Beneath the Fountain

Prologue

21 Years Ago

She watches from afar. The darkness from the setting sun along with the thick foliage of the leaves conceal her, shadowing even her glistening dark eyes from view. She waits, studying, observing. This is not what she expected to see on her return. This was not part of her plan, but sometimes plans are meant to be changed.

Sometimes, the change is for the better.

The manor before her is illuminated brightly against the darkening sky. Each lit window allows her to easily see inside. The golden glow gives each room a warm, homey feeling. Standing in the dampening, chilly air, she longs to be inside. She knows she can't do that, however, so instead she narrows her feline-like eyes, watching, preying on the young couple within. She had been watching them silently for weeks, and the foolish couple had no idea.

They stand hand in hand inside a long hall. She can not tell what they are talking of, but they look so happy and invigorated by the other's company that her stomach churns at the sight. How sickening. How fake. Their smiles are wide and match the other's. Perhaps a proclamation of love is being made? Just the thought made her want to barge in and stop it. Love doesn't exist. It is a concept used by many to manipulate each other.

Or perhaps, the sorceress was only envious of what she could never have. Envious of what she thought she had years ago only to find out that she had been used.

This must be stopped, she thought with all the vigor she could muster. Around her, the leaves start to rustle as her anger releases small waves of her great power. She is normally very composed in her emotions for the sole purpose to control her power, but sometimes emotions can't be contained for fear of explosion.

Just as she was about to storm the couple, a tingling sensation started in her fingertips and spread over her entire body, stopping her. She quickly reentered the added cover of the foliage and now watched the couple with wide eyes. She had never been so close to them to feel that sensation. It was one that she felt before but not on such a huge scale.

It was empowering.

There was something much more to this couple than she first thought. Something that could change everything if she were to only let it grow and mature. This something could make her a force to be reckoned with by all. A force that could be unstoppable.

Her decision was quick and easy. She would have to wait a few years longer, but when one is immortal, years are an endless currency to spend. She had already waited close to two centuries, so her patience was growing thin. However, this new discovery of hers changes everything. Patience is now a virtue she must depend on.

She will return when the time is right.

As she leaves with a sway to her hips, she passes by a fountain hiding in the back of the garden. The grounds are well kept here and the monument stands proudly even in the low illumination. To anyone else, it would appear to merely be a wonderfully sculpted work of art that seems to withstand the trials of time, but she, and she alone, knows the truth. This is no ordinary fountain.

"Don't worry," she smirks in her passing, "I'll be back for you."

If only the sorceress would have known that there was another pair of eyes on her. A pair of eyes that had been stalking her for years. A pair of eyes that would now remain at this manor awaiting her eventual return.