Maya gets up and walks over to Emma. “Hey Emma, I see you have Lizzy with you there. How are you feeling tonight, Lizzy?”
“Still feeling weak even with the tea you taught sis to make. Sis had to carry me cause I couldn’t walk far before I got too tired.”
“Well after tonight you should be feeling much better, you may still feel weak for a little bit, but your energy and strength will return.”
“Is everything ready for Lizzy?” Emma asks.
“Yes, I need her sitting in the small circle I drew out. And I have the medicine she will need to drink.” After saying that Maya thinks, “And by medicine, I mean potion.”
“Umm, what’s with all this writing? This looks more like a ritual than it does for curing a curse.” Emma says, beginning to doubt the situation.
“It is a ritual circle you are correct; however, this is placed to help remove the curse nothing else. Think of it as a curse breaking circle.”
Emma looks at Maya with a trace of uncertainty, her expression reflecting an unfamiliarity with what's unfolding. Her only exposure to such patterns comes from storybooks and unsettling tales of ritualistic circles used for sacrifice that she encountered during her childhood. Sensing the concern etched on Emma's face, Maya steps in, eager to alleviate any anxieties. "Trust me, I’m here to help not make anything worse. This circle is pivotal in breaking the curse's cycle; without it, the efficacy of the potion could be compromised. We had to await the full moon, ensuring our efforts were fortified against the curse. Traditionally, a full moon is associated with healing energies," Maya explains, aiming to reassure Emma.
“It’s ok sis, I trust Maya. And I’m ready to be able to play again.” Lizzy says from behind Emma’s back.
With some hesitation Emma carefully walks over the chalk marks and places Lizzy in the inner circle and walks out, careful not to ruin any of the chalk, back to Maya. Maya walks inside and hands the vial to Lizzy, “Once I begin to chant, I need you to drink everything in this small vial. I can’t guarantee it will taste very good but it’s going to help. Just remember I need you to wait until I begin chanting. Ok, Lizzy?”
“Ok.”
Maya walks out of the circle to the front of her home. Looking back at Emma, “I’ll explain everything tomorrow, for tonight I need you to trust me. I just can’t explain it right now but come by tomorrow morning and we will talk.”
Emma looks over with a little more worry, but she tries to relax and mumbles “Ok.”
Maya retrieves her spell book from within Enit, along with her wand. With a resolute concentration, she initiates her spellcasting. The spell book hovers at her side as if drawn by an invisible force. Her wand is directed towards the candle positioned at the circle's lower left corner. Almost instantly, the candle's wick ignites, casting a gentle glow. In a methodical dance, Maya guides her wand around the circle in a clockwise motion. With each graceful arc, candles along the circumference burst to life, their flames illuminating the magical sigils etched into the ground. As if responding to the unfolding enchantment, the spell book's pages fan open autonomously. Amidst the delicate flutter of the pages, they settle on the ritual incantation. Gathering her resolve, Maya inhales deeply and takes her first step into the ritual.
"Mother Nature, source of life's eternal wonders," Maya's voice resonates, the words rich with determination. As she starts the chant, Lizzy's lips touch the vial's rim, sipping the potion's contents. Simultaneously, the orange flicker of the candles evolves into a vibrant shade of green, their light intensifying like embers catching fire. "We, your humble children, stand under this full moon's gaze," Maya continues, her tone carrying a heavy weight. "Please lend us your aid in thwarting unnatural forces. Grant us your strength to break the chains of this accursed cycle and free her from this relentless ailment." Her mind envisions thick chains, constricting Lizzy's every breath, entwined in an unyielding grasp. The chains, symbolic of time's unending loop, merge with the weight of the relentless affliction. Maya's focus narrows to a singular link within the chain, her mental gaze honing on its form. As if wielding an ethereal sword, she sweeps her wand through the air, the motion mirroring a blade's decisive strike. The chain splinters asunder in her mind's eye, the link's fracture echoing the power of the incantation she releases, "ABRUPT!"
Under the moon's profound gaze, an ethereal breeze dances among the candle flames, coaxing them into a fierce, enchanting blaze of their former brilliance. A shift in the very fabric of the atmosphere comes to climax with a resonant crack reverberating overhead. Then, with a serenading hush, the flames bow to an invisible conductor, vanishing in unison. The once-illuminated circle stands shrouded by darkness, the night itself seemed even darker than before the candles were lit. *Smack* The spell book tumbles from its suspended state, simultaneously, Maya's posture wavers, her strength drained, she nearly collapses to the ground just barely catching herself on one knee. Heavily breathing, Maya didn’t realize how much energy this would cost her.
“Are you ok Lizzy?” Emma yells, running towards Lizzy in the middle of the circle.
“What was that Enit?! You didn’t tell me this would happen!” Maya says angrily under her breath.
~ I was unsure if that would happen. This being a low-grade curse I figured it shouldn’t have been very draining on you. If I had to guess, you used more power than you needed to break the curse thus causing you to drain a lot of your energy ~
“What do you mean by that?”
~ If the spell only needed 10% of your power you pushed out 80% instead, does that make more since? ~
*Sighing* “Seriously?”
~ Yes, in any case with that much power released that should have easily dispelled the curse ~
Emma, now carrying Lizzy again, slowly begins to walk towards Maya “Looks like she’s ok Maya, but why are you on the ground out of breath?”
“Don’t worry about it.” Trying to blow off the exhaustion as if it was nothing “Hey, Lizzy, how you are feeling now?” Maya says still on one knee breathing heavily.
“I still feel tired and weak, but the pain is gone” Lizzy replies.
“That’s to be expected, you still must recover. Even though you are no longer sick and cursed, your body still must recover from lack of eating and being sick for so long. But with eating more and a good night's sleep you should recover some energy and in no time your strength will return.”
“Thank you, Maya, but are you ok?” Lizzy replies.
“Yes, I’ll be fine, I just need to get some rest myself and get my energy back. In the meantime, you both should head home, and I will see you tomorrow, Emma.”
“Ok, see you tomorrow, Maya. I will be by early; I expect some answers after tonight.”
“I know, Goodnight Emma, Goodnight Lizzy.”
“Goodnight Maya.” Both Emma and Lizzy say at the same time.
As Emma walks away with Lizzy on her back, Maya gets up finally feeling like she caught her breath. She picks up the candles from the ground which no longer has any chalk remaining, and heads back inside. After reaching her bedroom she lays down on her bed and immediately falls asleep.
*****************************************************************
"A surge of power unfurls its tendrils in the fabric of this night," a man's voice murmurs, a breath carried by shadows as he navigates the source. Swift, like a wraith, converges upon the location of the newfound potency, his senses honing in on the otherworldly energy like a predator to its prey. Emerging from the abyss, he beholds a mysterious trio: three women poised before a cabin. His mind weaves threads of recognition, "Familiar faces," he muses, his thoughts slinking through the shrouded recesses of his memory. But then, a figure unrecognized to him, an anomaly among the expected. Shadows continue to veil his presence as he lingers, an unseen observer entwined with the dusk. As the spectral dance of events unfolds, the watcher remains. The unrecognized woman's actions and incantations mirror a hidden power. Patiently, he remains in the fringes, concealed yet keenly aware, his senses absorbing each nuance of this arcane display. When the final chapter of this nocturnal spectacle draws to a close, and the world around him exhales its collective breath, he emerges from the seclusion of underbrush. An exhale of relief mingles with a note of ominous anticipation. "A year of staking out this forsaken country town," he breathes, his words imbued with a blend of weariness and triumph. "Now, it's time to report these secrets, and escape the clutches of this hellhole."
The narrative has been illicitly obtained; should you discover it on Amazon, report the violation.
*****************************************************************
*Knock Knock* “Wake up Maya I’m here!” Emma’s voice can be heard from the living room after knocking on Maya’s room.
“Can’t believe its morning already. Time to face the music.” Maya gets up and opens her door letting Emma inside her room. As the door opens, Emma immediately jumps on Maya with a large and tight hug.
“Thank you for saving my sister” Emma says before releasing Maya. “But after last night I do feel like you owe me some answers.”
“I know, I know I just wasn’t sure who I could tell. While I still don’t know if I can tell you everything, what I do need to tell you now is that I am a Witch. More precisely, I hail from the illustrious Hawthorne bloodline of Witches. At this moment in time my knowledge is extremely limited and so I wasn’t sure if it was a good or bad thing that I was a witch, which is why I haven’t said anything to anyone about it. On top of that I only recently found out this information so I am still learning what I can do and how to do it. Great example would have been last night, while everything I did was correct and by the book, it seems I well overextended the amount of power I needed causing immediate exhaustion.”
Wide eyed, Emma understanding very well what Maya had just told her “Wow ok, I honestly was thinking that you may have been a sorcerer or wizard…. However, this is much worse.”
“What do you mean by ‘worse’?”
“Where to start? I guess I’ll start with the fact that we use to have 7 powerful Witch families here in the country of Valoram. About 18 years ago the Hawthrone family disappeared or died, no one knows for sure but once word got out about that, the Blackthorne family decided to take control. Slowly over the course of a couple years they killed off the other 5 great Witch families to seize control. That would be the Fenrel Family, Comfree Family, Lilack Family, Jazzmine Family, and the Rosemarri Family. After that happened most witches went into hiding, some pledged themselves to the Blackthorne family. If any witch is reported they are typically taken away, whether they are killed or enlisted is still unknown, unless they resist which in that case they are killed on the spot. Most just know after they are taken away no one sees them again. But if you’re from the Hawthorne family does that mean you know what happened to them now?”
“What little information I do know, as I said a moment ago, I don’t think I can share for now at least. But from what you just said it seems to have been a good thing not to say anything at all.”
“Well maybe one day you’ll be able to feel ok sharing with me, I understand your hesitation and I’m still grateful we met and became friends. For now, though, we should keep this between us. If we get too much attention, information could reach the capital and that would not be good for you.”
“Definitely not good for me. I just don’t know what I should do about it currently.”
“Nothing. As long as we don’t publicize anything then we just continue as normal. So that means your house is still barren and you still owe Johnathan for everything when it comes to your home hahaha.”
“Well as you said he is out of town for a few days but when he returns, we will have to see how his trip went and then I guess go back to normal.”
“Yes, most likely tomorrow, maybe the day following if he got caught up talking to old friends. Also I’m just now realizing this but with everything you just told me it makes sense why your hat is able to store so much, I mean if it’s passed down from the Hawthorne family. I mean really anything by them would be overpowered from the stories I’ve heard.”
“If you say so, I wouldn’t know anything about that, but this is a special hat for sure.”
~ It’s ok Maya, you can tell her about me. She truly seems to care about you ~
“Well, I guess one more thing I guess I should tell you, umm, it’s that this hat is technically also my familiar and goes by the name Enit. Obviously, it goes without saying but this also needs to stay our secret. And while Enit can hear everything we are saying, I can only hear Enit through some type of telepathic voice while I’m wearing Enit of course.”
“This would explain why it seemed like you were talking to yourself a lot, glad you’re not crazy haha.”
“Gee thanks for that.” Maya says sarcastically.
“Let’s head to town and get some breakfast. Plus, you need to eat after last night, no doubt you’ve recovered your energy.”
“Yes, thank you I am starved.”
-------------------------------------------------------------
~ Seems like everything went better than expected with Emma today ~
“Very much so, I had a feeling that as long as Lizzy was cured that she wouldn’t harbor any ill will towards me. I am, however, shocked to hear that there is a Witch hunt by Witches for the most part going on here.”
~ Unnerving to say the least. If we keep a low profile and not use powers in public, we should be able to stay clear of anyone reporting us ~
“I’m just happy to hear Lizzy is doing well and is on the road to recovery. In the meantime, it’s best to get some rest for Jonathan’s arrival. He will most likely have a lot of work awaiting us upon return since he has been out. Goodnight Enit.” Maya says as she removes Enit from her head and changes into a nightgown that’s in the closet Emma gave her and quickly drifts off to sleep.
Light begins to peer through the window in Maya’s room. *Yawn* “I think I’m slowly starting to get used to this early to rise life, still not a fan but can’t be helped here.” Maya says to herself as she rises from bed slowly getting ready for the day. “Thankfully it looks like there are some work clothes in this closet” as Maya grabs a plain white shirt and brown colored overalls. “This will be great to wear for working all day. The shirt will probably get dirty, but the overalls shouldn’t look dirty at least.”
“HEY MAYA!”
“That doesn’t sound like Emma, who could that be outside?”
Maya walks out of her bedroom to the front door and opens it to see Emma and Lizzy outside. It was Lizzy who had yelled out to Maya. “Wow already feeling that much better Lizzy?”
“Yes! I still get tired, but I walked here all by myself today!” Lizzy proudly exclaims.
“Well, you still shouldn’t be pushing yourself too much alright?”
“Ok” Lizzy replies dis-heartedly.
“Johnathan should be back today. We should give him a warm welcome home, also looks like you are ready to work up a sweat too.” Emma says smiling.
“Again, thank you for the spare clothes, it’s nice to have something else to change into. I bet Nancy will be happy to see her husband back.” Maya says as they begin to walk back to town.
Upon arriving in town, they walked their way to Johnathan’s workshop only to notice that his horse and cart were already back in front of the workshop. “That’s odd, I didn’t think he would have been back already. Typically, when he leaves, he’s not back until late morning or early afternoon. We should go check it out.” Emma says.
Walking in, there was no sign of Johnathan in the warehouse, so they headed to the door. *Knock Knock* a voice emerges from the other side. “Come in.” Which sounded like Nancy’s voice. Opening the door, you could see that both Nancy and Johnathan were having a discussion which was interrupted by their knocking. “I’m sorry, did we come at a bad time?” Emma says when walking in.
“No, no, some more work came up and…. Is that lil’ Lizzy I see there?!” Johnathan’s voice changed from a serious tone to that of almost fatherly. “Boy have you grown in the past year, does your mother know you’re out and about today?”
“Jay!” Lizzy screeches as she runs over to Johnathan who picks her up and puts her on his shoulder. “Yes, mama knows!”
“Well look at that, seems like you are doing much better. I’m happy to see you are finally recovering, being sick so long we were all worried about you.”
“Uh-huh! Maya made me feel all better again!”
“Is that so? Did you make sure to thank her?”
“Thank you, Maya!” Lizzy yells from the top of Johnathan.
Nancy looks over to Maya, “Is this true?”
“Yes, I know some herbal recipes that helped.” Maya quickly replies, trying to avoid any additional questions that could follow.
“Wow, it’s hard to believe. I know Lizzy had seen other doctors who failed to help cure her sickness. That’s very impressive for a girl your age.” Nancy says a little shocked.
“It’s obviously a blessing that you came to our town then Maya.” Johnathan adds.
“I wouldn’t go that far; it was the least I could do after Emma saved me from the wolves and helped me build a home.” Maya replies with a hint of embarrassment, feeling shy from such praise.
“That does bring me back to what we were just discussing. Looks like I’m going to need both of your help.” Johnathan quickly turned to a more serious tone.
“What do you mean?” Emma asks.
“Due to some unforeseen circumstances I need to leave for the city again. I would like both of you to accompany me on this. On my way down several of my supplies I was bringing got stolen. On top of that, upon arrival they needed more anyways, so I was hoping to leave today after stocking up.”
“Were you robbed by bandits?” Emma asks.
“I don’t know. I stopped for a quick rest and when I woke up my cart was nearly half empty. I’m just not as spry as I once was, and I was hoping that with some company we could keep our eyes out better.”
“We can do that. I would just need to get Lizzy home, change, and grab my sword just in case.”
“If you’re going to go home and change then I can stay here and help Johnathan pack everything up for the trip.” Maya tells Emma.
“Sounds like a plan.” Johanthan says as he puts Lizzy down from his shoulder. “Now remember to be good to your mother since Emma will be away for a few days ok, Lizzy?”
“I’ll be my best” Lizzy says before returning to Emma’s side as they walk out and head back home.
“Alright, I have everything on the side we need to put in the cart. I still have a few things I need to gather so I will meet you outside in a moment.” Johnathan informs Maya.
“No problem, I will start to pack up what I can in the cart then.” Maya replies as she walks back outside.