Page 54 of Bewitched

“What do you mean?” asked Rhys. “She’s had twenty years to learn, if I’m not mistaken. Didn’t her mother just die recently?”

“Yes, Hecuba did die recently, but... but…” Rapunzel looked back and forth from one of them to the other.

“What is it?” asked Rhys. “If there is something else I need to know about Medea, please tell me.”

“Her birth was a magical one,” Rapunzel explained.

“Aye, I know. She has magic. Both light and dark,” said Rhys with a nod.

“Nay, it’s more than just that.”

“How so?”

“What is it you’re trying to say, Rapunzel?” asked Alaina in a gentle voice.

“Well, I’m sure you’ll all find out anyway, so I suppose it’s no secret. Everyone back home already knows. When my sister was conceived, dark magic was involved. Lots of it. Her mother, Hecuba deceived my father in the shapeshifting form of a beautiful woman. Once Medea was conceived, she was born almost immediately.”

“I don’t understand,” said Rhys, his brows creasing.

“You see, her birth was magical, most likely some dark spell her mother put on her somehow. I don’t really understand it either. Hecuba had me trapped in a tower at the same time when Medea was born, so I watched over her until she turned eighteen.”

“What?” gasped Zann. “So, you were a prisoner for eighteen years? Rapunzel, you really don’t look old enough for that to be true.”

“I’m not, and that is not what I mean.” Rapunzel released a deep breath and continued. “You see, Medea’s childhood went very quickly.”

“How quickly?” asked Rhys preparing himself to hear something absurd, since he figured it was what Rapunzel was leading up to.

“Well, Medea was under a dark spell from Hecuba. Therefore, she aged one year for each day that passed. It didn’t stop until she turned eighteen.”

“Good gods, you have got to be jesting!” Rhys held his head since this information made it hurt. “No wonder she has such a childlike innocence about her at times.”

“I wish I was jesting, but I’m not.” Rapunzel continued. “Medea attained her magical abilities quickly as well. She and I were at odds constantly, ever since she was born. You see, she was a lot like her mother until she changed... in the end, that is.”

“In the end? What end?” asked Rhys. “Something isn’t adding up here.”

“There is a part of the story I left out, but I guess I might as well tell you that, too.”

“Please do,” said Zann. “This is proving to be very amusing.” He grinned and folded his arms over his chest, eager to hear more.

“Let’s see, how do I say it?”

“Just tell us the truth,” said Alaina. “Unless you’d like me to read your mind, and I can relay the rest of the story.”

“Nay. I’ll do it. She is my sister and I owe it to her, I suppose.”

“Go on,” said Zann impatiently.

“My brother, Rumpelstiltskin—or Kin as we call him—had a shard of Hecuba’s magical mirror embedded in his heart.”

“A magical mirror?” asked Zann, nodding. “Nice. I could use one of those.”

“My brother would have died if it wasn’t for Medea.”

“So, then she does have a good side to her,” said Rhys, wanting to hear her say yes more than anything right now.

“She does,” said Rapunzel, getting a sigh of relief from Rhys. “However, her guilt has isolated her from the rest of the family ever since that day.”

“Guilt?” asked Darium. “For helping to save your brother’s life? I don’t understand.”