Chapter 7
The Taste of Puke on Your Tongue
Luke
The last thing I remembered was dazing off in the oak tree, having sat there for probably about an hour. Something had interrupted me, maybe a girl's voice? It was kind of hazy. I vaguely remembered falling off of my branch, but that couldn't be. I'd never fallen out of a tree before and I'd been climbing trees for like 15 years! Then I woke up to wet hair and the taste of puke in my mouth.
What can I say? I panicked. I scrambled to figure out where I was, adrenaline instantly coursing through me, and I hastily pulled my axe from the loop on my belt. Spinning around slowly, trying to figure out something, anything, about where I was, I realized I must be in a girl's house. Everything was pink, white, and purple, and there was a thick smell of flowers and something else I couldn't place. But I had no idea whose house this was and it didn't look like any place that I'd been before. Suddenly, there was a shriek behind me and I spun around, gripping my axe with both hands, to find the Witch Princess on the other side of the room.
"For the love of the Goddess! Put that thing away right now!" She had a strangely fearful look on her face and her hands were raised up in front of her, glowing in a strange yellow tone. I followed her command, my mouth dropping open just a little bit with the realization that this place must be her house. "What were you thinking! I could have killed you!" A shiver ran down her body in a wave and she straightened her hat. Her face fell into an expression that I couldn't really describe as anything but mischievous and she put her hands back on her hips. "Oughta be thanking me, stupid mortal…" she muttered to herself.
"How did I even get here?!" I blurted without any introduction. I'd only met her the one time, I couldn't think of any reason why I'd suddenly appeared in her house. Really, I was more confused than I'd ever been.
"You" she hissed "were in my forest again. Not even being productive might I add! I warned you the first time that I'd do more than shout the next time!"
I could practically feel myself paling and I eyed the cauldron warily, my eyes flickering between it and the surprisingly scary woman standing in front of me. "You're not… You're not going to eat me… are you?..." I said, my voice barely above a whisper and my eyes wide. The Witch cooking you up and eating you was one of the stories my dad told for years. The Witch made a retching noise in the back of her throat like eating me was the grossest thing she could imagine. I never thought a gross noise like that could make me feel relieved.
"Certainly not, don't be ridiculous. You fell out of your tree when I tried to reprimand you. My magic knocked you out when I caught you and now here we are. Well? How do you feel?" She said expectantly, one eyebrow quirking up.
I took a moment to think about that. Should I feel strange? Probably, based on how she had said that and the fact that I still really had no idea how I'd gotten to this place. A little thing like her definitely couldn't have dragged me, and I wasn't quite sure I believed she could have just magicked me to her house. I tensed all my muscles, taking a moment to make sure everything worked, and felt a dull ache spike up the entire left side of my body. "Like I tackled a tree running full speed." I said with a grimace, gingerly touching my fingers to my left side in an attempt to figure out where the pain stopped. This was probably going to turn into a pretty wicked bruise. "Oh, and my mouth tastes like barf." I added for good measure. The Witch Princess smiled.
"Not so bad then!" She chirped, turning away from me and stirring her cauldron slowly. "Well…" She started to speak before I could say anything. "You'll have to pay a price, seeing as I saved your life. And you were trespassing again after all… Hmm…" She took a long pause then, placing one hand on her chin and turning to slowly meet my eyes again. I felt uncomfortable under her gaze. This definitely wouldn't be good. "You'll have to… Visit me every day!" She chimed, grinning widely like a little girl. She almost looked like she would jump up and down like the girls always did when they were excited in grade school.
I was floored, to be honest! Visit her every day? That's it? At least I didn't have to do something crazy like find her a rare item or … Oh I don't know. "That's it?" I asked, my voice somewhere between caution and curiosity.
"Yup! Every day until I tell you to stop!" She flipped her hair over her shoulder and smiled, turning back to her cauldron. "I'm not feeling talkative this evening so you're free to go. But I'll expect you back here sometime tomorrow."
"Oh, well ok then." I said with wide eyes, turning towards the door and preparing to leave. "See you later then, Princess." I stepped back out into the summer evening. It was comfortably warm while I made the walk back home. This day had rather unexpectedly turned everything around. I mean everything. I'd gone into the woods feeling like I probably wouldn't even find her and now the Witch Princess told me I had to visit her every day? I wondered how long I'd have to spend with her, and how I'd make it fit my schedule without freaking out pops. But none of that really mattered, I decided as a grin spread across my face and I snuck back into the house. After all, the Princess was a babe.
Author's Note: I almost forgot to do this weeks upload, I feel terrible! On a tangentially related note, Naruto finally ended. I haven't kept up with the series (although I've still been in and out of the fandom) for like 4 years so I'm currently binge-reading the hell out of the manga. I'm on Ch166/700, but don't underestimate my power, I'll have read it all by the time I post next weeks update!
