Cursed by Bandits (Once Upon A Curse)

5. Chapter Five

Chapter Five

L ost in a thunderstorm of thoughts and emotions, I gazed out the window, where in direct contrast to my inner turmoil, the night was calm. I allowed my tears to flow freely down my cheeks, a silent testament to the pain I carried within. Pain I had no idea I could feel until this afternoon. I made no move to wipe away tears, as if acknowledging their existence might somehow erase the profound ache in my heart. How could my father be gone?

Here I was, back in Lockersley after years of absence, standing in my old bedroom just a few doors down from where my father’s presence once was. But he was gone, his absence a cruel blow that shattered the reunion I had longed for in my dreams. Never again would I feel his embrace, his bear hug that could crush the weight of the world, or experience the joy of being lifted off my feet and spun around in his arms.

As I surveyed the town so changed from the place I once knew, I felt the weight of my uncle’s unwelcome presence, and it was painfully clear he did not want me here either. What I had yearned for as my homecoming had morphed into a disorienting blend of the foreign and the familiar, leaving me adrift. The void that had been inside me since I left home, something I thought would be filled upon returning, now loomed large and felt impossible to repair.

I hastily brushed my sleeve across my face, attempting to stem the tide of tears, but they continued to flow unabated. My thoughts came back to my father every time it felt like I was done crying, and the river of sorrows started flowing down my cheeks once again. I couldn’t bear to be here, to linger in this place that was once my home; the need to escape consumed me, driving me to seek refuge elsewhere, anywhere but here. My resolve hardened, and I wasted no time in shedding the ill-fitting dress I had worn to dinner, exchanging it for one of the more comfortable garments I had brought back from the nunnery—a simple ensemble, entirely black, intended to help me blend into the shadows as I plotted my escape from the keep.

With one last look at the bedroom that no longer belonged to me, I tugged the black hood over my head and climbed out the window. Grateful that my room was situated on the second floor, I braced myself for the descent. Despite the biting chill of the ocean wind and the relentless mist that soaked my clothes, I knew I could navigate the climb down. It was something I had done many times when I was younger. However as my fingers numbed from the cold and wet, it was difficult to keep my resolve steady.

Finally, as my feet found purchase on solid ground, a wave of relief washed over me, nearly overwhelming in its intensity. My entire body trembled with the release of tension now that I had successfully navigated the treacherous descent from the castle walls.

I brushed myself off and continued on, letting my feet lead the way. I wasn’t sure exactly where I was going, only that I needed away from the keep and everyone in it. Which was why I was surprised to find myself standing in front of the old oak tree that had stood like a sentinel in the center of Lockersley long before I could remember. Attached to one branch was a simple swing, nothing more than a plank of wood connected to the tree by two long ropes. I tested the ropes to ensure they were secure before I sat on the wooden plank. Dragging my toe through the soft earth below, I allowed myself to sway gently, the rhythmic motion a soothing balm for my troubled mind .

My father would always bring me here as a child. He would spend hours pushing me as he taught me about the land and my responsibility to the people here. He focused on what it meant to be nobility, how too many of his peers thought it meant they deserved respect and wealth; when in his mind, if he wasn’t ensuring that his people were healthy and happy, he deserved nothing from them. The thoughts were so ingrained in my values it was like I could hear his voice talking to me now.

I knew I had to do something to fix what I had come home to. But what?

“What am I supposed to do, Da? It’s your brother on the throne. I know you wanted me to be there, but there’s no precedent for that. I wish you were here to tell me how to fix all of this. But if you were here, it wouldn’t be broken.”

The wind whispered through the trees, and for a moment I thought I could hear him. But that couldn’t be. He was gone. The leaves rustled, and it was like I felt his presence walk up behind me. I shook my head, but the feeling didn’t go away. I could feel him behind me, waiting to push me on the swing and talk through one of his tenants’ problems with me, listening to see what solution I would come up with.

With each kick of my legs propelling the swing higher into the air, I allowed myself to drift into a reverie, imagining my father’s invisible hand gently pushing me onward, urging me to soar higher. As I swung back and forth, grappling with the weight of my current predicament, a sense of purpose crystallized within me.

The castle, brimming with indulgence and excess, held the key to easing the suffering of my people. It was a realization that seemed to be echoed by the very air around me, whispering its assent to my unspoken resolve. Startled, I turned my head, half-expecting to find my father standing behind me, offering guidance. But he was not there.

However, at that moment, I no longer felt alone. It was as if my father’s spirit hovered nearby, a silent presence imbuing me with strength and clarity. With renewed determination, I embraced his unseen guidance, knowing that he was with me, and everything he taught me guided my actions as he watched over me.

With a renewed sense of purpose, I walked back to the keep, down and up the stairs until I stood below the window to my room. My fingers ached from earlier.

Screw it. Picking up a handful of pebbles, I walked over to the window next to mine. I chucked the handful of pebbles towards the opening. Nothing. I grabbed another handful, then another one.

Finally, Jane came to the window .

“Open the door for me,” I said, somehow whispering and yelling at the same time.

She rolled her eyes, but nodded before disappearing.

I made my way to the front and waited, my mind whirling. I needed a plan. It’s not like I could just start loading up everything from the keep and distribute it around town. It wouldn’t be that easy. If it was, my uncle would already have done that instead of amassing the signs of wealth all around the castle. I tapped my lips, deep in thought.

The creak of the door interrupted my thoughts.

“Get in here,” Jane hissed. “What were you thinking?”

I shuffled through the door. “I wasn’t thinking, I just needed out of the castle. It was enlightening, though.”

Jane looked at me, suspicion in her eyes. “What do you mean, enlightening?”

I looked around the corner before making my way up the stairs, keeping to the shadows the entire way. “I mean, I have the beginnings of a plan. Lockersley is going to be the thriving town it was before my uncle took over, and I’m going to make it happen.”