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Chapter 14 - The Ritual

A couple of days passed by, while Eleonora was preparing herself for the "Great Cleansing Ritual" as it was what she called it. Trevor wasn't afraid of it, but the amount of work that they had to put into it was constantly surprising him anew. He thought a hot bath with some essential oils would be enough to do the trick. However, as he watched the witch collect the necessary items with an occupied expression, he realised his previous misjudgment.

Although Trevor was familiar with the ritual's process, he was starting to stress about it, as Eleonora led them towards the spring that they would change into an enormous bath. For a moment, it sounded to him like a thing people would do in a cult, but she quickly explained to him that spring water would also work as a cleanser. It calmed the brunet down so that he stopped sweating under his arms.

This day was unusually warm and pleasant for winter. There were no clouds in the light blue sky so that the sun was shining, uninterrupted. A breeze that rustled the leaves was agreeable and calm, too. And the water surfaces were so tranquil that they resembled mirrors. All of them were astonished by the beauty of the surrounding scene.

'It's so quiet today, isn't it?' Trevor asked as he pushed a tree branch out of his way.

'Too quiet,' William shared his opinion. He was the one carrying most of the things needed for the ritual.

'Please, no pessimism on the day of my rebirth.' He outstretched his arms, shaking his head in disapproval.

'You sound like you're a part of a cult,' William commented and shrugged.

'Aren't we all?' He beamed at them, causing them both to roll their eyes.

Eleonora hadn't taken part in their chat since she was on the lead. Her mindful eyes were scanning the area and looking for the spring. She'd been there a few times before, but the forest never stayed the same long. Each trip always felt like she was discovering it all anew, like she wasn't living there long enough to put down roots and there still was something to surprise her.

Shortly after, they arrived at the spring's rocky shore. Its surface was motionless. As Eleonora and William put their bags down, Trevor examined the water temperature with his toes. He couldn't believe that it was only chilly, not freezing. After all, it was water from the mountains, so that he couldn't expect it to be any warmer.

Now that they were ready to begin, the brunet had to undress to his underwear. Then he and Eleonora got into the water, while William was assisting them from the shore. As Trevor noticed, the witch wore an ethereal, translucent dress without a bra, which was totally fine by him. She must have enjoyed wearing it since she put it on; it was the most important thing, not anyone else's opinion.

Trevor swam across the spring a few times, whereas Eleonora struggled with its temperature as she was rubbing her arms.

After daring to immerse herself up to her jaw, she was ready to begin the "Great Cleansing Ritual". She poured some shiny oils and some other liquids resembling slime into the water. Then a vast foam layer started spreading over the spring surface. Since it was a closed body of water, there was no worry that it would flow down with any stream.

At that point, Trevor was supposed to rest, floating gently in the middle of the foam layer for a while. The bubbles slightly tickled his skin, but besides that, it was very relaxing. Eleonora stayed close to him, in case something went wrong, though it was highly unlikely. In the worst case, it would cause his skin to itch and turn red.

When it was the time for the second step, Eleonora put her hands on Trevor's bare back, at the bottom of which the man had his vibrant tattoo portraying a snake. She was about to immerse him underwater, when trees started to tremble before a muffled sound of an explosion reached their ears.