Ginelle took the offer to Ruki the next day, and it didn’t take any wing twisting to the dragon to accept Margorie and Harrison’s terms. He had no intention of being a concern to the logging camp and agreed to lay low and not cause any problems afraid the attention would draw hunters closer to him. Margorie also cooked up a special lunches for Ruki, just to let him know the kind of foods she could make for him if he kept his side of their bargain. The dark dragon was impressed with her cooking and even more lethargic after eating it as it made him feel quite full and content. Ginelle told the dragon about the tooth and how it helped her with spells that she struggled with, and Ruki explained that the tooth was helpful to her only because it was given to her rather than stolen. If a dragon surrenders something to a human, that item becomes useful to that person and helps them with magic or provides good luck to those who don’t. Ruki also confirmed that stealing something from a dragon provokes a curse like Margorie had suggested, yet when a dragon gives you a piece of themselves willingly, you are in turn blessed. Over the last few months of winter and the first month of spring, Ginelle and Garrak continued to visit with Ruki and keep him company and well fed. Garrak had also continued to grow at an alarming rate to the point where Harrison put a saddle on the wolf’s back and that allowed Garrak to give Ginelle a ride to their meetings with Ruki rather than walk trail there. If felt weird at first, but Ginelle started to get used to riding on Garrak’s back as if he were her steed, but just one that would bite your face off if you angered him. Harrison was worried that the pen might not be big enough to house the wolf, but he appeared to stop growing once he was big enough for little witch to ride. Life for Ginelle was going well at the logging camp, but that was usually when things went bad from the young witch and this situation was no different. It was early morning on a nice summer day, and Ginelle was still fast asleep when the alarm stated to go off.
“Ginelle!” Marcus cried to the top of his lung. “Wake up right now!”
The small blue jay even flew into the room and landed on her desk so that he could be right in her face as he continued to yell at her.
“Wake up, Ginelle!” the bird cried out. “This isn’t a drill!”
“What is it?” Ginelle asked, as she started to awaken.
“We have movement, two miles south of here.” Marcus said, “At least a hundred soldiers, marching here as we speak! Get out of bed, girl!”
Ginelle suddenly popped up in bed and looked at the bird. “Are you sure they’re soldiers?”
“Oh, I am damn sure!” Marcus insisted. “Pretty colors, flags waving about. That is an army marching towards our damn camp!”
Ginelle immediately jumped out of bed and started to dress. Instead of her usual outfit she wore around camp, she dressed in the garbs she would often wear for hiking in the woods, because that is exactly where she intended to go. Away from the camp and through the woods. She started to pack only what she needed into a bag she had stashed away just for this situation. She packed extra clothing, a few small sculptures from Harrison, and the dragon tooth which she put in a secure pocket in her coat rather than in her bag.
“Get to the stable and warn Garrak.” Ginelle ordered the bird. “Tell him to get into the forest and meet me at the river we pass by to meet with Ruki.”
“Alright, I’m on it!” Marcus said as he flew out the window.
Once she was packed up, Ginelle walked over to kitchen where Margorie and her mirrors were already starting breakfast. She looked over at Ginelle and how she was dressed and realized something was wrong.
“We need to leave,” Ginelle said, “Marcus spotted at least a hundred soldiers coming this way. Royal guards with banners flying. They’re coming for us, Margorie. They’re coming to take us to the dungeons just like my mom.”
“I see,” Margorie said as she grabbed a small basket and filled with goodies and then handed it over to the young girl. “You’ll need this to keep you feed while you and that wolf of yours make your trip.”
“You’re not coming?” Ginelle asked, somewhat upset the old witch even suggest staying behind.
“I wish I could, I really do.” Margorie said, “But if they’re marching here on purpose, odds are these men know what they’re looking for.”
“But how?” Ginelle asked.
“It saddens me to say thing,” Margorie started, “But it appears someone at the camp has ratted us out, probably for a reward. Follow me.”
Margorie walked back to her bedroom and fished around there for a moment and then picked up a rather odd-looking book.
“This book is very rare,” Margorie told her, “It contains half of what you need to know in order to be a pretty decent chaos witch.”
“What about the other half?” Ginelle asked.
“If you practice everything in this book and master it,” Margorie explained, “Someone will come to you to teach the other half. That is how it works with Chaos magic. I was going to tell you about that, but never found the right moment. Take this with you and continue your training.”
Ginelle grabbed the book from her and put it into her bag. “Thank you.”
“Now get going,” Margorie ordered, “Use your new friends and make as much distance from here as you can. You have eyes in the sky and a mount that can move quickly through the woods. Mother earth has prepared you for this day, so I suggest you get going.”
Ginelle wanted to plead with the old witch but realized that time was not on her side, and she had to get going. The young girl stood there, unsure what she was to say next as she didn’t know whether or not this was the last time that she and Margorie would ever see one another again.
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“You don’t have to say it,” Margorie said, as she knew what the girl was thinking. “It was such a pleasure to have you here and be sure to keep working on your spells.”
“Thank you,” Ginelle said as she walked up and hugged her mentor. “I hope that we get to see each other again one day.”
“As do I,” Margorie agreed, “But right now you need to run. Harrison and I will stall them as long as we can.”
Ginelle had a tear in her eye, but she knew the old lady was right. She walked to the hall behind the kitchen and bolted out the back door to make her escape and meet up with the wolf at the river.
Margorie stood there for a moment and wiped a tear from her cheek, as the moment touched her heart as well. Years ago, she never thought this moment would happen or that she’d care for anyone the way she did about that young witch. The old woman wished she could have gone with her, but she was slow, and it could result in them both being caught. She would try to stall and buy her time, hopeful that at least one of them would escape.
As Margorie returned to the kitchen she removed her apron, and with a snap of her fingers the mirrors all stopped what they were doing and vanished. Margorie proceeded to walk out the front door just in time to witness a lot of soldiers marching onto the grounds of their camp. There had to be almost two hundred of them as they rounded up all the loggers and lined them up for interrogation as the commander rode his horse to the front to address everyone at the camp.
“My name is General Zolstaus,” the leader called out as he turned to face one of his underlings. “Is this everyone?”
“We think so, General.” One of the regiment commanders answered. “Almost all of the barracks have been cleared out.”
“What about the kitchen?” the general asked. “Our source said they both worked in the dining house.”
It was at this time that Harrison was brought forth to speak with the General for what was going on in his camp.
“I demand to know the meaning of this intrusion!” He said, calling out with great anger.
“We’ve heard of witches being harbored here.” The general answered, “We know that you are hiding two witches in this camp, and by order of the king we are here to take them both away where they can do no harm to anyone.”
“I’ve met plenty of witches,” Harrison admitted, “And none of them had ever harmed a single person in their whole life. Many of them are healers. The very same women that mended our troops when we were trying hold off the Veldarians from invading our home.”
“Is that so?” The general asked, “And how do you know that?”
“Because I was there,” Harrison answered, “I saw what things they did to save us with my own eyes. Their healing spells were the only reason many of our men were able to walk back onto the battlefield and claim victory for our people. And how do you repay them for their service? You lock them away in the dungeons and treat them like heretics. Their magic is the only reason why we won that damn war in the first place! Every single one of us would still be under the thumb of that fat northern tyrant, and yet you treat them all like garbage. You’re a traitor and a coward for turning on our own people like that!”
“Enough!” the general called out as he let out a kick from his horse that knocked the defiant logger to the ground.
“For a man that claims to be on the side of the righteous,” a voice called out, “You sure are a cruel little man.”
Margorie stood even more defiant of the soldiers than Harrison had as she stood on the deck just outside the front door of the dining hall. She was standing there with her arms fold, unafraid of the general of all the soldiers he brought with him. She was not intimidated by them at all.
“You are under arrest, M’lady.” The general called out, “For witchcraft and crimes against the crown and church. Now where is the other one?”
“She died,” Margorie said, trying to spin a tale. “She was overcome with a lung infection and didn’t live through the night.”
“The woman’s lying!” one of the loggers called out. “She’s heading north, because that where I saw her wolf running off in that direction after breaking out of his pen.”
“After her!” The general ordered. Upon his command, four men on horse back and about fifteen soldiers on foot ran in the direction the snitch said the wolf had ridden off.
“Why would you do that?” Harrison asked the snitch. “We’re suppose to be like a family up here.”
“The more witches they get, the bigger reward I get.” The snitch answered, grinning at his boss.
Before the man got another word out a black fireball came out of nowhere and exploded into the snitch’s chest. The ball itself didn’t cause any physical damage like a normal fireball might, but it instead caused this grayish gas to envelope him and his body started to slowly rot. The Snitch started to wail and scream in great pain as his skin slowly peeled off while bones crackled from the pressure of his body slowly imploding upon itself. Eventually there was nothing left but a pile of ash when the spell was finished with the little rat that had betrayed them. After the traitorous man had collapsed into that pile of dust, everyone turned to look back towards the dining hall, and the witch that just cast the gruesome spell that murdered him.
“I’m sorry,” Margorie said, with her eyes suddenly turning black. “Were you under the impression that I was going to co-operate?”
Upon seeing her now darkened eyes, many of the soldiers slowly started to back away as none of them wanted to be the next to experience the horrific death they had all just witnessed.
“If you do not surrender,” the general said, not even looking concerned. “I will order my men to kill every one of these loggers. Starting with this one.”
She watched him point at Harrison, who was still laying on the ground after being kicked down. While she calculated how many she could take down on her own, it wouldn’t be enough, and she cared too much about the loggers to let that happen. The old witch lowered her hands and her eyes changed back to their normal color as she no longer had the will to resist.
“I will surrender,” she called out, “But you must promise not to harm any of these men if I go quietly.”
“I will leave them all here to continue to work for the crown,” The general said, as he then gestured to Harrison again. “But not this one. He knew you were a witch and protected you from us. He’s being charged with harboring witches and will return with us to the dungeons.”
Margorie looked angered at the thought of Harrison being arrested, but he held up a hand to signal to Margorie that he was alright with it, and she was to stand down. It was at this point where a loud booming sound could be heard in the distance. The general turned around all he could see was smoke coming from the north of the camp, with fires rising high and fast as it spread.
“What the devil caused that?” the general asked.
“She made it,” Margorie said to herself, happy to see the fire and smoke, “He will protect her.”
“By the gods!” one of the soldiers cried out, “Look over there!”
All the loggers and the soldiers watched in awe as a large black dragon started to rise into the sky above the smoke and flames. It appeared to be carrying something in its talons, but it was too far away to see. It roared very loudly in their direction before turning away from them and flying off, flapping his majestic wings and picking up speed as he sailed off into the skies and out of everyone’s sights.
“Good luck, little one.” Margorie whispered under her breath. “I hope you find the peace and solitude I failed to provide you here.”