"Burn her!"
"Kill her!"
"Get rid of her dark ways!"
"Hang her!"
"Burn her at the steak!"
That is what they said when they thought I was a witch.  They had my hands tied around my back,  pushing me up against the pole in the town square.

The crowd of the angry mob crowded around me,  with fire and pitchforks in their hands. Two soldiers stood at my side,  swords drawn,  and they called out,  "We will speak to the king.  What he decides to do with her is what will happen."

Great,  I thought.  The king hates me.  There is no way in hell I will survive this.  I would actually prefer hell to the torture he is going to inflict on me.

One soldier untied the rope from the pole,  and started to drag me towards the palace,  barely giving me time to stand up.  My dark hair, now in knots, covered my bruised face. 

As we walked past the crowd,  everyone started roaring insults at me, threatening everything I live for. Some threw tomatoes at me, most missing my face by mere inches.

The long,  treacherous walk up to the palace soon quiets down as people get on with their lives running their markets, going about their daily business.

"How many times is this now?" The tall,  lankey soldier asked.

I chuckled. "I lost count a few years ago. "

The muscular one cracked a smile, but it soon faded as he said, "He isn't going to be as easy on you now.  You know that right? You aren't a child any more."

"And that means what exactly?  That all the times I was locked in the dungeons for weeks on end,  with maybe three meals per week was him going easy on me? Or how about when I was exiled for two months with nothing to protect myself?  And the last time, when he threatened to hang me in front of the entire kingdom,  that was just him trying to discipline me?" I shot back snarkily.

"You don't really understand. Those punishments were better than what the advisor wanted him to do. He spared your life multiple times.  And you know you can very easily protect yourself."

"But I shouldn't be! I mean,  I'm only seventeen! I shouldn't be able to defend myself,  not like that!"

Both the soldiers quieted at this,  as they continued to pull me up the narrow path towards the castle doors. 

"Can you take off the rope please?  There aren't any peasants anywhere,  and you are cutting off the circulation to my fingers."

Tall and lankey quickly untied the rope, then rolled it up,  shoving it into a sachel around his waste.

One of the guards at the palace door saw us walking up and he slowly shook his head, rolled his eyes and opened the door. "He's not gonna like this you know. He was hoping today was going to go flawless."

"And that my friend is why I just had to go and mess it up." I said with a smirk.

In the palace there is a grand staircase  in the middle of the first room, and there are many rooms and doorways all around the room. There are many different decorations set up around the castle,  celebrating the "big day". Of course he would celebrate today.

We started walking up the stairs when a servant came up to us and in a shy voice said,  " Sorry sirs,  miss,  but would you please,  if it isn't too much trouble,  take off your shoes?  It's just that we just finished cleaning the marble stairs and well, dirt."

I looked down at my clothes and shirt. My once white shirt* is now a yellow brown color, my black belt barely staying clipped onto my waist,  my black leggings ripped and muddy,  and my once clean shoes now falling apart at the seams. There may or may not be a bit of blood stained in the pants with the mud.

I quickly tore off my shoes,  not wanting to create more work for the poor servants, knowing how much they already do for the Royal Family. The guards didn't bother,  but the servant,  Maryian I believe,  gave me a grateful look as I passed her.

"You could have been at least a little nice to her.  She works hard at her job."

They just huffed and pushed me up the stairs.

We made it to a door at the end of a hallway I recognize as the "conference room". I can hear voices coming from the room,  mainly the kings and his son.

"Wait here." Muscles said as he walked into the room.

I leaned against the wall,  inspecting my fingernails. "You could at least act like you are a little worried you know. He isn't gonna like seeing you today. "

"Why should I be worried?" I shot back. "It's not like he could actually kill me. We've been through far too much to just get rid of me.  I know he has a soft spot for me. Especially since today is the anniversary."

He looked like he was going to say something when the door opened,  revealing Prince Andrew walked out and had a confused look on his face.

"What are you doing here? Today of all days?"

"Whatever do you mean?" I asked,  faking innocence. "Today is the perfect day for me to be here. I mean,  it is my anniversary afterall. It'd be a shame if I didn't even make an appearance."

He ignored me and looked at lankey and asked,  "what did she do this time Justin?"

Huh.  So that is his name.  He's taken me in so many times I guess it would make sense for us to be on first name basses.

"I think it would be best to explain in a more private area,  where only you and your father can hear,  sire,  if it is okay with you."

The prince nodded his head and led us all into the room.  All of the chairs had been pushed to the back of the room,  leaving just the circle table in the middle of the room. There were parchments covering the table,  covered in battle plans.

The king doesn't turn around when he hears us enter,  and instead just keeps working on one of his plans.

"That one isn't going to work you know." I say nonchalantly. "It has too many variables and 'ifs'.  Scratch it and start over."

"Thank you for your input but I don't believe I asked you,  did I?" He said in an annoyed voice.  "What's happened this time?"

"Oh the usual," I start,  trying my hardest not to feel a little hurt. "A bit of this,  a dash of that,  villagers thinking they see something they don't understand,  mob cries witch.  Same old same old."

The king turns to look at me,  and I can see his face, old with wrinkles, too many to be healthy.

"Ya know hun,  I can always heal you.  Make you be as healthy as you were before you made a rookie mistake."

"Dont talk to him that way, " Prince snotty cuts in. "You only speak when spoken too.  You lost your privilege of speech when you committed treason."

At his words I scoff. Hundreds of years ago,  magic had been banned all around the nine realms because one man couldn't handle the power. Now anyone who is showing signs of having magic is immediately executed or exhiled.

The treason the prince speaks about is saving his life. I used to live in the castle,  until my twelfth birthday. At eleven strange things started happening. If I got angry people got hurt. I soon learned it was magic. I told my mom,  and she made me promise to hide it. I did a pretty well job of hiding it,  until my mom got sick. Her last words were to try to hide it,  and I did try. Three months before my twelfth birthday the prince got sick.  He was about fifteen at the time. I went up to his room and healed him. He betrayed what I did and told the king. He exposed me for what I am.

The king kicked me out of the castle,  only barely sparing my  life. The treason I did,  using magic,  saved the Prince's life.

"Would you have ratherd I let you die,  leave the kingdom to the kings idiot nephew? Your moronic cousin? Even at eleven I knew you were supposed to rule the kingdom,  and that he would have been the downfall to the kingdom. So yes,  I used magic!  Oh no what a horror! I can easily take away the magic protecting you from dying and let you slowly die the horrid death you were supposed to do.  Would you like that,  your majesty? Do you want your precious son to die?"

He stared at me in shock then shook his head. "Then tell him to stop talking to me that way.  I have just as much of a right to speak,  no I have more of a right to speak than he does. Tell him to hold his tongue when speaking to me,  or I will make his life and everyone else in the kingdoms life's worse than a living hell. Sir."

I calm down and realize I changed.  My usual green eyes turned gold, wind started blowing in the room from no where,  causing my hair to fly wild against it,  and I was hovering a foot off the ground.

"You will learn to control your tongue boy,  if you want to survive." He said in a shaky voice. "I don't care if you are powerful,  you will not get away with what you are doing any more. Did anyone get injured or killed this time?"

I think back to when I was fifteen. I was exhiled into the forest for three weeks. I was surviving,  and a group of hunters came into my living area.

They started trashing the area. The weather started getting bad,  winds picking up speed,  and three of the men were swept off their feet and thrown.  One of them had gotten away with just a broken leg,  but the other two had died.

"I didn't lose control of my power this time. I was actually helping someone if you can believe it. They just didn't understand how I did what I did,  so they accused me of witchcraft."

At this both the king and prince looked st each other then the guards to verify my story. After they nodded,  the prince said, "You still must be punished. What do you think father?"

"Does anyone know for a fact you have magic?"

"Please. I'm not an idiot. No.  No one knows."

He walked over to one of the other pieces of parchment on the tables. "I sentence you to two weeks in the forest. To the villagers it is a punishment for you,  but it is your home yes?"

Yes.  After being exhiled for your stupid laws I made a home there.  Not like anyone else would actually give me a roof to live under.

"You know me so well.  It's not like you have any spies watching me.  Anymore. Yes I live somewhere in the forest. I can see myself out.  May I leave now? I mean I do have an anniversary to celebrate.  It isn't every day your family disowns you and throws you out."

The king and prince stare at me in shock,  and they blankly nod. 

"Well then,  see you again in another few weeks?  Maybe I will even last a few months!  Wouldn't that be something!" I say snarkily at them. I walk towards the door, and before exiting I turn to look at them and say,  "It's been fun.  See you later dad." And I walk out of the room.

*the shirt she is wearing looks kinds like these but white. I didn't know what they were called and had no clue how good really describe it.