Cursed

4. The Witches' Plans

4. The Witches' Plans

Miranda watched Daurien from her home, hidden from all things mortal. She saw him spot a girl at the London Library and, entranced by her beauty, tell the mirror to follow her. Miranda quickly used her powers to project one of her ears to Earth so that she could listen to the memories that the girl's bones whispered. In an instant she knew all that the girl had been through.

She was from a land across the sea from Britain which was the only place Miranda had lived on Earth that she had ever considered home. The girl missed that land dearly and did not have companions in London whence she currently lived. She was sad, lonely, and unaccustomed to the less than ideal London weather. She had left her whole life behind when she had moved to London and was miserable.

The more Miranda listened to the 17 years worth of memories that the girl's bones whispered about, the more she was convinced of one thing above all. This girl was goodhearted. Despite her fierce beauty rivaling even with that of the witches, she was undoubtably beautiful on the inside. It seemed that the girl did not realize how truly beautiful she was. This was very likely due to the fact that she had only grown beautiful during the last few years and had been picked on as a child for being quite ugly since she was very young.

Miranda listened carefully to every selfless deed the girl had done and made a list in her head. She was always kind to the less fortunate. She would put herself at risk no matter the peril, in order to help someone she cared for. She was honest, caring and always did her best to see the best in others. She always tried notjudge anyone before she truly knew them. But would it be enough?

She could see the change in Daurien that had occurred over time. He was no longer ice cold as he was when she had placed the spell upon him and she could feel, smell, hear, taste and see it with everything she had. She had grown to love him herself, almost like a brother and how she wished she could reverse the spell. She hated seeing him in so much despair now that he held her affection and she did her best to visit him as often as she could.

He was not perfect, oh far from it. He would roar and growl and try to strangle her on some of her visits, but she came all the same. He could not harm her more than he could touch a star and besides, he always apologized eventually. He craved her company, she knew he appreciated her visits. He simply lost his temper from time to time. It was understandable, seeing as his life had been stagnant for centuries.

Recently however, she could feel his patience and what little hope he had dwindle and she knew that soon enough he would try to end his curse by ending his life. She knew that time was running out. She saw how his heart lit bright as he watched the girl and she knew that she had to help him. She could not make her love him, nor make him love her, or even help them love each other. She could, however, help her find him and from there it would be left to fate.

She saw the girl pass the folklore section at the library and planted a small seed of interest in her head about a book that held a legend about Rose Manor. She read the legend and as she was pondering it's credibility, Miranda gave her a dream. The girl sank into a light slumber and in her dream she found Rose Manor. It was not meant to frighten her, but Miranda could not control the dream, only make it focus on Rose Manor. To control it, she would have had to enter the girl's dream while in her astral form, but she had not the desire to perform such draining magic at the present moment.

The following night, Daurien did not go to sleep. She watched him watch her the whole night as she tossed and turned restlessly. Miranda formed a plan that began with her planting an idea in the girl's father's mind. He would come to the forest where Daurien was hidden and the girl would come with him.