The Witch, The Wizard, and The Out-Worlder

A Familiar Forest, A Familiar Tower

A/N: Well, thank you for reading this far. I'm finishing up the story here real soon, so there's that. I'll go back and make continuity fixes as well as pacing and character development additions, but the story itself will not change at its core. I'm really excited to get to the crescendo of it all here soon. Please let me know if I mess something up 😁, sometimes I get ahead of myself and forget things, or I change something and forget to adjust the story accordingly. I appreciate the read and such!

I could feel Lute shuffling within my pack. I had been too distracted to release him upon finishing crossing the bridge. I quickly slung my pack around and opened it up. Lute sprang out almost instantly, his tiny wings helping him glide to the ground. He was squeaking in excitement upon being freed.

"I'm sorry Lute," I pleaded as I knelt down to rub him atop his head. He didn't seem upset in the slightest, only happy to be out once more. I could see Felix giving Lute the side eye, unyielding in his prejudice.

The four of us pushed onward, lead by Celia. She was moving quickly, clearly motivated by the opportunity to return home. I was beginning to feel quiet apprehensive about the plan. What if it didn't work? What if when Felix tries to activate the portal and it doesn't open? How will she react. I pushed the fears down, it had to work. Clearly he got here, so the magic had to work for him leaving.

"What was life like when you were back home Celia?" I asked her as we all made our way towards the tower. I knew it had been a long time since she had arrived here, so I was really curious to her life.

She let out an exasperated sigh, "Life was great. I had everything I wanted. I did whatever I wanted. I was even due to be married."

"Do you think you will miss it here at all? You have been here for a rather long time after all." I asked her, only for her to immediately scoff, turn to me, and roller her eyes dramatically.

"This place has nothing to offer me. I don't need magic. I had everything I wanted, and that was without magic." Her voice cold and devoid of any humanity. She was not going to be a potent source for any real conversations.

We walked in silence for some time, until we got the the forest line. As we approached the magically amplified behemoth trees, Lute began to jump around enthusiastically for being back.

"We're back to your family Lute. You made quite the journey with us haven't you? Do you want to go back to everyone else?" I asked as I knelt down as close as I could. Lute promptly squeaked loudly and jumped onto my shoulder. He was clearly, not leaving us just yet.

"Annoying little things." Celia murmured, gaining a slight nod from Felix, who immediately tried to shake it off when I gave him a rather intense look.

Once Lute was comfortably nestled upon my shoulder, I pressed on. The three of us marched past the large weeds and flowers, and into the darkness of the forest. At least this forest wasn't devoid of any light, as the trees were farther apart, allowing light to shine through the foliage, even if it was minimally.

Soon after entering, we could hear the familiar, nervous sounds of Lutes counterparts. They did not, however, emerge from the shadows to greet us, like last time. I figured they were all afraid of Celia, likely for good reason.

"You're lucky you are not from this world, otherwise, you would look just like ur skittish friend there." She said, referring to Lute.

I could tell Lute knew this to be true, as he squeezed extra tightly on my shoulder, "could you change him back to what he was before?" I asked her.

"No." She said coldly. After a brief pause, she gave a little more clarity, "The curse can only be broken by the artifact that gave affliction. Either destroy the artifact, or the caster removes the curse. Your friend is cursed until the Out-Worlder changes his mind. Which he won't."

"He will. Once everything returns to the way it was, I'm sure he will." I didn't know this to be fact, but I had to believe that there was still goodness in him.

Celia briefly laughed to herself, "I've known that man for a very long time now, and do you know what I've found out?" She asked me as she turned to look me right squarely in the eyes. I shook my head, a little nervous to hear what she had to say, "I've found out that time has a way of changing people. Though time doesn't move like it should here, it managed to take away his hope over the years. It took away his humanity. If you think that by me restoring the flow of time, he will magically return to the good natured person he was, you will have put too much faith in your endeavor girl."

There was always a coldness to her, but it was easy to see that it was her that was torn apart by the time she had spent here, "He's a good man who has had maybe made mistakes, but no one is passed the point of redemption. Everyone makes mistakes, it's what you do afterwards that's important." My response startled her for a second, her eyes flickered as she quickly turned back to the path ahead.

"Little girl, no more than 15, she has no idea what time can do." Was all she had left to say.

The rest of the walk through the forest was significantly less eventful, to which I was thankful for. I wasn't sure I wanted to bicker with the witch any longer, afraid she may change her mind for the worse. Aside from the darkness and eerie silence, the forest was a welcome walk. It had no scary bridges, no cursed mushrooms lightly illuminating an all encompassing darkness, and no feeling of impending doom. It was a rather nice walk, all things considered.

Soon, the walk would come to an end. The familiar white tower could be seen in the distance, just beyond the trees, it's doors wide open to welcome us. There was a large part of me that was excited to finally reach the end of this journey, but there was still that sinking feeling that it wasn't going to turn out exactly as planned.

"It's been some time since I've seen your friend within the tower. I will warn you now, I am prepared to fight, should this be a trap. I have spent many years acquiring magic from every corner of this land, and I will not be duped into being played a fool." Her eyes were fixed on the tower, her voice strong and tempered. I could feel how serious she was, and it was very unnerving.

"This isn't a trap," I squeaked out weakly. Though she didn't know of all the possible outcomes, I still wouldn't say it was a trap. "We want you to be home as well, I promise." Which was very much the truth.

"Keiko," Felix whispered to me. I turned to find him staring into my eyes, "wear the ring. Protect yourself." I nodded, rubbing the ring with my thumb. I wasn't exactly sure how the Out-Worlder reuniting with Celia was going to go, but surely they would be cordial, all things considered.

As we neared the threshold to the tower, the witch reached into her robes and pulled out a bracelet and slid it onto her left wrist. As soon as it was fixed, it began to glow a soft blue.

"That's so pretty."I thought I was saying it in my head, but it slipped out of my mouth instead.

"It will alert me to any activated magic. If anyone so much as says anything wrong, the deal is off. I don't know what the two of you have worked out without me, but I will not be played for a fool. Do you understand girl?" Celia was on edge, I had no intentions to cross her. We still needed her to return the night after all.

"No tricks. No traps. We're going home." I assured her as best I could.

She turned to give Felix a peculiar look, "Two of us at least." The way she said it made me feel worse about leaving Felix behind.

He gave me a soft smile, his eyes and ears shifted in a way that reminded me of the cat that he used to be, "It really is ok. I can have a much better life here. I'll be more than just a cat, I can help people rebuild their lives. I will be fine. You will be fine," he grabbed my hands tightly, "Everything will be fine."

I don't know when he became so wise, only being human for such a short period of time. I released myself from his grasp and turned to face the tower one last time. I took a deep breath and walked inside, "We are all almost home."