Calytrix's Journey

Chapter III: New Witch II

I jumped in through the hole in the ground and found myself in an underground cave path that was lit by a single candle standing on top of a wood box. It was hard to see further into the dimly lit darkness.

"Ignis spiritus dona mihi clara flamma," I called forth strong, bright flames to light my surroundings.

"My eyes!" one of the captive girls complained.

The light illuminated my surroundings. Two young girls, bound hand and foot by chains to a supporting beam, stood before me. Besides a wooden box and cave entrances, the area was empty. They were both approximately Rheya's age. They had short brown hair and wore nothing but underwear. Their eyes struggled to adjust to the light after prolonged darkness.

"This is terrible," I said."I'll free you right away."

The criminal kept them in the dark, deprived them of food, and made them wear inadequate clothing. Their situation was horrendous. The mastermind responsible for this deserves a harsh penalty. The current situation was awful, but I wondered what other hardships the girls endured.

"Catenis liberos!" 

I destroyed the chains around their hands and legs.

"Now, quickly! It's your chance to escape." I said as I hurried them to take action since they seemed to be frozen in place.

Suddenly, a magical explosion erupted in the cave paths.

"I sense powerful magic. Did a witch take you captive? You need to get out of here before she comes back," I said to the girls. "I'll deal with her as another witch."

"Why did you do this?" a captive girl said as she sobbed.

"Who do you think you are? Showing up and creating a mess," the other girl retorted.

"What? I don't understand..." I said, confused.

I sensed the magic drawing nearer. The witch was approaching.

"The witch is nearing, and her magic is intensifying," I stated. "You need to get out of here. Things could get very dangerous."

"We won't get out," the angry girl said. "We're obedient slaves of our mistress."

The girl's words were incomprehensible to me. Being a slave, tied up and forced to do who knows, seemed wrong no matter from what perspective I tried to look at it. Maybe the witch bewitched them to stop them from fleeing with a dark spell. One that controlled their thoughts.

"Hiya there again, Calytrix," an eerily familiar voice said. 

Rheya showed up with a crazy look on her face.

Though powerful, the magic emanating from her was heavy and dark. I felt nauseous from it. Rheya's face was sprayed with red, blood-like drops, while a black liquid stained her hands. Her large black eyes were now marred by the dark color of blood. 

"You're not the only witch anymore. I'm a witch now too. A new one," she said, smiling crazily.

"Mistress! This girl- Calytrix, is she your friend? Why is she wearing your dress? What is your relationship with her?" the angry girl bombarded Rheya with a lot of questions.

"Shut up! You're annoying!" Rheya lashed out at her.

"Mistress wouldn't cheat on us," said the other girl.

"She was supposed to take my place, but since she discovered all this, she messed up, "Rheya explained to the girls.

"I always hated girls that were naturally born witches like you, Calytrix." Rheya said. "Why was I born as a princess? Who decided which girl would have magic and which not? This world is so unfair. Granting magic to some without a reason and denying other girls."

Rheya said some truth in her angry monologue. It was a mystery why only some possessed magic. People say all women are potentially magical, yet only a select few can harness this power. Magic wasn't hereditary. It wasn't necessary for the mother or other women in the family to be witches. It seemed randomly decided. Its cause was inexplicable; there was no pattern. No one has discovered anything about it so far.

"I finally managed to escape my fate of being a puppet princess. Doing everything others told me to do all the time and -marrying that ugly barrel prince." Rheya paused for a moment and looked at all of us.

"I killed that old witch and got all her powers." She said enthusiastically."I am free to do whatever I please!"

"Freedom is a beautiful thing we should all aspire to and have, but hurting others isn't what freedom is about," I said.

"You know nothing. Power is great! I'll ensure that everyone who ever hurts me pays five times back. I'll be the ruling queen among all witches, and everyone who defies me shall be executed." Rheya continued her words of madness. "I'll show everyone who defied my ideas of leadership how it's done properly!"

"I had to prepare a lot, you see -the old witch I killed, who granted me her dark magic." Rheya paused her words to take a deep breath. "I was killing her slowly these past few months and today I finally did it."

I covered my face with my right hand. Since Rheya arrived, I've been feeling suffocated and nauseous non stop. The magic, already dark, became even more corrupted by her theft.

"Do you want to know how I did it? I drank her blood, sliced up..." Rheya began explaining.

"Prohibere loquentes!" 

I stopped Rheya mid-sentence because I couldn't listen anymore.

"How dare you put your magic on mistress!" said the angry girl.

"I get it. You're good friends with your mistress... actually, I don't get it all! Were we listening to the same speech? Didn't you hear about all the wrongdoings?" I said, feeling sick.

I couldn't endure staying there any longer. I wished to remain uninvolved and unknowledgeable about black magic.

"Everything our mistress does is good," said the other crazy girl.

Despite the awfulness of their circumstances, they were all content. I had no business being there. A black magic witch was murdered by another of her kind. That type of mess was the witch's guild's responsibility. If they were tracking me, they should already know the situation. I can't believe they let it escalate this badly. When I tried to do a good deed, they stopped me, but they didn't interfere now.

Turning away, I felt Rheya's magical focus shift to me.

"How dare you defy me and put a spell on me," she said."Get down on your knees and beg for mercy if you don't want me to torture you for humiliating me just now."

Rheya directed a black cloud towards me. It didn't have any effect. She didn't know how to use her new power yet.

"I had enough! Don't mess with me if you're not ready to get burned," I said angrily.

"Dona mihi magnum ignis," I called forth, giant flames that engulfed the entire cave.

"Mistress, this is bad, the flames are everywhere, you'll get burned heavily. We need to get you out of here," the captive girls said.

"Calytrix, I'll remember this! When we meet again," Rheya said threateningly.

"I'll burn you again and again, as much as it takes to correct your wrongdoings I directly witnessed," I interrupted her.

The girls pulled Rheya into one of the inner tunnels and started running toward some exit; I suppose. I ascended into the forest. The fresh forest air helped me overcome the lingering smell of dark magic, so I could put out the cave fire and continue my journey.