Mystics of the Light

The Witches' Tales

Valery

Alex was able to get us a trip, with the explorers, and so we took the offer asap. I'm just glad we're getting a bit closer and closer to finding the golden dust. I grabbed my bag and picked up Reese's dome. Her face was still cracked, like glass, but she was still smiling up to the sky. Her eyes twinkled like stars, as the sunlight came upon the dome.

"Valery," I heard Autumn say, "Give me Reese. I'll keep her safe."

I gave Autumn the dome, and it shrunk to the size of a marble. She put the marble into her bag and latched it shut. We then got a call from Alex, signalling us to follow her. I looked around and saw that Lilac, Rose, and the loverboy were already there. I caught up to them, and we exited the cave.

We walked for a while, before we ended up in front of a spruce like forest. One of the researchers sniffed the plants and gave a quick bark.

"It's a safe forest," he said, "But it's filled with magic. A witch might be living here."

"A witch?" I blurted out.

"Yes," Alex said, looking towards me, "Witches are Spirits, as well, however, no one has seen a witch in centuries. We may see one now, but just be careful. Their traps are made with magic, so there's no knowing if we'll be able to get you out."

I shivered. Being stuck in some sort of trap forever sounds horrible. We then walked into the spruce forest. The light didn't make it through the trees, so it made it look eerie and dark. The light that did make it through made the sky look like it was almost nighttime. 

As we walked further and further into the forest, the trees started to become skinnier and skinnier and they looked dead. They were grayed out, the leaves around them were shriveled up and in small pieces, and the sky seemed to grow gray. This light fog started to form around us, and the wolves slowed their pace.

"Are you sure the golden dust is here, Alex?" Rose said, "It doesn't seem that something that brings life would be here."

"Golden dust is rare, Rose," she replied, "Witches collect most of it, and they store it to their own use. For centuries, also, with every step a witch make, sometimes a golden dust flower may appear."

"So, we're basically looking for a witch," Aspen said.

"Yes and no," One of the explorers said, "See, a witch's power is strong. If we bother a witch, it's the end of our life. But, the reason why we're going near a witch's home, is because we may see some golden dust flowers. Even if we get just one, we'll be able to get your friend back."

"If the witch attacks," Lilac interrupted, "Can I bite her?"

"Don't even try," Alex said, "Those witches' strikes will hit you before you can even get within ten meters from them."

"Oh my Mystics," Autumn gasped, "That is some magic recharging."

"Indeed. It's still unknown, to other creatures, as to why their magic takes such little time to recharge and attack. It's  probably why witches stay isolated, in forests."

Just then, I heard some twinkling, coming from the bushes. I felt my ears move, to the sound, so I looked to where it was coming from. I slowly walked over to the plants, and before I knew it, an owl jumped out at me. I dodged it's attack, but then, I was suddenly turned upside down. I screamed as this dark essence grabbed my leg and hung me from a high distance.

"Well, well, well," a feminine voice said, "Looks like I've caught an elf."

Aspen

Valery screamed, as she was being held on by this dark shadow. As this female voice was applauding herself, on her catch, I looked to where her voice was coming from. I then saw a woman, with a wand in hand, and she had this short poof dress on, black boots, and a black hat. her hair seemed to be blonde, with the small spark that her wand was giving off, and her face was reflecting the light off. She had an evil smirk on her face.

"I see that you have some friends with you, too," she added, as the wolves went under Valery.

Alex growled at the witch.

"What do you want, Azalea?" she said.

"Ah, Alex," The witch said, "The leader of the Wolf Tribe, I see. Well-" Azalea started walking towards the wolves, and they all moved back. "You see, I've been in this isolation for quite some time, and I thought I could say a small story to you."

"If this story is just another spell-" Alex began.

"Oh, no, no, no!" she interrupted, "You see, I overheard that you needed some golden dust, for your friend. I don't have any, however, this story may help you."

"Do you promise to let Valery free, afterwards?" I asked.

Azalea looked to me and laughed.

"Aspen, correct?" she said, "Oh, it's been a while since I last saw you."

"What?" I said, confused, "I doubt that I have ever seen you."

"Ah," she said, putting her hand on her chest, "I'm hurt. You don't even remember me. Well, let me say this, that your parents died an honorable death."

"W-what?"

"Ah, yes, I remember that I wasn't invited to your birthday, to give you my gift. I became angered, so I turned a fire, a few centuries later, on the forest. They saved you, yes, but it just wasn't worth it. They shouldn't have saved you, otherwise they could've lived."

I tightened my hands into fists. This woman killed my parents. She set fire to my people. She was the reason that Grandmama had been keeping me hidden from horrid things. Azalea noticed my anger and smiled.

"Oh, don't worry, child," she said, "I'm sure that your Grandmama was grateful to take care of you. Now, let me tell you this small sort of story."

Alex nudged my leg, and I looked to her. She gave me a glare.

"Don't let your anger show, Aspen," she said, "The more you show anger, the more she'll hurt you and even get some answers out of you."

I took a deep breath and relaxed my shoulders. Azalea looked amused, as she summoned a carpet, with some things on it. A box, which possibly has herbs of some sort, a couple stacks of books, and it started floating. She picked up two books, with magic, and started flipping through them. When she reached a page, she smiled.

"Ah, here it is." Azalea cleared her throat, as her owl perched on a tree nearby.

"Long ago, a lonely witch was walking through the woods. She stumbled upon a golden flower. The witch kneeled to the plant and felt it's delicate petals. After so many years, she thought she felt happiness. She picked the flower, from the roots, and this golden dust appeared from the pollen." She turned the page and continued. "She realized that the dust had unexplained power, within. She tested and tried the dust on multiple things. The young witch then realized that the dust was able to heal life. She gave the dust to the pixies, so they would share it evenly among other spirits, however the pixies were greedy, and they took it for themselves. The young witch was so angered, that she had set fire to their meadows, and she took as much of the golden dust as possible. Throughout the centuries, she's hidden it around the Spirit world. Many say that she hid the dust near her many homes, yet no one has found more than a few. Who knows how much dust she has hidden."

Azalea closed the book and sat still on the floating carpet. Her smirk gave away who she was talking about in the story.

"That, my friends, was the witches tale. I hope that helped you a bit, on where to start looking for the golden dust." 

With that, she gave an evil chuckle, before vanishing and released Valery. She hit the ground, with a thud, and she looked around for the witch.

All i could think of was how impossible it would be to find just a hint of the golden dust.

K.C.T: Okay. Azalea is the witch, in the music above. If you play it, you'll see what she looks like. Anyways, I guess I'll see you guys in the next chapter. Bai! <3