Page 63 of A Foster Fling

“Of course, Mother.”

“Will you love me forever, Zelinda?”

“Forever, Mother.”

Soon my energy is depleted, and I begin to fall forward as she continues to brush my hair. Her fingers scrape along my skin, goose bumps erupt along the surface, my hair standing up on end.

“You’re never allowed to leave, Zelinda,” she whispers in my ear. “I will always find you.”

Her words scare me. It’s like she’s reading my mind, and I become fearful she knows exactly what’s been happening in this room, that she knows exactly who is under my bed.

“I could never leave you,” I assure her. “I know not how to survive beyond the tower walls.”

As she puts the brush away, I fall back on the bed, and she straightens her dress. She gives me one final look over her shoulder. It’s not a loving look, it’s not a longing look, it’s one filled with suspicion.

“I will not leave, Mother,” I assure her again. I want her to leave... I need her to leave. The longer she stands here, smelling the scent that’s gathering around us, the more she’s going to suspect exactly what it is I’m really doing.

“I’ll be back in a few days,” she says again. It’s another warning.

“Yes, Mother.”

My eyes fight to stay open as I watch her walk down the stairs and out the door. The locks turn on their own. I can hear them clicking into place, which tells me Pearl could have come in anytime she wanted all along. Then, with that thought in my mind, I drift off.

——

I wake up a while later and find the room empty. No one’s here with me. The sky is dark; the clouds are white wisps, moving across the sky, illuminated by the moon. I push myself up in bed, realizing I’m still naked, and grab my rope. I step down, my feet touching the cold stone floor, and I look underneath the bed, just to be sure Abbe has left as well.

I hit the stairs, taking them down one by one, and find the door completely unlocked. I don’t know how long ago he left, but I’m a little bit angry that he left me in danger without trying to wake me up. I re-lock the locks and head back up to sit at my table. I find the basket of fruit and pick out a blood red apple, taking a large bite out of it. The skin crunches and the flesh is juicy. That’s when I see it, a small note sitting on the table under the basket. I pull it out and unfold it, running my finger over his writing. It says:

My dearest love,

I tried to wake you, but you were dead to the world. I don’t know what it was that she did to you, but I must tell you, the woman you call your mother is a witch. She’s the one that placed the curse on me and my wife. She killed our first born and she made sure no other child lived in my wife’s womb after. Sometimes, she finds me in the middle of the woods when I’m on my way to town or I’m coming back, and she’ll put a spell on me, bringing out the monster on the inside. She can handle him, unlike you, because she herself is a monster.

I’m going to save you from her. I’m going to come back, I’m going to pack you up, and you can come live with me and my wife. I will tell her the truth. That I’ve fallen in love with you, and somehow, we’ll make this work. I need you to believe me that the woman you think is your mother is a witch.

I love you dearly,

Abbe

I stare at the words a little longer when a laugh erupts from my throat. Of course she’s a witch, I already knew that. What scares me is that he knows she’s a witch, and she’s done something to him. She cursed him and his wife, and that’s why they’re so unhappy. Now more than ever, I can feel I’m in more danger staying inside the tower than if I were to leave.

So I begin packing. I grab a few bags I find in the kitchen. They’re small, but I don’t have much. I pack away my brush, a few dresses, my robe, a couple of books I adore, and then I set it all aside and wait. I want to believe that when Abbe makes a promise; he keeps it.

The night sky turns bright with the dawn, and then the sun sets again. There’s still no sign of Abbe. I’m scared, nervous. What if she found him? What if she knows he was here? She tasted him on her fingers. Surely, she must know what he tastes like. If she finds out he can get through her wards, she’ll only make them tougher. She’ll set another spell in place, something that would cause him agony, I’m sure, and I can’t stand for that to happen. I’m in love with Abbe. Yes, he’s a lot older than me, old enough to be my father, but that’s never mattered. I love him, my heart wants him.

But as the sun sets on the second day, my eyes grow heavy from exhaustion. I fear I may be left here alone again. Maybe he realized I’m not worth the trouble of fighting a witch, maybe he realized the danger of being with me. I couldn’t blame him for that. I fall back on the bed, watching the ceiling, watching as the shadows move across the stones as the sun sets, and once again, I feel like a prisoner.

“Zelinda!” I wake up to the sound of my name, but from a voice I don’t recognize.

My head rolls toward the window, and I think maybe I am dreaming, until I hear it again. “Zelinda! Open the door!”

I sit up, my heart crashing into my ribs, and I think this time the wards have failed. If another has come into the meadow, then surely, I am in great peril.

I jump off the bed and run to the window to look down, and there I find a young man with white-blond hair and bright blue eyes.

“Who are you?” I call out.

“My name is John. You know my mother, Pearl. You’re in grave danger.”