Forever and Ever After (book1)

Chapter 4

Chapter 4

The summer grew warmer with each passing day. Isobel left Heather to grow the seeds they found and other flowers that use to sprout around the house. With each day the house became indulged in sweet smells of cooking food and newly growing flowers. Her Father couldn’t explain it, always saying if he found that it was the work of magic he would destroy the house looking for the pest doing the magic; but Heather hid very well that no-one did see her.

One night when Isobel couldn’t sleep because of the heat, Heather decided to have a little chat in the moon light. “Isobel,” she said quietly, conscience that Isobel’s Father was asleep close by. “I never did thank you properly for saving me.”

“I think you did enough just helping around the house. It had never felt so homely in my life, it’s always felt stuffy,” Isobel said just as quietly while she started to plait her hair.

“Well, it’s taken me a while but I think I’ve saved enough fairy dust to make a charm to ward off evil magic.” She hovered over to the neck line of Isobel’s night gown and pulled out her necklace she refused to take off since Charming took it from her. Heather untied the small pouch from her waist and tipped the small contents onto the jewel of the necklace.

The stone glowed gold where the small specks of dust landed. The glowing light grew as bright as candle light, so bright that Isobel feared that her Father would see the light through the floor boards or that someone from outside her window would be able to see in.

“There we go,” Heather declared as soon as the glowing died down. “One protection charm, no spell will harm you whilst you wear this. It is strange,” she said as she looked deeper into the stone. “I feel a lot of love in this stone, true love. That is why this magic will be stronger with my magic. With this it has doubled.”

“It is strange,” Isobel muttered in agreement as she also picked up her charm and looked into it, looking for any trace of magic or anything different. “What would happen if I want a spell put on me?”

Heather giggled that sounded like rain droplets hitting a body of water. “Why in the world would you want a spell put upon you?” she asked through the giggling. “All spells coming with a price, even good spells unlike a charm which has no price; unless you sell it. A charm is a gift, a spell is a curse no matter what it grants,” she explained.

“I’ll still surprised it’s still full of love after what I did,” Isobel said as she swung the necklace in front of her face as she recalled what she did to obtain the necklace. The wife of a knight who was passing through, looking beautiful and full of happiness before Isobel took the necklace and her money but left her alive and able to carry on through the woods unharmed.

Heather fell over laughing, clutching her stomach. “You really don’t believe that the love in the stone is from anyone else, do you?” she asked and then started laughing again.

“I am not in love,” Isobel protested with the fairies laughter “If I am in love, then who is the person who has stolen my heart?”

“Oh, your heart is still yours for the moment but I can see it won’t be for much longer. I see your Prince coming soon.”

“Charming and I cannot be, I am a peasant and he is of noble blood. I am a thief and he is the crowned prince. I do not love him, how would it work between us?”

“Titles mean nothing when it comes to love; it is only your pride that keeps you apart.”

“And his Father’s scorn, I would be killed in a heartbeat.” Isobel suddenly yawned loudly and rubbed the sleep from the corner of her eye as she tried to fight the sleep.