The Seventh Son

Chapter 3

"Give me my powers back; why can't I fly? I didn't summon you." roared Clarris at the witch. Deep down, she was so terrified and only wondered why her day was turning into a nightmare.

"You woke me up from my millennial old sleep," the witch said, laughing loudly and circling Clarris. "You wept and mourned for seven years over your lover's and best friend's betrayal. For seven years, your tears filled my tomb," the witch added.

Clarris scoffed. The witch was delusional, she thought to herself and demanded she drop her silly games. It was only minutes ago when she ran into the forest, but there in front of her was a hideous witch trying to make her believe that she had been crying for seven years.

"Ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha, Clarrisssssssssssss, You've been crying for seven years, and you've spent seven years in this forest. You've been........... forgotten child."

Clarris took a step back, her anxiety overwhelming her.

"Take a look around... did the cave look like this when you landed?" the witch asked. 

Aside from the blood she was standing in, which seemed to be an illusion, and the heads on the spike, Clarris could see that the cave changed dramatically. There was no opening; overgrown shrubs, twigs, and branches fully sealed the upper part of the cave. But still, she was not convinced. A witch could easily make a cave look untrespassed. 

She began scolding, "No, no, witch, this is your sorcery at work. I demand that you release me right away!" She yelled at the top of her lungs. 

The witch, realizing she was not going to convince her, decided to teleport her to the Ergad Kingdom. With a snap of her fingers, they were teleported into King Jerald's crystal castle, Ergad. 

The witch had made it a point to teleport into King Jerald's private chambers. Clarris grinned in excitement, but her smile was completely wiped out by the sight of Jerald and Rachel making love.

Clarris screamed, "You dumb witch, get me out of this!" 

She thought the witch teleported her to the time when King Jerald and Rachel were sneaking around behind her back, but unknown to her, the act was happening in real-time. Seven years after she ran into the forest,

"This is the present, my girl, seven years after your disappearance," the witch mocked.

"No, no, you're lying, this is your deception," Clarris cried. Deep down, she was slowly getting convinced but was not ready to accept what was in front of her.

The steaming lovemaking of Rachel and King Jerald grew louder. "My king, please slow down. Remember I'm pregnant," Rachel said in between moans.

Clarris looked at the witch in shock. "Please tell me this is an illusion. Tell me this is what will happen if I don't go back." Clarris pleaded.

"Sorry child, this is what's going on right now; they just can't see or hear us," the witch pointed out.

"No no no, how did you do it? I was in this castle a few hours ago, getting ready for my wedding." 

Before the witch could reply, there was a knock on the door, and the pair in bed stopped making love and quickly scrambled for their clothes. "Father, we can't sleep," a child's voice cried out. 

Jerald stood up, walked through Clarris's body, and opened the door. Two handsome boys rushed in and hugged King Jerald. "Father, there is a monster in the window," the youngest one cried out.

"The monster can not pursue you in this fortress," Jerald said while tickling both boys as he raised them and tossed them on the bed. The boys guffawed, and the eldest sat on Rachel's lap.

Clarris could tell the oldest was about seven or six years old. She turned to the witch, who smiled broadly and said, "Yes dear, Rachel was pregnant the day you ran into the forest."

Clarris's tears turned into bitterness, "But how? When?" she cried out. 

The witch snapped her figure and they teleported to the day after she ran into the forest.

King Charles was pleading with King Jerald for more knights. "We need to send more knights into Deadman's forest. She might be alive!" King Charles yelled at the top of his voice.

"I have just lost the strongest assassins to that dumped forest. Nothing has been found of them. And you expect me to risk more men," King Jerald replied.

King Charles became furious and slammed the table, "This is the princess, your wife to be, we are talking about. We should risk everyone's life!" 

He stared at him quietly. He had not slept the entire night and was tired. He needed to get King Charles off his back. "I can spare a few men, but before dark, they will return. No more men should die because of your daughter's recklessness. Darrell was the last shapeshifter we had in all the seven kingdoms. He was like a brother to me. Do you know how valuable his ability was to this kingdom? " King Jerald yelled out.

"A few men?" King Charles asked with sorrow in his eyes. Jerald just looked down without saying a word. 

King Charles left the room furiously. Clarris tried to hold her father's arm but she couldn't touch anything soluble. Her hands passed through King Charles's arm. "Father, I'm here. Please do not be sad," she cried out.

"My child, he cannot hear you," the witch reminded her. Clarris looked at Jerald with hate. The useless man could not even go out and look for her himself. It disgusted her to the core. He pretended to love her for years...

The door opened and Rachel walked into the room. She and Jerald shared a long hug. "She is gone forever, isn't she?" she asked.

"Darrell and his men did not survive. How could they?" he replied.

Rachel was consumed with guilt. She felt her stomach turn and could feel everything in her throat. She ran to her chambers, and Jerald followed behind. Clarris and the witch also followed. 

Rachel went straight into her bathroom and vomited. She came back holding her tummy. "My king, I think I'm with child," she said suddenly.

Jerald's sad face turned into happiness, and he lifted her off her fit. "Are you sure, my love? This is great news. I've been dreaming of this day," he said.

Clarris rushed to where Rachel was standing and tried to grab her, but to no avail. The witch laughed out loud. 

"Very sure, I have been having morning sickness for the past few days," Rachel replied.

"Why didn't you inform me of such good news? This is beautiful news." Jerald asked.

"You were going to marry my best friend," Rachel replied, looking away.

All of a sudden, Clarriss' heart began beating fast again and the room began shaking.

Jerald held on to a terrified Rachel. "What was that?" he asked.

"An earthquake maybe," Rachel replied in a terrified voice.

"Calm down, Clarriss!" the witch yelled at her.

"You said they can't hear me. How come they can feel me?" 

"You are more powerful than you think. You are not just a girl that can fly," the witch hissed.

Clarris remembered the terrible words that Jerald had told her, "You are just a girl that can fly."

Hate built up and the castle began shaking vigorously. "I'm going to bury them in this stupid castle," Clarris yelled out.

"Stupid girl, you are not seeing the bigger picture here?" The witch yelled at her..l 

She glanced at the witch with pain in her eyes.

"Watch them, don't you want to know what happened?" the witch asked.

Clarris calmed herself down and looked at the happy couple embracing each other.

"We have to get married," Jerald whispered in Rachel's ears.

Rachel moved a bit and stared back at King Jerald, "We can't. What will people think of us? What of Clarris?" 

"It's unfortunate, but this is destiny." He knelt down and kissed Rachel's feet. "Clarris and I were not meant to be. She was not worthy to rule Ergad by my side, but you, on the other hand, are perfect."

"My king." Rachel blushed.

"My queen, yes, I know she was your friend, but we can wait for one month, then announce our marriage," he suggested.

Clarris's eyes turned black from the scorching words she just heard. Never did Jerald ever address her by the "My queen" term in all the years they were in courtship.

Seeing this, the witch got all excited. She had intentionally brought Clarris to the point in time to unleash her powers with hate.

"I love you, Rachel. Please make me the happiest man," Jerald said with teary eyes.

Rachel was hesitant. She had just lost her friend. What would people think of her? And they were the only two people that were present when Clarris took off. And if they married, people would probably think they killed Clarris off in order to be together.

"No we can't, Jerald, she was my best friend. What if she is alive?"

Jerald held on to her tightly, "Okay, one year. Let's give her one year." But even if she returns, I will marry you and give you beautiful sons that we will raise in this castle. "

"One year?"

"Yes, my love," he replied.

"I do not know," she replied in a confused voice. Jerald got up and gave her a lot of kisses.

Clarris just stared at them, then turned to the witch and said, "I want them dead."

"You can make them suffer for eternity. King Jerald said you were not worthy to be his queen," the witch suggested.

"Shut up! I heard everything, just shut up!" she said while holding her head.

The witch snapped her fingers and they were teleported to one year after Clarris's disappearance. The castle was full of festival celebrations, and in a corner, Rachel stood in a wedding gown. Upon seeing this, Clarris knelt down on the floor.

The entire castle was in a happy mood; everyone was excited. It was clear that they had moved on and forgotten about her. "How could they all forget me just like that?" Clarris asked. 

A servant walked in with a baby wrapped in her hands and said, "My lady, here you go, he is still crying." Rachel excitedly took the baby and began breastfeeding him.

"I can't watch this. Where is my father? Why did he allow this nonsense to take place?" she asked. The witch snapped her fingers and they were in Arthora. Sitting in front of her was her father, drinking himself to death. The marriage alliance with the Ergad kingdom meant everything to him. Now he had no daughter, nor Ergad.

"Father stop," Clarris knelt before him, "I'm here father, I'm alive," she cried out. "

He can't hear you," the witch reminded her. "And we are running out of time."

"Leave me alone, stupid witch!" "Clarris shouted out.

"If I go, you will forever be stuck in this realm, crying, regretting, and moaning about your lover."

"Come with me if you want to avenge the injustices King Jerald unleashed upon you. It was his father's idea to marry you. He had all the powers to break up this alliance, but he did not. It was his fault that you ran off into the forest. Why should you allow him to live happily ever after? "

What the witch was saying was completely correct. Why should she be mourning over a man that betrayed her? Looking at her father, she was consumed with so much hate. He was not a reflection of the powerful king he used to be and it was all thanks to King Jerald. Why should everyone else suffer except for King Jerald?

Without realizing it, she snapped her fingers and they all teleported back into the cave. This excited the witch, "Yes, I knew it was always within you." 

Clarissa stared at her terrified, "How... was... Am I able to do that?" Clarris stammered. 

"You come from a bloodline of Crescent witches. I'm Creselda, your long-lost aunt. King Jerald's ancestors killed and buried me in this tomb for eternity. Your tears woke me up, my child," the witch said with a grin.

"What... what... Clarris?" stammered Clarris.

"Powers skipped a lot of generations because your stupid forefathers cast a spell to hide your true identities."

"After what had happened to me, You survived Deadman's forest because you are protected by that curse. "

Clarris looked scared and terrified, but deep inside she was excited. With such powers, she was now able to exact her revenge. She was no longer the girl that could fly. She had so much hate for King Jerald and Rachel that she did not care if she was making a deal with the devil.

The witch began circling the cave and the walls began moving. "Clariss, are you ready? You will make them cry for all of eternity. You cried for seven years, but they will cry for eternity. You will demonstrate what it means to be worthless. He will know better not to have made a crescent witch cry...