The Witching Hour

Ch. 21

Castle Nitehardt

King Leonidas grew impatient with his Red Guard.
"How have you not found the accursed witch yet?" he bellowed.

"She has proven quite elusive," one of the Guard stammered out,
"We had a report she may have been in Astertte for an unknown reason, but since then we have not heard anything about her in any neighboring town." He added.
"It is almost as if she disappeared."

The King sat back in his throne and stroked his beard thoughtfully.
'Had the witch's power grown so much that she could avoid even his grasp?' He thought to himself.

'No, she must be in hiding.' He told himself.

"Send your Guard again to the surrounding cities around Astertte, after that send them north and south. We can not let her leave Aster." He told his guards as he arose from his throne.
"If anyone knows about her or even about magic or tries to help her, make an example out of them." He stated firmly.

The Red Guard members nodded and saluted their king as they went off to carry on his orders.

"And will someone tell me where that wife of mine is?" King Leonidas called out as he sat back in his throne.

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Elsewhere in the castle

Queen Anthena stared with a silent fury into the eyes of her mother, the Oracle of Aster.

"Tell me, dear mother," she spoke the word with a hidden venom underlying it.
"How do you know the witch is still alive?"

The Oracle smiled softly and drank her afternoon tea. They were in the Oracle's room and had just ate a silent meal together.

"Remember when you used to be happy, before all this, before you were a Nitehardt?" She asked aloud.

"I am happy, I assure you. Though I am grateful for your rare curiosity. I simply wish to secure my happiness and you will be able to help me." Queen Anthena replied, clearly not amused by her mother's reminiscing.

"Ah yes, I hope that is true." The Oracle replied sadly.
"As for your question, I know the witch is alive because I met one in Eversong right before you burned it. A nice young man, he is." She added.

"Wait, he was male?" The Queen asked slightly confused.
"There are two witches?" She asked bewildered.

"Well, technically males are called warlocks, but yes." The Oracle replied.

The queen rubbed her temples gently and exhaled slowly. She began pacing around the room and threw her left over food into the fire and watched it burn.

"If there are two..." She began, still staring into the heart of the flames,
"Then I will need more power, and not the power that royalty gives me this time. I require the power only someone like you can give me." She stated plainly.

"I already told you," the Oracle said, suddenly getting more serious,
"You cannot do what I can do, and even if you could I would not teach it to you... my queen." She added.

"Why do you continue to hide your secrets from me, mother?" The Queen replied. She spoke in a way that conveyed her anger and hatred without raising her cold, smooth voice.

"Your eldest is gone, dead for years. Who else would you pass your knowledge on too?" She asked.

"Do not bring up your sister again." The Oracle said firmly.
"I am not obligated to pass on my knowledge to any person, if I decide to do so then it is on my own accord. Even if I was inclined to reveal my secrets to you, Anthena, you are not a witch. You could not do anything with them. Your jealousy would consume you even more than it does now."

"Do not underestimate me, mother." The Queen replied, staring down the Oracle.
"I can do whatever an abominable witch can do. Make no mistakes about it, Oracle, I will learn what I need to know. Soon I will be more powerful than you and we will no longer have need of one like you. My husband and I will rid this world of magic and end the last of the witches. Maybe then you'll see that my sister was never truly the special one." She finished with a slight smirk and left the Oracle's chambers.

The Oracle sat there in the silence, her face unreadable, for a few moments. She then began to continue drinking her tea quietly.

The Queen hurried down deep into the castle where even the sunlight did not quite reach. She passed her faithful Red Guard and grabbed a torch from the walls. She touched the stone walls as she went down the spiral passage way. The stairway lead to a long corridor with a locked door at the end. The queen smiled, a simple yet powerful smile, and pulled out a key that hung from her neck and unlocked the door.

The room was large with several cages and chambers deep within in. The queen went to the furthest one where whatever was in it lay hidden in the shadows.

"I have need of you once more, Drakar. You and your kin." She said smoothly.
"We must put a stop to this witch and her brother. I am sure they will come to us, and when they do..." She grinned wickedly,
"We will exterminate them."

The Queen stepped back as the creature in the cage began to awaken. In the torchlight only some of it's body was seen, but even so it was still many times larger than she was.

"I shall obey you, my mistress." A deep voice replied as it echoed in Anthena's mind. Drakar arose and released a blast of black fire, almost as black as his scales. The dragon loomed around it's cage and smoke bellowed from it's nostrils. In the shadows it was hard to tell how long he was, though the end of the dragon's tail was the size of Anthena.

"The witch and warlock shall burn, under your command Queen Nitehardt." He replied firmly.