The Prince's Assistant

Chapter 1

Chapter 1

"Momma, I'm home!" I was met by silence instead of the normal 'welcome home' that usually came whenever I came home. Silence complete silence. White Sapphire, my friend dragon, was sitting on my shoulders thinking something was up, also. I called out again, with hysteria seeping into my voice,

"Momma...........Momma? Where are you?" I dropped the herbs I had picked for my mother earlier which were all but forgotten.

"Momma! Mamma! Where are you?" I called as I ran through the house looking in each of the three rooms. She wasn't in any of them. Then I remembered the storage building outside. She might be there. Just like that I was out the back door and on the path to the building twenty feet away. When I got to the building, the door was open slightly. I knew that my mom had forbidden me to ever go inside, but this was important I was sure she would understand. I pushed the door open and looked around quickly.

I saw her.

I saw my mom.

She was just laying there. Barely even breathing. In fact I wasn't even sure that she was breathing until I went up next to her.

"Momma?............. Can you hear me, Momma?.........." I was right beside her, not entirely sure what I should do. White Sapphire came up beside me and said,

"Marie, come on we have to get her into the house. Then you must use some of that healing magic that Lilian has been teaching you." I nod, I gently pick up momma and stagger back to the house, where I lay her on her bed. I get to work immediately. Picking out the herbs that I'll need to try and help momma. When I'm done with that I quickly go back into momma's room.

She's so still.

Stiller than anything that I've ever seen. She doesn't stir like she would if she were asleep. She barely even breathes. I get to work, with the help of White Sapphire. But it doesn't help she stays completely still no matter what I try.
(>.<)

Day passes.

Night passes.

Another day and night pass.

Nothing changes. She's still in the same condition she was in two days ago.

A week passes.

Something changes ever so slightly.
She wakes up. For about two hours she's awake talking to me she tells me that she's dieing. She tells me not to be afraid. I tell her that she can't go, that I still need her. She smiles and says that I don't and that there is nothing more that she can teach me and that White Sapphire will always be with me so I won't have to fear being alone. Then momma told me that when she does die not to worry about burying her just take the important things and burn the house. I ask then where am I supposed to live? She said that I would need to go to Camelot and find the physician named Marcus who worked in the palace. Why I ask. Momma says because he will take care of you when I'm gone. I start to cry, I don't want her to die. She smiles and says that it will be alright. She goes on to tell me that I would need to pretend to be a boy, so I would have to cut my hair short like a boys to look a little like one. And that I couldn't practice magic in front of others because it was illegal. I nod. In her last breathe she says "You have a great destiny planned for you by the Fates. Don't waist it like I did. I love you so very much don't you ever forget that." With that she died. When I realized that she died I cried and cried like a small child. White Sapphire helped me pull my self together after a whole night of crying. He helped me get the most important stuff from the house and stick it in a trunk so that it would be easier to carry. Along with the important things I also packed a picture of us that momma had made with magic, some of my boyish looking clothes, a letter that I found addressed to the Marcus guy, and two books. Since I was a witch I made everything fit inside a small bag which I could carry all day with out it killing my arms. I had also gotten some of the fresh bread that momma and I had baked just the other day to take along for the two week journey on foot. All this took me half a day so I was ready to go by dinner time. I ate my dinner quickly. White Sapphire also ate, while we were eating he asked,
"Are you ready? Do you really want to do this?"