Chapter 8 is up, FINALLY!! Please read and review.
At the edge of the woods, Ella and Areida split up and headed back to their homes. It was almost noon when Ella finally got home. Just as she got to the front gate of her house, Mandy, her house fairy, rushed out to greet her.
"Ella!" she shouted, anxiously, as she threw her arms around Ella. Ella smiled and hugged her back. Although she'd always thought of Mandy as a big sister, after her mom had died, Ella had felt that she was the closet thing to a mother she had. Yeah, Dame Olga needed some serious work on her parenting skills.
"Ella, where've you been all night? I've been worried…What is that?" Mandy had just noticed Ella's rainbow horse.
"Oh, that?" replied Ella, "That's Rainbow. Not a very original name, I know, but she seems to like it. Anyway, Areida and I got lost in the woods yesterday, but we were found by a very friendly witch living in the woods. She took us back to her farm and gave us a place to stay for the night. And because we helped out and were so nice, she gave us each a rainbow horse, and a few other things, as a gift. I'll show you later."
Mandy nodded as she listened. "Oh, before I forget, your father sent a letter this morning. And thanks for showing up when you did. I wasn't sure how I was going to explain that you had wandered off into the woods and vanished yesterday."
Ella looked a little embarrassed. "Sorry. So what did Dad say?"
Mandy smiled. "Well, he said he found a job in Lamia."
Ella couldn't contain her excitement. "Oh my gosh!"
"Yeah, he found a development company that needed an architect."
"An architect? Wow, Dad's been talking about getting back into architecture since, well, a long time."
"He wants you and me to meet him in Lamia as soon as possible."
"And what about Hattie, Olive and Dame Olga?"
Mandy smiled again. "Your Dad said the divorce is almost final, so we won't have to worry about them much longer."
Ella giggled, excitedly and hugged Mandy again. "Can't you tell I'm having a great day?"
"Yes, I can," Mandy replied, finally letting go of Ella. "Now let's get you inside. You look like you could use some lunch, and maybe, a change of clothes."
"Maybe a little," agreed Ella. "but first, I'm going to take Rainbow to the stable." Ella took her horse and led it toward the stable, while Mandy headed back into the house.
Around the side of the house, behind the bushes, Hattie and Olive listened intently.
"Did you hear that?" asked Hattie.
"Yeah," said Olive, "Ella's hungry and needs to change her clothes." (Okay, maybe just Hattie.)
"No, no!" Hattie snapped at her not-all-there sister, "Ella found a witch who gave her lots of nice stuff." Hattie gasped, excitedly. "Are you thinking what I'm thinking?"
Olive stared blankly for a moment. "Uhh…"
"No, of course, you're not. Just hush up. What I'm thinking is that we need to find this witch and make her give us nice stuff."
Now Olive gasped, excitedly. "Hattie, that's brilliant!"
"I know," replied Hattie, "but we'll need to discuss it with mother."
Later that evening, Hattie and Olive discussed what they had overheard with their mother. Dame Olga's expression didn't seem to change at all during the conversation.
"So Ella and Areida found a witch in the forest, who gave them expensive gifts? Very interesting."
"It's funny," said Olive, "You say you're interested, but you don't look interested."
"It's the Bat-ox (Botox), Olive," Dame Olga replied, "I can't show emotion for another two hours."
"Anyway," stated Hattie, "We had a chance to look through Ella's things, when she left her bedroom. She hid most of good stuff, she probably knew we'd be interested, but we found some nice ball gowns, some books, hardly worth mentioning, and a few interesting trinkets. Also, we heard that she'd gotten some gold. We couldn't find it, though. It figures she'd hide that first."
"Indeed," said Dame Olga.
"So what do you think, mother? Should we go find this witch?"
Dame Olga thought for a moment, and then forced a faint smile.
"Yes, girls. Your stepfather is about to finalize the divorce, so any riches we can get would be greatly appreciated. Now, how do you plan to find the old witch?"
Hattie fell silent for a moment. She hadn't had a chance to think about that part yet. Then, Olive held up a crystal ball.
"With this!" she announced.
Hattie gaped. Dame Olga continued to stare, blankly.
"Olive, where did you get that?" exclaimed Hattie.
"In with Ella's things," answered Olive, "It was just sitting there, and it seemed to call to me."
Hattie threw her arms around her airhead sister and hugged her, tightly. "Olive, for once. your kleptomania has paid off!" Olive was speechless. She must've done good. Hattie never hugged her for any reason.
"Very well," said Dame Olga, "You girls have a go! Find that witch, and bring back any riches you can. We won't be poor for much longer!"
