The Sorceress and the Tapestry

Chapter One-2

“How can you trust Lord Dragon?” Aurora asked. “He attacked us and stole the famous tapestry. And, that woman killed Eric.”

“Yeah, but if there’s any way to—”

“Um, excuse me, but what’s happening here? And what are you all talking about?”

All three girls looked at Nira, remembering no one knew about the attack on the castle. It was a secret everyone kept as the king ordered it.

“Amethyst, why is she is here?” Aurora pointed to Nira. “She is going to tell everyone about the secret.”

“No, I won’t say a word, My Lady.” Nira curtsied to her.

“You see, she won’t say a thing.” Amethyst padded her on the shoulder. “Nira, what you’re going to hear is a secret, and you mustn’t tell anyone.”

Nira nodded and made a gesture with her fingers as if she was sealing her lips.

“Anyway, I’m going east with Lilith, and Nira’s going to take my place.”

“Great plan, Red.” Lilith stared at her than at Nira. “But you got a problem. First, she had brown hair, which doesn’t change colors. Second, she doesn’t look a thing like you.”

“I know that, but maybe the two pieces of the fruit can change her.”

“But what about me?” Nira pointed to herself. “My father’s going to ask where I went, and I can’t tell him that I’m going to live in the castle for who knows how long.”

“Lilith can make a copy of you to take your place.”

“Amethyst, this plan sounds silly,” Aurora held her head and shook it. “Why not just go by yourself and let Lilith take your place?”

“I need her to come with me.” She grabbed Lilith’s hand.

“Why? Are you not able to do it on your own? And what about that bird? He can take you there and back.”

“You mean Nova? I haven’t seen him in a while. I call to him, but he never shows up. I think Eris isn’t letting him see me anymore.” Amethyst glanced at the mountains. “And going alone is not a good idea. I’m not sure what I’ll be fighting against, and Lilith coming with me is safer.”

“Guess that’ll be the only way to do it, so I’ll help,” Nira said with a smile.

“Thanks.” She grinned at Nira, then looked at Aurora. “Are you going to agree with the plan?”

Aurora tapped her finger on her arm and shook her head. “I know I am going to regret this, but to save our mother, I will agree.”

“Oh, thank you.” Amethyst hugged her.

“Okay, enough with the politeness,” Lilith chimed in. “Come on and make the wish,” Lilith said.

Amethyst nodded and picked up the sapphire fruit from her nightstand. With only two pieces left, it appeared like cherries. She closed her eyes and ate the second portion, then Nira began to transform into Amethyst. As she stood there, everyone was impressed that she was an exact copy.

“Wow, look at you,” Lilith spoke as she examined her from head to toe. “She looks just like you.”

“The wish worked,” Aurora gawked at her.

Nira walked to the mirror and saw that she looked identical to Amethyst, but when she spoke, her voice sounded like her own.

“I don’t think this will work; my voice sounds the same.”

“I have one more wish, but I want to save it in case of emergency. Lilith, can you fix her voice?”

“I will give it my best shot.”

Lilith whispered a few words and cast a spell on Nira. She felt a strange tingle in her throat, which made her cough.

“So, did it work?” Aurora asked.

“I don’t know,” Nira spoke, which her voice sounded like Amethyst. “Oh my, it did work! I sound just like you.”

“Of course, it worked. I’m the best magician around here.” Lilith grinned.

“Please, Magic Girl. You can stop praising yourself. All you did was change her voice, and who knows if it will last.” Aurora walked about Nira.

“Hey, I—”

“Would you two stop it!” Amethyst shouted. “Lilith, I still need you to make a copy of Nira.”

“Sure,” Lilith rubbed her chin than slapped Nira on the back. “but there’s a problem. She is now you, so I can’t do it.”

“Oh no, then what are we to do?” Amethyst hit her head with her hand. “Is there no way?”

“Mm…” Lilith closed her eyes and nodded her head. “Well, if I’ve got a strain of hair, I could do a spell for it.”

Nira snapped her fingers and yelled. “Why not go to my house and get a piece of my hair from my brush?”

“That’ll work,” Lilith smirked.

“Good, so Lilith and I will go make the copy. Aroura, make sure to help Nira out with everything around here.”

“Of course, but Amethyst, what about Lilith? Mother will be asking about her.”

“Just tell her I’m that cat walking around or the dog running outside.”

“I do not want to trick her into thinking that it is you. She will send the guards after the poor creature.”

“Well, you’d better think of something. Anyways Amethyst, we should be heading out. The sooner we go, the sooner we can come back.”

“Right.”

“You two take care of each other,” Aurora said.

“Sure, Goldie.”

Aurora shook her head and hugged Amethyst. Nira also hugged her, but before they left, Amethyst took off her necklace, armband, and the ring, and gave them to Nira. She also took the fruit with her, then grabbed her suitcase and was about to leave when Lilith shouted to her.

“Hey, where are you going?”

“Downstairs.”

“Why go sneaking around when I can do this?”

A portal opened, and Amethyst saw the village. It still looked the same as the day she and her mother left for the castle. The two farms were outside with the six buildings encircling the center of the market. The area was not as busy as the harvest was not ready. A few of the children ran around the dirty streets chasing each other with wooden swords or sticks. Amethyst smiled, but it faded, for everyone had no knowledge about the attack on the castle. Lilith tugged her on the arm and crossed the portal. Amethyst quickly turned around to wave goodbye as it closed in front of her.

Fear came over Amethyst, but there was no turning back. They headed to Nira’s home, but with the guards patrolling the town, it would be difficult. Lilith got an idea and covered Amethyst with a scarf. She grinned at her brilliance as Amethyst smirked and followed her. The air smelled of wet dirt and hot metals as they got closer to blacksmith’s workshop. They stopped at the top of a hill and looked down below to see a small building. The chimney was spewing black smoke, and the blacksmith was outside hammering on the anvil.

“Nira’s father is outside working. I’ll keep him busy while you go inside and create the copy.”

Lilith nodded and waited on the hill while Amethyst slid down towards the house. When she arrived at the bottom, she greeted the blacksmith. He looked up and saw Amethyst as she waved to him.

“Good morning, Princess Amethyst.” He wiped his brow, which was covered in black soot. “What brings you here?”

“Morning. I came by to see if Nira is here. Also, you don’t have to call me, princess Amethyst.”

“I know, but I'm respectful. Anyway, Nira isn’t here, I sent her to the market, but she should be back soon.”

“I see. Well, I’ll just wait here.” Amethyst smiled as she sat on a bench.

She began to tell him everything about the castle and what she had been up to. While they spoke, Lilith transformed into a cat and ran inside the house. She giggled at the furniture, for most of it was old or repaired with another piece. She found Nira’s room, which was large and filled with many dolls of different sizes. The walls were covered with them as well as the four tables in the corner. In the middle was a table with two others, which resembled a bit like Amethyst with two colors of hair and the other Nira with brown. Their faces were almost like them. Lilith transformed into her human self and walked over to the table. She gazed at them and thought it was a bit creepy.

“Talk about obsession.” She shook her head then searched for the brush.

Near the bed was a nightstand with the brush resting on top. Lilith walked over and picked it up. There was a strand of hair in the bristles, but it was blonde, not Nira’s light brown. She examined it further to see whether there were more hairs and found a brown one.

Lilith shrugged and placed both strands on the table, then she rubbed her hands together and held them over what she had collected. She said a few words, and the strands began to glow. As the light grew brighter, they transformed into two beings, and there Lilith noticed that one of the humans was an older woman with blonde hair. Her appearance was like Nira, yet there was something inhuman about her face, as animal-like.

“Wow, guess you must be someone else—oh well, time to get rid of you.”

“Nira, is that you?” The older woman said.

“Uh-huh.”

Lilith quickly made the older woman vanish before the Nira replica reacted to the question.

She breathed out a relief, then turned to Nira and asked her some questions to make sure she acted the same as the real Nira. When Lilith was happy with the copy, she transformed into a cat and stepped outside. As Lilith left, the fake Nira followed her to where Amethyst and the blacksmith were standing. She greeted the blacksmith, but when she saw Amethyst, she acted as if she was in love and began to bat her eyes.

“Um…hey, Nira,” Amethyst waved her hand. Nira blushed and giggled. “I…I came to see how you’re doing.”

“I’m doing well.” Nira closed her eyes and held Amethyst’s arm. “I missed you so much. I can’t stop thinking about you.”

“Um…yeah, same here. So, what—”

“Did you know that Lilith came and asked me some questions about you and me.” She let go of Amethyst’s arm and cupped her face in both hands. “Oh, just thinking about you makes me blush again.”

Amethyst widened her eyes then looked around. “What did Lilith do to you?”

“She opened my eyes!” Nira released her and spun around laughing. “I’m in love.”

“Ugh, I think she overdid it.” Amethyst rubbed her head.

“What?” Nira’s father overheard.

“Oh uh, Lilith is a new friend I met at school,” Amethyst explained. “And um…Nira likes her a lot.”

“Stop playing games with me, Ameth.” She stopped spinning and made a sad face. “I like you, not her.”

Nira’s father chuckled. “Ah, childhood. Anyway, Nira, did you brought the items I told you to get?”

“Items?” She held a finger on her chin then slowly turned her head to stare at her father.

“Yes, the items. I gave you money to go buy it.”

“Oh.” She looked away and smiled at Amethyst. “What are you doing here?”

“Nira, I asked you a question.” He spoke with a firm voice.

“I’m sorry, Father. I’ll go get them.” Nira hopped around.

He placed his hand over his forehead. “Never mind. Just give me the money back.”

“I don’t have it,” Nira answered in a tune as she swung her hands.

“What? Did you lose it?” he shouted.

“No,” she titled her head and grinned. “you never gave it to me in the first place.”

Amethyst saw the Nira copy acting insane and would be a problem, so she observed the area and spotted Lilith standing by a tree. Amethyst gestured towards her, to which Lilith nodded before heading over to them. Nira’s father had become angry with his daughter and was about to speak when he passed out before them. Amethyst was shocked.

“Why did you do that?” she shouted at Lilith

“You made a hand signal, so I thought you meant to knock him out.” She swung her hand.

“That’s not what I meant.”

“Hey, I can’t read your mind.” Lilith tapped her fingers on her head.

Amethyst shook her head and checked on the blacksmith. Once she had determined he was all right and just unconscious, Amethyst told Lilith to help her take him inside the house. Together, they carried him to a chair and sat him down.

“Lilith, can you bring the basket that Nira was carrying?”

“Sure.”

“I’ve never been to the castle,” the copy said as she grabbed Amethyst’s hand. “Are you going to take me there so we can live together?”

“What?” Amethyst released herself. “Why is she acting weird?”

“I don’t know.” Lilith shrugged. “I mean, the real one is strange. Nira has a doll that looks like you. Anyway, be back in a flash.”

Lilith left to grab the basket, while Amethyst went to Nira’s room. It was the first time she had ever been inside the room. A thought came to Amethyst for Nira was very secretive about her private life and wondered if Nira was trustworthy. She shook her head and remembered they had been the best of friends and knew each other for so long. Amethyst examined each of the toys, and for some reason, they all had the same face. Her eyes moved to each one then stopped on the two by the table. The craftsmanship on them was incredible, almost lifelike. They were holding hands and seated on small chairs. Amethyst walked over to it and noticed that the Nira doll had small antlers coming out from the side of the head. The other was of her own likeness. As she picked it up, the copy walked in and giggled.

“I made it look like you because you’re an amazing person.” She gently hugged her. “There’s no one like you, and to be friends with you is a horror.”

“That’s uh…nice,” Amethyst said, “but I think you mean ‘honor.’”

“That’s what I said.” She grabbed Amethyst’s hair and began to sniff it.

A nervous laugh escaped Amethyst. “Okay, this is starting to get a bit strange,” she whispered as she pulled her hair from the copy’s grasp and placed the doll back where she had found it. “We should wait in the living room for Lilith.”

“Whatever you say.” She answered in a low voice.

As they sat there, Nira would toy with Amethyst’s hair or hands, which she did not like it and told Nira to stop, but would not listen. Amethyst was about to burn her when Lilith returned with the basket. Amethyst was relieved and said they should leave as soon as possible. They awakened the blacksmith, who had a headache. Amethyst explained to him that something hit him on the head then Nira showed him the basket with the items that she had bought.

“Look, Father, the basket was brought by a bird with free items.”

“What?” He looked at her.

“Nira, you’re so funny and saying odd things.” Amethyst smiled at him. “She sure likes to goof around.”

“Yes, Nira does like to joke once in a while.” The blacksmith stood up. “Anyway, I’ve got a lot of work to do. It was nice to see you again, princess Amethyst.”

“Likewise.”

As he walked away, Amethyst glared at the copy. “Why did you say that to your father?”

“It was the truth. And anytime I am around you, my heart tells me to speak the truth.” She placed her hands on her chest.

“Yeah, but…Amethyst back away as Nira walked closer to her with her hands towards her. “Lilith, I don’t think your spell worked. She’s acting stranger by the minute. Look at her. Why is it acting so crazy around me?”

“Who knows, maybe the real Nira is like this but hides it.”

Amethyst shook her head and pushed Nira away from her. “Will she be all right?”

“Yeah, there’s nothing to worry about,” Lilith smirked. “Geez, she’s really into you. So, what’s next?”

“Yes, what’s next?” Nira responded as she grabbed Amethyst by the hand.

“Well, you’re going to stay here and do whatever your father tells you to do,” Amethyst struggled to release her fingers to fix her with a concerned gaze. “Hopefully, she won’t do anything odd like sniffing my hair.”

“Nah, she’ll be fine—wait, she was sniffing your hair?”

“Yes, and it smelled lovely.” The copy closed her eyes and placed both hands on Amethyst’s face. “Your scent is still in my mind, and it’s as if an angel stands in front of me. Amethyst, stay with me. We can be happy together.”

Both Lilith and Amethyst looked at her, then at each other.

“Nira never acted like this!” She pointed to her.

“Hey, I just made a copy.” Lilith studied her then giggled. “Seems like the real Nira has a crush on you.”

“Not funny. I think you should redo it. I don’t like how the copy is acting.”

“She will be fine.” Lilith slapped Nira, who was not bothered by it. “I think the spell just overdid something in her head. If the real Nira doesn’t come here, there’s nothing to worry about.”

“If you say so. Anyway, could you open a portal that will take us east?”

“Sadly, I can’t do that. I’ve never been there.”

“Okay, what about the waterfront?”

“Yeah, I never really left the mountain, so—”

“Then we’re walking there.”

“Walking? Just use your ice powers to get us over there.” Lilith moved her fingers.

“Okay, but we need to leave the village before I can use them. I don’t want anyone to know it was me.”

“Wait!” Nira shouted. “let me pack first.”

“No, copy. You stay.” Lilith pointed her finger at her. “Stay. Stay. Good girl.”

Amethyst shook her head, and they said goodbye to Nira and headed out of the village. As they neared the edge of town, Amethyst turned her head and saw Nira was following them.

“She’s following us.”

Lilith turned and cast a spell on Nira, then she giggled and turned around running back home.

“What did you do?” Amethyst tilted her head.

“Made an illusion of you going to her house. This is going to be easy as pie.”

“Yeah, I hope that’s the only thing that will be troubling.”

They followed the path which took them to the harbor. The journey to the port would be about two days’ walk, but once they were away from the village, Amethyst created an ice path, and they skied the rest of the day.

As they passed by an old tree, someone stepped from behind it and stared at them. A grin appeared on a face, and then the person vanished in an echo of laughter.