A Loophole

Vanessa stood up slowly and whirled around to look at Theodore. Her eyes rounded in surprise, her hands crossed behind her back, and they shook nervously.

Right now, her expression could be compared to that of a person who has been caught red-handed doing something wrong.

"Your majesty," she bowed.

Her eyes peered from beneath her lashes to look at the king, whose eyes had shifted from her to the spot where she had been squatting, and Vanessa tried to discreetly obstruct his view.

"What are you doing?" His eyes now trained on her suspiciously.

"Nothing. Just looking around."

"Really?" He asked in a taunting tone.

"Mm." She remained defiant in her answer, even though she knew he didn't believe her. But that resolve soon faltered when she heard his next words.

"Move aside."

"What?"

"You heard me; move aside." A snaky glimmer in his eyes as he watched her think of an excuse.

Unbeknownst to Vanessa, while she thought of something to say to the king, a maid walked their way, attending to the flowers she had placed in the pots not long ago.

A gasp fled the maid's lips, which called their attention away from each other to focus on the maid, who had her eyes fixed on the floor behind Vanessa.

Theodore, following the maid's line of sight, saw the flowerpot, but instead of having a fresh flower like the others, it had a shriveled looking plant that appeared menacing and unrecognizable inside.

Seeing the king staring at the plant, the maid quickly fell on her knees before him, fear looming in her eyes.

"Your majesty, forgive me. I'm cer—certain that I placed a flower in this one." Her gaze shifted to the pot before lowering completely. "I d-don't know how it b-became like that. I will clean it up immediately." And without waiting for the king's order, she was already rushing to take the pot away. It was the only way to save herself.

Though Vanessa feared the impact her action would have if Theodore punished the maid for her own doing, she still went to take the pot out of the maid's hold.

"Wait!" Vanessa said. But in that moment, her hand grazed the maid's backhand, and a yelp escaped the maid's lips as she sharply withdrew her hand. There was a mix of shock and pain on her face.

Vanessa's eyes widen in horror upon seeing the maid's hand, which she tries to conceal. It was bare. With a decent amount of flesh missing from it. Her gaze shifted to her hands, which had nothing on them.

Out of concern, Vanessa stepped forward to take a look at the spot, but the maid took a step back with every one she took.

Theodore only watched them while trying to decipher the scene in front of him.

"Let me help you clean it up." She offered in a daze, but the maid refused immediately.

King Theodore dismissed the maid, and she bowed before almost running away from them. When Vanessa took a step as if she was going to follow the maid, he said, "You stay."

She had a troubled look on her face as she met his gaze, and it morphed into confusion when Theodore smiled at her.

"You keep on surprising me." His words only made her furrow her brows more.

Did he not care that she had just hurt someone? Was everything only entertaining to him? She thought with bubbling anger.

"Pardon my words, but I did not do that to amuse you."

Theodore only hummed in response to her words, making it appear like he did not believe her, and Vanessa made a frustrated grunt.

"I'm telling you the truth. I don't even know how it happened; I only touched the flower to admire it." She confessed.

"But I do. Now tell me what kind of spell you have been practicing." His voice was not intense, and neither was it teasing her anymore.

"Spell? I wasn't practicing any one just now." Confusion would be a little overrated to describe her present predicament.

It was true that she was not practicing any spell when she touched it, but that didn't mean the human had not tried anything with the spellbook lately.

Last night, after her encounter with the king, Vanessa couldn't catch a sleep so instead she opted to study some of the spells.

'The quicker I'm able to practice spells, the better my chance of becoming free again.' Were her thoughts when she picked up the spellbook from under her bed.

Though some of the spells required some elements to be present for them to work, it didn't deter her from memorizing them aloud. Her eyes lingered on one particular one until she fell asleep.

Now, her eyes bulged out of their sockets from realization, and Theodore stared at her, waiting for her to confess her deed.

"I think I went through the spell book last night, but it shouldn't have an effect now." She spoke slowly.

"And what spell was it?"

But that was the problem. She had gone through so much of the book that she couldn't recall which one she practiced more. How was she to know that memorizing spells would have made her a murderer today?

There was silence, and Theodore did not need her to tell.

"If the properties I needed for the spells to work were not there, then how come?" She reasoned out completely flummoxed.

Theodore started walking, and Vanessa tailed behind him as he explained, "Just like what happened with the barrier spell, the spell failed to come to light at the exact time you cast it."

There had to be a difference in the time frame for it to cause this large loophole. He remembered Elkana's words, and he wondered what Vanessa could be missing that she didn't already know.

"Did you memorize any spell that was meant for plants or harming anyone?"

"No! I did no such thing; I only wanted to have a closer view of the blooming flower." Sadness painted the rim of her eyes. "But instead, I destroyed it."

Theodore stretched his bare hand forward and instructed, "Touch me."

She gave him a look as if she were questioning his mental health. Only someone who was not right in their senses would ask such a thing, especially after seeing what happened with the maid.

A/N: Like I earlier stated, the title has been changed along with the book cover. And I hope you love it. Other than that, everything about the story is still the same. :-)

If you haven't noticed yet, I have another ongoing book, 'Entangled With Darkness' participating in the WSA contest. I would really love to have your supports.