It had been a few weeks since he was taken away from the logging camp, but it was easy for anyone to lose track of time when tossed into a cage. Yet when Harrison and Margorie were both arrested, they never went straight back to the city. Instead, they followed the battalion that took them to other towns as they took more suspected witches into custody. Out of the four additional women that were tossed into their cage, Margorie could only sense that only one of them was an actual witch. The Crown and the church had been using their rules to pretty much discriminate against any woman that was being too independent for their liking, such as mid-wives and caretakers that were gaining too much authority. One night when they were camped for the night, Margorie did her best to eavesdrop on the men as they were talking. One of them mentioned that there was wording coming from a nation far away of a witch that was riding a wolf that healed every sick child in a town.
“That can’t be the same girl,” the other guard said, “That country is over two hundred leagues from here.”
“It’s very possible,” Margorie said, “Dragons can travel over a hundred leagues in a single day.”
“Shut up, witch!” the first guard said, as he punched the bars to get her to back away from them.
“Better to no upset them,” Harrison said from his corner of the cage. “Or they might not feed us their scraps as punishment.”
“Then I would just conjure up some food like I have before,” Margorie said, as she preferred her own creations than the crap the soldiers were cooking at their various camps.
“Then by all means,” Harrison encouraged, “Keep talking.”
“If the rumors are true,” Margorie said, “Our little witch has traveled across three borders and is far out of reach. She’ll be safe over there.”
“That’s good to hear,” Harrison confessed, as he was worried about her. “That dragon sure did cover a lot of ground.”
“He did,” Margorie concurred, “Now if someone would only come to our rescue.”
As if almost on cue, a small blue jay landed on the lip of their cage and walked through the bars of and into the cage with them. He started to strut a bit and even show off before looking over a Margorie.
“You followed us all the way here?” She asked him.
“I couldn’t follow the other witch,” the bird told her, “That dragon was moving too fast for me to keep up.”
“So, you decided to follow us,” The older witch said, “And why would you do that, Marcus?”
“I thought I could help,” Marcus said, “I’ve been sitting in the trees and overhearing everyone talking at camp.”
“Is that so?” Margorie said, slightly intrigued. “Report.”
“They’re going to hit one more town,” Marcus started, “After that they plan to return to the kingdom and take you all to the dungeons. If you plan to use your magic to break out, I’d do it sooner than later.”
“There’s too many of them,” Margorie told the bird, “Even if I managed to get out, I can’t take on an army. We’d be overwhelmed and killed.”
“Well, things won’t get any easier at the dungeons.” Marcus reminded her.
“I wouldn’t say that,” Margorie disagreed, “I don’t think it’s wise to have so many witches in one place. We might have a better chance if I can organize the witches and then the numbers might be a little more even.”
“That seems like a good plan,” Marcus said, nodding. “But I doubt the guards would let that happen.”
“I thought not,” Margorie concurred, “I have time to sit here and think about it. You fly off and gather more gossip for us, and I’ll save some food for you the next time I conjure a batch up.”
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“You got a deal, lady!” Marcus said, as he waddled back out of the cage and flew off.
“What did he say?” Harrison asked as he didn’t understand a think it said.
“He’s been listening to the men at the camp,” She told him, “We’re going to raid one more town and then head back to the palace and the dungeons.”
“I heard what you said, and I agree,” Harrison said, “It’s better to wait till we get to the dungeon and try to recruit more witches to fight.”
“We might need outside help,” Margorie added, “But I have no idea if there’s anyone out there powerful enough to do it.”
“At least Ginelle is safe,” Harrison said, “I don’t think she’d like these accommodations.”
“Agreed,” Margorie said, “At least she’s out of their reaches.”
The next day the bird’s Intel turned out to be correct as the soldiers marched into a small town and questioned people and interrogated women before making a few arrests even though they were ridiculous to say the least. Margorie could feel the presence of other witches, but they were well hidden and never discovered by the general and his men. Margorie had also sent Marcus ahead to warn them that the soldiers were coming, so they could hide or evacuate the town before they were discovered. The lack of arrests upset the general, but that led them to decide to head back to the palace rather than ride into another town. He felt content with the band of “witches” that they had already collected. It was a rather long and boring ride back to the kingdom, and it took the better part of a week to make the trek all the way back to the massive kingdom.
“There it is,” Harrison said, looking at the large walls and the buildings behind them. “This is the first time I’ve seen them in many, many years.”
“I haven’t been here for even longer,” Margorie said, “I left when I was a teen and never wanted to come back to this horrid place.”
“Never looked back kind of story?” Harrison asked.
“You could say that,” Margorie confirmed, “I was being persecuted by more than just the crown and church, but also my own people. The witches didn’t like the fact that I chose to do a specialty that wasn’t very popular. They failed to understand that we don’t pick our paths, Mother chooses them for us. I left the city to get away from small-minded people of all kinds: men, clergy, and witches. What’s your excuse?”
“A woman,” Harrison confessed. “I got hung up over a woman.”
“Shocking,” Margorie replied, trying to hide her sarcasm.
“I asked her to marry me,” Harrison told her, “And she turned me down, saying that her duty was more important than being a wife. I never planned to ask her to chose between the two.”
“Most men never do,” Margorie replied, “But they end up doing it anyway. Men over time become possessive of people they assume are theirs.”
“It wasn’t like that,” Harrison said, “I wanted to be hers.”
“I see,” Margorie said, “And you still think about her?”
“Everyday,” Harrison replied.
“So, all those times in the food cabin,” Margorie started, “When I saw you looking up at the ceiling and into space, you were thinking about her?”
“I was,” Harrison confirmed, “She left a rather large impression.”
“I can see that,” Margorie noted, “And it just wasn’t meant to be?”
“She was dedicated to her work,” Harrison explained, “She also didn’t want to leave the city, whereas I wanted to get away from the elite and their stupid politics. And now here I am, back in this damn city. The very same where she broke my heart. I actually left this place to get away from her, and the constant reminders of what I had lost.”
“And for whatever reason, you just can’t seem to get away,” Margorie said, as she couldn’t help but laugh. “Maybe someone is trying to tell you something.”
“Maybe I don’t want to listen,” Harrison replied rather defiantly.
“I don’t think you get a choice here,” Margorie informed him, “Mother tends to do whatever she pleases, regardless of what we think or want.”
“Duly noted,” Harrison said, sighing deeply. “If you figure out what she wants, be a dear and let me in on it.”
“I’ll do what I can but make no promises,” Margorie said, “But as long as we have a window, we should be able to plan something with the other witches.”
“How so?” Harrison asked.
“Our little feathered friend can pass along messages for us,” Margorie answered, “He’s a good little gossip and can spread the word to everyone in the dungeon whose cell has access to a window.”
“I like that idea,” Harrison said, “Now all we need is a plan.”
“I have a feeling they’ll be plenty of time to think of one,” Margorie said as she watched the people cuss and throw things at their cage as they rode through the streets towards the dungeon.
“Monsters!” one woman called out before tossing a tomato at them.
“Burn in hell!” Another called out.
“The city hasn’t lost its charm,” Harrison observed.
“It appears not,” Margorie said, chuckling at his humor.
The abuse continued to the point where some of the people in the cage were actually happy to make it to the main doors of the dungeon where they'd would be imprisoned. The anger and hostility they faced seemed so savage and unfair considering they were the very people who defended them during the war, as Harrison had said. Their lack of gratitude was sickening to him, and even made him wish they had lost the war, which was something he never imagined thinking to himself.
“One day they’ll regret this injustice,” Harrison said, as they walked out of cage.
“Unfortunately,” Margorie replied, “Today is not that day, and we’re going to be here for quite a while. Maybe even until we take our last breath.”