Charmed

Chapter Six

A/N: Hey guys! Sorry I'm so bad at writing these little notes to you all. I really hope you're enjoying this story so far! Please feel free to comment anything you'd like, I'll try my best to reply to all of them. Thank you so much for reading this! I love you guys! Beth xx

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"Why's she in your bed, though?" a young girl asked.

My eyes refused to open, but I recognised the voice.

"Heather, be quiet!" Darius hissed.

My eyes sprung open at his voice. I was momentarily confused with my surroundings until I remembered that I'd slept in Darius' chambers last night. Oh, God. I'd slept in Darius' chambers. I sat bolt upright in bed, the covers clutched to my chest. Heather and Darius turned around, and she grinned at me.

"You're awake!" she shouted, running towards the bed and jumping on me. She looked between me and Darius and wriggled her eyebrows, the way Darius had last night. "I'll leave you two alone." And then she disappeared.

Darius cleared his throat and rubbed the back of his neck awkwardly. "Breakfast was brought up." He must have seen my expression because he hurriedly added, "Don't worry, I didn't let anyone walk in with it. No one saw you."

I let out a breath I didn't know I was holding. "Did I oversleep?"

He shook his head. "Only a little bit. You must've been exhausted."

I smiled and climbed out of the bed, padding over to the table. We sat down together, and everything felt so normal. It was as if we'd been doing this for years and not for the first time. Darius spoke for most of the meal while I ate, and he answered questions I had about his family.

He told me that his parents were never really there when he and Claude were growing up. I learned that they cared more about the kingdom than looking after their children.

"Everything changed when Heather was born," Darius said, leaning back in his chair. I had my elbow on the table, watching him curiously. He'd lied to me when I'd asked who Heather was; she was actually his sister. "Mother had really wanted another child. She felt so much guilt over how little time she spent with me and Claude that she wanted to put it right. But we were older. She tried showering us with affection but it got her nowhere. Father promised they could have one more child, and that she'd have to promise to look after it."

How he described his parents' decision to have a third baby sounded more like they were getting a dog rather than having another human.

"Naturally," he continued, "luck wasn't on their side. Mother couldn't conceive, no matter how hard they tried. In the end, Father decided to use his magic to create a baby for them. It almost drained him completely, but it worked. Mother became pregnant. They announced the news on my thirteenth birthday, intentionally shifting the attention away from me and onto them."

"What happened to Heather?" I asked after giving him a soft look at the sad expression that crossed his face.

"Being born of magic, she had a very weak immune system. She picked up diseases and illnesses much easier than the rest of us. The doctors said she could even be killed by a cold if it got too bad. But, true to her word, Mother looked after Heather better than she did me and Claude. When Heather was eight, she contracted pneumonia. Even magic couldn't save her. She's been dead for three years now."

Without thinking, I reached out and clasped Darius' hand. "I'm so sorry."

He looked at our hands and a smile tugged at his lips. "It's okay."