Crimson Trails

Story Time

'What did you do? Why didn't she see me? Why did you freeze me? What on earth is going on?'

'Stop badgering me with questions or I'll turn you into a toad the next time,' Claramay snapped, irritated.

I had been shooting a volley of questions at her since she had negated the spell on me.

I clamped my mouth shut.

'Do you think she would be happy to see you? She's changed. You don't mean anything to her right now. She'll assassinate you at sight. Vešterkas hate humans. I made you invisible and powerless to save you from doing something foolish by trying to talk to her or jumping in for a hug. This is not the time to be impulsive. We need to plan our strategies right if you want to get back your sister.'

She was out of breath when she stopped.

I kept quiet, knowing it was entirely my fault.

Yes, me and my stupid emotions would have done the same thing, had she not restrained me.

' You would have given us both away and spoiled the game. ' she continued.

' What do we do now — how do we bring her back? Everything is over.' I sink to the ground in mortification.

' Don't be a chicken,' she muttered.' We just need to break the spell on her. I think she resisted just like me, so they enchanted her to make her docile and compliant to their rule. '

'What? Spell? You're a witch too... Can't you reverse the spell?'

Claramay looked away, not wanting to meet my hopeful gaze.

'I wish I could. But it's a very powerful charm cast by Guardian Emerald. I'm a simple Vešterka. I don't have enough magic in me to destroy his spell.'

'But who's this Emerald. And guardians protect the world right? Why is he bent on destroying the world?'

'Our world wasn't divided like this,' she said, gesturing me to sit.

We were on the edge of the cliff, looking down at muddy grey serpentine river beneath us.

She continued, as I flopped down beside her. 'Our world as you see it now wasn't like this some fifty years back. All the elemental guardians lived in harmony and we resided in our own little home, the Violet Hollow. Inter-dimensional travel was not common. But one day, someone invented a spell to travel to your world—'

I listened attentively as she took a deep breath.

'According to the history textbooks, Guardian Emerald with the other guardians travelled to the human world. There they met and interacted with people. They all came back except him. He fell in love —in love with a human. He was warned by our society which was fanatical and orthodox to the core. But he listened to his heart and married her in a secret ceremony. '

'Then?'

'The other Guardians got to know about it soon. He was ostracized and thrown out of Violet Hollow. He took refuge in the barren Grey meadows, isolated and shunned by his own. He grew colder day by day. Vešterkas on the other hand were freaks in the human society. Witch-hunting was rampant in the early 80s and so, most of them were killed. He began collecting them and brought them to his land, promising them shelter. And thus his kingdom grew. He got more powerful with the combined magic of the Vešterkas. Legend has it that he left his human wife behind to set up his kingdom here. And these trinkets were his wife's favourites. So he put an enchantment in these lockets — basically, spooked them to let the Vešterkas all over the human world, connect to him once they come of age. These necklaces can find their own Vešterka.'

I let out a sigh.

This was a story of revenge and love and how the orthodox society leads to doom.

'Emerald isn't a bad man, is he? ' I finally said.

'No, he isn't. He's a very powerful wizard and a good person. But the Vešterkas he shelters have their own stories of sufferings, their own past demons to fight. They are cruel and unfeeling sometimes. And thus Grey Meadow which was supposed to be heaven became hell in no time. Emerald sometimes thinks he should end it all, but he has his obligations. So now Violet Hollow and Grey Meadows are at daggers drawn.'

'How do you know so much about him? You have hardly been here for a few years?' I couldn't keep my curiosity.

'Good question,' she mumbled. 'I'm his closest confidante now. He is cruel, he tortures, but I'm almost like a daughter to him. Or I was until Poppy came along. Don't know what spell she cast on him, that he started treating her like she was his oxygen — his lifeline.'

Did I hear a bit of jealousy and resentment in her voice?

But all this information was too much to comprehend.

'Will you help me get back Poppy?'

'I will do what I can. No promises,' she turned away. 'I'm doing this just because of you.'

'But why?'

My question was again met by a stony silence.