WITCH - The Queen

Chapter 66

Julia

They had flown almost non-stop. The walk took several hours. Luckily for them, they had found a small cave on the way, where they could spend the night. Julia looked tiredly at the tall trees. She had never seen anything so beautiful, but she couldn't enjoy the view. Flying almost non-stop had a terrible side effect.

Josef grumbled softly. He sounded excited. Surprised, Julia looked for what the dragon might have seen. Two harpies flew towards them. Julia recognized black wings and wings as colorful as the wings of a parrot. They flew very fast and reached the two kites after a few moments.

The two harpies, a young man with dark skin and a young woman whose colorful wings seemed all the more colorful up close, called out to them to follow them. Fiete and Josef did so. The two harpies led them to a large meadow by the river. That's where the two dragons landed. Leopold immediately flew off Josef's back to help Finn off the dragon's back. Marko also rushed to them. Julia urgently needed to go to the bathroom. Embarrassed, she grimaced. This was really a bad time, as the two harpies already came to them smiling. And as fast as Peter hurried to a few bushes, he had the same problem.

When Finn was safely taken off Josef's back, Julia followed. Meanwhile, the two harpies looked at her curiously. They were particularly interested in the two dragons.

Finn sat down tired in the tall grass.

"Is everything alright?", Marko asked him. Julia, who was also hurrying embarrassed to a few bushes now, noticed that he was rocking restlessly back and forth on his feet. The harpies laughed in amusement as Julia quickly shouted 'hello' and 'thank you' to them.

"Yes, of course. I'm just tired!" Finn smiled and tapped the floor next to him to tell Marko he should sit next to him. Which Marko did. Julia washed her hands in the river water and went back to her friends. Leopold ran quietly cursing past her to the bushes. The two harpies whispered and watched the spectacle. Julia had imagined her arrival at the harpies a little more stylish.

It was time to introduce themself.

Fiete and Josefine took human form, while Leopold came back to them and stood next to Julia. Fiete immediately pulled Peter to him, who had just returned from his activity. He stared at the strong bird legs with the sharp claws that replaced human legs for the harpies.

"Hello", Julia said cautiously. "Thank you for guiding us to this meadow. Um... I think we can pitch our tent here. I'm Julia."

The young woman, whose long hair shone black, smiled. She shook her colorful wings. "You're welcome. Our nests are too high. That would not be safe for humans and wolves. My name is Rosalie and that's Falk."

She pointed to the other harpy. The young man with dark skin and short dark hair. "We thought you'd never come!", Falk muttered. "Jane said you were on your way, but... Well, you're here. And just like she said. With two dragons and two wolves."

"A storm stopped us", Julia explained and introduced the others. As her family. Marko nodded, then jumped up and ran into the bushes. Finn rolled his eyes.

"And who is carrying me into a bush?", he asked quietly. Leopold took pity on him.

Julia shook her head with a sigh. It's just embarrassing...

"A big family, then?" Rosalie grinned. She was so tactful to ignore that dilemma. "Well, I hope you didn't have any problems with the dragons?"

"It went fine", Fiete said quietly. "The storm was the bigger problem. Two humans from our group stayed with the dragons."

"Oh?" Rosalie nodded. "That's interesting. As guests? Or as a snack?"

Falk grinned softly.

"As guests!" Fiete snorted. Josefine stood next to Julia with a gloomy expression. Something seemed to bother her, but she said nothing. Julia decided to ask her later. Leopold also frowned.

"Jane, our shaman, should come here soon", Falk said. "She had to take care of her wife first. Tinke. She can't fly. But! Everyone is already excited. We are planning to celebrate a big party tonight. Do you like festivals? We love festivals! Dancing, drinks, good vibes, and good opportunities for some fun."

"Fun?", asked Marko with interest since he just came back. "What fun?"

"Physical fun!" Falk hugged Rosalie stormily, who laughingly lashed out at him. Julia heard a soft ringing from somewhere, but she couldn't make out where it was coming from. "Togetherness. Trinity. Once I did it with five other harpies...", Falk continued. But he was interrupted. "I don't think our guests want to know that", Rosalie muttered.

And indeed, Julia and Peter stared at him stunned, while the rest of their group laughed softly. "Interesting", Peter murmured.

Julia was relieved to have finally arrived at the harpies. She didn't really know what to expect here. Except for a party, for which Fiete just thanked friendly, although a welcome party was not necessary. The two harpies, however, insisted that it was more than necessary. A few harpies flew high up in the sky. Julia was amazed by their beautiful wings. Marko praised nature, while Finn leaned lazily against him. Leopold and Josefine listened politely to the conversation. Only Julia's thoughts wandered into the distance.

How were Cleo and Charlotte doing?

Had the Queen seen anything in her visions?

No. Julia didn't want her mother to see her in her visions. And she hoped that her plan to assemble an army would go unnoticed for as long as possible.

Josefine wrinkled her nose. "So... You harpies stink!", she suddenly announced, pulling Julia out of her thoughts.

Rosalie and Falk blinked in surprise. "What?", asked Rosalie, somewhat offended.

"Fienchen!", Julia reprimanded her. "That's not very nice." But Josefine just shrugged her shoulders while her uncle apologized for her.

While Fiete was still apologizing, which Josefine refused to do, a harpy with gray wings landed next to them. Jane. Julia recognized her from her vision. Long gray hair, gray wings, pale skin, and light eyes. With her head held high, she approached Julia.

"How nice!", she said. "Welcome, friends! I'm sure Falk has already told you that we are planning a party?"

Julia nodded. "That wouldn't be necessary."

"Oh!" Jane embraced her warmly. "You all coming here is special. Special things need to be celebrated. Are you provided with everything? Or do you need something to set up a camp?"

"We have a tent with us, thank you", Julia replied.

Jane nodded. "I've never seen anyone ride a dragon. I could see you from my nest! It was an impressive sight."

Julia grinned. "We used horses most of the way. We had to leave the animals at the foot of the mountain. We tied them up at the edge of the river in the shadow of the mountains. There they have water and fresh grass."

"Oh? So then, let's pitch your tent first!" Jane put her hands on her hips. "And then, you need something to eat, right? You're hungry, aren't you?"

Meanwhile, the two dragons disappeared into a few bushes. Jane raised her eyebrows in confusion.

(c: sasi)