The Royal Witch

VIII

The wind wrestled with the black ropes of hair flying through the wind. Seraphina quickly pushed her hair out of her face and gripped tighter on the reigns. It was difficult sneaking away from the castle at a time like this.

The sound of hooves beating against the dirt drowned out her other senses. Her beloved midnight horse, Salem, fussed about and began to lose control. Seraphina whipped her head to the side and caught a glimpse of a green wisp, glowing faintly. She pulled on the reigns as Salem dug his hooves into the dirt, coming to an abrupt stop. Hopping off carefully, she stroked and patted Salem, leaving him with a bag of red apples. 

Quietly, she creeped into the woods and beyond the trees until she reached the cottage. It had been a long time since Old Pam received visitors. She was a witch who did not want to be meddled with, nor was she happy to live in a town where she could not use magic freely. Before Seraphina was born, the previous queen—her grandmother—had come to an agreement with Old Pam. Ever since then, she has been living in comfortable solitude alone in the woods with no company beside her animal familiars. 

Seraphina stood in front of her door. She gazed at the door knocker with uncertainty. The knocker was made out of wood, carved into the face of an old woman. She reached out and closed her fingers against the protruding nose and carefully knocked it against the door. 

"Yes?" A  shrill voice echoed through the forest as birds scattered from their nests, their wings flapping into the sky. Seraphina kept her feet rooted to the ground and she stared at the knocker which had now transformed into a very alive face.

"I am looking for Old Mother Pam," explained Seraphina, pushing back the heat rising in her cheeks.

"And why may you be looking for me, young witch?" The door knocker asked, it's voice hysterically high pitched. Seraphina noticed that the knocker was indeed Old Pam, gazing straight into her soul. She suddenly felt queasy. 

"I need your help," she began, "your—your guidance. I have nobody else to turn to." Seraphina had heard stories of an old, powerful witch concealed within the depths of the forest. Anybody who could not see beyond the magic barrier had no hope of ever finding her.

The piece of wood simply gazed at her with a careless intensity as Seraphina stood there with her hands clasped together to prevent them from shaking. She smiled nervously, feeling vulnerable and naked as the knocker inspected her from head to toe.

"Very well," said Old Pam, "state your name."

"Seraphina Raven Blackwood." 

"A Blackwood, eh?" The knocker seemed to rattle as it grinned suspiciously. "And why would a Blackwood be at my doorstep, after all these years?"

"This isn't business," she shook her head, "nobody knows that ... that I'm here." 

"Dear old Jadis hasn't sent you, has she?" She scoffed. "What, am I causing too much trouble? Tell her to keep the mundanes out, then maybe I'll stop cursing them!"

"No, she hasn't sent me," Seraphina lowered her gaze, "my grandmother is dead." 

The rattling came to a stop. Seraphina could feel the knocker's eyes on her.

"That's too bad," said Old Pam, the usual hysteria no longer dripping in her voice.

"It's okay. It's been years now," Seraphina looked up, "she died of old age. My mother's queen now."

"That she is," the old woman murmured, "well, come on in. My old bones are tired of being in this form."

The door swung open, creaking on its rusted hinges. Seraphina ducked her head and stepped into the house. She jumped at the loud sound of the door slamming shut behind her. The room reeked of crushed leaves and pinecones, mixed with the smell of bitter honey. Old Pam stood up from a cushioned chair, supporting herself with a wooden walking stick carved into the shape of a cat's tail. Her curly, grey hair lay messily around her shoulders and her elixir bottle earrings twinkled in the light. She gazed at Seraphina thoughtfully with her black-lined blue eyes, her dark lips curling into a smile and her cheekbones rising high. Seraphina imagined her to be beautiful when she was young.

"Why did you let me in?" Asked Seraphina. She had come all of this way with no hope, imagining the old witch turning her away. 

Old Pam took a step forward. "Your grandmother was kind to me. A just queen," she said quietly, "I see her in you."

Seraphina blushed involuntarily. The old witch was nothing like what she had imagined: a mean, cranky woman who despises any interaction with non-animal beings. Seraphina wondered why her grandmother made a deal with Old Pam and why she would ever want to live so far away. Especially considering that she liked her queen at the time.

"Why are you here, girl?" Asked Old Pam, shaking her fist in the air. "There better be a good reason for disturbing me this early in the morning."

"Please," Seraphina stepped forward, an idea coming to her mind, "come back to the town. We will provide a nice home for you. Like your cottage," she jestured around her, "if you like."

"Ah, ah, ah," the old woman shook her head, "if I had known this was your reason to visit, I would not have opened my doors."

"But why?" Seraphina pleaded. "You said it yourself, you liked my grandmother. Why do you not want to return? Be it my grandmother or my mother, it is still your home."

"A castle view from my bedroom window isn't really my cup of elixir," she shrugged, "besides, I'm perfectly happy here. This is a big country and you still found me, didn't ye? That was the queen's conditions. I had to stay within a certain distance to the castle. If it was up to me, I'd have travelled further."

"Why did you leave?" Seraphina pushed curiously. 

Old Pam sighed. "My parents were mundane. They didn't know what was wrong with me, with my magical fingers. They were scared of me. They reported to Jadis that I was a monster, that somebody had snatched their daughter and left me in their place. They threatened to come out to the public if the queen didn't act fast. I begged her to let me run, to let me live freely," she explained, "but she told me that I'm not a cast away, so I shouldn't act like one." She sighed softly. "So, that is why I am here. Somewhere in between."

Seraphina felt a deep pang in her chest. She wondered the pain that Old Pam must have experienced, being shunned by her own parents. She wondered how she could have survived in such isolation for most of her life. 

"You are no monster," Seraphina placed her palm over the old woman's hand that rested on her walking stick, "you are just like me and I am just like you. You may think you don't have a family, but you do. You do have a family."

"That's sweet," she smiled, "but I don't think I could bare going back." 

Seraphina's heart lurched for Old Pam. She pushed away the growing pain in her chest, her shoulders falling forward.

"I'm sorry," Seraphina began, "asking you to come back was selfish of me. I hope I have not hurt your feelings."

"You did no such thing, girl. You couldn't hurt my feelings if you tried. I'm unbreakable," the old woman grinned.

Seraphina gazed at the funny woman and then chuckled heartily, shaking her head. She had come here to ask Old Pam for her help, since she was the wisest witch that she knew of. But, since things didn't turn out as planned, all Seraphina could do was warn her about the future dangers. The old witch may not return back home, but she lived in the middle of the forest: a place where the fire will most definitely reach.

Seraphina straightened her back and prepared to inform Old Pam that she will finally have her wish granted.

Her wish of running far, far away from here.