After tending to the wounds Deirdra sustained from falling out of the tree, Magant wanted to hide in the cornfield again, but the witch stopped him.
“I didn’t even get a chance to thank you.” Deirdra began timidly, trying to get up.
“No need. Anyone who wants to help Ely is important to me, and I will defend them.” Magant replied calmly.
“Aren’t you curious how I knew your name?” Deirdra asked.
“I figured Martha told you about our meeting.” He replied seriously.
Deirdra looked at him with her blue eyes. Martha described him as a monster, an inhuman creature, but Deirdra couldn’t identify any trait that could mark him as a monster. Maybe except for his red eyes, but the witch thought they weren’t scary. She believed they added charm and emphasized the blackness of his hair. She asked him to help her stand up because her whole body still hurt. Magant grabbed the witch’s hand with one hand and embraced her waist with the other, lifting her up so she could stand.
“He’s quite strong.” Deirdra thought, surprised.
They both concluded that it would be better to escape from here. It turns out that the royal knights also attacked the forest, and Ely itself is filled with various traps. They slowly headed towards the cornfield, but unfortunately, Deirdra couldn’t run because of her wounds. Magant kept urging the witch to hurry, but the pain was too strong for her to move faster. The monster, hearing voices coming from deep within the forest, got nervous, took Deirdra, who was unaware of everything, in his arms, and ran ahead.
Deirdra wanted to look around Ely for potential enemies, but she couldn’t, the pain made her squint her eyes, feeling every shake, every step of the monster. He ran very fast, so fast that Deirdra felt dizzy. When they ran out of the forest, she saw that the sun was already high in the sky.
“Martha! I forgot about her. I’m sure she’s awake by now. I wonder what poor thing thought when she saw I wasn’t home?” Deirdra wondered.
Despite the speed at which he moved, Magant pushed aside all the corn in his path to avoid further injuring the already sore body of the witch. After some time, the monster concluded that they were far enough that he could safely set the witch down.
“Thank you. Without you, I would have ended up in the dungeon.” Deirdra was very grateful to her savior.
“No need to thank me. I’ve already said I’ll defend every friend of Ely.” Magant replied.
They stood facing each other, surrounded by tall plants. Deirdra was slightly bent over due to the pain accompanying her. She breathed slowly and shallowly, fearing she might have broken ribs. Nevertheless, she was relieved with how things turned out; it could have been much worse, so she turned to Magant.
“Still, I would like to repay you. Come with me, I’ll treat you in my cottage, you’ll have a warm meal and drink a brew of strengthening herbs. What do you say?”
Magant shouldn’t leave his post; he had to protect the forest. However, after considering the matter, he concluded that he wouldn’t achieve anything alone now anyway. He couldn’t fight the knights and villagers single-handedly. He agreed and asked Deirdra to lead him to her cottage.
The witch was pleased because she didn’t like owing anything to strangers. Not even to acquaintances, that’s how her mother raised her. They walked slowly, surrounded by tall plants. They didn’t talk to each other, which made Deirdra feel uncomfortable. She tried to start a conversation, but Magant wasn’t the type to enjoy small talk. The witch thought that if it didn’t bother him, there was no point in trying.
She looked around and pondered how on earth people, without magical powers, managed to cultivate this vast field. Concluding it shouldn’t concern her; after all, people are soulless, and she was relieved they had a challenging time at work, at least. Raising her gaze, she squinted her eyes; the sky was clear that day, without a single cloud, a weather oddity considering recent events. The sun and warmth added charm and inner peace, yet today witches surely wouldn’t be peaceful.
As they approached the border of the cornfield and Reine, Deirdra was no longer able to walk on her own. Every bone ached, and she had to breathe more and more shallowly, which made her very tired. However, she didn’t want to delay their arrival at the cottage because of Martha, who was surely worried about her friend’s absence.
“I can do it, I can do it.” Deirdra repeated in her mind. “And I’ve already wasted half a day because of my dawdling.”
Indeed, they walked for a very long time. Noon had long passed, and with each passing minute, Deirdra grew more and more worried about what Martha might think of her escape. She wondered if Martha was still in Deirdra’s cottage at all. The witch took another step and fell to the ground, tripping over a cornstalk, which further injured her body. She fainted from the pain. Worried, Magant bent down to see what had happened to the witch. Terrified, he knelt beside her and gently cradled her head on his knees. He tried to revive her, but the witch didn’t respond. Magant didn’t know what to do, nor did he know where to go to reach her cottage. All he could do was try to revive Deirdra and shield her body from the sun. For the first time, he felt concern for someone other than the forest.
After a while, Deirdra regained consciousness. Magant breathed a sigh of relief, worried because he didn’t know what to do, how he could help his new acquaintance.
“Lie down, don’t move, rest for a moment.” Magant said.
Deirdra remained dazed; in this state, clear thinking eluded her, and she began to scrutinize the monster. Assessing his facial features, she was increasingly inclined to think that Magant was a very handsome man. Desiring to touch his face, she raised her hand, but Magant quickly grabbed it.
“Deirdra, you have a wound on your forearm, you’re bleeding!” He said, frightened.
That helped the witch snap out of it. She looked scared at her hand but judged that the wound wasn’t deep enough to worry about.
“It just needs to be cleaned. You don’t have to worry.” Deirdra said softly.
Magant wasn’t convinced; he felt responsible for the witch. He kept looking at her wound, which made Deirdra feel embarrassed.
“I can’t go on, will you help me get to the cottage?” She asked, looking into his eyes.
With a tenderness previously unknown to him, Magant lifted the witch’s body and asked where to go. Deirdra pointed him in the direction. The monster tried to walk as gently as possible so as not to jostle the witch’s body, which had already been through so much in just one day.
Meanwhile, Martha was losing her mind.
“Where is she? What’s happening? Has something happened to her? Has someone kidnapped her?” These chaotic thoughts kept swirling in the witch’s head.
“Calm down, Martha, one step at a time. Remember what has been happening since morning.” The witch decided to analyze her day to remember if there were any signs or clues that could lead her to her friend.
Upon waking up, she noticed that Deirdra wasn’t with her.
“Maybe she went to pick herbs or is taking care of the lake?” She thought.
So, she got out of bed and stretched. She was glad she could finally rest and recuperate. She felt refreshed and ready to continue.
“I’ll go outside the cottage, look for Deirdra.” She thought.
Donning her shoes, she left the cottage and scanned the surroundings once more to ensure her friend wasn’t there. With the sun already high in the sky, the meadow exuded freshness and flowers. Birdsong filled the air, and bees buzzed around. Martha relished the sight, stepping further so that the sun’s rays enveloped her entire body. Closing her eyes, she turned her face to the sky, savoring the moment. After a while, she decided to search for Deirdra, circling the entire lake and scanning the herb-laden meadow, yet unable to find her friend.
“Hmm… where could she have gone?” Martha was getting seriously worried.
She decided to go back to the cottage and have some tea; she was very thirsty after the search. She boiled water and looked around the room. The tiny kitchen, with a hearth and a single cupboard for earthenware, gave no indication that Deirdra had been there. Everything looked the same as they left it the night before. The witch drank her tea, hoping that maybe her friend would return during that time, but nothing indicated that. Martha didn’t know what to do anymore. She thought her only option was to wait. For the rest of the day, she wandered around the meadow and looked for Deirdra. She wanted to call her name, but she was afraid of attracting people’s attention.
“What if she was kidnapped?” She thought, frightened.
She covered her face with her hands and shook her head to dispel those intrusive thoughts. After a few hours of searching, she noticed Magant in the distance, carrying Deirdra in his arms.
“Something happened to her! Is she dead?” The worst-case scenarios raced through Martha’s mind.
Frightened, Martha ran towards them. Magant continued to carry Deirdra with immense tenderness and caution, who, out of exhaustion, was dozing off, leaning her head on the monster’s shoulder.
“What happened to her?” Martha shouted.
“She had an accident.” Magant replied, looking at the now sleeping Deirdra.
“An accident?!” Martha felt her heart pounding harder in her chest.
Grabbing her head, she peered at the ground, fearful it was her fault, yet she composed herself to heal her friend. Requesting Magant to carry Deirdra to her cottage, Martha examined Deirdra’s body during the journey. Noticing bruises emerging in several places and a wound on her arm, which, though no longer bleeding, required cleansing. Upon reaching the cottage, Magant laid the sleeping Deirdra on the bed, while Martha boiled water in the kitchen to prepare a decoction for cleansing the wound on Deirdra’s forearm.
Magant stood by the bed, watching over his new acquaintance. He also felt responsible for the events, for not keeping watch over the forest, for the witch getting injured, and for Ely being taken over by ordinary mortals. He looked out the window and saw that the sun was almost setting. Disappointed with his own actions, he hung his head and knelt by the bed. He tried to think of a way to resolve the whole situation, but nothing came to mind.
After a moment, Martha entered the room, holding a bowl of decoction and a cloth. Magant looked at her and stood up to make room by the bed. Martha approached the bed and placed the bowl on the floor. She soaked the cloth in the decoction, wrung it out, and began to gently clean Deirdra’s wound. Magant watched everything and made sure Martha wasn’t too rough. He wanted Deirdra to be able to rest in the comfort of her own home.
As if reading his thoughts, Martha said:
“Don’t worry, I won’t hurt her. The decoction will help the wound heal quickly.”
“What is the decoction made of?” The monster asked. He was very worried about his new acquaintance and wanted to make sure Martha wouldn’t harm her.
“Calendula.” Martha replied, very focused on her work.
Considering it a wise choice of medicinal plant, Magant was nonetheless apprehensive about infection reaching the wound. Observing Deirdra once more, he noticed bruises on her body, feeling ashamed that he hadn’t managed to catch her after cutting the rope.
“Tell me what happened.” He heard the monster say.
Martha looked him straight in the eyes. He could see she was as worried as he was. He sat on the bench, rested his forehead on his clasped hands, and told him about the events in Ely and in the cornfield.
“Magant… I don’t know what to say.” Martha said, after hearing what had happened. She felt her energy and strength that had been bursting out of her that morning suddenly draining away, replaced by bitterness and fear.
“Do you have a plan for what to do next?” Magant asked.
“I wanted to go to my sister Agnes. But now I’m not sure if I should; someone has to take care of Deirdra.” She replied.
Magant stood up and approached the witch. He saw that both of them were now vulnerable and delicate.
“I’ll take care of Deirdra.” He said with certainty.
“Magant, I don’t want to diminish your abilities, but I’m not sure if you know how to take care of a sick witch.” Martha also stood up and looked gratefully at the monster.
The witch looked at the monster and noticed some changes in his body. She wasn’t sure if it was tactful to ask, but she couldn’t help it.
“The last time we met, you looked different. Your face resembled more of a beast, and your nails seemed to be like wolf claws. I don’t see that now; why is that?” She asked.
“Because at that time, I was determined to attack Ely’s enemies.” Magant replied shortly.
He didn’t want to talk about it; he wanted to take care of Deirdra. However, Martha didn’t understand anything from the monster’s explanation.
“I’m sorry to repeat the question, but I didn’t understand any of that.” Martha said shyly.
“When I want to defend Ely from an attack, I can transform into a wolf. I can undergo a complete transformation or just change a few things in my body.”
Martha was surprised by the answer, but after everything that had happened over the past two days, she didn’t want to dwell on it further. She thought she would integrate this information into their daily lives.
“I’ll go make ointments for Deirdra’s bruises.” She said and left for the kitchen.
Magant took his previous place by the bed and knelt beside it. He took Deirdra’s hand in his to see if Martha had properly cleansed the wound on her forearm. Feeling Magant’s touch, Deirdra opened her eyes. The monster was afraid he had awakened the witch when she should be resting.
“I’m sorry, I just wanted to check on your arm.” He said, letting go of her hand.
“It’s okay, I’m glad you care.” Deirdra tried to smile at the monster. “Where’s Martha? Is she still here?”
“Yes, she is. Do you want me to call her?”
Hearing the tenderness in the monster’s voice, Deirdra felt embarrassed. She nodded, and Magant went to fetch Martha from the kitchen.
Martha burst into the room like a whirlwind. With tears in her eyes, she scolded her friend for her recklessness, yet at the same time assured her how relieved she was that she had returned home. Deirdra wanted to laugh, but she couldn’t; she was still terribly sore.
“Stop it, Martha. Nothing happened.” Deirdra replied to everything.
“Are you kidding me? You could have been killed!” Martha let her emotions out.
Martha started scolding her friend again. Deirdra thought Martha’s hair seemed even redder when she was angry.
“I had to do something; I couldn’t just stand by and hope nothing bad happened to Ely.” Deirdra said.
“I know. I’m grateful for your help, but I’m still angry that you ran away at night and didn’t even leave a message so I’d know where to find you.” Martha replied gently.
The witch looked at Deirdra. She saw bruises turning dark purple, which broke Martha’s heart.
“Do you have a plan for what to do next?” Deirdra asked.
“Well, we don’t know what to do next. I want to go to Agnes, but I won’t leave you alone. You need to recover.” Martha said softly.
“Oh, come on, let me get some sleep, and I’ll be ready for the journey tomorrow!” Deirdra exclaimed.
Hearing this, Magant got nervous, but he didn’t say anything.
“It’s decided; we’re going to Agnes tomorrow.” Deirdra said. “And now let me get some sleep; I need to have strength for tomorrow.”
Martha and Magant, feeling overwhelmed by Deirdra’s courage and temperament, left the room. Martha returned to making ointment, while Magant didn’t know what to do with himself. He wanted to go back to the room to be with Deirdra, but she had asked them to leave. So he decided to go outside and look around the meadow.
Meanwhile, Martha finished making the ointment and thought she would apply it to Deirdra’s bruises tomorrow because she was already sleeping and didn’t want to wake her. She also wondered how to prepare a bed for her and Magant. They needed somewhere to sleep, and her friend had taken up the bed.
“I could sleep with Deirdra in one bed, but what about Magant?” Worried Martha. “All the blankets and pillows are in the trunk in Deirdra’s room, but I don’t want to wake her by rummaging through her things. What would she think of me?”
The witch went outside to look for the monster. She wanted to discuss with him how they could solve the problem of sleeping arrangements, but as soon as she crossed the threshold, her problems dissipated.
Magant was sleeping on the grass. Martha wasn’t surprised; she thought he must have spent his whole life in the cornfield, so he must have slept on bare ground. The witch wanted to give him a blanket, but she couldn’t find one in Deirdra’s cottage, so she decided to go to sleep herself. She entered the bedroom quietly and lay down gently beside her friend. During the night, she dreamt of the forest, from the time when she didn’t have so many problems.
In the morning, Martha was awakened by the smell of burning. Frightened by the vision of a fire, she ran to the kitchen.
“Ouch!” Martha heard as she entered the room.
Magant was standing by the hearth, cursing at the pan. Martha, seeing the monster trying to cook breakfast, burst into laughter. Since the events in Ely, Martha laughed genuinely for the first time; she was grateful that she could release her emotions.
“I tried to make breakfast for you.” The monster began timidly.
Martha looked at him gratefully and offered to finish cooking. The noise in the kitchen woke Deirdra. She got out of bed in pain but decided not to mention it.
“We have a mission to accomplish. As soon as I say something, they’ll lock me up here, and there goes any chance of saving the forest.” She thought.
She went to the kitchen, trying to keep her posture upright. When she entered, she smelled the burnt eggs.
“If you want to burn down my kitchen, there are better ways than ruining food.” Deirdra tried to joke.
Hearing this, Magant looked away. He was embarrassed by the whole situation, feeling his cheeks flush at the sight of Deirdra.
“How are you feeling today?” Martha asked concerned.
Seeing Martha struggling to detach the burnt eggs from the pan, Deirdra laughed.
“You’ve been living in the forest alone for too long and forgot how to cook, Martha.” Deirdra smiled. “Actually, I feel quite good. I hardly feel the bruises.”
Martha looked at Deirdra. She knew she was lying, but she didn’t want to pursue the topic. She knew Deirdra well and knew she wouldn’t change her mind once she had decided on something. If she was determined, she wouldn’t give up.
“Today we’re heading to Agnes.” Deirdra said.
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Finally some romance begins! 😍