The Lady of the Tower
From within the mirror the guardian watched in helpless horror. Six times it had happened, six girls and then six lads drawn up into the tower and locked pair by pair within one of seven panels gracing the wall. And powerful magician though he had been, his efforts had not made the least difference.
This sixth time he didn’t call out for Roselyn to stop. It would change nothing; his daughter couldn’t hear him anymore. Or if she did, she didn’t respond. His child whom he loved beyond all things slept in restless distress. But in her sleep, she entangled others into her magic, dooming them to a half-life within the walls of the tower.
All he could do was despair and try to make the young couples’ last days comfortable. His gaze shifted from the current lovers fighting the wall’s pull to stare again at the seventh panel, the only one remaining empty. If the past six were any indication, the last girl would arrive within days. And then months later, the final boy.
He winced as this sixth girl, Dulce, the boy had named her, met his eyes in a desperate plea. He turned his head unable to bear the scene before him. The lad’s arms wrapped about Dulce as though he could defend against the inevitable. No hope existed; Roselyn’s magic was strong, and she listened to no one.
The guardian drifted back within the mirror’s depth. He couldn’t help. All that remained for him was a handful of pitiful spells, only enough to make the trapped comfortable.
He bowed his head. The end neared, for him, for those trapped and for his daughter. One last time, the final panel would fill and then...
This sixth time he didn’t call out for Roselyn to stop. It would change nothing; his daughter couldn’t hear him anymore. Or if she did, she didn’t respond. His child whom he loved beyond all things slept in restless distress. But in her sleep, she entangled others into her magic, dooming them to a half-life within the walls of the tower.
All he could do was despair and try to make the young couples’ last days comfortable. His gaze shifted from the current lovers fighting the wall’s pull to stare again at the seventh panel, the only one remaining empty. If the past six were any indication, the last girl would arrive within days. And then months later, the final boy.
He winced as this sixth girl, Dulce, the boy had named her, met his eyes in a desperate plea. He turned his head unable to bear the scene before him. The lad’s arms wrapped about Dulce as though he could defend against the inevitable. No hope existed; Roselyn’s magic was strong, and she listened to no one.
The guardian drifted back within the mirror’s depth. He couldn’t help. All that remained for him was a handful of pitiful spells, only enough to make the trapped comfortable.
He bowed his head. The end neared, for him, for those trapped and for his daughter. One last time, the final panel would fill and then...
