Page 201 of Castings & Curses

A day had passedand nightfall was approaching. Bellatrix could see the highest towers of Maldinia Castle in the distance.

“What are we going to do when we get there?” she asked Jaiyana.

Jaiyana closed her eyes and took a deep breath. “Prince Roarke has declared himself King of Maldinia. We must combine our powers so that we may see in the eye of our minds where our parents have been imprisoned.”

She grasped her twin’s hand.

Closing her eyes, Bellatrix listened to the sound of Fengari’s wings as he zoomed through the air. She felt her powers intermingle with Jaiyana, and together they sent forth a spell that traveled at lightning speed to the palace. Encircling the castle, the enchantment revealed that the King and Queen had been imprisoned by Roarke, and were held captive in the dungeon.

Bellatrix's heart fluttered through her being. Roarke also knew about the Red Hunter Moon, which would appear in a lunar eclipse in just a few hours. Through the whispers of the spell, Bellatrix heard the following words on the wings of magic:He has been waiting for you. He knows you will come to confront him.

Fengari landed in the woods, at the edge of the castle. Bellatrix looked through the trees and could see the courtyard where she had held her sister’s hands. The last few rays of sun struggled to stay relevant as the ball of fire began to disappear beneath the horizon. Guards were stationed all around Maldinia Castle. Bellatrix never remembered a time when she had seen so many sentinels. It was apparent Roarke was ensuring that no one would ever be able to dethrone him.

“We must find our parents,” declared Bellatrix.

“Why?” replied Jinx. “I mean, I can understand why you would want to rescue the Queen. She is a lovely woman. But the King? Ugh! That man deserves to be locked up. Why would you ever want to free him after what he did to you and your sister? Trying to marry you to a man you did not love. Not giving you your rightful inheritance to the throne. His disrespect towards the refinement of ladies as an attitude of his monarchy? His inability to see that women can rule just as wisely as men. Why save a man like that?”

“You see the wolf in sheep’s clothing, Jinx. Indeed, our father deserves to suffer. But if we were to do that, we would be following in his footsteps. We are going to show him, we are better. And if he does not give us what is ours, then we will take it from him,” replied Bellatrix.

“That’s my princess,” cheered Jinx.

“How are we going to do this?” asked Jaiyana, “There are guards all over the place. We cannot just walk into the castle and demand our parents be released. We have no idea how powerful Roarke is or what tricks he has up his sleeve.”

“Then you will have to shapeshift,”chimed Grün. The twins looked at him perplexed.

“Shapeshifting is one of your powers as witches. By using your magic to change form, you will be able to enter the palace unnoticed.”

Bellatrix looked out at the castle. The sun had been swallowed up by nighttime, and the clouds obscured the moon which was rising. She turned to her twin. “I feel equal to this challenge if you are.”

Jaiyana nodded. Since Fengari had healed her, Bellatrix noticed a change in attitude in the stride of her twin. Jaiyana was happier and more confident. Taking her sister’s hands in her own, she closed her eyes. Feeling her powers rushing around her, the witch princess felt herself begin to shrink. Her legs became thinner, her skin became coarser, her nose elongated, and with a loud pop, a caw escaped from her lips. Her eyes opened and she saw that she and her sister had shape-twisted into ravens!

Bellatrix hopped along the ground and stared at her sister whose new features mirrored her own. They were adorned in glossy coats of black feathers, long narrow wings, and a thick array of plumes that formed a wedge- shaped tail. Her beak was knife sharp, and her plump body moved elegantly on slender legs.

“Impressive!” applauded Grün. “You gentlewomen are talented beyond your years. Go to your parents. We will stay in the woods, survey the perimeter, and find the most powerful center of magic where you can break the spell.”

With a loud kaa! The twins took flight. With their wings catching strong currents of air, the princesses felt as if they had been flying their entire lives. The ravens soared through open windows and sailed down various corridors to the first floor. At the end of one hallway, beyond the throne room, were two solid oak doors that led to the dungeon. A burly guard was exiting, and the twins slipped through. They flew down a spiral stone staircase until they reached the underground prison. A long hall of cells decorated with bars greeted their eyes. It was dreary, cold, dark and damp inside those walls, and the atmosphere dripped in misery and grief.

Bellatrix looked into her soul and called forth her true form. Her body elongated, feathers solidified into skin, and her beak once again became her mouth and nose. With a final pop, she had returned to human form. She looked at her hands in amazement, then turned to her twin who shared the same expression. With every day that passed, they were becoming more attune with their magic, and they were growing stronger.

Urgency in every step, the twins hurried down the hall, inspecting the cell openings in hope of finding their parents. The dungeon was barren, and it seemed that Roarke had not imprisoned anyone in a long time. At the end of the corridor there was the sound of movement in one of the small antechambers. Peering into the opening revealed their mother. The Queen of Maldinia appeared to be a trifle thinner, but healthy nonetheless for her suffering.

With a blanket wrapped around her, the Queen sat in a dingy old chair. Her hair was long and reached down to her waist. The once dark color was now tinged with white. She looked tired and frail.

“Mother,” hissed Jaiyana. “Mother!”

Her majesty looked up and her hands flew to her mouth as a gasp escaped her lips. “My children! Is that really you? Do not tell me the solitude of this prison is playing on my mind?”

She rushed over to the bars that held her captive. Reaching through the iron spindles, she grasped the princesses’ hands and touched their faces. “How beautiful you both have become, my dears! You are at last the true royal heiresses I knew you would always be. Jaiyana, where is your staff?”

Jaiyana flashed her mother a wide smile and beamed. “I no longer need it, Mother! I am cured!”

Tears filled the Queen’s eyes. “Bless you both. How did you two get in here? Please say you have not agreed to Roarke’s demands?”

“We have not! We shaped-shifted into ravens and flew in,” whispered Bellatrix. Then looking at her mother’s perplexed expression, she continued. “We are witches, Mother! We have been given the power of magic thanks to your wishes of protection that were heard by the Good Witches of the Woods.”

Putting her hands together and sniffling back a sob, the Queen flashed a small smile, “Ay, my hopes and requests have been heard. Thank the Forces of Magic for those beautiful Good Witches! I knew they would not leave you unprotected.”

The twins quickly launched into a retelling of what they had been doing for the past year and informed their mother about what was to come.

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