"Heinrich, dear, why must you always seem so preoccupied? I am, after all, your wife." Esmerelda said as Heinrich caught himself once more worrying about his children.
"Oh, nothing. I just worry about the kingdom." He had yet to let any hint slip about his children safely tucked in the forest, and he wasn't about to let one out now.
"But why? You see, since I arrived, the kingdom has prospered ten-fold what it used to be! Why are you worried? Without my mother and I, you would still be wandering around in the forest!" Heinrich turned on his heels, months of frustration and anger at the witch propelling his steps.
"And wouldn't that be better?" He yelled. "You force my hand too much, Esmerelda! I will not have it any longer! I will not bow down to your greed and spite a moment more! Your mother was an old hag in the forest who wastes her time with magic tricks! You couldn't have married had it not been for her cheap magic show! Why have I listened to you for four months? What have I done?"
"Oh dear. You shouldn't have said that. Now I can no longer pretend I know nothing about your children hidden in the forest. Or about this..." She pulled a ball of yarn from behind her back, drawing a gasp from Heinrich.
"How...?"
"Oh, Heinrich, you know that we do much more than simple parlor tricks. What I do is real magic. And had you been wise, you would've used it to benefit your situation, rather than make mother and I angry." Heinrich thought to himself that this girl really needed to get over her mommy issues.
But no sooner had she spoken than she disappeared. Heinrich ran, knowing he had little time to save his children.
YOU ARE READING
The Six Swans
FantasyI looked at my brother, not believing a word he said. A witch turned him and my five other brothers into swans? Impossible. But then again, I had just seen the obvious evidence right in front of my eyes. I had just watched six swans fly through...
