London, England. 10 years before.
"It's always unpleasant to run into you," Drahceb observed Alice with disgust as he sat across from her. But at that moment, he needed her services. He needed an advantage over his enemies, even though the war had not yet been declared.
The witch Alice Kyteler dressed extravagantly, and a sort of cloak covered most of her jet-black hair. Her desire to appear mysterious and exotic seemed to be fulfilled. The shack that surrounded her showed how she had had to reduce herself to living in the world of humans. Drahceb had found her a few weeks ago, and although his purpose had been to kill her, he decided she would be useful for his mission. So, he spared her life, for a limited time or until he got bored of her.
"I don't really care what you think of me, Alice," he said, settling into the small chair with an elegance he had learned from years with the royalty. "I need you to tell me about my future."
She showed him her teeth, forming a beautiful and fake smile. She abhorred him in all his essence. He represented everything that was wrong in this world, a man with a god complex and enough power to impose it.
"You should know how to do it," she replied.
"It's not exactly my gift."
"And it's not mine either, I'm a witch, not a damn crystal ball."
Drahceb rolled his eyes to the back of his head. Even that simple gesture, he had made with a grace that Alice envied.
"You must learn to watch your words with me, witch," he spat irritably.
Alice knew that rumors about the prince's personality had never been characterized by his mercy and patience. Even good tongues claimed that he was a wicked and cruel being, especially with those of his kind. The covens. However, Alice was aware that her powers were now a necessary evil for him. Although nothing would stop him from killing her after their little encounter. And she really didn't like the idea of dying on a rainy Friday at the hands of a spoiled prince.
"Before we start, I need you to make the Veritas oath for me. I want to make sure you pay and that I won't end up dead after this."
Drahceb slowly lifted his gaze, aware of his attractive charm. His eyes were as clear as the light of a lighthouse during a dark night, his profile slender and elongated with a bearing worthy of a king, the muscles of that exhaustive training carried out by his kind, timidly peeking out from under his shirt's fabric. He brought his hand to the bridge of his thin nose, showing a bit of offense.
"Really, Alice? Do you need to make the Veritas to someone from the royal family?"
"Especially someone from royalty, they tend to be the best liars."
The woman's Irish accent had not disappeared over time. She had an unusually tempting beauty, of course, she was a witch, thought Drahceb. Her nature was based on temptation. But she was not the kind of woman who attracted him.
She rearranged the gadgets scattered on the table, using them to earn a few pounds by deceiving humans who were stupid enough to believe in divination. However, she knew that Drahceb could distinguish the toys she had in front of real magic.
She had not lied when she said that divination was not her gift, but her mother had taught her to read the future by taking a person's pulse. It took a lot of concentration and effort to achieve it, but she wanted to finish quickly with her unwanted guest and maybe earn a few gold coins in the process.
"I need you to concentrate, little prince," anger flooded Drahceb's eyes as quickly as a flame ignites gasoline, he hated being called that and she knew it. "Give me your hands."
He did so reluctantly, rolling up his black shirt sleeves and placing his scarred arms on the small mahogany table that separated them. Some scars were older than others, as Alice could see, and some were larger, leaving a long trace on his young skin. However, something told her that he had obtained them all in the same way.
"Look into my eyes," Alice pushed her hair away from her delicate face, blowing it gently with her lips. "I need you to be prepared and not resist."
A playful and casual smile began to form on Alice's face, she was going to enjoy his pain.
"As you wish, witch. I really don't have all day."
"And please shut up," she grumbled with her teeth. "I have enough years to know that you are nothing more than a presumptuous prince with puppy teeth."
The rain beat rapidly against the window a few steps away from where they were, London was cold, dark, and somber like the prince's heart. Drahceb closed his eyes, trying to concentrate only on the sound of the water tapping against the glass. But Alice's voice broke into his mind once again.
"Before we begin," Alice said. "The Veritas."
"I'm ready," replied the prince.
Sometimes his attitude seemed so indifferent, as if he was playing cards on a boring Sunday afternoon, different from other occasions when his passion for his beliefs lit up his eyes like a pair of stars.
"Prince Drahceb, fourth in line to the throne, son of Aleksander and Diana, born under a crescent moon, promises to pay me after I reveal your future," she raised one eyebrow. "Furthermore, you must promise not to kill me when this is over. In case of your word being broken, a curse of 7 years will fall upon you. Or worse, I'll kick your balls so hard you won't be able to conceive a good idea."
Although she had threatened him, Drahceb couldn't help but laugh.
"I promise to pay the witch Alice Kyteler," she caught his wrists with a simple movement and applied pressure. "And I also promise not to kill her, although it would give me some pleasure to do so."
He was an idiot, but the witch appreciated his honesty. Even though it was a real torture to listen to him speak.
Alice slowly dug her black, claw-like nails into Drahceb's wrists. A thread of blood appeared from where the witch held him, but it did not seem to bother him. She repeated a few words in Latin, which Drahceb did not understand.
"Very well," she straightened up and dug her nails a little deeper into his flesh. "Clear your weak mind and let me in. Focus your thoughts on a single channel, some sense that draws you to the earth while I explore what is inside you and the stars. Connect with the sound, as if you were the only being inhabiting this planet."
His request would not be too difficult to carry out, when Drahceb wanted something, he put all his effort and will into achieving it. And if he had to pretend to connect with the stars that manipulated his future, he would do it for the little witch.
He felt more and more drawn to Alice's magic, but he couldn't help but notice the hardness of the table and its inscriptions. It was, it had been carved with different signs and drawings that he did not recognize. He should have paid more attention to his witchcraft classes.
"Then, what do you specifically want to know?" her voice sounded distant, although the nails inside his skin reminded him that she was only a few centimeters away from him.
"I want to know..." he corrected himself as he organized his thoughts. "I need to know what my future holds in ten years."
Alice furrowed her brow, bringing her eyebrows as close together as possible, that had been a strange request.
"Why that many years? Why ten?"
Drahceb opened his eyes, suddenly returning to that rainy London, his eyes shooting fire.
"It's none of your business, witch. Just answer what I ask you, or you'll see that not even the Veritas can stop me when I'm done with your filthy existence."
The witch swallowed, she wasn't really scared, but she needed to play her role well if she wanted to collect the promised gold.
"I can't tell you as much as you'd like to know, prince. You know the dangers that come with knowing your exact future, you could change the course of many things. Destiny could turn against you, and as far as I know, you fervently believe in destiny."
"It seems you're quite interested in us, witch," Drahceb moved his chair a little closer to the table, his elbows were beginning to itch, and he was getting restless. "I want to know about my family. About what lies ahead for the kingdom."
"Don't pretend with me. I know you have a great hatred towards your family." Drahceb shifted in his seat, clearly bored of the accusations. "What you really want to know is what will become of you in the kingdom in ten years. Remember, you cannot lie."
Fury was generally what drove Drahceb, and at that moment it was the only thing coursing through his body. He could end Alice's seven centuries of existence if she kept playing with him.
"Relax, prince, I'll tell you what you want to know."
They both closed their eyes, letting darkness take them hostage, allowing magic to take its place. The air became icy, almost palpable like the touch of skin against ice. The candles in the hovel no longer seemed to warm or illuminate, the smell of rain and wet earth from outside ceased to exist while Alice's eyes began to move quickly, so fast that they seemed like they would pop out of their sockets at any moment.
Her visions appeared before her blurred like stones at the bottom of a river, showing scenes of a distant future. A little girl with brown hair appeared, running through an eternal meadow of lavender, chased by another blond boy who seemed a few years older. Slowly the vision disappeared and gave way to another, the same girl crying in a huge courtyard with ruined tiles, holding onto a cloth doll next to another little girl with coppery hair. The river water began to stir fiercely over the stones, but another vision came to Alice as if she was observing her own future, the same girl a few years older crying inconsolably over photos completely ruined by time.
The water became more violent and abrasive, trying to cling to the future, almost expelling Alice in the process. However, his smile was recognizable among millions, perverse, playful, brushed by the cruelty that characterized it. And he smiled at the teenager, making her relax after a joke.
The water became as heavy as a rock and began to compress her lungs. Horror took hold of Alice and although she didn't want to show it in front of the prince, all her muscles tensed. First a thread of blood appeared in the tumultuous water of the river, but then the blood became thick, staining the stones scarlet. She wanted to go back to her cozy home, to the poor light of her candles, to the cold of London. Away from that destruction.
However, after a second that seemed to stretch in time and space, the water calmed down, leaving on the surface the clear image of the girl sitting on a stone bench, her white and freckled skin covered in red silk, and beside her a boy who watched her as if he would never get enough of her.
Reality hit her like a slap, while twisted eyes watched her thirstily for information.
"And witch? Anything interesting?"
The air entering Alice's lungs began to bother her.
"Your name... "she had to think carefully about what she would say, otherwise, Drahceb would know she was not being truthful "will be known by all. For your past. For the horror."
Drahceb curved his lips upward, savoring Alice's words as if they were his favorite food.
"You will reign, but it will not be as you want."
His eyes dimmed slightly.
"You will have a great enemy, as powerful as you. And that will terrify you, although you will know how to defeat it."
Alice took another breath of air, and everything became lighter, the candles became brighter while her skin felt transparent. Experiencing the future could be as dangerous as it was charming. And seeing destiny through her own eyes had clarified all her senses.
"An enemy?" he asked, almost skeptical, doubting the witch's words. Although she had not lied about that.
"Yes, prince."
Alice stood up and began to walk toward the door, wanting to end that session as soon as possible before he realized that she knew more than she said.
"Tell me who it is. Describe it to me," the prince's voice touched Alice's skin as rough as sandpaper, fear embraced her again.
Her humble home became even smaller. He shortened the physical space between the two to corner her in a corner. The prince clutched a silver dagger in his left hand but when he tried to get even closer to the witch, she raised her hands in defense.
"I will not give you names, I will not be the one to interfere with destiny," Drahceb growled at her like a wild animal about to attack "Your enemy will be the creator of your beginning and perhaps your end."
Her gaze cleared like water that reaches the shore, sweeping away all the dirt. Her features relaxed, and Alice came to think that, with that almost human and peaceful look, he looked much more beautiful than when he was cruel.
Despite the tranquility that reigned on his face, it was not what had taken over his thoughts. They had been intertwined by chaos itself, since he had obtained what he had gone to look for. She had not even noticed. An old parchment sheet lay warm against the skin of his back, hidden from the witch's eyes.
Alice was still in a defensive position, although her fear was not for the Drahceb that he was now but for the Drahceb he would become. He turned to her once more, with a hand on the doorknob. She knew that this was not the last time she would see him, but she was glad to see that he would soon be leaving her home.
"I got what I wanted," his voice was full of confidence, as if he understood what his next step was, "It's time to fix things, witch. It was a pleasure working with you."
"The pleasure comes with a cost, don't forget about the Veritas Drahceb," she stretched out her hand full of rings, "You must pay me, as agreed."
He threw a few gold coins on the ground.
"What will you do with the information I've given you?" Alice's voice faltered for the first time.
"It's not something you really care about," the corners of his lips lifted once more, "Although in a few years, you might."
He left without saying anything else, leaving his smoke and mint scent lingering in the air. Alice knew that when Drahceb discovered that she had lied to him, he would come back for revenge. But she had to take care of those of her kind and of that freckled girl. She had seen desperation and hope intertwining paths. Because what she had witnessed was not just the future of the evil prince, but she had also obtained a front-row seat to observe the prophecy of her own.