Short Stories

Bewitched

I was lost. I was positively, definitely lost.

Great! What were the ministers in the court gonna say now?  The Prince couldn't handle a hunting trip. He had to make a fool out of himself and ensure that a batch of soldiers spent the day scouring the forest for his whereabouts.

It was getting darker and I still had no idea where I was. I really needed to find a cave of some sort. The last thing I wanted was to die here. Then the ministers wouldn't fail to mock my death either. He had to die and provide nourishment to the wild magical beasts. Such disgraceful death, maybe the King should disown him to avoid disgracing the royal lineage.

The rustling among the leaves jerked me out of my mental rant. I was dressed as a commoner with the only evidence of royalty being my insignia which I had hung in a leather thread around my neck. However I did not want to encounter bandits either.

As I walked on through the close knit trees in the forest, conscious of every sound around, I saw an abandoned hut hidden between the trees. Though the better judgement would be to avoid staying in such a place which evidently looked like a hideout for bandits I was feeling slightly brave with my sword and exhaustion.

The hut didn't seem to have any windows so it was impossible to see within, however after checking for sounds, I entered the hut.

"Didn't you take your sweet time getting here."

I jerked away from the speaker. There was no light within the hut so it took me a while to place the person talking.

"Why are you standing there? Close the door and come in. I can't light the lamps with the door open!

I seemed to find myself in a rather peculiar situation however it didn't seem like I had any other option left. If this guy turns out to be a bandit then I could always use the sword. I obliged.

The lamps came on as soon as I shut the doors. A mage.

I turned around to find a rather attractive man in front of me.

"Come on, sit down," he said as he tapped the place next to him. That was a rather neat bed.

Ah. I should clear this up now.

"There seems to be a mistake. I don't think I should be here." I said as I was about to turn around.

"I know it's your first time. Markus did mention that. Don't worry. It's natural to feel that way. Why don't we just talk for now? You have come all the way here, have a seat first." He smiled at me.

No one had invited me for a chat before. My life had always been about maintaining the decorum of the royalty, didn't matter whether I wanted to.

I sat next to him.

"Oh! You brought your sword?" He reached for my sword and I pulled away on reflex.

"Ah I apologise, I understand your wariness but you see I don't have any weapons on me and it's rather difficult to talk while I'm wondering whether you are planning to skewer me." He said, scratching his head. This guy was built like a soldier, was a mage and my sword made him uncomfortable?

Not wanting to bring up the obvious difference in our physique I pointed out the obvious, "You are a mage."

He chuckled at that. This must be a day of novelties because no one dared to "chuckle" in front of the prince. His green eyes crinkled in the corners and he made a rumbling noise which was pleasant on the ears.

"I guess Markus did not tell you anything about me. Well that's always the right thing to do in these cases so I can only tell you this. That bit of magic is the only bit I know. I'm a literary mage. I absorb literature, never been in a fight. Though these days with the royal sanctions being placed on the distribution of literature, finding anything worthwhile has been extremely difficult" He gave me an awkward smile. I felt the part about not being in a fight was a lie, however it did seem like he wasn't looking for a fight right now.