Jean Genie
Copyright© 2026 by Rachael Jane
Chapter 2: Maristela bint Layla
Of course, the Valcázar family weren’t the only Spaniards persecuted by church and crown. The Moors and the Jews were rounded up in droves and expelled from Spain. Any dissent was ruthlessly crushed, and people lived in fear of their neighbours. Whole communities were displaced. Anyone with skills such as healing were immediately suspected of witchcraft. Maristela was one such victim. For weeks she dodged those hunting her down. But the pursuit was relentless and eventually Maristela was arrested along with the Valcázar family, and likewise confined to a solitary cell.
“Save Jeannia if you can,” pleaded Don Hernando to Maristela as they were marched away in chains.
Although Maristela had been trained in certain arts that often labelled her a witch or a sorceress, she had little chance to use her skills. Andalusi magic lore requires a balance between the three Realms of Earth, Heavens and Soul. Achieving such balance while shackled and imprisoned was no easy matter. Besides, Maristela’s own predicament was dire, and she could only save another person if she was able to save herself as well. Deep in the bowels of the castle dungeon, that seemed to be an impossible task.
Maristela could use her magical gifts in three ways. She could hide or reveal small objects. She could temporarily influence the minds of others. Or she could transport objects from one place to another. The smaller the object, the greater the distance she could move it. What she couldn’t do was create something that didn’t already exist, or influence someone for longer than a few hours. As for hiding objects, then the gold bracelet on her wrist was easily hidden from view, but hiding herself, or another human, was beyond her abilities.
As soon as she was locked in her cell, Maristela set to work. To protect herself and Jeannia, she simply befuddled the mind of the head gaoler each time he prepareds the roster of prisoners to be interrogated the next day. With so many imprisoned in the numerous cells of the dungeon, it was easy for Maristela to make the head gaoler overlook two of his charges when the need arose. Maristela would have liked to extend her work to more prisoners were it possible to do so without raising suspicion.
As for escape, then that seemed impossible. The gaoler who delivers food twice a day was a hideously mutilated man who was reduced to little more than a mindless slave. However, the injury to his brain left him easy prey to Maristela’s influence.
The gaoler may have been a simpleton, but his desire for sex was not diminished by his head injury. Many of those imprisoned in the cells around Maristela had succumbed to the gaoler’s lust. Maristela herself had used her magic to protect herself on occasion. However, the short duration of her influencing powers made it impossible for Maristela to protect others.
Growing weaker by the day, Maristela despaired of ever escaping from the dungeon. Many of those imprisoned in the cells around her had been condemned to indefinite sentences by the Inquisition. Consequently, the head gaoler soon overlooked that Maristela and I had never been interrogated by the Inquisition. Maristela’s actions may have saved two women from torture, but it did nothing towards gaining them freedom.
Eventually Maristela decided to take a desperate gamble to achieve freedom. Her plan would most likely result in her own death, but it might provide a remote chance of saving me. Either way, it would satisfy her promise to Don Hernando to do what she could to save his daughter. I admit that I had reached the stage where a sudden death would be a better outcome to slowly withering away in my cell.
Maristela put her plan into action by manipulating the gaoler’s simple mind into escorting her into my cell. Maristela had prepared herself as best she could, and she set to work as soon as the gaoler left her alone with me.