Chapter 4

Magic Isn't for Those with Weak Stomachs

Witch

Oh I don't even want to talk about what happened at the Goddess Tree with the Wizard. Of all the times to be confident in myself it was probably the stupidest. But OH, with Gale muttering in my ear about what a bad idea it was I just couldn't help but do it anyway. So I pulled out my chalk and I cast a haphazard spell to restore the Goddess and her Tree, the source of her power. Big surprise when it didn't work, right? Even bigger surprise when the stupid thing backfired.

So there I was, trapped as a frog with Gale giving me that stupid look of disappointment. Curse him! Curse the stupid gray hair on his head! Curse those awful crystal necklaces! I hopped away as fast as I possibly could, embarrassed beyond belief but still somehow glad that cold-blooded animals didn't blush. Not that I'd ever admit that I'd done the wrong thing, or that I was embarrassed. Such a thing was beneath me as Witch Princess and the last thing I'd do was tell the Wizard that he had a better grasp on magic than I did. I mean the guy was a total bookworm, no wonder he knew all the technical stuff! He knew it himself anyway, that disappointed look said it loud and clear. The guy really needed to lighten up, he was even more of a spoilsport now that he was shutting himself in his room all the time.

It wasn't long before I was back in my cottage, my little frog lungs heaving and the door having been opened and closed with what magic I could muster. I slept through the remainder of the night out of exhaustion but I rose with the sun when I felt a presence enter the forest. What was meant to be an internal groan escaped my mouth as a ribbit and I sent myself into a frenzy of frustration at the entire situation. When I'd finally calmed down enough to focus on the present moment, I realized that it was that overactive person, Luke, the bumbling blue haired doofus, back to bother me again. I definitely couldn't have him finding me like this. Anyone but him!There was no way someone so scatterbrained would be able to help me out. I needed the Wizard, but I wasn't going to ask for his help any time soon! I focused hard and I strengthened the spells surrounding my swamp. No, that boy certainly wouldn't be finding his way back so close to my home any time soon.

Weeks passed with me stuck as a frog. Maybe even months. Honestly I stopped counting the days when I got so hungry that I actually joined the natural frogs outside in eating flies. It wasn't the grossest thing I'd done over countless years of spells gone awry, but it was up there. When the energy that was constantly trying to work its way into my grove gave way to a new, calmer energy, I let the person in.

A different young man emerged from the forest this time; he simply opened my door when I couldn't respond to his knocking. He cautiously poked his head around the door, then fully entered when no one responded to his intrusion. He carried himself differently than Luke, with a more balanced stride and a look of sharp observation on his face. In a way, he seemed to resemble Gale in his younger years, with the way he took in everything around him. "Hello?" He called. I jumped up and down and ribbitted shamelessly; I was sick of being a frog. "Witch?" He looked around and then approached me, a concerned cast to his bow. There was something charming about his shaggy brown hair and how obvious it was that he had a stake in whatever was going on here. I continued to make myself plainly obvious and thanked that goddess that my hat was still tied firmly onto my head. If this kid couldn't figure it out then he was even dumber than Luke! He simply murmured an "oh dear…" before turning and leaving my cottage.

I could practically feel myself deflating when he shut the door behind himself. This was not good. How much longer would I have to stay like this? It hadn't really been terribly long but the season had passed well into the summer time and I was growing impatient with my slimy little limbs and eating flies. Still, I wasn't going to go running to the Wizard for help. I would sooner die than admit my defeat.

Maybe a week later, I felt that new person enter my forest, with Gale leading him along. Had he gone for help? My emotions warred between sweet relief and utter embarrassment. In the end I let them enter my grove and when they came through my door the young man still had that look of concern on his face. Cute. Gale walked forward with his stupid mask of complete passiveness firmly placed over his features, immediately putting me in a mood of frustration. Damn his control! He'd responded much differently to our long life span than I had. I forced myself to remain completely still as he took the little vial out of his pocket and dumped it over my head. The room lit up with magic and I grew back to my full size – thank all the Gods and Goddesses! "YES! I'm finally back to normal!" I shouted with a big smile, overwhelmed momentarily with relief and setting my irritation aside. Hardly a moment had passed before I had flipped my hair over my shoulder and squared myself up with Gale. I placed my hands onto my hips and put on my best glare, stamping my foot. "What the heck took you so long!?" I shouted, and noticed the anxious expression that came over the new man's face as he backed towards the door slightly. Good, he ought to be scared of the Witch Princess. "I was stuck as a frog for FOREVER! I had to eat flies! And I was slimy! It was AWFUL! "

The Wizard exhaled slowly, his face not changing even slightly as I got up in his face. "I warned you… not to use that spell…"

Of all the things to say, that was the wrong one! I was positively fuming, how dare he! "So you left me as a frog to teach me a lesson!? That's just CRUEL!" I shrieked. The Wizard paused and looked at me. His eyes remained level and infuriating.

"Well, did it work?"

"ARGH! You make me so mad!" I shouted furiously. This whole situation was completely ridiculous. He could have come to save me at any point but had chosen not to! And he called me the fickle one! Stupid, grudge holding immortal. I dropped my hands from my hips and glared at him for a moment longer before letting my face drop into a passive expression as well. "I hate you. Get out." I said icily, finishing with a big huff and crossing my arms. I watched as his eyes widened almost imperceptibly and I got a sort of sick satisfaction from it. Something about rattling that impeccable calm he had adopted made me feel accomplished; he'd changed dramatically over these past years. I was almost hoping that he would shout back at me, like he sometimes would when we were young.

Cue disappointment. Gale just murmured something quietly like "Never a more passionate woman have I met" before bowing deeply and turning on his heel to walk directly out the door. I stifled the sound of disgust in my throat and raised an eyebrow at the new boy, who looked slightly more terrified at this point, before he quickly followed Gale out of my cottage. I rolled my eyes, ran my hands through my long hair, and smoothed over my appearance for a few moments, silently thankful that I was finally me again.

I heard to door behind me open and my skin prickled at the intrusion; he hadn't even knocked! He was becoming a repeat offended for barging into my house, and I wasn't particularly fond of him feeling quite that comfortable with me. I turned towards the person with a glare and he shuffled awkwardly as he looked at me. "What." I snapped. "If you're a friend of the Wizard, go on and get out of here already!"

"Um…" He delayed "I'm not exactly with Wizard, I just needed his help finding you. You wouldn't believe the ridiculous list of rare items he had me find him for that potion." I wrinkled my nose up at that. I knew full well that a reversal potion made by Gale of all people wouldn't require many rare ingredients. He had made things more difficult than they needed to be on purpose, the wretch.

"Fine. You can stay." I snapped.

"The name's Kasey" he said pleasantly, scratching at the back of his head under my glare. I turned from him and walked into my kitchen, grown dusty with months spent as a frog, and settled in next to my cauldron.

"Witch Princess." I replied tersely. Kasey followed me into the kitchen, staying at a respectable distance. "Well?" I asked, quirking my brow and crossing my legs as I sat down on my stool. Obviously he wasn't just here to exchange pleasantries.

"Do you… Do you know anything about the green bell? You uh... Well…" He said. The way his speech trailed off at the end and he shifted uncomfortably told me that there was something else that he was afraid to say. Probably he was just about to accuse me of stealing the bell and had thought better of it. Well good for him. Not that he would have exactly been far off; I had taken the bell out of the windmill some months ago when I'd first taken an interest in the plight of the land. But I hadn't been able to do anything with it, so it was probably lost somewhere in the pile of junk under the counter.

"Oh… Well I think I might have something green in my collection." I said, almost singing. This would be a fun game, I decided as I left my stool and leaned underneath the counter. I was determined to give Kasey a bit of a hard time after he'd taken so long to get me turned back into my human form. After about 20 minutes of pulling out every green thing I owned and him telling me that it wasn't the bell, I was almost ready to end my little game. His face grew more and more concerned and I suppressed the urge to giggle every time his eyebrows knitted together and he told me no. Well of course these things weren't the bell, but I couldn't help but take pleasure in his slowly growing frustration. He was quite the patient one.

"YES! That's it! Can I please have it!?" He said with a huge grin and a sense of relief about him when I finally presented the Goddess's bell. I pursed my lips and turned over the heavy thing in my hands.

"Well… Yea I guess so." I said and tossed it over my shoulder. I almost burst out laughing when I heard his little squeak of surprise as he caught it.

"Thank you!" He shouted and then took off out of my cottage. I nearly hoped that he'd come back sometime. He was good at my games.

Author's Note: So I'm going to mostly be posting short little chapters like I have been, and they'll continue to alternate between the Witch and Luke's perspective. But, there will be a LOT of chapters I think! As you've seen, the chapters won't always include both characters. Anyway, I've written several chapters ahead and I'm now in the process of revising them. I think what I'll do is continue this pattern of posting two chapters each week - one for Luke and one for the Witch - as long as my schedule permits me to do so.

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