“You’re not going to need that love potion.”
Isabella looked up at her aunt and smiled. “You don’t think so?”
“No. He’s already crazy about you. Apparently everyone in the village knows this but you.”
Isabella sort of blushed. That’s a lot of emotion for Isabella, who’s more a thinking girl. Not your average feminine village girl.
Yes, she’s feminine. Don’t get me wrong. But atypical. In more than one way.
She and her aunt have been doing magic together since Isabella was a child. Isabella’s mother doesn’t know. Of course not. In this village, it’s not seen as something really bad. Not like some of the other villages where they actually burn people who practice it. But it’s still something to keep quiet about.
So you’re probably wondering about the boy in question. Tall, handsome, and the best kid with a sword around. He’d be called a prodigy if he were a musician.
Let’s put it this way. Peasants aren’t allowed to own arms. However, the Lord made an exception in this case. He knows Avery would make a good defender, and would train him himself if it weren’t for his shoulder.
Yes, Avery will soon leave the village to be a squire, then someday be a knight. And what a knight he will be! Fiercely gifted, the villagers knew from an early age that he could be the one to end the village’s curse.
Is Isabella the prettiest girl in the village? No, that would be Tonna. But Tonna is stupid.
Isabella’s a close second though. Plus, Isabella’s got a spunkiness that Avery quite admires.
Isabella smiles to herself as she puts enough of the potion’s ingredients into a tiny bottle. “Just in case,” she smiles to her aunt.
—
