Part 2

I had made this potion with intent to destroy my old self. No one had made me. I smiled at Egbert then frowned; he was in pain. I rushed back over to him. "Egbert, what's wrong?"

Egbert mumbled his eyes scrunched up in pain then his face relaxed. He opened his now glassy eyes. "You. Freed me?"

"What? I just-" I paused, how do you explain that you took a love potion on purpose. Since it was without duress I still had my senses but I also couldn't undo it. Not that I wanted to.

"Oh no." He sat up. I’d never seen such gentleness in his face before. "I'm so sorry." Egbert put his hand on my face. I leaned into it.

I let the moment wash over me. I didn't know why he was sorry. I expected him to sneer at me. I didn't really care. This was better than my original plain of dying of a broken heart.

"What do you want?"

"You." I didn’t dare hope.

Egbert looked as though he was going to cry. "Besides that?"

"To make you happy."

A tear fell from Egbert's eyes. "Do you have another one of those potions?"

"No?" Was he hoping that I’d help him catch who he really wanted? I wasn’t sure that my love for him was selfless enough.

"Could you make another one?"

"Why?" I asked, jealousy biting at me. I pulled away. I guess I wasn’t selfless enough to help Egbert be with the person he truly desired. I needed him to know that all I wanted was for him to love me back. Me and me alone. I knew it was selfish.

"To marry you." He grabbed my hands.

“You don’t need a potion to marry me.”

“But I do. It’s not fair to you. You deserve better.” If it weren’t for the love potion I might have thought he was in love with me.

“You don’t have to pretend to love me.” It hurt me to say it.

Anise.”

"Marry me, Anise."

"What?"

"Marry me. I'll take a potion too. I will give you the same devotion you've given me. Then we will go from there."

I kissed him. It was better than any of Irena's kisses had ever been. In those only I had meant it. Here he meant it too. At least hoped he did.

“Is that what Irena does?”

"Is that her name this time?" I laughed. It was a strange relief to know that I still hated her.

"Have you been avoiding her?" He looked overjoyed.

"Maybe. I just wanted it to stop. The whole ‘chosen one’ garbage, I can’t." I shook my head. "I figured this would be better."

“What is your name this time?”

He took me to his castle. He put a halt on his campaign. I insisted that he wait till our wedding night to drink a love potion. I wanted him to be sure that he wanted to do this. He set me up in a lavish suite. He got me any potion ingredients that I wanted. And made it so that I could do whatever I wanted in the royal kitchens. Empress Anise had a nice ring to it.

"Hey." I felt a hand shake me awake. I looked up and saw Irena loom over me. "Come on." She said, "I'm going to get you out of here."
"Whats going on?" I put my most vulnerable voice on.
"We don't have time for this." I had never noticed just how cold and calculating her voice really was.
"But I don't understand." I sat up and shrank back.
"Fine." She shoved a vial of something under my nose. "This counteract whatever he's done to you."
One sniff told me everything I needed to know. I smiled right before I stabbed her.
"What? That should've worked."
"It should've." I agreed. "But these past few lives I've begun to question some things."
A weird expression passed over her face before she gave me a pleading smile. "Lives, what are you talking about?"
"Why did you give me a love potion in aerosol form?"
"Don't be ridiculous. It was an antidote.” That was a half truth. “Look, whatever he's done to you we can fix this."
"He hasn't done anything to me. And don't bother pretending to be attracted to me. We both know you prefer men." I wasn’t entirely sure if that was true but she'd only ever cheated on me with men. Even on the rare occasions where she was born a man.
"Ash," She pleaded. "Please, he's done something to you."
I tossed a bandage at her. It wouldn’t do for her to bleed out before my revenge was complete. "My name is Anise."
"I meant Anise."
"No you didn't. Because, I asked Egbert not to tell anyone my name yet. Cloak me in mystery and bring you right to me."
"But you're the-"
"The chosen one? Yeah, I decided it was high time to choose. I chose to be empress Anise consort of Egbert."
"This isn't you."
"Guards!" I grinned and this felt good. "It is now."
The guards rushed in.
"Seize her."
Normal Irena would've given more of a fight. But she'd lost to much blood. I located the truth potion. As the guards held her on either side I forced a dram of it in her mouth. Naturally she tried to spit it out.
"Do you remember our former lives?" I asked
"Yes." She hissed.
"Do you know why they keep happening?"
"Because I deserve power! I picked you! I made you ! I-"
"I've heard enough. Take her away. And inform the emperor."
"You'd be nothing without me!” She screamed.
"Bye!" I waved. "Make sure she receives medical treatment. I want to send her a piece of my wedding cake."
Unfortunately, I was never able to send her a slice of cake. Irena died trying to escape. I knew all of her tricks and she still thought trying to escape was a good idea.
My wedding was perfect. It would've been perfect anywhere. I was irrevocably under a love potion afterall.
Egbert took a strand of my hair. "Before I drink this. I want you to know I love you. I always have. I don't know if this matters to you anymore. But before Irena's curse never took us. I was devoted to you." He drank. "And now I always will be."
"I wasn't in love with you before." Guilt made me say.
"I know. I never expected you to love me. Even when the curse filled me with bloodlust I wanted your love."
"You have it."
"I wish I'd earned it. You deserved that."
"But you did earn it."
"I didn't but it's nice of you to say so."