Prohibited future (2)

I went to get a pair of light green sand tongs and a book of forbidden incantations to cast the spell I had in mind. Justine was disappointed to see me again so soon when I stopped in the kitchen to tell her I was almost finished with the hostage.

“Get rid of your mess in the guest room, from now on it's the prince's.”

“You think I can make things disappear like that, you rude girl?”

“Put the magic stuff in my room, you were supposed to move it anyway...”

“This is the last time I do you a favor. And before I forget, I will cook cream puffs for lunch tomorrow. I probably won't be there when you will get up, so don't wait for me to eat them!”

Distracted, I nodded as I unlocked the entrance to the secret passageway built into one of the living room walls.

The recruit was disappointed when he heard me, then saw me returning to the basement. I flipped through a heavy book whose title intrigued the prince, who had no idea what was going to happen to him. Opening the book to the chapter on seal incantations, it landed noisily on the small table. I began to recite an incantation which caused a silver mark to appear on his skin, on his left collarbone. It was just low enough not to be noticeable under a shirt.

The boy squirmed to see the entire star-shaped pattern, distinctive of magical property seals. This one, in particular, was most restrictive when most clients were simply looking for servants, pets, or to forcefully betroth their daughter. These formulas were obviously illegal, although on the black market they could be bought like small bread.

These extreme restrictions were the best way for me to ensure without a shadow of a doubt that my new property would never be far away. I had often wondered under what circumstances such a cumbersome seal could be needed, but now the answer was clear to me: soul mates are bound for life, this seal is merely the materialization of the red thread of their destiny.

Satisfied that I had finished, I sat down on the floor to take a nap. As soon as I turned my attention away from his chair, I felt a miserable look on my shoulders. With an angry look on my face, I caught the blond boy in the act “Isn't it tiresome to stare at me indecently? I've ruined your night, so I'll give his Highness a chance to rest if you feel like it. As for me, I will not allow you to go out until I am fully rested. You may not be aware of it, but you are exhausting...” my sentence ended with a yawn that showed my deep boredom.

“What are you doing? You're not going to sleep with me on that dreadful torture chair! It hurts my legs!”

“May it do you good.”

“I cannot work for you if you neglect my health!”

“I will treat you as many times as necessary, our contract will not be broken so futilely.”

It was obvious that he didn't realize what joining us meant. Anyone would have chosen death in his place! Of course, he didn't know about us and the rumors...

“Please, it's not necessary, I'm not going anywhere!”

Aware that he was ready to pester me for hours about his sore buttocks, I offered to sleep on the floor.

“That's the best you're going to get.”

Freed from the magical unbreakable straps, he squatted against the same wall as me. I turned off the light with a snap of my finger. He soon found a comfortable sleeping position. I leaned against the wall, waiting for him to fall asleep so I could get some shut-eye.

“Do you have a blanket for me? It's uncomfortable here, and it's very damp, I don't want to get sick.”

“Don't abuse my hospitality.”

“For that, you should already know what it is.”

Without giving him a glance, I imagined shooting him in the head at point-blank range, so that he would become a sleeping prince in his four-poster bed.

“Shut up and sleep on my shoulder,” I ordered, tearing his voice away with a finger bend. “That's the best I can do for you, so make up your mind quickly before I change my mind.”

It would be the first time I'd seen one of those complaining noble sleeping in the dirt. There was no way he would dare to approach me, my proposal was only to humiliate and frustrate him.

With a resentful look on his face, his body moved towards mine to gain as much warmth as possible.

I immediately withdrew what I had just thought.

I'm dreaming, he dared!

This nobody took great pleasure in disgusting me with my choices. Was it his way of rebelling against me? Was he so cold that he would risk himself with an assassin?

He shivered.

Big Brother never showed a sign of weakness. He didn't complain. He didn't cry.

Unlike his family, Big Brother was far from cold. He would embrace me with all his warmth when I collapsed. His radiance was like an endless source of warmth that always managed to comfort me in the most insurmountable moments.

Until it was torn from my arms.

An unbearable feeling of emptiness.

I finally convinced myself to get up and get that damn blanket and a thousand pillows back to him, but his weight discouraged me from doing anything. I relaxed my numb muscles and ignored as best I could the impostor who leaned on my shoulder to snooze with impunity.

“Don't sleep with your mouth wide open!”

I pulled myself together to be more courteous “One day you will swallow a fly.”

Feeling him snuggled up against me seemed unreal. It was the first time that someone had approached me without fear. This idea made me feel very resentful. He was an impostor. And worst of all: a noble.

Before I lost him, circumstances prevented me from approaching Big Brother. Although we were linked forever. Since he had become a valuable tool for his family, he had no time for me.

Touching humans was a harmless thing I hadn't been allowed to do in a long time. The few people I touched died, as if mowed down by Death. Justine was an exception, but she was not maternal or tactile, she was not a mother.

Disturbed by the presence of my hostage, I would have gladly done without such a burden. I was once again divided between the need to push him away and the need to get closer to the truth. I didn't like this instability in my mind, which made me vulnerable...

If only he were worthless, if only he could be perverted like the other nobles of his kind!

One unexpected detail separated my property from the rest of the nobles: the gleam in his eyes. It is said that the eyes never lie, and I was imbued with the eyes of all those whose lives I had taken. I had seen many, but those of the little blond man were unique.

They reflected a concentration of all the worst human traits, on a level beyond comprehension. His green, merciless gaze contradicted his personality, something was wrong... It bothered me so much that I wished I could puncture his bloodshot spheres so I wouldn't be swallowed up again.

He was hiding something, it was obvious.

Whatever he was keeping to himself, I was going to reshape him into the perfect Big Brother.

“You're not going to replace me, Miss,” his voice sang in my head. It was like a whisper in my ear as I closed my eyelids.

Family. A huge weakness. I didn't know why people suffered when I threatened to take their families away. They all preferred to die in their place. Kind of like the prince and his twisted heroism.

But I think I finally understood. Now that...

When we are suddenly separated from them, our hearts are torn apart, we lose our bearings and our lives change dramatically. And that's exactly what I did to my victim.

What his family did to me! But as far as this event was concerned, the prince had nothing to do with it. After all, the doe was full of tenderness since he was no longer flapping in his chair like an angry animal.

He was just an innocent victim, like me, in this world beyond us.

Eventually, I shook off the swarming thoughts that occupied my head, finding sleep difficult.