The Witches Heart

Going Home

A week or two had passed since Claudia and Rosalyn came to the new village and (basically) adopted Sylvie. Claudia loved the village, but it wasn't home. It would've been a nice vacation had they not come for the reason they did.

Rosalyn had told her they would be going home soon. Or at least going to check if home still existed. She had asked Sylvie if she wanted to go with them, to which she said yes of course. Speaking of Sylvie, she'd warmed up to both Claudia and Rosalyn quite a bit in the short time they'd known her.

Apparently her father was never in the picture, it was just her and her mother until her mother fell gravely ill and died. After that she was forced to roam the streets until Claudia quite literally stumbled into her.

Currently, the three were in the tavern which they'd been staying in all week. Over the course of the week they'd bought a few more items, just the necessities, and Rosalyn was packing them up to get ready for the long journey to their home.

"Just warning you Sylvie, it will take about a day to get there. And even then, our home may not be there. Are you sure you want to come?" Rosalyn asked.

Sylvie nodded her head very enthusiastically. "I don't want you guys to leave me" she said.

Claudia walked over to Sylvie who was standing behind Rosalyn watching her pack. Claudia patted her head, "we'll never leave you," she comforted.

Rosalyn nodded and ruffled Sylvie's hair, "yep! We're too attached to you now, you're like our third familiar." She said.

Claudia thought that was a weird comparison but it fit. Their other two familiars were currently sleeping on the bed, during their stay here Rowan had been quite restless. It was clear he missed being in the forest. Rani however couldn't care less as long as she had a comfy bed to sleep in.

Claudia went over to wake them up, they didn't want to at first but once she told them they were going home they nearly leaped out of bed. Rowan perched onto Rosalyn's shoulder and Rani crawled into Claudia's arms. Sylvie came over and pet Rani's head. At first Sylvie had been quite skeptical about the animals, but she quickly came to love them.

She seemed to like Rani a bit more, but that was understandable considering Rowan had tried to peck her eye out when Rosalyn introduced them. Needless to say Rowan wasn't a fan of strangers, though he'd come to tolerate Sylvie now.

The three began exiting the room with their familiars and few belongings, they passed the bartender who they'd come to know as Zane.

"Have a safe journey" he said seeing them leave.

"Don't get too comfortable without us, we might have to come back" Rosalyn said, winking at the end of her sentence.

Zane laughed, "well I certainly wouldn't mind that, I enjoyed having you here" he replied.

Rosalyn laughed too, "really though, thanks for everything. I don't know what we would've done if you'd turned us away" she said.

Zane had said "no problem" before they exited the tavern and stepped onto the stone street. Rosalyn had let Jasper know they would be leaving yesterday, and he had apologized to her and Claudia for being an asshole. Of course the two forgave him, after all there was no harm done and in the end it was because he pushed them out they met Sylvie.

And so, with nothing left to do in the village the three stepped into the forest with Rosalyn leading the way. Much like when they came here there was a heavy silence in the air. But this time they weren't listening for villagers, more so any dangerous animals.

They didn't normally come to this part of the forest after all, so they had no idea whether wolves or other predators were prominent here.

They weren't able to walk for very long periods due to Sylvie being short and small and therefore getting tired much quicker than Claudia or Rosalyn. They had taken a short break about thirty minutes in and now an hour and a half in they were taking a longer break.

"It seems this will take longer than I anticipated.." Rosalyn said as she stood and leaned against a tree.

"Sorry.." Sylvie mumbled while sitting crisscross on the ground.

"Oh please don't worry about it sweetheart,"

"You know when me and Claudia came to the village I had to carry her the whole way because she fell asleep" Rosalyn said.

"Really?" Sylvie giggled and glanced at Claudia.

"Hey! It's your fault I fell asleep, you were too comfy" Claudia said to Rosalyn.

"And besides, if it really bothered you, you could've woken me up."

"Yes, yes, you're right. I'm just saying there's nothing wrong with being a little slow" Rosalyn replied.

After their conversation they stayed in that spot for a few more minutes before continuing their journey. Rowan and Rani started to get grumpy and fight with each other a bit, with Rowan pecking at Rani and Rani attempting to bite and scratch Rowan. Claudia of course worried about this, but Rosalyn reassured Claudia that they did that last time too and they'll get over whatever squabble they were having.

In the end, she had been right. Rowan got annoyed enough he decided to simply fly ahead of them and be done with whatever conversation he was having with Rani. After that Rani decided to climb up Rosalyn's body and into the bag with their belongings, forcing Rosalyn to carry her. Not that Rosalyn really cared.

At some point Sylvie had gotten tired again, but it was getting later in the day and Claudia and Rosalyn really wanted to hurry so they wouldn't have to spend as much time in the dark. So instead of taking a break Claudia offered to carry Sylvie on her back. Sylvie gratefully accepted the offer, fortunately she wasn't too heavy for Claudia and it took little effort for Claudia to hoist Sylvie onto her back and carry her.

Who knows how many hours passed, all Claudia knew was her arms and legs were killing her and she needed to rest. But Rosalyn assured her the house should be nearby and they should keep going.

"Do you think it's even there?" Claudia asked.

"I hope so" Rosalyn replied in a tired voice.

The two continued walking, Rowan had been flying ahead of them when suddenly he dove down and began cawing in front of them.

"Why is he making so much noise?" Claudia asked.

"I don't know, but I'm sure it either means something really good or really bad" Rosalyn replied.

Rowan flew off again and Claudia and Rosalyn took off running to follow him. Claudia was a bit slower due to the child on her back though.

Rosalyn ran ahead of her, following Rowan. Claudia could still see her in the distance though, she had suddenly stopped. Seeing her freeze Claudia's stomach dropped, thinking the worst case scenario had happened.

But then as she continued running, she spotted the green walls which were covered in greenery, the dark shingled roof, and the windows that showed the dark insides of the cottage. Tears stung her eyes and she nearly fell to her knees she was so happy.

"Where are we..?" Sylvie stirred on her back.

"Home."