A Witch's Way

Chapter 14

"Hold on--hold on--come on, what are you? Hold it, Serena! Don't you dare drop an inch!" Lucian snarled at Serena's face, watching her flinch. The uprooted tree fell with a thud onto the field.

Serena rubbed her temples, the painful throbbing almost unbearable. She'd been at this for hours now--not to mention arguing with Lucian for at least two about why she didn't care that she could just as easily replace the tree she uprooted--it was still wrong to destroy her garden.

"Come on, Serena. What was that? The first time you held that you did great! You're getting weaker--"

"I'm tired, okay? My head hurts, it's literally throbbing, and my arms and legs are sore!" Serena snapped at Lucian, watching him jerk back from her explosive reply.

"You could've told me that, you know. Breaks are allowed--"

A thud cut him off and Serena peered over Lucian's shoulder, seeing that Jasper had dropped the tree that he was keeping afloat--with Aria on it. Jasper shifted from foot to foot, listening to Aria bark at him about how it's not good enough, and how she should expect more from someone like him.

Serena felt bad for Jasper. It was enough with him having to wake up at five in the morning with Serena every day, only to be yelled at and ridiculed by Aria. She didn't know when he had time to mourn, but when Serena woke up from her nightmares, she often saw he was gone. Once she even caught him in the act of leaving her room to go outside into the gardens.

"You know, I could be acting like Aria," Lucian said.

Serena felt angry for a second, but they couldn't have known about Jasper's mother. She took a deep breath, not wanting to yell at her at her mentor. She knew that Jasper wouldn't want her announcing it to them either.

"This is insane. Four in the morning, every morning, no matter the weather, until eight at night," Serena grumbled, trying to ignore the fiery pain in her arms and legs. She raised her arms and vines pushed the tree upward, and the they wobbled slightly before she found the balance needed to keep the vines steady.

"Good! Now keep it like that for an hour," Lucian said coldly, sauntering away to view how Jasper was doing.

Serena gritted her teeth, feeling sweat drip down her back. She didn't even know what time it was. Maybe six in the afternoon? She hoped that Rosemary and Clark were having it just as hard as they were.

An hour later, Serena dropped the tree, and Lucian walked toward her. "Please, can we stop?" Serena puffed out, wiping at her forehead.

Lucian shook his head. "Aria requested you to be lifted by Jasper."

"That doesn't seem so bad, you know--"

"Over the cliff side," Lucian finished, flashing her a grin. "Better hope he doesn't lose energy!" he taunted, shoving Serena towards the cliff edge.

Serena dug her heels into the ground. "No! No no no no no! I am not going to lose my life over this if he messes up!" Serena fiercely refused, shaking her head wildly. It didn't help her headache, but it helped get the point across that she vehemently refused to do this. "Why can't you or Aria do this?"

Lucian shrugged. "Aria insisted, sorry," he said.

Serena felt herself being lifted into the air, and she automatically panicked. "No! Set me down set me down!" she wailed, tensing up. She wanted to feel solid ground.

"Serena! Hey! I won't let you drop, I promise. Please, believe me," Jasper pleaded with her, watching her squirm in midair.

Serena stopped struggling to stare at Jasper. She could feel her hands shaking. "Are you sure? Promise?"