The four little girls were walking around the outer grounds of the school. They were looking for different herbs and plants they could find. Anything that could catch their attention. It wasn’t an easy task, since the forest looked completely dead. There were almost no bugs roaming on the trees. No animals were roaming around the land. Not even birds were flying in the Fog-ridden skies. The little ladies reluctantly got close to the outskirts of the woods. Where the Fog started to run deeper and darker. There, they were able to find the only living tree in the woods. Its leaves were green and lively, its trunk was strong and brown. It was a sight to behold. A living tree, among the deep Fog. Leaf grab onto a leaf and rip it off.

-This looks like it could work. What do you think, Aerin?-

The girl had put on her cape to protect herself from the sunlight, which was burning brighter than in the school despite the thick Fog. Regardless of it not being harmful to her, it was still an annoyance.

-What’s that? Is it medicinal? Maybe poisonous?-

Thorn and Berry were behind them.

-Careful with anything! Please!-

Thorn said, always taking care of her sisters.

-It’s dead now that I’ve ripped it off… I know dead things tend to have special energies that can be used in rituals... Especially if it died recently. I figured we could use it.-

Berry saw a wild frog hopping across the dead grass.

-A frog!-

She crouched to try to grab it, but she was stopped by Thorn.

-Careful… That’s not Grumpy. Most wild frogs and toads are poisonous.-

-But how can it be poisonous when it looks so cute?!-

Berry almost grabbed the frog, but it hopped away, escaping her.

-Awh… It got away…-

Thorn turned pale at that, and started to scold Berry.

-Alright, Berry. No more trying to touch wild animals until we know they’re safe. Got it?-

Aerin brought her hand to her face, stopping herself from laughing.

-Don’t make me excited like that… If you want dead things, then what about that nest of crows at the top of that tree? There’s gotta be something dead in there. And it died recently. I can faintly smell the blood particles… Although it has almost faded away.-

Leaf bewilderedly looked at her.

-How can you do that?

Aerin kindly responded.

-Enhanced smell is a nice perk of vampirism. It lets me smell nearby creatures. More specifically their blood. But it also has its negatives. Stinky smells are way stinkier for me.-

Leaf sighed.

-Well, it doesn’t matter. I’m not good with dead animals anyway.-

Berry ignored Thorn’s comment. Without ill intention. She just had a low attention span. She instead responded to Leaf and Aerin’s conversation.

-But I am! Leave it to me!-

She approached the tree and jumped, grabbing onto it and starting to climb.

Thorn’s eyes twitched.

-Berry! No! Get down here now! You’re gonna get hurt!-

Berry continued going up the tree, ignoring her sister’s concern. She was nimble and quick. She was doing well

-I’ll be fine! We’re witches now! Witches are supposed to get at least a little hurt!-

-We’re not even real witches yet! Just please get down! I’ll catch you!-

Thorn pleaded to her sister, to no avail.

-Come on! Where’s your sense of adventure? I’m too far up to quit now!-

Aerin looked at Leaf and spoke to her.

-Are your sisters arguing? They’re yelling quite a bit.-

Leaf looked up at the tree, with terror. Ignoring Aerin’s lack of knowledge about family concerns.

-T-That branch doesn’t look stable enough to hold her.-

Thorn now screamed at her.

-Berry Hexspell! I swear to everything good in the world. If you fall off that branch, I’m snitching on you to Dad!-

Aerin started getting a little frightened.

-The branch is cracking…-

Leaf looked at her sister, terrified.

-She’s gonna fall… Thorn!-

Thorn focused, ripping the sleeve off her dress and using it to grab onto a tree branch. She thrusted up and repeatedly threw herself to the top, getting there much quicker than Berry initially did. She quickly grabbed onto the back of Berry’s sweater, with all her strength.

-Got you!-

The branch broke and the nest fell to the ground. Berry was thankfully saved from falling thanks to her sister.

-Awh. I had it!-

Berry pouted. Thorn turned her, making her look directly at her to continue scolding her. Her eyes were full of rage. If she was angrier, her eyes would probably shoot fire at whatever she was looking at.

-You, young lady are in big, big trouble.-

Berry sticked her tongue out and cross her arms.

-Who made you the boss?!

Aerin sighed, looking at Leaf.

-That could’ve gone wrong… But thankfully it didn’t. Your older sister does seem to be a bit… Overprotective? Maybe co-dependent?-

Leaf responded.

-That’s Thorn alright…-

Leaf got close to the nest and started examining its contents. It was a bird cadaver. But it was just a skeleton. No muscle, meat, blood, or connective tissue was left behind. It was almost as if something had swallowed it whole and then regurgitated its bones. It was creepy, but it painted a grimmer picture of that lively tree.

-Wait a minute…-

Leaf got anxious and start screaming at her sisters.

-GUYS! GET DOWN FROM THERE RIGHT NOW!-

But they were too busy arguing to listen to her.

-We’re continuing this conversation at home. Now, would you do me the GREAT favor of staying by my side and listening to me? You could’ve gotten hurt!-

Berry pouted again and look away from her sister.

-No! I was doing fine on my own!-

-Shut up! I can’t hear Leaf over you’re screaming!-

-GET DOWN FROM THERE! NOW! GUYS! Oh no.-

The leaves of the tree started to shake and fall off, as the branches cracked and ripped open. The ground under them trembled like an intense concentrated earthquake on the ground under them. Thorn grabbed onto the tree with one hand and Berry with the other. She did it as strongly as she could.

The tree cracked and broke further. From the generated holes, some roots came out. Long as tentacles. From the front of it, another tentacle came out. It grabbed onto the top of the tree, breaking it in half grabbing the top trunk, the one that Thorn and Berry were holding on to, and lifting it in the air. A green figure came out of the breakages of the tree, revealing an enormous carnivorous plant. The plant spoke, letting out a feminine, angry voice.

-WHY ARE YOU DESTROYING MY HOME?!-

Aerin gasped.

-Your sisters awakened a forest spirit.-

Thorn braced herself, breathing deeply and responding to the plant.

-WE WEREN’T TRYING TO!-

-YOU DID! YOU MOVED YOUR BUILDINGS! TOOK DOWN TREES! DESTROYED FLOWERS AND BUSHES! I’M NOT LETTING YOU DO SO ANYMORE!-

Berry replied.

-I-It wasn’t us!-

Leaf looked at Aerin confused, surprised by her lack of fear, but instantly looking back at the giant plant, to try to reason with it.

-It wasn’t them! I swear! I’m their sister and they’ve never done such a thing!-

Thorn quickly nodded.

-We’re here in peace! On a school expedition! We’re deeply sorry if we upset you! We’ll leave and won’t tear any leaves ever again!-

Berry was shaking in fear. Leaf was biting her tongue. The only ones that were in control, or at least, were trying to be, were Thorn and Aerin. Torn tried to keep calm, while Aerin looked aloof and distracted.

The plant examined the girls, noticing their hats.

-I don’t believe you. YOU’RE WITCHES!-

Thorn looked down to the ground. Noticing that they weren’t that high up. She looked at Berry and whispered to her.

-We will jump down… At the count of three, I want you to be ready. Once we’re back on the ground we’ll run as fast as we can.-

Berry nodded.

-One… Two… Three!-

Thorn and Berry jumped down and start running in the direction they initially came from. Leaf ran too, but quickly came back and grabbed Aerin by the hand after noticing she wasn’t following them. They ran as fast as they could, as the plant was chasing them.

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-BERRY! THIS IS ALL YOUR FAULT! IF YOU JUST HAD LISTENED TO ME WE WOULDN’T BE IN THIS FORSAKEN SITUATION!-

Berry responded to Thorn.

-I’M SORRY, I’M SORRY, I’M SORRY! I’M GIVING YOU MY PORTION OF PIRANHA STEW WHEN DAD MAKES IT! I PROMISE! I’M SO SO SO SORRYYYY!-

Leaf screamed at them.

-MORE RUNNING! LESS TALKING! Come on!-

Even Aerin was now a little more frightened that she was being chased as well. Although unlike the other girls, she hid a level of excitement and fun in her voice. Despite it all, she did not raise it.

-Why did you have to anger the forest spirit?!-

Thorn angrily glanced at her.

-IT’S NOT LIKE WE KNEW! QUICK! THIS WAY! THIS IS WHERE THE SCHOOL IS!-

Leaf looked back at the monster, seeing that a tentacle was quickly approaching them.

-GUYS! IT’S ABOUT TO TRY AND MAKE US TRIP! JUMP WHEN I SAY SO! IN ONE… TWO… THREE! JUMP NOW!-

Thorn grabbed Berry’s arm to jump with her. Making sure she obeyed.

They all jumped at the same time, evading the root tentacle but looking very silly in the process.

Leaf hyperventilated.

-OH MY GOD! OH MY GOD, OH MY GOD! THAT WAS SO…!-

-FUUUUN!-

Berry lifted her arms in the air, running with a bright smile.

Aerin glanced at Berry and smiled too. They were the only two that were having fun.

-Do any of you guys know any spells we can defend ourselves with?-

Leaf responded.

-WE DON’T!-

Thorn was focused on the road ahead. They could either go left or right, but to the front, there was the back of the school. She planned to appear to take a right but then go the opposite way as a feint to confuse the forest spirit.

-GUYS! ON MY COMMAND WE’LL TURN RIGHT BUT THEN IMMEDIATELY GO THE OTHER WAY! GOT IT?!-

Leaf shook her head.

-I DON’T THINK THAT’S A GOOD PLAN!-

Aerin shook her head too, bringing her hands to her cheeks.

-Why don’t we plant some seeds? Maybe she’ll forgive us.-

Leaf responded.

-IF WE SURVIVE… I PROMISE I’LL PLANT A THOUSAND SEEDS!-

Thorn screamed at them.

-THAT’S NOT A BETTER IMMEDIATE IDEA! SO TO MY MARK! ONE… TWO… THREE! NOW!-

They followed the plan. But the carnivorous plant noticed their attempt, her tentacles pulling her in to do a quick U-turn and continue moving in their direction, The girls were now running directly towards her. But there was a small gap under her now, as she prepared for an attack with her tentacles. Thorn pointed at this gap.

-WE’RE GOING THROUGH THAT HOLE! SLIDE ON ONE! TWO! THREE!-

The girls slid passing through the gap. Thorn helped Berry and Aerin to get up and resume their running. Despite this good effort, the plant stabbed one of her tentacles into the ground. The sharp tip came outside the other end in front of the girls. They fell off in fear.

-We’re gonna die. We’re gonna die, we’re gonna die- WE’RE GONNA DIE!-

Thorn hugged Leaf to try and calm her down. Berry interceded.

-Thorn… I just want to confess… I was the one who ate your muffin.-

Thorn looked back at her.

-YOU DID WHAT?! That’s it. I’m chasing you in the afterlife You can play with anything EXCEPT MY MUFFIN!.-

Aerin shook her head quickly and repeatedly.

-Why do I have to die surrounded by bickering?-

As the tentacle was about to crush the girls, they closed their eyes, accepting their fate. However, the sound of slashing steel intercepted. When they opened their eyes again, they saw their Alchemy teacher, standing in front of them with his sword unsheathed. It was shining, as it was imbued with thunder. He was protecting them from the forest spirit.

-Get out of the way, girls. We’ll take care of this.-

Another tentacle quickly approached Torke, but he cut it again in one swift slash. The tentacle twitched from being electrocuted, and finally stopped moving. Two other tentacles tried to attack him. He repeated the process but this time Miss Mildred, who jumped into action, joined him. With a swift pirouette and an elegant movement of her cane, she managed to cut the other tentacle as if it were a sharp blade.

-Don’t you worry! You girls are now safe!-

The girls looked at their teachers in awe.

Several tentacles came out of the ground. But the attack was futile; as several abnormally long skeletal arms came out of the ground right after them, grabbing onto the tentacles and stopping the attack.

-NYAH HEE HEE! MAKE SURE TO PAY ATTENTION, GIRLIES! THIS WILL BE ON THE TEST! GO, MY MINIONS!-

The skeletons came out of the ground, fighting against the plant. She killed them with one swing of a tentacle. But it didn’t matter, as they kept coming and coming, starting to overwhelm her. The remains of the tentacles fell to the ground but continued creepily moving around and twitching. They weren’t clear of danger yet.

-I think we have to keep moving!-

Leaf remarked.

Thorn anxiously nodded.

-You’re right!-

She grabbed her sisters by the hand, who themselves grabbed Aerin, and started running away.

The school building wasn’t as far away from that battle. The sisters and Aerin were able to watch the battle as it happened. Thorn sighed in relief and started tying her hair in a ponytail.

-We’re safe now.-

Berry’s stomach growled.

-We are… But now I’m hungry…-

Aerin smiled at her and offered her what she considered a tasty snack.

-I have some blood in my pouch. Do you want some?-

Berry looked at her with curiosity.

-You mean like a blood sausage?-

Leaf laughed.

-I think she means actual blood.-

Thorn shook her head, biting her tongue in disgust.

-Yeah. We don’t drink… or eat… blood. Thank you, though.-

Aerin sadly looked down at her pouch.

-What’s wrong with my bear blood…?-

Berry’s eyes lit up as she looked right at Thorn’s.

-Oh, oh! Can we eat our packed lunch now? Pleeeeaaseeee?-

Thorn raised an eyebrow and sighed.

-Fine.-

Berry excitedly took out her lunch bag. Leaf did too, out of inertia. Thorn wasn’t hungry. She just looked at the battle from her sitting spot.

The teachers managed to defeat the plant monster. As they were about to give the final strike, it opened, revealing a humanoid figure. It had leafy green skin and pink wildflowers as her hair. The remains of the carnivorous plant that were now open served as a beautiful skirt, pink on the inside. Her whole torso and legs were covered in vines that formed a beautiful dress. Her eyes were an intense and unnatural pink. She looked at the teachers surrounding her and spoke. Her voice sounded much more feminine and fearful than before.

-Please don’t kill me!-

Both Mildred and Skull King stopped their attacks, comically gasping at her new form. Torke on the other hand pointed at her with his sword.

-Explain yourself. Now.-

The plant replied.

-I’m not a killer! I was just trying to teach those girls a lesson…-

Mildred raised an eyebrow.

-Why? What did they do?-

-They took a branch off my favorite tree! It was a perfect beautiful lively green…It was the last of them! And it was my home… And now it’s gone…-

Skull King asked her a question, with bewilderment.

-What exactly are you?-

She excitedly replied.

-I’m a plant person! A Venus Mantrap, to be specific! My name is Lula!-

She smiled and took a bow.

Torke continued walking towards her, still pointing at her with his sword.

-She’s manipulating you. I’m killing her.-

Skull King screamed with indignation.

-NO! HER NAME IS LULA! YOU CAN’T KILL SOMEONE WITH SUCH A UNIQUE NAME!-

Mildred stopped Torke with her hand.

-Let’s take her to the Shadow Lady. She’ll decide what to do with… Lula.-

Skull King lifted a finger.

-She’s sleeping though. We should bring her to her protégé.-

He looked around, squinting his empty eye sockets.

-Nilo? Nilo! Now where did that boy go?-

The boy seemed to appear out of thin air behind Skull King, making him scream and jump out of fear.

-You called.-

-Don’t appear out of nowhere! That’s so rude!-

Mildred shook her head.

-You’re the only one who got the heebie-jeebies..-

-The Skull King never gets scared! NEVER!-

Nilo pointed up at a branch that was high up where the Fog covered everything, but it had a perfect view of the battle.

-I was just up there.-

Skull King nodded and pointed at Lula.

-Anyways. We wanted to know what we should do with this fair plant lady.-

Lula smiled and took a bow. Looking completely harmless.

-Hi!-

Mildred laughed

-I think we should keep her. Like a pet. Plus she fights well.-

Nilo looked at Torke.

-What’s your assessment? Is she useful? Or should she die?-

He shook his head.

-We should kill her.-

Nilo looked at Skull King.

-And you?-

-Well I think she’s adorable! Just look at her!-

Lula made an even bigger smile, showing her sharp smile. Nilo just brought his fist to his chin, in a pensive pose.

-What should we do…-

Mildred shrugged.

-She can control nature as a forest spirit. I think she’d be a good watchdog.-

Lula stopped smiling, recognizing that she wouldn’t get out of this situation through only her charm. She stepped forward to Nilo.

-Excuse me… I think I could be useful to your school… This is a school of witchcraft, isn’t it? Well here on the island there are many wild spirits, just like me. If your students start harming nature and pissing them off, you won’t have any students left to teach! So what if… And I’m only making a suggestion here but… What if… I teach your students how to properly gather materials for their potions and enchantments without harming nature? It’s a win-win. Nature doesn’t get hurt and your students learn something new and useful.

Nilo’s eyes lost their shine.

-Let’s keep her in a room with no access to nature. If she behaves, we’ll increase her privileges.-

Lula’s eyes filled with terror.

-If you did that… I could die.-

Mildred laughed at Nilo’s lack of confidence towards the plant lady.

-I say we trust her. I sense good in her. And she’s right. Our laddies here should be more careful about how they interact with nature.-

Skull King joined Mildred’s argument.

-Miss Mildred is right! Plus she seems like she learned her lesson.-

Nilo shook his head.

-We’ll supply her with all the essentials she needs to live, of course. I’m just taking a few precautions. I am sure none of you wants to make the Shadow Lady angry when she hears one of her new students got hurt or killed by someone you trusted so blindly. Right?-

He looked at the teachers with darkened, foggy eyes.

The teachers all replied.

-Well if you put it like that…-

-Dodgy lad.-

-Send her to the dungeon.-

Mildred hit Torke with her cane because of that comment. Skull King came forward to Milo.

-I have an idea! Why don’t we start testing her right now? Let her teach a lesson. We’ll watch over her and make sure she’s cut for that kind of work. How does that sound, little Nilo?-

He sighed at this preposterous proposition.

-All right. I’ll sit down with the students and join the class myself. They won’t suspect I’m part of the staff.-

Skull King celebrated by repeatedly and happily jumping. Mildred looked at Torke.

-I’m glad we’re giving her this opportunity. You better stay away from her, though.-

He crossed his arms as Skull King began shouting to call the students.

-STUDEEENTS! I SUMMON THEE TO COME FORTH! Which means come closer. We’ll begin the first class of the day. Come on in! About that communal brew… We’ll leave it for another day. We’ve all been through a lot already, haven’t we? So! Let’s go now! Everyone inside the building!-

Thorn lightly tapped on her sister’s and friend’s shoulders and they got up, approaching the building.

The building had crooked walls made of darkened wood. The floor seemed like it was made of concrete. But it was strangely softer. Like someone could be able to trip and fall on it and leave unharmed. Tree branches that seamlessly came out of the walls blocked the stairs to the upper levels. It was like the whole structure was an enormous tree with the shape of the school. As they all went into the classroom, the scenery changed a little bit. The floor was now made of dirty ceramic square pieces. Following a pattern of black and white squares. A chalkboard naturally came out of the walls, facing in front of the seats and tables. The room was dimly lit by a rusty chandelier. As they entered, the illumination of the room cleared up and became brighter. Lula, the plant lady, came up to the front of the classroom. The rest of the teachers were outside, piling up next to the door, watching carefully at every step she took.

-Girls and boys… And younglings who I wasn’t chasing minutes ago…-

She laughed nervously.

-Sorry for that... Welcome to… Safe Herb Gathering!-

She took a piece of chalk, clumsily starting to draw something. She seemed inexperienced like she had never done this before.

-In this class… We’re going to learn… Learn about how to gather plants and herbs for various potions and rituals… without harming the environment…! Yay, so exciting!-

She stepped aside, revealing a very poorly drawn flower with a smiley face, and some stick men figures gathering around it. She saw the student’s lack of enthusiasm, as she looked to the door for her coworker's support. Skull King and Mildred proudly showed her a thumbs up. As Mildred saw Torke wasn’t following them, she lightly hit his shoulder. He then reluctantly gave a thumbs-up as well. Lula let out a sigh of relief and continued her lesson.

-This is a very important thing to keep in mind. Suspiria is an island full of different guardian spirits. There are several of them to be aware of! But these are the most dangerous ones! First off, we have the ocean spirits!-

As she continued talking and clumsily drawing on the board, Aerin began whispering to the sisters.

-Did they just hire the spirit that was chasing us? Her voice is the same.-

Berry replied with an exciting brightness in her eyes.

-Yes they did… It’s amazing, isn’t it?-

Class continued for several hours. Lula spoke not only about the different types of spirits found on the island but also about different weeds and bushes that were harmful to the grass and the plants. They weren’t only great for potions, but plants were thankful for their removal. She spoke about plantsfolk’s cocoons and how they can vary in size, looks, color, and intention... The three sisters and Aerin were all taking notes and very engaged in the lesson. Even the teachers outside were fascinated at all the knowledge that Miss Lula was hiding through her exotic exterior. Before anyone could notice, the sun had already set. The room was still nicely illuminated, but the Fog thickened, making the outside almost pitch black. Some students bit their nails, in fear of the dangers that inhabited the dark. It was time to go home.