NIGHTS OF HALLOW

Just as Sthena and Perdita continued on their way into the forest leading them to wherever Sthena had in mind, the Witch out of nowhere appeared before them. Her face was almost white with fear.

Perdita gasped at the sudden intrusion having not expected the witch to emerge in that manner. She had her hand placed on her chest as she uttered in a whisper,

”You scared me...” She paused as she wondered what to call the witch. She stated, ”You haven’t told me your name.”

”Her name is, Witcher,” Commented Sthena with a smug look on his face that had the witch narrow her eyes in annoyance.

”The name is, Zelda, Your Ladyship.” The witch answered and quickly apologized having realized the slip of the tongue. ”I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to use the, ’Your Ladyship.’”

”It’s fine. It doesn’t matter anyway.” Perdita replied with a wave of her hand. The least she could do now was to accept her fate anyway rather than continue to prolong what was bound to happen.

Sthena turned over his shoulder to look at Perdita but didn’t comment on what she had said. Instead, he turned to Zelda and questioned, ”What brings you back, Witcher?”

Zelda did not say anything about the name Sthena called her knowing that he would continue to address her in that manner, she said, ”Of course I would want to know why there was a sudden attack that now has my building in a heap of dust.” Her voice sounded angry at the end of her words. This had been the place where she could truly call her building and a hideout too as she hadn’t been found out since she came to live in it.

”Isn’t someone getting something mixed up here?” Sthena questioned the witch with a raised eyebrow. ”Did I hear you ask why your building is in ruins? The last I heard, I think there is this witcher who has something brewing with Serena the great and powerful witch who makes her so scared to meet her in person?”

Sthena’s words caught Perdita’s attention as she turned to stare at Zelda whose face scowled in annoyance that masked the fear still in her grey eyes. Perdita asked, ”What is this about?”

”Nothing—” Zelda blurted much to the red-haired Vampire’s delight as he repeated Zelda’s words in question.

”Nothing?” Sthena asked in a clueless manner as though he didn’t know what it was all about. But then, he went ahead to tell Perdita, ”Unfortunately, Perdita dear, this Witcher committed an offense which affected Serena a long time ago, and from how she has been running from one place to the other, I bet Serena is still looking for her. So the long and short story is that this Witcher just came back to find out who actually attacked us.”

”If it was Serena or not?” Perdita skeptically questioned.

”Bingo!” Sthena snapped his hand in the air, his face marred in all shades of smugness. ”You caught the story, Perdita.”

”Oh...I see,” Perdita nodded her head in understanding meanwhile, Zelda’s lips sealed themselves, refusing to utter any word. Perdita continued, ”Why not meet with Serena then and settle the issue rather than always running?”

Without allowing Zelda to speak, Sthena replied to Perdita, ”She rather run and hide than meet Serena because as the case is now, it is a matter of life and death which this Witcher had a hand in. So if Serena were to catch her, she’d be a dead Witcher. Puff!”

Perdita stared at Zelda for a while before carefully questioning her, ”If you’re scared to meet Serena, aren’t you scared that I might do something to you since I come from their side too?”

”You are right, Perdita,” Sthena interjected again. He continued, ”You remember the first day you met her? The day she shivered in fright?”

Perdita nodded to Sthena’s question and he went on with his narration, ”Undoubtedly, she was scared to her bone marrow when she discovered who you are. You being one of the siblings of the great witch family which is Serena’s coven. But having discovered that you don’t know anything about what happened, she feels safe around you a little bit though she has been silently staying alert like what happened today when she suddenly, vanished leaving no trace.”

”Though I must compliment her witchcraftery of being able to disappear without using her usual broom.” Sthena’s dark red eyes narrowed down on Zelda as he continued to speak. ”Must be one of the things you did that got you powerful and has Serena on your tails? Huh?”

Zelda’s eyes widened in horror because most of Sthena’s words were accurate. She quickly defended, ”No, no, that is not how it happened. Please, believe me, Your Ladyship.” Again she sought the help of Perdita knowing that if there was someone who could help her out in the near future, it would be her.

Perdita shook her head as she saw through what the witch was trying to do. She remarked, ”I have no business believing you or not, your case lies with Serena. I pray she spares you the day you two would eventually meet.” Even Serena would answer to her why she took her brother away from her. Perdita thought in anger.

Sthena tsked and shook his head with a fake disappointed look on his face. He told Zelda, ”My my, that was a big turn-off. You can go ahead with your life and witchery, it was not Serena who attacked, so fret not.”

”Okay,” Zelda responded, her voice low, indicating the disappointment she felt from what Perdita told her and she couldn’t do anything about it. Who was she anyway when she was standing between two powerful creatures? She knew her limit and also knew not to challenge those above her.

”Since this is settled, I think we should continue on our journey. You wasted our time, Witcher.” Sthena said having gotten tired of poking the Witch though he did it to explain things to Perdita.

”Ah, yes, that is correct. We should start moving. It is already getting dark.” Perdita agreed while looking around them at the amount of darkness the earth had been covered with.

Zelda bowed her head respectfully at Perdita and then at Sthena as she spoke, ”Safe trip, Your Ladyship. I pray you find answers to anything troubling you.” Zelda paused as Perdita nodded her head with a hum in acknowledgment of her words. Then she continued to question, this time her words directed at Sthena.

”What about my place of abode? It has been ruined.”

Sthena waved his hand and turned his back at Zelda as he began to walk again with Perdita following beside him, ”Something would be fixed up for you. But in the meantime, I’m sure you can perfectly find yourself a place to hide. Am I correct?” Just as Sthena turned over his shoulder to look at the witch, he caught her staring daggers at him which she was quick to camouflage with a smile that could scare even the crows away.

Zelda bowed and replied, ”Thank you, Your Majesty, for your kind gestures.” When she raised her head, the duo, Sthena and Perdita were nowhere to be found. She shook her head and muttered, ”She holds so much power that she doesn’t know of yet. I could almost smell one-quarter of it, yet more resides within her. She’s a big asset indeed.”

Zelda turned around and faced the fallen building. A place she has constructed using her magic which took a great deal of her energy. Everything had gone to waste. Maybe it was time to change location.

With a wave of her hand, the fallen building in front of her vanished and everything returned to normal where it now blended in with the forest as it originally was before.

It was after all an illusion she had created. It was not a real building that was there. For a normal human, what they will see would be a forest covered with trees. But for another creature depending on how powerful the person was, they would be able to see through the facade. They would see her building.

This was the reason why she had come back to know if it was Serena who attacked them or another powerful creature. But having heard what Sthena said and now seeing the lowly night creatures lying on the forest floor which undoubtedly were killed by Sthena, she knew that these ones would not be able to see through her facade. She knew one thing for sure.

It was Perdita who fell her building and not these people who attacked them. Her abilities must be awakening and must have also resurfaced when her emotions got the best of her when she had told her that her missing brother could not be located.

”What a power for someone alone to own.” Zelda shook her head in utter disbelief. This must be the reason why Serena wanted to take her and her brother back to their coven, their original home. Things were bound to get hectic and interesting too. Perhaps she should join the fun. The witch thought with a wicked grin plastered on her face that began to crack to reveal her true witch’s form.

Zelda laughed, the crackling sound echoing around the forest. Her broom out of nowhere materialized before her. She stared at the place where her building once stood before she took flight on her broom, her laughter accompanying the sizzling sound of her broom.