Irene M. V. Williams

Chapter 3

Irene's POV

Emerald eyes blinked open and stared up at a fabric canopy above them depicting a group of fairies playing in the woods.

"At last, you are awake. We have much to discuss, little rose."

Irene turned her head toward the sound of the king's voice, wincing as a pain pierced through her head like she was being stabbed by a hundred knives. She tightened her lips to keep from crying out but was not able to stop a couple of tears from falling.

"Be careful, your body is still weak from your seizure."

"What happened, Your Majesty?"

The king was sitting in a nearby chair not far from the side of the bed she found herself in. As she looked down at herself, she saw she had been changed into a clean white nightgown that covered her from her neck to her toes.

The Goblin King stared at the young girl as if he were trying to dissect her very being.

"Do you know what you are?"

Irene's viridian colored eyes widened, "I thought I was human, Your Majesty."

He waved his hand away as if to toss the answer to the side, "Who are you then?"

The young girl bit her lip, thinking over what to say, "I know how dangerous it can be to give real names. However, mine is not the one I was born with so I suppose it will be ok. I'm Irene Marcela Valda Williams..." He gestured for her to continue, his eyes not shifting from her own. "...I'm an orphan, or I was until Sarah's birth mother and father adopted me when I was 4."

"What do you remember from before then?"

Irene broke her gaze from his, she didn't like talking about what she remembered from that time. For she did remember it, it was one of the things that made her skip grades in school. She had a photographic memory. So where other children would have trouble remembering much before the age of four, she remembered quite a bit. The only memories she couldn't remember came from before she could understand things well.

"I lived with my aunt and uncle. I don't even know my real name. They didn't like me much. They..." She sucked in a breath, and self-consciously fingered her burn scar in her left palm; unknowingly drawing the king's attention to it. "They didn't like me much. I suppose that's why they left me at the theater where Sarah's mother was performing on tour."

"Yes..." Here the king's voice tightened as if he was on edge of great destruction, "My healer informed me how..." He breathed through clenched teeth, "...they did not like you much." He took a deep breath in as if to calm himself, which Irene thought odd for she didn't know why he would feel anything toward her or her situation. "Were you ever told about your birth parents?"

She nodded, her eyes sad. "I don't know how ac..u... um...true what they said was but they said they were freaks who died as drunks. That I should be grateful for their hospitality for taking me in, despite how much of a burden I was to them." Her voice had grown quiet, and she looked back up at the canopy above her, eyes tracing the embroidery.

The king stood and came to stand above her, another question falling from his lips, and Irene was happy for the distraction, "When did you first notice your magic?"

Her eye glazed over for a second as if she was reliving a memory. "When my first friends were snakes. I couldn't even speak English yet, but I could speak to them. They would tell me stories of things they had seen.  They used to tell me that only mages were able to speak with them."

After saying that she looked back up at the king curiosity filling her eyes, "Is that true?" 

His eyes shifted to hers before looking away, "You are of mage blood however, I do not believe you are completely human."