Heidi's Coronation Ch. 10

Heidi sunk. Heidi's deepest desires were hopelessly shallow, and as it turned out, she got exactly what she wanted.

"Wait. But what did Vishal have to do with all this?" Heidi questioned the witch, while she regretted her part in their current predicament, Vishal's lack of involvement bothered her, "Didn't he ask you to give me that potion?"

"Well, he simply asked for a way to guarantee you'd choose Darren. It was quite simple really, just your basic infatuation brew, a love potion if you may. I simply enhanced it to boost your receptiveness to your own desires. Darren only needed to show you the slightest interest and you'd fall head over heels for him," Newt responded. The witch paused as pivoted on her heels, turning to face the Queen, "Heidi, your deepest desire was to be desired."

It felt like a ton of bricks were dropped on her and the sudden realization of just how desperately she wanted love and how ready she was to destroy her own kingdom to get it. Her mind was flooded with each situation that the potion had placed her in, and concerningly how she'd chosen to resolve them. "I did all this, I messed up Sophie's life, I messed everything up." she thought to herself.

Sophie piped up, "But that still doesn't explain why Vishal would want that potion to work against Darren."

Heidi nodded as she continued her servant's line of questioning, "Why would he want to give me that much power over his Nephew? I only escaped because I changed Darren!"

"Well you see most magic feeds off emotions, and well magic can be a little- let's say, unpredictable," she chuckled. "So during moments of raised emotions, you'll see much more dramatic changes. Have you noticed how most of your transformations are during and immediately after you've had a little bit of fun? One of the most powerful emotions is lust, and it's at its strongest when you are in an excitable state. And- well, sometimes it's easy to get a little carried away when you're caught up in the moment."

Heidi frowned at Newt, "So you knew that potion was going to make me do all this?" The potion was amplifying her desires, making the potion effects stronger, and further amplifying her desires in an infinite feedback loop of lust.

She smiled back at Heidi, "it's not my job to make your life easy. It is up to the individual to forge their own destiny." Newt smirked, "Like I said, a strong-willed Queen should have no problem controlling the effects of the potion." Newt ringed her hands, a maniacal glint filled her eyes, "I am a witch afterall," she laughed. "I simply provide the means. I gave Vishal what he asked for, 'a potion that would get the Princess to marry his nephew.' I may have added a few extra features for my own enjoyment, but the basic premise was intact."

Heidi needed to stop feeling sorry for herself and fix this. She steadied herself as she approached the witch again. "How can I fix this, how do I get my Kingdom back? Please you must help me!"

The witch only scoffed, sticking her nose up at the request.

Heidi looked around frantically, for something, anything, that she could use to sweeten her plea, "I can get you anything you want! Whatever Vishal gave you I-I can double!"

Newt only laughed, her bellowing echoed for a long while, "I have no need for material possessions, you cannot buy my services. I only took that vile Vishal's gold because of his obsession with it; there's only so many non-magical uses for Gold afterall." She returned to her laugh. Clearly she was taking a little bit of enjoyment in Heidi's current predicament.

"Please! Is there anything you can do to help me!" Heidi huffed in disappointment. Without the help of the witch Heidi could only hope that the palace guards were still loyal to her, and Sophie could be of some use - somehow.

Newt chuckled to herself as she checked the location of the sun. "It looks to be about noon. By my recollection, you've still got a few hours left on that little brew of mine. So right now is your best chance if you were planning on trying anything. So you'd better get busy," the witch stated bluntly.

This really wasn't the response that she was hoping for. Newt did have a point, the potion would allow her to change herself and other people. Somehow she would need to get to Vishal and change him back into her underling. Confronting Vishal was going to be dangerous, there was no telling how prepared he was for her arrival. The worst part was the nature of her transformation abilities. So far the changes have only manifested themselves whenever she was in a sexual stupor, almost always while in the deed itself.

"This is so unfair!" she complained to herself. The thought of having to seduce Vishal made her sick.

Newt perked up briefly, as she eavesdropped on Heidi's private thoughts again, "Tell you what, I've changed my mind" The witch grinned as she rubbed her hands, "Alright child, I'll cut you a deal." The witch reached into one of her pockets and pulled out a little vial, the exact same vial that the original potion came in. Newt out-stretched her arm offering the vial to the Queen.

But Heidi jumped away from the gift, she wasn't going to fall for the same spell again.

Newt frowned, "I already told you, I've already given you the means to achieve your aspirations." She offered the vial again, taking a step closer to the Queen.

"No way am I taking any more of that bloody potion. THAT potion is the whole reason any of this even started!" Heidi scrambled fearfully away from the vial, continuing to refuse the witch's offering. "There is NO way I want anything to do with that fucking shit."

"Taking an extra dose would give you a little bit more time, and amplify the strength of the potion." Newt placed the potion on the ground in front of Heidi, "My potion is the only reason you've survived this long - Do you really think you'd stand a chance against Vishal without it? Having a stronger potion would only help you." The witch grinned widely.

Heidi looked at the potion, she had to admit that the witch had a point. Maybe the benefits of the potion outweighed the negatives. It might have caused this situation, but it had allowed her to escape Darren and to rescue Sophie. Heidi considered her option, "Perhaps it would be worth the risk, I'll just have to continue to be careful," she thought.

"I don't know about this Heidi. Are you sure this is a good idea?" Sophie chipped in. She had been silently observing for a while, but had to speak up before her mistress did something she might regret. Sophie didn't trust this witch, there was just an air of something about her that she didn't trust. Her childhood distrust of witches was proving a difficult prejudice to shake.

"I know." Heidi sighed, "But, what other choice do I have?" Heidi picked up the vial and held it tenderly at a distance. She contemplated her decision as she stared at the liquid. The dull purple glow lit up the glass of the flask, it was definitely the same liquid as before.

"So if I take it, what's in it for you?" Heidi asked, "What do you get out of it?"

"The first one was a gift, let's just call this one an 'I owe you.'" the witch smiled, "It's free...for now."

"For now?" Heidi inquired.

Newt nodded, "Someday, I may ask you for a favor and it would be in your best interest to consider helping me out." She smiled.

Heidi hesitated for a beat, she knew it wouldn't be a great idea to owe a favor to a witch. Who knew what sorts of favors she would try to collect in the future. As much as it was against her better judgement, Heidi just couldn't ignore the fact that this potion, and the extra time, would be invaluable. She knew better, but she was desperate.

"Okay. I owe you," Heidi softly spoke.

Newt grinned, "Excellent!"

A nagging thought at the back of Heidi's mind was pushing her to drink the potion now. The memory of the lavender taste sat heavily on her tongue and the air was swirling with anticipation. She could almost feel the potion compelling her to drink it's contents.

Heidi steadied herself as she pushed the thoughts aside. She told herself "No. Not yet, I don't need it... yet." The stirring in her loins was enough indication that the previous potion was still affecting her - she didn't need the extra time, and the potential ramifications of a double dose.

Newt smiled, "Well done my child."

She tried to ignore the witch and the potion as she moved to collect Sophie. She grabbed the handmaiden and started towards the throne room. If they were going to confront Vishal there was no sense in delaying any further.

"Uh, thank you," Sophie managed to utter as they left the witch alone in the gardens.

Heidi intended to wave goodbye to the witch, but by the time she had turned to face her she was nowhere in sight, Newt had vanished as suddenly as last time.

She frowned at her disappearance. She could only hope that the witch's intentions were aligned with her own. Heidi patted her pocket reaffirming the potion's existence, "Hopefully I won't need you." But, by this point she already owed the witch that favor, whether the potion worked or not. The only hope would be that its help would actually be helpful.

Heidi and Sophie looked at each other and both released a synchronized sigh. The throne room wasn't far away, and neither girl was looking forward to the upcoming confrontation.