Sofia the First: New Beginnings

by kira444

Volume 1. Eleven year old Sofia Balthazar's life changed when her mother marries the king and she becomes a princess literally overnight. Now she must get used to her new home and family, while also learning how to be a princess of the realm. However, when she acquires a magical amulet, she must protect those she holds dear from threats human and nonhuman.

13. Rain

Chapter 13-Rain

While the royal children of Enchancia were in Tangu with their friends enjoying the hot, sunny weather (sans djinn spirits possessing little girls), their friends back in Rosemary enjoying nice, rainy weather that only seemed to get worse the deeper as they got deeper into Spring. The people were no stranger to rainy weather considering that April got pretty wet halfway through, but today the clouds were dark and gray, and the air smelled damp.

Dante walked along the dirt path leading to Rosemary, hands in his pockets, eyes suspiciously glancing up at the rather intimidating clouds above him as he prayed that he made it back to town before it rained. Cedric had sent him on an errand to deliver some medicinal ingredients to the local alchemist in the next town over. Of course, his master had confiscated his flying carpet after a little mishap he had with it (despite what Cedric says, the sorcerer clearly wasn't looking where he was going. Honestly, you'd think he'd learn by now).

"Ugh, I'm not going to make it back at this rate." Dante grumbled, glaring up at the sky. "Whoever said April showers needs to get a degree in meteorology because there's nothing about this that says rain showers. God damn it, Cedric…"

He jumped a bit when he heard the loud rumble of thunder just seconds before he felt the first raindrop. Dante cursed and muttered a shield spell over his head to block out the rain as it began to pour. It didn't take long before the light rainfall escalated into a downpour that, coupled with strong blowing winds, drenched the young magician as he ran down the road.

"I'm lighting your bedsheets on fire for this, Cedric!" Dante yelled over the deafening rain. "I swear on the old gods that I'll get my revenge!"

His rants were cut off when he heard something aside from the rain. He slowed down and strained his ears to listen for the sound. It was very faint, but his keen ears were just barely able to hear it. If Dante really focused hard enough, he could make out something. A melodious sound…a voice?

"Is that…singing?" Dante muttered to himself.

No sooner than he said that, something silvery shot out of the trees next to him. Dante stumbled back, just barely managing to deflect whatever the thing was with a magic shield. However, another projectile was shot at him, and it sliced into his shoulder as he tried to regain his footing.

Dante knelt down low and thrust his hand forward. "Gelu Telum!"

A large ball of solid ice materialized in his palm and shot forward like a bullet, slamming into the tree where the attacks came from. He barely took a breath when three more projectiles emerged from the trees, and he retaliated at the same time with a spell of his own.

"Obunbratio Duplicata!" Dante slashed his arm and sent out multiple bolts of shadow energy at the trees. They impaled everything in sight, from the trees to the bushes, just as the silver blades reached Dante. Two of them missed, but the third sliced into his upper thigh, staggering him. "Crap!"

Clapping his hands together, Dante tapped his shoes and chanted, "Vetnus Gradus!"

His shoes were encased in orbs of air and he sprinted forward, running faster than he normally would. The cut on his thigh stung terribly, but he ignored it in favor of getting as far away from whatever was attacking him at the moment. The fact that his assailant tried to impale him with another silver blade only made him run faster despite the pain.

XXXXXX

Lucinda looked out the window wearily with a look of boredom on her face. Balancing the tip of her witch's hat on her finger, she sighed and cursed the weather again.

"Rain, rain, go away," Lucinda drawled. "Come again never."

Rainy days were the absolute worst. Ruby and Jade were visiting her for the day, and she was so excited to take them flying on her broomstick, but then it started raining. One major rule about being a witch was that flying in bad weather like storms and hurricanes was a big no-no unless absolutely necessary. Lucinda's mother was off visiting the other members of their coven, which meant she would be away until the rain died down. So here she was, with nothing to do.

"Lucinda, are you alright?"

The little witch smiled and turned to the girl next to her. Jade stood there, wearing an overly long purple cloak over her shoulders that definitely did not feet her short frame. Purple wasn't her color, but that was Lucinda's opinion. She and Ruby were only visiting for the day, but if the rain continued like this, then they would have to spend the night. Which was just fine with her.

"I'm fine, Jade. Just bored out of my mind." Lucinda said.

Bored? How can you be bored in a house like this?" Ruby grinned as she opened a cabinet and screamed when a group of bats flew out at her.

"Meh, I'm used to this stuff. Just be sure not to go into the attic or the basement, okay? I don't want you two to have nightmares for the rest of your life." Lucinda said.

Jade and Ruby shared a troubled look. "Um, what's in the basement?" Ruby asked.

"You don't want to know." Lucinda asked.

"What's in the attic?" Jade asked.

"You don't want to know." Lucinda repeated.

The girls shared blank stares with each other before Jade said, "You're really not going to tell us, are you?"

"Nope."

"Darn."

Lucinda giggled at Ruby's disappointed expression and smiled. She had never felt this happy since she left Rudistan with her mother. When they split off from their coven and moved to Enchancia, Lucinda thought she would never enjoy living with the "normies", but the Great Mother had plans for her it seemed. Sofia was a blessing in disguise, and through her Lucinda slowly began to open up to the other children in the village. Among them she became close to Ruby and Jade.

Especially Jade.

Witches were mischievous by nature, Lucinda especially so considering her own mother was a hellion at her age growing up. They always kept to themselves and rarely performed their magic for other people except when they paid for potions or enchanted items. Most witches worked as medicine women on the side for money, otherwise they just stayed in their own communities.

Lucinda never thought that she'd be using her magic for reasons other than casing hexes on people. It was oddly satisfying to see the other children laugh and praise her for the various magic tricks she would do for them. And it made her heart flutter seeing Jade's face light up when Lucinda performed dazzling displays just for her. Lucinda tried really hard to ignore the fluttering. She failed every time.

"Lucinda, is your mom going to be okay in this weather?" Jade asked. "It's blowing pretty hard out there."

"Every witch worth her salt knows when to fly and when not to," Lucinda said. "And that storm is definitely when not to fly. Don't worry, she'll hole up somewhere safe and wait out the storm."

"Which means we're here by ourselves?" Ruby asked.

"Yup." Lucinda grinned, her eyes showing that familiar naughty glint she still had even though she mellowed out these days. "And that means we get to stay up for as long as we want!"

A knock on the door cut into their excitement. Jade and Ruby gave Lucinda a confused glance. "Were you expecting anybody?" Jade asked.

"No, I wasn't." Lucinda said with a frown. She stood up and walked over to the door. Standing there completely dry as if he wasn't standing in the middle of a rainstorm, was Dante.

"Dante?!" Ruby and Jade exclaimed.

Lucinda narrowed her eyes at him. "What are you doing here?" She asked suspiciously.

"Hey, girls," Dante gave them a pained grin. "Mind if I come in? I ran into a little trouble on the way back."

Ruby glanced at his bleeding shoulder. "Oh my god, you're bleeding!"

"Get inside before you get sick!" Jade ordered, gently pulling him inside the house and closing the door behind them. "Lucinda, can you—"

"Already on it." Lucinda already had her wand in hand and was summoning the medical supplies. Magician or not, refusing to offer hospitality to a guest was bad for witches. And she couldn't just leave the boy to bleed out on her porch. Sofia was too good an influence on her.

The girls brought Dante to the living room, where they sat him on the couch and got to work on fixing his wounds. Lucinda cut off a piece of his shirt and was working on a healing spell to stem the blood flow so that Jade could clean it properly. Ruby focused on the wound in Dante's leg, hissing when she saw how clean and deep the cut was.

"What happened to you?" Ruby asked. "Were you attacked?"

"Yeah, something attacked me when I was heading back to town. No idea what it was, but they attacked almost too fast for me to react." Dante hissed when Lucinda went to work on his leg. "Be gentle, will ya?"

"Just because I know healing magic, doesn't mean I'm a licensed doctor." Lucinda muttered, giving him a look. "So no backseat healing."

Dante huffed but said no more. Ruby and Jade watched in morbid fascination as golden light twirled around the bleeding cuts, slowly closing the wound, yet not entirely healing it. Lucinda said nothing but the required spells as she focused on ensuring that Dante's wounds stopped bleeding. When she was done, and put some healing ointment on the cuts and bandaged them up.

"Wow, you're really good, Lucinda." Jade marveled. Lucinda blushed and waved her off.

"I-It was nothing. Mom makes up healing ointments and medicines for the townspeople for a living, and I'm just using what she taught me." She said, trying to play off her accomplishments. Turning back to Dante, she asked, "How do you feel?"

"Pretty good, actually. The stories of witches healing magic weren't as exaggerated as I thought." He grinned and stood up with a grunt. "Thanks for the help, girls, but I better get going."

"Whoa, hold up!" Ruby jumped in front of him. "You can't just go back out there with those wounds."

"I have to find the thing that attacked me. if it was gutsy enough to attack me, then it'll make short work of a normal person." Dante said, sidestepping Ruby only to be stopped by Jade.

"Dante, if you go out there in your condition, you'll just get sick and make your wounds worse. Please, just rest up until the rain stops." Jade pleaded with him.

Before Dante could reply, Lucinda hit him with the final blow. "What would Sofia say if she knew you were running around in the middle of a rainstorm while you're hurt?" She raised an eyebrow at him. "I don't think she'd be very happy about that."

"…No, she wouldn't." Dante sighed. He should've known they would use the Sofia card. Sofia's village friends were merciless. "But I don't really have a place to stay."

"You can stay here with us for the night." Jade suggested. This was the perfect chance to really get to know Dante outside of the castle. "Is that okay with you, Lucinda?"

Lucinda had no intention of saying no to Jade, even if it meant harboring a magician in her home. "Fine with me. I'm not going to let a wounded boy run out into a rainstorm."

Seeing that he was outnumbered, Dante sighed, though he was smiling. "Okay, okay, I know when I'm beat. I'll check on things when the rain dies down."

"Good. There's a guest room upstairs you can sleep in." Lucinda said. "Jade, Ruby, you're bunking with me. Might as well make this the best sleepover experience you'll ever have!"

"Oh really?" Ruby smirked. "You think you can top Sofia's sleepover?"

"Yeah, I treated the girls to a game of catch the flaming pinecones." Dante bragged. "What do you have up your sleeve?"

"Well, I can't say I can top flaming pinecones, not that I'm going to ask the story behind that, but

XXXXXX

Despite Lucinda's house looking like it celebrated Halloween 24/7, Dante didn't have a bad time sleeping there. Granted the girls didn't go to sleep until late into the night because they were playing around, and Dante threatened to vandalize Lucinda's pumpkins if she let off another fireworks spell in the hallway.

The next morning after breakfast, Dante said his goodbyes to the girls and returned to the castle. The rain had lessened into a light shower, nothing too bad, and he made it to Cedric's tower in one piece. His master and godfather was already irate that he returned home a day late, and then he noticed the wounds on Dante's shoulder and leg.

"Merlin's Mushrooms, boy, what happened to you?!" Cedric ushered Dante over to the work table and immediately began looking for some healing ointment.

"I was attacked on the way back yesterday. I didn't see who it was, it was raining really hard and I could barely see." Dante hissed a bit as he peeled off the bandages. Even Wormwood winced at the sight of the wounds. "It got me good. I had to run and I spent the night at the house of one of Sofia's friends."

"You spent the night at a girl's house? By yourself?" Cedric gave him a look and Dante threw him a glare in return.

"It was that or I get sick. Get your mind out of the gutter, Cedric. We're just kids." He muttered annoyed.

Cedric looked over the wounds and frowned. "I must say, you've done exceptional work on your wounds. They've already stopped bleeding and are starting to heal. I don't recall you carrying healing ointment on your person when you left."

"That's not my work. There was this witch and—"

"A witch?!" Cedric nearly jumped out of his robes. "You let a witch lay her hands on you?"

"I was kind of hurt at the moment, Cedric. I didn't have a choice." Dante sighed.

Cedric stammered, trying to find something to say. Then he realized what Dante said. "Wait a minute, what is a witch doing in Rosemary?"

"She's one of Sofia's friends. Her mother is the mistress of the coven that just moved in." Dante raised a brow at his master. "I'm surprised you didn't know this already."

"I'm a little busy being the royal sorcerer of Enchancia, if you haven't noticed." Cedric said snidely. "But really, Dante, a witch?"

"Lucinda was cool, Cedric. She was just as apprehensive about me as I was of her but she took the time to help me out and offer me a place to stay for the night. Besides, the witches we have in Enchancia are nowhere near as horrible as the ones in Freezenburg and Rudistan, you have to admit."

"…That is true." Cedric muttered.

Dante could understand Cedric's reaction, however overblown it was. There has always been some friction between the sorcerer and witch communities, mainly due to ideological differences. Magicians studied magic in an almost scientific manner, breaking down spellcrafting bit by bit to learn how everything works, what can it do and what are the consequences if anything went wrong. Witches were more intuitive and emphatic, relying on emotion and their connection to the earth to fuel their magic. Spells were taught from mother to daughter, and they were taught to rely on their emotions to properly do their magic. They didn't focus on the why, only on the how.

Dante personally thought it was a bit silly for sorcerers and witches to act like this, especially over something that wasn't even fully understood like magic. But humans were rarely rational creatures and did what they believed was right.

"To think that Princess Sofia is friends with a witch. I never would have thought it." Cedric remarked.

"It's Sofia. That girl could probably befriend a dragon." Dante chuckled. That wasn't a joke, he genuinely believed that Sofia could make friends with a dragon without a single scratch on her pretty face.

After he was done properly healing the wounds and bandaging them, Cedric asked, "Now that we've got this done, what do you intend to do now?"

"What else? Check out the forest and hunt down whatever attacked me."

"Dante…" Cedric sighed.

"Whatever is out there is dangerous, Cedric. I could have been killed if I were a normal person." Dante argued.

"All the more reason you should not go out there alone." Cedric replied. "As your master, Dante, I shall handle this problem myself. It's only fitting that I earn my stripes as a royal sorcerer, yes?"

"I'd believe that if you weren't swamped with work around the castle." Dante said dryly.

Before Cedric could argue, a knock on the door drew their attention. Cedric walked over to the door and opened it, revealing Baileywick with a long list of chores in his hand.

"Ah, Cedric, you're awake. That's perfect, because we must prepare for the Tri-Kingdom Picnic in the next two weeks and we must have everything ready by then. Now I've made a list of errands I need you to take care of that I'm sure even someone of your…skillset can achieve with minimal problems…"

Dante could visibly see Cedric's soul slowly leaving his body as his empty husk stared blankly at Baileywick. Exhaustion was already present on his features and he hadn't even taken a step out of his chambers yet. He could hear Wormwood cackle in sick amusement and shook his head.

"Looks like I'm on my own for this one."

XXXXXX

Leaving Cedric to his fate, Dante left the castle with Mona as his second pair of eyes to investigate the forest. The rain had lightened up, but not stopped, and there was still a light drizzle that kept everything damp. Fortunately, that meant that there weren't any people outside, leaving Dante to commence his investigation in peace.

"So, what exactly are we looking for, Dante?" Mona asked, hopping over a deep puddle. "I hope you have an idea, because this humidity isn't doing my fur any favors."

"Sorry, Mona, but all I can tell you is that whoever attacked me was using some kind of attack magic. I thought it was water at first, but the tendrils that attacks me looked…I don't know, translucent. See-through." Dante gave a frustrated sigh. "Whoever they are, they were smart enough to hide themselves. I didn't have time to sense their aura, so that's a bust. God, I'm really running blind here, huh?"

"What makes you think they were human? For all we know, it could have been a faerie." Mona suggested. "They have been rather active in Enchancia since Princess Sofia's arrival."

"You're right. Man, I wish she was here. Magic just seems to be attracted to her, and not because of her amulet." Dante said, looking around. He cast a sensory spell on the area to detect any foreign mana signatures, but so far there was nothing.

"Sofia and Amber will be back from their trip. Honestly, I'm glad they're not here to see this. This isn't something the little princess needs to see after that mess with the fairy circle."

"You say that like she can't handle it." Dante replied. Mona gave him a look.

"She's eleven, Dante and a novice mage at that. I'm reluctant to even let her anywhere near what we see on a daily basis." Mona replied and continued sniffing around. "Cruses, the humidity is messing with my nose. I can't smell anything over the moisture in the air—"

"Shh!" Dante hushed his familiar and crouched low. "I think I heard something."

Mona quieted down and quietly snuck over to Dante's side. The young apprentice straightened out his arm and muttered a spell that gathered the moisture in the air into a water blade around his arm. When he heard the rustling of bushes, he sprinted forward and swung his blade at the intruder.

"Halt!"

"Freeze!"

The two words were yelled at the same time as Dante found himself staring at the tip of a finely carved wand with a glowing orb of fire on the tip. His water blade had just glazed the cheek of another person, a girl, who glared at him. It took both magic users a moment to realize that they met each other before.

"Wait," Dante lowered his arm. "Lucinda?"

"Dante?" Lucinda lowered her wand and looked at him confused. "What are you doing here?"

"I should be asking you that question." Dante sighed and crossed his arms. There went the tension. "It's dangerous out here. I almost hurt you."

"Please, like that's possible. I can handle myself in a fight." Lucinda said smugly. "And for the record, you don't own this forest. I can come and go as I please."

"Lucinda?" Someone called out.

Dante looked over Lucinda's pointy hat and saw Jade and Ruby emerging from behind a tree. When they saw Dante, their faces brightened and they ran over to him.

"Hey, Dante!" Ruby greeted the boy. "What are you doing here?"

"Hunting for my assailant. An incredibly dangerous assailant that sweet little girls should avoid at all costs?" Dante growled. Jade waved off his concerns.

"Don't worry, Dante. Lucinda will keep us safe." Jade smiled at the naughty witch. "We've played in these woods since we were little. There's not a lot that can surprise us."

'That's what Sofia thought until we got caught in that Fairy Circle.' Dante thought wearily. He sent Lucinda a baleful glare, but she shrugged it off.

"Look, I need to use these woods to. Mom gets her herbs and medicinal plants from this area and we can't do our work with some nasty spirit causing havoc around here." Lucinda said.

"Wait, spirit?" Dante questioned.

"Yeah, this place reeks of spirit energy. You mean you can't sense it?" Lucinda asked.

"No, no I can't. I never even considered that whoever attacked me might not even be human." He said, perplexed.

"Wait, we're dealing with ghosts?" Ruby squeaked. Lucinda shook her head.

"No, that's different. Kind of." She shrugged. "In nature, there are spiritual beings who have a connection to natural elements like water, fire, earth, and so on. Witches are trained to communicate with these spirits and harness their power in a sort of 'you scratch my back, I scratch yours' kind of deal." Then she frowned. "Though, I've never heard of spirits randomly attacking people like that. Not unless you did something to anger them."

"Can you tell what kind of spirit was here?" Dante asked, but his excitement dropped when Lucinda shook her head.

"Sorry, I'm good but not that good. Mom might be able to tell its identity, but she's away visiting our other coven members." Lucinda sighed tiredly. "So, you just got me."

"And that's more than enough. With the four of us together, we'll definitely solve this mystery, right Jade. Jade?" Ruby looked to her left only to see an empty spot where Jade was standing. "Where did she go?"

"I didn't notice her leave." Dante said.

"Neither did I." Lucinda said, sounding worried. "Jade? Jade, where are you?"

XXXXXX

A fair distance away from the group, Jade was wandering deeper into the forest. She had been listening to Dante and Lucinda talk when she heard the sound of crying. Without even really thinking, she went off to find the source of the sound, thinking that someone was hurt.

"Hello?" Jade called out, looking around. "Is anyone there?"

She moved slowly, trying to pinpoint where the crying was coming from. Thanks to the rain, the forest was covered in a fine layer of mist and she could feel the dampness on her skin. This wasn't the first time she went into the forest, but it was the first time she felt…vulnerable.

"Maybe I should have stayed with the others." Jade told herself, nervously looking around. Why was it so foggy?

"H-Hello?" A small voice called out.

Jade perked up. That wasn't her imagination. Someone just spoke! "Is someone there?"

"Help me…" The voice pleaded.

Jade now had a solid direction to follow and she ran forward, using the urgency of the situation to keep her rising panic at bay. She followed the crying until she emerged into a small glade, which would have looked beautiful at this time of day were it not for the thick fog and dampness everywhere. But Jade ignored the scenery and looked around for the troubled person.

"Hello? It's me, I'm here!" Jade called out into the glade.

For a moment there was only silence, but then the crunching of leaves made Jade tense up and she spun around. But instead of a big scary monster, she found herself staring at the tear-stained face of a little girl.

"Are…are you real?" The girl asked in a small voice.

Jade abandoned her fear and ran up to the girl, falling to her knees in front of her to see if she was hurt. "Are you okay? You're not hurt are you-"

The girl flinched away before Jade could touch her. Seeing that she was scared, Jade held up her hands to show that she was not a threat. "Easy there, I'm a friend."

Now that Jade got a good look at the girl, she saw that she didn't look very good. The girl was pale white, wearing a soaking wet white dress that Jade didn't recognize. Her hair was white and cut just below her ears and her eyes were a striking bright blue. While Jade wasn't able to touch her, she was close enough to the girl to feel the cool air surrounding her. The poor thing must have been freezing.

"Please, I'm not going to hurt you." She introduced herself, kneeling down to the girl's level. "What's your name?"

"…Abigail." The girl muttered, still a bit wary but not looking as scared as before.

"That's a sweet name, Abigail. My name is Jade. I live in a town not too far from here." Jade looked around at the thick mist around her. "I think." She added unsurely. "Can you tell me why you're in the middle of the forest? Did you get lost?"

Abigail nodded, slowly opening up to Jade. "I was playing by the river when it stopped raining. My mommy said that water nymphs like to play there after it rains so I went to see if I could find them. Then it got really foggy and I didn't know where to go."

'That makes both of us.' Jade thought, absolutely having no idea where to go. "Wel, why don't we go look for my friends? one of them is a magician and he's really cool."

Something flashed across the girl's eyes before they brightened curiously. "Are…are you sure?"

"Yes, he's really nice. I'm sure he can use his magic to find your home." Jade assured her.

"Jade!"

She perked up, jumping to her feet when she heard Ruby's voice. "That's my friend Ruby." She told Abigail and called out into the forest. "Hey, I'm over here!"

After a few seconds, Dante, Ruby and Lucinda came running out of the brush. Ruby ran over to Jade and hugged her. "Don't run off like that!" Ruby scolded her.

"Yeah, I—we were worried about you!" Lucinda said, also hugging the girls. Mainly because she developed a love of hugging thanks to Sofia.

"I'm sorry, guys." Jade apologized, feeling guilty. "I heard crying and I just reacted without thinking. I promise, I won't do it again."

"Crying?" Dante said.

"Yeah, Abigail here was crying when I found her." Jade said, motioning to the girl at her side.

"Uh, Jade," Ruby raised an eyebrow. "There's no one there."

Jade's eyes widened and she looked down to see that Abigail was gone. "Abigail? Abigail!" She called out, but saw no sign of the girl.

"Jade, calm down." Lucinda stepped forward and took Jade's hands in hers to settle her. "Was there someone here with you?"

"Yes! A little girl, about five or six. She was sitting here crying when I found her." Jade explained. "I think she was from one of the nearby towns and she got lost in the forest."

Dante looked around, extending his senses. It was a trick Minerva taught him, learning to sense other people's auras. He wasn't a pro at it, but he was good enough to know tell people's auras apart. And aside from the girls, he wasn't sensing anyone else.

"I'll stay and look for her, Jade." Dante assured her. "Lucinda, could you take them back home?"

"Sure thing, and I'll be back to make sure you're not attacked again." Lucinda said. At Dante's questioning look, she elaborated, "Sofia will have my pointy hat if anything happened to her."

Dante chuckled and shook his head. He couldn't argue with that.

Jade was reluctant to leave, but with some urging from Ruby she decided to leave the issue to Dante and return home. Watching the girls leave, Dante turned to Minerva and rolled his shoulders.

"Let's get this search started, shall we?" Dante told his familiar. "Something's not right about any of this and I want answers."

XXXXXX

Jade had a hard time sleeping that night. She wanted to tell her parents about the missing girl, but she trusted Dante and Lucinda to find Abigail and safely escort her home.

The next day was yet another downpour and Jade felt like a bird in a cage. The flowers in their garden were getting absolutely drenched and their front yard looked more like a pond. She knew it was going to be a pain to clean up, if the rain ever stopped that is.

The rain would finally let up the day after, and Jade was allowed to leave the house. Dressed in a raincoat with an umbrella given to her by Dante as a gift, she immediately headed over to Ruby's house, eager to see if they had any news on Abigail. What she learned was less than pleasing.

"They couldn't find her?!" Jade exclaimed.

"Shh! Not so loud!" Ruby hissed and took Jade outside into the yard. "I got a message from Dante's owl this morning. Both he and Lucinda had been looking all over that part of the forest for that girl you mentioned, but they couldn't find any sign of her. Dante even sent his owl out after dark to continue the search, but they had no luck."

"But…but she's there! I spoke to her!" Jade said.

"I know, Jade, and I totally believe you." Ruby said, calming her friend down. "Maybe she found her way back to her village. It's easy to get turned around in the forest, you know that. Especially in this freaky weather."

"I guess." Jade muttered.

"Hey, after we're done with our chores, why don't we head into the forest this afternoon? The fog's lifted and I'm sure it'll be easier to navigate now." Ruby suggested.

"Yeah," Jade nodded, feeling a little better. "We can do that."

Thankfully the morning went by in a flash and the girls were able to take their usual route into the forest. Without the heavy fog clouding their vision, they could clearly see everything around them. The forest didn't feel as threatening as it was two days ago and Jade felt safer exploring it now. But that didn't mean the two girls weren't vigilant. There was still a chance that something might happen.

"I never thought I'd ever feel unsettled walking through this forest." Ruby said, looking around. "We played here all the time with the other children. Until now it's felt like our home away from home."

"After that mess with the faery circle, I don't think things are going to be the same again for a while." Jade commented. She looked around, trying to remember exactly how she got to the glade in the first place. "I think we're on the right path, Ruby. Some of these trees look familiar, right Jade?" When she didn't hear Jade, she turned to her friend, only to find an empty space. "Jade?!"

Jade had vanished without a trace, and Ruby found herself alone again. "Not again!"

"Ruby!" Someone called out to her.

"H-Huh?" Ruby jumped and looked around in a panic before she looked up and saw Lucinda hovering in place on her broom. "Lucinda!"

"I thought Dante told you not to go into the forest alone." Lucinda scolded the girl, lowering herself to the ground. "You know how dangerous it is, even if it's not raining."

"I didn't come here alone. Jade was with me, but she disappeared!" Ruby said. Lucinda froze.

"Disappeared? What, like she wandered off?"

"No, I mean she was there one moment and gone the next!" Ruby exclaimed, trying to stay calm.

"Okay, just calm down." Lucinda said, trying not to panic herself. "I'm just Jade's fine. She just got lost. Go wait at the edge of the forest for Dante. I'll go look for her."

"By yourself?" Ruby squeaked.

"I'm a witch. If I don't take risks, I won't learn anything." Lucinda smirked, twirling her wand in her hand. "I'll be back with Jade in no time."

Lucinda hopped back onto her broom and zoomed off into the forest. Ruby looked after her worriedly before heading back to the town. This whole situation was getting out of control and she didn't think she could handle the stress anymore.

XXXXXX

For just a moment Jade thought that the clouds would part to allow at least some sunlight to peak through, but all hopes of that were dashed when she noticed that the fog was rolling in again.

"Not again!" Jade groaned. "Come on, I didn't even go that far from Ruby. I can't keep getting lost like this!"

"Are you lost?" A soft voice asked.

"Wah!" Jade screamed and almost fell over, but a small hand caught her wrist and helped her up. "What…Abigail!"

The little girl whom Jade had befriended giggled cutely at Jade's reaction. Unlike the last time they met, Abigail looked brighter and happier, with a healthier look to her skin now. Abigail giggled again when Jade hugged her tightly.

"Abigail, you're okay!" Jade exclaimed, relieved. "I was so worried about you!"

"I'm sorry I made you worry. I got scared meeting of your friends and ran off." Abigail said, hugging Jade back. "But I did find my way back to my village!"

"Really? That's great!" Jade said, feeling relieved that Abigail got home alright. "I'm happy you got back home safe. I'm sure your parents were worried sick about you."

Something briefly flashed across Abigail's eyes, but it vanished too fast for Jade to notice. The little girl nodded and smiled. "They were, but I apologized and told them about the new friend I made."

"That's wonderful." Jade smiled, Abigail's happiness spreading to her. Suddenly the fear she felt from the forest wasn't as bad as it used to be. "What about your other friends? Were they worried for you too?"

Abigail frowned and looked down at her feet. "I don't have any friends."

"Really? Why's that?"

Abigail looked around and leaned toward Jade, whispering, "Don't tell anyone this, but I'm…I'm a little shy."

Judging from the way she acted when they first met, Jade could understand that. "Well, when we find my friends, maybe I can introduce you to them. If that's alright with you."

Abigail didn't look very sure about that, but she nodded anyway. "I'll think about it. but before that, why don't you sit down. You look tired."

"Now that you mention it, I do feel a bit tired. All this stress is wearing me out." Jade giggled. Abigail took her hand and led her over to a nearby tree, where they sat down.

They sat quietly together, just enjoying the silence and serenity of the glade. As tired as she felt, Jade couldn't help but admire just how quiet everything was. It was like the whole world just slowed down only for today, and all was peaceful.

"I love the rain." Abigail muttered. "People don't like getting wet, but I always thought it was soothing. Everything seemed so quiet and peaceful when it rained, and it lulled me to sleep."

"I never thought of it that way. I'm always trying not to get caught in a downpour." Jade smiled.

"You'd be surprised what you'd notice if you stopped to look around. The world feels cleaner after it rains, like the water washed away all the dirty and filth that the sun brings with it." Abigail continued, nuzzling Jade's arm. "It's lovely, isn't it?"

"It is." Jade agreed, feeling sleepier. The serene atmosphere was lovely.

"Hey, Jade," Abigail whispered softly, clutching Jade's arm. "Do you want to visit my village?"

"Now? But it's getting late…"

"It'll be fine. I'm sure my parents will absolutely love you." Abigail smiled. "You'll love it there, Jade. Once you visit, you'll never want to leave."

XXXXXX

Dante met up with Lucinda and Ruby looking none too pleased with them. Aside from the fact that he needed to use his flying carpet to get to the town fast (and risk getting it wet in the process), he had to deal with Cedric once again misplacing several potions throughout his chamber that needed to be organized once again. Mixed with the frustration at not having any solid leads on his attacker, Dante did not wake up on the right side of the bed this morning.

"I don't know what you thought I meant when I said not to go into the forest alone," Dante began when he arrived at the meeting place. "But I'm pretty sure it was self-explanatory."

"I'm sorry, Dante." Ruby apologized, looking properly chastened. "We thought that since the fog lifted, we would be fine. Jade was just really worried about Abigail and I needed to help her calm down."

"And speaking of Jade, how about we focus on finding her before you dish out some sorcerer scoldings?" Lucinda cut in, giving Dante a look.

"I sent Minerva ahead to scout the area. We'll go once she's found something." Dante said, not bothered by Lucinda's attitude.

"And how long will that take?" Ruby asked.

"Depends on whether or not we're dealing with magic." He sighed and ruffled his hair. "I'm still going in blind as to finding out what attacked me. None of this is making sense. Ruby, maybe you should head back home and—"

"You better not suggest that I sit back while my best friend is in possible danger." Ruby growled at him. Dante just sighed and waved his hand dismissively.

"Okay, fine. You can come too, but stay close to us." He said agitated. He was eager to get this finished before someone else got hurt.

"So, how are we going to find Jade?" Lucinda asked. "I know a couple of tracking spells, but they take some time to do."

"No worries, I've got that covered." Dante said, pointing to the tree line.

A flash of white shot across the canopy before Minerva's snowy white form descended to the group and landed on a nearby tree branch. Lucinda couldn't help but whistle at the sight of Dante's familiar. Many witches could only wish at having a beautiful familiar like her, and even she was jealous.

"Minerva, did you find Jade?" Dante asked his companion.

"Yes, I think so. I sensed her energy not too far from here." Minerva answered. "But…it's muddled, like something's interfering with her aura."

Dante narrowed his eyes at that. "Is someone trying to block her from our magic?"

"I believe that's the case, but I can't be certain."

Dante sighed and rubbed the back of his head. "Well, we'll just have to go on that, then. Lucinda, let's go. Ruby—"

"I hope you're not going to tell me to head back home while one of my best friends is in trouble." Ruby said, arms crossed with a frown.

Dante didn't even try to argue. He just sighed and headed over to his flying carpet. "Well, let's go before we lose daylight. Keep your eyes open, Lucinda, because I think we're going to get into a fight soon."

He barely finished his sentence before it began to rain. First it started as a light rainfall, but over the course of a few minutes the rain grew heavier, eventually turning into a complete downpour. Lucinda quickly summoned a water barrier to keep herself and Ruby dry, but Dante was drenched almost immediately before he was able to put up a barrier. It only worsened his already sour mood.

"The only reason why I'm not throwing curse words around is because I'm in the presence of a lady." Dante said through gritted teeth. "Because I am so done with this weather!"

"No need to hold back on my account. I'm no stranger to cursing." Lucinda said.

"I was talking about Ruby."

The little witch glared at the apprentice. "You son of a—"

Ruby caught a flash of something at the corner of her eye and turned to it just in time to see something flying at her. In a fright, she screamed and jumped back, bumping into Lucinda. The witch stumbled but was able to put up a magic shield to block the projectile, which turned out to be a blade of sharpened water.

"Take cover!" Dante shouted before throwing a mana bolt randomly to where the attack came from. The energy bolt slammed into something, but two seconds later another icicle shot at Dante's head and he was forced to duck under it. "You're not getting away from me this time!"

"Dante!" Lucinda called out to him. "Behind us!"

"What?" He spun around and saw two more water tendrils shooting out of the trees at them, their tips sharpened into a fine blade that cut through the falling rain as they neared their targets. Dante created another magical barrier to deflect them, but a third tendril shot out of the ground behind him and sliced into his leg.

"Dante!" Ruby cried out, seeing blood stain his pants.

"That's it!" Lucinda raised her wand and pointed it to the sky. "Get clear, Dante! This is going to hurt!"

Dante didn't question her. He leapt onto his now soggy flying carpet and it took off the ground just as Lucinda said her spell.

"Fulminis!"

She pointed wand down at the ground and summoned a lightning bolt that slammed into the wet through. The lightning dispersed in a wave that spread in all directions, and when it hit the trees, a deafening and horrific shriek filled the air.

'Wow, witches don't play around.' Dante thought as he watched the chaos unfold. It took him quite a while before Cedric thought it was safe enough to teach him lightning spells.

Lucinda held the spell for a few more seconds until the shrieking stopped, then she cut of the electrical flow. Dante and Lucinda landed back on the ground and looked for their attacker.

"I really hope you didn't just electrocute our only suspect." Dante muttered.

"I'm sorry, I'll try harder to not kill whoever's trying to snuff us out." Lucinda snarked.

"Whatever, let's just see who was stupid enough to ambush us." Dante sighed and walked over into the brush. He pushed aside from bushes for a better look, but suddenly he cursed and jumped back. "By the Mother!"

"What is it?!" Ruby screamed, now very terrified.

All Dante did was wave them over without taking his eyes off whatever he saw. Lucinda cautiously moved her broom closer and looked down. She heard Ruby gasp behind her and look away. Lucinda couldn't blame her.

The thing that attacked them wasn't human or animal, or even a fae. It was a corpse, a half-rotting corpse that had been encased in a shell of water in place of actual skin, though its muscle and bones were completely exposed. Its bare flesh smoked from the lightning spell, and its face was stuck in a cry of agony in its final moments.

"Dante…what am I looking at?" Lucinda demanded.

"A corpse, obviously. Someone or something was controlling it." Dante said, looking just as disgusted. "Ruby, stay with Minerva. Lucinda, you're with me!"

Dante ran over to his carpet, startling Lucinda. "W-Wait, what's wrong?"

"We better find Jade before she runs into whatever was controlling that cadaver." Dante said as he lifted off and flew deeper into the forest. "If whatever made that thing is still near, she's in big trouble!"

XXXXXX

Everything was a bit of a haze for Jade as she followed Abigail through the forest. Looking up, she could see that it was getting dark, but surprisingly Abigail didn't look very concerned about getting lost.

"Abigail, it's getting dark. Are you sure you can find your way to your village?" Jade asked.

"It's okay, I know this area like the back of my hand." Abigail said confidently, not looking back at Jade as she tugged the older girl along.

It didn't occur to Jade to question how did Abigail get lost in the first place if that was the case, but honestly, she was a bit too out of it to really understand. Why did she feel so tired?

"I don't know." Jade muttered, her eyes fluttering. "We could get lost out here when night falls, and I forgot to tell my parents…"

"I said it was fine." Abigail hissed, her tone darkening. Her hand tightened its grip on Jade's and a sharp, biting cold made Jade gasp.

"Ow!" Jade hissed in pain and looked down to see that Abigail's hand had turned deathly pale, more so than before. "Abigail, what—"

"Calm down. You won't have to worry about time anymore." Abigail still hadn't turned to face Jade, and something unpleasant was forming in Jade's stomach. "Just a few more minutes."

Eventually, they came upon an old dirt road that looked like it hadn't been maintained in years. the two girls walked up the path for a few minutes until they finally reached an old sign post with writing that wasn't even legible anymore because of how old and rotten the wood had gotten. Jade looked around and noted how the trees seemed taller and darker, blotting out what little light shone through. The atmosphere turned darker, and Jade noted how the tree branches all seemed thinner and sharper like knives.

"Abigail…" Jade was feeling really uncomfortable now. Something was wrong. "What's going on?"

"You know, Jade, you're really lucky to have friends. Friends who do no judge you, or insult you, or give you strange looks, just like their parents. But most of all, you're lucky enough to know real sorcerers and witches." The childish innocence in Abigail's voice slowly died as she continued speaking. "I wasn't lucky. When I was little, I learned that I could do special things if I concentrated hard enough. Make flowers blossom. Make a river flow uphill. Levitate my toys to make them dance around me."

They finally reached their destination, and through the thick fog Jade got a glimpse of the town that was Abigail's home. It wasn't like anything she was expecting. Instead of a town full of people, however, what she saw was an old village that looked like it hadn't been inhabited for years, even decades. The houses were old and half destroyed, the remaining structures looking like they were warped and rotting from overexposure to too much water. The streets were covered with overgrowth, nature haven completely retaken what was stolen from them. There was not a living soul anywhere in sight.

"But girls like me were treated like monsters at best, abominations at worst. The priests of my village deemed magic a sign of taint by the Devil, but even I knew as a girl that they didn't want girls like me growing into women of power they couldn't control." Abigail continued as she dragged Jade through the desolate village. "So, they began hunting us one by one, putting us through mock trials and torturing us to confess our sins to justify the wholesale slaughter of young girls and teenagers."

"Abigail, stop it! Please!" Jade tugged her arm to get herself free, but Abigail's grip was tight to the point of leaving a bruise on her hand. "Let me go!"

"I was seven when they did the same to me. I gave the same cries you're giving right now, and they didn't care. They dragged me through the village square in chains like I was an animal, and people all around me calling me monster and demon child." Abigail ignored Jade's cries as they neared the center of the village. "They dragged me onto a stage and forced a rope around my neck. I cried for my mama and papa, but no one came to help me. Not my so-called friends, not my family, and most certainly not God! I kept crying right up until they dropped the floor from under my feet and I hung in the air like some sick ornament! The last sound I ever heard was the snapping of my neck before everything went dark."

They stopped in front of a large platform with a long noose dangling at the top, also unused and rotten from time and environmental conditions. Jade was crying now, trying to break free. Abigail, of course, ignored her friends' fear as she continued to speak.

"They thought it was over, that I would become just another tally to add to their scorecard. But they were wrong."

Jade screamed louder than she ever had before when Abigail's head suddenly spun around entirely independent of her body, her neck making a sickening crack as her head did a complete about face to stare at Jade with milky white eyes and a smile inhumanly wide on her round face, teeth old and rotten, face pale and sickly.

"Look at me, Jade!" Abigail cackled. "I remained in this world, anchored by my hatred and loathing. The other girls weren't so lucky, having passed on due to fear and confusion. But I was always a smart girl, I knew how to feel jealously. I knew how to hate!"

She finally let Jade's hand go and the girl stumbled back, falling to the ground as Abigail's body twisted and cracked like a life-sized marionette. Jade could actually see Abigail's bones through transparent skin.

"I killed them all one by one, disease, suffocation, heart attacks, you name it! I made the rain fall nonstop, drowning their crops and ruining their houses. I made sure to kill anyone who left the village. Isolated them, cut them off from the rest of the world while I took my sweet time getting my revenge! I wanted to wipe this wretched village off the map, and I succeeded!" Abigail screamed at Jade.

"I was just a child! I didn't want to hurt anyone! They did this to me and they all needed to pay! I couldn't rest otherwise!" She went on. To Jade's surprise, tears began falling from her eyes, even as her body contorted in odds angles, as if her corpse couldn't handle her own anger. "I was just a child…"

"Abigail…"

"But when everything was said and done, there was nothing else I could do. I killed everyone here, but I couldn't go too far from my body. time passed and I fell asleep. I don't even know how many years had passed before I felt the land awaken." Abigail bent down and ran her hands through the dirt at her feet. "The ground here…it's sour. Tainted by blood and anger. It's the only reason I'm here talking to you, but it's also the reason I haven't been able to pass on. I got lonely, and I could only move freely when it rained like this for some reason. And then I found you."

Jade inched back when Abigail began walking towards her. "I'm lonely, Jade. I can't take the loneliness anymore. You're a good girl, sweet and kind and smart. I'm sure we can be wonderful friends here forever. I know you won't judge me like my fake friends did."

"No! I can't like you, Abigail! I have my own life at Rosemary!" Jade said. "Please, let me talk to Dante and Lucinda. I'm sure they can—"

"No! They'll take you away from me! I'm not going to lose the only friend I have when I'm this close! I want you and only you, Jade!" Abigail roared and charged at Jade, slamming her to the ground and wrapping her hands around her throat. "I won't stay here alone any longer! I can stand being stuck here so long as I have a friend like you by my side. It'll make this living hell more bearable!"

Jade tried to break free, but the girl's grip was inhumanly strong. She kicked and struggled, but Abigail's fingers dug into her skin painfully. Jade began to cry, thinking that this was it. Her life, short as it was, was going to end here far from home, without any of her friends or family around her. Her parents, Sofia, Ruby, Lucinda…she was going to lose it all.

"Let go of her!"

A bolt of flame slammed into Abigail's head, blasting the girl off Jade. Jade coughed and rolled onto her side just as she saw a pair of stockinged feet running toward her.

"Jade!" Lucinda knelt down and held Jade close to her in a protective hug.

"Lucinda?" Jade coughed, her throat sore.

"Get away from her!" Abigail howled, jumping to her feet. Half her head was missing, her cherubic face marred in an ugly sneer as her body began to glow with an unearthly and ghostly aura. "She's my friend! She belongs to me!"

"Friends don't belong to anyone, you little brat!" Lucinda growled and held her wand ready. "Stay away from her!"

Abigail's mouth hung open wider than it should as she gave an unholy howl. The raindrops around them froze midfall, hanging suspended in the air before they all coalesced into several dozen blades and shooting at the two girls. Lucinda summoned a magic barrier around herself and Jade and the blades slammed into it nonstop.

"You're just like the rest of them. You're all out to make me suffer! To cause me more pain!" Abigail wailed as she continued her assault. "Well, you won't get me like last time. I'll kill all of you before you make me go through that loneliness again. I'll use your corpses to make me a new body and then I'll be free!"

"Oh, shut up, Casper!" Lucinda yelled back. Despite her bravado, the constant assault on her barrier was starting to wear away at her reserves. Eventually, she'll have to drop it or risk suffering a magic backlash. She glanced down at Jade, who clung to her with her eyes tightly shut. Seeing Jade this scared strengthened her resolve and she forced herself to keep the barrier up.

Abigail look frustrated that she wasn't breaking through the barrier and snarled, her face becoming even more corpse-like. She prepared to charge forward and take Jade herself, but then someone called out her name.

"Abigail!" It was Dante, standing at the edge of the village, glaring at her in contempt. "Stop this right now and leave us alone, or you'll suffer the consequences!"

"You're in no position to make demands, mage! Jade is my friend, she belongs to me!"

"Friends don't own other friends, Abigail. That's not how it works. Friendship is something that comes naturally, not forced or manipulated into being." Dante said. "You are an earthbound spirit, unable to move on due to lingering attachments. You're afraid of what comes next after you pass on. You feel guilt for having killed all those people even though they've done you wrong, which is natural. You're afraid of being alone, hence why you want Jade to be with you forever. But have you ever considered her feelings? How she might feel if you took her away from her life here?"

Abigail simply snarled, charging at Dante like a rabid animal. He saw this and shook his head, pitying her.

"You're already too far gone to care, huh? I'm sure that body you're running around in isn't your actual body. Just a facsimile created from raw mana and body parts stolen from corpses. But look at what I have here."

Dante lifted his hand and something small floated into view next to him. Abigail gasped and stumbled when she saw it was a child's skeleton, covered in dirt and mud. Her bones.

"This part of the forest suffered a flood from a downpour just like this one, destroying the shallow graves where the girls were buried. Your remains were unearthed and floated downstream, and your spirit was allowed to run wild as a result." He explained, his expression as cold as stone. "This is your anchor keeping you tethered to this realm, but you had no idea where it was. Nor did you care."

"Give that back." Abigail hissed, cautiously stepping forward. "Give it back!"

"You don't belong here, Abigail. Your time has passed long ago. I'm certain you won't have to be lonely anymore on the other side."

"No…no! I won't be killed again! I refuse to be killed again!" She howled, floating off the ground and shooting at Dante. Any semblance of humanity had faded away as the spirit continued to howl and scream, showing her true nature to the children. "I WON'T FALL BACK INTO THE DARKNESS! I CAN'T GO THROUGH THAT AGAIN!"

"You can't kill what's already dead." Dante replied and placed his hand on the skull. "Goodbye, Abigail."

The bones were engulfed in incredibly hot flames and Abigail wailed in agony. Her sole tether keeping her in this world was incinerated, turning to ash before her very eyes. She fell to the ground, her ghostly form slowly dissipating like smoke in the wind. The strength and power she displayed was gone and all that was left was a little girl who overstayed her welcome.

"No…please…don't do this to me…" She pleaded weakly. "I don't want to be alone…I can't…"

Abigail turned her eyes to Jade, who looked at her fearfully. Seeing the fear in her eyes, it hurt more than Abigail thought it would. Jade was afraid of her. The look in her eyes took all the fight from Abigail as the last remnants of her soul faded from the world.

"I'm…sorry…" Her voice faded into a whisper as her soul finally passed on.

Lucinda and Jade stared at the spot where Abigail disappeared in silence for several minutes, even after Dante joined them. That was when Lucinda noticed that the rain was lightening up.

"The rain," Lucinda whispered. "It's gone."

"I was just taking a guess that she was controlling the weather, but apparently I was right on the money." Dante said, looking up at the darkening sky. "How powerful was she?"

Lucinda looked down at Jade, who was still in her arms. The girl was staring mutely at the remains of the execution platform Abigail showed her, the girl's story running in her mind.

"Centuries ago, back when Enchancia was a young kingdom, magic wasn't as normal as it is now." Dante explained to her. "Magic users in general were treated with suspicion, and witches in particular were persecuted and killed. The church in particular liked to accuse any and all women displaying even the slightest bit of magical powers of witchcraft and had them hanged or burned."

"…But why?" Jade whispered, her eyes tearing up. "Why? She was just a child!"

"Fear of the unknown, Jade. They didn't understand magic, and many were so set in their way that they refused to understand what wasn't told to them by the so-called "men of god." Dante said with a sneer. "A lot of people died as a result. Children too, in some extreme cases. As you can see, the consequences of those witch hunts are still being felt even today."

That seemed to break the dam holding her tears back, and Jade broke down, sobbing into Lucinda's shoulder. The witch hugged her tightly, rubbing her back as she soothed the traumatized girl. Dante stood over them, sadly looking on as the weight of the week's events fell over him. Then he looked over at the village, a dead monument to human cruelty that came back to haunt those who did harm unto others.

He extended his magical senses into the earth and scowled in distaste. 'The earth…it's sour." Was his only thought before turning back to the girls.

XXXXXX

A week after the horrifying events of that night, Jade returned to the village with Lucinda on a bright and sunny day. She carried a bundle of flowers in hand, which she placed at the entrance to the village. Together with Lucinda she said a prayer to everyone who died there, but her thoughts focused only on Abigail, a girl who never should have suffered so much at her age. A girl who deserved more.

Jade prayed that the girl found peace in death, and that she knew Jade was praying for her.

---

Sorry for the long wait. I rewrote this entire chapter from a previous draft, which was a lot lighter than this one. Got writer's block in the middle, but somehow managed to finish it in time for Halloween. Hopefully the next chapter won't take as long, but no promises. But I hope you enjoyed the creepiness in the chapter, though I will admit it wasn't done at my best. I binged typed the entire final part in a single night. Oh, and I rewrote the previous chapters and added some changes, such as making Mona Sofia's familiar and having Dante's familiar be a white owl named Minerva. Nothing major, but I wanted to get it off my chest. Thanks for reading, and Happy Halloween!