Effie's chest throbbed with anticipation and dread as she waited silently for Prince Reign's next words. She hoped for good news, but braced herself for bad. Though if something terrible had happened... if her Aunt Anise was not well, or if... or if she was dead.... Effie didn't think she could bear it. Still, she had to know. She needed to know if there was anything left to live for, or if she was just going to give up and let herself rot in this prison.
Reign cleared his throat, his golden eyes glittering somberly in the dim light, and her apprehension grew. It took a few more painful moments before he finally spoke.
"Your aunt... she is still alive."
At those words, all of Effie's pent up tension finally released with a heavy breath of air she didn't notice she'd been holding. She hadn't even realized how tense she'd become until her tight fists unclenched at her sides, and the muscles throughout her body loosened up considerably. Though judging by the look in Reign's eyes, she realized there was going to be more, so she didn't let herself to get too comfortable yet.
"However," Reign went on. "When I first saw her, her condition was not good. It seems her body had been pushed to its limits down here in the prison. But not only that, there is something else ailing her. There is a barrier surrounding this prison; an anti-magic force field generated by a set of runes dotting the perimeter of the structure, which have been taking a tole on her body. It's partially due to her age, but in general, it's difficult for any witch to withstand the anti-magic barrier, and the rare occasion that they do pass through the prison doors, I've never seen them fare well. In honesty, I'm surprised you've held up as well as you have against it."
"Let's not talk about me," Effie said. "What about Aunt Anise? Is she going to be alright?"
"Well thankfully I came by to check on her just in time. The healers at the infirmary weren't doing an adequate job of tending to her condition. They aren't used to the guards bringing prisoners around for medical attention, and they are especially not used to treating the ailments of a witch. It is unfortunately common for the guards to simply let the prisoners die down here rather than letting them get the medical attention they require. But more to the point, your aunt will recover with time and care. And I will personally see to it that proper care is delivered until she has healed."
"That's mostly good news then," Effie murmured with relief. "So, when will I be able to see her?"
"Give her a little time. I don't know how much excitement she could take right now. She's resting and recovering. I don't think you'll have to wait long, though. I'll take you to see her as soon as she can handle it."
"I- I appreciate that," Effie replied timidly, looking down at the floor as her cheeks flushed again.
She still couldn't say the words 'thank you,' yet she wanted to express her gratitude in some way for his care of her Aunt Anise. Though doing so made her feel embarrassed for a reason she couldn't explain. No one had ever made her feel flustered like this before.
"It is my honor, and pleasure to serve the woman who saved my life," Reign said, getting up from the stool, and giving her a sweeping, elegant bow. "But in the meantime, I must be going. As much as I wish I could sit here all day to watch over you and keep you safe, I must work hard to free you from this prison. It is my fault that you and your aunt are here now, so I will do everything I can to get you out before my father returns from Flosphia. And that time is drawing near. So I must work swiftly. I will be back later with your dinner. In the meantime, if there is anything you need, just make a request to the guard and he will deliver the message to me right away. But until then, I will take my leave. Take care, Euphemia."
And with that, Reign was off, heading down the hall with determination in his long strides, leaving Effie sitting on the floor with a stomach full of delicious food and a head full of many thoughts.
-------
As promised, Reign returned to her prison cell that night with a tray of veal medallions swimming in sauce, and with seasoned, grilled vegetables on the side.
The aroma was even more pleasant than the pork stew had been, and Effie's mouth watered. Curse this prince, he was going to spoil her so much with royalty fare that she would never be able to eat another ordinary meal again.
Reign carefully cut the veal for her and held the bite through the bars of the iron door as before, intending to hand-feed Effie again. To which Effie had blushed furiously, insisting she was capable of feeding herself now, thank-you-very-much!
After that meal, Reign brought breakfast the next day; a colorful tray of raspberry crepes with whipped cream and a jelly sauce. Effie was beginning to get used to his visits now. And she even began to anticipate them. Though she tried to convince herself it was the rich, delicious food she was looking forward to and not the prince himself. After all, she told herself, each time he left, all she could do was wait for him to return anyway. It wasn't like there was much else to do in her prison cell besides to wait.
And before she knew it, his silhouette had appeared at her door once again.
"Lunch time already?" She asked with surprise. "I feel like I just had breakfast. I'm not even hungry yet."
But the silhouette didn't respond.
Something was off. The more she studied that shape standing at her doorway, the more she realized that it wasn't Reign. It was somebody else. Someone she'd never seen before. Fear sent a shiver of warning down her spine. Whoever this was, he wasn't an ordinary man to be able to make his way through the prison and get past all the guards.
"Who are you?" Effie demanded, trying hard not to let the fear show in her eyes.
"Is that any way for a lowly commoner to address the first prince and heir to the throne of the four kingdoms?" The voice said sharply.
Prince Torin La Croix?
"I'm sorry... your highness. I didn't realize-"
"See to it that it never happens again," Torin snapped coldly. "Now then. Come closer. Into the light. I want to see for myself the witch who has changed my little brother so drastically as to cause a complete uproar in the palace."
Slowly, carefully, Effie stepped forward until she was nearly at the door. There, she got a proper view of Prince Torin. He was surprisingly handsome like Reign, but not half as beautiful or delicate. Torin's dark brown hair was cut short in the back, the bangs sweeping across his forehead. His deep blue eyes, like the color of sapphires, pierced Effie with the same iciness that Reign's had when he directed them at the soldiers who had intended to hurt her.
After a few moments under the penetrating gaze of Torin's cold eyes, which made Effie want to shrink through the ground, the prince finally spoke.
"Hmmm... somehow I'm a little disappointed. After everything that I've heard, I was expecting a bit... more. But standing before me now is such a slip of a girl, I can hardly believe you're even an adult."
Effie felt a hot rage begin to burn beneath her skin at the insult, her cheeks flushing red. She was tired of being looked down on and insulted to her face in this place! And though she knew she shouldn't talk back to a prince, especially not Torin, the words had left her lips before she could even reign them in.
"I'm just small for my age!" She humphed. "It's not like I can help looking this way."
"So she's ugly, and disrespectful too?" Torin hummed, rubbing his chin. "I should have your tongue cut out for such insolence. But I won't... at least not for now. I'd rather not send my brother farther off the deep end than he already is."
Effie opened her mouth to say something else in protest, but thought better of it, and pressed her lips into a hard line. If Torin was anything like Reign, he would follow through with his threats without hesitation. And she preferred her tongue to stay right were it was.
"That's more like it," Torin said. "You will only speak when spoken to, if you value that little head of yours to stay on its scrawny neck. Now then, tell me; was it a spell you cast over my brother so he could do your bidding, witch? What have you done to him to cause him to act so out of character? It clearly wasn't over any unearthly beauty that he would be willing to burn villages. He's never cared much about anybody before. The only explanation is that he must be under a spell."
Why did everyone keep saying that? Effie was bound to get a complex.
"I... I really don't know," Effie replied finally, gathering handfuls of her tattered skirt in each hand to quell the anger and force her voice to sound even. "I wish I knew, but he won't tell me anything. He said I saved his life, but he won't tell me how. That's... that's the truth... your highness."
"And why should I trust the word of a witch?" Torin's eyes narrowed at her.
"That's nothing but an accusation," Effie dared to challenge. "Where's the evidence that I'm truly a witch? Where's the proof? Everyone keeps calling me a witch, but no one has ever seen for themselves whether I'm truly a witch, or just an ordinary girl who's been falsely accused."
"You know as well as I do," Torin said, sounding almost bored now, "that in father's kingdom evidence is not required. All that's required is suspicion."
"And you really think that's justifiable?" Effie couldn't seem to stop herself now, even if she wanted to. Damn the consequences, this was injustice he was talking about. "How can you go along with a law that will inevitably sentence hundreds- no, thousands of innocent people to their deaths?"
"That is a risk my father is willing to take to rid the land of this plague of witches, and protect the people of his kingdom from their malevolence."
"Is that a risk YOU'RE willing to take? And how are you certain the witches are a danger to the public?"
Torin frowned. "You are a bold one, aren't you? And spoken like a true witch as well. So tell me then, witch, how have you bewitched my baby brother into utter insanity? Ever since you appeared here at the prison, he's been running amuck about the palace and all over the four kingdoms doing as he pleases, pretending he's actually in charge of anything. I liked him much better when he was docile and indifferent."
"You're worried about him?"
"Ha! Worried?" Torin scoffed bitterly. "I'm the exact opposite of worried. Don't mistake this intensive interrogation over my brother for worry. I couldn't care less about that half-blooded misfit. He may be father's favorite, but in the eyes of the law he is still nothing more than a second prince, and up until recently he's always known his place. So I ask you again, what have you done to him?"
"My answer hasn't changed, your highness," Effie replied curtly. "I haven't done anything to Prince Reign. I can't explain why he's been trying to help me out and I can't attest to anything he's done outside of these prison walls."
"Hmm... we'll see about that," Torin growled. "I have ways of making even the hardest men talk. I'll get the truth out of you eventually. Even if it's by one fingernail at a time. The next time I return, you'd better have a more favorable answer or else. And don't tell my brother about this little meeting we had here today, or I will have you killed."
With that, Prince Torin was gone. And with him, all of Effie's strength fled from her body. Her quaking knees grew weak, and she collapsed. Prince Torin was terrifying. It had taken every ounce of willpower not to cower and appear weak in his sight. But now that he was gone, she sat hunched over on the cold ground, trying to regain her senses.
Reign may have been able to do something about the guards, and the warden. But how would he stop his brother, who was ranks above, heir to the next throne? What was she going to do?