With dawn came a flood of sunlight, painting the sky in hues of pink and the land with outlines of gold. A sleepless night had been the only rest the Enchantress and her apprentice had the leisure of facing before setting off to continue their journey. Every hour had brought them back to the waking world to tend to Zel's coughing fits, night terrors, and to kindle the fire for her warmth. However, the rough night did precede a better day, as with morning came a drastic improvement in the child's condition. She was up and about, wandering around the ruins of the cabin, before the Enchantress's mind could even register the morning scene.
As the sun's rays filled the crippled cabin's remains, the Enchantress rose from the ground and shook the shoulder of her apprentice, who had fallen asleep only moments earlier. His eyebrows furrowed as he reached over to push her hand off, resolute in his decision to sleep. With an exhausted sigh, she shook him once more.
"We must be leaving now if we're to make it out of this forest today!"
The boy groggily opened his eyes and disdainfully forced himself to stay awake, lifting himself off the dirt-caked floor and giving her an unsightly glare. Ignoring his anger, the Enchantress turned away and put out the remaining lit embers in the fireplace before rummaging through her satchel. As her hands gripped a bundle of fabric, she felt a prickling sensation creep up her shoulder. The unpleasant feeling caught her attention and she turned her head to heed it, coming face-to-face with a large, furry spider – its several eyes glistening in the morning light as its fangs wriggled in warning of a bite.
A high-pitched, blood-curdling scream escaped the Enchantress's lips and she fell backwards, her hand brushing over her captive shoulder in an attempt to rid herself of the terrifying creature. To her surprise, her hand phased right through the eight-legged monster, leaving just a rippled image of the spider as it passed through. Eyed widening with realisation, her head snapped around to glare at the little girl, who had wandered to stand next to a certain, hysteric boy. The apprentice pointed to the Enchantress as he doubled over in laughter, heaving for breath.
Zel stood by the laughing researcher, a faint smile playing on her lips as she stood facing the Enchantress. Narrowing her eyes at the child, the Enchantress stood up- no longer giving heed to the fading critter on her shoulder, and stormed towards the little girl.
"Don't play your little games on me!" she scolded, shaking her finger at the child. "And don't you encourage her!" She turned her attention to her laughing apprentice.
Seething with anger and humiliation, the Enchantress turned away and returned to searching through her satchel. She reached into its depths and pulled out a bundle of fabric, scornfully turning back to face the happy duo.
"Zel," she called sharply, "come here, you need to change into something warmer than that tattered dress."
The child's smug smile dropped to a puzzled frown. She lifted her head, as if to look at the Enchantress, gave a little tilt. Zel stood in the stance for a moment before turning to face the boy, who had finally managed to calm his laughter.
"Go on," he said with a smile, motioning towards his mentor.
The little girl gave him a nod before hesitantly walking over to the Enchantress, her face twisted into an unpleasant scowl. The Enchantress crouched down and gingerly lifted the little girl's dress over her head. The ragged cloth fell apart as it was lifted, the frail seams holding it together falling away with the movement. With a tut, she allowed the thin rags to fall, unfolding the clothing in her hands and draping it over the child's malnourished body.
Unsurprisingly, the woollen fabric barely clung to the girl's frame. The neckline struggled to stay on her shoulders and the sweater's hem fell just at her ankles. With a sigh, the Enchantress guided Zel's arms through the sleeves, noticing that the fabric extended well past the child's fingertips.
With another sigh and an unhappy grunt, the Enchantress reached for her satchel, extracting a small, sheathed knife. With it, she carefully cut away the excess fabric of her beloved sweater and rolled the raw edges to prevent fraying. She then took the sleeve cuttings and slit one open, unravelling the other. She ushered the little girl to turn around and began weaving the free wool through the sweater's back. From the shoulders to the waist, she laced the new dress as tightly as she could, creating a neckline small enough to sit well at the child's collar. She took the other sleeve cutting and wrapped it around Zel's waist, using the remaining length of lacing to weave the ends together.
Proud of her handiwork, she presented the child to her apprentice, splaying her hands in the air on either side of the girl as a smile spread across her lips.
"There!" she exclaimed. "Now, you have a whole new dress!"
The apprentice nodded, acknowledging the neatness of such an unplanned tailoring.
"Good job!" he applauded, "What do you think, Zel?"
The child kept her frown, picking at the woollen dress and kicking the hem with her worn out slippers. She shook her head and pulled at the neckline.
The child's reaction upset the Enchantress, who pushed Zel's hand away from the neckline and neatened the fitting.
"Whether she likes it or not, it will keep her warm," she huffed. "She should manage with it unless she wants to feel worse! A sick child should stay covered."
The boy nodded along, harbouring no intentions to dispute his mentor's words. The child, however, scowled further and loosened the neckline again. By this reaction, the Enchantress was starting to doubt whether the child's sickly state the previous night had been as bad as she recalled. Little was done to heal her, however Zel was already behaving as if she had recovered and seemed as invigorated as a healthy child.
"We best be leaving now," the Enchantress stated, retrieving her satchel and coat from the ground. She dusted off her outerwear and pulled the coat over her shoulders, walking towards the collapsed cabin doorway as her apprentice hurriedly followed, dragging the child along by her arm.
The travellers left the crumbling cabin, stepping into the clearing with the frosted grass crunching beneath their steps. The morning fog had yet to clear, its cloud of haze enveloping the scene around them as they considered their next action. Not willing to waste any time, the Enchantress promptly started to trudge in the direction of the sunrise, certain that- as long as they travelled east, they would reach the path she knew of.
The apprentice gave a tired sigh, taking hold of the child's hand and following his mentor. He made sure to keep close behind the Enchantress, taking care not to lose sight of her in the fog. He peered through the veil of mist, keeping his gaze on the silhouette of his guide. With every step she took, he closely followed, until a tug on his hand pulled him to a halt. He turned to look at the child, who had stopped walking and was determined to prevent him from taking another step.
"What is it Zel?" he asked, puzzled.
Zel raised her hand and pointed in the direction of the Enchantress. Looking back, the apprentice watched as his mentor's silhouette slipped from view, her figure falling rapidly, with a scream and the sounds of snapping branches accompanying it. The boy's eyes widened and he let go of the child's hand, launching himself forward and stopping just short of where she fell. Struggling to see through the fog, he raised his hand above his head and swung it in a circular motion, incurring a powerful gust of wind that cleared the haze and revealed the sharp drop of a small cliff. At the bottom of the drop-off was the Enchantress. Covered in cuts and scrapes from her fall and her clothing riddled with mud, she sat by a small creek, groaning in pain. She slowly stood, struggling to gain footing on the crumbling bank, and turned back to the cliff. The apprentice let out a little sigh – a sound of mixed relief and shock. He watched the Enchantress trudge towards the cliff's edge, reaching up to try and climb back.
Crouching down, the boy reached out his hand in an attempt to assist her back to the path. As his fingertips brushed hers, he saw long, blue tendrils rise up behind her. Eyes snapping up to look, he saw the monstrous appendages twist around her waist and neck, pulling her backwards and towards the creek. It took them a moment to register the situation at hand, a scream from the Enchantress driving their realisation. She desperately grasped the tightening tendril around her neck, pleading for it to pull away. Her efforts seemed fruitless as the scaly length of slimy tentacle continued to tighten, wrapping her hands into its rope-like tie.
YOU ARE READING
The Unordinary Life of the Enchantress
Adventure{INITIAL DRAFT, constructive criticism is welcome and encouraged} "I swear on the life of my men, that I will never fall back on my word to bring down this worker of mischief- and bring down this inhumane creature!" The new king preached. The Enchan...
