Young Writers Society

The Cursed

Part 6

~x~

For Magdalene of the Eleven Daughters, plans that went astray never worried her. Often in her endeavors, she'd seek for one thing, and then find something else in the process. And in Magdalene's case, those "something else's" were almost always more valuable than her original goal.

She wasn't one to detail every step in her plan, but she also wasn't one to go blindly into something. She liked knowing, but she didn't like knowing too much. After all, what better way to go through with something than with facing surprises along the way? She liked the wondering questions that would arise throughout them. The feeling of not knowing; the feeling of not knowing yet. It all excited her, pushed her. And it was this vagueness of her plans were what mostly kept her going to find out if she really would succeed.

Magdalene's Sisters - most especially Lyris - often disagreed with her at the beginning of their journeys, only to nod in satisfaction by its end. For their doubt in their Lady would often dissipate by their plan's ends.

Forgive us for ever doubting you.

You are a definite favorite of the Lord of Planning, Our Lady.

And Magdalene's ever favorite: Brilliant as always.

Because she was brilliant. Brilliant in her chaotic plans that would somehow straighten themselves out by the end.

It was with this mindset that Magdalene had approached Irma Pembroke with her vague plan. She approached with a clear mind, a simple plan that consisted of a simple beginning and a simple end. Her beginning was basic: meet with Irma Pembroke. Her end equally so: settle an agreement with Irma Pembroke. The middle portion was something she would often let for the Talmic Lords to decide.

The meeting with Irma was stuck with her, even now. The human did nothing but surprise her with her burning eyes, her ever-present calculative look, the firmness in her every being, her threat to spread word of this meeting to her higher-ups. Not many humans would have been able to have stand their ground like that; most would have delivered their only child with no hesitation, often to save their own skin. 

So Irma's constant steadiness was a breath of fresh air, mere proof just how strong Irma Pembroke hid herself to be. And it was these very things that forced Magdalene to give Irma Pembroke some credit; the woman was not easy to break. And that, also, Irma Pembroke had definitely made things all the more interesting.

It was obvious that she was fierce when it came to protecting her daughter, Celia Pembroke, whose presence just outside the room did not go unnoticed by Magdalene. Neither did the shakiness of Celia's breath when Magdalene bid her farewell. The gasp had only made Magdalene smile to herself as she'd left the house.

Her lady in second, Lyris, had been waiting outside the house the entire time, only looking up when Magdalene let the front door shut close behind her.

Lyris drew her hood back from her head. Through her wild mass of white curls, Lyris's eyes flicked over Magdalene's smile: wicked, but not unusually so, because wicked was the only word one could ever describe Magdalene's smiles. She asked, "Has she agreed?"

The wicked smile only seemed to grow. "She hasn't." Slight confusion filled Lyris's face. It was the kind of confusion that begged for more information. In a light voice, Magdalene said, "This only makes the game more interesting."

And interesting it did. Magdalene wouldn't deny the mild frustration that arose from Irma's refusal to cooperate, but the frustration had definitely lessened when she had found the time to think things from a rational view. Twists and turns were bound to happen in a plan like this. After all, what mother would give up their own child willingly? The question, though completely rhetorical, never failed to make Magdalene bristle.

And so they'd plotted. With all ten of her sisters, Magdalene had devised an equally vague plan as before: first, determine Celia Pembroke's location; then, capture her. And as always, the Talmic Lords would decide for the rest.

"My Lady," came Lyris's voice, bringing Magdalene out of her thoughts and into the present: her standing amongst her coven standing in a circle, cloaked and hidden, on one of the many hills shrouding the Chancellor's home.

Magdalene clutched her staff tighter, turning her body so that she faced her Sisters. She said, "What is it?"

Bowing her head, Lyris, loyal Lyris, said, "The twins have gained access."

This piqued her interest. Her eyes sought the identical pair of witches, finding them holding each other's hands, standing side-by-side. Their eyes colorless, staring straight ahead, staring beyond. They'd been standing like this for the past thirty minutes, and Magdalene was beginning to grow weary.

Magdalene took a step toward them. She lifted her chin. "Speak."

One of the twins, Delilah, answered, "The carrier — she's in the west wing of the home. She's sitting alone, drinking something."

The other twin, Rhea, continued, "Her moves are jittery, hesitant. On edge. It's almost as if she's jumping to get up."

"Do you know where that would be?"

Rhea's gray eyes squinted, moving as if following something. "She has images in her mind. The backdoor. To the gardens. Her home." With a low groan, Rhea briefly closed her eyes, and Magdalene understood this as Rhea taking a moment to recover from the prowess of her eyes. After a few seconds, she reopened them, and, in a weary voice, she said, "Her thoughts are a mess. From worry to excitement. To confusion. Her thoughts are an absolute mess. They are filled with you, my Lady."

Another one of Magdalene's wicked smiles made way on her face. "Well, I'm flattered. But I am concerned myself. She's considering leaving, and the best way to go after her is in a crowded place, where she wouldn't be noticeably discovered missing."

Lyris said, "And so, my Lady?"

Magdalene said, "So we move and position ourselves as planned." She looked to the twins, and opened her mouth to say, "You've —"

"By the Talmic Lords," Delilah whispered in a startled voice. Her hands gripped Rhea's tightly. "It's him. He's here, my Lady." A pause before she continued. "Cloud."

The wicked smile dropped from Magdalene's face almost as soon as Delilah stopped speaking. Her fists — one by her side, the other holding the staff — tightened so hard that for awhile she couldn't feel anything. And his name, as it always did, summoned old lines he'd recite in her ear:

You are the only one for me, Maggie.

My heart is forever yours. Forever. Forever. Forever.

And almost soon after her mind would replay those distasteful lies, her own heart would tighten and burn and make her feel like she couldn't breathe at all. Until, of course, someone else — as in this instance, Lyris — spoke, and broke her out of her thought cycle. "My Lady." Worry coated Lyris's words. Worry and hesitation. Magdalene was not surprised by this. More than anyone, Lyris was the one to be able to read her panicky thoughts and tense stances.

Magdalene of the Eleven Daughters would not be broken by a simple mentioning of his name. She would not show this weak side of her to her Sisters, or to anyone else.

She swallowed, all too aware of the concerned faces of her Sisters, but kept her voice steady. "Where is he?"

Wetting her lips, Delilah spoke again. "The courtyard to the back of the house. He's closer to her than we are."

Damn him. Magdalene fought to keep her voice neutral as she said, "Is he alone?"

With a shake of her head, Rhea replied, "He's with the Shadowwalker."

Typical. Even now, he seemed to have needed that useless being with him wherever he strode. She was not concerned for its presence. It was a factor, something she had to maneuver around to get to her goal.

Tapping her staff against the ground once, Magdalene said, "You two have done well. You may stop now."

With grateful sighs, the twins dropped their arms and moved their hands to their eyes, touching them tenderly. Both whispered a grateful, "Thank you, my Lady."

Lyris moved forward to Magdalene's side. "My Lady, do you want to do this now?"

She knew what Lyris was secretly asking underneath those words. My Lady, do you want to see him now? The answer was no. It was always no. She didn't want to see him now, or ever. But she knew she couldn't jeopardize her plan — her Sisters — over a bitter past and a broken heart. No, she'd never let anything get in the way of her plots. She wouldn't be Magdalene if she did.

So with narrowed eyes, she replied, "Don't be a fool, Lyris. If we don't capture the girl now, there's no doubt in my mind that he'd get to her first." She looked back over at the house, which was bumbling with people and music and laughter.

And of course he would try get to the carrier first. Because this was his plan to begin with: securing the carrier of the Halfmoon pendant and then use the pendant to his wishes. Magdalene herself didn't know why the pendant was so important to him — that part of his plan he made sure to never share with her — but she thought that stealing it, no matter its possible uselessness to her and her coven, would satisfy her. Because she'd be thwarting his special plan. She'd be stealing the goods from him this time.

She wouldn't deny that she'd stolen this special plan of his. She'd stolen it from him when she'd found the truth about his feelings for her, about him. It might have been petty but it was the only thing she could do to get back at him for using her. Hurting her.

That was why accomplishing it before he could ever get a chance to was imperative. At all costs.

Lyris's voice came again: "My Lady." Still with worry, still with hesitation. But Magdalene would soon give reason to Lyris that she need not be worried or hesitant about anything. She would.

And so Magdalene lifted her chin, her eyes staring straight ahead: to revenge, to success. She said, "We move. Now."

-Hey guys. I'm so sorry that it's taken me forever and a day to finish this one part. It's actually been the hardest part I've had to write, and it's because, as you can see, from Magdalene's point-of-view, who I've always deemed as a mystery. Like Irma, she still is a mystery. But for some reason, she was harder than Irma. And I still don't know why.

Anyway, I'm happy to have finally finished. I hope you enjoyed this. Please feel free to leave your thoughts, con/crit, that sort of thing. I'm happy to hear them, especially since I don't really know what to think of this. (I'm just happy I'm done with it). But yes, please let me know what you think! Good/bad. And I probably have mistakes that I didn't catch myself, so please let me know what they'd be so I can fix them. 

I hope you guys understand. I don't ever want to drop this project. When I stop, it'll definitely be after "The End." Definitely. 

-comrie:)