บท 23: Little Mary
The lake was as flat as a mirror, from time to time there were small ripples created by the school of fishes which popped out of the lake and back in. From the tall oak trees around the edge came not a sound from it; no movement of branches, no chirping of birds. The edge was littered with every size of rocks- from boulders big enough you could sit on, to grains small enough that could get stuck between your toes.
In one of the boulders sat a girl child. She looked young not more than ten years. Her long snowy white hair cascaded down her back almost reaching the ground. Her skin pale as snow but at some parts brown in color.
Her beautiful golden-hazel eyes gazed at the water where her reflection was. She opened her mouth but no words came from them. She looked away, grabbed the biggest rock that could fit her small hands and threw it into the water.
" I hate it!" she said.
Ugly Mary is the name they called her. She is but one of the many children of the Red Witch. Indeed, A kind soul she is but brought up in a very cruel world, in which her siblings and her very mother abhorred and abused her for the way she looked. She only found comfort in what she calls 'her only friend and dear family' a bunny that she had found injured in the woods. The bunny with fur white as the snow, eyes of blood and ears the size of boots. It was massive, twice the size of a normal bunny. It was hopping around the lakeside impatiently as it always did when little Mary came to the lakeside to throw her normal tantrums and curse at the gods.
"What is it with you and the lake Nappy? Does it frighten you?" she asked as she dropped the rock in her hand.
She crouched down and caressed it slowly. This always seemed to calm it down. She picked it up, the bunny that was half her size, and strangely it was not heavy at all.
Suddenly, a strange thing occurred. The sky ripped and a bloody person fell from it. He was shouting some strange things as he fell into the lake.
Little Mary was bare-footed and wore an old blue dress with patches in it. She looked at the lake, not knowing what to do.
The clear blue water turned red, ripples formed in the still lake. Her reflection went blurry as it disappeared. A hand popped out from the water startling the little girl. It seemed that the person was struggling as they drowned.
" Never Help Anyone In The Forest!" Mother always says that. " Whatever it was, ignore it," she said as she turned around and took a few steps.
The woods are all she ever knew. All Little Mary had ever seen are, but the gigantic pine and oak trees which stood tall like castles protecting the forest. The forest which would feel primitive and ancient for anyone else but for her it was her home and nothing more. Rather, she only felt hatred and suffocation from this land.
The ground and the leaves of the trees were white filled with snow but yet the season was summer and the sun hung on the sky as it had always, blessing the world with its light.
She took a deep breath and closed her eyes. The smell of the forest was pulpy and sweet like honey, it refreshed her mind.
Every step she took left behind a small footprint on the snow, and after leaving behind dozens of them. she suddenly stopped and screamed. Startling the poor bunny.
"To hell with it." She turned around and run, jumping into the lake with no hesitation.
Keiser was sinking. His mind seeping out of consciousness. The last thing he saw was a tiny small hand pulling him.
"Nappy Get on! we are flying. He needs to be treated immediately." said little Mary.
Deep into the woods was home to the residents of the forest or known to the outside world as 'Witches! The witches of the magical forest'
Today was a special day for the witches. "The day of the offering!" They called it.
The path to the village of Salam where the witches lived was empty and unguarded. Little Mary flew past the road, as fast as her broom could fly. No, It was more of a branch than a broom. It creaked at every turn she made. It aged and could break at any time but she insists to still use it because it was the only thing her mother had ever given her.
'"An ugly broom for the ugly Mary and a special broom designed and carved by Lilith the forge master from the rare and expensive shining wood for the rest" Her Mother had said.
◇◇◇
The magical Forest of congolene, A safe haven for the red witch, a labyrinth and dangerous place for an outsider. The only path to the forest is through the 'Dragon Ridge'
Struggling to hold back the sadness, the unusual heaviness he felt in his heart was surreal. Tears poured down from thy eyes but he wiped them before it rolled off from his dirty cheeks. His long blonde hair was all muddy and disheveled. The curve of the rag and bone man`s spine was like a dropped flower, his clothes fit him no more. A light supper was heaven if they gave it to him but it is the same for him every day since the start of this treacherous journey.
" A black bread for the bone man and porridge for the rest," they said.
He held it in his hand. The black bread hard as a brick and not welcoming to the stomach at all. No matter how much he ate it, he would never get used to it. The man hated his life and questioned his very existence.
He said, "Where did it all go wrong? Why am I on this treacherous journey? Was it when my beloved mother died as she gave birth to me? Or was it when my drunkard father was sentenced to die? Or was it when my sweet older sister abandoned me? Or was it when my betrothed, the love of my life, my soul mate left me for another man? Or perhaps it was when the hateful noble lady accused me and had me arrested? Or perhaps when I had to stand before the unjust king and his court as they all laughed and jeered at me?"
They started this journey with more than twenty men. All who were prisoners released by the king on the condition they travel to the east and find the golden city of the witches, and whoever finds it riches, glory, fame, and titles is his reward. So the prisoners poorly equipped set off with only a decent amount of food. After a voyage at the seas of the silent, they lost five of them to the mighty Kraken or so they had said. Luckily the rest reached ashore but what awaited them wasn`t the legendary golden city but rather ruins and grains of sand as far as the eyes could see. They lost five more at the desert of nothingness. Finally, they reached Dragons ridge after two months of travel and with only half of the men they began the journey with.
"I do not see no golden city? Has the king lied to us?" one of them had said.
An eerie mist covered the ridge and every step they took felt like walking upon bones from the snap sounds that came from it.
Roars, Howls, and shrills were common in the ridge. It scared the brave men to their very soul. Not one of them wanted to go further alas the best equipped one amongst them said, "We camp here till dawn tomorrow."
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