Star Seekers

Chapter 2, The Woman

When I woke up, I found myself half-conscious, laying down nicely propped up on sacks of flour. I shook myself awake and frantically looked around for Ali. I didn't see her, for I suddenly noticed a huge window; nearly as big as my torso. I wormed my up to the window, crawling using my now strong arms. I was shocked that they felt so strong.

As soon as I reached the window, I realized that I could stand. I stood up full height, with only a millisecond of pain in my knee.

"Katherine!" I heard the woman's voice yell. It wasn't an angry yell though, but more worried.  I fell to the floor in shock, but not to only the woman's sudden loud voice. Out the window, I saw black shadows, swift as cats, evil as rats, and nocturnal and ruthless as bats.

The Sky Hunters.

"Yes, I know that you can stand now, but you won't soon if you keep standing; if that makes any sense. I fixed it up for now, that is true, but you need to keep it elevated and put absolutely NO pressure on it for at least a week or two. Otherwise, the mending spell will wear off, and your legs, mostly the left one at that, will return right back to the way that I found you." The woman continued. As soon as she finished her statement, a pillow appeared right under my knee, perfectly elevating it.

I turned to look out the window again, but the woman must have saw me.

"Oh, don't worry about them; they can't see us." she said.

"Wha-" I stammered.

"Elementary grade spells, Katherine," the woman explained after about a minute of me babbling like an idiot. "There is not only a shield spell surrounding this house, but an invisible spell is around it too. How do you think I wasn't found by now?" I nodded, feeling even more like an idiot, and looked around for Ali. I eventually found her by a cauldron, propped up nicely beside it on some more sacks of flour. The cauldron was bubbling with a lime-green liquid. I pointed to it.

"What is that? What's in there...?" I stammered, looking at the woman, then to the cauldron, then to Ali, and then back to the woman.

"Oh!" The woman exclaimed as she raised up her hands in surprise. "I forgot about that! Thank you so much for reminding me! I need to stir it!" She jumped-ran to the cauldron, pulled out a long stick, and stirred it. "It needs to be stirred for two minutes every five minutes for an hour, otherwise it will turn into a level 5.00 death potion, and that's the highest it gets!" the woman explained while stirring.

"That's cool," I said warily. "But what is it?" I repeated my question with emphasis.

"What is it?" the woman repeted my question. "Well, Katherine, it is a healing potion. The strongest one at that. Only the strongest one could revive something from the future." She motioned twards Ali.

The woman must have read my thoughts, because after that, she told me, "Katherine! Like I already told you, she's not dead! She just had a, what we call "Thirst Warp", and the healing potion that I'm mixing up is MUCH stronger than water, which water can't fix "Thirst Warps". A "Thirst Warp" is when something from the future gets so dehydrated, that it's mind go back to where they are suppost to be in time, but their bodies stay in the time that they are currently in. Very confusing, everything. I understand. I felt the same way when I actually had to learn all of this knowledge." And with that, she stopped stirring the potion and proudly exclaimed, "Done!" She grabbed a cup, scooped some of the potion in it, and gave a sigh of relief. "Just to check that it isn't the death potion. If it was, then this cup would have melted the time it touched the liquid. The cauldron can hold it, because it is enchanted. But this cup isn't! Nust needed to make sure." With that said, she poured the cup of potion into a water bottle, and poured it onto Ali's face.

The potion soaked in immediately. Within ten seconds, Ali literally sputtered to an awake state, and sat up.

"Oh, thank goodness!" I exclaimed as I crawled over hugged Ali.

"Wha-" she said, confused. "How... Where...?"

"Katherine, excuse me," the woman said as she squeezed her way between Ali and me. "Ali," she continued. "Drink this. It will make you feel better... Level 10 Mage's honor."

"Well, that's as truthful as it gets..." Ali responded. "But it looks weird!" she complained, and took the water bottle full of potion in her hands and looked at it.

"Drink it." The woman persisted.

"Fine..." Ali glared at the potion, and finally chugged it down. "Hey!" she exclaimed as soon as the potion was gone. "That didn't taste horrible! And I feel all energized again!" She danced around for a bit before grabbing my hands and shouting, "Come on, Katherine! Let's play!" She started to pull me up, but stopped once she heard the woman's voice.

"Ali, stop," she said. "Katherine's legs are faulty enough as it is, so please don't make her stand up. Plus, I can also feel that Katherine wants to ask me a question." She looked over to me, waiting for a response.

I had absolutely no idea how she knew that I had wanted to ask a question, but I asked it anyway.

"Well, how can you make potions and spells? What is a "Level 10 Mage", and why does Ali know what that is? How did you know my name, and I have never seen you ever in my life? And finally, who are you?" I asked.

"First of all," the woman started to explain. Ali sat down to listen. "The reason I can make potions and spells is because I'm a mage. A "Level 10 Mage" is just like a regular mage, only stronger. A "mage" is kind of like what you would call a wizard or sorcerer. We are magic, and can create spells and potions like any wizard or sorcerer. The reason that Ali knows what that is, is because she studies them in school, and her best friend is a Level 5 Mage. And finally," the woman finally pulled down her hood. "The reason I know your name and you've never met me before, is because I'm you. Only, a 50-year-old you. That's who I am."

Ali looked at me, her mouth agape, but that's all I remember before I fainted right after that.