Hello everyone! Happy October! I love this chapter title and we hope that you all will enjoy this chapter!
Chapter 8: Which witch is which?
Luna started her journey towards the Witch's home in the woods early the next morning. Luna was up so early that the sun had just rose past the hills and the morning haze was still heavy in the air. Luna did not know how far she would have to travel into the woods but she knew that if it got too late, she could teleport back to the village.
"Leaving so soon?'' A tiny voice yawned and popped out of Luna's hood.
"Yeah." Luna gave a tired smile.
"Why so early though?" Uranus rubbed his beady eyes.
"Because I don't exactly know where the Witch's lair is and l don't know how big the forest is," Luna shuffled a satchel around her neck, "I am going to assume that the witch lives in the center of the forest though or more towards the backside."
"How do you know?" Uranus twisted his body around, "Uh oh... you have company."
Luna quickly turned, and only saw Cam running towards her. "What are you doing up?"
"I wanted to wish you luck before you left." He hugged her waist and Luna noticed how much energy the child had now that he was fed a decent meal.
"Thank you," Luna hugged him gently but it meant alot to her that he came to see her off, "I'll be back by dusk."
"But you won't get very far if you come back so early," Cam pointed out.
Luna kissed his forehead, "Don't worry, I'll be back."
Cam held up his pinky to her and asked, "Promise?"
"Promise." Luna interlocked her pinky with his and she waited for him to head home before she left for her quest.
Luna had been searching for about three hours and the humidity in the forest was only rising with each hour.
"Can't you do something about this weather, Uranus?" Luna breathlessly asked her companion.
"No." Uranus then said on a cheery note, "But Jupiter can!"
"What do you mean that Jupiter can?" Luna felt that she passed the tree one her left at least four times.
"He controls the sky and the lightning," Uranus explained, "And besides, he is much older than me."
Is he talking about a storm? Luna wondered, If Jupiter falls through the sky like Uranus did, Jupiter might fall during a thunderstorm.
"Hey!" Uranus pointed past Luna, "What's that?"
Luna looked towards the direction of his finger and saw a large stone fortress. "You have to be kidding me!" Luna groaned and trudged towards the fortress.
"I am not kidding you," Uranus crossed his arms and pouted, "I want to know what that is."
"That would be the witch's lair." Luna groaned again, "And I really hope that it's easy to navigate through." Luna approached the fortress quietly and hid by the closest tree.
"Why do you say that?" Uranus asked.
"Because that looks like it would take a day and a half to navigate through." Luna frowned at the thought of it. Just as Luna was about to take a step forward she was pulled back by someone. "What the...?!" Luna's mouth was muffled and her back was pressed hard against the tree. Luna could tell just by this person's stature that it was a man. She could not see his face because of his hood, and at the moment she could not move.
"I thought I heard something over here!" A voice shouted from a close distance.
Four pairs of feet rushed closer to them and the closer that they approached them the closer the man got to Luna. From a small hole in his hood, Luna could see at least two sets of guards running side by side past where they were hidden. Luna knew that the threat was gone once she felt the man loosen his grip. Without wasting another second, Luna ignited her hands and burned his cloak.
He panicked and threw off his cloak. Luna could see the blue in his eyes, "You!"
"What the hell was that for!?" He cursed loudly.
Luna answered as cool as she could, "That was too close for comfort." She darted her glance away from his eyes. Why do I always get a weird feeling when I look at him?
"Is that what I get for saving your life?" He growled a bit softer.
"I would have been fine on my own." Luna answered stubbornly.
Luna walked off towards the castle when she heard him call out, "You're walking into a trap!"
"No I'm... Wah!" Her left ankle was pulled out from underneath and the next thing that Luna knew was she was dangling from a tree branch about five feet off of the ground. Luna growled at the trap and threw a fireball at the branch. The branch was unaffected by the flame. "What?" Luna gasped.
"The fortress is protected from all magic," The man met Luna at eye level, "You need a knife to cut your way out." He pulled out a knife, "Which I just happen to have."
Luna growled, "Then get me down."
"Only if you say please." He teased her.
He was so close to her that Luna could smell his fresh scent. Luna blushed and was irked by the idea, "Please."
"Please what?"
He's enjoying this... Luna glared and threatened, "Get me down or I'll scorch you."
He backed up defensively with his hands in the air and called for a truce. Then he pushed the knife against the rope around her ankle and sawed at the rope. Once freed, Luna landed hard onto the ground. She jumped up and dusted off her clothing. Without a thanks, Luna watched her step as she pushed forward towards the witch's lair. Luna could hear his footsteps close behind her but she paid no mind until he spoke up.
"You're heading the wrong way." He said once they entered the lair.
Luna spun around and growled, "Who are you?"
"Turn left." He pointed left and headed in that direction.
Luna, vexed by his behavior, stomped closer to him and flicked her wrists towards the ground. Vines sprawled around her and shot up his legs. The vines grew tighter around his legs the more that he struggled.
"Are you mad?!" He harshly snapped and pulled at the vines.
Luna laughed loudly, "Oh! I have been called worse things than mad, honey." She pushed the vines towards the closest wall and slammed him hard against the stone. Luna approached him with dominance and smirked, "Now, tell me your name or I will slowly roasted you to a crisp." She allowed her fingertips ignite with fire that was ready to dance.
"There's another round of knights coming," The man listened closely, "We have to hide or they'll catch us."
"Give me your name." Luna ordered.
"We have to hide!" The man snapped. The knights were approaching at a faster pace.
"I am so much more terrifying than them," Luna emphasized and placed one of her flaming tips to his thigh and allowed the fire to spread along his clothes, "Now, if you want the flames to stop, then tell me your name." She loved taunting him.
"Artemis!" He yelled and immediately Luna called back her flames and pressed her body close to him and cast a cloaking spell.
"I thought I heard the noise coming from this way!" The head knight of that search party called out. The six guards jogged passed Luna and Artemis. Sometime within that quick shuffle, Luna managed to cover Artemis' s mouth with her hand to keep him quiet and once they were positive that the trouble had passed, Luna lowered her hand.
"And you thought that we were too close before." He smirked at Luna who then jumped back.
She coughed, "So, how do you know so much about this place?"
"I just do." Artemis pulled at the vines, "Now, let me go."
"You know what," Luna smiled devilishly, "I have a better idea." She did not lower the vines, but she did move them off of the wall, "You are going to be my personal tour guide." She poked at his chest, "Now which way, mister?"
He nodded his head up, "Up those flight of stairs and veer right."
Luna, with her palm up, bent her index finger twice at Artemis as if silently she said, "come on", and the vines inched forward behind Luna. Once at the top of the stairs they took the right and the entrance of the witch's room was not hard to miss. The door was elaborate with mystical gems of all different colors and detailed with carvings of ancient spells.
"This woman certainly loves her jewels." Luna ran her hand along the trim of the door.
"Now that we're here," Artemis tugged on his vines, "Can you release me?"
"Why would I do that?" Luna faced him and winked, "You're going to stay right here until I come out."
"I could get caught!" Artemis glared.
"No you won't," Luna gave a small laugh and pushed him against the wall. She placed the same cloaking spell on him as before, and she opened the doors to the witch's room.
The room was large and empty. The only things in the room were the people in the front of the room and one female in a throne chair. The blonde on the throne was dressed in a black dress that was not too revealing, but it was enough for anyone to take another glance, and an overly large onyx stone that draped around her neck. Her hair was long, blonde, and curly and her eyes were dark brown. She appeared to bored as she listened to her guards squabble. Luna brightly displayed her aura, which only people of magic can see, and boldly walked closer to the front of the room.
The woman glanced up alarmed and irritated, "And who might you be?"
"Just a villager," Luna looked around the room, "Nice place you've got here."
"Are you an idiot?" The witch snorted.
"Maybe," Luna shrugged and pointed at a pillar, "Is this marble? This is a nice piece of work."
"Why are you here?" Witch sat upright on her throne and leaned closer to Luna.
"Oh, no particular reason," Luna answered and gazed down at her nails, "Just trying to see what you know about the Harvest Goddess."
"Why do you want to know about her?" Witch's hands gripped the ends of the arms of the chair.
"Just curious." Luna smirked and formed a fist.
"Well, have you ever heard of curiosity killing the cat?" She snapped, "Guards! Seize her!"
The guards circled Luna and pointed iron spears at her. Luna laughed, "Look princess," She crossed her arms and leaned to one side, "Have you ever heard of knowing your enemy before you strike? "
"Why should it matter?" The blonde laughed, "You're just a waste of my time."
Luna realized, "You can't see my aura, can you?"
"What?" Witch snapped.
She's not an actual witch. Luna closed her eyes and smiled widely, "I just learned something very vital today, princess, and it's all thanks to you." Luna filled the room with a black smoke to blur the vision of the guards in the room. Luna dropped to the ground as everyone coughed around her.
"Find... Her!" Witch coughed in between each word. While the guards scurried around to find Luna, she escaped out the door.
"What the hell went on in there?!" Artemis grew wide eyed as Luna emerged from the smoke filled room.
Luna coughed while she laughed and grabbed Artemis, which released his bound spell, "Illusion... gone wrong!" She coughed and raced through the fortress towards the nearest window.
"The stairs are in the other direction!" He tried to pull her back, but she pushed forward.
"No time for that!" Luna skidded to a halt and the window and looked down towards the ground. They were about fifty feet off the ground, "Perfect!"
"You really are mad!" Artemis leaned over the edge and stared at the bottom.
"And off you go!" Luna shoved him over the edge and she jumped after him. In midair, Luna created a cloud that was light enough to still float, but dense enough to carry them. Luna laughed once she landed in the cloud, "Have you ever traveled by cloud before?"
"You are one crazy, mad witch." Artemis rolled his eyes angered.
"Eh," Luna shrugged as she steered the cloud towards the village, "The madder the better."
This chapter was written to "Alone" by Armin Van Buren ft. Lauren Evans and Luna's craziness in this chapter is inspired by "Bitch" by Meredith Brooks. Scipio had much influence on this chapter! Again, we hoped that you all enjoyed this and if you have time, please leave a review so we can know how we are doing. Thank you for reading!