Ava's Blog Post

 Desperate Souls

“Hello? My name is Henry Johnson. Someone killed my daughter, Rose,” an old man yelled into the cavern. The words felt far too familiar on his tongue. “She was only a child. I want revenge. I was told you can help me find the people who killed her. I know it has been years but they are out there somewhere.”

The cavern was dark and damp. Shadows danced on the walls from the flickering flames of torches. There was said to be a woman who lived there. A witch who could see the past, present, and future. She was known as the Dark Sorceress. There were many rumors about her. Some said she had snakes for hair, others saying she twists every word that comes out of her mouth, people have even said she was never human to begin with. Only the most desperate souls searched for her. 

Something moved amongst the shadows at the back of the cavern. 

“Sir, I know exactly who killed your daughter,” a chilling voice answered. 

“Who?” he asked.

“Patience. You will get your answer soon. I promise.”

Henry opened his mouth to speak but the sorceress held up her hand to stop him. She stepped out of the shadow. She was wearing a green cloak with a hood that hid her face.

“Sit,” she said, gesturing to two chairs with velvet fabric on the cushions. “Let me tell you a story.

“A long time ago, there was a happy, little family. A father named Henry, a mother named Elizabeth, and a baby girl named Rosalin.”

“What games are you playing, witch. I already know this tale,” the old man interrupted.

“Not this version. Now be quiet and listen.” The sorceress continued, “When the girl was still quite young, her dear mother Elizabeth died from something mysterious. Henry vowed to keep Rose safe so she would never have the same fate as his wife. So he locked her away in his house. He made her into something weak. Something fragile. Like a flower. A rose. But he seemed to have forgotten, roses carry thorns. And thorns can cut deep. 

“The girl became desperate. Each night when her father was asleep, she searched every inch of the house. Looking for a place she could finally escape and be free of her father’s lies. One night, she found something in his study. A note from her mother. Do you remember what it said? It said Henry, her husband, was nothing. It said she found someone else more worthy of her love. She was going to leave her family. That was enough to make Rose mad. And she was, trust me. But, then she saw something else. The date on the letter was only two days before her mother died. Everything clicked.

“The reason Henry locked his daughter up was not to protect her. It was to protect himself. He did not want her to leave the way her mother tried to all those years ago. When she tried to leave, he killed her, too.”

Henry’s face was blank with shock. He and the Dark Sorceress sat in uncomfortable silence for a while until he said, “No. You-you’re lying. People told me you twist your words. I did kill my wife all those years ago, I admit. But I would never, ever hurt my Rose.” 

“People say I twist things to avoid the truth, but I have never lied.”

“No. I refuse to believe what you say is true. My daughter was not murdered by me,” Henry shouted. 

“You stabbed a knife through her stomach! You felt her blood on your hands. You wept over what you did but not because you killed her. Because you knew no one will ever love you after what you became. So, you chose to forget what happened. You told everyone that bad people broke in to kill her.”

“That is the truth!”

“I see now. You have been spinning your web of lies for so long you have begun to believe it yourself,” the sorceress claimed.

“You do not understand what you are saying, sorceress,” Henry responded. 

Both had risen from their seats in their angry states. The fires burning in the cavern got brighter as the fight continued. 

“You were the one who killed your daughter,” the witch yelled. “With that knife that you went after her with. However, she had been dying long before that. Your protection was a prison that she tried to escape time and time again. You were a coward. Keeping her from the world. Keeping her from really living. So she formed a plan. She would kill you and finally be free. 

“But, like you, she was a coward. She decided to see her father in you. Not the man who locked her away or killed her mother. But, you saw what she planned and you finally snapped.”

“How do you know all this?” Henry’s voiced broke. 

“She was saved by the Dark Sorceress. The wounds did end up killing her, but she was brought back to life.”

“You saved her? Where is she? Where is my Rose?” Henry questioned.

“I told you. Dead.”

“You just said-”

“I know what I said. Your Rose is dead.”

A small smile appeared on the Dark Sorceress’s lips. She pulled her hood back and revealed skin so pale it looked white and ghostly. She had ebony hair and eyes as dark as the sea. The same eyes the old man in front of her had. “As she was resurrected, a new Rosalin, me, was born in her place.”

Henry stopped breathing and his heart was pounding inside his chest. He tried to speak, but nothing came out. 

“Don’t,” Rosalin whispered. “You have nothing to say that I would be interested in hearing.” 

Her eyes were filled with hatred and pain. All the goodness and happiness that Henry knew had died with his Rose. Her body was shaking with anger and her fists were clenched. 

“Would you like to know what else I found in your study all those years ago?” a tear fell down her cheek. “A heart. Mother’s heart. Now tell me, why would you have that?”

The truth slipped out of Henry, “I just thought if I couldn’t have it in life and love, then I can in death.”

“You’re insane.”

Henry ignored her, “How are you the sorceress? How did you become like this?”

“The Dark Sorceress is a job. The one before passed her magic onto me so that I could live. Or so what was left that you didn’t destroy could live. I was betrayed by you. But, I found a new calling. A new life. One without you. I now realize, however, you will always be a part of my life,” she paused. “Unless you are dead.”

And with those words, the Dark Sorceress picked up her knife and stabbed the old man in the same spot he stabbed her all those years ago. She wanted to prove she was not a coward anymore. That she could be better than him. Instead of the feeling of satisfaction that she had avenged her mother, she felt empty. Tears filled her eyes and rolled down her cheeks. She bent down next to her father’s body and wept until all her tears were gone. After everything he had done to her, she still loved him. She felt like a fool. 

Rosalin closed her eyes and thought about how simple everything used to be. She felt like nothing and everything all at the same time. She stayed there with her father. Suddenly, her body began to feel as though it was floating, and then everything went dark.