A Cinderella's Secret Witch Diaries Short: "What Do You Want?"

Without further ado, here he go! Here's a little something I wanted to share with you entitled "What Do You Want?"

I stared in the mirror and tried to ignore the slight wrinkles around my eye. My hair, tangled and full of knots, made me looked older and a bit crazed.

"How are you doing?" Jeremiah held back and kept his distance.

"I'm fine." I lied and I was pretty certain that he knew that I did not tell the truth.

Jeremiah hung back and remained distant. He ran his fingers along the wooden table in the room and the silence between us grew.

"Phoebe will be okay. She can take care of herself. Those visions of her from the future..."

I turned around having had enough of him trying to calm me down. I wasn't calm and I doubt I would ever be for a long, long time.

With my hands on my hips, I faced him. "What do you want?" The words came out a bit more forceful than I had intended and out of habit I clenched my left fist. The magic rose up within me, but I tempered it down. After so long, the power coursed through me and I knew that I would not back down now.

Jeremiah crossed his arms and did not look away. "I want to leave."

"So that's it? You're definitely going to break from me and our marriage?" I shook my head and clicked my tongue against the roof of my mouth in disgust.

"You're not right. You need help." He said the words and I pounced on him.

"Don't tell me what I am or what I'm not!" I took a few steps to cross the room and pointed at him. "If you want to leave, then go. I have enough to deal with. I have to find my daughter and there's Napoleon to deal with. I don't have time for this."

A scowl came across his face. "The magic is corrupting you. It's eating away at everything you once held dear. Let it go. Cast it out and you'll be able to find a way to survive."

"Stop it!" A rage came up within me and I unleashed on him my anger and hate. "I need a partner who's going to stand by me and not criticize me at every turn. Nothing I ever do is right for you. Nothing. If I'm such a burden to you, then just leave. Get the hell out of here and never come back!"

My hand shook and my heart beat fast.

Jeremiah took a step back as though I had physically assaulted him and a small smile broke out on his face. "I see. You'd rather force me out than admit what you've done is wrong."

"I'm not trying to..."

He shouted over me. "No, now it's my turn. Enough of your sad little story. Let me tell you what's going on here." He pointed at my left hand that had begun to glow. "The magic you called upon is all you want. It's consuming you. You've been so desperate to reclaim your powers that you've lost all of who you are. And now you've lost me. Goodbye!"

I went to say a witty retort at his back, but the words escaped me. He stormed out of the room. The man I loved. My husband. My partner and best friend.

What did I want? The question rattled through my head and I tried to focus, but I could not concentrate. Phoebe lost and trapped in the future. Napoleon back in control in Paris and a power that had traveled back in time to destroy everything. And me, at the center, lost, angry, and tired. More tired than I had ever been. I kept pushing, working, struggling, and I have not stopped. Now wasn't the time to stop. But when would be a good time?

I swatted a vase from the table and watched it fall to the floor and smash into hundreds of pieces. The clatter echoed through the room and a servant came running in. Young, with her hair pulled back in a tight bun, she stopped and lowered her eyes when she saw me. But she was unable to hide her look of fear when she came upon my rage. I smiled and clenched my fist.

What did I want?

Revenge. That's what I wanted. Revenge for losing Phoebe and my life. I would dish out retribution and justice and I would use my magic to burn anyone or anything that tried to stop me. I had had enough of being the victim. Now I would rise up and no one would stop me. It was my time.

I turned away to let the servant clean up the mess I had created and caught my reflection again in the mirror. I held great power now and nothing would stop me. Nothing.

Except when the power consumes you...

Mentally, I bottled up the little voice inside me and focused. I had a lot of work to do. And for as long as it lasted, I would get my revenge and find Phoebe again. Anyone who tried to stop me from reuniting with my daughter would suffer.

I strode out of the room and left my old life behind. Now I had a new path to walk and I would never look back. Never.


Well, I hope you enjoyed my short story. It felt good to write that as I've been really busy lately. If you enjoyed "What Do You Want?", then please go check out Redemption (book 4 in the Cinderella's Secret Witch Diaries series). A reader recently left her review and said that she couldn't put the book down! But if you’re not familiar with the Cinderella’s Secret Witch Diaries series, be sure to check it out. Thank you.