1692

Act XIX

Cake of the day: Charlotte Cake

That night was surprisingly clear, the sky was a rich mixture of black and dark blue, adorned with stars, and a glorious full moon.

I sat wistfully in the chair beside the window, gazing outside pensively, away from the warm light of the den, a large Bible placed on my lap, opened to another old tale.

I breathed in heavily, resting my eyes. I felt exhausted, rubbing my pale fingers together tranquilly.  I lifted my hand before my face, staring as I twisted and moved my fingers about, feeling a warm tingle begin to form. A small, blue flame manifested itself above my hand, but I quickly put it out. Out of pure boredom, I continued this a few more times. The flames were much easier to control.

Suddenly, I heard footsteps come darting nearby, trotting on the wood floor.

I jumped, startled, and frantically extinguished my blue flame, slamming the Bible shut in fright. Walter came rushing in, and I breathed a quiet sigh of relief. "Where are you off to, Walter?" I said, my voice still dusting on the tails of fear.

"Fetching some water, my lady," He replied, pulling his long, black coat on over his suit. "Bram and the others are out on that witch hunt thing he was so passionately relaying every detail to us earlier."

"Oh, Walter, that's quite alright," I said, standing. "I'll go get the water, you stay here and help Alfred and Sebastian with supper."

"That's really quite unnecessary, my lady," Walter said.

"I insist," I replied firmly.

Walter nodded, swishing his coat back on the rack. "If you so desire..." He said.

"Certainly!" I replied, wrapping my light blue cloak around my shoulders quickly and skirting to the door, procuring a small candle and continuing outside.

The air was clear and mild, it was surprisingly warm, but still retained the lovely smell of fallen rain. Flaming sprites from the torches that lined the square danced calmly, casting an orange light against the dark of the night.

At the well, a familiar face sat tranquilly on the stone. Willow sat, his small knees pulled to his chest. "How are you doing, Willow?" I asked as I drew the water. "Alright, being dead and all," He replied, "I can't find my bunny."

"You know, you can always come inside with me, that is, if you don't like it out here. I think I still have your bunny, actually." I said, pulling the bucket up and smiling at the little boy.

Willow grinned widely, shaking slightly in joy. "Thank you, Miss Katrina!" He said happily. "I'll be over later, okay? I made a lot of new friends, you know!"

"Oh?" I said, "Who are your friends?"

"Well, they're older than me, but that's alright because they still like playing with me, and do you know what the best part is?"

"What's that?"

"They can turn into wolves! Really big ones, too! And they give me rides all the time!" Willow said, hardly keeping his composure.

I bit my lip. "That's fantastic. I'm so glad." I replied, turning and briskly walking back to town.

I looked down, letting my hair fall over my face, now was hardly the time to be reminded of such.

"Katrina!" I heard a voice call from down in the square. I looked to see Sebastian, waving and holding a basket filled with vegetables for supper this evening.

"Why, hello there!" I called back, pushing thoughts of wolves aside and trotting down to meet him. "How are you this evening, my lady?" He said, brushing a few stray hairs from my face.