By moonlight's shadow

Chapter 37

It was the dead of the night and what Snow had read the entire afternoon had blown away her mind. The diary had several of its last pages missing. It was like someone did not want the others to read those pages and had torn them off in a hurry. Snow had an instinctive feeling that she was probably running or hiding from someone or something who were pursuing her but she had come to know and understand a lot of things after reading the diary and the texts today.

The first among them was witches were extremely secretive and dubious as a coven and they are taught to lie through their teeth. They would tell one thing when they were doing something absolutely else. It did not make anything easier for others. Moreover it is one of the basic tenets of the sorceresses that they would never ever divulge the secrets of their coven or they would be excommunicated and banished which was worse to the witches than even death. So if Rebecca was here then it must be because she had done something wrong and has been banished from her coven or it might be something eels entirely.

And the second probability did not fill her up with warm hopes at all.

Snow had thought of going to Rebecca asking that if she should be practicing the ways that have been taught to her already or she should think of what is comfortable to her and do that but she did not expect to get a truthful response from her so she sent Raphael a message to meet her at the gates of the Academy leading into the forest. She was going for a run and she would like him to accompany her..

Raphael swooped down from the top of the oak and landed behind her.

“I never in a million years would have thought that you would be asking me to accompany you on your nightly stroll through the forest floor. This was something I thought I would have to force upon you but I am glad you asked me,” said Raphael as he smiled serenely while Snow smirked at him.

“Oh!! Don’t worry Headmaster King…I asked you for a reason and by the time dawn arrives you would be thinking that I should have left her alone rather than facing the execution squad!!” said Snow as she wrapped her hair in a pony tail with a tendril of her hair itself and then started running. Raphael caught up with her within a moment.

“So you want to make me rue the day because you called me to accompany you? Come now Snow, I expected much better of you…you should be making your Grandmother proud by taking me by surprise. You messed up the element of surprise by telling me beforehand what you were going to do,” said Raphael as he sped up and passed Snow. But strangely enough she did not cross him or even try and maintained the speed in which she was going. Although Raphael was a bit surprised at the behavior of Snow but he did not take up the matter.

Finally they reached the clearing that they usually used for their training but Snow had not brought any weapons today.

“So what is the agenda tonight? Something seems to be on your mind but you are not sure how you are going to tell that to me,” said Raphael as he crossed his arms and stood at a distance from Snow.

“You are correct on one count. I don’t know how I am supposed to ask you the things which you might not be able to answer me and if not then who would be willing to be entirely honest and truthful with me. But for the starters since I don’t trust Rebecca I thought that it would be a good decision to start with you,” said Snow as she shook her hair open.

“I am listening,” said Raphael as she came forward towards him and paced up and down.

“I did not allow Rebecca to see my powers or strengths or anything at all for she tried dodging every single question I asked her. Pont one, if she is staying here for an indefinite period of time then it must be because that she has been banished from her coven, and if she has been then she would be stripped of her powers but she does not seem to be lacking enough power to create a strong glamour spell. SO what is the reason?” asked Snow and Raphael sighed out loudly.

“You don’t know to leave things alone and undisturbed, do you? How did you come to these conclusions in one evening?” asked Raphael and Snow glared at him.

“You are supposed to answer my question with answers and not ask me questions in turn. Rebecca gave me books to read on witches, their covens, rules and regulations and stuff like that and according to what I have read it seems that it is not at all normal for the witches to stay away from their basic place of coven more than half a day but this witch has been here for more than two days and still she retains her power which means that she has not been banished from her coven. SO what is the ruse that she has created for staying here Raphael?” asked Snow, and he nodded at her words. It showed that she had read extensively about them.

“She is in hiding. She is being pursued by some people in higher positions of the Tribe Leaders who are pursuing her for taking off her power and then putting her down in a grave alive so that the soil would benefit from her strengths and create a natural cloaking spell,” said Raphael as his gaze did not waver from Snow’s eyes which were fast turning purple.

“And this is something she has said?” asked Snow.

“Yes,” replied Raphael.

“And you believed her?” asked Snow, and her nostrils were flaring up in disbelief.

“What do you consider me to be Snow? Do you think that I am absolutely daft with no sense of preservation whatsoever? I checked the facts whatever she had told and then verified them from my sources, they match. I understand the reason for your mistrust Snow but don’t you have faith on me? Or my judgement? Do you think that I would jeopardise the lives and health and everything related to the Academy?” asked Raphael and his voice was loud this time.

“I trust you more than my own life and you very well know that Raphael. But I don’t trust her, because her truths are so pure and everything matches perfectly and fits the puzzle without any problem. But you of all should know that truth so true, reeks of lies,” said Snow as her eyes blazed and Raphael could suddenly realize that Snow was telling the truth. It had been a huge mistake on his part to have believed Rebecca in that manner.

“You are right,” said Raphael as he nodded t her with grim realization.

Snow looked at Raphael and understood that the point had hit home and she did not need to justify or clarify herself any longer.

“Good, now that she is here all we can do is to keep an eye on her and not let her have any free rein over anything. If her freedom and sources of collecting of information are severely curtailed then she is bound to try and seduce you and take out information when she has put a spell on you. That is the time when I am going to drain her dry,” said Snow, as her hair had turned completely white by then.

“There is going to be no draining, one way or the other. You are so blood thirsty Snow, I am seriously worried that if you are getting the proper nutrition!!” said Raphael as Snow smiled at him.

“I am getting the proper nutrition but I am not going to spare her when I come to know that all this caring thing that she is doing for my sake and to come in your books is all a lie. But that is not why I had called you to meet tonight,” said Snow and Raphael did not say anything and waited for her to clarify.

“I wanted to meet you so that I can explore the magic which you say lies in my veins. I did not want to be trained by an imposter but rather the man whom I know has had several relations with the witches over all the centuries that you have lived and then that was before this Treaty was imposed. So I am guessing that when it comes to magic you are no novice at all,” said Snow as Raphael let out a short bark of laughter.

“I should have guessed that you were not letting me off the hook so easily. Yeah, you are correct on that count but what I did and when I did was something absolutely different and we had to do various things in order to survive. I am not proud of most of them but then again we are not a virtuous race of creatures exactly. So tell me how do you want this to happen?” asked Raphael as Snow breathed in deeply.

“I don’t know. You are the teacher, how am I supposed to know everything?” asked Snow in a mock childish tone and Raphael snorted at her tone. She was for the first time behaving like a petulant teenager and that was dangerously adorable.

“In that time before people were writers, when the spoken word was the way of the world, we were the wise women. They would come to us with a choice, faces of puzzlement and fear, and we would ease it. They would ask, "Which?" We would find the way of the great spirit, the one who is love, heal their worried soul and they would be happy once more. Then came the fear of the paranoid ones, and "Which?" became "Witch!" We always were your friends, we who could use simple words to heal and feel the goodness of God giving subtle directions, answering prayers in clues for eyes of the soulful. So please come again, yet feel that you say, "Which?" and we will help the best we are able.” Said Raphael as he quoted something from memory.

Snow waited to let him finish what he had to say.

“So when you think about magic being a part of your body at first you have to believe that it is a part of your soul which will gradually render you the strength to bring it in physical form. You have to first understand what is the thing which makes you tick. Since you have read the types and forms of magic you do understand that you will have power in a single segment, correct?” asked Raphael and Snow nodded but then what she said blew away his mind.

“It is not necessary to have only one particular power Raphael. In the Origins of Magic it has been very clearly mentioned that magic is like pure energy and it can be used in two ways, good or bad,. That is Light and Dark, same as matter and particles. So if I do have the energy inside me which has been untapped then why am I not going to be able to have all the powers? I mean combined in one but used differently at different times. That should make the beam of magic much more stronger than when it is divided from the beginning,” said Snow as she chewed her lip thoughtfully.

Raphael was rendered speechless for a few moments.