Alice's Wonderland

Wanda The Witch Chapter 3

Wanda feels like she is being stretched in every direction for a couple of seconds. Then she is standing still. She opens her eyes and can see nothing, absolutely nothing. Then, slowly her eyes adjust, and she can make out a little point of light in the distance.

There seems to be a cool Substance on her skin. She touches it with her fingers and feels it slide between them. She instinctively brings it to her mouth and finds that it has a slightly salty taste. Just like the wine on the jet. She reaches for more, but it is quickly evaporating on her skin.

Wanda moves forward towards the light, moving slowly because she cannot see the ground in front of her feet. She comes to what looks like the entrance to the cave she is in.

With the entrance behind her now, she looks up and the sky is full of stars like she has never seen them before. The Milky Way is almost a solid stream of stars from horizon to horizon.

Her eyes must have fully adjusted to the star light, because she can see that the point of light is actually a campfire in a small clearing.

Wanda approaches the fire. There is a small, hunched over old woman sitting on a log in front of the fire, poking it with a stick, then watching the sparks fly away into the night.

"Sit down my dear," says the old woman, who somehow knew that Wanda had entered the clearing, without even looking up to her.

Wanda sits down on a log just to the side of the old woman. The old woman keeps poking at the fire absently as Wanda watches.

Finally, Wanda asks her if she is here to help her on her adventure. "I don't know anything about any adventure, but I did see you come out of that cave over there. Now everybody knows that only gifted people come out of that cave here in the enchanted forest."

"The enchanted forest?"

"Yes, the never-ending forest that totally rings the Mistresses realm. Which is where you are now," explains the old woman.

She then looks Wanda right in the eyes and asks, "Are you gifted, my dear?"

"I do not know what you mean by gifted," replies a puzzled Wanda.

"Put two fingers together and rub them slowly," instructs the old woman.

Wanda does as instructed, and a small flame emerges from the tips of her fingers. She stops immediately and almost falls off the log in surprise.

"What was that?" asks Wanda. She looks at her fingers expecting them to be a little burnt, but they are fine.

The old woman smiles, and adds, "You will need some training."

She reaches behind her and pulls out a small bottle which she hands to Wanda. "Here, my dear, you must be thirsty from your travels."

Wanda realizes she is and accepts the bottle, taking a small sip. There is that slightly salty taste again, along with a bitter taste as well.

"Who is the Mistress?" asks Wanda.

"She is the ruler of this land now. There were two at one time. The Mistress of the East was loved by her people, who did whatever she wanted out of love for her kindness. The Mistress of the West was respected by her people, but she did not pamper them. They did as they were told because she commanded respect from them. She ruled as their true Mistress."

"What happened?" asked Wanda, as she sips her drink.

"They met on the battlefield in the center of the realm and using great magic, fought to the death. The Mistress of the East only took what her males wanted to give her, for she would not force them to fill her. The Mistress of the West took all that she needed from her males, to the point of sucking some too dry to recover. The Mistress of the West knew that the only way to accomplish her goals was to be the true ruler of the whole realm," explains the old woman.