WITCH - The Queen

Chapter 2

Peter

They had been living with the centaurs for almost three years now.

Time had flown by and Peter hadn't gotten any older. Not a single day! He enjoyed it. Definitely. He had always been afraid of getting older while his little sister stayed young. He was afraid of leaving her alone one day. But that might never happen.

Some of the elves and the other two humans had joined one of the villages, but not all. The centaurs had offered to stay with them. For Peter and his little sister, this seemed to be the best solution to avoid being found by the Queen's soldiers should they cross the border.

The centaurs had helped them build their own tents. They now lived in their own tent village right next to the centaurs and lived with them along the river. Together with them stayed Gisele and Lavinia with Maleen, Ilse with her daughter, Thilo, Sofia, Emil, and Elias, as they wanted to stay close to their cousin and Liam with Pepe. And of course Leopold with his parents, the two dragons, and Finn and Marko.

Right now, Peter was looking for his sister. Hanno, Flora, and Leopold had cooked dinner together. Julia wanted to go to the river, but it was getting late. Summer was coming to an end and the wind was getting colder. Julia was now nineteen years old, but she had hardly changed in the three years. This surprised Peter since witches and wizards usually stopped aging at twenty-five. The queen had stopped getting older at thirty. That wasn't unusual. It was the latest time at which the aging process could stop. But between the age of sixteen and nineteen? He had never heard of it.

He found Juli by the river. Together with Fiete and Josef. The two dragons lay near the shore in their true form and slept. Julia was also asleep. She snuggled up to Josef, who spread one of his wings over her. Fiete held his wing over the two in his sleep. It looked comfortable, even if he could only see his sister's head. The two dragons were huge.

First, he went to Fiete. Standing between two sleeping dragons could be dangerous if they moved in their sleep. Unlike Juli, Peter didn't want to dare. Fiete snorted softly in his sleep. Peter saw the dragon as his best friend. Fiete was affectionate and had a sense of humor. Peter appreciated that. And he especially appreciated the love and care that the dragon showed for his little sister. Fiete loved Julia and Peter was happy about it. He didn't have to worry about Julia. Not when two dragons were always close to her. And to him.

He stroked the white dragon's big snout. Fiete's head was taller than Peter. He felt like an ant. Fiete opened his eyes and raised his head. He snorted kindly and gently nudged Peter with his nose.

"Morning sunshine!" Peter grinned. "The food is ready. And it smells so good that it's sure to attract a few of our centaur friends. So swing your hips to our tent!"

Fiete rolled his eyes and took human form. "Are you waking up the children? Or should I?"

"Wake up the children, honey." Peter winked at him, which made the dragon laugh. "It's not just mine, it's yours! I'll quickly throw myself into something pretty for you!"

"Idiot!" Fiete shook his head.

"Oh! How mean! You like my sense of humor!"

"That's true. But I leave waking up our brood to you, darling! Have fun with the bad-tempered black dragon." And Fiete left Peter alone with the teenagers. Peter sighed. Josef was often very indignant when he was woken up. He would have preferred it if Fiete had taken over.

Julia

The sun. Storm. Harpies fly over the castle. Red vampire eyes. Blood. An army of different races. The castle is in flames. Dragons.

In her sleep, she heard an angry humming and rumbling.

"Oh, come on Josef! Dinner is ready!" That was Peter's voice. Julia opened her eyes and yawned. Instead of leaning against Josef, she now lay on the soft grass. Josef's wing was still spread over her.

"Josef! I'm not the dinner! ... Hey! Let me down!"

Tired, she climbed out from under the warm wing of her dragon friend and saw how Josef had lifted her brother with sharp teeth on his jacket. Peter clung to Josef's mouth scoldingly.

"Evil dragon!" Peter crossed his arms. Then he noticed Julia. "Dearest sister? Tell your dragon to let me down!"

"Where is Fiete?", she asked instead, noticing the absence of the other dragon.

"He left me to my fate! Josef! Your teeth crumble my jacket! I like this jacket! Don't you dare to tear it apart!"

Josef just snorted and left. Julia followed him laughing. "So, there's dinner?"

"Yes..." Peter dangled disgruntled in the air. Just before they arrived at the tents, Josef let him down and turned into a human being. Josefine had grown. She was now slightly taller than Julia and grinned broadly.

"Cheeky brat!", Peter grumbled and marched to their tent.

"That was funny." The dragon girl yawned. "But I would have preferred to continue sleeping."

"Me too." But Julia's stomach disagreed and started to make noise. The two girls laughed.

"I dreamed of the desert. I hope to see it someday!" Josefine sighed. "Did you dream something?"

"No. But I had a vision."

"Oh? A good or a bad one?"

"Bad. There will be war again."

"Oh." Josefine grimaced.

"I agree with you." They entered the tent, which was now their home. They shared the big tent with Leopold, his parents, Marko, Finn, and of course Peter and Fiete. The tent was one of the largest. It consisted of a large room that served as a dining room and living room, and several small rooms adjacent to it. The tent was divided into large panels of fabric. Cooking was usually done behind the tent. The small rooms served as bedrooms. One of these rooms was shared by Leopold's parents, the room next to it by Fiete and Peter then came Leopold's and Marko's room, and finally the shared bedroom of Finn, Josefine, and Julia. There was another, very small room, which they used as a pantry since none of the teenagers wanted to use the room.

One might wonder why the teenagers and the young adults were so divided. The reason was simple. Leo's parents thought it was the wisest decision that the couples did not share a room. They had considered making the pantry Julia's room, but the room was very small, and Josefine and Julia had insisted on sharing a room. And they gladly accepted Finn with them, because he did not want the small room either. Julia didn't mind sharing a room with Finn as well. Marko, on the other hand, did not like it. He wanted to share the room with Finn, but the two were not allowed to.

Finn was now eighteen. In the three years, he had changed. He didn't look quite so childlike anymore and had grown. He was now slightly taller than Julia. The centaurs liked to call him an extraordinarily pretty boy. Leopold and Marko had also changed. Both had grown quite a bit. Now, Marko was taller than Leo and Peter. And more muscular. Next to him, Finn seemed very small and petite, although he was neither.

"Josefine!" Peter held out his jacket to her plaintively as the two entered the tent. "Do you see that? Holes!"

"Oops?" Josefine grinned mischievously, showing her pointed, sharp teeth.

Peter's jacket was now adorned with a series of holes that the dragon's teeth had torn into the fabric. "You will sew that!", he grumbled.

"Sure. But I can't sew very well!" Josefine winked at him. Her uncle, who was standing behind Peter, laughed.

"I'm happy to do that!" said Finn immediately. He was now the tailor of the village. The centaurs liked to provide him with fabric and homemade leather, as they loved his creations. Peter also benefited from this. Finn had already sewn several garments for him. Julia helped him. Marko, Leopold, and his parents, on the other hand, supported the centaurs in their trade with the refugee villages. Peter painted and let the three sell his paintings in the villages. And the dragons? Well, most feared the two, even if the centaurs were not hostile to them, and had welcomed them for the most part. There were only a few problems. Julia was happy about it.

(c: sasi)