Cast a spell

Hearing Noah's knightly response to her harsh words, Laila could no longer suppress the chuckle that had been on the verge of coming out from the moment they had started their little skit. After she finished letting all her chuckles out and had wiped the tears from the corners of her eyes, Laila said, "Very well. Let us begin." She then scraped her throat and said, "As you are aware, today the Maiden Olivia from the house of Smith came to visit your beloved wife for she was feeling faint and ill. You requested her presence in order to keep me company in hopes that it would improve my state as you catered to work matters."

Laila took a dramatic pause before she continued in a choked voice, "During this visit I was advised to rest for a moment on the chaise to allow my body to strengthen from the strains of childbearing. While I was lying my body to rest, I was informed by lady Olivia that during her entire visit you had not come down even once to check up on me. You did not greet our guest, you did not check up on me, your wife, and when our guest was leaving after taking over your duties, you did not bother to bid her farewell nor did you thank her for her efforts. Our guest has been deeply offended and so have I. How do you plead to these accusations? What reasons could you possibly have for your rude and uncaring behaviour? What explanation can you give to right these wrongs?"

Though Laila knew very well that he had come to check up on her and he was not the kind of man she was accusing him of being, she was by now far too curious to see what explanation he would come up with to make her let the matter go. Plus, she was enjoying their little inconsistent medieval way of speech. She always had a fascination for the arts. She certainly didn't enter the fashion world for nothing. Back in high school she had considered entering the school play a few times but it wasn't considered cool enough for someone who had the role of being 'Jake's girlfriend'. He would always tell her that her entering the play would cause embarrassment for him. So, she let that small dream go. Her little back and forth with Noah right now, was her way of fulfilling that dream in this life. This required acting and getting into character as much as any other role in a high school play might have required.

A deeply offended Noah took to the stage once more after Laila's words had finished. "This is preposterous! Lies I tell you! Nothing but lies! That guest must have been the evil sorceress disguised as your friend, for that is the only reason I could think of for her false accusations. In her presence I have come to visit you when the clock struck three. I gazed upon your fair face and grazed your beautiful dark chestnut coloured hair. Once my heart was assured that you were well and resting, I stole a gentle kiss before returning to my chambers to attend to some more work matters. I even have the recordings should you wish to judge my actions for yourself. The sole sin I can confess to is not bidding our guest farewell. I was not made aware of her departure for otherwise how could I not spare a second of my time to give my greetings to someone who has helped me so?" He then dropped himself to the floor, grabbed Laila's hand tightly and pressed it against his chest as he said, "If even one word that crossed my lips has been a lie then may the heavens strike me with lightning this very second."

Laila pretended to be in shock and gaspingly said, "Heaven forbid! You said a sorceress? That is indeed unbelievable! But certainly it must be true if you are willing to swear to the heavens over this and can provide recordings of the events that have passed. Oh, what shall I do? I have changed from being the one to preparing to judge someone's sin to becoming the one who has committed the sin. How could I ever think that you would treat me badly when you worship the very ground I walk on? She must have cast a spell on me. For how else could I betray my love for you so easily?"

"Yes the damage to my heart is quite severe but the true offender has long since left the house. So, let us fret this matter no longer and focus on the brighter and more positive things that awaits us on our path." As he said this, he placed his hand on Laila's stomach and rubbed it gently. "How is our son doing?" Laila's eyes widened immediately when she heard this. Did he say son? Is she having a boy? Another coincidence with her previous pregnancy caused Laila to feel overcome with emotions but she quickly pulled herself together and did her best to hide what was going on inside her in order to not make Noah become suspicious. As she pushed away the thought that her baby Nick had returned to her in this life, she said with a forced smile, "Better now that his mother and father have solved their misunderstanding."

In a more cheerful voice she continued, "But now that we have come to the subject of pregnancy, I wanted to ask you, what is the password to my laptop again? Your son has gotten me to become such a scatterbrain these days and for the life of me I can't remember it right now." As she looked down on her stomach and placed her hand over Noah's she added, "I wanted to check up on some old friends but this little fella is standing my way. Maybe it just needed some attention but otherwise I hope that a little talk with his father might do the trick to get him to behave."