The Last Witch

Into The Onion - Ep 10

The Festival of Spring was indeed a grand event. They were lucky the Watchers made humans blind to Creatures of the Night or the tradition would have ended centuries ago. The festival was a day that marked new life of all plants and animals. Rain was considered to be the purest feed for the earth. Since the Folk were birthed from the Earth, it was their most revered day.

Calling it a festival was a long shot because there were no elaborate dishes cooked, no performances displayed and no speeches made. It was just a gathering of all the Folk to greet old friends, to discuss more peace terms and to pay homage to Mother. The Mother was always confined to Court so this was a chance to honor the magnificence until the next festival.

Kimmy, Leati and Penn were on the same page with their plans. They agreed that it was too dangerous for Rora to be at the Festival so she was told to stay at home. Eun Ye and Jim were not comfortable with the idea of walking into a death zone but they understood that many more lives were at stake. Kimmy was glad her mother convinced Jim to move in with them until everything was over. Losing Aliss made him a shell of his former self and her mother was a black belt just in case they were faced with any problems.

The Festival of Spring was strictly a Folk activity but Meadow and Onyx managed to get the special favor of their Mother into letting them bring Penn and Kimmy as guests. Penn was not a Red Cloak anymore and Kimmy was best friends to the last Watcher which made them favorable guests.

The Festival of Spring was in the park. Strong vines had sprout from the ground to create a large sturdy building. Kimmy was nervous about returning to the park but she had a mission and her game face was on. She arrived in a taxi at 6pm. The driver asked several questions about why she was dressed up at night. She convinced him that her boyfriend had prepared a nightly picnic to celebrate their anniversary. Luckily, he bought the excuse and went his way.

"You're here early". She said as soon as she saw Penn. "Had nothing else to do", he answered with his hands in his pants pocket, "you look amazing". "Thanks", Kimmy waved the leafy pleats of the dress around, "I made it myself. Figured if we were crashing the party, we might as well dress appropriately". "No kidding", he tugged at the sleeves of his green jacket, "I feel like a leprechaun". "Hey! Leprechauns are some of the nicest creatures you'll ever meet. I read that if you really butter them up, they'll give you money".

"Really? I thought they loved their pots of gold".

"First of all, they don't have pots of gold at the end of a rainbow. They attract all natural resources which makes them rich. Their preference of the color green was a spell placed on them by Watchers to repel that power".

"Why?"

"Wouldn't you get suspicious if all the minerals in the world suddenly rose from the ground and went to Ireland?"

"I see your point". Their conversation had to end because Leati arrived. "Hey". He acknowledged Kimmy then gave a soft look to Penn. "You couldn't wear something fancy?" She rolled her eyes. "I'm not here to waltz, Kimmy Su", he replied, "I'm here to kill someone". "As much as I share your enthusiasm", she said, "we better keep the 'k' word out of the ears of others. Don't you agree?" "Whatever", he huffed, "I'll scour outside, you both be careful on the inside". With that, he left. Penn sighed and mumbled, "this is gonna be a long night".

                             *

The interior was unparalleled. Bright Orbs floated around, illuminating the large space. Tree stumps made up tables and chairs and they hung from every wall. Different flowers such as blue roses, dandelions, jasmines, dahlias, poppies, chrysanthemums and marigolds bloomed from all corners to the ceiling. The floor was a wide glistening body of water which mysteriously did not make the guests' shoes wet. Water lilies swam in their buds on the ethereal waters tickling the heels of all who walked. The decorations led to a central stage where a throne sat. The seat was made of ivy tangled in red roses with all its thorns sharp and exposed. Kimmy's mouth was agape until a petal dropped into it.