WITCH - The Queen

Chapter 50

Julia

"You had bad dreams again?" Finn sighed. Julia just started talking about her dream. It was late afternoon and they were getting ready for the rest of the way. Cleo already trained with Julia with a sword, that's why Julia got to talk about the strange events before. Now, they dismantled their tents. Julia was exhausted from training, but they had to move on if they wanted to move quickly.

"Yes. But suddenly, I was in the fairy forest. Not in a dream, no. Apparently, I went on a little trip with magic", she continued.

"A trip?" Leopold folded one of the tarpaulins, together with Marko.

"And it wasn't a dream?", he wanted to know.

Finn sat on a soft blanket. He could not help dismantle the camp. Josefine checked their supplies and water bottles and stowed them away. But she listened with interest too.

"Not a dream, no. I left my body so to speak. At least that's what a sylph explained to me. Ehlin. And there were two humans, Charlie and Joris, and a siren. Nanno. A very friendly boy. I told him about the war."

"Wait!" Marko grimaced. "You accidentally conjure yourself out of your body, and the first thing you do is talk to the first siren you see about the war?"

But Julia did not get to answer his question. Cleo came over to them. "Have you packed everything?", she asked. "And what do you mean? Julia? You have conjured yourself out of your body? That's not possible." Apparently, she had also listened to parts of the conversation.

"Most of it is packed", Leopold replied quickly. Julia told her sister about what had happened. Cleo turned pale.

"You're sure this wasn't a dream?", she asked again.

Julia shook her head. "At first, I thought I was still dreaming. But it wasn't a dream. I was in the fairy forest. The siren helped me. And also the sylph."

"And you took your chance and tried to persuade them to help us", Marko added. He rolled his eyes. "I would have run back and forth in panic! Juli? You think too much about everything that could happen!"

Julia looked at him reproachfully. "You don't worry enough, Marko. And no. It wasn't the first thing I thought of. But I took the chance. Nanno's mother is one of the rulers of the sirens. He got her. She will pass on my request and the mermaids will discuss it."

"And they believe you?", asked Cleo. "I would question all this..."

"Me too. But I was transparent. I was clearly using magic. Why shouldn't they believe me in the end? And they wanted to somehow check what I told them... Hopefully, they will help us." Julia sighed. "But Nanno said sirens don't like to interfere with the struggles of others."

"Sirens eat humans", Josefine murmured. "You were lucky that only your soul was there! You'd have better taken me with you!"

Julia grinned. "There live two humans who don't get eaten..."

"And?" The dragon girl snorted. "Next time I want to go with you!"

Julia raised her eyebrows. How could she take a dragon with her if she didn't know how she had sent her soul to the fairy forest in the first place?

When everything was packed, Marko took the form of a wolf again to carry Finn. Fiete could no longer carry him because only he knew the way. He was telling Peter and Charlotte about the dragons' tradition of keeping their eggshells in a special cave. Cleo, on the other hand, gave Julia a few tips about how to handle the sword.

She had to realize very quickly that Julia was exactly as talent-free, as she claimed. Josefine listened to the conversation and mimicked Cleo. She thought it was ridiculous that Julia should learn to use a sword. Unlike Leopold. He asked Cleo questions about the topic and her training as a soldier. Especially about her former shadows. He had plenty of questions.

"And this elite unit has left everything behind? Their names? Friends? Their families?", he asked. "All this to commit crimes? How were they chosen?"

"Well... There is an elite program at the military school. Those who stood out there as particularly gifted could be trained as shadows after graduation. The training lasts about two months. This training is reserved for witches and wizards only", Cleo explained.

" Isn't that discriminatory?", asked Finn. "What about talented mortals?"

"They don't have magic. And that's a prerequisite!" Cleo shrugged. "But you might be right. There may be a lot of changes to be done."

That made Finn smile. Leopold just nodded.

They walked through the sand for several hours. No black dragon crossed their path. But for a long time, they saw no water. Not one oasis. Peter talked to Charlotte and Fiete flew high up to see how far they were. The hours dragged on.

Cleo tried to talk to Josefine, which was very brave of her, but Josefine only growled at her. Julia had to calm down her frightened sister and scolded the stubborn Josefine. Her friend just shrugged her shoulders calmly and mentioned that she was hungry.

Finn yawned and asked if they would take a break soon.

But then, finally, they saw dark mountains and they heard the sound of the river. They reached the mountains. Josefine sniffed the air and jumped excitedly.

"We arrived! Mom's home!", she exclaimed, hugging Julia furiously and pressing a kiss on her cheek. Leopold looked at the high mountains skeptically.

"We have to get over there? How are we going to do that with Finn?", he asked.

Finn grimaced. Julia helped him climb off Marko's back and held him tight as Finn had trouble standing on the sand. Marko transformed back and crossed his arms. He briefly looked at Finn, who blushed as usual at Marko's naked sight, and then looked at Leopold. "You could carry him, Leo. You can fly over the mountains, right?", he suggested. Leopold nodded.

Marko took over holding Finn from Julia to shower him with kisses. Julia ran to Fiete and Peter while the others set up their tents. Soon, the sun would rise. "Fiete! What's the best way to introduce ourselves?", she asked.

Fiete shook his head. "We were probably noticed long ago. It's enough if we wait here. I'm not allowed to enter the mountains anymore, so I'm sure a welcome committee will appear soon!"

"What?" Peter looked at him startled. "I have to change! I can't show myself like that! Unwashed! And full of sand! I need to wash! Fiete! I can't face the dragons unwashed! We are married!"

But Cleo held him before he could run to the river. "First of all, we set up the tents. And we all stink, Peter!", she muttered, amused.

"But I look like a homeless man in a fancy coat!", Peter protested.

"You could also greet the dragons naked!", Marko called out to him laughing. The werewolf was still naked because his clothes were well stowed away.

"Put something on, Marko!", shouted Leopold, laughing. Peter, on the other hand, tried to knock the sand out of his clothes instead of helping to set up the tent camp.

(c: sasi)