silence
Disclaimer: I do not own Power Rangers.
Chapter Thirteen
"I think I might be able to help."
Both boys direct their attention to the new person in the room. "Dr. Campbell?"
He really must be going crazy. But Tommy seemed to be just as confused as him. "How are you going to help?"
"Well, I'm not, but I think I know someone who does. Come with me." Dr. Campbell walks out of the room, followed by the two reluctant guards. She leads them to the infirmary, then into her office.
"What is all of this?" Jason reaches for the many plants in her office, only to have his swatted away by Dr. Campbell.
"Don't touch that. You have no idea what I had to go through to get all of this stuff. And if the queen finds out about any of this, she'll have me executed."
"Sorry. But what is all of this?" He asks again. The office was filled with several plants, some he recognized, some he didn't. But others felt oddly familiar.
"It's complicated. And we do not have the time to go through the exact origins of this stuff. Nor, a lifetime's worth of witchcraft experience."
"Witchcraft? You're a witch?"
"Yes. And so is your sister."
"So she is my sister?"
"I believe she is, yes." She takes a seat at the desk. "And she is to be taken seriously."
Dr. Campbell grabs his arms, gripping much tighter than he would have thought she would be able to.
"Wha-" before he can finish, an image comes into his head. An image of his sister stumbling through the woods, clearly weak. Then she comes across four campers, who can't be much older than seventeen. She falls to the ground, begging for help. However when one of them gets close, she places her hand on their forehead. The color drains from their skin, before collapsing to the ground. The other three try to run away, only to be pulled back by a spell. She does the same to the three people as she had done to their friend. The image fades just as the color drains from the trio.
Dr. Campbell lets go of him, and he stumbles, almost falling until Tommy catches him. Jason shakes his head as the sensation passes. "What was that?"
"That was an example of just how far your sister is willing to go. And you're going to need all the help you can get." Dr. Campbell stands up, reaching into a drawer. She pulls out a piece of paper, handing it to Jason. "There's an old witch who lives at this cottage. She might be able to help you find a way to defeat your sister."
"Thank you."
"Oh… and you might need these, " Dr. Campbell pulls two black cloaks seemingly out of nowhere, "to protect you from being detected by your sister. Even as guards, outside the castle you would have little to no protection against her magic."
Once nighttime comes, Jason and Tommy venture to the witch's cottage. They follow the directions to the witch's cottage, while being sure to stay out of sight as they walk through the kingdom. Two strange men in black cloaks wandering the kingdom, and the bulge created by their respective swords probably wouldn't help their case.
Jason feels a tug on the bottom of his cloak, and he looks down, already geared up to kick whoever was there. But he finds that it was just a little girl, not much older than four or five. She smiles up at him, revealing her missing front teeth. There's splotches of dirt on her face, as well as stuck in her blonde hair. There's rips in her clothes, and her stomach rumbles loudly. "Do you have any food, sir?"
"I'm sorry I don't have-" he starts, before feeling something in his hand. He raises his hand, seeing a granny smith apple in his hand. "I guess I do have food."
He hands the girl the apple, who beams up at him. "Thank you!"
Her little arms wrap around his leg, before running off through the bushes. He shakes his head to clear it, before turning back around to catch up with Tommy. He pushes through the bushes, finally coming upon the cottage. "What took you so long?"
"Sorry. I um got hung up." He says, unsure of how to explain what just happened. He shakes his head again. "Are you ready?"
"Yes." They approach the door, and Jason raises his hand to knock on the door. But the door swings open, the smell of food wafting through the now open door.
"Come in boys." A lady's voice says from inside the cottage. They enter the cottage, eventually seeing a woman standing in the kitchenette, with her back to them. She turns around, waving her hand and the door closes behind them. She gestures to the seats at the bar counter. "Take a seat."
Both of them exchange a look before doing as told. Jason says, "you're the witch?"
"Yes. What were you expecting?"
"I don't know. Dr. Campbell said an old witch lived here."
"In her defense, she's not wrong. In human years I am old, but we witches have our ways of slowing down our aging process. And Aisha has lived among humans for quite a long time." The witch turns back towards them with two plates of food in her hands. She slides the two plates in front of them. "I hope you're hungry. And take those cloaks off, no one can hurt you here."
The witch then leaves the room, leaving the two alone. They shed their cloaks which disappear the instant they are removed. The witch returns to the room, with a rather large book in her arms. He was actually surprised that she could even carry it. Especially when she drops it on the countertop, and it makes a loud thud. "Now, Aisha tells me you have a witch problem on your hands."
"Uh yes we do. She said you might be able to help."
"I might just be able to do that." She opens the book. A picture of a necklace with a red gemstone appeared on the page. The witch gasps, "the gem?"
"What is it?" Jason asks. The witch rushes out of the room, the book closing on its own. "What was that about?"
"I have no idea."
The witch returns with that very necklace in her hand. "I never thought I'd see the day this got to be used. It's been sitting among my collection for close to four decades now."
She presents it to Jason, placing it around his neck. "You must be the one."
"The one?"
"A long passed psychic friend of mine told of a prophecy where an evil witch would set out to take over the kingdom, and her brother would be the only one able to stop her. As he would imprison her inside the gem."
"But how can you be sure? I'm not a witch."
"The correct term for a male witch would be a warlock, and this book has never steered me wrong before. You have to be the one, Jason." She touches his shoulder, a sensation passing through him. Similar to what Dr. Campbell had done to him in her office, except it wasn't accompanied by an image. Just a feeling. The witch lets go, and he shakes his head.
"We have to go."
"What is it? We didn't even touch our food."
"It's okay. You can take it with you." The witch waves her hand, and their cloaks have appeared over them again. And the plates of food have gone.
"Thank you-" Jason trails off.
"Trini."
"Thank you Trini. But we really have to go."