THREE

Before Elaine had the chance to speak again, the witch lunged forward, catching everyone off guard and gripping the Princess around the neck in a tight lock. 

Isabel moved frantically around, searching desperately for a weak spot that would free her best friend from Odette's grip, the King and Queen moved forward, ready to attack but stopped instantly when the grip around Elaine's neck was tightened. She didn't dare to fight for herself though, secretly she was frightened of what would happen to her parents and everyone around her if she did. 

"What's the matter Princess? Too weak to fight back." Odette taunted in her ear. 

Feeling the sickly heat of the witch's breath, she squirmed and squinted her eyes shut. But still, she did not fight. Instead she took on her calm and composed state once again. Despite that part of her brain that was screaming at her to make a move, she knew that it was a bad idea. 

"Let our daughter go, you evil witch!" Thea yelled. 

"Take one more step and I will snap her neck like a twig!" Odette warned. 

Thea gasped as though she was about to speak again but quickly shut up and obeyed the order, stepping back instead of forward - fearing for her daughter's life. 

"Now… who's soul should I take for my dear sister?" The witch questioned Elaine. 

If her eyes could have widened any more than they already had, they would have. It was a horrific and malicious plan to steal someone's soul from their body and yet the wretched woman expected her to just pick a random person. There was simply no excuse for that kind of request. Although… in a way, Elaine understood. 

Odette was just trying to retrieve a soul for her sister after all. She was doing it for the love of a family member, and if it came to it then she knew that she would do the same for her parents and Isabel too. 

"And what if I don't?" She dared to retort. 

"Then you sacrifice your own soul to me." Odette dropped the ultimatum. 

She was really expected to choose between an innocent soul and her own not-so innocent soul. No one in this room knew why her own was not completely pure, and she planned to keep it that way, but she couldn't just sacrifice someone else to ensure her own safety. That would be selfish and beyond wrong. 

Searching her mind for a way out or at least a temporary solution, nothing helpful came to her. It was a known fact among her family that Elaine did not do well under pressure. This time around, the pressure was heavier than ever before. Without entirely thinking it through, she called out the first words that popped into her head. 

"Wait!... I have a solution."

The room fell silent, Odette tilted her head in curiosity and everyone else around them pushed their heads forward, waiting to hear what she had to say. 

"You don't need to take my soul… or the soul of any others here. Besides, it will not work." She began to explain as quickly and clearly as she could. 

"And what makes you think that?... Come on little girl, let's hear it!" The witch challenged. 

"Umm…" Elaine hummed. She hadn't thought this fad ahead. In fact, the only reason she had said any of that at all is to stop Odette from becoming more malicious towards her people and in hopes of creating a distraction. She hadn't anticipated the fact that no one knew what to do. 

"Tick tock goes the chiming clock." Odette warned, impatiently waiting to hear her answer. 

"Be… because in order to take someone's soul away from them, you need their permission." She finished, reciting the same words that she had once read in a book on the laws of magic. 

"Yes, yes. But you see, I can use torture to ensure that the one I choose will give their permission." She snarled in her ear. 

"No! Wait! Stop!... Surely there is another way, perhaps we can strike a deal!" Elaine cried out as Odette set her eyes upon Isabel with a look of cruel intent. 

The witch's attention snapped back to the girl she gripped onto so tightly, and with a daring smirk, she shoved the Princess away from her. Elaine caught her balance and managed to keep herself from falling, then she turned back to Odette and even took a small step closer to the wicked woman with the midnight black hair. 

"I can help you get your sister's soul back, but only if you do not harm anyone here!" She proposed, taking the witch by surprise. 

"You want to help me?" Odette quizzed in disbelief. 

"Only if you agree that you won't harm anyone in this room." Elaine added again. 

"That sounds like a fair deal, however I have one condition of my own to add." The witch pitched. 

"Go on…" She prompted, nervous to hear this extra condition. 

"I will leave your kingdom alone if you help me retrieve my sister's soul, however if you return empty handed, your soul becomes mine for eternity." Odette laid out.

Her words filled the room with cries from her parents, and Isabel, begging her not to do it along with the gasps of innocent bystanders shocked by the direction that this was taking. Elaine thought her options through for a moment. Her parents would be happier if she turned down the deal, but the kingdom would not be safe. 

If she made the deal and succeeded on her quest, both Odette and the people of Delphi would live happily and peacefully once again. But if she failed… her parents would lose her forever. Unfortunately she did not have all that awfully long to decide, everyone expected an answer now. Without a doubt, she already knew what she was going to choose. 

It would ensure the safety of her people and her family as well as giving the witch exactly what she wanted without the threat of danger towards herself. 

"You have yourself a deal." She stated, reaching her hand out for the woman to shake.