The Shy Witch

Chapter 62

Chapter 62

"WHAT?" Ryder and I both yelled with wide eyes. 

Married? I wasn't even out of school yet! There was no way I was going to marry a creep like Devin. 

"I'll have the orders for the arrangements to be sent out shortly." King William said cheerfully. 

"Wait a minute," I said. "There's no way I'm getting married." 

"Oh yes, you are my dear." He replied. "Or I'm afraid there will be consequences. Bring him in here!" He ordered the nearest guards.

"This is crazy," Ryder told his father. "I'm not going to allow this to happen."

"Oh yes you will," said King William. "Or I'm afraid I'll have to execute a dear friend of Miss Baker's." 

Suddenly, the guards had reappeared, holding on to a struggling man. 

"Daniel?" I yelled, all the memories flooding back to me. I remembered our fight, him leaving, Ryder putting the memory loss spell on me, everything. Of course I was upset that Ryder had put the spell on me, but that detail seemed so minuscule compared to what was going on at the moment. I ran over to Daniel, prepared to give him the biggest hug he's ever received, but he was pulled back by the guards just before I had reached him. 

"Annalise!" Daniel called out. "What's going on?"

"Quiet!" A guard hissed. 

"What is Daniel doing here?" Ryder asked. 

"He was caught when he had attempted to attack Devin. He was immediately arrested and brought to our prison." The king said. 

"Have you ever thought that there may have been a reason why he attacked Devin?" 

"Enough!" The king ordered. "I'll send out the arrangements. You and Devin will be married in two weeks." 

"What?" Daniel bellowed. "There's no way!"

The king seemed to ignore him. "It will be the wedding of the century! You'll make a good queen someday." He dismissed Daniel, who was flailing around, trying to free himself from the guards. "Ryder, you're dismissed as well. And could someone please show Miss Baker to her room?" 

"No, I'm staying with Annalise."

King William looked up, already forgetting that Ryder was there. "Fine then, you can show her to her new room. Guest room 4, please."

~~~

I rolled over in my bed later that night, unable to sleep. The bed was huge, and I felt lost in all of the blankets and pillows. It was comfy, yes, but just not for me. The room, like the bed, was also too large for my liking. I had a private bathroom, which was nice, but since there was more space, I just felt... lonely. 

I tossed and turned, stressed about the events that had occurred. I couldn't believe I was being forced to marry Devin. Well, not forced, but there was no way I was going to let Daniel be executed. 

There was a soft knock on the door. Good thing I was already awake, or I wouldn't have heard it.  I sat up and looked at the clock: 1:12 AM. Who would be here at this time of night? I ignored it. I must be hearing things. The stress is just getting to me. Another knock. This time I crawled out of the bed, shuffled over the to the door and pulled it open. 

"Ryder, it's the middle of the night. What are you doing here?"

"Sorry, I had to see you. I had to make sure you were okay." he replied.

"Well I'm not. Good plan bringing me here. I can't sleep."

"I didn't think so. Me neither." He replied, ignoring my snarky tone. 

"Well can't you just do your spell to knock me out?" I asked him. 

"Oh no," he said with a little chuckle. "No way."

"Why not?" I wondered. "You had no problem doing it when you made me forget about my best friend."

Okay, now maybe I was kinda pushing it with the attitude, but I felt it was justified. 

Ryder sighed. "Yeah, yeah, I know. I'm sorry. But I just can't do that tonight."

"Why not?" I asked again, knowing I was pushing it. 

Ryder looked uncomfortable. "Well, because, uh... you may not wake up for awhile."

"What? Why?" I asked. "You've done it before." I could sense that I was really pushing my luck, but I seemed to be getting my way. So I pushed on.

Ryder sighed again and sat down on my bed. "Just... don't get mad, okay?"

Oh yeah, that was a good way to start off. 

"Ryder, explain."

"Okay, okay." he said. I sat down next to him. "At the masquerade ball, I uh, I was the one that kissed you."

My eyes widened immediately, but no words came to my mouth for a moment. Ryder had kissed me? That was him? My heart raced, and my stomach filled with butterflies. Did... did that mean he felt the same way as I did? 

"Annalise?"

I seemed to snap out of my own little world. "Th-that was you?" I asked.

He nodded. "Yep."

My heart raced faster if it was possible, and my face was getting hotter. "So is that why when we were training..." I asked, trailing off. 

"Yeah," he replied. "I knew we would both get a lot of power, but I didn't think it would be that much. It's going to take some getting used to having that much inside us. That's why I don't want to give you a sleeping spell. I don't want to put you out for a few weeks."

"Do it," I snorted. "I would be completely fine with missing the wedding." 

"Yeah," he said, looking down. "I'm really sorry about that. But don't worry, I'll figure something out. You aren't marrying Devin, I promise."

I nodded, hoping he was right.  "Ryder?" I paused. He glanced up to look me in the eyes. I could've melted right there. "Why did you kiss me?"

He was silent for a moment, and he shrugged. "I don't really know. I just couldn't help it."

We were both quiet afterwards, and a moment later I stood back up. "I'm going to try and go to sleep now." I told him. 

He stood up and nodded, heading for the door. "Right. Well I'll see you in the morning. Good night."

"Good night."

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7/1/16

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