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15

The forests and woods of Fredericton were vast and deep, and all corners were claimed to be home to the White Witch. As witches go, she was generally seen as a force for good, but there were cautionary tales of crossing her, not to mention surprising her. A potent magic wielded by an inconsistant spirit that might as soon turn you into a scarecrow or make you spit nickels as bless you. So while Francis and Danny could only guess where to search for her, they took no chances in catching her off guard.

"Hello, White Witch! I say, hello White Witch!" Francis called as they walked deeper into a wood chosen at random.

"I can't believe we're doing this," said Danny.

"You're not doing anything. Help me try to get her attention."

"What can I do? I'm not very bright. And I'm incredibly lazy," Danny said - loud enough for certain magical parties to hear. "I'm practically useless and not remotely interesting!"

"He's honest though!" Francis called out. "White Witch! We need to speak with you! It's about King Victor!"

But there was still no answer, and Francis' voice was getting hoarse.

"Look," Danny said, "we've been traipsing around out here for a couple of hours. She might not even be here, and if she is, she obviously doesn't want to talk to us. We're wasting time."

"You're just scared."

"You're being stubborn. Boy, it's a sad day when a reasonable, modestly clever man can't read the signs and admit a plan has failed."

"It isn't over till it's over."

"You remind me of my friend Gil back home. He was clueless too. Once time he was in line for the privy behind Old Beans Godfrey, and when it was Gil's turn, Old Beans said, 'I wouldn't go in there if I was you', but Gil went in anyway."

Francis stopped walking long enough to shake his head. Danny tilted his face while raising his eyebrows as though he'd proven his point effectively.

"And?" Francis demanded.

"And so," Danny shrugged.

"And then what happened?" Francis asked, his voice rising like a town crier.

"Gil regretted it immediately," Danny said solemnly.

"That's it? That story is your big, relevant life lesson?"

"Well, Darnley Horner was behind him and everyone knew what a prankster that guy was. He locked Gil in there for half an hour! The point is, being brave is one thing, but when you ignore the obvious, you've only got yourself to blame."

"How have we even made it this far?" Francis said, and began his calls for the witch of the woods once more.

Deeper into the trees they went, feeling like they were marching backward through time into the dark of morning and night before. They failed to notice as they went along that the grassy floor beneath them began to rise a little to meet each step, then a little more until they were steps; a staircase of grass and earth soon transitioning to floorboards of branches high up in the trees.

Just as Francis was beginning to think they might've gone too far into a dense thicket, a pair of large boughs arched where he hoped an exit might be, their dangling leaves like a set of beaded curtains. Francis held up his hand to halt Danny. Above, some other wooden hands moved to let in a beam of daylight which settled upon the leafy drapes like a spotlight on a stage. The leaves were then slowly drawn back to reveal what Francis mistook for a white fungus at first. It was instead a bowed figure of a woman who suddenly popped up, arms held in a wide Y, and shouted "Ta-DAAAA!!!"