Hansel & Gretel-The Twin Demon Hunters

Chapter 13

The morning came bright and clear streaming in through the windows of all the huts and the thatched roofs and a few solid buildings in the small town near the church which had been abandoned since quite some time. But this dawn did not start as it was expected by the inhabitants of this village the night earlier, nor was the scene that was in front of them. All the animals which were domesticated for various purposes like hens, chickens , sheep and goats, all were lying dead on the ground in their sheds and the women were shrieking and crying out in fear from the different corners in different pitches but in total what they were trying to say was same. They had been smite upon by God, this was a curse or how could something like this happen to them when they had done nothing at all. But none of them knew that this was only the beginning.

But the one who was the root cause of this misery was absolutely oblivious to the fact that her magic had gone haywire leading to things which should not have happened and allowing the rise of creatures from the womb darkness which were not created for this realm. Gwendolyn had given up too much of her strength in order to keep the magic alive the previous night at the witching hour but the spell would not be complete until she finished the incantation with all those who were supposed to be included in the ritual and she needed quite some help for that. But at this moment when the villages nearest to the castle were clamouring for the death of their cattle the Queen was sleeping peacefully in her chambers. This was the darkest corner of the castle where the light of the sun did not come before it was late in the afternoon.

The darkness in the heart of the castle was something that the Queen had craved since the moment she had entered this castle. There were a lot of people who did things which were unspeakable crimes, and they could not be washed off in a hundred lifetimes and then there were those who were the victims of those crimes and they were born in the womb of sin, darkness and debauchery in order to grow up with the vines of darkness and impurity clinging to their bodies just like a second skin. Gwendolyn was not supposed to be born, neither was she supposed to come to earth but she did even after facing the odds that were impossible and insurmountable. People were supposed to sell their souls to the Devil, make a deal with him for a lot of things like eternal youth, fame and so many things which were so immaterial but her mother made a deal with Him so that her child would be born safely and healthy from her dying body. But as the say that there was always a catch. Her mother did not know that the soul of the child until he or she was born was inexplicably linked to that of the mother’s. When Gwendolyn’s mother signed up for eternal damnation she forgot that she had pawned off the soul of her innocent babe as well.

The King of Hell was inordinately pleased with the deal that he had been able to make and he had lauded the soul broker with huge riches in the second realm of hell who had brought him the deal in the first place. It was not every day that a mother sacrificed her soul for that of her child and allowing him to have control over such innocence. The moment she had gone into labour her soul had extinguished like there had been almost nothing. The Devil was stunned for a moment since that should not have been possible, but then it came to him suddenly that the woman had tricked him into giving in to a deal which was based on the tenet of sacrifice itself. And since she had sacrificed herself for the sake of the life her babe she had been instantly taken to heaven by the angels. The Devil had called upon one of his demonesses to deliver the child and Gwendolyn had been born coming out crying from the womb of her dead mother.

She had been taken care off by that demoness until puberty when she had signed her name in the Book of the Witches giving the Devil claim over her soul willingly. The demoness had been very kind to her and she had taught her everything that she had needed to know about the dark arts and all that power which she needed in order to entice men and trap them in her web just like a spider. Gwendolyn had never even known that there was something odd about the women who was raising her because that was all she had all known since birth. It was only when she was a bit older that she started going to the village and the markets with her mother, whom she knew as mother that everyone looked at her with scorn in their eyes. They were either angry with her or scared off her and she had no idea why until one night when she was seven years old that she had asked the demoness about what was wrong with her and she had known that she was special. She had come to know the conditions of her birth, the sacrifice that her mother had done for her and how the Dark Lord himself had taken care of her upbringing and had stood by her side since the moment of her cry.

Gwendolyn woke up with these thoughts cluttering her mind quite late in the day and asked her maid Sophie to bring out her bath water and keep the heat minimum and also prepare all her best bathing salts for she needed to get ready for the feast tonight. Sophie smiled and nodded at the command of her mistress and went to follow her instructions.

There were a lot of chemicals that she had cooked up for herself in order to keep her prepared for the night but she still could not forget the cold touch of hands of the children in the vault. Among all the dark arts, divination was the only thing which did not, rather could not be learnt by any process or reading texts or practice. It was a gift, foresight was a gift which she had been deprived off but then again she knew all by herself that she had gained a lot more in return from the Dark Lord himself. If she had been able to see the future, even the near future then she would have abandoned all the procedures she was following long back in order to accept the light in her life. But there was no turning path from the road you were walking on.

Once the water for bath was ready Gwendolyn she poured in the fragrance oils and the salts and allowed them to soak in the water for a bit before she stepped in it. She was still in the bath when her maid announced the arrival of the King. In respect and matters of courtesy Gwendolyn should have dried up as soon as possible and then come out in order to greet the King and then tend to his needs, however Gwendolyn was not most of the Queens and her relationship with the King was definitely not normal at all.

The King stepped in the room and walked to the area where she was soaking in the bath. The perfume of lavender and cinnamon wafted out from the bath water through the steam. The King separated the curtain as he entered the shower area and looked at Gwendolyn lying there with nothing but a smile on her face.

“My King, I was certainly not expecting you in my chambers so early in the morning,” said the Queen as she turned towards her husband.

The King knelt down on the soft carpet beside the tub and took hold of her wet hand and said,” It is really difficult to control my desires when you entice me in manners like this Gwen. This is not becoming of you at all.”

“Well it was not becoming of me to do all the things that I have been doing since that crown was placed on my head. The things which should never be done by any Queen but would you be happy with that my King? Would you be glad if I did not allow you to do anything you wanted to do to me? Would you have been happy if you were not permitted to use me and let others use me like the w***e I am? But since you do I am not going to change myself on any counts Master, because I know that I am exactly what you need. SO why don’t you drop your clothes and join me in the bath?” prompted Gwendolyn as she softly placed her lips on his face, in the vicinity of his lips but never actually touching his lips.

“I would love to do that my Queen but you know what day it is and just like you I also have to prepare for the feast and that means not only doing this to my own body but also a lot of other matters. And I am sure that the food, decorations, wine will be up to the mark? After all that is the sole duty of the Queen to take care of that in her time,” said the King as he kissed Gwendolyn softly on her lips.

“Of course my King. It will be all seen to and everything is taken care of and so are our guests. I have made sure that they are ready for the feast and the celebration of the after-festivities tonight. They should be prepped and ready for all that is going to happen then at your behest and command. Will that be all Master?” asked Gwendolyn as a good wife should ask.

Gwendolyn was not ready to call the King her Master since she had only one Master in her life and that was the Dark Lord but the Devil had explained it to her that there was nothing wrong with a slight deception that she would be doing with e King. After all she would be just saying a word that did not mean that she would be actually meaning it in her life and following everything according to his wishes. The wishes of her true master were the only thing that she needed to follow and she was definitely playing her part with such conviction that the Dark Lord was most pleased.

“Well when I have you by my side then what is more that I could ask for? I know that I am behaving like a teenage child but trust me when I say this that everything seems much brighter and colourful when you are with me and when you are not beside me I keep on yearning for the time when we are going to be together,”said the King as he looked in her eyes with admiration and affection in them.

Gwendolyn smiled back at the sincerity in his voice and said,” My King every time I am away from you my heart swells up with sorrow just to catch a glimpse of you but I know my place is beside you and you have duties to take care of which are far more important than me and I am never going to keep you away from your kingdom.”

The King smiled and they kissed passionately once more.