Homecoming

He had made her a promise. Her help in exchange for a lifetime together. She had held up her end of the bargain. She saved their lives and got them to this faraway, distant place. He in return had agreed to the marriage and to be hers forever.

And now, this. 

Ten years of marriage and four children later, he was leaving her. Yet she vowed that she wouldn’t let him go easily. Maybe he just needed a reminder of all that she had done for him. She had protected him, counseled him, nursed his father back to health, and even killed for him. His response was infuriating. He had accused her of contrived love. 

The plan already in motion, she waited for him to arrive. She knew about the arranged rendezvous between him and the other woman, because once her eyes were wide-open to the situation, she knew everything. It was really idiotic of him to divulge his intentions. Had he forgotten who she was?

She used to be the type of person who was always one step ahead of the game. Being loveblind and a devoted homemaker and mother for the last decade, her abilities had atrophied but hadn’t vanished. Waiting patiently for him to arrive at the estate, she didn’t bother to change from her soiled dress. 

A pang of hunger shifted her attention to her own physical needs. It had been a while since she had prioritized herself. She turned towards the kitchen and made a beeline for the fridge. Deciding to make herself some lunch, she opened up the chrome french doors and assessed her options. 

If she was being honest with herself, from the moment she laid eyes on him, he had been her number one priority. And, come to think of it, before him, her father had preceded him in the pecking order. 

What had started out as a simple mission to satisfy her hunger, turned into a much more decadent endeavor. Emptying half the fridge on the counters, she proceeded to cook up a feast, large enough to feed a whole family. A born nurturer, she was never very good at cooking for one. 

It didn’t take much imagination for her to comprehend his attraction to the young and impressionable heiress. The match would give him nearly limitless power, money, and access. That had been what he wanted all along, before she had fallen for him all those years ago and his plans for the throne had been derailed. 

Her skills were truly unmatched. She hadn’t used them in a while, but now she was enjoying using her gift again. She could make even the most complicated dishes in just a few moments with concentration. She decided to set the table for three and took out the delicate china from the adorned, mahogany hutch. It wasn’t her home, they didn’t own anything as extravagant as the items found here, but she had had time to get to know her way around. 

Having just finished serving all three place settings, she sat down to eat. By now she felt famished. At that precise moment, he arrived, right on time. Calling the name of his lover as he made his way through the first floor of the house, he stopped dead in his tracks at the doorway of the dining room. She registered his bewilderment with a smile and indicated for him to take a seat at the head of the table. 

Not taking his eyes off of her, he stepped forward. “Where is she, Em?” His voice was low and harsh, but he wasn’t fooling her. He was afraid. 

“She’s upstairs getting ready. Have a seat and assuage yourself.” There wasn’t a hint of anger, hurt, or anguish in her voice or expression. She was composed and her demeanor calm. 

He didn’t move. 

“Jason,” she said, her eyes pleading, “the three of us need to talk.”

Although uncomfortable, he was relieved. The tension in his shoulders slightly alleviated, he let out a sigh. All the talking in the world wasn’t going to change his mind. She used to be so powerful but the disuse of her gift must have rendered her impotent. 

He took several steps into the room and stood behind the chair across from her, still not daring to let her out of his sight for a moment. As he watched her work her way through the main course, a prickling on his neck alerted him to a presence behind him. Turning, his eyes met with those of the beautiful, young princess. 

His breath caught in his chest. She was exquisite. With delicate features and porcelain skin, accentuated by the stain on her lips and liner on her almond eyes, she visibly shone in a form-fitting gold gown. 

Grasping her at the elbow, he gave her a gentle kiss on the cheek before inquiring, “Are you alright?”, in her ear. She chuckled softly and nodded. She met his gaze with a smile. 

“You look extraordinary”, said his wife, and she meant it. She put down her fork and knife. She was sizing her up. “I knew it would look marvelous on you.”

This was strange, even for Em, but he didn’t want to taint the atmosphere by becoming hostile with her just yet. 

“Please, have a seat and help yourselves.” 

The golden beauty pulled out the chair across from her and took a seat as Jason slowly and cautiously descended into his, looking from one feminine face to the other. The two behaved with alarming civility that put him ill at ease. 

She looked across the table at the young woman and smiled as she reached to fill her glass with wine. She really was a lovely girl. At another time they could have been friends. It was a pity that her fate placed her in these circumstances. She filled the three glasses with red wine and placed the bottle on the table, all the while he eyed her suspiciously. 

“We won’t be eating or drinking anything from your hand”, he said calmly and steadily. 

Nearly cutting him off, Em asked her, “What would it take for you to never see my husband again?” He was irrelevant to his part of the conversation. 

Her surprise barely registering, she coolly leveled her eyes on the older woman and answered, “We’re in love and nothing can impede that.”

She leaned forward with her final offer, “Even if you could attain a divine gift or ability?” Her eyes gleamed conspiratorially. The question hung in the air between them, neither one moving or breaking eye contact. The sorceress was reading her. Not her expression and body language like a commoner, she was pilfering through the sentiments of her heart and into her soul, to decipher her true feelings. 

Unfortunately for the heiress, her feelings for Jason were authentic.

“I wouldn’t trade a life with him for anything.” It was said with conviction. 

There was a pause. 

“Very well.” At the sound of her last syllable, the shimmering dress went up spectacularly in a spontaneous plume of flames. The shriek from the poor creature shook the glass panes on the windows that overlooked  the terrace on that pleasant spring day. 

Leaping to her feet but unable to free herself from the venomous dress, her features distorted as her flesh melted and her cries withered in her collapsing throat. Jason, rendered temporarily paralyzed but unable to look away or even blink, let out an anguished wail. The flames devoured the earthly body but touched no other object in the room. It was all over in the span of a minute. 

The blue flames miraculously extinguished themselves, leaving only a pile of ash on the floor. Em reached for her wine glass and relinquished her hold on Jason. 

Trembling and gasping for air, he stared at her with terror-filled eyes as she calmly drained her glass. When she was done she rose from the table without looking at him and began to silently stack the plates. It was then that he noticed her stained dress. 

Reading his thoughts, she said, “Mind the mess in the cellar,” and brought the dishes through the swinging door and into the kitchen.

The unpleasant task was completed and her dignity was restored but it brought her no joy or relief. Opening the side door from the kitchen, she stepped outside into the afternoon sun. She closed her eyes and summoned a transport that would take her elsewhere. Obliging to her request, her celestial ancestors encompassed her with a forceful, uplifting wind to bring her back to her homeland and her father.