Their Fae | B X B X B

Part Thirty Eight

Ferris

After our little chat, Claude brought me to the palace ballroom where preparations for my birthday were already being made. He ordered that the ballroom should be cleared of any maids and the guards should be stationed outside. They did as they were told, all scattering out.

"Why the ballroom?" I asked, looking up to the large ceiling. "Because it's the only room in the palace that's big enough for what we're about to do. Outside wasn't an option since it's far too cold." He answered, walking over to the centre and spinning around. "And what exactly are we going to do?"

He gave me a grin before his wings popped out and he started to float. I should've guessed. "Regaining control of your wings is a recovery process. One that I'm here to help with!" He claimed. I smiled. "I cannot thank you enough for this. You probably guessed that I'm not one for sharing my problems.." I admitted. He shrugged the landed closer. "Eh, I was the same. But don't thank me yet! We still got tons to do!" He exclaimed with a grin. We went to speak again when the doors flew open and mother appeared. "There you are!" She squealed with an excited smile. "Ferris! There's someone must meet!"

I raised and brow, looking over to Claude who shrugged and mouthed "Later." I quickly joined my mother who took my hand and began briskly walking. "You were meant to meet her years ago but your father advised against it everytime!" I gave her a questioning glance. "Who didn't he want me to meet? What's going on?" I questioned, giving a quick smile to the staff as we passed. It wasn't like her to act this way infront of our staff.

We entered the conference room, a lone elderly woman sat at the end. She ushered me in and towards the woman allowing my a closer look. She had long whispy hair, gray and silver striping her scarlet red hair. Her eyes lay ahead, one eye faded in colour. She wore a black shawl, her long bony hands stretched out on the table with pointy red nails. I wasn't one to judge on appearance but she gave me weird vibes. She almost frightened me.

"This is Madame Sharlette. She's a witch." Mother explained. She remained quiet, tapping her finger on the table. "It's nice to meet you, Madame Sharlette." I greeted and her head gradually turned in my direction. "My prince, Ferris Illian. I've been waiting for this moment for many years!" She croaked, giving me a crooked smile. I awkwardly smiled back. "You don't know who I am, do you? Bah! He's an idiot, I tell you!" She hissed. I was slightly taken aback by her outburst. I haven't heard anyone talk about my father like that before and I have to admit it was somewhat amusing. Mother remained silent, a cheeky grin on her face. "I hope you don't mind me asking but what is your relation to us?" I asked. "She is our family witch. Her official title is 'The Royal Family Witch'."

"I was never one for titles. My job is to ward off other witches from inflicting harm and counteract any curses." She added. A family witch? I had no idea we had one. "Isn't that too much-" she cut me off before I could finish. "Too much work for one witch? It is. I'm part of a coven of twenty. We look after your family as well as the royal Chamire and Louran families." She explained. Was I the only one who didn't know about this coven?

"Please excuse us for a second," mother urged while grabbing my arm again. Madame Sharlette nodded. We exited the room and mother gave me a weird look. "What? Did I do something wrong?" I asked. Did I offend her? "You just seem surprised. You were staring." She scolded. "I've never met this woman let alone know we had a family witch!" I argued while raising my hands up in defense. "That's because your Father has a grudge against witches. I managed to convince him to invite her for your birthday! Consider her a family friend."

"I want you to take care of her after sunset, okay? She.. forgets things when it becomes dark." She instructed. "Why can't one of the maids take care of her just like the other guests?" I snipped. Her face turned sour and she gave me a warning look. "Okay, I'll look after Madame Sharlette." I mumbled and her face returned to it's normal cheery one. We weren't that far apart in height and shared the same 'feminine' features. Since she married into the family, she had short blonde hair and large blue eyes with a round face. She was kind and nurturing but when it came to important topics she chose to remain silent and let my father do all the talking.

"Okay, you go fetch your father. I want that old man to at least greet the woman, yeah?" She joked making me snort. I nodded at the order and ran off to find my dad. Dad. The name was weird and foreign. I always addressed him a father but our therapist advised we switched it up a bit.

A guard waved me down and I approached. I recognised him ad Markus, one of my dad's favourites and a highly respected guard. "My prince," he adressed, taking a quick bow. I nodded in acknowledgement. "My last intention is to give the impression that we're slacking," he gestured to the other group of guards who were all on their small breaks. "But our breaks have become increasingly shorter and we were all hoping that-" I interrupted since I was in a hurry. "Of course. You can have a longer break. Just don't let my father know," I whispered the last bit and Markus smiled. "Thank you, my prince." he thanked before going to tell his mates the good news. As I left a noticed one of the guards staring at me, our eyes meeting. It was an tense exchange that lasted for a few seconds. This was a surprise as the staff didn't hold eye-contact for more than a few seconds but this guard didn't want to look away. I broke away from his gaze and carried on.

I found my father in his study, filing paperwork and reviewing requests. He looked up from his pile of paper and smiled. "Father. Mother asked to come get you. She wants you to greet this woman." I explained. He raised a brow and stood up. "And who will I be greeting?" He asked.

"This woman named Madame Sharlette? I also want to know why I've never in my life heard of her until now?" I questioned, watching as his face turned sour. "I will not have that witch attend your birthday!" He shouted, clenching his fists. "Mother said you approved?"

"I certainly did not!" He walked over to me, placing his hands on my shoulders. "Do not listen to anything that blind bat says. She may be powerful and does her job well but other than that she's delusional." He growled. "Do you understand me?" I nodded. Why did he have such an aversion to Madame Sharlette? To witches? It was a question for a later date, as he gently moved me to the side.

"You stay here, I'm going to talk to your mother."