Morgan tossed her long dark hair in a rage as she slammed the solid oak door behind her. Feeling particularly malicious towards her brother, Arthur, she stomped towards his precious 1956 Porsche Spider and got in the driver’s seat. The keys naturally were in the glove compartment as this was Hampton Court Palace, her family home with security so tight the guards had bodyguards.
Not for her though as she could protect herself, being a powerful sorceress trained by the one and only world-renowned celebrity master sorcerer, Merlin.
Flooring the Porsche, it roared through the grounds and out of the armed gates, using a basic invisibility spell to provide cover. She smirked at how easy it had all been. Her outrage at dinner, when Arthur told her it was time she got married and produced a list of suitors, had been real. But it also provided the distraction and opportunity she had been waiting on for years.
Merlin had gifted Arthur a jewelled ring many years ago that gave him immunity to any spell she could cast upon him. Morgan had wanted, needed that ring to put a stop to his meddling in her life.
So, when Arthur told her to find love, she pointed out she didn’t know how to love, had never loved anything in her life. That it was her predisposition to be deceitful, cruel, and uncaring. He called her a sociopath. That was enough for her to flip the entire banqueting table, serving dishes, candles and all, trapping Arthur underneath, unconscious and oblivious to her slipping the ring from his finger.
She should have chopped his head off.
However, a spell would be magnificently more fun. Arthur didn’t understand her, he loved lots of things, his wife, his children, his car, his money and sport. Now, she was going to cast a spell and take away his love, not just the love he had for his car but all of it.
Morgan arrived at her secret townhouse in Belgravia, flushed with anger at the sight of two strangers canoodling outside. Love was all around her and it made her feel sick. Taking the car keys and her Prada handbag she entered her home, heading straight to her magic room.
Arthur wouldn’t let her engage in any kind of sorcery under his roof, hence her having her own covert dwelling. She opened the door to the scents of sage and patchouli fighting for dominance, the sound of crystals chinking from the draft of air and the sight of her snakes in their tanks opening their eyes to check it was she that entered.
Morgan threw her Chanel coat to the floor, taking her place in the circle at the centre of the room. As she closed her eyes, she began to thread the spell together. With her impressive skills, it doesn’t take long. Thin strands of light appear in many different colours, she moved them with her mind until they created the pathway she required before her chanting commenced.
Halting for a second, she thinks this through. Why stop at Arthur? He wasn’t the only one who annoyed her, what about all of the weddings and christenings and engagements and birthdays and the two people sucking face outside. So, she changes her mind, making the spell universal rather than just for her brother then poof! It was done.
Overnight, the world descended into chaos
One week later, WW3 had broken out
Morgan woke to the noise of shouting and screaming coming from the neighbours’ homes, along with squealing police sirens piercing the air. Sounds she had become accustomed to since she’d been swanning around her townhouse, still too angry to go home. Although, she was thought of moving to a better area, one where people had better manners and were quiet.
Checking in on her magic room, she was dismayed to find all her snakes lying in the bottom of their tanks, they were dead. Looking around, all her herbs and plants were also dead. Before she could inspect further, a loud banging came from her front door.
‘Morgan! Open up! I know you’re in there!’
‘Green,’ she muttered. ‘How does he know of my secret home?’
It was Arthur’s best friend Green. He had a first name, but she had either forgotten it or just had no inclination to know what it was. The man was beautiful and extremely cocky, also notably absent from the list of suitors. Arthur obviously didn’t think she was worthy of him. Maybe, Green hadn’t wanted to be included, not that she cared.
‘What are you doing here?’ She demanded on opening the door, but he pushed her aside, storming into her living room.
‘Have you got any idea what you’ve done!’ He raged at her.
Morgan had never seen him so angry. Her eyes raked over his biker leathers that highlighted his strong muscular body, the shorn head with a patch of hair on top, gelled and spiky and his beautiful face before confronting two piercing blue eyes filled with fire.
‘I have no idea what you’re talking about,’ she shrugged.
‘You have destroyed the world,’ he told her through gritted teeth. ‘To do this to Arthur would have been bad enough but to empty the world of all its love is a crime beyond comprehension. You’ve destroyed humanity, ripped the hearts out of every living creature, beauty has been replaced by death as humans and animals kill themselves and each other.’
‘I’ve never experienced love Green, it’s not the end of the world and I’m glad everyone else is finally feeling like I do. If they are killing each other that’s on them, not me.’ she huffed.
‘You might not have much love for another, but you are loved, Morgan. Arthur loves you; your family loves you; Merlin loves you, he sent me here to help you. I love you.’ He whispered the last part as he came to stand in front of her. ‘I need you to undo what you’ve done, please.’
‘No!’
‘Reverse the spell!’
‘Never!’
‘Don’t make me hurt you!’
Greens hands gently wound around her neck, her horrified eyes snapped to his and she could feel his fingers clasping tighter. ‘What are you doing?’
‘If you don’t reverse the spell, I will kill you, so Merlin can fix things. Morgan, if you put things back to the way they were, I will share the love I have with you. I have too much, and I obsess with myself. Take half my love and experience for yourself all the beauty and joy that comes with loving another.’
Morgan laughs brokenly as his fingers close in on her vocal chords. ‘I don’t want love and I’m not reversing the spell.’
‘Defiant even when facing death.’ Green chuckled. ‘So be it.’
As Green crushed her throat, he began to recite all the things he loved about her, in the hope she would change her mind. He told her all the things that love meant for the world, what it felt like to love and feel love. Then he told her he loved her over and over again while squeezing the life out of her.
Morgan was fighting back, concocting and conjuring spells in her head and it was proving to be the hardest battle she had ever fought. Not only was she blacking out and messing up her chants but Green’s words had infiltrated her brain, ‘I love you, I love you.’
Poof!
It seemed like a lifetime before Morgan opened her eyes, she was lying in a heap in the corner of the room holding a candlestick that had fallen from the ceiling. Instinctively she knew she had been defeated. While she was furious with Green, she also wondered if he had meant what he said but more importantly why did she care?
‘Babe? Are you ok?’ His voice accompanied a rustling sound from the opposite side of the room.
Ignoring him, she let him crawl to her for the answer, ready to battle once more. Until he came into view.
‘Are you ok?’ He asked again and Morgan let out a loud cackle. ‘What’s so funny?’
‘Your hair!’ Holding her tummy, she laughed some more until tears ran down her cheeks. ‘Your hair is bright green! It must have happened during our battle when I got my spells mixed up.’
‘I don’t care about my hair. I want to kiss you.’
Before Morgan could refuse, his lips crashed onto hers and it wasn’t all that bad. In fact, she quite liked it. Maybe even loved it.
They were married in an elaborate wedding six months later at Hampton Court Palace. Arthur gave her away and gifted them the titles of Prince and Princess as a wedding present. Morgan struggled for a long time with the emotions that came with love, but she restored love and order to the world.
Green’s hair stayed green for the rest of his life. His ‘branding’ for saving the world.
This short story was part of my English Literature and Creative Writing BA degree coursework. I was awarded a 2:1 in 2023. I am now studying for an MA in Creative Writing. I think the stories should be read, rather than collecting dust in my Mac. So, for fun, I’ve posted them in their original form, unedited and imperfect. Please feel free to share your thoughts below.
Oh, and some are autobiographical, can you guess which ones?
Carolyne
