Fantasy Forest 3: Ressurection

9. Injury

Entering the large castle on my own felt weird but I also didn't care much for the idea of standing out in the trees by myself. I waited a few minutes for Seally to come back and when he didn't I sighed before turning the handle of the large front doors and pushing my way inside. I stepped into a large room that while being somewhat regal was also surprisingly simple and normal except for the strange vines that climbed up the walls through open windows. Besides from that the walls, floors, and furniture were quite clean and there was a large staircase leading up on the opposite end of the room as well as a wide hallway to my right. I took a few steps inside and my footsteps echoed on the marble floor which was well polished but also slightly dull with a series of cracks running through the glassy surface. The whole room gave off the vibe of something that was really old but at the same time well cared for as if someone was trying to hold together something that had long ago started to fall apart.

As I stared at the fine details of the room I slowly became aware of footsteps echoing from down the hall, slowly growing closer. Before I could even think of whether or not to run or hide, a person stepped out from the hall. It was a woman appearing to be in her late twenties with brown eyes and long purple hair that curled around her thin and slender body. She was wearing a black dress with silver lining that flared out at the shoulders and bubbled around her round hips before swaying down to stop a little below her knees. She was beautiful and seemed to be surrounded by some sort of ethereal aura that made me feel small and inferior. She looked at me and I swallowed deeply but she said nothing. She just looked me over, shrugged, and then walked away without saying a word into a room opposite the hall. For a second I just stood there and then I slowly followed her, peering into the room where she stood in front of a large bookshelf, reaching to grab books from a highs shelf and every few seconds blowing away the violet curls that fell over her eyes.

"Hello?" I called out to her and she looked at me and her eyes seemed to be dancing with flakes of gold.

"Can you grab that foot stool over there? I cant reach." She said as she pointed to a wooden stool next to me at the door. I stared at it for a second and then picked it up and brought it to her. She took it from me and placed it on the floor, stepping up to reach the books that she then handed down to me.

"Um... I'm Y/n." I said trying to break the silence. She looked down at me and smirked.

"I know that." She said as she got down from the stool and got up close to me. She reached over and pinched my cheeks as her smile widened. "Nothing has changed." She stated.

"What do you mean?" I asked but her attention had already shifted to the bite mark on my foot.

"Go sit over there. I'll be right back." She said as she pointed to a seat across the room and then left but she stopped and turned back to me at the door. "I'm Patty." She said and then she was gone. I watched the door as I slowly walked across the room and sat in the chair. The bite still hurt so it as a relief to be off my feet despite how uncomfortable I still felt. I also began to wonder when Seally would be back and why he didn't tell me about this other girl living in his castle. Was she his sister or something? They didn't look at all alike.

A second later and Patty reemerged at the door with a basin or water and a white rag. She walked over to where I was sitting, set down the basin, picked up my injured foot and dropped it in the water. I immediately hissed as the liquid stung the bite in a way regular water shouldn't. I tried to withdraw my foot but Patty grabbed it and held it in place. Seconds passed and the stinging lessened to a dull numb and Patty withdrew my foot from the water, pushing it aside, and then wrapping my foot in the towel. I looked in the basin and saw the liquid inside was black and sludgy with little flecks of orange drifting inside.

"What is that?" I asked in a small voice.

"It's a lot of things." Patty said. "A lot of which you probably don't want to know. Now how did you get here?"

"Seally brought me."

"Why would he do that?"

"I don't know."

There was a pause and Patty unwrapped the rag from my foot to reveal clean and flawless skin without any sign of injury. I immediately grabbed it and bent it up for a better look, straining my eyes to see where the bite had been but I saw nothing.

"How did you do that?" I asked her.

"I'm a witch." She stated proudly just as the door opened again and Seally stepped in. He took one look at Patty and one look at me and I could tell he was not happy.

"Why are you here?" He asked her.

"I wanted to borrow some books." She said. "I didn't know you had company."

"Can you please leave?"

"I could but I don't really want to." Patty said as she walked over to him. Seally grabbed her roughly by the shoulder and whispered something in her ear. She stared at him a second and then she laughed.

"Okay okay." She said as she grabbed her books and turned to leave. "Good luck." She called dover her shoulder as she left the room.

"Who was that?" I asked Seally once she was gone.

"Hopefully someone you will never see again." He said.