A Witch's Word

WEDDING PREPARATIONS

Gathered around Maggie’s conjuring table, Edith and Tabitha sat next to each other watching their matriarch pace.

“We need to discover if their princess was ever taken or if that was an excuse to attack us and extend the war.” She began.

Pointing her finger at Edith, Maggie smirked as if she already knew the answer but was waiting for the validation.

On the fireplace mantlepiece was an image of a kind-faced lady. Soft eyes of welcome nurtured them still even though it had been twenty-three years since they had been animated. It was the same image that Edith had made into stained-glass art and installed above her kitchen sink. Tabitha had a much smaller portrait in her ring, finding comfort in the grandmother who was always kind to her, even though they would never meet again.

“Grandma Joyce was the very best of us. She would understand why this was necessary, but I think one of the reasons that she fought for peace so fiercely was so that you girls would never be put in this position,” Maggie explained, compassionately.

She attempted to hug her children, but it was unpractised and difficult.

Despite the strain between mother and daughters, there was a memory that united them in a way that affection never would. Their hearts were blackened with the vengeance they knew they were owed.

Edith had been six years old when she found out she hated the dragon riders. She and her sister, who was just out of her toddler years at the time, lay in their beds listening to the crickets from the forest play their lullabies. They had known peace for a few weeks, and Maggie and Grandma Joyce had promised that the war was finally coming to an end. Just as Tabitha’s breathing became a little heavier, the clear indication that she was drifting into a deeper sleep, a roar of fury split the night into two parts: the part that came first and the part that came afterwards. Hearing the furniture scrapping across the floor downstairs, she knew that Maggie had rushed outside to assess what was happening. Not for the first time, Edith considered what that action demonstrated about their chosen mother. When danger was near, her first reaction was to face it head on rather than check on her daughters. Two heavy thuds made the foundations of their cottage shake and Tabitha woke up bewildered for a moment.

“They have come back, haven’t they?” she called out, sneaking from her bed into Edith’s.

The roar that came in response made Edith wonder if the beasts could hear the question and didn’t like to be mistaken for anything other than a threat. Magic fizzled in the air as protection spells were laced together to fight off their enemy.

Taking Tabitha, Edith locked her in the cellar beneath the stairs and placed a strong protection spell over the room. She loved her sister so much that she knew it would protect her even if it was basic and especially if the dragon riders came looking for more people to kill. Slipping out of the house, Edith zigzagged through the trees until she reached the town square. Keeping low to the ground, she watched mother Maggie spit at King Nokon as he walked past her to reach Grandma Joyce. Refusing to even speak to her, he instead grabbed the back of her collar and dragged her across the dirt towards the wooden stake in the middle of the square. Not a single person moved, shocked by what was happening. They were in the middle of a peace agreement that was being orchestrated by Joyce and Nokon — it was what everyone in the land was praying for. An end to violence. Taking metal chains from his shoulders, he carefully coiled them around her body until she was unable to move.

“Where is my daughter?” he demanded.

Joyce only looked perplexed and twisted in her chain once more.

“They have been forged by one of your own, you cannot escape them. Don’t lie to me witch. What have you done to her?”

Joyce said nothing. She wouldn’t dignify his suspicions with a response. She knew nothing so she said nothing but began her prayers to the Crone.

“We have done nothing to you! Why would we jeopardise the peace King Nokon…it makes no sense!” Maggie screamed at him, her long curly hair wild with the struggle to be free.

“I don’t need a reason, I only need answers. I will scorch this land with a never-ending war until my daughter is returned to me!” he screamed in Maggie’s face.

Nodding once in Dostex’s direction, the dragon turned his attention to Joyce and let the flames spew from his mouth.

Edith had to look away, but no matter how tightly she clenched her eyes, she couldn’t stop her ears from listening to the screams of their leader, of the woman who had been as close to a grandma as she would ever know. She squeezed her eyes until it gave her a headache, but when the screams stopped, she couldn’t stop the tears from seeping through them. A similar cry could be heard from atop of the monster who had brought the fires of hell with him — she could see a small boy dressed in fine robes sobbing at the sight before him. Nokon climbed up his dragon and looked down at his son.

“Stop sniveling Cadmus — this is what it takes to be a leader.”

A young Cadmus wiped his eyes and looked away from the execution.

“I’ll make you regret this day! Your people will suffer for all their lives in payment for what you have done to us today. Enjoy your land, Nokon—soon you will be King of nothing!” Maggie screamed.

It was that day that Edith knew she had to be the most skilled witch she was capable of being, so she could help Maggie in her mission to end the line of the dragon riders.

Tabitha’s warm hand encased Edith’s cold ones. She knew that whenever her sister thought of how their grandma was murdered, her skin would turn impossibly cold. Although she was forever haunted by that night, the memory was the motivation she needed to finally avenge her family. Countless witches died in the wars that were extended by Nokon’s unfounded suspicions. She recognised the unique opportunity she had been given, and, in her heart, she found some gratitude towards Maggie for creating this opportunity.

“After I have found out what happened to the daughter, what else should I do?”

“Find Queen Loma. She also needs to answer for her crimes. Once you have completed these tasks, send word to me as soon as you can,” Maggie replied.

Edith nodded and pushed her chair back to make the journey home. Tabitha would have to stay longer as she had been instructed to make the wedding preparations for tomorrow, a task that Edith had thankfully not been expected to contribute towards.

“I’ll make you regret this day! Your people will suffer for all their lives in payment for what you have done to us today. Enjoy your land, Nokon, soon you will be King of nothing!”

The words resonated in her mind. Maggie had been true to her word and a year after the death of Joyce she had sent a curse so catastrophic into Novtexo that more than a quarter of the population had died. It occurred to Edith that the people might be in need of a hero, and if she were able to alleviate some of the issues, she might have enough influence with the common people to begin a power play of her own. It was this satisfying thought that urged her to pack her bags and prepare for the arrival of the nemesis.