The Shy Witch

Chapter 63

Chapter 63

The next morning, I was awoken by a very sharp knock on the door. I groaned, not ready to out of bed. I hadn't gotten very much sleep last night after all. I rolled over to the edge of my bed and stood up. I opened the door, and a short, brown-haired woman stared back at me, smiling. 

"Good morning!" She said cheerfully.

I smiled back at her and allowed her into my room. Turns out, she was a maid and was here to help me get dressed, weirdly enough. 

"You really don't have to help me." I told her, trying not to offend her. 

"Oh no! It's alright!" She replied. "It's just that... well... different attire is needed here." she said, this time trying not to offend me. "We had outfits brought up here that look to be about your size." 

After fifteen minutes of trying on clothes, the woman must have felt that I looked presentable. 

"Do you need anything else dear?" She asked.

I raised my eyebrows. "Actually, I was wondering if I could see my friend Daniel."

"Absolutely!"

Another fifteen minutes later, we were in what seemed to be a dungeon. It was dark and gloomy, and it had a very wet smell to it. We approached a large metal door with a guard next to it. 

"Hi, um, I'd like to see Daniel Jenkins." I told the guard. To my surprise, the guard smiled and nodded, opening the door, allowing me inside. The maid stayed back with the guard as I walked into another room. It had about ten cells in it, and I could see a familiar face in the one on the far end. All of the other cells were empty, yet there were four more guards in the room. 

"Daniel!" I called out excitedly. He looked up with a shocked expression and ran to the bars. 

"Annalise!" He exclaimed. "I'm so glad you're here!" 

"Me too, Daniel." I said, stroking his face through the bars of the cell. "I'm going to get you out of here."

"I can't get out," he explained sadly. "The cells drain magic. I can't do anything."

I smiled sadly. "It's okay Daniel. They're going to let you go very soon."

"No." Daniel refused. "I'm not letting you get married to that creep. You will never be happy with him."

"Daniel, I'll be happy if you're happy." 

"Annalise, you have to say no!" he said sternly. The noise must have attracted the guards' attention because they all looked in our direction. 

"It'll be fine, Daniel." I explained. "Once we're married, you can get out of here and go back to school and have fun." 

"NO!" Daniel yelled, slamming a hand onto one of the metal bars. Small pieces of rock and dust crumbled from the ceiling, and the guards hurried over to the cell. They unlocked it, and two of them entered and started beating Daniel. 

"Stop it!" I cried, as a different guard guided me out the door. "Please don't hurt him!"

The door slammed shut, and I was left in front of the metal door again with the maid and the guard. 

"Ready for breakfast?" The maid asked.

I sighed, looking back at the metal door. A tear streamed down my cheek, and I nodded. 

~~~

"There will be a party tonight." King William announced during breakfast. Ryder, Devin, and him were all surrounding me at a round table in the dining room. "An engagement party." He added.