A King and His Mistress

A short story I wrote awhile back.

There once was a small town by the name of Movado. People speak of a prophecy, really more like a fairy tale, of a young woman by the name of Chastity Van Drake. Chasity had long black hair and pale white skin, like she was painted with the moon and the night sky caressed her head. She wasn’t an ordinary person either. In fact the townspeople always thought of her more a witch than human. People spoke of her hands healing wounds and reviving the dead. They said that her eyes could melt your soul or turn you to stone. Children shuddered at her sight.

One day King James ||| came along to collect taxes. People weren’t respecting the regular tax collector. He was a small, weak man and people often took advantage of his inability to fight back.  The king, however, was strong and respected. He and his men came upon Chastity’s cottage.

“King, my men refuse to enter her house,” firmly spoke the general.

“Why would your men refuse to enter a small cottage? No doubt the owner must be poor and unworthy of such fear,” King James spoke with question in his deep, smooth voice.

“King, the woman, inside, she’s told as a witch and with mighty power to,” the general didn’t dare look at the king.

“Fine, you are all disgraced, leave my presence and continue to the next cottage. I will simply do this witch’s cottage myself,” King James emphasized the word witch’s. The king dismounted his steed and strode over to the witch’s cottage. KNOCK, KNOCK!

“I demand you to open your door,” King James felt a pit in his stomach.

“Yes, let me grab my coins first,” Chastity spoke with a voice that captured King James’ heart and he could feel his knees buckle.

“Yes, Of course madame,” he spoke in a nervous tone. CREAK! There stood the witch and in King James’ eyes he saw a goddess. She must have been a witch because no other power could have stolen his heart from his beloved queen so quickly.

“Hello King James,” she bowed,”how much for this months tax?”

“Just twenty-nine silver,” His usual smooth tone had turned to a stuttered, mousey tone. She giggled at the sight of a mighty King nervous because of a girl. She handed him the money and the coins jingled into his palm.

“You know King James I just cooked a fresh cake. Would you like some?” She softened her tone and spoke with a tempestuous voice. Unable to speak, King James nodded and followed the temptation into the small cottage. “Here you go, a nice slice of cake,” Chastity slowed each word down and emphasized the vowels. Still stumped by her tempting voice he nodded and looked at her. “You know King, your eyes are so deep, like the ocean or the sky.”

“Thank you, if I may say so myself, you’re the most lovely of them all. Not even my darling Stephanie is as lovely as you,” A sly smile slide across her face and he leaned in for a kiss.

As the story is told, the kisses continued for seven months and the king snuck out at night to see his lovely mistress. But Queen Stephanie was no joker, and she took no second place to a low-life peasant girl. Even if tales told her as a witch with great power.  But little did she know their love was no match for her jealousy. Chastity had done what Stephanie could not. She was pregnant with twins. Most definitely King James’ children. Yet not even James knew of this detail.

On the tenth week Stephanie decided to follow King James to her lovely little cottage, only to see the worst.

“Oh Chastity, please, I love you.” King James leaned toward Chastity and brought out a diamond necklace. Stephanie knew the necklace. It was her mothers necklace. How dare he offer such a valuable necklace to his unworthy mistress. Stephanie stormed off into town gathering a crowd of merchants, she told them, “In four weeks I want a witch hunt for Chastity. I saw her cast a spell onto the king. He is now madly in love and she plans to murder me and become queen herself. But only to rule with evil at her side.”

The merchants shuddered with shock and anger. They quickly agreed and the queen went home. But she had missed the most interesting part her dearly beloved’s conversation to his mistress.

“James I cannot love you for I am not your betrothed.” She waved away the sparkling necklace.

“Stephanie is not my love and I have a plan,” King James smiled slyly, “I will murder her. I will sneak poison into her wine. I will stab her in her sleep. You name the type of death and I’ll finish her off.” He fastened the necklace around her. She touched the rugged diamonds and looked toward the fireplace.

“James what a wonderful idea. But I have a confession.”

“You aren’t betrothed, are you?” His face was stricken with worry by the thought of his lovely mistress in love with another.  Chastity’s eyes wandered across the room with a certain sadness and worry.

“Heavens no,” she smiled before whispering into his ear, “I’m a witch.”

“ Witches aren’t real! Mad I say!” King James practically screamed the words. He was suddenly struck with the memories of such tales in town of a girl who can make magic with her hands.

“Shhh!” Chastity looked him in the eye before whispering, “Non mittam super uno carmine secundi. Habere fortunam karma. A SOLEA, leprechaun, quattuor folio-Trifolium quadam infusa cinnamomum et amomum et Lilly pro dulci spice et albi gratiam. Qui ante te uideo.” He began to feel a pit in his stomach like the first time he had knocked on the door. He felt himself full with joy and peace, like a child with a new toy or like an angel had just strung a harp in his heart.

“What have you done?” He was looking at his hands as if he was about to turn into a beast. She smiled a wide smile before saying, “I put a good luck spell on you,” He smiled and kissed her cheek.

King James snuck home that night to find his wife not in her bed. She left a note that said, “Beware Husband for I know of your mistress. I know your passion overflows your reason so I will personally avoid all your pathetic methods of murder. I mean you did murder your parents so you could have me, but that was when you loved me. Believe me I will not die before she does.”  

The story says that the queen avoided all of the chefs food and ate only what she made. She never slept nor stepped outside her castle quarters. For three weeks no one was murdered but on the fourth week King James did everything possible to murder her but her ways made every step virtually impossible. The queens plan was brilliant. She had spread a rumor before the first week of the witch’s plan to kill the queen, and rule the place with great power and fear.

The townspeople ran to the witch hunters and grabbed their pitchforks. On the same night the witch was hunted the queen was murdered.

The king had begun to give up but by the heat of the fire and the howl of the moon he saw his beloved mistress being hunted down. To which he knew was the queens doing. He marched into her quarters. She was skinny and pale from the loss of food and sunlight.

“Hello my dear,” She was sitting watching the horror outside.

“You will die!” He snuck out the knife from behind him and took small steps to what he knew would be her last breath.

“I know,” He stopped and stared into her eyes. She had turned around. Her eyes were woven with desperation and despair. Killing her would be heavenly for her. She was ill and hungry death would was what she was looking forward to.

“You should have just committed suicide it would have been easier, for both of us.” He took the knife and stabbed her in the stomach. He wouldn’t let her have a quick painless death she would bleed slowly and he would personally let her feel pain like no other. She smiled and said, “You missed.” A tear escaped her eye.

“I didn’t miss, I want you to suffer. As will I if my mistress dies.” He slipped a small amount of a poison that paralyzes you into her mouth, yet she could still feel everything she just couldn’t escape. He cut her arms and legs drawing pictures of their story. A little hut and a heart was drawn on her chest. Her open, slowly-bleeding stomach was now killing her. As her last breath left her bleeding lungs she whispered, “Thank you.”

He stepped back to look at the job that was finally done. When he was finished, he pushed her off the patio and to her final fall to the rough ground at the bottom. In a sort of poetic way a metaphor could be used. The ground was life and she had finally hit rock bottom. He had to run to save Chastity. Who was most likely dead by now.

She was sitting on her couch casting a spell of luck on her only true love. Little to his knowledge, she was nine months pregnant and had been hiding it with a spell of deception. She was in love and about to have twins. She wouldn’t be a mistress for long, but instead a queen. Suddenly, as a knock of great force was pushed upon the door, her water broke. She knew it was the witch hunters the townspeople's hired to catch her. She knew of Stephanie’s plan long before but had assumed that they would hire amateurs to hunt her. Every witch knows only werewolves are capable a actually catching a real witch. Werewolves are psychic and filled with an instinct to kill a witch.

Unfortunately,  the witch hunters were a group of werewolves. With twins in her belly, her scent and their desire to kill was stronger than ever. Even though they were in human form they felt the need to kill.

She got up and ran as fast as she could but as a pregnant woman she could only really walk fast. She went toward the back door and toward the forest. She dashed through the woods with a quickness spell. Now with the cover of night at their advantage, the werewolves were at her feet. She found a  small enough cave a casted a coverage spell. It would only last so long she had to push and force the twins out.  She had her twins right when the wolves found her small crevice. She ran leaving her babies. She had cast a leading spell on them for King James, thinking that he would take care of them. Leaving behind her life all together, she cast a coverage spell over her but this one was much stronger. She walked away from her love, her babies, and the confused wolves.

King James ran through the wood trying to find his love. Yet he was drawn to a small cavern, where he found the twins and took them into his now widowed castle. Not wanting to remember the death of his mistress and the queen, he put one in the custody of Caven, the baker, and one was given to Avery ||, a priest. The tale of King James may not be merry but it is told that the twin girls, Chariot Van Drake and Drewsilla Van Drake, still live and it is believed Chastity searches for her lover at night and avoids the wolves during the day.

Author's Note

Thank You for reading. :)