The Disobedient Wizard

A Trap to catch a witch Part I

It was a warm night for October, too warm a night for witches, or so the stories said. Witches were supposed to be extinct, of course, but Xavier had heard about the way they stank, and he imagined he could smell that now, in the quietness of the dark forest, a faint but definite stink oh burning hair mixed with long-dead mice and a little kick of viper's venom; once smelled never forgotten.

Xavi, pronounced "Xavier" (I don't know why, spelling is WEIRD),was a wild young human boy who belonged to the wizard tribe. He was ridding on the back of a giant snowcat in part of the forest so dark and mangled and tangled that it was known as the Bad Woods.

He should not have been there, for the Bad Woods were warrior territory, and if the warriors were to catch him, well, what everyone said was Xavier would be killed on sight. Off with his head! As was the pleasant warrior custom.

But Xavier did look even remotely worried at all. He was a cheerful scuff of a boy, with a tremendous quiff of hair shooting upward from his forehead as if it had accidentally come into contact with some invisible vertical hurricane.
The snow kitten he was riding was called king, a noble creature who was a giant form of lynx, far too dignified for cheeky master. King had shinning paws so round they looked unreal, fur so deep it was like powder snow and such a rich silver-white color that it was almost yellow. The snowcat ran swiftly but softly through the forest, his black-tipped ears swivelling from side to side as he ran, for he was scared, although too proud to show it.
Only that very evening, Xavier's Father, Eliezer the Enchanter, King of the Wizards, had reminded everyone that it was forbidden for any wizard to dare set one toe im the Bad Woods.

Xavier meant well, but he was the kid who acted first and thought later, and that kind of kid is often in trouble. in fact, be was the most disobedient boy in the Wizard Kingdom in about five generations. And forbidding things only encouraged him.
In the past week:
Xavier had tied the beards of two of the eldest and most respectable Wizards together when they were sleeping at a banquet. He was poured a love potion into the pig's feeding trough, so the pigs developed mad, passionate crushes on Xavier's least favorite teacher and followed him around wherever he went, making loud, enthusiastic squealing and kissing noises. He had accidentally burned the western trees in the Wizard camp.
Most of these things hadn't been entirely intentional exactly. xavier had just gotten carried away in the head of the moment.
And yet none of these disobedient things was half as bad as what Xavier was doing right now.
There was a large black angry raven flying above Xavier's head.
"This is very bad indeed, Xavier," Said the angry raven. The talking raven was called Cauliflower, and he would have been a very handsome bird, but unfortunately it was his job to keep Xavier out of trouble, and the worry of the impossible mission meant his feathers kept falling out." It isn't fir to lead your animals and sprites and young fellow wizards into all this danger..."
As the son of the king Enchanter, and a boy with great deal of personal charisma, Xavier had a lot of followers: a pack og seven wolves, three angry snowcats a bear , three sprites, and a enormous giant called cookie crusher, and of course a small crowd of other Wizard youngsters, all following Xavier as hypnotized, all shivering and scared and pretending not to be.
"Oh you worry to much, Cauliflower," said xavier, pulling king to halt and jumping off his furry back.
"Look at this lovely, pretty little glade here...you see...PERFECTLY safe and exactly the same as the rest of the Forest."

Xavier looked around with a breezy satisfaction, as if they had stopped in a delightful woodland dell filled with Baby bunnies and baby deer, rather than a cold, eerie little clearing where the yews leaned threateningly and the mistletoe dripped like warlock's tears.

The other wizards drew their swords, and the growling snowcats' fur stood up with fear to such extent that they looked like furry puffballs. The wolves , trying to form a protective circle around their humans.

Only the smaller sprites shared Xavier's enthusiasm, but that was because they were too young to know better.
I don't know if you have ever seen one, so I'll most likely describe them to you.
There was a six larger sprites, all faintly resembling a human crossed with a fierce, Is a pretty elegant insect. Most likely when irritated, or bored (Which it was often), they blinked on and off the stars, and a green smoke drifted out of their ears. They were so see-through you could watch their hearts beating from a distance.
Then there was three baby sprites, who because they were not adult they were know as " hairy fairies." Xavier's favorite was an eager, slightly stupid little thing called Bumbleboozles. " it's the tremunglousisly loveliest clearing it's ever seen! What's this fascinating flower? Let me guess! It's a daisy! it's a gerangulum!"
He flew into the upper branches of a particularly gloomy and sinister old tree and perched on the edge of one of it's fleshy flowers, which had ominous spikes on the ends of it's leaves, and was in fact called a sprite-eating hob trap. The mad flower snapped shut with the briskness of a mousetrap, capturing poor little bumbleboozles inside.
Cauliflower landed on Xavier shoulder and gave a heavy sigh.
"I don't like to say 'I told you so," Said cauliflower.
"But we've only been in this perfectly safe a clearing in the Bad Woods for three and a half minutes and you've already lost one of your followers to a freaking carnivorous flower."
"Nonsense," scolded Xavier good-Naturedly, " I haven't lost him not yet. That's the whole point of being a leader. Whenever my partners get into trouble, i rescue them, because that's what a leader does."
Xavier climbed a very tall tree and three hundred feet up, swaying precariously on a couple of creaking twiglike boughs, he took out his dagger and popped open tge sprite-eating monster to release a panting little Bumbleboozles
In the nick of time.
"I'm alright!" Squaeked bumbledoozles . " It's FINE! i can't feel my left leg but i's fine!"

" don't worry, Bumbledoozles! That's just the hobtrap's disgrace juices- the feeling will return In probably a couple of hours! Xavier called out as he dropped down from that tall tree. " You see? Im a great leader! Stick with me and you'll be fine."
The wizard youngsters looked very thoughtful indeed.
At that moment, Xavier older brother, Luther, came out of the shadows behind them,sitting astride a great black wolf and followed by even more little sprites and animals and young wizard followers than Xavier himself.
Xavier stiffened, because because he hated his older brother, Luther.

Luther was a lot bigger than xavier. He was nearly as tall aw their father, he was brilliant at magic, he was looking and clever, and my goodness didn't he know it. He was the smuggest smug wizard you could possibly imagine, and he often snitched on xavier to get him into trouble.

"what are you doing here, luther?" Stormed xavier suspiciously.
"Oh i just followed you to see what unbelievably stupid and pointless thing my little brother was doing this time,"drawled Luther.
"Great leaders like me don't do pointless expeditions!" Fumed Xavier. " we're here for a REASON. it's none of your damn business. But..."
Xavier considered telling Luther some elaborate lie about what he was doing-but he couldn't resist Showing off.
"...we're going to catch ourselves a Witch," boasted xavier proudly.
Ohhhhhhh dear, oh dear, oh dear, oh dear. This was the first time that Xavier had mentioned, and it was very unwelcome news indeed.
A Witchhhh!

To be continue...(◍•ᴗ•◍)❤
This chapter was 1,356 words long.