Sasha was not fully awake. She knew that if she just got a little bit closer to the surface, the pain would stroke her. And she didn’t want that, she didn’t want to examine what happened to her head. She didn’t want to know where she was. Still, she recognised that the texture underneath her was soft as a bed, and the light in the room far too dim for her to still be in the winter garden. And as of until just recently, the room had felt empty.

“Sasha you better wake.”

The voice felt familiar. Sasha did her best to be kept in the dark, but the familiarity off it pulled her eyelids up.

“Elias?”

“I don’t have much time, and you will probably hate me for this, but I can explain.”

“Explain what?”

“This.”

Elias put his hand over her chest, and he pulled, he pulled with such force that Sasha felt the magic leaving her, like a thunderstorm on a dry summer night. His hands was the desert and her soul was like water. His white hair stood out like an electrified kitten, the yellow eyes shining bright.

“No!” she shrieked. She could feel it, how the very essence of her magic was leaving her body. She couldn’t fathom it. What she had done to him, it was nothing compared to this. That was not just an orb, this, it was all of her.

“Oh yes Sasha, and you better stop protesting. You are making this take far too much time.”

His hands caressed her, the warmth of them singing her a lullaby. Sasha panicked. She fought him with all that she had, the thought of losing the orb, of losing exactly everything, to him, totally terrifying.

“You shouldn’t have fought me”, he whispered and suddenly dropped her. She saw him turning around, his yellow eyes fixated at something in the doorway, or rather someone.

“Good day father”, Elias said.

“Wouldn’t have thought I would find you up here?”

“Curiosity killed the cat”, Elias answered.

Sasha felt the darkness surrounding her again, and she wished she had been able to stay conscious, to defend herself, but he had drained her, and she had fallen into pieces.

“Please”, was all she could say and as the darkness took her.

The next few days nothing happened. Each time she woke up there was a maid there to care for her. She never saw Elias again, and if it wasn’t for the empty feeling inside her and the weak, almost no existing answer she got when she called out her magic, she would have thought it was just a bad dream. But it was not a dream, and she knew better. She wished she had never played with the yellow kitten. She hadn’t been this weak since she was five.

“Where am I?”

“I”, the maid stuttered. “I wish you weren’t here madam. You are such a nice lady.”

“And where is here?”

The lady put up a whole plate of cookies in front of her.

“You need to eat some. You look fare too pale.”

She sat up in the bed, looking at the plate at the table by the window. The room was cosy, which didn’t hinder it from being a prison cell.

“How long will I have to stay here?”

“You better eat those cockies. The madam wants you to join the dinner.”

“The madam?”

The maid looked down at the floor.

“Just, you know, eat and dress.”

It was not the same maid coming picking her up to dinner. This one was older, and she didn’t say anything. She just opened the door and went down the stairs, not waiting for Sasha to join, but assuming she would follow. And where would she go? There was just one way from her cell, and since she was still a far too curious cat, she followed suit.

The room outside was large, and lit by grand chandeliers, sprinkling the room with rainbows. In the middle, there was a table, big enough for at least fifty people, and covered in one large black table cloth. On it, there were white lily’s, but no porcelain.

“She looks like a dead bird”, a woman said and Sasha turned around.

From behind her, a lady entered the room. She had three men following her suit and effectively blocking the door. Elias may have drained her from magic, but she still could fight. And she would fight, cause the woman in front of her where eerier familiar.

The light hair, the eyes the colour of a summer sky, the fine bone structure and the almost white skin, it was almost as if Ivy had stood in the room, just a slightly older version. And a version with a gleam in her eyes that Sasha never had seen in Ivys eyes.

“Aiden betrayed me”, Sasha said.

“I pay him a hefty sum for you, might have gotten you cheaper.”

Sasha looked around in the room, her ears listening to the small sounds.

“Sure you could, my queen”, Sasha said and bowed in the woman’s direction.

The queen stepped forward. She hold out her hand for Sasha to kiss.

That’s when Sasha rushed forward. She ducked behind the queen’s skirt and sprinted towards the door. She had her hand on the knob when she felt one of the men grasp her by her shoulder. She pushed backward and put her fingers in his eyes. One had to be fast and one has to be mean. Isaak had learned her that.

He yelled out loud, the sound bouncing in the room. Sasha pushed the door full open. She had not gotten more than a few steps outside when she felt the other one catching up, ramming with full force in her and pressing her body up against the wall.

“I will not hesitate”, the man said, holding a rough grip around her neck.

“I believe you”, she said “feel good doesn’t it. I suppose you know what happens to witches in the palace, don’t you?”

The man’s gaze flickered, but the grip didn’t loosen. He threw her back into the room, landing her into the arms of the other guard.

“She’s all yours”, he said.

“Bitch”, he answered and he punched her hard in the face.

Sasha gritted her teeth and bit back the scream that threatened to escape from her throat. She was not like her sister, she was not weak. There was no way she would end up the king’s toy. The man she had stuck her fingers into were holding her tight, and her odds had looked better.

“Keep her still”, the queen said and put her hands on her arms.

A chilling feeling went from Sasha’s spine down to her feet’s. The queen had magic in her hands, more than anyone Sasha had ever met before. It was wild and untamed, and it was not the good kind. It was magic that was fighting against itself, and she used it to draw out the essence of Sasha’s witchcraft.

“You’re a weak one. I would assume the daughter of Ella to be a bit stronger. I really paid a too high price”, the queen said.

“I’m more than happy to spare you my presence milady”, Sasha countered.

She wanted to take away that awful smile from the queen’s face. From her mother’s face.

“You are such a tiny bit it’s not worth sharing.”

The queen put one hand around her chin, squeezing hard, making marks with her nails. She instructed the man to keep Sasha still.

“This will hurt a bit dear”, she said, “but after the pain the bliss would be total, and your memory just a shattered bunch of fragments. You will gladly be my maid sweetheart. Actually, I do think I have use of you somewhere else, somewhere really fitting.”

The queen started to drag magic out of her, the same way as Elias had just days before, but this one hurt more. It was also easier to resist.

“I will break your mind”, Sasha tried to force out the words between sealed lips, but the woman’s hand in her face made the sound muffled. She gathered her force, refusing the queen to take the last part of her, the core of who she was. A witch, the raven witch, the hope of the people.

Faint sounds from outside the door made her quiver. Someone was coming up the stairs, and she didn’t think it was a maid. The step was too purposefully, too loud. She could fight the queen, but she wouldn’t stand a chance against the king.

“Mother. I didn’t think you would start without me?”

“Elias dear. She is just a small mouse, not more than an appetiser. Not worth the trouble.”

“I don´t mind watching. You did say it would be quite the show?”

The queens face reddened and she loosened some of her grip on Sasha. Sasha didn’t lose the opportunity. She bent forward with full force and knocked the queen’s head. It took some of the hurt away from her head, and she heard the lovely scream from the mother from hell.

Elias grabbed her before she had the time to move. The small window of escape was closed.

“I can rearrange her other eye?” the big mean guy from before offered.

“Oh, that would not be necessary, believe me”, Elias said “the queen will most certainly let her feel pain. Now, if you don´t mind, since I am here you are…” He paused and fixated them with an unwavering eye, “unnecessary.”

The two guys looked at the queen, but she just nodded.

“Wait outside the door”, Elias said to the men. “I´ve will not underestimate this lady.”

“Lady? You are a spoiled brat”, the queen said and looked Sasha up and down “no lady would ever use brute force, especially not a witch. I would have thought Ella to raise you better than that.”

“You have a way of dropping the bombs mother.”

“As if you didn’t know” she sneered.

“Maybe I did, maybe not. Still, I might have feelings, mother.” Elias stiffened behind Sasha’s back. His grip around her tightened and she leaned into him. Anything was better than the maniac in front of her.

“She’s Ella’s daughter.” The queen said, stating the obvious.

“Oh, so she is”, Elias said. “And what will you do about that?”

Sasha already knew what she wanted to do, and she was not eager in participating. Her odds were pretty bad, and if she didn’t bargain with Elias she had nothing.

“I thought of serving her to you. Some kind of fairness for what that woman took away from you, but with closer inspection she is really not much of a feast. Keep her still, would you?”

“Of course mother”, Elias answered.

Her last option closed, Elias would not bargain, he held her far too tight for that. This time there was nowhere to run. The queen put her hands around her face, and she squeezed, the nails making imprints in her already bruised skin.

If it had been soothing when Elias took her power, the queens dealt her pure pain. The agony when the force unwillingly let go of her body, transferred down to her stomach and was torn out of her body was insane. She screamed. By all means, she cried like a baby, but nothing could stop it, the wall behind her was a statue of coldness.

Gone was her gift of knowing which plants that held magic, gone was her ability to take the magic by force, and soon, she saw it crawling out of her like a big giant black snake, the orb that she had stolen, the magic that was pure Elias. Gone, everything would be wasted.

“Stop mother!”

“Stop? Nah, are you having second thoughts? Being weak are we?” The queens stopped and her eyes narrowed as she looked with surprise over Sasha’s shoulder. “Are you having feelings for the girl or do you just want to finish her up?”

“Always the lovely one, aren’t you? You think I am weak, mother?”

“I´ve taught you to be strong son.”

Sasha took the orb back inside her. She built her defence. This was beyond risky, but what did she have to lose? The queen might think she just have won, but Sasha had one surprise left, a magic so black it would destroy even the queen, if she took anything more, she would serve her it first-hand. Guess who would be laughing then?

“You taught me well mother, it just, you know, since I have a soft spot for you, I thought you should know.”

“Know what?” the queen snapped. She started to draw in Sasha´s magic again, obviously lacking patience and started to get irritated.

Sasha eagerly waited.

“Well, she is really not Ella’s daughter. She’s yours.”

Sasha screamed. She kicked, not that it did any difference. She was just too weak.

“You are lying!” The queen let go of her and took a step back. She looked at Sasha, shaking her head. “She can’t be.”

“It hurt? Didn’t it?” Elias said, and he chuckled. “Take Ivy up here, do ask her, if you don’t believe me, but really mother, I thought you should know. That you were cleverer than this.”

The queen looked at Sasha´s black hair, her blue eyes and her tall figure. She marched to the door and opened it briskly.

“I want you to bring Ivy here”, she ordered one of the men. “And you better ask her nicely.”

Elias gently pulled Sasha towards a chair. He squeezed her shoulders and manoeuvred her to sit.

“I will get the orb back, and I will help you. Just bear with me some more”, he whispered. “I will take you out of this.”

The small woman coming up from the stairs had a complete different sound than the guard accompanying her. The sound was soft, almost silent, and her pace even, balanced. Sasha would recognise it anywhere. Her sister was like a blackbird, delicate. Still, within her was strength, of a different temper than Sasha’s, but in the end, she had always been the strongest of them.

“You called me?”

She could see her rounding the corner, the exact moment her eyes drifted away from the queens and found hers. And she saw when Ivy recognised the state she was in, the bruises and the weakness. She felt her hope drifting away. They were supposed to would leave together, not stay.

Ivy didn’t say no more. She went forward and dropped by Sasha’s knees, taking her into her arms, hugging her tight.

“What have they done?”

“Nothing that Isaak hasn’t done before”, Sasha whispered for only Ivy to hear, trying to get her sister to laugh, but getting nothing but soft hot tears, wetting her neck.

“Ivy dear, I hate to ask this of you, but whom are you hugging?”

Ivy buried her face even closer into Sasha, and Sasha stroke her sisters back. The queen would get no answer until the tears have gone dry.

“Oh come on, how could you not see it?” Elias interrupted. “Make her larger, taller and fill her up with muscles and big blue eyes. Am I the only one here who is not blind?”

“It’s ok Ivy, they have already done too much”, Sasha said and stroke her hair.

“This is not the time”, Ivy whispered and she hugged her hard, getting closer to her ear. “How is Isaak?”

“He is fine. He’s coming for you.”

“I was afraid of that.”

Ivy let go of Sasha, taking her hands instead, looking into her eyes, seeing things, which no one else could see and new fresh tears entered her eyes.

“Sweetheart, I will let no one hurt you, but I need to hear it. Who is the girl?” The queen cooed her. “How about I bring my best doctor, and we will help your friend, give her some well-earned rest? And send her back to her family?”

“I am her family”, Ivy said, “And she are mine. My only family.”

So the news about Ella had reached the castle. Sasha felt ashamed. She squeezed her sister’s hands hard, looking her straight into her eyes.

“Not your only family sister, you still have our beloved mother”, she spitted out the last word, but she saw the light shine in her sisters eyes, and she knew that the message had hit home.

“I am so, so very sorry Ivy. I didn’t know.” The queen walked slowly forward, as if approaching a prey. “I guess I have more than a little explanation to do to you Sasha.” She sighed. “Ivy, why don’t you go downstairs and asks the maids to prepare another bed in your room?”

Ivy didn’t look at Sasha, she looked at the queen, and she didn’t move an inch.

“I stay, she is my sister.”

“We have had a little misunderstanding, and fixing it will involve some pain I rather you don’t see.”

“She is my sister, her pain is mine.”

The queen disagreed, but she nodded. This time she turned to Elias.

“You didn’t stop me. You knew. How could you?”

“I think you burned your bridges, mother”, Elias countered.

“I guess we are even”, she said. “Keep her still. This will hurt I’m afraid.”

Sasha tried to run, but she was too weak, and the queen took her face in her hands once more. This time the grip from her fingers was gentle, and there was softness to her eyes.

A white light burned up inside of Sasha, when the magic poured out from the queen’s hands and into her body. She screamed, she screamed as she never had before. Then the complete world became black as she passed out in Elias arms.