Chapter 72

“Come on, it’s just a little further ahead.”

Livia was leading the way. Morning light did little to help see the path ahead as she carefully and expertly maneuvered through the dense forest.

“What is?” Amaya growls out as she hacks ruthlessly through tree limbs that fall in her line of sight with a machete, “We have been moving for almost two hours now! The village that Sen had found is in the opposite direction.”

“Liv knows that,” Liliana says as she hops and bobs her way along, looking this way and that with huge eyes and a bright smile on her face, “she said we will go to the village tomorrow, remember? But first, we are going to find a place to settle down for a couple of days-What is that?” Her head snaps to the side. She gawks at a bright yellow bird with three eyes staring down at them from a high perch.

Liliana comes to a full stop to point a finger at it properly causing Beth to have to swerve to avoid bumping into her, “Miss Liliana, don’t just stop like that.”

“Livia, Livia, what’s that?” She asks again while giving the older woman a sheepish look.

Livia glances up distractedly, “It’s a Lino,” she answers instantly, “It’s uncommon to see them at this time of day. Usually, they begin to hunt for food around noon.” She looks down at her son. He was still asleep. Good. They will likely be able to make it before he needs to eat again.

“It has three eyes! I have never seen that before,” Liliana has not moved.

Beth sighs. Amaya slashes at a tree as if it has personally offended her while Sen drops down from nowhere causing Beth to jump in fright.

“Goodness!” Beth clutches her chest, “Must you always be so quiet?” She glares half-heartedly at Sen.

“There is nothing for miles,” Sen says in reply, “We should turn around.”

“Alright let’s go,” Amaya's sour expression brightens as she turns on her heel and moves in the direction they just came.

“No,” Livia shoots down the idea.

“Why the fuck not?” Amaya snaps back. She levels a full-on I'm-done-with-this-shit glare at her.

“It’s just a little further ahead,” Livia says again as she turns her head in a specific direction. But, to those around her, it just seemed as if she was walking blind and taking random twists and turns with no rhythm or rhyme.

Liliana didn’t seem to mind. She practically bounces forward, making a game out of avoiding tree limbs as she ducked under them and skipped over them.

She stops by her sister and squints at the forest, making binoculars out of her hand as she scans ahead. Then she laughs and shrugs, “It all looks the same to me, but I am sure Livia knows where we are going? Right sis?”

“Yes,” Livia says and makes a sudden sharp turn before disappearing behind a thick wall of dark green leaves. Three, five steps later into unseeing darkness before light nearly blinds her as her hands meet empty air.

There was a sudden clearing where there shouldn’t be one.

An old, long-abandoned cottage that was slowly being overtaken by vines with a decaying peeling white fence greets her. Not far behind it was a large shed that could easily be converted into a small barn.

The dark green leaves that made up the forest only a few steps behind her were now golden and red.

“Livia!? Livia? Where did you-oh!” Liliana stumbles out and gasps.

“What in the fuck?” Amaya and Sen appear at the same time with Beth following up behind them. She was attached to Amaya’s hand.

“Where did the forest go?” Amaya's head whips behind them, “How is there a clearing here? That makes no sense! I thought you said you scouted ahead,” she smacks Sen's chest.

“I did,” He scowls at her and smacks her shoulder. They grapple.

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“Children,” Beth's tone turns sharp.

Sen and Amaya break away as if they never just resorted to childish fighting and begin exploring.

Livia ignores them all. Her eyes catch sight of white dancing in the cool breeze. She steps away, back to the edge of the clearing. She reaches up and grabs what seems to be a dreamcatcher. At least, that is what it was called in her world. But she supposes it wasn’t normal for them to be made out of animal bones and dried-up leathery skin.

It was a protection charm and a strong one at that despite its delicate appearance.

She crushes it in her hands.

There is silence. Then a tremble. Before more silence.

Then the door to the cottage creaks opens in welcome.

Livia relaxes and smiles.

“We will be safe here.”

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“Woah, this place is huge inside!” Liliana twirls and stares up at the high ceiling.

Amaya sets down her things on a sturdy table with a heavy thump and puts away her machete with some reluctance, “I am guessing you’re ancient forgotten all-powerful magic is the reason for this strange place?” She directs the question to Livia as she gestures around them.

“Sure,” Livia agrees blandly as she massages her temples, “Let’s go with that.”

A door slams open, Liliana darts through the only door that doesn’t lead outside, “Wow! What a big comfortable bed!”

“Wait, there is only one!?” Amaya leaves the main room to investigate.

“Oh, this place,” Beth sneezes and glares at the layers of dust and dirt around them, “It needs to be cleaned. It isn’t fit for a lad-anyone with any basic hygiene!”

“What a cute little bug! It’s so big!” Liliana has recently gotten into the habit of yelling about anything and everything that makes her gleeful. Her voice travels across the room and straight through the thin walls with no trouble.

“That is not a bug! It’s a fucking rat!” Livia blinks at the screech that follows. She wasn’t aware Amaya's vocal cords could even go that high, “Don’t touch it! What is wrong with you!?”

“I like it,” Liliana yells back happily, “It’s fluffy!”

“No! Don’t bring it closer!” There is a thump. Then the sound of water hitting a wall.

“Aw, Amaya!” Liliana whines.

Darek wiggles and makes a sound. He has been up for a while now. He seems content to stare about and simply exist while occasionally making little baby noises.

Livia coos at him while Beth turns into a blurry whirlwind as she moves around her. Every time she blinks, the cottage becomes progressively cleaner.

Sen steps into the cottage. As he hovers in the doorway, Amaya and Liliana reappear.

“Livia! Look what I have found!” Liliana holds up a drenched white rat the size of her head, “Its eyes are the same color as mine! Isn’t she cute?”

Amaya had her hands out as well. A sphere of water hovers in the air between them with four smaller brown rats inside of it as she looked upon them with a look of great disgust, “There's got to be more,” She mutters to herself, “Where there is one, there are hundreds,” she looks all up the walls and down at the floors, her lips curling up.

Beth stops and gasps in horror, “Are those rats?” she brandishes a fancy feather duster that she must have stolen from the Valentine Estate like a sword, “Oh, no, this will not do at all. We must exterminate them all. Lady Livia, please, evacuate the cottage. I know a very handy little spell. It will get rid of all manner of unwanted pests.”

“Can I keep her?” Liliana asks in a shout.

“What is the spell?” Amaya asks Beth, “I’ll help. I hate rats.”

“Oh, it is a simple thing, but first, these need to be dealt with,” As one, Beth and Amaya stare at the rats squirming in the water bubble with devious looks.

Sen promptly walks right back out the door.

Noctis stirs from around her shoulders. She reaches up and pets idly at him as he slowly wakes up.

“Still tired?” Livia asks her familiar as she nuzzles into his soft fur.

Strange light begins to feel the cabin as Amaya and Beth chant a spell of standard magic origin in ominous tones.

“Wait! Not Dalilah!” Liliana runs out of the cottage, “Don’t worry. I’ll save you!”

“Yeah, me too,” Livia yawns, “It’s been tiring, trying to find this place again,” she tells Noctis. She walks over to what could be considered a very humble kitchen and sits down at the table.

“I don’t know how,” she says as Noctis jumps to the table, turns in a circle once, before sitting down and giving her his full attention, “But somehow, I just knew this place would still be standing and I also knew where exactly it would be.”

Livia unwraps Darek from his sling and settles back so she can feed him in a more comfortable position.

“Aha! I knew there would be more!” Beth says triumphantly.

“Oh, urgh! Oh-nope! I-can't, NO! Don’t come closer!” Amaya lets out another girly screech before she suddenly escapes from the door.

Beth cackles. Light flashes through the room, “Not a single one shall escape! This spell has been passed down through my family for centuries!”

“It should be impossible,” Livia blinks up at the wooden ceiling. If she squints, she could still see the faint glow of carved symbols, nearly faded and weak.

“This place was meant to move. It was never supposed to stay in a single location,” she mutters to herself, “The fence was white...stupid. Why did I paint it white? Or, why even go through the trouble of building one at all?” Darek turns away, uninterested in eating anymore. She raises him to her shoulder and pats his back.

“Mrw?” Noctis tilts his head.

“Yeah, I know,” Livia agrees, “It is strange. I know I couldn’t have been the one to place that protection charm on the cottage. When I had left, I hadn’t known I would never return...so, who did?”