Short Story Collection

Power of Insanity (Not canon to Finding Purity--the larger work)

"So beautiful," Karolyn whispered.

Standing in front of one of the many rose bushes in the royal garden, the queen chose one of them to caress and lean down to smell. It was spring; it was the time of year when all the flowers in the kingdom would bloom, but only would the roses catch Karolyn's attention. They had been her father's favorite flower, and they had been the first of the many flowers he would give to her mother yearly. Being next to them, smelling them, touching them, seeing them made Karolyn's heart beat with joy.

"Are you speaking of the flowers or yourself, your majesty?" came a voice from behind her—this voice she knew all too well.

Turning to face the holder of the voice, Karolyn smiled, "The roses. They are such beauties this time of year."

"While that may be true," William stepped closer, his left hand moving to Karolyn's waist to hold her close while his right cupped her cheek, "their beauty is nothing compared to yours. Not even in the spring."

Blushing at her husband's words, Karolyn looked up at him. The smile she donned spoke a thousand words into existence, and that in turn made William smile. He tilted her head up slightly, leaning down to be able to place a kiss to her lips; however, before that could happen, Karolyn let out a groan of pain as she moved away from him to grab her head.

"Karolyn?" He questioned, concern littering his voice, "Kare, what's—"

The queen cut him off with a scream, one that echoed throughout the garden alerting everyone—the guards, the knights, the servants, and even Millina—Karolyn's mother—, who was in the study with Lucius—the royal mage—, heard Karolyn's scream. Karolyn's hands clenched into fists as she pounded them against her head, screaming and crying, yelling out the word "no" over and over, and over again. William grabbed her wrists tightly as she fell to her knees, which stopped her from hitting herself, but she was still screaming, still crying; she was still in pain, unresponsive to any questions her husband asked of her.

"William," Millina called out to the king, "what happened? What's going—"

"I don't know. She just—she just started screaming and—and—I don't—"

Lucius knelt beside William, having to steady himself against the king, "Magic," was all he said; for it was all he could get out at the moment.

Gripping the king's shoulder, Lucius closed his eyes in an effort to concentrate. He lifted his hand and mumbled a few words in a language the other two couldn't quite understand. Karolyn's body stilled, falling unconscious, as it was encased in a light blue shimmer, the same color that was coming from Lucius's hand.

"Wha—What did you—"

"The magic that was being emitted from her was strong; it was dark, and far too powerful for me to get rid of while in the weakened state it put me in," Lucius explained, struggling to get to his feet.

Millina hurried to his side, helping him stand and allowing him to lean against her. The mage's eyes stayed on Karolyn's form, slowly sliding up to her head. Even though his magic kept the darkness from seeping through, he could still feel the pulsing of it from the Queen's head. William picked his wife up bridal style as he, too, got to his feet.

The mage met the king's gaze, "I'll try and find something to help, but," looking down at Karolyn once more, he sighed, "I do not believe I'll be successful. This spell targeted her head, and most of the ones I've heard about can only be broken by the one who was spelled."