Charlotte
I entered the women's lounge where the smell of strong drink at three o'clock in the afternoon was prevalent. I sat down on a sofa away from the others and waited as Otávio had told me to do until a woman with wavy hair that hit just above her breasts had eyes with a strong tint that highlighted their brown color, the blonde of her almost white hair was made brighter by the sun coming in through the window. She sat down next to me in front of me and filled a glass of rum for herself and one for me, handing it to me.
She raised her glass to toast.
"What are we toasting to?" I asked.
"To a new era," she replied, looking me straight in the eye. I toasted with a smile on my lips and took a small sip of the liquid, there was no formality about this witch, she seemed to want to talk as an equal, which intrigued me.
Could it be that what she had to offer made her equal to me? I very much doubted it, but Otavio told me that he would meet her in the afternoon when I sat down in the lounge, so that I could wait for her, and that's what I did.
"Otavio told me that you were useful," I said, taking the lead, "and that I needed to meet you here in the lounge, I'd like to know why."
She smiled.
"I'm the last witch of the Alencar lineage, do you know what that is?" She asked me.
Although Torrem didn't embrace witches, they weren't well regarded either, they were feared for their magic, especially those of Monteiro, whose entire lineage seemed perverse, unlike those of Alencar and the Nirvas.
"You're bad"
"I'm powerful" she corrected "I have the strength of my ancestors"
"With black magic?"
She stared at me.
"The means don't matter, what matters is that I will make you and King Octavian win this war."
I shook my head, my heart racing with excitement as I listened to her, I could tell that the hands of the clock were ticking slowly as my anxiety grew more intense and all that appeared in my mind was Alexia's head on a wooden stake in front of the gates of Torrem.
Looking sideways, she focused on my face.
"I will serve you as I serve King Octavian and I will give you the dragon you crave, I just need to know that I'm not wasting my time and that you won't expose me or I'll get up and leave!"
"You're not wasting time, I'm willing to do anything to win this war!"
She nodded.
"That's what King Octavian told me, but the price is high!"
I could already imagine what would be asked of me and I felt the lump in my throat, I swallowed and nodded my head while looking firmly into her eyes.
"Is your husband still in the castle?"
"Yes, I didn't let him leave."
"And the dragon is still in Zaim?"
"Yes, as long as George is in Zaim he will stay!"
She nodded.
"Collect the dragon's blood in a week, it needs to be on a sharp blade, do it soon because a man will pick it up at half past eleven at night, so be ready!" She finished her drink and stood up, I watched her as she left, feeling the hands of the clock ticking harder, pouring the run down her throat.
George's dragon would be mine.
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Alexia
The doors opened, Soraya was facing the dressing table with the maid fiddling with her hair, she made a single subtle gesture dismissing her, the maid made a brief reference to me before leaving the room closing the door slowly.
Soraya's room was a land I had never been in, so I walked around it as if it were a minefield. We'd been getting on well since four days ago when she began to suspect I was pregnant. Symptoms were starting to appear, such as nausea - it was still weak, but it had made me vomit three times and on several other occasions I was nauseous.
I asked Estevan to change his perfume and when he did, I asked him to stop wearing perfume because I couldn't get close to him, the tiredness I was experiencing was something I'd never had before so I couldn't stand so many hours of morning classes in a row, my mind was bogged down with things from the war and I knew that part of my exhaustion was because of that, I still kept fencing classes on the sly by halving the time and even the teacher noticed my indisposition and attributed it to the war.
These were tiring days in which I was sleeping very little, nightmares were taking over and I just needed some good, calm moments, which Estevan, Mariah, Lorenzo and surprisingly Soraya were also providing.
"You sent for me," I said, approaching her.
"Yes, I wanted to show you a few things" She got up and walked around the room, stopping in front of the trunk by her bed, opened it and took out some baby clothes "These were Esmeralda's clothes"
She held it up for me to see, the broad smile on her face as her eyes seemed to glaze over at the little pink dress.
"I've got Thomas and Estevan in here too," she said, rummaging through her trunk and lifting out a pair of yellow pants.
I took out a little blue monkey.
"Thomas"
I smiled, smoothing out the fabric.
"I met him"
My words made Soraya freeze.
"Soraya, he shouldn't be alone in Electron. Bring him back to the castle" I asked as I stared at her, and Soraya's smile fell apart.
"You Estevan must think I'm a terrible mother and Acacio a terrible father," she said, folding her clothes, her gaze sad, "I would too, but you don't understand. The castle is a noisy place and that's what's really bothering Thomas."
I watched her as she sighed and blinked a few times, it was strange to see Soraya so sensitive, so vulnerable.
"It was clear in everyone's eyes that they despised my son, as well as making fun of him. Thomas was continually suffering, from his demons and the demons of the court. He seemed happier in the fields of Letrons, away from everyone, so we preferred it that way."
"I understand," I said thoughtfully, "but you should visit him."
"Not everyone can travel for weeks at a time"
"I'll take you today, with my dragon it'll only be a two-hour trip. We'll be back in the evening"
Soraya lifted her face.
"Estevan has already made that offer, but Thomas doesn't want to see me or Acacio."
I touched Soraya's shoulder and she looked me in the eye.
"He's your son, you can't abandon him," I said, "Don't put it off until later, it might be too late."
She nodded slowly, looking thoughtful.
"I'll talk to Acácio, but we need to come back the same day." Soraya gave me a weak smile, she looked anxious and distressed at the same time.