Chapter 2: A BLESSING NOT A CURSE
As Laleen stormed out of her father's chambers, the tears she'd been desperately trying to hold back burst through like a dam. She could hardly see what was in front of her as she walked but she refused to wipe them.
Wiping those tears would mean that she acknowledged that they were there.
She paused abruptly for a second and sharply turned to face her two maids who had been following her silently.
Her teary brown eyes flashed with irritation as she glared at the both of them.
"Leave" She said through gritted teeth.
The two maids looked at each other in confusion, "Your Highness..."
"I said leave!" She screamed as her eyebrows knotted in misery. The maids immediately bowed and walked away in quick footsteps.
Looking back forward, she continued her walk to her room as more tears streamed down her face. Lord, she had never cried so much in her life.
What had she not done for him? For this kingdom? How many men had he made her meet? She groaned bitterly as images of the past came rushing back.
She never had any friends when she was young. Because the mothers of her friends never wanted her anywhere around their husbands and sons.
She didn't have friends now she was all grown up too. Because her powers had made her an object of jealousy among her peers. No sane woman would want to befriend her!
No one wanted their husbands or their lovers stolen. Laleen bit her tongue as her lips pressed into a mournful line.
Why had she taken solace in the praises all these while? A gift that had only brought her loneliness. This was obviously a curse!
Turning left, the door to her room came into view and she took just one more step towards it when she felt someone's hand run down her back. A cold chill swept across the empty corridor.
"Correct" A pleased voice came but when Laleen turned her back to look behind her, she found no one. Her heart raced in fright as her eyebrows knotted in confusion. She could have sworn she felt someone's hand run down her spine.
"Who's there?" She called out cautiously as her brown eyes darted left and right. She was met with a bone chilling silence.
Her brows furrowed even deeper at the realization. It was a bit too quiet.
Turning back to look in front of her, she was met with a pair of deadly green eyes. Laleen gasped loudly in fear as she took a few steps back instinctively.
Clad in a long flowing robe as dark as the night, the green eyed woman laughed at Laleen's frightened face.
She had her dark red hair cascading down her waist in soft waves. Her skin was pale;a bit too pale and her cackled laughter were enough to raise goosebumps on Laleen's skin.
Her voice trembled as she shivered in fright, "Who are you?".
The green eyed woman scoffed at her question. Instead of answering, she asked instead, "How's my gift?".
Laleen blinked in confusion, still making sure to keep a good distance between them, "Your... gift?"
The witch nodded with a hum. Noticing Laleen's effort to keep a measured distance between them, she raised an eyebrow in mock amusement.
"Where are you running off to?" Her voice was as gentle as calming waters but Laleen could tell that that was just an illusion.
Everything about the woman in front of her screamed wickedness.
Desperately, Laleen screamed for help, "Guards! Help!".
Her actions only earned her even more silence as only the witch's amused laughter could be heard.
"Who are you?" Laleen asked again her heart racing when she realized that no one could hear her.
The witch raised her hands slowly as if beckoning Laleen for a hug. "Come here, you poor child" She tutted softly in a voice laced with genuine pity.
Laleen just stared at her as still as stone. She would be stupid to hug the strange green eyed woman who gave off intense sinister vibes.
Her eyes widened as the woman's hands grew closer to her face and even more when she noticed the woman's left hand.
Right in front of her, she watched in horror as the woman's once pale skin started to turn decayed. It started from her fingers and spread quickly to her shoulders and finally reaching half her face. Laleen gasped in horror as she took more steps backwards stumbling as she turned to run but suddenly she couldn't move.
She tried to move her body but she was suddenly immobile. Her heart started to pound in trepidation. Pleas spilled out from her lips as she realized she was doomed, "Please let me go. I..I don't know you".
The woman appeared in front of her with a wicked smile. Hissing loudly as she ran her dark fingers on Laleen's face, her smile widened maniacally as her green eyes gleamed a dangerous gold.
Laleen felt a warm liquid trickling down her face where the witch had touched and she realized it was blood. But it wasn't her blood but the witch's.
Her body shook in pure terror as she watched the same blood trickle down the witch's lips.
That was when she noticed that the witch was whispering a spell. She could barely hear her but it seemed to be in a language foreign to her.
For the first time, Laleen feared for her life.
Her chest heaved up and down as her breathing turned erratic. She felt the impending doom that awaited her as the witch continued to chant with her eyes closed in deep concentration. Her voice gradually grew louder, same as Laleen's fear.
When she finally opened them, the green eyes had turned to golden slits as more blood spilled from her lips wetting her dark robe.
Her hand roaming round Laleen's face paused as she cupped her chin, "Dear, I need you to suffer".
Laleen swallowed, willing herself to be calm she muttered, "I don't know you. What do you want from me?"
The witch scoffed again at her words, her appearance had turned hideous with half her face rotten black and her once green eyes now as golden slits.
"You poor thing. I gave you your very first gift, remember?".
Laleen turned confused. She mentioned gift once again. "What gift?"
"The curse" The witch pointed out. She seemed displeased that Laleen didn't realize what she was talking about.
Laleen grew alarmed at her words. "What curse? And as a gift?"
"My gift was a curse." She responded.
Laleen shook her head furiously in denial. She wasn't cursed. Never! And the only gift she had was a blessing from the gods. She was special not cursed. Blessed, not cursed.
"Y-You are wrong". The witch stared at her in what seemed to be surprise. Laleen couldn't exactly tell considering half her face was disfigured.
"I placed a curse on you the moment you were born. Did your father not tell you?"
Laleen's heart skipped a beat. She slowly shook her head but the witch's words rang in her ears.
"Father said I was blessed by the gods" Laleen muttered softly as she stared disbelievingly at the woman in front of her.
The witch burst into laughter at her words. Her laughter rang through the empty corridor and stung Laleen's heart repeatedly.
"You poor thing, it's an honor that you'd think such of me but I am a witch not a god".
Her voice laced with irritation as she continued, "It will do you good never to trust your father's words. He's a liar and a cheat. A greedy one". Laleen forced back the lump growing on her throat as she realized her father had lied to her once again. Her entire being trembled as she questioned,
"Why...Why did you curse me? How can... How can I be normal again?".
The witch purposefully ignored her words as she got back to her chanting. All the while, Laleen remained immobile. Her eyes colored with desperation as more pleas fell out of lips but the witch seemed too focused to care.
It was as if they were in their own world and no matter how much she screamed, no one came to her rescue.
She watched as the witch coughed out more blood leaving a small pool of blood where she now sat with her eyes shut tightly.
Soon Laleen grew quiet. She felt extremely zapped of strength all of a sudden. Was this where she dies?
Her eyes stung with tears as she bit her lip to withhold a cry of distress. She watched as the witch drew a circle on the marble floor with her blood, still muttering her spell.
Soon green and gold swirls appeared from where she sat and slowly made its way to Laleen. Her heart jumped to her throat in fear. "Please do not kill me. I-I did nothing wrong" She begged for her life.
The witch gazed up with a sense of contentment as the green swirls enveloped Laleen.
"I despise you, girl. You can blame your greedy father for your fate" her words echoed ominously.
Laleen felt her soul gradually departing from her body and she screamed in utter despair.
"Carry on now. I've made all the preparations for you. I'll make sure you suffer an even worse fate than myself," the witch muttered in a dark promise, a cruel smile etched on her lips as Laleen's body slumped to the ground.
Her smile waned as she stared at the near lifeless form lying motionless on the floor where another soul had come to replace Laleen's.
"I detest you just as much. It's your bad luck for having a face like hers."
Gifts
-- Gift
received Weekly Power Status
-- Power
Ranking 
-- Power
stone