Katrina was beginning to get impatient; she was already beginning to think that Maggie the soothsayer wasn’t all that people speak of her to be, she’d been holding her hand for a good number of minutes now, Maggie had her eyes shut, but still, nothing had yet come out of her mouth.
“What’s happening?” Katrina whispered for the hundredth time.
“Shhhh… Patience,” Madeline answered, the same answer she’d been giving Katrina for still, the hundredth time.
After waiting for a few more minutes with no end result, Katrina was about to release her hands and stand up in frustration, but luckily, Maggie had already started speaking, not in the usual voice she spoke, but in a more robotic manner, her eyes opened, shining bright like diamonds, but Maggie didn’t blink nor turn them, she just stared straight into the empty space in front of her, as she spoke the words out…
“The woman you speak of, the woman you accuse has done nothing wrong, she has the purest of hearts, but still, a bit of what you said turned out to be correct; she did trap your alpha, but she trapped him with a force, a force that you or anyone else can never fight, a force that can never be broken.”
“Ha! I knew I was right! But Miranda is not pure-hearted in any way, she’s an evil snake that needs to be brought down and put where she belongs. You are also wrong about the fact that the force she uses on Damian cannot be fought! I will fight till my last breath as long as the man I love is involved.”
“Miranda… has trapped the heart of the man you love with nothing other than love; you cannot fight love Katrina.”
“Wait… What? You mean to tell me that Miranda is in love with Damian? And he’s in love with her too???” She shrieked. “That’s even worse than her being a witch! How dare she!!! How dare she do something so evil under the pretense of being in love???”
The soothsayer continued, ignoring Katrina’s words like she never heard them, “the only one evil here is you Katrina, and you’d better stay out of that union if you truly wish yourself a happy ending! You have a bright future, but your path and that of alpha Damian’s’ just do not go in the same direction…”
“That’s a lie! That’s a very big lie! Just who do you think you are to tell me that Damian and I can’t be together? After all I’ve done for him??? You’re nothing but a filthy old widow who’s gotten what you deserve, it’s no wonder your husband left you…”
“If you truly want happiness for yourself and that of your alpha, you’ll stay out of that union.”
Katrina had had enough! Snatching her hands away from Maggie so she snapped out of the trance. Maggie’s eyes fluttered open as her mind travelled back to reality, she saw Katrina sitting there in front of her, her face a pure mask of rage.
“W-what happened?” She asked her.
“I’ll tell you what happened, I travelled many miles, leaving my pack and risking my life to come here, all because of the man I love, all because I wanted to find famous “Maggie the soothsayer” and seek council from her using her gifts, and what do I get? … A fraud throwing a bunch of lies at my face, you are truly the worst, Maggie!”
“Katrina…”
“Enough!” She got up. “Coming here to find you was a mistake. Sitting through this whole session… has been nothing but a mistake!”
The next sound that was heard was that of Maggie’s front door being slammed so loudly. This was why… this was why she preferred not to use her gifts for anyone in years, this was why she preferred to run away from home to her lover instead of remaining to leverage on her powers with silver territory, all of this was why…
***********
Such closure, such intimacy, Miranda has ever been like this with anyone before. But yet, it feels if she’s known him forever, it feels as if they didn’t just get married a week ago, like they’ve known each other all their lives. It all seems too good to be true, too good.
Damian was asleep now, and she was right beside him, right in his arms. He’d taken off his shirt, now more comfortable in his skin being around her since their conversation, he’s let her into parts of his life that no one else has been, and she wants to remain here… forever.
But some part of her heart still tugs whenever she remembers what she thought of this man a few weeks ago. It all seems so hard to believe. Her face etched with worry then, what if? What if this was all just temporary? What if he’s just doing all this for…
“Is something bothering you?” She didn’t notice that he’d been staring at her since, he’d seen all of the concern and worry written all over her face.
“It’s ok Miranda,” he said. “You can tell me anything.”
Could she? Could she really tell him anything? Even the things she once thought of him in her heart? The things people had told her about him? Only one way to find out…
“Damian, there’s something I’ve been meaning to get off my chest….”
“What’s that?”
Sighs, thinking of where to begin, “on the day of our wedding, my former betrothed came here.”
“Yes, I am aware of the fact that you told him you’d proceeding with your marriage with me.”
“Apart from the fact that he tried to convince me, he also told me something else…”
“What?”
“About the letter you sent to him to confirm my identity, he told me that instead of that letter, you sent assassins to kill him.”
“That’s what he told you?”
Miranda nodded, “yes.”
At her answer, Damian let out a small laugh. “Then why?”
The question puzzled Miranda, “I don’t understand what you’re asking.”
“Why are you asking me to confirm whether it’s true or not? Don’t you know the answer yourself? Or do you really think that of me? Do you really think I’m that heartless? And if it were true…, Why didn’t you just scurry off to get married him instead? Huh?”
Now realizing this whole getting stuff off her chest was a mistake, now realizing the words didn’t come out the way they were supposed to, she had to say something so she wouldn’t mess things up with her own hands.
“Damian, I’m sorry, I shouldn’t have even said that…”
“No… it’s alright, you should.”
“No, Damian….”
Too late. “Save it Miranda. You know what? I appreciate you for speaking out your mind, now I know that this was all a fake, you don’t trust me, and it’s ok if you don’t. I’m the one who made the mistake here, I’m the one who caused all these things to happen…”
“Damian… please stop saying that…”
“Thank you for being honest at the very least. if you didn’t want to go through with this marriage you should have said so, you should have cleared your doubts before you got married to a monster!”
“Damian… please… stop being like this…”
He didn’t answer, instead, he let go of her touch and got up from the bed, throwing on a shirt before leaving her all alone in the bedroom.
Way to go Miranda. Way to go.