A/N: Sorry for the wait but I should be posting the next three chapters to this shortly after this! Enjoy.

The next morning Hyun Ryu woke feeling refreshed for the first time in his life. Despite his wounds he felt so comfy within the layers of fur. He could hear birds chirping outside and feel the sunlight warming his face. Forcing him up at the smell of food Hyun Ryu rubs the eyes and sees the cottage much more clearly now in daylight. Messier than he remembered. The amount of books that consumed the furniture, but littered the floor too shocked him.

Walking on tip toes, He tries not to step on anything the Women might deemed important to her. He takes in the sights of the her home, feeling small. When he gets to the kitchen he sees a pot on the stove and a wooden spoon stirring itself with spices also being thrown in by an invisible hand. He watches in awe, as the Women comes up behind him.

"Are you ready to eat?" She sits down across the table and with the wave of her hand, Hyun Ryu watches as two bowls floated before them. Not just the bowls, the pot and spoons too also made their way to the table with no one helping. He didn't know what to say so he stared at the scene with his mouth gaped opened.

"Have you never seen magic?" She began to eat as she spoke.

"Ma-magic? I thought only...only witches could.." He didn't finish his sentence thinking back to what Father Kim also said about Magic.

'Magic is wicked by nature. Only those who cast away form God's loving grace turn to the power of Magic.'

The Witch smiled realizing he may not have seen any magic until now but he diffidently knew what it was, or rather what was said about it.

"Your right. Witches do use magic, but so do many other creatures in this world. Does me being a Witch bother you?" She tried to smile softy at Hyun Ryu but it came off more as a smirk if anything.

Hyun Ryu found himself answering right away, a habit he learned to do when addressing anyone, the faster he responded the less mad people seem to be at him.

"Yes! ...ah wait! No! No no! I'm sorry! I meant no..." The Witch laughed at his honestly. For a kid she didn't mind his quick outbursts. She could tell he still felt uneasy being here.

"It's alright you'll become adapt to it soon enough." Hyun Ryu sometimes found it hard to follow the witches words, she had a strange way of speaking. She went on to say everything in this house is magical, even his clothes. When they finished their meal she led him outside where he was able to really take in the sunlight.

"I thought the trees covered the sky..." Hyun Ryu's focus remains on the tree tops, they weren't as tell as he remembers either.

"The trees change throughout the day, making it so those who don't belong here never find this place. It would be wise to not stray far from the cottage they would even try and trick you."

"What do you mean 'trick me'? Who?" He looked around curious trying to find the other people around she was warning him about.

This only further amused the Witch. 'Maybe he is still to young to understand...' She wondered. She picked him up, choosing to hold him, when he started to wonder to fast for her liking.

"May I know your name?" Hyun Ryu stared at her for a moment completely taken aback that the two of them haven't shared their names yet.

"It's...Hyun Ryu..." saying it in a low whisper. He's always hated that name. It was the name a Nun gave him when he was just a baby. His parents didn't even want to name him anymore when they saw his deformity after birth. Whenever someone called him by that name, it was never kind. Always said with such disgust in their voices.

"Hyun Ryu is it...doesn't sound like a name fit for such a lovely boy. Why don't we change it?" Hyun Ryu became tense in her hold.

"Change it... Can I really?" The Witch set him back down by the front of the door to her cottage and watched as he stared back up at her. His eyes growing more wide with the thought of her suggestion.

"Of course your allowed to have any name you desire." She watched him ponder his mind for names, when she felt he might not know any names she took the job of renaming him in her own hands.

"How about...Zen?"

He tilted his head to the side. "Zen..Zen..Why that name?"

"I recently read a book on the Movement from the 11th century, it just seem to be the first thing to come to my mind. If it's not to your liking I can try another one-"

"No! I..ah..I like it..." He looked down as he played with his hands. He didn't quite understand her reasoning, but figured if she picked it, he wouldn't mind a name chosen by her.

"If I'm Zen! Then...what do I call you?"

"For now why don't you just call me Mc?" Zen found that name to be quite odd. He never heard of that before.

"Mc..?" She could tell the child was not accustomed to older names. But then again it had been awhile since she paid any attention to what humans were naming themselves these days.

"Yes. Mc, It's old fashioned I know, but it was once my name." Zen nodded his head, hoping that would show Mc he approved of addressing her by that.

"Now then, follow me. I have much to show you Zen." She begin walking towards the back of the cottage, Zen made sure to keep up with her pace. Holding on to her hand like he had seen the other kids do at the convent when walking with adults.

She guided him to an open field. There was a small garden next to a wooden deck, which connected to the inside of the cabin. Potted plants were everywhere, even more so than inside. There appeared to be a small garden with herbs, vegetables, and other plant life he never saw within the convents' garden. He rushed over to it, too excited to explore something new. She went over the different spices she grew with him, explaining what each did, how to care for them and such. Zen all while nodding his head didn't understand anything she was saying. Instead he let his eyes wandered, taking in all the new sights she had to show him.

Mc talked a lot that day, not that Zen minded. He liked hearing her tell him about all the things she had laying around. When they finished the garden she took him to each and every potted plant, informing him of their rarity. Zen found the plants with the most colorful flowers to be best. They were strange colors not like the ones found in the village, and she gave him a list of rules to follow too while he stays with her. The most important one being the strangest he thought.

"You are never to leave this area Zen. I mean it. It's too dangerous out there for you, I can't always be here to protect you, but if you stay within the grounds, you'll never face such harm."

At first Zen didn't mind the rule. In fact he much preferred to stay where he felt safe anyways. Besides as time passed, he found that Mc doesn't travel as much as she made him think she did. As weeks turned to months, and months turned to years, Zen found the Witch to be lazier than one would imagine. That being said, it didn't mean Mc wasn't doing anything. In fact his lessons started almost immediately. First she taught Zen how to read and write. Deeming it one of the most important power to have in life. Learning not just English but a vast variety of spoken and written languages. From faerie speech to goblin markings, Mc made sure Zen was knowledgeable in many areas of her work.

Once he was able to read, Zen found his days being filled with learning the vast collections of books and scrolls Mc had laying around the cottage. Everytime Zen thought he was getting closer to finishing all that there was, he would open a drawer to find even more. Not that he complained. He never thought he would be able to read. When he arrived to the Orphanage the Nun's refused to teach him with the other kids, declaring him too distracting for the other children. Before Mc, Zen would spend his days in the pasture out behind the church. Daydreaming of stories Father Kim had told him at weekly mass. Now he was spending all the time he had turning page after page, always sitting near Mc, when he had any questions. But reading wasn't the only task he found himself doing, Mc had him write a lot too. She claimed to have grown tired of the act and often had him record whatever spell or ingredients that she needed. Zen also learned quickly that Mc wasn't the best cook either.

What he once thought was delicious food was just simple flavoring magic she used whenever she needed nutrients. When Zen asked for something other than stew Mc found it hard to deliver. She could conjure up any meal he wanted with magic, but she never got the seasoning and taste of it quite right. Zen couldn't believe it at first, but he figured maybe Witches loss their sense of taste over time. Could it be from all those potions she makes and drinks or the endless herbs that she often smoked from her pipe all the time? Zen couldn't tell which. So they compromised, Mc would go to the nearest capital and bring back whatever books she found that was filled with recipes for Zen to cook. He knew she didn't like going out much, but after a year of flavorless mush, he found himself ordering the lazy Witch to fitch more books or ingredients they didn't have. Physically having to shove her out of the cabin to send her on her merry way sometimes.

By the time Zen was eight years old, did he start to feel lonely whenever she left for the market. Mc had a cat that would keep him company time to time. A stoic white feline with eyes as blue as the sky. Mc called her Elizabeth, stating she had been with her for many years. Zen loved Elizabeth, mainly for her white fur. At first he was always sneezing and scratching when near her, but like many over things Mc was able to cure his allergies of her with magic.

"Her fur is like my hair Mc! Look! Look!" Zen picked the cat up rather forcefully and carries her to the Witch.

"Be gentle Zen! She is far too old to be handled like a toy. Hold her like this. See?" Mc made sure to teach him properly how to hold a cat as special as Elizabeth.

"You must really like cats, your walls are covered in paintings of them! How many have you had? Are their any more of them around?" Zen starts to look around, there was always strange bugs and birds popping in and out of the cottage he wouldn't be shocked to find more cats lounging around either.

"No only her. All those photos are of Elizabeth, she's been with me for quite some time now." Zen burrowed his brows at her remark.

"But...The cats in the paintings are all blonde, Elizabeth furr is white?" Mc couldn't help but giggle at him

"You know it's rude to point out how old a lady is by the changing of her hair color, Zen." This only made him more confused though.

"Cats don't...change fur colors..do they?" Mc could see Zen was actually learning things within the short time he had been here.

"Well that's true, but Elizabeth is no normal feline. She's a human." Zen withdrew his hand from the cat so fast Elisabeth let out a soft meow in protest of the lack of petting she was receiving.

"Hu-human? But how?"

Mc knew she would have to tell him eventually, it's not like she really wanted to hide anything from the boy, just worried her past might scare him. Sighing she picks up Zen, noting how much heavier he has gotten in just two years.

"Zen I've told you before..That I wasn't always the nicest person before you came.." He stared up at Mc while she told him a story. Her face filled with remorse as she spoke.

Mc told him before she found him at the convent, she wasn't known as a 'Good Witch" just yet. She actually had quite the reputation of being known as dark summoner. During her darker days she spend a lot of time with monsters Zen had only ever heard in stories.

"I spent a lot of time up North, there lived a beautiful young women with hair so blonde it made her eyes just pop with color. She was no older than eighteen If I recall correctly. She never did harm, if fact the whole village just adored her. She was the daughter of nobble, lived a very comfortable life. She however choose to help those less foruturented then her. Always offering her hand to anyone, too kind to see even the darkest of intentions sometimes. Somewhere along the way that girl happened to fall in love. In love with a man that I was seeking attention from. That was Elizabeth. I was ruthless and uncaring back then, If I couldn't play with him then neither could she. So I turned her into a cat as punishment. Making so they couldn't be together."

Zen didn't know at the time how to process her confession. He knew she was wrong to transform her, but her reasoning to do so confused him. Maybe it was his age, he wondered. He didn't understand why Mc would do something so mean.

"But over time I grew to regret the awful deed I done. You see that man I was so obsessed with at the time, well...He was just playing a trick on the young lady. Wanting to see just how far I would go to make sure no one else interfered. " Mc felt ashamed to retell her mistakes to Zen, especially since she knows it won't be the last time she has to revisit this tale and many others to him as he grows.

"Well if your sorry why don't you just turn her back?" That made Mc laugh while Elizabeth just meowed as if annoyed.

"Sorry Elly." She started to gentle pet Elizabeth's head. "You see a spell done out a hatred is...quite hard to undo. At the time I wasn't just mad I was...furious. Her cruse is something I tried for years to uncast, but it seems some things just can't be fixed with magic Zen. No matter how hard you try."

Since then Zen had made sure to treat Elly, as Mc would call her, nicely. When Mc was out traveling or gathering supplies, he would often chat with her. She couldn't ever respond with much more than a 'meow' but Zen liked knowing that Elly was able to understand him. There was only so much a cat could entertain the young lad for though. After Zen's ninth birth year, he was growing restless, wanting to explore beyond the forest. Even just for a bit.

The first time he ever went past the tree line, was when Zen realize just how crafty the trees were. Zen never meant to stray too far, he only wanted a look. But as soon as he stepped further in, he couldn't help himself. Everything was just so new, he loved his life with Mc at the cabin, but he forgotten what it was like to race thru a forest. To play with imaginary thoughts as he climbed trees, not caring their bark scratched him. He wondered about for some time, it wasn't until sunset that he realized he should return before Mc came home. As he started to go in the direction of where he thought he entered from did things start to get troubling.

Mc warned him they weren't normal trees before. Yes he knew that. During the day they were like every other oak or aspen, but when nightfall came, they took on a much more dreary look. They would sprout up tall, growing branches that covered not only the sky but the space below too. Even the ground seemed to change form. What once was a trail lined with yellow Hellebores leading the way to their cottage, now became a rocky path with thorns that would burgeon about. It was like every step Zen took, the layout of the woods would shift, making it impossible to guess which way was home.

For the first time since he left the convent did panic ensue Zen's mind. He was lost. Not only that, he had broken Mc's rule. The only ruled she ever seemed to care about. He could get in whatever trouble his heart wanted to back in the safety of their cabin, but leaving was something Mc basically forbid of him. Zen figured he if just continue to walk he would eventually find his way out. So he started to run, in any direction that he could find a clearing to get threw, but the branches started to grow lower. Almost as if they were reaching out towards him. Soon Zen was getting snagged by them, tearing holes in his clothes, leaving small scratches in his skin. As the cuts only seemed to get more frequent and deep did Zen start to wonder if they really were attacking him.

There was no wind blowing that night, so it didn't make sense their branches would be moving in such a way. Unless they really were alive. Now fear was creeping into Zen's mind. Fear of being caught by one of them. He started screaming now, shouting for Mc to save him. He didn't care if she was going to scold him for this, he much rather have her yelling over these trees anyday. But the louder he yelled the more the trees surrounded him, Zen tried to think of a way out. Climbing them was out of the question, he could barely see and didn't trust his ability to out climb the trees branches. The only other thing that came to Zen's mind was magic. He only knew simple spells at best, for cooking or cleaning. Spells that only seemed to help around the house not defend against monsters. Then a moment of clarity sparked within him, fire. He could cast a fire spell. He only ever focused on lighting candles or the stove but for once Zen tried to think bigger.

He imagined a whole tree catching a blaze. At first he felt like he was too nervous to even cast the damn spell. The sound of his heart pounding was all he could hear as he crouched down, bracing himself for more branches to swing at him, when loud crackling pop's starting to fill in the silence of the woods. Zen looked up just in time to see the nearest tree up in flames. Swaying backwards into a few other trees. What was once only one tree quickly spread to rest.

Zen watched in horror as most of the tree's around him started to ignite, the orange flames licking at anything they touched, threatening to devour anything that burned. If he doubted that the tree's could move before he knew for sure now they could. The ones that were yet untouched by the heat, retreated back, leaving Zen in an open clearing with the rest of the burning monsters. Before Zen could even registered that he needed to get up and make a run for it, a familiar figure stood in front of him. Mc.

She grabbed Zen by the arm roughy. Once she confirmed a tight enough grip on him she whirled around and began chanting. He was too alarmed by her sudden appearance to catch which spell she used, but soon everything around them started to go black. All fires slowly dying out as Zen caught on as to which spell she used. It was like a large dome was all around them, sucking out the air within. Taking away the main fuel for the flames was working as each tree started to toppled over. Zen was also quickly finding out that it was becoming harder for him to breathe as well. He would gasp but it felt like even his own oxygen was being pushed out by the spell as well. He reached for Mc, gasping harder this time, feeling faint with each second.

She glanced down at him, her green eyes shining with a bright furlencent glow to them. Mc was still chanting, clearly not affected from the lack of air. Zen almost thought she wasn't going to stop either until she let go of his arm, and air filled his lungs. He coughed for a bit, regaining his balance. Zen was so relieved to see her, even when she grabbed him by his collar and dragged him back to the cottage. He still felt out of breath as they re-entered their home, but the moment Zen caught sight of the bed, he basically dashed towards it. All he wanted now was to let sleep take him but he knew Mc was still standing at the entrance.

Zen carefully turn to face her, knowing all too well he was in trouble. More then in trouble. Mc walked over to him in such a stride Zen was sure she was about to smack him. When she did reach him, Mc simply fell to her knees and embraced Zen. He was confused for sure, this wasn't what he had in mind as punishment for breaking her rules. He sat there frozen waiting for her to curse at him, then he heard her soft cires. His back tensed up and Zen tried to process what was happening. Mc never cried, not once in three years has he ever witness such an scene from her.

"Mc...are you..why are you..crying?" She pulled back exposing her face. Wet cheeks and she had such a pitiful look to her expression. Zen started to get unnerved. 'Had I done this?' His thoughts started to take off in a whirlwind of worry as he started to take in the effect of his actions. She wasn't going to yell at him or beat him for disobeying her. Mc was scared, Zen had made her scared.

"No! No don't cry! Mc...I- I didn't...mean for..No please don't cry! Not for me…" Zen started to choke on his words, he didn't know what to say. He didn't know how to comfort her. Why would she cry over him.

He started to aggressively pat her head like she had for him when he cried, but the action only messed up her hair. "Oh! No I...Mc please..please stop! I'm ok really! Please...please don't cry.." Zen said the words, but as soon as he did, he began to feel a hard lump form in his throat and tears escape from his own eyes.

His sobs grew louder and his own cries filled the rooms of the cottage. He never felt so sorry, but even that didn't fit the emotion he was feeling. Was it guilt, he couldn't be sure, but seeing Mc so upset only made his chest pinch with pain. He tried to wipe his face wanting to gain composure but as soon as he finished more tears would form with each hic-up that escaped his mouth. Zen felt Mc move to sit besides him, resting her arm around his shoulder as he leaned into her. The two didn't speak. She let him cry for sometime until he quieted to a soft whimper. When he finally felt his heart beat return to a steady pace, did Zen apologize.

"Mc, I'm sorry…" She got up without saying a word. Walking towards her study before calling out to him.

He got up to follow, when he found her she was holding an assortments of herbs and small jars, filled with purple liquid. "Crush the leaves into a fine powder. I'll go get the bath ready for you, when you finished, I'll have some food made."

Mc left and Zen was left alone to complete the task. He did everything as quick as he could, partly because he was tried, the other part because he knew Mc wouldn't sleep until he was fed. She always did this, never letting Zen skip a meal. That night was the first of many for him. While he swore not only to Mc but to himself, that he wouldn't ever leave the grounds again, those feelings of entrapment crept into his mind again. While he didn't feel that way for almost another year, the urge to explore only grew over time.