I couldn't believe it. I was back here again. Why did I come here? It only brought back bad memories. I guess it was the safest place, but I still didn't particularly want to be there. I had fixed the walls and was working inside when I decided to pull that vintage out of the kitchen. I opened the cabinet to see that it was gone. In addition, two of my three cups had disappeared. I'm not a fool, so I went out to the barn to make those girls give back my wine. When I got to the door, I could hear them talking.
"She didn't think twice about letting you keep your mobility." Sara said.
"You're right Sara, I should be grateful that she stole my life, but then let me keep small parts of it." Maedel replied.
"Look at it this way, she brought us with. She cares enough that she didn't want us to die back in the castle. And don't give me any talk about my just being useful, she was just handed another princess. This one even has hordes of men out searching for her minutes after she got here." Sara said.
"Sara... I can't accept it. At least not now. She took too much from me to forgive already. Time may heal all wounds, but I need more to heal properly." Maedel said.
"I understand." Sara said.
"You know, it's funny. I've had problems in the past, and whenever someone said that to me, I didn't believe them. Here though, I think you're right. You must be hurting as much as I am right now." Maedel said after it was quiet for a little while. The two were silent after that. I went back into the house and laid down on my bed.
What was I doing? Had I really gone this far into all of this that I was ruining peoples' lives? Well, I suppose I always knew that I was ruining the princes' lives. They didn't matter though. Sara and Maedel however, did. I knew Maedel hated me, that was obvious. I couldn't really blame her either. I always thought I would eventually change her back. Honestly, I knew I was just pushing it off. Truth be told, I didn't really know how I would turn her back. I had used a lot of spells, and removing even most of them would drain me enough that I would fall unconscious. Who knew how that would leave Maedel? She would probably end up as just a tree, no soul and no form. And Sara, I wasn't sure what I thought of Sara.
At first, Sara was just a tool. Over time though, she grew past that. For some reason, she accepted me. She had no reason to, in fact, she should have hated me as much as Maedel. She didn't though. Sure she still wanted to escape, but not so badly that she tried anything when we found out an army was coming. Even her question of why she should come was really just curiosity. Hang on, there was something up. That army story didn't seem right somehow.
An army of the size that we anticipated would have been noticed if they were marching and/or riding my way. If I was able to sense one or two princes coming onto my land most of the time, I sure as hell would have noticed a thousand or so troops in the nearby areas. I ran over to the jar I had put the princess brat into and opened it up.
"Connie, what country are you from?" I asked.
"I am the princess of Molossia!" Connie shouted back. Considering her size though, it came out more like a series of incredibly cute squeaks.
"Molossia? The country that isn't even a whole city?" I asked.
"Well, yes. But we're expanding! By now, they have your tower and the lands around it!" Connie squeaked.
"I burned it down. All that's left there is a stable." I said. Then it hit me. I burned down my castle. Even though I knew that the "army" was only about twelve people now, I had nothing to go back to. I could make it again, but it would take a lot of time, materials, and magic. All I had left to my name was a room packed into a suitcase, two girls that didn't even like me, a run-down old house, and the bitch whose fault this all was. I hadn't thought about it until now, but I really should have found an answer when Sara asked what to do next.