Crown of Thorns • 1

Chapter 1

“I don’t believe in things like that”

The brunette huffed, rolling her eyes. She always thought that ghosts and ghouls were childish; nothing but a child’s nightmare. Unlike the strawberry blonde sitting across from her, she didn’t care about things like that …especially a made up curse.

“But we have to go! What if the curse is real, huh? This could be a great opportunity for us!”

Hearing her friend saying that made her laugh; curses? Those doesn’t exist…they’re just as fake as Adrianna Jensen’s blonde hair.

“Listen, Alaska…things like that doesn’t exist, alright? Besides…we need something real for this project. Facts. The Crown of Thorns is nothing but a legend”

“Ah, that’s what you think, Mo!”                 

She exclaimed loudly, earning a groan from her brunette friend.

“Imogen Grey, don’t you dare groan at me! This curse is real and we are the ones who’re going to prove that!”

“Al, why can’t we do something easier? It’s only our English project, for heaven’s sake! We can just do a documentary about your bunny or something…. at least that’s more realistic!”

“No, Imogen. We have to do the ‘Crown of Thorns’ documentary! It’s basically the jewel of Hopeshire!”

Alaska said, which made Imogen sigh. She knew that tone; whenever her best friend uses that intonation, she knows that she could never change her mind.

“The crown of thorns…”

Imogen mumbles, spacing off as she stares out the window of her room. Hopeshire is a teeny tiny town near the ocean, and honestly? There’s nothing you can find…except for the legend.

Crown of Thorns; the gem of Hopeshire.

“Once upon a time….”

Alaska trailed off with an excited smile. Ever since she was a little girl, she’s always been fascinated with the legend, and she could never miss out on a chance to re-tell the story. Imogen buried her face on a pillow, bracing herself for another ‘story time’ with her best friend.

“In the royal kingdom of Tempus Vernum, lived a witch who was the controller of the storms…she was not an evil witch; not at all. Everybody knew her, because she was madly in love with the prince; the betrothed prince. The prince and the witch was in love, but then an arranged marriage happened…and the prince was forced to marry the noble lady from the north”

“Alaska, I know this story. Please stop”

Ignoring her best friend’s pleas, she kept on going with the story.

“After she found out about it, the witch’s emotions got the best of her, and she accidentally blasted a shot of lightning to the sky. The new queen saw that as a declaration of war. Her new husband kept on telling her that the witch was good. The prince, who was now the king, defended the witch, and it only made her jealous. She got furious, and with her own army… she started to march towards the witch’s island without the king knowing”

“Alaska, please stop. I’ve heard this story thousands of time before”

“The queen killed the witch while she was crying on her throne made up of thousands of rose thorns. The witch’s blood colors the throne red, which only made the queen happy. She took a seat on the throne and wore the witch’s crown of thorns, thinking that she’d gain the witch’s powers and beauty—“

“—But the crown isn’t her’s; and the universe knew that. Instead of earning the witch’s powers and beauty, the crown consumed her; it rotten her heart and soul and drove her to craziness”

Imogen continued sarcastically, making her best friend grin out of happiness.

“The queen threw herself to the ocean, and ever since then…legends says the evil queen will appear whenever she feels like someone is sitting on her throne”

“That story is pure bollocks!”

Imogen said with a sigh, sitting up on the bed. The legend seemed so silly. She believed that the island near Hopshire is just an island; nothing more, nothing less.

“Why does the witch have a throne?”

“Because she’s the controller of the storms in Hopeshire, duh!”

“Why is her throne made of rose thorns?”

“Because she loved roses”

“Why is the queen so stupid? Why’d she even thought that wearing the witch’s crown would make her beautiful and powerful?”

“Nuh uh…not stupid, mi amigo…just blinded by love! The prince-slash-king was so in love with the witch, and secretly…the queen was in love with him too. She didn’t want to marry him just because of the whole arranged marriage thing; she was actually in love with him! She wanted the king to be in love with her, the way he was in love with the witch!”

“Tsk, you sound silly”

Alaska smacked Imogen’s face with a pillow, her eyebrows knitted into a frown.
“You’re just a sourpuss”

“At least I’m a realistic sourpuss!”