Chapter 5


    No family. No friends. No money. No family. No friends. No money. No family. No friends. No money.


    I can’t sleep.


    I toss and turn in bed. Enzi’s words continue to play over and over in my head.


    There’s no way to tell the time for sure, but it’s been at least a few hours since I ran from the kitchen. And I still don’t know what I’m going to say in the morning.


    On one hand, Enzi has a point. I won’t be missing out on much if I don’t go back, and almost no one will miss me. Even Dr. Jameson will likely just think we “aren’t a good fit” and replace me before the month is even up. It will probably  take over two weeks for anyone to even think of checking in on me. My mortgage representative may be the one person who cares if I stay or not, and that’s mostly because she’ll have to clear out my things and put the house up for foreclosure if I don’t come back.


    But asking me to stay here. In a “realm” entirely different from my own. Where frogs can fly and witches and fae exist and whatever else is strong enough to kill people that have magic! It’s just like he said. I’m going to end up dead.


    Not too long ago you wanted to be dead though so…


    The unhelpful thoughts that fueled my depression, put me into therapy, and onto meds try to creep back into my head.


    That was long enough ago. I remind myself that I don’t truly feel that way anymore. I honestly haven’t for years. No matter how bad money got or how lonely I would feel sometimes.


    I’ve come up with different coping mechanisms since then. Are they better…? Well anything is better than trying to kill yourself according to psychiatrists. So yea. I’m doing great.


    Besides. I need to focus an decide. Passive suicidal ideation can come later.


    Three knocks tap against my door. “Can we talk?” Meia’s voice comes from the hall.


    “Yea sure.” I sit up as she walks in. Her eyes are a bit red, puffier than when I last saw her. Guilt surrounds me as she sinks into the chair closest to my bed. I wonder if it was her or Enzi sitting there the past few days. She made it sound like it was Enzi… but after meeting him, really talking to him, I can’t see how that could be true.


    “Zen doesn’t know I’m here. He’s out for the night.” She takes in my face, my hands wringing the covers beside me.


    Does she mean he went out, or he’s asleep?


    “Really, you deserve to know more. You can’t make a decision without knowing more… So here.” her hands splay out, palms upwards. “I’ll tell you whatever you need… If- if I can.”


    Well that was cryptic.


    “Who is killing you? Why are they killing you? How many people have died?”


    “I-’ Meia shifts uneasily. “I may have been exaggerating a little bit… We… Well we aren’t all being killed.” She grabs my hands. “But no one is taking any notice of who does disappear. No one is even doing anything to look into it!”


    I’m only more confused when she rushes to speak again. “The nights are getting longer, and witches are disappearing into the darkness. Everyone says it’s normal, that our seasons and days follow a magic of their own and I can’t expect things to stay the same because it’s convenient to me.” She tightens her grip on me. “But no one cares that entire covens disappear without any warning some nights! Parts of the forest seem to be in perpetual darkness. And even our most steadfast covens - some witches and covens can be really temperamental and flighty I guess. Elementals, especially air witches, sure. They would leave without a word and resettle somewhere else - but druids? The forest witches? They’re as old and stubborn as air witches are changeable. They’re as steadfast as the trees they make their homes in. And so many of them are just gone. Homes abandoned with everything left behind. It just doesn’t make sense!”


    I turn her word vomit of information over in my head… “So… this is a hypothesis?”


    They kidnapped me for a fucking hypothesis? Just a few worries??


    Meia pulls me closer. “The fae are worried! Worried enough that they reached out to us for the first time in centuries. And our Queen is too stubborn to listen to them-”


    “Wait Meia! You’re asking me to get involved in God knows what… a whole different world’s political landscape based on hearsay and hypothesis!”


    Which - I can’t help but think to myself - is actually a lot less dangerous than getting involved based on facts and cold-blooded murder.


    “Okay.” I pull back from her, away from her hands and tug the quilt back over my hips, giving myself more time to think through my options. “Okay. Say I do stay here willingly. You have some ideas that something is wrong. The fae-”


    It feels so wrong talking about this like it’s all normal. Totally real everyday occurrences. It’s just the fae. No biggie.


    “-have enough concerns to talk to witches…why has it been centuries since you all…have spoken?” I wave my hands in her general direction as I say this.


    “Witches and fae both have access to magic. But it’s…different. Witches, we’re practically human. I could go to your realm and fit right in. Easily. It wouldn’t even be too hard of an adjustment, except for my loss of magic.” She cringes, just the idea of losing her magic is painful to her, I guess.


    “Fae, they’re other. Not quite human, a little more, a little less than humans in so many ways. It’s hard to explain, if you ever met one you’d just notice… they’re different. It’s hard to put your finger on until it’s right in your face.”


    Despite her pause here, I can’t think of a single thing to say. I’ve never personally thought about the possible differences between a human and a fae. Let alone a witch and a human or a fae. So I just let her continue.


    “Witches can channel magic, I’d say. We can learn it and use what’s already around us in ways we manipulate. It can start young, most people teach their kids early the same way humans teach their kids to read. But it isn’t within us, not really. At least, not in the way the fae have magic inside of them. They’re born with it. However strong they are is determined at birth, whatever type of magic they have is innate and can’t be changed.”


    She flashes out of the room, disappearing in front of my eyes and returning within a second, a book in her hands. I almost fall out of bed at that casual display of what’s possible here.


    “Like this!” Her excitement is infectious.


    I wonder what kind of witch she is. What she’s learned.


    She opens the book at random. “I can study this book and depending on my skill or talents or both I can learn a new type of magic! Well. technically. There are some other factors I guess.”


    She shrugs. “But either way that isn’t the case with fae. They can build up their personal magic, of course they have access to a basic, more general magic. I suppose that witches can and do learn that too. But it’s more like feeling and making it happen with them. It will never come that easily to us, but we can do it, it’s often some of the first things we learn to do since it’s things that will make our lives easier.”


    She disappears again, returning without the book this time. I can only guess she went to put it away.


    “But if a fae’s magic is in, say, earth magic. And they want to use water magic instead, it will just never happen.”


    She toys with the jug of water, pushing it this way then that. “At the same time witches don’t usually reach the level of skill fae have with their own magic. Even if they can’t learn it all. We’re long-lived, but not like they are. They can live thousands of years, and reach an expertise in that time that most witches can never hope to achieve.”


    Meia sighs, fiddles with the eyebrow piercing, then puts her hands back into her lap. “This created issues for us. First we were envious of each other, then jealous. It came to an outright war almost five hundred years ago. And ever since that ended we’ve lived separately. They went to their own realm and we stayed here.”


    Five hundred years ago? She’s talking about this like this was yesterday! How does she even know all this?


    “How old are you, Meia?” She’s talking about these events like she witnessed them herself. Surely she can’t be…that old.


    “Oh. I’m only eighty-two. I’m young. But everyone knows this about our history. It was the biggest war in eons.”


    “Eighty-two! Meia! How long will you live?” I can’t believe Meia, who looks my age, I thought for sure we were around the same age, just shy of twenty-eight… There’s no way she’s older than my grandmother was when she died.


    “At least a few centuries. I haven’t even hit my first century yet!” I can see her color rising.


    I backtrack, clearly I’ve insulted her, and attempt to reassure h er before I can do anymore damage tonight.


    “Of course not. It’s just…well humans don’t really live that long, that’s all. No one in my family has ever lived that long. I was just surprised,” I’m mumbling by the end of it. I don’t think it was an adequate apology at all.


    Meia, however, is a force of joy that cannot be brought down for more than a few moments. Understanding clears up her features, and her constant, bright smile returns.


    “Right! I forgot! Everyone from your realm tends to die before their first century even!”


    “Well-” I’m cut off, thankfully. I really didn’t have much to say about that.


    “Look. All we need from you is to come with us! We’re going to be travelling soon and we think-” She looks at me closely before continuing. “Well I think that you may be able to help us with the darker areas of the forest at minimum.”


    Denial washes over me. I can’t help with anything. I forgot she even thought I was a witch too throughout this conversation. “I can’t-”


    “You don’t have to do anything. Right now you don’t really have to do anything at all!” She grabs my hands again, almost falling out of her seat to stop me from immediately saying no. “The first walk through the forest will be kinda like a test! To see if what we think is right.”


    I feel my face twist in apprehension. “A test.”


    “You won’t be in any danger! We’re going to go through parts we already have been through before! There are some darker parts… but nothing Enzi and I can’t handle, you won’t have to do a thing!” She bulldozes over me every time I open my mouth. “And all that the test will be is if we have to handle anything at all. With you there,” I get an appreciative look my way as she barrels on. “It should be nothing more than a few days’ hike to the next town.”


    Love what you''re reading? Discover and support the author on the platform they originally published on.


    “That doesn’t make sense!” This time I take myself out of bed and stride to the window. Pulling back the curtain I still see the stars, slowly beginning to fade away as the faintest edge of sunrise fights to make its way up in the sky.


    “You’re our light!” She crosses the room, but stays a few feet back from the window, wringing her hands. “I mean. You- you’re… look it’s just a test. If you’re the witch we need it’ll become clear as we travel. I can’t really say much more right now.”


    Their light? What does she even mean? Like a nightlight?


    “I’m not a witch Meia.”


    This conversation is getting us nowhere.


    “Well if you come with us you can prove you aren’t. And I promise, I swear, if that’s the case I’ll make sure we find you a way home before we do anything else!”


    I study her as she makes me promises.


    No family. No friends. No money.


    I have nothing to lose. Except my home.


    “All I have to do is travel to the next town over? Once? Prove I’m not a witch, that I can’t do anything for you… And then you’ll get me home?” I consider this for a moment. It really does sound easy enough…


    Meia nods hopefully. Her already large eyes get even bigger. Even knowing she’s old enough to be my grandmother, she has the puppy eyes down so well it’s hard to resist giving in.


    “Will you get me home before my first day of work? If I say yes? I have… like four days max to get back, I think.”


    “Well…” Gears are turning behind her eyes now. “No…”


    I’m going to be fired before I even have a first day. I’m going to lose my grandmother’s house. I can’t do this.


    “It’s just, that’s impossible.” She begins to pace around the room. “But! But! I can always take some money from Enzi’s stash. He won’t even notice, you’ll be set for life with just a handful!”


    Once again, she delivers this statement like it’s the best idea anyone could ever have. Like he wouldn’t tear me apart, at minimum verbally, for even considering the offer.


    I don’t know if that is what makes me not like this plan or the fact that she’s essentially suggesting we steal. But Enzi is her friend. Seems like something they would have to work through themselves. I doubt I would get off as easily as she would if he found out though.


    “He’d kill me.” I say flatly.


    “Oh he would never! And he wouldn’t even know till you’re gone. Plus he has more than enough. It wouldn’t even inconvenience him. Plus he isn’t gonna travel across realms to get it back! I’d give you mine if I could but-” her shoulders raise and drop gracefully. “-I’ve given most of my money away.”


    I pause. To who? I want to ask. But pausing at any moment to think simply allows Meia to have more time to speak.


    “It’s a good plan! I promise you won’t regret it!” She comes over to hug me as I turn to close the curtains and we collide with her hugging my side and my elbow just missing her shoulder.


    “Wait! I haven’t agreed-” I look at the door as she shuts it. Ignoring my protests.


    Sighing, I fix the bottom of the curtain and crawl back into bed. I only have a few hours until breakfast. Until I have to officially make the decision like I promised. And honestly, Meia has only given me even more questions. I need to know more.


    <hr>


    With Meia out of the room my doubts come back to the forefront of my mind.


    I really do need to find out what type of witch she is… something about the way I just want to please her is abnormal. Since when have I ever just wanted to please anyone?


    But she did give me at least a bit of good information. And the questions, perhaps I could get answers somewhere else.


    I’ve always believed I can learn more from books than anywhere else. And leaving the house couldn’t hurt. If I need to run away from here it’d be better to know my surroundings on my own.


    The sun is cresting over the edge of the visible sky at this point, it can’t be any later than 5AM… if their time system is similar to what I’m used to… I could take a quick walk around the town. If there are other castles then there are probably more people around here… Servants? Maids? Stable boys? Someone has to be awake this early to make a whole castle run. Even if I haven’t seen another soul in this house so far.


    And after a bit of knowing the area better I can come back and grab a few books from the living room.


    I embrace the curiosity that raises its head up thinking of the living room, the fireplace.


    We’ll read them in OUR room. Not the living room


    I scold myself for even considering going back near the fireplace. Despite the cozy feeling I get from thinking about sitting back down on the couch. Enzi may be a cruel, blunt, rude, asshole. But there is something strange about that area and how it drew me in.


    And I don’t feel up to a repeat of yesterday evening.


    I smile to myself. That, I’m sure, is not a lie.


    I grab a pair of thick woolen socks from the top drawer of the dresser tucked into the back of the closet and feel around on the floor to see if a pair of boots might conveniently be here as well. Luck is not with me so far for boots, but I do find a dark grey cloak, with a deep enough hood I either will not be noticed at all while walking around, or people will think I’m a thief and instantly alert their version of the police on me lurking about. Only time will tell.


    I thank whoever keeps up with the cleaning of this house  as my bedroom door opens and closes for me just as silently as it did the last time I was sneaking out of the room. And make my way to the kitchen. Enzi has helped me even further by telling me exactly where the front door is. Neat rows of shoes and boots are in the entryway. It looks how I wish the front door of my own house would be. Everything in its place instead of thrown about.


    My dishes. I’m going to have flies by the time I get home. I should have done my dishes.


    Bugs are quite possibly my worst enemy. People, especially my father, were always surprised that I don’t like bugs. They think liking snakes and lizards, or frogs and turtles, means that you should be a-okay with bugs existing. And I guess that they have a right to exist. I’m not saying they should be eradicated or anything. But it does not at all mean that I have to like it, or them. Reptiles…amphibians they may not appeal to everyone but some of them are actually cute. You can still see their faces. They still have a reasonable amount of legs - or no legs in the case of snakes. They may not want to cuddle with you, or hangout with you at all, or give any indication that you matter to them past feeding them… but they aren’t creepy crawlies. They don’t skitter across the floor and roll in packs of way too many. Or emerge from nests and try to take over your whole house as soon as it gets warm outside. I just, I don’t like bugs. Flies aren’t the worst of them. But they’re so hard to get rid of once they’ve infested your kitchen and I am not at all looking forward to trying to get them out once I get home again.


    A pair of boots fits me well enough that I think I can go out for an hour or so and not have too many blisters when I return. Perhaps I should have doubled up on socks. But I don’t know if Enzi is in or out of the house and I don’t want to run into him on my way out. I need to leave as soon as possible.


    I drape the cloak around my shoulders and pull up the hood. It is so annoying I found a cloak and not a real jacket. It fits in with the feel of this world, I guess. But it is so much more practical to have the front actually close entirely. Zippers are a fantastic invention. I may need to introduce the concept here before I leave. The cloak could have at least had buttons.


    I step out the front door and can’t help but turn around to get a better view of where I’ve been the past two days. It really is a lovely castle…house. Having very little experience with castles, or large homes in general really, I’m not quite sure what to categorize it as. But I know I never imagined I would stay in a place like this.


    The pale grey stones that make up the exterior are worn down in some places, making me think this house has been standing for millenniums. The windows are large towards the bottom and get smaller with each floor. By the time you make it up to the top, five floors in total, the windows are thin rectangles, barely slits in the walls.


    What may be my favorite part of the whole estate, where I would love to explore more if I have enough time this morning, is an oddly shaped glass structure I can see jutting out from the back of the house. It doesn’t have the typical shape of a greenhouse, even though the materials are all the same. Instead of being rounded and domed on top, it is sharp on its sides, which each rise to a point at the ceiling as well.


    I can see two out of possibly five points from this angle and I think, I hope, that there is an entrance from inside the house. Perhaps from one of the place’s impeccably kept hallways.


    The sun seems to be rising faster than it would have back home.


    I hope they sleep late.


    The distant town is quaint in the glow of sunrise. I could imagine a historical novel taking place here. Or plopping this town down somewhere in the countryside of England, Scotland maybe, and it being a UNESCO historical location. Tourists would love it here. I would love it here.


    Of course, that was the same thought I had before permanently moving to Georgia. But my town has nothing on the charms of this one. This place has castles for goodness sake.


    But it does not have people as far as I can see.


    I walk down what I hope is a road that will lead into a larger town area, as the homes nearby have their doors firmly closed and their lights off.


    Perhaps I can find a small market or some cafe, anything that will be open this early in the morning. I don’t know how towns work when they appear to be set back a few centuries from my own.


    And magic may get rid of the need to do too much early prep…


    Wincing, I hope that this is not the case. That I’ll be able to find a single person to try and talk to before I need to go back and pretend like I was in my bed all night.


    A bakery!


    Bakeries are staffed early in the morning, even in modern times. I can’t imagine just because the time period is different they don’t have to start at the crack of dawn.


    I’ve only passed by homes so far. Some larger than where Meia and Enzi stay, set further back into the land. Others are small and have vegetable gardens or fruit trees out front. Almost all the homes are made out of stone, no matter their size.


    I only have so much more time to explore before I ought to head back, two thirds of the sun is already in the sky when I make it to what must be the town’s center.


    Two story shops line the street, with smaller, winding roads connecting to the main one. I can see the rise of smoke from some of the buildings, but the majority of the windows are shuttered. As if this place is abandoned. People may be awake, but they are not outside yet.


    Deciding I have enough time to do a quick jog up and down the two or three blocks that make up their main street, I begin to survey the area.


    I pass by a tavern. Closed. A small general store. Closed. A jeweler, two dressmakers, both closed. Tiny row houses are plopped in-between with little care for consistency.


    Surely they must have a baker?


    I am almost to the end of the second block when the smell of fresh bread hits me.


    And now hopefully they’re open? Or friendly enough that they’ll let me in before they officially open?


    I pass by three more random shops, all closed, before I make it to the bakery. No open sign graces the front, but there isn’t a closed sign either. I look through the window and see an array of breads, pastries, and baked goods that would make any Parisian patisserie proud. But again, no people. I try the front door, giving myself five minutes to talk before I need to head back.


    Bells tinkle as I walk through the front. The smell of bread and warm sugar reminds me of waking up to a late breakfast on the weekends at my grandmother’s, having some fresh fruit and tea on the side and then spending the rest of the day splashing in the river and exploring the farms nearby. Missing home hurts me, it rips through my chest like a knife to the heart. Placing one hand over my breast for a second, I close my eyes before shaking off the pain. Then look around for someone to speak to when I hear noises in the back.


    “Hella?” I call towards the kitchen. No response.


    “Hi! Is there anyone I could talk to?” I call out louder this time, but still no one answers. I have less than four minutes left before I need to race back to the castle.


    “I just have a quick question, can I come back there?” I say as I walk past the counter and poke my head through the door leading to the baking area. There are no people. But there is definitely baking going on.


    Bowls are being whisked, ingredients prepped and put away, oven doors are opening and closing, perfectly round cakes come out of them and are set to cool, pastries are being iced, fruits and decorations put the finishing touches on bite sized items across the kitchen. But not a single person is doing the work. The bakery is run entirely by magic.


    I stumble out of the doorway and get back behind the counter.


    Are there no people here at all? Is every store run this way? Where IS everybody?


    I am almost out of time when I finally pick myself up off the figurative floor and gently shut the door behind me. The bells tinkle in their cheery way, saying goodbye to me before falling silent as I turn to make my way back.


    The sun is almost fully above the skyline at this point and I decide on a brisk power walk back up the winding road. I can’t help but peer into the other shop’s windows, even as they’re still shuttered, wondering what’s going on behind their curtains.


    Is it possible for people to not work at all here? Is it a strain on them to have these shops running without physically being there?


    The houses and castles are as still and quiet as ever on my walk back. I see my destination coming up around the last bend and quicken my pace. The castle is astonishingly beautiful with the sun gleaming off the windows and brightening the stone walls. Even I can admire the building while also hoping I never see it again.


    I make it up the walkway and to the front doors before a loud noise stops me in my tracks.


    “Ribbit!”


    I turn slowly, just catching Anura as she fades into view behind me. Her browns and greens come into focus from the background, top to bottom.


    Was she invisible? This whole time she’s been behind me? INVISIBLE?!


    “Oh God.”


    I don’t know if she can Enzi can…communicate? But I need to get back to my bedroom, fast. The books in the living room can wait. I leave the door open as I pull off my boots and cloak, setting the boots exactly back where I found them.


    I start to tiptoe through the house, making it all the way to the corridor just before my room when Enzi appears out of a door just two down from mine.


    “Ran away and gave up already?”


    I freeze. Anura flies over to him, taking two short hops at his feet after landing.


    That absolute traitor. I think while inching my way towards my bedroom door.


    “I was just getting some fresh air. I couldn’t sleep.”


    I make the final few feet to my door before looking back at him.


    “See you at breakfast,” I blurt out.


    Enzi moves forward as if to follow me into my room. I shut the door just as he makes it to the handle.


    “I heard you and Meia talking last night. What will she think about you trying to run away?” He calls out.


    I hope Meia isn’t on this floor too.


    I say nothing, hearing a huff then a croak and finally footsteps leading away from me and towards the communal parts of the house.


    Time is almost up for when I said I’d give them their answer. I have no more information than I did ending my conversation with Meia. And if Enzi does what I think he’s going to do, Meia will believe I tried to escape immediately after - kinda - agreeing to try for her, just once.


    I slide my hand down my face and look towards the closet. Throwing the cloak back in, I groan, knowing I only have a few more hours at most to think my way through this, out of this. I should have just stayed here to think instead of believing I’d get any answers from the nonexistent people of this town.


    I settle in, with the half empty jug of water and a blanket, to the chair furthest from my bed. I have to make a decision.