Malvolia watched as the prince rode off into the moonlight, humming a merry tune. She watched as the girl at the window held the red rose up to her nose, inhaling deeply of its perfume. She watched as the girl shut the casement, a suspicious glitter in her eyes catching the light.

In the cloak of night, Malvolia reached up to the window with claw-like hands, her reedy voice shattering the quiet of the garden: “Don’t cry, my darling. Soon, we shall be together. You shall be the daughter I have always wanted. I will teach you such things. Such things! Soon.”

The girl appeared at the window again, opening the casement and looking out.

“Hello? Is there anybody there? Alfred?”

The witch slunk back into the shadows, pulling her cape tight against her spare frame.

“Soon…”

~

The next morning, when her mother came to bring Sioni her breakfast, she found her daughter still asleep, despite the fact that she was normally an early riser. The girl’s face was marked with tears. She held a red rose to her breast.