The Witch from The Human Realm

07 The Deal

"That's your castle?" Maddie asked, eyeing the structure in front of her up and down. 

It was just a huge house that stood on a cliff overlooking a seashore. It was made up of old bricks and was painted light gray, with alternating royal blue and purple-tinted windows. The purple tiled roofs were grayed with dust. There were also two towers that stood  on either side of the back of the house. 

"Yup!" Reina responded, spinning her staff with one hand. She then walked ahead, leaving Maddie and Crow behind. 

Maddie then looked at the bird that had perched on her shoulder. 

"Don't mind her," Crow told the tri-colored haired girl. "But this is where her old castle was, and the towers were what were left of the ruins." 

"Isn't she worried that those officers might capture her here?" 

"The path one will trek to get to this place is treacherous," Crow responded. "If they even dare to try, they might just get themselves killed by the terrain."

Maddie only nodded and followed the woman. 

The woman opened the door for them to enter. Maddie stepped in first and Reina closed the door after she had entered. 

It was dark inside. Really dark.

The sunlight coming through the tinted windows does not help at all. It only gave an eerie glow. 

Maddie heard a bag drop to the floor behind her, followed by two claps. 

In an instant, all the lights went on. And Maddie was greeted by the sight of a normal living room. 

But the interior design is not like the outside. It is much more lively than that. 

The walls were a light shade of cream and was split into two by a purple stripe at the center. The top part was plain cream, whilst the bottom were painted with alternating purple triangles and blue upside down triangles. The ceiling was cream with purple and blue argyle pattern.

There was a partly worn down blue camelback sofa on one side, facing a fireplace on the opposite wall.  

There was also a dusty light blue carpet on the wooden floor. 

"You might want to move a little to the side," Reina told Maddie as she levitated the shrunken bag to the center of the room. 

Maddie stepped back. 

Reina then waved her staff, returning the bag to its original size and unraveled. The contents poured out like a landslide. 

Maddie's stuff tumbled out together to her feet. 

Reina then slumped onto the sofa, dropping her staff to the ground. And not even a moment later, she began snoring. 

Maddie confusedly stared at the woman for a moment before turning to face Crow, her eyebrow raised. 

The bird nodded and cleared his throat. "Ahem, your majesty…?" he spoke. 

The woman then sat up straight, giving the bird a confused look. But the bird just responded by nodding his head to the girl. 

"Oh!" Reina exclaimed, suddenly remembering what they were supposed to do. She then clapped her hands together and moved to make some room for the girl to sit on. "Have a seat," she told Maddie, patting at the space next to her. 

Crow flew to a wooden perch at the side of the couch as Maddie made her way to take a seat. 

"There is something I need, and you're going to help Crow and I get it in order for you to get home," Reina told Maddie once she had sat down next to her.