The orbs glow against the page, forming another constellation in the dark, throwing shadows on Hecate's face. The dark book only shows one constellation a night and Hecate had begun to read about the formation each night, falling asleep with the book in her arm. This night the actual sky is clear and the summer air was cooling down, so Hecate had opened the window and spotted a familiar group of stars. Not wanting to get caught awake, she had allowed herself to watch the dark sky only for a few minutes before returning to her bed.
In her room a W had formed. "Queen Cassiopeia, wife of King Cepheus and mother of Andromeda, was very beautiful. She boasted that she was the most beautiful woman in the kingdom. As time went by, she began to say that she was the most beautiful woman in the world." she read out loud, Minerva turning her ears up, listening to her voice. A beautiful woman appears in her book then, connecting the few dots scattered across the page, glowing in the darkness of her room.
Lying on her back, she looks up, watching the lights float, suddenly she feels trapped in her room, in desperate need of air. And just as she thinks she cannot take it anymore Minerva jumps up and out of the opened window.
"No! Minerva!" The lights go out, leaving her in complete darkness. Her familiar meows, far away. Forming a tiny orb of light, she goes after the cat, climbing outside. Her room is one of the highest of the castle and the cold air hits her hard. She's on the roof of the building, climbing higher and higher, until she reaches the cat, sitting on top. "Minerva we need to get back." her voice small and with pleading eyes she looks at her cat, but Minerva does not move. "Well, I'm not going to leave you here."
Her long legs rest on the cold roof bricks. Then her eyes drift upwards into the night sky; as she spots Cassiopeia in an instant Minerva snuggles up on her lap. When the sun comes up she still has not moved, but as soon as the first strokes of light hit her face, she climbs down.
At Cackles Saturdays are slow moving days. No classes, no activities, nothing to do in particular. Hecate sits in her usual spot in the library, a chair in the back near a small window, reading one of the books she is supposed to read. The dark circles under her eyes tell the story of her night, but her face glows nonetheless, still from excitement. It's the last book she has to read, so when she finishes this book it will be time to bring them back.
Knocking softly on the wooden door to the potions lab, she holds the stack of books, on top the dark blue one. "What do you want?" The voice is as harsh as ever but in the dark green eyes of her teacher lay a certain softness Hecate can't place.
"I wanted to bring your books back. I'm sorry to disturb you." Hecate stretches her arms out, offering the stack to the older witch.
"Let's see if you learned anything." The door opens wider, letting the thin witch in. "What belongs in every growing potion?"
"A rusted nail," she answers. She had read about it yesterday. A slight nod lets Hecate know that she answered correctly.
After another few questions, which she answers correctly as well, the teacher holds on for a minute. "What book did you enjoy most?" Again, her voice is stern, but her eyes have softened as they meet Hecate's.
"I really liked the healing book, but I loved the book about the stars. Its beautiful." Hecate's eyes start to glow.
"Yes, I do suppose you could call it beautiful. Did you finish it?"
"No, the book would only show me one constellation a night." the thin hand of the dark witch strokes the cover.
"It did have a tendency to do that." Hecate notices something else in her deep voice. Maybe it is sadness, maybe melancholy, it is hard to tell.
"Here," the boney hands grab the book, holding it out to her. "Keep it."
And as Hecate takes the book her teacher's hand retreats so fast, as if it had been burned or even tempted to grab the book again. "I think we can carry on to something more difficult, if you have the time to watch the stars. Here, finish this potion." She fills up a bottle and hands out a kettle with a small scrap of paper. "And don't disappoint me. You have until Sunday afternoon."
With that Hecate is shoved outside, clinging onto the book and kettle with her life. "I won't." she says even though no one can hear her here.