FicWad

Most of my life, I'd lived in darkness, locked away in the dungeon of the Great Lord's castle because I was punished for being a Wiccan. Simply, my father was the Great Lord's right hand and he asked him not to kill me. He pled for me to only be imprisoned. I had become unsightly thin and filthy. Every night, I had to listen to the wolf whistles of the new men being brought in. I was the only girl and I was the only one of my age. Those men hadn't learned that I was in no way going to let them have me. It was scary, being trapped with them, but I had realized that it was my fate to be stuck in the dark, dirty under-room of the estate.

"Hey, pretty girl," one of the dirty old men called from across the room. "Look over here."

I lifted my head just enough to glare at him, being as my wrists were chained to the wall and I was just sitting on the cold, hard ground, one leg extended in front of me and one folded underneath me. Then, I hung my head again, my long, tangled tan hair falling to hide my face once more. Then, I heard someone walking toward us, so I looked up. I found a young man, maybe my age, strolling my way. He had long, shaggy blond hair and dazzling blue eyes and was wearing a prince's attire. He stopped in the middle of the large room and looked around. Then, he looked to me and I smiled evilly. It was the Great Lord's, or the king's, son, Prince Alec. I hung my head again. It was the third time he had been there within the past two days. Though, this time, he walked over and knelt in front of me and forced me to look at him.

"You are a very beautiful girl, but your beliefs are filthy," he stated with a smirk. "What is your name?"

"Hoheo taralna, rondero tarel; hoheo taralna, rondero tarel; hoheo taralna, rondero tarel," I started chanting and spit in his face. All of the men in the dungeon gasped as the prince just chuckled.

"Utinam hoc omnes tibi somnium," he stated and my eyes widened. (meaning: I wish I could make this all a dream for you.)

"You speak Latin?" I breathed.

He nodded and asked, "Will you tell me your name now?" with a smirk.

"Alice," I replied.

"Tell me," he said, staring into my eyes, "why is it you follow the beliefs that you do?"

"Because I believe in a god, not necessarily your god," I said as emotionlessly as I could.

"Do you know what today is?" he urged.

"Does it look like I can keep track of time?" I growled, hanging my head again.

"It is the exactly a week before the day we call Christmas," he sneered. "The day of the birth of Jesus Christ. It is December the 25th. Today is the 18th, however."

"I do know that he is real, if that is what you are implying," I snarled, refusing to look up at him, no matter what force he used on me. "He is an important historical figure, but he was no messiah."

The prince simply laughed. All I could hear after that was the clinging of metals and then, the pressure on my wrists loosened. I felt my arms drop one at a time, so I looked up into the prince's beautiful eyes. He slowly stood, helping me to my feet along the way. I hadn't walked in almost ten years. I had been imprisoned in the dungeon at the age of eleven and my twenty-first birthday was rapidly approaching, being as my day of birth was January 1st. The new year. My legs shook and I wobbled more than I took a step. But, for some reason, Prince Alec was helping me along. The was when I realized that his little henchmen weren't there anymore. They had left, or he gave them leave or something along those lines.

"How long has it been since you last bathed?" he asked of me as we reached the stairs.

"Well, being as it's December, I'd say roughly about five months," I replied.

"Well, Miss Alice," he began, "we need to get you a bath, don't we?"

I smiled and nodded. Suddenly, he swooped me up into his arms and carried me up the stairs, all of the men shouting angrily after either him or me. He then carried me into his bathing chamber. Not the community bathing chamber for the servants and such, but his. The only reason I knew that was because I had some abilities that others did not. For instance, I could read minds. I could see into the future, whether it was near or distant. I could also see into the past and anywhere I pleased in the present. I had abilities that I wish I didn't.

Gently, he set me down on a table-like object and began unbuttoning my prison clothing. I gasped and he just looked up at me.

"Would you feel more comfortable if I had a maid do this?" he asked.

I looked at him for a moment and, just as he was about to turn to get a worker of his, I said, "No."

He turned back, shocked. Then he smiled and his sapphire blue eyes met my glassy ones. The prince continued unbuttoning the gown and slipped it off. Then, he had a maid fetch some hot water to pour into the tub.

"Wait," I whispered.

Carefully, I jumped down and retrieved my gown. He looked at me in confusion as I slipped it back on. Then, I slowly grasped his hand to ensure that was okay. When he did nothing, I led him out of the bathing chamber and through the long corridors. Finally, as I regained my ability to walk properly, I led him out of the castle and up to two of the horses right outside. He took the white steed with the glistening coat while I took the beautiful black mare.

"Hold on just a moment," Prince Alec said and then called one of the maids over. "Go fetch two of the cloaks from my room."

She nodded and took off rather quickly. Then, she returned with a stormy gray cloak and a brilliant red one. The young prince handed me the gray one and I swung it on. He did the same with the red one and then I tried to remember how to ride a horse. Then, I glanced into the past. I shook my head of the image and had the horse take off at a gallop with the prince's horse tailing me. I rode him to the forest and stopped at the edge for Prince Alec to catch up.

"Where are you taking us?" he asked with a laugh as he caught up to me.

"You'll see," I smiled and continued on through the trees.

I trusted him for some reason, even though I couldn't see his past or future. Though, I could read his mind. All he ever thought of as of the moment he knelt down in front of me was, "I cannot believe how beautiful this girl is." and, "I will not stand for father ever threatening to behead such a young and lively and sweet girl when she has done nothing wrong." All he thought about during that time frame was me. It was...nice...

I was taking him to my favourite place as a child. There was a glade within the thick trees with a hot spring and a water fall of warm water, not cold. It was all so beautiful. I loved it so much.

Finally, we reached it and he just gasped. Both of us dismounted and tied the horses to a nearby tree.

"What is this place?" he asked.

"A glade," I replied, swinging off the cloak. "My most favourite place to go as a child."

"It's amazing," he said breathlessly.

I nodded and added, "I came here to practice spells and chants." with a smirk.

He just smiled and shook his head, then said, "Dear, I am a Wiccan just as you are."

I gasped and my eyes widened. I then turned and stepped into the water, slipping out of my gown as I waded into the falls. The water was dazzling in beauty and in feeling. I closed my eyes and let the water run through my hair and down my body. The liquid had a cleansing substance within it and it washed away the filth.

"Uhm..." Prince Alec began. "...Missy Alice?" I turned and looked at him. "Would you like to stay here?"

I gasped in excitement, nodding, and said, "I would like that very much!"

"I must go, but you may stay," he sighed. "I will come back tonight to give you some clothing and I may not see you for a while after that because Father does not know of my letting you go and there is going to be an investigation."

I waded to my gown and put it on as I made my way to him.

"It was very nice meeting you, Prince Alec," I smiled. "Tell your father's servants Donatello and Marian of London that their little Ally says she loves them."

He nodded as he knelt down. His eyes met mine once more and then he leaned down and touched his lips gently to mine. He pulled away slowly and smiled at me.

"Please," he began, "call me Alec."

I nodded and he stood, untied his horse, mounted, and rode away. I climbed out and glanced up in time to see him look back and grin. I shivered from the chill in the winter's air. Quickly, I gathered twigs and found where I kept the flint stones. As swiftly as I could, I started a fire and surrounded it with rocks, then swung on the gray cloak.

I sat there for hours with the greatest feeling in the pit of my stomach. Suddenly, I heard heavy steps approaching. I turned and saw that Alec had returned with a bag. He dismounted, walked to me, and sat down beside me.

"Here's the clothes I promised you," he stated, setting the bag down on the ground. "I even threw in a razor blade and some hygienic items, just in case you would want them."

I looked at the bag with tears of joy filling my eyes and then my eyes went to him.

He groaned and said, "I knew I shouldn't have put those things in there!"

I shook my head and embraced him.

"Thank you," I sniffled.

He chuckled and hugged me back. After he talked with me for a long while, he rode away. It had been a week and I was still waiting for him to return to see the new and real me. I had shaved under my arms and my legs, I brushed my teeth, and cut my unnaturally long tan hair to where it was just to my shoulders. I was standing under the falling water when I felt something just as warm press against me.

Whoever it was swept my hair from my ear and whispered, "Hi, Miss Alice, with glass eyes." It was Alec. "What kind of dream are you able to have? Are you entranced by?" I inhaled deeply and closed my eyes as he rested his hands on my waist. "For me still, my heart tears apart and flows out. Memories pierced into the mended crevice." Alec had told me that he wrote poetry and songs and things along those lines. "Hi, Miss Alice with your, " he raised one hand and pressed his fingers to my lips for the next two words, "sincere lips." He rested his hand on my hip. "To who is love being...discarded to?...Grieved to? I again spin words around, under a fever. Reality come - To love is to sing and yet...I cannot sing....Still you do not answer..."

"That was beautiful," I sighed as he kissed my neck.

"Merry Christmas," he said in a low voice.

"Isn't that a Christian holiday?" I asked, turning my head to look at him.

"No, my dear," he shook his head. "Christmas is about spending time with loved ones."

"And you chose to spend it with me?" I wondered happily.

"Do you not remember how close we used to be before you were imprisoned?" he chuckled.

"That was you?" I gasped.

"Why else would I have let you go?" he scoffed.

"Because I was pretty?" I asked hopefully?

He chuckled and I turned around. He was shirtless, but that was as much as I could tell. I rested my hands on his chest and smiled sweetly.

"Dear Alec," I began, "how have you managed to keep your father from knowing that you are a Wiccan?"

"I simply allowed him to teach me about Christianity," he replied. "It is a strange religion."

I nodded and he took me to the edge of the water. He climbed out and dressed in unison with me. Quickly, I started the fire and we sat down in front of it. Alec wrapped an arm around me and held me close, my head on his shoulder.

"Oh!" he exclaimed, let me go, and started digging through his bag. He pulled out a beautifully wrapped box and said, "I got you a Christmas present."

I grinned and took it from him. I unwrapped it to find a beautiful gold, emerald encrusted necklace that had my name as the pendant.

"It's gorgeous!" I breathed.

He stood, took the necklace, walked around me, moved my hair from my neck, and clipped on the accessory. I ran my fingers along the smooth metal and smiled. Then, I strode to the place in which I kept my most precious possessions hidden. I knelt down and searched for my favourite necklace that my father had given me because, inside the box in which I kept it, was a ring of my design. The ring was silver, but the symbol on top was my marvelous creation. Indeed, it seemed a pentacle but was not. It was a crescent moon with the Northern Star inside the rim of a pentacle, only with ridges instead of smooth sides. Finally, I found it and took it out. I stood straight, turned, and strolled to him with the ring in my fist.

"Merry Christmas to you too," I beamed and slid the possession onto his ring finger.

"By the way," he started as he admired his gift, "I've invited someone that I know would never turn you in."

I nodded once in understanding.

"Alice?" a distantly familiar female voice asked from the entrance to my glade.

I looked to find a beautiful woman with dark brown, curly hair and hazy gray eyes standing beside a handsome man with shaggy, sandy hair and amazing stormy blue eyes.

"Mama?" I asked, tears filling my eyes. "Father?"

"My darling girl!" Mama exclaimed as I ran into her arms.

My father wrapped us both in his strong arms. Alec was right....Christmas wasn't just a Christian holiday. It was a holiday for families to be together and for one to spend time with the one you love. I looked back at Alec and extended an arm, inviting him to join. He did immediately and my lips met his. He brought my family to me. No one had ever done anything so nice. My Christmas that year was the best I'd ever heard of. And now, every year on Christmas Eve and Christmas day, Alec and I tell our three children the story.

"I love this story," our oldest child at age 13 and only daughter, Delilah, sighed.

"I think it's girly," the oldest boy at age 11, Matthew, scoffed.

"I thought you were manlier than this, Dad," the youngest at age 9, Michael, agreed.

"Well, no matter what you say," Alec smiled, "it was what happened."

"And I'm so glad it did," I sighed and squeezed Delilah, who was on my lap.

The kids smiled, nodded, and simultaneously said, "Merry Christmas."

"Merry Christmas," Alec and I replied.

It truly was a tale worth telling to them. And, what have we learned? Ah, yes. Christmas is a time for family. A time to spend with loved ones, just as I did, all thanks to one person. Prince Alec of Sheffield was the reason I lived to tell of a Wiccan who survived the Christian king's wrath on Christmas day.