From Agnes’s bedroom emerged the sisters. Martha’s face showed signs of recent tears, while Agnes bore an expression indicating shame for her behavior. Magant stood before the open cabin door, waiting for the witches to report their findings. Would their friends be allowed to stay the night, or would they need to immediately set out in search of Wanda? The elder witches supposedly resided in the royal town.
“Where’s Deirdra?” Martha asked, scanning the cabin.
Magant was about to respond when, as if summoned, Deirdra appeared beside the monster.
“What’s going on?” Deirdra asked.
Her tone revealed the difficulty she would have forgetting her quarrel with Agnes and how poorly she had been treated. Martha looked at her friend in surprise. She had worked so hard to placate Agnes, and now she would have to do the same with Deirdra.
“We’ll be able to stay at Agnes’s tonight. In the morning, she’ll help us pack for the journey. She’ll even lend us her equipment,” Martha replied.
She tried to sound cheerful, hoping to infect the others with her positive attitude. She couldn’t stand the constant stress, arguments, and nerves anymore. It was really getting to her. Trying to control her emotions for the sake of the group, Deirdra simply nodded and walked away to finish hanging the soaked blankets. She didn’t want to stay in Agnes’s presence any longer. Aware of her own temper, she decided it was safer to keep her distance.
She stood by the laundry line, arranging the last blanket. She listened to the crickets chirping and the rustling of the nearby forest. Breathing in the cool night air with her whole chest calmed her. She loved nature, cherished all animals and plants. Being outside, feeling the soft grass under her bare feet, made her feel connected to the world.
When she finished her work, she moved a little away from the cabin and sat down on the grass. Deirdra’s hands rested on the ground, her legs stretched out in front of her, and she leaned her head back.
“Ah, this is what I needed. A moment of relaxation,” she said to herself.
She continued to listen to the night sounds. She heard an owl hooting in the forest, bats flapping their wings in search of food. Every now and then, she could hear wolves howling. Deirdra was overjoyed to experience the life of nature even for a moment.
With her keen hearing, she heard footsteps approaching her. She assumed it was probably Magant or Martha, wanting to bring her back to the cabin. Suddenly, she felt someone’s hand on her shoulder and heard a male voice.
“Are you Agnes’s sister?” the mysterious voice asked.
Deirdra shuddered upon hearing the unfamiliar voice. It belonged to a man. The calm she had briefly felt disappeared instantly. Fear took its place. Deirdra wanted to see who she was dealing with, but she was very scared. She realized that in her current position, sitting on the ground, she had no chance of defending herself, so she slowly stood up. She did so cautiously, not wanting to signal to the mysterious man that she intended to attack him. As she rose from the ground and brushed off her dress, she turned towards him.
In the faint light of the candles coming from Agnes’s cabin, Deirdra saw a young man with brown eyes and blond hair. He had strong facial features, a well-defined jaw, and a slightly crooked nose. He was of muscular build, dressed in black trousers and a gray shirt with a cloak hanging on it. Deirdra thought that this handsome young man could easily defeat her in any fight. She wondered what powers he possessed.
“If he had fire magic, could I manage to defeat him?” she thought, trying to figure out how to handle this uncomfortable situation.
The man also scrutinized Deirdra from head to toe, which made her feel uncomfortable.
“Are you Agnes’s sister?” he repeated his question.
His firm voice paralyzed Deirdra.
“Why are you asking?” Deirdra tried to find out if the man posed a potential threat to her and her friends.
Just then, Agnes emerged from the cabin. She called out to the man, “Augustine! You’ve finally arrived!”
The man turned away from Deirdra and replied to Agnes in a completely different tone of voice, one more friendly and warm, “Agnes! It’s good to see you.”
He hurried over to Agnes and stood before her. For a brief moment, they locked eyes before embracing in greeting. Deirdra found this gesture very intimate.
“Could it be that Agnes has a fiancé?” Deirdra thought to herself. She wondered how Martha would react to such news, but she still harbored resentment towards Agnes. So, she remained outside to continue enjoying the peace she longed for.
She returned to her spot, but her thoughts were consumed by the upcoming day. “We have to set out in search of Wanda. I wonder if she’s still even in the royal town?” she worriedly pondered.
After a while, she heard footsteps again. She was about to rise and shout at the approaching person to leave her alone, but then she felt someone drape a warm shirt over her.
“Here, so you don’t freeze,” Magant said, covering Deirdra.
The Water Witch felt warmth spread in her heart at the sight of the monster’s concerned expression.
“Thank you,” she said shyly. “But I’m not cold at all,” she added.
“It can get chilly in the middle of the night in summer. I don’t want you catching a cold,” the monster replied warmly, smiling at the witch.
He knelt beside her. Their hands almost touched. Deirdra struggled within herself because she longed to draw closer to the monster, yet she felt that becoming too familiar with him so quickly might seem inappropriate. Nevertheless, Deirdra enjoyed the closeness with her friend. She looked at the stars and turned her head towards the monster to gaze into his beautiful red eyes.
“The moon is exceptionally beautiful tonight, isn’t it?” the monster asked.
He, too, was not indifferent to the feelings growing within him. He couldn’t define them, but being next to Deirdra had become the best feeling he had ever known.
“Yes, it is,” Deirdra replied softly. “Though I can’t focus on the beauty of tonight. My mind is preoccupied with the fact that we have to search for Wanda.”
At these words, Magant moved even closer to the witch, causing butterflies to flutter in her stomach.
“I understand you. I’m also worried about how this search will unfold.”
The monster sat down beside Deirdra and suddenly wrapped his arm around her. Deirdra blushed instantly. She wanted to scream with happiness, yet worried someone might see them.
“We’ll manage. We’ve gotten through worse situations,” he said in a warm and comforting tone.
Deirdra felt safe in Magant’s embrace. Over these few days of knowing him, he had proven many times that he would protect her. Although a small voice in Deirdra’s head told her it was improper, she decided to embrace the closeness with Magant. The search for Wanda could be very dangerous, and their involvement in defending Ely was also risky. They didn’t know what would happen to them or how their fates would unfold. So, she decided to seize the moment and lay her head on Magant’s shoulder.
They sat together for a long time, nestled close, watching the stars and listening to the sounds of the night. They didn’t speak, but the silence was not uncomfortable for them. On the contrary, they felt relaxed in each other’s company.
After a while, Magant said, “Maybe you want to go back to the cabin? We should go to sleep.”
But Deirdra didn’t respond. Magant looked at her and saw that the witch was asleep. Not wanting to wake Deirdra by carrying her back to the cabin, Magant decided to stay with her there, and they both dozed off on the grass. He gently laid her head on the grass and settled down beside her. He turned towards her so he could keep an eye on her, just in case. After a while, he fell asleep himself.
While Deirdra and Magant sat together, Martha and Agnes entertained their guest. Augustine, as it turned out, was a good friend of Agnes. Both worked in the Sabbath, though Augustine was less senior than Agnes, all thanks to Agnes’s and Martha’s father.
When he still worked in the Sabbat, he often took Agnes with him to work, envisioning a position for her as the highest representative of her element. He himself possessed the element of storms and lightning. Augustine shares the same element. Agnes’s father was his role model. He often talked to Agnes about her father and his remarkable skills. In this way, he aimed to improve himself and match his strength and wisdom.
“Would you like some tea?” Martha asked.
She bustled around the cabin, unsure of what to do with herself. She felt a bit like a fifth wheel because she didn’t want to interrupt her sister’s conversation with their friend.
“No, thank you. Actually, I came here just to talk to you,” Augustine replied, smiling broadly at Martha.
A friendly and joyful aura emanated from him, so different from Agnes’s aura.
“How did they become friends?” Martha wondered. Then she scolded herself mentally for meddling in things that weren’t her concern.
“With me?” Martha asked hesitantly. “What do you want to talk to me about?”
Augustine shifted in his chair and stretched his legs under the table.
“It’s about your expedition in search of Wanda. You must know something,” he said, leaning back and clasping his hands behind his head.
Martha pondered for a moment how she should respond to his words. She was aware that Augustine might know something more about Wanda that could aid their search. On the other hand, she was cautious because she didn’t know him well and wasn’t sure if she could trust his intentions.
She opted for a cautious reply, “What exactly do you want to know about our expedition?” she asked, trying to maintain a neutral tone.
Augustine looked at her with a serious expression.
“We’ve been hearing more and more rumors that Wanda is contacting the king. We can’t confirm this one hundred percent, but the witches and wizards who passed us this information are trustworthy.”
“I see… but what does that have to do with anything?” Martha asked, standing beside the table and leaning on it with her hands.
At that moment, Agnes sat next to her friend and, unnoticed by Martha, discreetly took Augustine’s hand.
“Witches don’t typically associate with humans. If any witch is in contact with a mere mortal, it’s unusual. A witch contacting the king is unprecedented. Worse still, we’ve lost contact with Wanda. She stopped responding to our calls and letters,” Augustine said.
He looked fondly at Agnes but quickly averted his gaze. He didn’t want to make suspicious gestures in front of Martha.
“Wait… How do you know about our search for Wanda? We decided on it just tonight,” Martha became suspicious of the unfamiliar wizard.
“Let me answer that,” Agnes interjected. “I knew you would agree to save your friends from the troubles you dragged them into. Therefore, I announced in the Sabbat that you would certainly embark on this mission, and I gave my word on it,” Agnes’s tone sounded pretentious.
Martha looked at her sister. She wasn’t angry; she envied her cunning and ability to predict others’ decisions.
The nature witch took a deep breath through her nose and let it out through her mouth. She wondered how the new information would affect their search for Wanda.
“If we manage to find her, what should we do?” she asked after a moment.
Augustine and Agnes looked at each other and, uncertain how to answer, tried to explain to Martha in a roundabout way that they weren’t entirely sure they would find Wanda at all.
“If you do, you’ll have to bring her before the Sabbat,” Augustine added.
“Wait a minute. So our expedition isn’t about fixing my mistakes, but just plain chasing a wanted person?” Martha asked indignantly.
She walked away from the table and stood facing her interlocutors.
“Martha, it’s not like that. You need to find the other witches from the Elders, but at the same time, you could help the Sabbat. This way, you might be treated more leniently,” Agnes said.
She tried to sound pleasant toward her sister, with whom she had just had an emotionally charged conversation.
Agnes approached Martha and hugged her.
“You’ll manage. Don’t think of the Sabbat as exploiters. We’re trying to maintain order among the witches. Imagine what would happen if we let every witch do as they pleased,” Martha had to admit her sister was right. Their search for Wanda might conflict with their goal of defending Ely. Nevertheless, it was also important to bring the disobedient witch before the Sabbat.
“Okay. Tell me then, how should we prepare for the search for Wanda?”
In the morning, when Deirdra felt the sun’s rays on her face, she woke up. She felt something heavy on her hip. With half-open eyes, she looked in that direction and saw that it was Magant’s hand. That instantly woke her up. She gently removed his hand from her body, set it aside, and slowly and quietly got up from the ground.
“Just great. Now, not only is this search going to be dangerous, but I’ll also be ashamed the whole time,” she thought angrily.
She dusted off her dress and headed towards the cabin.
“I’ll have to pack us up, prepare some food. After all, they won’t manage without me,” Deirdra tried to forget that she had slept cuddled up to Magant.
She tried to focus her attention on the task of searching for the Elder witch. She tried to leave, but suddenly something pulled her hand.
“How are you feeling?” Magant asked, concerned. “You fell asleep so quickly yesterday; you must have been very tired.”
He was sitting on the grass. Deirdra hadn’t even heard him move. He held her hand with a strong and firm grip. The Water Witch blushed, feeling how much he cared about her. She approached him, feeling drawn to him. She sat down next to Magant and said,
“I feel fine. I guess the emotions wore me out yesterday.”
Magant continued to hold the Water Witch’s hand.
“You know… we should go back to the cabin. We need to prepare for the search,” Deirdra said, though she didn’t want to leave her friend.
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