Evienne, Witch of Woodendale

Part 5: A Lost Moment in Time

As before, a deep, foggy feeling came over her head, as she began to dream of days long past... memories deeply buried under some long lost knowledge and forgotten eons ago, come to life in her dreams...

The evening was damp and soggy when she awoke, still clutching her spellbook. Huh... so I'm back here.
A young Evienne stood from the mossy corner where she had slept, and found she had grown some. How long has it been since I fell asleep? She wondered silently to herself. Her tattered clothes appeared as if they had undergone even more wear than before, and seemed older and more dirty than ever. Was that- it was. Algae was beginning to grow on a very wet corner of her skirt. That signified to her that she had been asleep for a very long time, indeed.

"Hello."
"What? WHO SAID THAT?"

She was well aware that the voice was inside her mind. Still, she spoke aloud, expecting a response to come from without.
She looked at the book she had been clutching. The voice seemed to come from within it. "Do not fear, my dear child. Though I am long gone from this world, my conscious mind remains tucked betwixt the pages of the old book you're holding. Tis been many long years it has been waiting for a new master, and it has chosen you. You have been granted power beyond many people's comprehension, and shall ye seek to embody it, it shall serve you well. Read deeply every day, do not leave home without it, for your conscience and soul has been bound within its old pages as well. For many generations this book has existed, and unless you seek to destroy this blessing in disguise and yourself as well, it shall continue to exist for many more. Keep watch and do not lose it, or you shall be destroyed. Likewise, for as long as you keep it, it shall keep you, and you shall not die, save for fatal injury. Heed these words well, dear child. I am passing on this legacy to you, and passing on to the Neverworld. Farewell, dear beloved immortal, and may the stars watch over you forever."

The light within its pages which had been since she picked up the magically cursed book dissipated in a glowing swirl, and the voice ceased. "But, who are you, what is this, and how do I-" She faltered when she realized she was talking to the air.

Desperate and hungry, she now craved blood. She needed it. She couldn't go on living without it. She began walking through the moonlit forest, her bare feet crunching through the leaf litter, cold and icy in the frozen night. Was it almost winter? How long had she been out here, exactly? Time blended into a blur. She couldn't remember whether she had been here in this strange place for days, or weeks, or years... or was it just a few hours? It was impossible to say. The forest seemed the same and yet... there was something eerily off about it. Strange echoes of some mysterious animal's call sounded off somewhere in the rueful, bitter night. Stopping dead where she stood, she spotted a rabbit. It stood statue still, shifting it's hind legs slightly. Its eyes shimmered black in the full moonlight, tense and unsure. The rabbit's nose twitched, possibly sensing something off, something wrong in the evening air. A deeply carnal, animalistic sensation overtook her. A shrill scream belted through the still, cold night as the rabbit died within her toothy grasp, taking its last breaths as she ripped into its side. Before she even knew what happened, she was chomping down on a bloody, raw rabbit leg. Her need for blood was sated, at least for now. She felt the surge of life bleed through her, renewing her muscles and mind, healing her injuries. At last, she could think straight. Her sharp canines receded back into her gums, and she slowly began to feel human again. When she had finished the rabbit, she set off, looking for someplace to spend the night. She settled in a hollow tree trunk, which was certainly drier than her old sleeping space in the crumbling tower. She slept more, deeper than ever.

When shadows fall and memories fade, sometimes all that's left is the deeds done in the past. Returning to the present is never easy... nor is looking back to the shadowy things lurking in the corners of your own mind...