Queendom at Dusk

Chapter Five: Eva

Willow's Lair is fluttering with all community members getting the village ready for the arrival of the fecund Gemma. People are panicking and arguing, the children are running everywhere, the cooks are yelling at each other and the musicians accompany this fuss with a cacophony of nonsense as they tune their instruments. Eva is busy around the village green, hanging flowers where she can. Her red hair shakes in every direction and she can't settle down. Her husband Venn notices.

"Go take care of Shay, love. I've got this."

She gladly goes away. She kisses his forehead and makes her way to the nanny who's taking care of their two-year-old daughter while they help the village. But really, any excuse is good to find some time to think. She walks to their shack with a pounding heart, thinking about her poor sister.

Gemma has always been true and dutiful; Eva doesn't get why most people at the Lair hate her. It's obvious she's not responsible for this pregnancy. Eva somehow feels like she owes her some help: the guilt of having involved ten-year old Gemma in her quest for a husband looms over Eva every day of her life. Consulting a witch is not something you easily forget, and it's illegal at that. As Eva takes her baby Shay in her arms, she sees herself and her little sister ten years ago.

One evening of spring as the sun was going down, Eva sneaked out of the village. She took a shortcut towards the river that runs through all the other villages. Gemma saw her and instead of reporting her, she followed her silently.

Eva realised she was not alone only when she reached her destination: the very edge of Willow's Lair, where there are more brambles than trees... It was too late to go back, and too dangerous for a ten-year-old to go alone. She had no choice but to take her along to meet the witch. Eva put her hand on her sister's shoulder and felt her shaking. They were on a dangerous road.

Eva tried to keep composed. She bent to her little sister, and said, "Gemma. Do you want a child one day?"

"Of course I do", she replied mechanically.

"Well, I do too, more than anything in the world. Except you have to be a couple to create one, and I can't seem to find anyone suitable at the youth balls."

"But Hera has a plan for you", she said, "she has a plan for all of us. One day, you'll find your husband."

"Yes, Gemma, and sooner rather than later! I am going to make it happen."

"Is he in the woods?" She asked.

Eva chuckled. "Are you brave enough to go with me?"

Gemma's face brightened, her smile revived. "Yes, I always am." Eva and Gemma held hands while entering the thorny woods.

After wandering around the place for long minutes, Eva finally noticed a rock that could be a cave, hidden by untended vegetation. An old woman was there, sitting right under the roof of that rock, old and grey. Eva remembers seeing her in the village when she was a child, and everyone said she died of illness, but most of them knew the truth. She had converted to magic to replace the former witch.

"Mrs. Of the Well?" Eva called hesitantly.

The witch stood in front of the brambles and ivy. She looked shaggy but confident and her eyes sparkled; she wore black robes with a hood over her head, and her tall figure was expanded by a very long grey braid. She didn't look threatening at all, though; more like a cute grandma. She nodded faintly and invited them in.

Almost no light could enter the cave, and the girls had to wait for their eyes to get used to the darkness. The witch had the bare minimum built from what she found – she made shelves out of wood, and a bed out of leaves – but she had made herself a comfortable-looking home. At the back, a cauldron was simmering over a fire in an alcove in the stone wall and droplets of water were falling over it from the roof of the cave. A natural fireplace. The warmth of the simmering liquid made the air of the cave almost welcoming.