The Black Witch
Tine, Fong, Phuak and Ohm received the scolding of a lifetime.
Dim was almost out of his head with anger, and he had Tine clean the stables, with no help from the servants. Luckily for him, Mil, who had always had a little crush on him, helped him once Tine presented him his wide, puppy face. Though it was quickly found out by Prae who dragged the knight out by his ear.
Tine thinks it's a bit unfair since his father's own reaction was to nod uncaringly and get back to work.
Also, his ass hurts like hell. He never did tell his friends what had happened. They were disappointed that Tine was tight-lipped about what had happened. Tine wasn't about to explain to them that he handed his ass over to a stranger that ran out on him like a thief in the dark.
Tine told himself that it's fine. He was there to get laid, not wooed, but it damn fucking hurts that Francis ran out like that. He expected that from Sun, but not Francis. Sweet, kind, Francis...
Tine rubbed the floor ferociously.
It was days before he was allowed to go out without Green or Prae accompanying him. It was a fine day, and he wanted to take his sweet Charlotte out for a ride.
He was riding his hunter absent-mindedly at the forest when he met her.
He had heard rumors that The Black Witch, while she has a miniscule black turnip for a heart, is an extremely attractive woman. While the three Light Fairies are plump, and looked more liked the aunt that would bake cookies on Sundays and knit by the fireplace, Maleficent looked like a young princess at the peak of her beauty. Tine honestly believes that she could give Pam a run for her money. When he saw a young woman with long, blond hair sitting on a tree, staring into nothingness, he knew immediately whom she is.
“Maleficent.”
“You are Pornthip’s son,” the dark witch said flatly. Trembling in fear, he held his head up high, waiting for his fate. “You look like him.”
“My lady is too kind,” he said somberly. “I’ve been told I’m more on the graceful side rather than muscular.”
“You are very polite.” Maleficent slithered down.
“I have been taught to be polite to everyone.”
“Even to the person who had cursed your sister?”
“Shall I fret and throw tantrum? My only wish is to pass peacefully. I have no desire to ruin my lady’s land.” He made a show of going down from his horse.
“You may pass,” she made way for him. she seemed hesitant, but she looked at him determinedly. “Will you come again some time? I shall prepare a little feast for you.”
He must have been crazy, but he came back.
“Tine,” she stood up, a bright smile on her face. “You came back. I didn’t think you would want to.”
Tine wondered if he wanted to be honest and just admit that he doesn’t know why he came back. But there was something that attracted him to her presence. The longing look at his father’s name. The hopeful tone in which she asked him to return. Tine knows loneliness when he sees one.
He guessed he found it comforting to know someone else that his father had abandoned.
She did prepare him a feast of one of a kind. The food looked amazing, and even though he is accustomed to feasts, privilege of being royal, what the Dark Witch had prepared didn’t fail to amaze him. But still, despite the rumblings of his stomach, he didn’t fancy eating food from a magical being. They are fond of their blessings and curses, and Tine refused to be victim of their fickle whims.
“You are not going to eat?” a small voice said. She looked disappointed, but he persisted.
“No offence to your culinary skills, My Lady,” he forced a smile. “There is a certain weariness with our shared history.”
She doesn’t look like she understood him. Fairies and magical beings are always perplexed when their supposed gifts are denied. But he is a Prince and a Knight, and he knew that even if they don’t mean it, their gifts always have complicated strings attached to them.
“I shall settle for your compliment then.” She doesn’t look happy, but she leaned forward and stared at him right into his eyes. “Tell me about yourself, Tine, isn’t it?”
“What is it that you wish to know?” he sat back.
“I haven’t heard from a human for a long time,” she flicked her hair back absent-mindedly. “I know Pornthip had another son. But I heard so little of the boy. And when he finally came, he is a strong, young man. So tell me about yourself.”
Pam’s name hung like a curse between them.
“I am in the Ravenclaw Guild.” He blurted out. “I have a penchant for animals. Even magical creatures came up to me sometimes. My best friends are Fong, Phuak and Ohm."
For a second, he thought he was compelled by magic. Never had he so willingly divulge the information to an intimate companion, let alone a stranger. But Maleficent looked at him, looking just as confused and Tine realised that he just wanted to be seen.
“I love books. I try to write sometimes, but it never seems to turn out as good as I wanted it to be. I like peaches. I do not enjoy jousting."
Maleficent looked at him, but her eyes were filled with a quite delight. “You fascinate me Tine Teepakorn,” she whispered. “Most people will not want to boast ordinariness.”
“It baffles me.” He looked around him and gestured to nature. “What is better than blue skies ahead, or a charming grandfather tree? What is more important than the whispers of the forest, or the cheekiness of a newborn fawn? Or lovelier than a smile, or better than a fresh batch of bread? These are things that I gather are more important than a throne. The lives it gathers under it.”
“You don’t like ruling?”
“I dislike the obsession over it,” he corrected her. “I dislike the notion of romanticising the throne. It’s a golden cage, but in the end it’s a cage nevertheless. I longed for something more substantial than looking at my kingdom from the Great Window.”
She nodded. “Pornthip would disagree.”
“He was taught that he is a Ruler over anything else. He values duty and honour over everything else.”
“And were you not?”
Was he? His parents barely spent time with him.
He smiled. “And I was not.”