The young woman fell to her knees in front of the Lord Wyatt. She was brought before him because she was a witch. A witch? She didn't even know she was a witch until the moment she had been taken before Lord Wyatt by her husband. He claimed she was a witch like her sister Rayanne, who had been executed but a month before. Roselyn hadn't even known her sister was a witch. Until now she didn't even know it was a crime.
As she waited for the Lord Wyatt to speak to her, she was silently begging to her self, hoping someone would make this right. She wasn't supposed to be here. All she wanted was to go back home and do her chores… or did she?
"They say you are a witch," Lord Wyatt said, looking down at the young woman in front of him. She sat on her knees with her eyes cast down to the ground, as was custom. Her long red hair fell around her back as a blanket. "Is this the truth?"
Roselyn, kept her eyes cast down as she answered. "My Lord, I did not know I am a witch," she answered truthfully, for indeed she didn't know. She couldn't even believe it.
"Then why does your husband say you are?" Wyatt asked, curiously. He had never met a witch who did not know he (or she in this case) was a witch.
The young woman was silent for a while. "I honestly do not know, My Lord. I suspect it had something to do with the fact that my sister was declared a witch," she replied, again, honestly.
"Did you know you sister was a witch?"
Roselyn shook her head. "No, My Lord. I did not know she was a witch."
Wyatt pondered his next move for a moment. "Will you let this probe scan you? This is so we know for sure you are a witch."
"Of course, My Lord."
Wyatt signed for one of his demons to take her aside so they could scan her with a probe.
"You!" Wyatt said, to the husband. "Why did you not take her here sooner, knowing her sister was a witch?"
The husband, Brandon who had held a smirk on his face the entire time he was there quickly straightened up. "I didn't know her sister was a witch!" he exclaimed. "I found out this morning when I read an old newspaper at work."
"My Lord, she has been scanned," one of his demons said and brought the probe to his lord. Roselyn quickly fell down to her knees again and cast her eyes to the ground. She had long learned to obey.
Lord Wyatt took his moment to read what the probe had scanned from this young witch.
"Did you know your sister was dead?" Lord Wyatt asked curiously. This woman, whom he did not know, intrigued him for some reason.
"Not at that time, My Lord," she answered. "I found out but two days ago."
"How can you not know?" he asked. It was strange that this woman did not know her own sister was dead. If she hadn't seen it on television she would have read it in the newspaper.
"We do not own a television, My Lord. I couldn't have seen it on the news. We do have a newspaper but I cannot read and there for never look in it," she answered a little ashamed.
"How can you not read?" he asked, bewildered.
"My mother died when I was but five years old. Since then my sister has been looking after me, but as we didn't have much money, I couldn't go to school and because she was working most of her time she could not teach me."
"Interesting," Wyatt whispered more to himself. "What do you do then? Your job?"
"I do not have a job, My Lord. I make sure the house is clean and food's on the table for Brandon, my husband." Although she had never been ashamed of this, he made her feel ashamed she couldn't explain why.
Lord Wyatt's eyes danced between the young woman and her husband, who, once again, had a smirk on his face. "Come, stand up," he suddenly said. "You, stand next to her," he pointed to Brandon, who quickly moved to his wife's side.
Roselyn, silently stood up and raised her eyes to look at her Lord Wyatt. He was totally dressed in black and had blonde shoulder length hair. But that which made her gasp were his eyes. Blue they shone, and she quickly averted her eyes again, hoping she hadn't been caught.
Lord Wyatt had heard her gasp but decided to ignore it, for now. "You are happy with this arrangement?" he asked Brandon.
"Yes, I come home from a long day at work and she has my dinner ready." Brandon was quite pleased with himself and their arrangement.
"And you?" he asked the young woman.
Roselyn took a moment to think about her answer. "Yes, My Lord. I have a roof over my head," was her only answer.
"Yet, you speak of things not of love. Do you love each other?"
Brandon was the first to answer. "If you mean, do I love my wife? Yes, I do but if you mean ‘do I love this witch' then no."
Wyatt raised an eyebrow but didn't reply to him. "What about you?"
Roselyn looked up at her Lord Wyatt and pondered his question. "I thought I did, My Lord," she replied. "But now I question it."
Wyatt was intrigued by this answer. "Why is that?" Although he never cared much for the business of his people, he found that he wanted to find out everything he could about this young woman.
"It was this morning; he grabbed my arm and yelled that I was a witch. He looked at me as if he did not know who I was. It hurt, for I am still the same person," she replied. A silent tear had made her way down her face but she did not notice it.
"Did you know you can command the water?" he asked her, already suspecting the answer. He had seen the tear and controlled himself not to move to wipe the tear away.
"No, My Lord. I did not," she answered.
"If you were taught, would you want to use your power?"
"No, My Lord. I do not. I do not even want this power."
"You'd give your power away?" Again Lord Wyatt was intrigued. He had never known a witch who wanted to give up her (or his) powers.
"If you want my power, My Lord, you can have it," she replied looking him in the eyes.
Before Wyatt could reply, the young woman swayed. He quickly moved and caught her just before she hit the ground. "Take her to my room," he ordered one of his demons. The demon walked over to his Lord and took the woman from him. After that he carried her to his lord's bedroom.
"You!" Lord Wyatt said, again pointing at Brandon. "Is she pregnant?" he asked, for some reason, dreading the answer.
"That is impossible!" Brandon exclaimed. "I have never…" he stopped, noticing what he was going to say. "We've never made love to each other," he answered.
"Have you made sure she ate anything?"
"No! I was enraged having a wife who lied to me, not to mention she's a witch. I went home and brought her here!"
It took all his power not to lash out at this man. "Take this man away from me before I hurt him," Wyatt hissed at one of his demons who quickly moved to take Brandon away.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
Roselyn woke up, feeling slightly disoriented. She looked around the unfamiliar room and noticed how big it was. She quickly realised she wasn't suppose to be here and quickly threw the blanket from her body and dangled her feet on the side of the bed, trying to stand up. She failed and fell back on the bed. What was wrong with her?
Lord Wyatt, who had been reading in a corner while watching over his charge, got up and walked over to the bed, "Easy," he said. "You shouldn't get up, at least not that fast," an amused and honest smile grew on his face as he looked at the young woman.
"Lord Wyatt," she gasped. "I am sorry I am occupying your bed. I'll leave," she tried to get up again but failed.
"Please don't, you are weakened and shouldn't get up," Lord Wyatt replied, gently pushing her back.
"I do not want to be a burden," she whispered.
Lord Wyatt decided to pretend he hadn't heard her. "Here, you must be hungry," he said and placed the tray of food, which was placed on the table next to the bed, on the bed. "Please eat," he gently begged, knowing she wouldn't eat on her own account.
Roselyn hungry gazed at the food that was displayed before her. Cereals, eggs, bacon, ham, pancakes, waffles, French toast, apples, oranges and strawberries were placed on the tray even orange juice and milk. She hadn't seen so much breakfast in her whole life and tasted some of the pancakes. Next she cut the apple in four pieces and took a bite out of it, she almost sighed out loud feeling the sweet taste of the apple fill her mouth.
She looked around the room and noticed she had completely forgotten about Lord Wyatt. She swallowed the last piece of apple. "I'm sorry, My Lord. I forgot my manners, would you like some as well?" she asked, silently. Not knowing how he would react.
"It's all yours," he answered, smiling at her.
Roselyn kept stealing glances at her Lord, all through her breakfast. All the stories she had heard about him, at the supermarket, told how terrible he was. Yet, he did not look so terrible to her. Sure his dark appearance made him a little unnerving but he did not seem… evil. "Are you sure you do not want any, My Lord? I cannot eat everything on this plate," she asked, being a little bold, hoping he would not punish her for doing so.
Wyatt admired this young woman. He knows she respected his position and would never question him, yet she had done the very thing he thought she wouldn't do. He admired her boldness. A smile formed on his face as he surveyed the tray. He noticed she had eaten a few pancakes, waffles and a few apples. He looked up at her while she lifted the glass of milk to her lips. "I might just take some toast," he eventually told her. He picked up a piece of French toast and took a bite out of it.
Roselyn placed the glass of milk back on the tray as she gazed at Lord Wyatt. She smiled seeing him taking a bite out of the French toast. Well, at least he's not mad, she thought, still looking at Lord Wyatt.
Wyatt's heart skipped a beat when he saw her smile. Her brown eyes shone like the stars when she smiled, not only her mouth smiled but her whole face. Wyatt couldn't help but smile as well.
"Did you enjoy your breakfast?" Wyatt asked, breaking the silence.
"Oh, yes. Very much, My Lord," Roselyn answered.
Wyatt could see that this young woman was brought up to follow rules.
Roselyn looked at Lord Wyatt, hesitated she asked a question. "May I ask you a question, My Lord?"
"Of course," Wyatt replied. "But please don't call me ‘My Lord', my name's Wyatt."
Confused she searched for any sign that he was lying, joking maybe yet found none. "How long did I sleep?" she asked, still a little uncertain.
"You slept all through the day and night," Lord Wyatt replied.
Shock registered on her face. "I have been asleep for that long?" she asked. "I have to go to the house. Brandon will worry what's keeping me…" Suddenly a thought stroke her and she shook her head. "I guess he's not missing me…" saddened by her memory of the previous morning she turned from Wyatt.
Wyatt didn't know what to say or do. He just kept quiet.
"What's going to happen to me, Wyatt?" she asked him, still not turning towards him.
Wyatt closed his eyes. He loved the way she said his name. It sounded… heavenly. "I am going to give you a choice, Roselyn. You can go back to your husband or you can stay here," he told her. He did not include that Brandon had been executed by one of his demons.
Roselyn looked up when Wyatt said her name. He had never used her name before and found she liked the sound of that. She pondered her two choices. "I do not want to go back to the house, Brandon treated me inappropriate and I don't want to go back to him. But I also cannot stay here," she told him.
"And why is that?" Wyatt asked, curiously.
"This is your room, I cannot stay in your room," she replied.
Wyatt raised a curious eyebrow. "Why would you think this is my room?"
"This room is bigger than my whole house combined, it must be your room," she simply replied.
Wyatt laughed. "Well, yeah, this is my room," he told her. "But you do not have to stay in my room, I have more rooms in this house, you could take one of this if you want one."
"You want me to stay?" she asked, disbelieve showing on her face.
"Yes," he admitted.
A smile spread on her face and she averted her eyes. "Then I'll stay," she told him. "But only if I am not a burden."
A smile spread on his face as he heard her admission. "You are not a burden," he told her.
"That is good to hear," she replied, smiling. A silence fell over the room. "Uhm, can I use the bathroom?" she asked after a while. She desperately needed to use the bathroom but had not dared to ask. Yet when she talked to him for the short period they had talked to each other she had felt comfortable. Never before has she felt this comfortable with someone.
"It is there," he said, pointing to the door next to the bed.
She followed his finger and noticed, for the first time, a door. She turned back to Wyatt. "Thank you," she said. She slowly stood up, still feeling a little week. She noticed that she was still wearing the dress she wore the day before. The only thing missing were her shoes. Noticing the shoes were placed next to the bed, made her smile. Someone had carefully placed her into the bed.
She slowly made her way toward the bathroom. Once inside she relieved herself. After that she walked over to the sink. She carefully washed her hands and took in her appearance through the mirror. Although she never cared much about her appearance she wanted to look attractive for Wyatt.
Wyatt knocked on the bathroom door and waited for Roselyn to invite him in. Once she invited him in he walked in. "Hey, I just wanted to let you know that you can use the shower or bathtub. The towels are over there in the bathroom closet. I brought you some clean clothes. I know it's not much, it's one of my t-shirts and I found some old jeans from my brother, they should fit you. I do not have anything else." Wyatt explained to her.
"Thank you," she gratefully took the clothes from him. For the 10 years she had lived with Brandon, she had not once wore any jeans. It was always dresses. "You have a brother?" she asked, remembering he had said he had a brother.
"Yeah," Wyatt only replied.
There must have been something wrong with Wyatt and his brother, for he fell silent. "Well, I'm going to take a bath. I've never been in one," she said.
Wyatt smiled at her, seeing a dreamily look appear on her face. "Take your time," he said. "I am going to leave you alone for a while. I have some business I have to take care off."
"Oh, okay, of course," she replied.
"Just make yourself at home," he told her. With one last glance he left.
Roselyn walked over to the bathtub and let it fill with water to her temperature. She placed the clothes on the dresser. Then she undressed herself and stepped into the bathtub. She let the water surround her and sighed. The warm water caressed her muscles and she relaxed almost instantly. She cleaned her skin with the soap. She also cleaned her hair with the soap, not able to find the shampoo. Once she finished cleaning herself she stepped out of the bathtub. She walked over to the bathroom closet and grabbed a towel. She dried herself off and hen wrapped the towel around her hair. After doing so she dressed herself in the jeans and back t-shirt Wyatt had brought for her.
She could still smell Wyatt on the t-shirt and breathed in his smell. She smiled and walked over to the dresser. She dried her hair and, after finding a comb, she combed her hair. Once she was finished she walked back into the bedroom.
She took a moment to take in the appearance of the room. She had noticed the desk in the opposite side of the bed before. Now she also saw a book cupboard and two couches in the left corner. Wyatt had probably sat and maybe even slept there the night before when she had slept in his bed. She noticed a book self and walked over to it. She run her fingers over the books and picked one. She looked through it and noticed the pictures in it; she smiled seeing a young woman dressed in rags. Must be a history book, she thought as she turned a page, seeing a woman in a Victorian dress. She carried the book to the bed and lay down, intently watching at the pictures each page revealed to her.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
Later in the evening, Wyatt returned to his bedroom. A young maid had just brought a tray with food and was leaving the room. "My Lord," she said bowing down. Wyatt nodded to her and entered his bedroom. He saw that Roselyn was laying flat down on her front with a book in front of her.
"What are you reading?" he asked her and smiled.
Roselyn looked up at the newcomer and smiled. "I'm just looking at the pictures, can't read remember?" she answered. "I think it's a history book."
"Let me see," Wyatt asked, when she held it up he read the title. "It's an encyclopaedia of history."
"You must think I'm dumb for not being able to read…" Roselyn stated.
"No, I don't think you are dumb," Wyatt replied. "You're just under educated."
Roselyn shot him a weak smile.
"Want me to read to you?" Wyatt asked.
Roselyn's eyes shone bright. "Would you?"
"Of course, what book do you want me to read for you?"
"I don't now…"
"You can choose any book you want," Wyatt said, encouraging and smiled at her.
Roselyn thought about it for a minute. "My sister read this story to me when I was little. Uhm…" She thought about it for a while. "Snow White?"
Wyatt held out his hand in a fist then he opened it and a book appeared on his hand. "This one?" he asked as he showed her the book.
"Yeah, I think so," she replied seeing the cover and smiled at him.
"Go sit on the bed, let me just get the tray so we can eat as well." Wyatt placed the book on the bed and then walked over to the table where the maid had left the plate. He picked it up and placed it on the bed in front of them.
"Again?" Roselyn asked. She had breakfast this morning with Wyatt after that a maid had come in to bring her lunch and now she's offered another meal. Never before had she eat thrice a day.
"Yeah," Wyatt answered sitting down next to her. "Weren't you allowed to have breakfast, lunch and dinner?"
Roselyn shook her head. "No, Brandon never allowed me to have breakfast, lunch was usually one sandwich and dinner was not much. Brandon didn't want me to get fat," she answered.
Wyatt could only nod at her explanation. "Well, you can eat as much as you want here," he said. "Come on move over," he told her and sat down next to her. Picking up the book, he opened it.
Roselyn looked at the tray. Again it was filled with food. She even saw some Mac and Cheese. It had been a while since she had had Mac and Cheese and decided tonight would be as good as any to get reacquainted with it. She put some on a plate and then sat back with her back against Wyatt's chest, so she could watch the pictures.
Wyatt smiled seeing she sat back against his chest. "Comfortable?" he asked her and she nodded. "Shall we begin then?" Again, she nodded. He searched the right page and began reading from it. "‘Once upon a time in the middle of winter, when the flakes of snow were falling like feathers from the sky, a queen sat at a window sewing, and the frame of the window was made of black ebony…'"
Roselyn got lost in the story of Snow White and her prince. Sometimes Wyatt would stop reading so she could take a closer look at the pictures or so he could eat something or drink something. Once the story was finished, Wyatt placed the book aside. Roselyn looked up into Wyatt's eyes.
"Did you enjoy the story?" he asked her.
Roselyn nodded. "Yeah."
"Did you enjoy your dinner?"
"Yeah," she answered. "Except for the orange juice." Her head shot up realizing what she had said. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to…"
Wyatt stopped her by interrupting her. "Yes, you did," he only stated. He had noticed the fear in her eyes so he quickly added "But that is alright, if you don't like it you shouldn't have to drink it." He made her look at him. "You do not need to fear me, Roselyn. I would not hurt you."
"I am sorry, Wyatt," she said. "It's not easy for me to grip the fact that my life has changed. Brandon never let me throw food away and if I did he'd made sure I paid. It's all so new for me," she explained.
Wyatt couldn't imagine how her life must have been. Although she didn't say it, she was afraid of Brandon. He couldn't imagine living a life in fear. He couldn't remember the last time he was afraid. He wasn't even afraid that his youngest brother had gone to the past to betray him; he knew Christopher could never kill him. But she must have had it tough.
She must have followed all the rules Brandon had laid out for her, afraid that he would either lash out to her or hurt her when she would differ from the laid out rules. When she did differ from his rules he'd probably hit her.
"I know," Wyatt replied. "Just remember I won't ever hurt you."
"Thank you," Roselyn said.
Wyatt raised his hand to caress her face. He felt Roselyn lean into his palm and close her eyes. Never before had he so easily trusted someone. Yet, just by watching this young woman he could tell her everything. Somehow knowing she would never betray him.
Although neither knew it but both felt the same way. It was difficult for them to trust someone easily; Wyatt because they'd take advantage of his power and Roselyn because she had been hurt in the past. For 10 years she had been married to Brandon and for 10 years he had mistreated her.
With Wyatt she felt safe, somehow he gave her the impression she could trust him and that he would never hurt her. Roselyn opened her eyes and look into Wyatt's eyes. Once more she gasped as she stared into Wyatt's blue eyes. His eyes reminded her of the ocean. One time she had seen in. Her mother had a day off and had taken her and her sister to the ocean. It was the happiest day of her life. Although she was but 4 years old she still remembered the day.
Wyatt stared back into Roselyn's brown eyes. He heard her gasp and slowly lowered his head, putting less and less distance between their lips until they finally met.
Roselyn, not knowing what to do, just let Wyatt kiss her. When he raised his head he looked at her. Roselyn smiled, "I'm sorry, I've never been kissed before."
Wyatt, glad that he had not scared her off, smiled. For some unknown reason to him he wanted her approval. Wyatt had never been so confused in his whole life. He didn't care much about what other people thought, he had the power he could bent them to his will. Yet, with her it was different. He wanted her approval; he cared for what she thought and most of all he didn't want to hurt her.
"It's alright," Wyatt answered. "It's really easy," he grinned slowly lowering his head again kissing her.
Slowly she caught up and responded to the kiss.
Wyatt broke to kiss and smiled down at her again. "See? Easy!"
Roselyn laughed. "Why do people say you are terrible and yet so easy to love?" Horrified, Roselyn quickly thought of something else to say. "I'm sorry I don't know why I said that," she said, not being able to think of anything else to say.
"I've put a truth-spell over the building, so I know people don't lie to me. It made you say what you were thinking," Wyatt replied honestly. "Everyone, except for me, must tell the truth."
"So, how do I know you are not lying to me?" she asked, getting bolder by the minute. Being in Wyatt's presence affected her in more ways than one. She dared to say what she thought and even dared to do things she would never do in her life with Brandon, like taking a book and going through it.
"I could never lie to you, Roselyn, even if I wanted to," he answered, somehow not feeling like he should deny her the truth. "You can trust me," he honestly told her, seeing her blush. Never before had he loved someone more than power. All he ever wanted in his life was power, the one with the most power wins, exactly like his brother had said. Yet, somehow this young woman had found a way into his heart. He felt like he was under a spell, yet knowing this wasn't a spell… maybe a spell of the heart.
Somehow his words meant a lot to her. Knowing she could trust him meant he'd protect her and sometimes she needs protection. With Wyatt's arms wrapped around her she felt safe and for some reason she felt loved. "I know," she replied. "And for some reason I do."
"That is good to know," Wyatt's shot her a cocky grin. It was weird; he had never felt like this before. He felt like she brought the good out of him. The good? He didn't believe in the old good versus evil morass, did he? Then how can she bring the good out of him?
One look into her eyes told him everything he needed to know. Because he saw love shining from her eyes and everything felt into place. He knew they were destined to be together; like his parents were. When he was younger his parents used to tell them how fate had found a way to bring them together. Now looking into Roselyn's eyes, he knew they were destined to be together.
Suddenly he could hear his brother's voice in his head. "There is hope for you yet, brother…"
A smile grew on Wyatt's face and he gently shook his head.
"What is it?" Roselyn asked, peaking up at him.
"Nothing, I'm just happy," he replied, looking down at her.
Roselyn smiled. "Yeah… me too," she replied and settled down with her head against his chest.
Although their love was new and neither knew how it happened, they knew everything would turn out fine. They were destined to be together and both of them know this. Together they'd face what would come, side by side, and maybe just maybe there'll be a time when they could live in peace. Although neither knew this yet, both want to live in peace. A place where they could live a easy life, although Wyatt thought he had all he wanted he did long for a place where he could settle down without worry about if his demons would turn against him.
Both knew their time would come. One off these days their unknown dream would come true…
The End
26 January 2007