[wattys 2018 shortlisted]
Humans see her as a dangerous threat -a witch that must be executed. With the uncontrollable ability to form ice at her fingertips, Ravenna is forced into hiding amongst the humans, stealing to survive. That is, until she h...
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A SMALL COLLECTION of tan tents had been set up right outside the main entrance of the city. Eoin politely held Ravenna's hand, leading her through the overwhelming amount of soldiers that lingered outside the tents. He didn't quite tell her where they were going, but she trusted him.
Near the back of the camp, she spotted a flimsy looking tent. It was pitched against a tree —frayed ropes tied the top of the tent to several branches, keeping it upright. Eoin walked toward it. He lifted a piece of tarp that concealed the entrance and shifted to the side, allowing Ravenna to enter first.
The inside of the tent was much larger than she expected. Even Eoin was able to stand fully, without having to duck his head, and he was almost a head taller than her.
It was much brighter than expected as well. Witchlights were scattered across the tarp covered floor, illuminating the space with a soft, white glow.
A flimsy wooden table was situated just opposite from the entrance, a scroll unraveled on top of it. The corners of the scroll were held down by various objects —including a tiny cauldron like-pot that bubbled with a weird light blue goo. Tendrils of smoke danced through the air above the goo, filling the tent with a sweet, almost candy like smell.
A man stood behind the table. There was a blood red cape fastened to his body armor. His gaze flickered back and forth between Ravenna and Eoin, his expression curious. "Good morning, your highness," the man said. His voice was soft and calming.
It sounded almost...familiar.
"Good morning," Eoin chirped. He placed a hand on Ravenna's back. "This is Ravenna. I had the pleasure of meeting her a few towns back."
"Ah," the man said. He moved out from behind the wooden table, his dark eyes fixated on Ravenna. He lowered into a bow in front of her. "It is a pleasure to meet you. I have heard quite a bit about you."
Ravenna smiled and brushed a strand of her hair behind her ears. "It is nice to meet you," she said.
"I am Mylo, the residential wizard for the Blood Knights," he introduced himself. He gestured toward the table behind him. "You will have to pardon the mess. It's quite hard to maintain a potions shop while traveling."
She arched an eyebrow. "You sell potions?" she inquired. Her gaze darted back toward the table, examining its occupants closely. The scroll was hard to read from where she stood, but she could just begin to make out the shapes of a few charcoal sketches. There was a jar of sandy looking clouds sitting opposite from the cauldron, used as a paperweight to hold the corner of the scroll down. A small pile of witchlight stones were lumped together near the cauldron, glowing brightly with light.
"Not quite," Mylo answered. He smiled at her and folded his arms across his chest. "Not to normal humans, at least. My potions are only available to the Blood Knights."
"Speaking of which," Eoin interjected, a sheepish grin on his face. "I need a potion that will take us to the Capitol for a day."
