Johnathan was worried. He had failed at killing Marianne. Now he could never marry Medea du Ciel. He paced around in front of the Duchess' room.
"Come in," a voice said from inside, sweet and calculating.
Johnathan walked into the room. He was about to speak, but the Duchess beat him to it.
"I am very grateful. You have disposed of that...stepdaughter of mine."
Johnathan blinked. He had never done such a thing. But he was not opposed to taking the credit, since, after all, it was what he would have done had that Sinclair girl not stopped him.
"The honor is all mine," he replied, bowing deeply. "Though tracking her down and taking her out was terribly complicated."
The Duchess smiled. "Of course. You will be well compensated for your work. What is it that you want?"
"If possible, could I be promoted to a noble?"
"Oh...I could give you something better than that. Perhaps you'd like to marry..." she paused, analyzing the boy's reaction. "...my daughter?"
Johnathan nodded. His dreams were just at his fingertips. With one word from the Duchess, the girl of his dreams would be his to command. His to possess. His to caress and touch. And Medea could not refuse an order from her mother. She was his at last.
***
"Hey!"
Zeke looked up from his easel. "What?"
"Stop ignoring me!" Medea pouted. "I want to show you this new dance I learned!"
"Okay, okay! I'm watching!"
Zeke watched as Medea twirled and spun around the room, like a goddess descending from the heavens. Her long, seafoam green hair swirled around her, her own magic. The dance was coming to an end. Finally, Medea leaped, flinging her hands into the air, and then landed gracefully. She curtsied. Zeke blinked. For a moment, he had felt something. A flower, perhaps, blooming in the depths of his heart. But now that feeling was gone. It was replaced with something darker, possessive. He did not want anyone else to lay eyes on this beautiful goddess before him.
"So how was it?" Medea asked, so innocent and pure.
Without replying, Zeke stood up. He walked towards Medea, almost in a trance. She backed away slowly.
"Zeke? What's wrong? Did I do something to anger you?"
Medea backed herself into a desk. She scrambled to get out of the way, but Zeke grabbed her arm, pinning her to the table. With his other hand, he tipped her chin up towards him.
"I'm sorry, Medea. But I just wanted to be the first one to do this."
He leaned in, lips meeting hers. She had never experienced something like this before, but she liked it. Medea flinched. Almost immediately, Zeke backed away from her.
"I'm sorry. I'm really sorry. I should have asked. I know that it's y-your first t-time. I'm-"
But Medea did not want the moment to be over. She slid off the desk. She slipped her arms around Zeke's waist. Leaning into his warm body, she sighed.
"What if I want you to be my first and only?"
"Um...Medea...don't be like this. I'm not good enough for you."
"No! I only want to be with you!" Medea cried, tears streaming down her face, dripping onto Zeke's shirt. "I don't want to marry that servant boy! He's so touchy and creepy! Why would my mom make my marry him?"
"I'm sorry...but I can't do anything. Your mother...she's the Duchess. I'm just the son of a Viscount. The power I hold is nothing compared to her."
Medea crumpled to the floor. Her face was drenched in tears. Zeke kneeled next to her. He had never comforted a girl before. What was he supposed to do? But there was nothing he needed to do. Suddenly, time froze, and a voice spoke to Medea.
"Come with me. I can free you from the clutches of that servant boy. I can help you gain the power to defend yourself."
Medea looked around. Zeke was frozen in time. She was scared, but she was more afraid of marrying Johnathan, that servant boy. Nodding, she waited for something to happen to her, but nothing did. When she opened her eyes, she was in the forest. There was a small cottage before her. The walls were gray and unwelcoming. The roof seemed like it could cave at any moment. Approaching the small structure, Medea heard voices coming from inside.
"I brought her," said the voice that Medea remembered to be the one in the room after time had stopped. "What will you do with her?"
"That is for me to decide," replied another voice. This one, a woman. Her voice felt eerily familiar to Medea, but she could not remember when she had heard this voice before. "And we wouldn't want the sneaky one out there to hear, now would we?"
Medea backed away from the house. How did this person know that she had been listening? She had tried to be as quiet as possible. But it seemed that only the woman had heard her, since she as the only one who reacted. The other voice continued as if nothing had happened.
"How can you be sure that you're repeating everything exactly? You know that the smallest mistake could change the entire flow of time."
"And how can you be sure that you are doing everything right?"
The first voice seemed to stutter. "I-I don't know..."
"Exactly. It is human nature. It is the nature of your personality. That is how we are able to repeat the same things over and over again. Just listen to the voice inside, don't think too much about your actions, and your natural reactions will naturally appear."
"Thank you for the advice, but I'll be leaving now."
Medea heard shuffling of feet inside the house. Then there was a little pop, like a portal opening.
"You're not going to stay to meet me?"
The first voice laughed. "Be careful. She might hear you."
Then he left through the portal.