Once Upon A Tale (Published Amazon)

Chapter Twelve

...Clara Enchanted...

Clara sat on her bed beside her mother. Was it just a nightmare or had she just witnessed the love of her life and father of her unborn child growing within her marry another women? It had to be. Edward loved her, besides how is it possible she was sitting on her bed when she had no recollection of coming home. Maybe she had fainted. No, she felt strong. Stronger than normal. She looked at her mother's face, it was lined with worry.

"Clara we need to talk." Her mother said quietly. Talk, why was she making it sound like something serious? It was only a dream wasn't it? She continued to look at her mother not registering what was happening.

"My darling, you are in shock. I need to explain something very important to you so please listen carefully." Her mother took a deep breath. "I was hoping to avoid having this talk with you until later in your life when you were happily married with a family. But I was not vigilant enough with you and now the curse has been triggered." Clara looked at her mother confused.

"I don't understand." She whispered.

"Ever since the 1600's all females in our family are born with a special gene. The enchantress gene. It lays dormant within us and is only triggered when true love goes wrong. My mother called it the heartbreak curse. The power you felt when you realised Edward was in fact Prince Patrick was the enchantress curse activating. The curse you put on the Matriacal bloodline will stand. The child you carry will be the only Royal child born." Clara placed her hand on her stomach.

"Have I doomed my daughter to never have her own family?" She asked her mother, tears streaming down her face. Her mother shook her head.

"No, the enchantress bloodline is too strong. Your daughter will be the beginning of the Royal Enchantress bloodline and it will grow stronger with every female born." Her mother took a deep breath. "Now as for your powers. From what I saw, you have inherited the power of the mind. This means you can move and retrieve things which is how you now have Princess Rosalind's necklace. A lot of people saw what you did, so we need to leave here now before they come looking for you." Clara nodded misunderstanding.

"Yes, they will want the necklace back." She stood ready to pack her belongings just as her mother grabbed her hand.

"That's not why they will be coming my daughter. They saw you use your power. They also saw me use mine when I brought us back here." Clara's mind became focused for the first time since getting home.

"Where will we go?" She asked her mother.

"Home my darling." She smiled at her daughter. "We will go and raise your Royal Princess." Her mother held onto Clara's hands as she harnessed her own Enchantress powers. In an instant the cottage was empty as though never lived in and the necklace was gone for good.