The Fae Princess' Hidden Fate

13.

I could still hear the dull buzzing in my ear for several hours afterwards. The pounding had subsided, and now it was nothing more than a faint echoing at the back of my head.

Sebastian still hadn't woken up. We were now in the infirmary, where Regan had tended to the cut near my hairline, which was rather unnecessary since I could heal in a couple of hours, and he was now looking at Sebastian's wounds. He kept trying to ask me what exactly happened, but I couldn't even bring myself to answer him.

All I could think of was the image of Sebastian kneeling in the woods and begging at the feet of someone. The image stayed with me, and I didn't know how to shake it off. It was as if the memory had latched itself onto my mind, refusing to let go. No matter how much I tried to pretend everything was fine, I knew it wasn't.

Sebastian was under a spell. And even though we didn't know what it was or how strong it was, I could feel it's powerful grip on his mind. It was like the claw of a wild animal which had grabbed onto its prey and wasn't about to let go.

How didn't I notice this sooner? How was I blind after all this time of him being around me that I didn't notice someone had put a spell on him? Perhaps it had something to do with the fact that I didn't really know him before, so there was nothing to judge his behaviours on. Whatever I saw him doing initially would be the norm for me, and perhaps that was why none of us had noticed it before.

Now the big question was who exactly had put a spell on him, why would they put a spell on him, but most importantly, what was the spell for?

Surely it couldn't be to remove his memories. What purpose would that serve after all? And it wasn't to give him and supernatural abilities, because he hadn't shown anything out of the ordinary since the day Abigail and I found him in the forest. Based on what I had heard and read about humans, Sebastian was just like the rest of them. He wasn't any different, so what exactly was the spell for?

"Regan?"

"Yes, Your Highness?" he replied, looking up from the stitching he was carrying out on Sebastian's forehead.

"Do you know anything about spells?" I asked, staring at him curiously. I figured that if anyone would know anything about spells and how they affected people negatively, it would be Reggie. His entire job was fixing people up after all. Surely if there was anyone who could help me with my ordeal, it would be him.

"Well, of course I do," he said. "Is there a specific type of spell you are interested in knowing about?"

"Not particularly," I replied. "I'm just curious on what kind of spells exist. I've heard that there are different types of spells, and I just wanted to know all about them."

He straightened up slowly, narrowing his eyes as he thought hard. I could imagine that he was trying to figure out whether he could tell me everything, or there were some things that he could choose to hide from me. Maybe there were some types of spells which father told him not to tell me about.

"No lies, Reggie," I said. "I want to know the whole truth, and nothing but the truth."

"W-well, it's kind of difficult, Your Highness," he paused, then continued. "There are some spells which I am not at liberty to discuss with you. I'm afraid it's a little complex, and you need to have a deeper understanding of the laws of magic before you will be allowed to know about some spells."

"What kind of spells are you talking about?" I asked.

"I'm talking about evil spells," he said. "Black magic, blood magic and the sort. They are not to be discussed openly. Even talking about them could spell doom for the person."

That sounded like the kind of spell Sebastian was under. No one would go through the trouble of putting a spell on him if it wasn't going to be a strong one. Surely they would use the most powerful type of magic they could manage. And that was exactly what I was afraid of.

"Could you tell me a little about it?" I asked. "Just enough for me to know what it's all about."

"Princess, if you suspect that black magic has been used anywhere or by anyone, you are supposed to report it to His majesty the king at once," he said in a panicked state. "It is a very dangerous thing. He should be the one to handle matters of black magic, otherwise I cannot be able to intervene."

This was impossible; his cryptic tone was beginning to get on my nerves. Why couldn't he just tell me what I needed to know? The way he kept avoiding it meant that there was something serious going on; something which he didn't want me knowing about. And just as I had suspected, my father had something to do with it. I needed to speak to him about it, but not after what had just happened. It would be too much, and I would end up making him more worried than he already was. The safest option was for me to try and get the information on my own.

"So you're not going to tell me what I need to know?" I asked, feigning anger. Reggie had always been susceptible to my anger, and he was never able to fully deal with it. He fear anything that would make me angry, and I was not ashamed to admit that sometimes, I this to my own benefit. It wasn't exactly trickery; just a subtle form of manipulation.

"I'm afraid I can't do that, Princess," he said. "It would be against the king's wish, and I would be breaking his orders."

"But he doesn't have to find out," I insisted. "Or do you always tell him every single thing we've discussed?"

"Of course not," he said quickly, enraged that I would even suggest something like that. "I have never betrayed your trust. Never before, and I am not about to start now."

"Why do I get the feeling that you're lying to me?" I asked in a soft voice, knowing that would soften him up even more.

"I'm not lying to you," he said. "Layla, you and I are too close for me to betray you like that."

"If you were really my friend, then you wouldn't hesitate to tell me what I need to know," I said. "If we were really friends, you wouldn't have to feel the need to tell my father everything."

"But Layla..."

"It's a matter of life and death, Reggie," I said. "Don't you want to save his life? Do you want him to die?"

I gestured toward Sebastian who was lying before him, and that seemed to finally persuade him. He looked back up at me, and he had a serious look in his eyes as he said, "You did not hear any of this from me. Do you understand? None of what I'm about to tell you is information you got from me. Are we clear?"

"Crystal clear," I replied.

He sighed before he began, "There are two primary types of magic. Each one is a distinct type of magic, as I'm sure you know already. On one hand, we have light magic. This is the magic of the faes, and as you know, it is meant to create and enhance life. Light magic is nothing but pure energy, and it is used to maintain the balance of nature. All faes possess a little bit of light magic in them, and they are able to share it with nature so that they can influence life around them. It is this light magic which manifests in all of us, giving you the green tint of your skin as a sign that you are more connected to nature than other creatures."

I glanced briefly at my hand, comparing how different it was to Sebastian's hand which was a little bit pink in the light. I had never given much thought to the colour of my skin, but ever since Sebastian came, the difference had been more pronounced. Sometimes, I chose to ignore it. But I had never realised that it was meant to be a sign of me being tied to nature.

"Now, for every good force in nature, there must be an equal opposite," Reggie continued, dropping his voice as he began to whisper. Curious as I was, I leaned even closer to know what he was about to say. When he continued, I was hooked on every single word he was saying.

"Black magic is an entirely different kind of magic. It is cruel, deceptive and unforgiving. Only the foulest souls would descend so low as to use it, no matter the cost. It is cursed magic, and it is born from a fae giving their life force so they can tap into this magic. Everyone who has ever gotten a taste of it has ended up intoxicated, and they were never themselves afterwards. It corrupts the soul, and you will never be the same after you get a feel of it. Black magic gives you the ability to control people, and perform spells on them which light magic simply cannot perform."

"What kind of spells?" I asked.

"Bringing back people from the dead," he whispered, looking around the room in the infirmary as though someone would find us. "Fire magic. Enslavement. Torture. Killing. Black magic is limitless. It is not bound by the same laws as the other type of magic. As long as one is able to control it, they can use it to do whatever they wish. Unlike light magic which is used to create and enhance, black magic is used to destroy and ruin."

His face turned grim as he spoke, and I could have sworn that the infirmary became just a bit colder as he told me all those things. I hadn't imagined black magic would be this terrible, or the true extent of chaos and destruction it could bring. If Sebastian was under a spell such as this, then that would explain a lot. It would definitely explain why he didn't remember much about his past. Maybe the person who put the spell on him did not want him to be able to tap into his old memories, but I just couldn't figure out why they would do this. Who was this person anyway? And what could they possibly want with him?

I reached out slowly and took his hand in mine. He was warm to the touch, and I found that quite appealing. He reminded me of the warm and cozy sensation I felt when I wrapped up myself and got ready for bed during the winter. While the snow fell outside, I would be lying in my room and watching the fire in the grate.

The crackling sound of the wood as it splintered was one of my favourite sounds, and Sebastian somehow reminded me of just that. He reminded me of warmth and peace, like the calm before the storm.

How was I ever going to tackle this now? I had a lot more on my plate than I had bargained for, and I would obviously have to pay the price for it. But for him, I was certain that I would do it. We may not know each other that well, but that connection I felt between us was strong. I knew him, perhaps in a way which he didn't even know himself. The thought of getting this close to someone should have terrified me, but it didn't.

This was Sebastian, of all people. A mistake had brought us together, and fate had sealed both our lives together forever. If he couldn't help himself, then I would do whatever it took to help him. After all, I knew exactly what would happen if I chose not to help him. The ringing from the most recent explosion was still in my ear.

"Don't worry," I whispered to him softly in his sleep. "I will get you out of this."