice. "I hate them."

Stephen chuckled and began to absentmindedly toss the ball up and down. "Well there's your problem. I said something you fear, not hate."

Eva rolled her eyes and searched her mind again for something to fear. "Okay," she finally said softly as she put her arms out in preparation.

After the toss, she out her arms down and looked at the frozen scene in front of her. Slowly, she reached for the ball and took it out of the air. Instead of looking at the ball, she looked at her handsome lover and his frozen stance. Gently, as if he would break, she stroked the side of his face, feeling the unshaven rough hairs. She traced his lips with her thumb and stood on her tip toes to place a light kiss.

It was the moment when she realized that she loved him with all her heart.

Stephen broke out in a huge grin several moments later when the freeze had worn off. "You did it," he said as he put his hands on her narrow waist and lifted her in the air to twirl her around, while she laughed and begged him to put her down.

"I did do it," she said with a twinkle in her eyes.

Leeza didn't recognize where she was, which of course was not unusual. She was seeing into the future, which was like being in a dream that you couldn't control.

She could definitely see she was in a bedchamber and that she wasn't alone. Sighing inwardly, she bitterly assumed she was foreseeing another Lady Madeline dalliance by the sounds of a man and woman in the room.

A large bed was in the center of the room and had cloth hung from posts at each of its corners. The two lovers were horizontal so she couldn't see anything from where she was viewing from.

She hated the idea that she had to watch but she couldn't control her damn visions. Although she wished she could wakeup, she had to stay and listen to the loud moans from the two.

Suddenly, she saw one of the lovers get on top of the other to straddle. The top lover rose up and threw her hair back, showing a face filled with ecstasy.

Leeza was shocked as she watched the woman move her hips against her lover's.

It was her.

But it couldn't be. Lady Madeline guarded Leeza from all others, afraid that even touching another person could mean her visions might not be as potent. There was no way that Leeza could ever have a lover.

Despite the impossibility, she watched herself arch her back and place her arms behind her while she continued to grind against the unseen man. She watched her large pink tipped breasts bounce in rhythm until two large hands covered and massaged them while she moved. They squeezed the large bouncing mounds and pinched her sensitive nipples, which made her moans louder.

She noticed that one of her lover's hands belonged to an arm that had a horrible scar from elbow to wrist that didn't seem to have affected his hand's ability to stroke her into an intense orgasm. She also noticed a nasty scar on her future upper right shoulder that she wasn't currently sporting.

But the biggest surprise of all was after the extreme orgasm. She watched as she bent down to kiss her lover and say, "I love you."

Leeza gasped. She couldn't believe her future self was in love! Not a moment later, Leeza heard her fondest desire.

"I love you, too, wife," the man said in a low voice.

A baby's cry suddenly broke through the romance as her vision suddenly became darker.

"I better see what our son wants," her future self laughed as her husband playfully smacked her on her bottom.

She knew her vision was ending, but she still wanted to scream and struggle to see who this man was. It was the first time in a long time where she didn't want her vision to end.

It was also the first time in a long time that she felt happy.

Stephen visited Lord Candon in the sun chamber with good news.

"We're ready to lay our attack on Lady Madeline," Stephen said, barely able to keep the news to himself.

"So the witch has mastered her powers?" Lord Candon asked after sending all the other people out of the chamber for privacy.

After the door was closed by the last person to leave, Stephen informed him, "Eva has learned to freeze specific objects instead of everything in vicinity, and most importantly, she has learned to unfreeze with just her hands." He absent-mindedly rubbed his shoulder.

"Excellent," Roan said as he sat to deliberate on the next plan of action. "With her on our side, we'll be able to practically walk into and siege the castle. Unfortunately, we'll have to contend with Lady Madeline's own witch."

"Roan, as a friend, I must ask you to stop referring to witches as if they are inferior or something," he sat across from his friend and leaned forward with his hands between his knees. "You've never once called Eva by her name."

Lord Candon sighed as he stood up and walked to the window. "You're in love with her," he flatly said.

"Yes, I do," he replied, getting up and following his friend's path to the window. "She's a wonderful person."

"I'm sure she's a lovely person, but you have to face facts that she's a witch," he shook his head as if he hated what he was saying but was going to say it anyway.

"She's not normal. Do you really think your people will approve of a witch as their Lady? Think about it."

"I have and I think the people will love her as much as I do. In my father's time, witches weren't hunted. They were and are good people."

"Stephen, I really think you should consider the ramifications of being with a witch. If it wasn't for Lady Madeline's witch, do you really think our times would be so bad?" He cursed before continuing, "With her witch being so evil, don't you think Eva might have the potential to be evil as well?"

"I think anyone has the potential of being evil, but it doesn't mean that everyone is evil," he countered.

"You're my friend, Stephen. I'm just worried about you."

Eva backed away from the door with tears in her eyes. She hadn't meant to eavesdrop, but she was searching for Stephen when she heard her name mentioned.

She suddenly felt as if she couldn't breathe and decided she had to get fresh air. Walking wasn't getting her there fast enough so she began to run, ignoring the annoyed calls from people she practically pushed out if the way.

Finally, she found herself outside the castle by a large tree next to a river. She sat down on the grass and bent her knees to be wrap her arms around.

Eva watched the gentle flow of the river as she pondered what she had just heard.

How could she fight with people who didn't even trust her? Worst of all, she feared that Lord Candon was correct in that that people wouldn't ever accept her.

As she continued to daydream, she stretched her legs out and sat with her arms behind her to support her weight.

She didn't hear the deliberately quiet footsteps behind her.

Within a few heartbeats, Eva's hands were roughly grabbed behind her and slapped together with the palms against each other. A gag was placed around her mouth as she felt her hands being tied up. She was roughly lifted up and saw four men smiling triumphantly at her.

"Well, she was just were the little witch had said she'd be," one of the men commented as he placed a riding cloak around her. He lifted the hood so her face would be hidden from any curious passerby.

"We're going to have to make sure she won't cause a scene," she heard before feeling a sharp blow to her head that brought darkness.

Eva awoke with one of the largest headaches of her life. She went to rub her forehead but found her hands weren't responding. When her thinking began to finally clear, she saw that she was sitting against a wall in a large room with her hands tied behind her back.

A sad face appeared in her line of site.

"Help me, please?" she asked the woman in the room in a voice that she was surprised to hear so raspy.

The young woman slowly shook her head as if to say no.

Eva started to struggle against her ties in desperation.

"You shouldn't struggle. You'll hurt yourself," the chestnut haired woman lightly scolded as she walked towards the captive with a bowl of water in her hands.

"What do you care?" Eva retorted as the young woman bent so that Eva could sip water from the bowl.

"I care very much. I really want to help you...but I can't," she said as the younger woman sipped eagerly.

"Who are you?" Eva finally asked in a clearer voice.

"My name's Leeza. And I'm a witch like you." Leeza got back up to put the bowl by the table.

"You're a witch? Then you have to help me! The Lady of this castle is a madwoman! She's the reason witches are all but extinct."

"No," Leeza whispered, completely still. "I'm the reason."

Eva felt as if all the air had been knocked out of her. "You're the reason? You're the evil witch that helps Lady Madeline," she summed up in a horrified voice.

"I have the power of seeing into the past and future," she began, only to be interrupted by the growing increasingly angry captive.

"And you used your power for evil?"

"No!" Leeza replied. Eva was stunned by the emphatic tone in her voice that she couldn't help but believe her.

"I'm under a curse in which I have to obey Lady Madeline."

"Which means she practically has the ability to see in the future," Eva gasped.

"Not entirely. I've been better in that I have been able to use word play to avoid telling her as much as I can."

"I don't quite understand."

Leeza came back to kneel in front of her. She reached behind Eva's neck and removed the necklace that had held Eva's powers captive.

"Did you know you have another power? Lady Madeline never directly asked me so I didn't tell her."

Eva was about to demand her necklace back but became intrigued by Leeza's revelation. "I do? What is it?"

Leeza smiled a real genuine smile. "I'm not going to tell you. No one should know the future before it happens."

Eva gave her an annoyed look. "Lady Madeline doesn't seem to mind."

"She's abusing a gift that should never have been given." Leeza looked at the necklace in her hand. "This is a beautiful necklace."

"You said you saw the past. I'm guessing you know all about that necklace's history."

Leeza looked at Eva directly with unblinking eyes. "I saw the power-binding spell be performed."

Eva swallowed nervously, knowing what was about to happen.

"And Lady Madeline has ordered me to perform it."

Eva became still and watched as Leeza lifted the necklace over her heart and began reciting.

Lady Madeline strolled into the room with ten of her best men behind her.

"Ah, our lovely prisoner has awoken," she smiled as she gracefully walked towards Leeza with an outstretched hand.

Leeza obediently placed the necklace on her palm and watched as the beautiful blonde delightfully laughed.

"How perfect!" she gloated as she walked over to her prisoner, tossing the necklace up and down on her smooth palm.

"I'm so glad to finally meet the witch responsible for my supposed downfall. But then again, you're not really a witch anymore. Are you?" she said as she lightly tilted her head as if expecting an answer.

Eva remained silent, her eyes fearful.

"My guards tell me that my beloved stepson and Lord Candon have 'breached' the castle defenses to rescue you. They must think that we wouldn't notice two men, but," she paused to lightly caress Leeza's cheek, "thanks to my little dove here, we knew what to look for."

"They'll hear some guards talking about the captive located in this room, come to rescue you, and then we'll all be one happy family," she continued as she suddenly held the necklace in a tight fist.

"Make sure our guest here stays quiet. I wouldn't want her to miss my adored stepson's untimely demise," she said to a guard as she slid the necklace into her skirt pocket. The guard tied a gag around Eva's mouth before they all left the room to wait for the trap to be set.

Leeza was the last one to leave. She had turned around once to look at the tied up girl and sadly told her, "I wish the past had happened differently," before closing the door behind her.

"Eva!" Stephen exclaimed in a relieved whisper as he walked towards his love who was desperately trying to tell him he was walking into a trap. Lord Candon remained a look out at the door.

Eva knew that any moment the other door would open and the two men would be instantly outnumbered.

Her worst fear came true when Stephen had barely made it to the middle of the room. Ten of Lady Madeline's men came in through the door and in a few heartbeats, Stephen was surrounded by drawn swords.

"Put your sword down, love, before you hurt someone with it. You, too, Lord Candon," Lade Madeline said as she floated through the door with Leeza in tow. She sighed when the two men didn't follow her orders and proceeded to try to even out the numbers.

"What do they think they're doing?" she laughed as Leeza backed away from her to stand against the wall.

Leeza watched in amazement as the two men bravely fought despite they were outnumbered. She hoped they would win even though she knew that Lady Madeline could call in more guards as easily as she could breathe.

One by one the guards fell as Lady Madeline watched with amusement, knowing that she was toying with her prey and that there were scores more men waiting outside the doors for her command.

Deciding that she wanted to play too, Lady Madeline removed her favorite dagger and aimed at the closer of the two's heart. The two men were wearing simple cloth peasant clothing to ensure that they could sneak into the castle unnoticed. She knew that if she threw her dagger, it would slice easily through his back and into his heart.

"Silly men," she mocked to herself, "never turn your back to a lady." With an expert flick of the wrist, she threw her dagger.

Leeza watched in amazement at the men's fighting ability and courage. She couldn't believe that Stephen would risk everything for Eva and that Lord Candon would loyally watch his back.

Lady Madeline's sudden movement made Leeza turn her attention back to her. She was going to throw her dagger, and Leeza didn't need to see the future to know that the Lady would not miss her target.

Making a quick decision, Leeza threw herself just in time to feel the dagger enter her right shoulder. The momentum flung her backwards into Lord Candon's back as he finished off his last attacker. He turned around in surprise as he watched the woman who saved his life slide to the floor.

He grasped her around the waist to gently ease her fall as she slipped to the floor.

The last thing she saw before losing consciousness was a horrible scar on Lord Candon's right arm from wrist to elbow.

Lord Candon watched in horror as the beautiful woman who saved his life closed her eyes and became limp. This was Lady Madeline's witch, and he had assumed she was his enemy.

His heart ached as he realized he had never been more wrong.

"Stephen, darling, will you please put your weapon down," a melodious voice asked. Stephen looked back to see Eva standing up with her neck bent, trying to ease the pressure from another one of Lady Madeline's sharp daggers. A soldier was holding Eva in a tight grip.

Stephen cursed as he panted heavily and tossed down his sword. Four of the remaining guards circled him, ready to slit his throat if their Lady commanded.

With delicate steps, Lady Madeline walked towards her stepson, relishing every moment. She stood next to him as he remained perfectly still with his lips tight with anger. She smiled beautifully as she placed her hand on his chest. She circled around him slowly with her hand touching his shoulders and back as if admiring what he had become.

"Oh, why couldn't your father look like this when I married him?" she breathed. "Instead he was an old man more interested in ruling than in me."

"My father was a good man," Stephen stated proudly, breaking his silence.

Lady Madeline looked at him with angry eyes, not used to having someone defend her husband. "I'm going to really enjoy killing you in front of your witch."

"Hold him," she commanded to the guards as Eva watched helplessly.

Before thrusting her knife into his body, she smiled and stood on her tiptoes to give Stephen a long kiss.

Eva gasped into her gag as she watched her love was being kissed by his future killer. She suddenly had never felt angrier in her life. All thoughts of helplessness left her as every inch of her being was filled with a justifiable anger.

Had anyone bother to look at the young woman, they would have saw her bright green eyes darken into a dark fiery red.

Eva began panting heavily through her nose and gag, which brought the guard's attention back to the young witch that he held tightly in his arms.

"Just sit tight and watch the show, witch," he chuckled. She twisted her neck to look towards the guard and watched as his eyes lit up at surprise. Moments later, he went flying away from her as if thrown.

She looked back towards the center of the room and realized she knew what her second power was. Unlike the freezing power, she had no problems mastering this one since all she had to do was channel her anger, which she had plenty of.

As she focused on each of the guards surrounding Stephen, each went flying away as if stuck by an invisible powerful force. Lady Madeline turned around in surprise at her captive that she underestimated.

"Damn Leeza!" she hissed before she was suddenly airborne. A wall stopped her flight, and she landed in a crumpled unmoving heap.

Stephen and Eva ran towards each other. He untied her and held her as if he would never let go.

"I can't get her to stop bleeding," a pleading voice called out.

They both turned around to watch Lord Candon bent over the dying Leeza, desperately trying to stop the blood flow.

"You've told the right person," Eva smiled as she walked over to her new friend and froze her.

But her blood kept flowing.

"Can't you freeze her?" Lord Candon asked in a gruff voice.

"I'm trying," Eva said, surprised that her power wasn't working.