The Witch's Express

2

Nothing could have prepared Rue for the amount of anxiety that rushed through her blood. She didn't know what could have possibly happened to make the woman angry at her, but it had to have been serious. Celine is never angry.
Rue skated through the city with unease killing her stomach. Her shoes felt like bricks on her board, the bag on her back felt heavier than it's supposed to be as it felt like some sort of goblin of worry sat upon her. Fang laid around his shoulders, looking around as the city lights and street lamps lit their way to their destination.
"I cannot believe you are in trouble. And with Celine out of all people? Embarrassing." Fang's snarky voice sent an electric spark of anger into Rue's panicking body. Her ear twitched with the thought of grabbing the black feline and chucking him into an oncoming truck, yet she digressed. That's animal cruelty. And depending on who you talk to, Rue is an animal due to the lioness features connected to her body.
"Fang, not the right time." Her voice trailed off as she took a turn into the woods., smiling wide and fakely. Her smile was so wide, the silver of her braces shined slightly in the moonlight. Fang snorted, making Rue shut her mouth and glare.
She skated along the trail, the chilly March air hitting her face and seeping through the heat of anger and anxiety layering her skin. She shivered as Fang spoke again.
"What did you do?" He asked, head turning in a way that shouldn't be humanly possible, cat or not.
"I don't know." Rue spoke through gritted teeth. Her foot pushed against the ground, making her board pick up speed. She turned, making the bored go off the trail and deeper into the woods. She jumped over sticks and beautiful flowers, avoiding poison ivy and small animals without so much as a threat.
"You don't know." The cat repeated, looking around the woods. His unamused expression grew into a large, freakish grin while his paw swatted at the hood of her new outfit. "How amusing."
Rue held her breath from making a remark, letting out the breath when the thought passed away. Feeding into it just causes more of his smartass to speak. Why couldn't she have been bonded with a crow like her mom, or a rabbit like her cousin? It just had to be a snarky, sarcastic cat.
Her board got stuck on a log, making her fall forwards. Fang hissed, his claws digging into Rue's jacket as a way to brace himself. The female put her hand on the ground, flipping herself forward before she could injure herself. She landed on her feet, turning back around and glaring at the log that laughed at her. Literally. It grew a face and laughed at them both.
Fang's eyes had widened as his back was arched, body tense. He flickered his eyes around to take in the new surroundings, making sure there was no danger, as Rue put her hands in the pockets of her jacket.
"That wasn't funny, Reigna, I could've gotten hurt." Rue huffed at the laughing log, eyebrows furrowed. It stood, shifting into a tall, lengthy woman. She flipped her hair back showing off a sculpted face of a model. Reigna Kimberly. The Wood Witch.
"Abby told me you were coming, you thought I wasn't going to play around with you a little?" She gracefully walked to her younger cousin's side, her hips swaying with sexual enhancement while her slim, pale hand rested on Rue's shoulder. The lioness glared at her older, much taller cousin, obviously not amused.
Reigna noticed it, biting her lip awkwardly before speaking again. "Why do you look like an angry kitten? You never had a problem with it before."
"Today I do, Celine called my aunt. She's pissed." The lioness sighed, walking around her cousin.
Regina faltered, obviously as surprised and shocked as Rue was when she first learned this information. "But Celine is never angry."
Rue picked up her board, tucking it under her arm. "Well, she is now. And she's pissed at me, specifically."
"Why?"
"You think I know?"
"Well she's mad at you, right?"
Rue walked deeper into the forest, Regina following right behind her. Fang had relaxed, laying back on Rue's shoulders with his paw swaying from side to side as the two girls walked. "I don't know why she is."
Regina couldn't think of anything to say that could possibly explain why Celine would be angry. Someone could break her arm, tear a page from her book, rip her hat, or even cause harm to her familiar, yet Celine would never get angry. She'd give you a lecture, a soft pat on the back and send you on your merry way. Why Celine would be angry at anyone was a mystery. The two walked in silence, eventually walking closer to the sound of singing. There were multiple voices, all women. They sang beautifully, the enchanting and spine chilling song blessing the girls' ears with pure delight. They felt goosebumps as they got closer and the singing got louder. There was a faint light of an orange glow. A firepit. They stepped into the large opening and into the witch circle.
There were women of any age and height; toddler to hundreds, midgets to giants. They all had distinctive designs, yet they all have two things in common. They were all females, and all related. Cousins, grandmothers, mothers, sisters, nieces. All witches of different things.
Rue placed her board down and gazed around the familiar clearing. It was surrounded by large redwood trees, the fire in the middle giving a warm, comforting orange glow while the flames ravished in its yellow, orange, and red colors. A cauldron hung over the fire, cooking a stew. Some of the women sat and talked, mostly adults, while others played and practiced spells, the young. Shoes and hats were scattered across the floor as brooms were neatly put against the trees, books were neatly stacked in a pile and boxes of crystals, herbs, and other items were put in their specified areas.
A toddler pushed her hands out, making the dirt under her shoes swirl into the air and form the face of a bear. The bear stared at the toddler's sister, roaring loudly in her face. The little girl giggled and clapped her hands in joy as her sister jumped and ran to her mother.
"Mama, mama, I did it!" The little girl cheered.
Her mother smiled sweetly, picking her up and spinning around with her. "I saw! I'm so proud of you. Now, let's see if we can make the bear's body, yes?"
The little girl squealed in delight, nodding her head so quickly she could form a headache. "Okay, mama!"
Rue and Reigna watched as the girl ran past them, and they created her as well as her mother. Rue opened her bag, grabbing her book and putting it in the pile with the others. Fang looked inside, seeing her wrinkled hat inside as well as her witch outfit stuffed at the bottom. He glared at Rue, and she chuckled sheepishly.
"Hey, I had to rush. Jace was being stubborn and didn't want me to leave–"
She was cut off by two familiar voices speaking in sync. "Rue, it's you!"
Rue stiffened, turning around to two females. Both six feet with black pigtails and light purple outfits. Twins daughters Jenny and Abby Orlean, the Psychic Witches.
Rue looked at their brown eyes.. Her cheeks puffed, her hands grasping the shoulders of the twins and she spoke quietly. "Don't say my name too loudly. Celine is mad at me like
"Oh is she?" Abby grinned "Did she find out about your best friend?"
Her eyes narrowed at Abby who winked at Jenny. Jenny made an "ooh" realization and grinned as well. Rue's cheeks burned, knowing exactly what they were thinking.
"No. She did not. At least I hope so. And he is my best friend. Nothing more or less." Rue whispers shouted at them through the singing of the other women. Jenny was about to speak, but she didn't get to. She was interrupted by a voice of syrup.
"Aphrodite."
The three girls turned around, looking at a slender woman with a beautiful frame. Sculpted cheekbones, siren eyes, five-ten with a youthful glow. A woman who screamed power and beauty, like an ocean before and during a storm. She stood tall, hands folded together with a long, black and silk mermaid dress hugging her curves. Long sleeves with spiderwebbed designs draped and connected to her dress as well as covered her middle finger.
Celine Valencina. The first witch.
Rue gulped. Her cousins shrunk beneath her eyes, and even Fang felt the power.
"Come with me," She spoke, her voice rich and powerful.
Abby and Jenny both looked at Rue. They hesitated before they walked away with sympathetic looks for their shorter cousin. Rue hiked her bag higher on her shoulder and followed behind the woman. Fang stared at her, the woman's long and shiny hair flowed as she walked. The feline moved on Rue's shoulders to only one and sat upon it, licking his paw and wiping it on his ear as an attempt to clean himself and look more presentable in front of Celine.
"You should have thrown on your outfit," Fang said slowly to Rue. "It would be more respectful to her."
Rue zipped up her jacket to her abdomen, stuffing her hands in the pockets before speaking. "Fang, not now."
This time, Fang didn't retaliate or say something back. He was silenced. Neither of them wanted to make the mistake of being immature in front of Celine.
The three of them walked to the middle of the opening, sitting down where an older woman cooked delicious smelling stew. She was somewhere in her late eighties, early nineties. Rue always wondered why she didn't just bath in blood to keep her youth like the other older witches did, including Celine. Celine was hunderes years old, having been the only witch to escape the Salem Witch Trials from June 1692 to May 1693. Nineteen people had been accused of being witches and were hanged, and Celine would've made the twentieth if she hadn't escaped. She used blood to keep her youthful look, as stated before.
Fang hopped off of Rue's shoulder, landing in front of Celine and bowing to her. His black tail swayed in respect to the woman, "Your sorceress."
Celine's red lips pulled into a small smile, patting Fang's small head and scratching under his chin. "Hello, Fang. I take it you've been doing very well."
The feline purred at her touch, slowly blinking till his eyes were fully shut. "Yes, indeed."
Rue cringed harshly. Whenever it was about Celine, Fang acted the same way the Knight of Hearts did to the Queen of Hearts in the 2010 Alice in Wonderland movie by Tim Burton. It made Rue extremely uncomfortable, especially since Fang is always so cold towards her. Seeing the cat so docile and soft hearted scared her.
Celine stopped petting Fang and turned her attention to Rue. The lioness awkwardly sat up straight, fidgeting under her stare. She started to pick the skin of her nails, having a hard time breathing for a reason she couldn't figure out.
"I don't know what I've done," Rue started. "But I'm very sorry. I promise, I'll make it up to you! I'll practice twice as much as I normally do, I'll babysit the kids, I'll wash your shoes-"
She stopped, feeling a cold hand on hers. Her orange eyes moved upwards, staring at Celine's red eyes with confusion. Rue's stimming stopped as the witch spoke to her.
"Please don't be scared, Aphrodite-" She corrected herself, knowing how much Rue didn't like her true name. "Rue. My apologies, but you are in deep trouble, that is for sure."
Rue did breathing exercises as she listened to Celine and responded. "Why aren't you yelling? Titi said you're pissed the fuck off."
The woman's eyes widened slightly, making Rue gasp.
"I'm sorry!"
Her eyes stayed widened for a bit longer before she chuckled with the same smile she always had. "It's alright, I understand. You're scared, so you're slipping up. No need to worry about that."
Rue sighed in relief as Fang glared at her. She should know better than to cuss in front of her, especially when children are around. Rue looked at Celine, becoming more sheepish as the seconds came by.
"So, why am I in trouble?"
There was no answer for a long while, everything around them seemed to grow quiet as more people started to tune in, noisily wondering the same question. Celine looked into Rue's eyes before she spoke.
"It's your witchcraft," She finally answered. "It's fading."