Prologue: The Witch's Legend

“Far off in a distant land, where creatures of magic and wander exist, a legend as old as time whispers softly upon the air of a warm evening breeze. Enchanted forests, rigid mountains, and sweeping plains become the settings of an untold fable.

            During such a time as this, a girl was born with extraordinary power and thus was trained to wield her power for good. Shunned by all, she and her mother took care of only themselves. Her mother taught her everything she knew and she practiced her power out in the forest where none dared to go. As she walked into the forest, she would carry a basket make anyone who saw her believe that she was out picking berries or flowers, etc. On her way home she would make certain to have the basket at least half full to keep others from being suspicious about her motives for going and coming with nothing. That was only on the off chance that someone saw her. The villagers believed that the child was normal but the mother a witch who would curse those who defied her wishes. But they were all wrong, her mother was very kind hearted and cared for her daughter with the same love as any mother would. Although she displayed this affection to her daughter in public, none believed it to be true.

            They grew tired of her public displays of affections; small hugs, spoiling her only daughter with anything she wanted. They devised a plan to dispose of the mother. Either in death or banishment, she had to go.

            Years later, when the plan was done, they made their way to the small cottage on the outskirts of the village. They had just made it to the front walkway of the property when an ear-piercing scream came from the back of the mob. They all jumped, startled, and turned to find their village engulfed in flames. Fire emitted from every household and store. All of the lives that the villagers worked so hard to make, now gone.

            ‘Look in the sky!’ one villager screamed, pointing above the village.

            They turned their heads to where he was pointing to find a dragon, fierce and powerful, flying above the village. Fire flowing from its jaws and engulfed, yet, another part of the village in flames.

            The door to the cottage opened and the witch stepped out and stood silently by the door. Her daughter came out from the shadow of the cottage, revealing the beautiful girl of sixteen, whom hasn’t been seen in recent years. She now had long, flowing hair of chestnut-brown and the deep glistening emerald-green eyes of the forest. She was clothed in a cloak of deep burgundy that hung down to her ankles.

            Everyone stood in awe of what she had become over the past few years. Her beauty was beyond compare. She paid no attention to them as she caught sight of the dragon and began to walk ahead to the village. A man hesitantly stepped forward, stretching out his hand, to stop her when a firm hand rested on his shoulder and stopped him. He turned to see that the hand belonged to her mother. He was about to push off her arm when she spoke.

‘Please don’t try to stop her…she must do this on her own.’

He would have told her to keep her hands to herself and reach out to her daughter again, but the tears forming in her eyes kept him still. Hearing her mother’s words, she turned and faced the crowd.

‘Do not worry for me, fore I shall have all the strength I’ll need.’

Her voice was that of a soft violin, playing softly in the breeze that played with her hair, taking the crowd off guard. Her mother saw her cue and walked to her daughter’s side. They walked a few more paces before they turned and faced each other and held each other’s hands. They then began to hum a sound so beautiful the crowd was in awe. It wasn’t until the villager’s notice the pink swirl of smoke beginning to twist and curl around the mother’s arms did they realize what was happening.

‘My God, look at their hands! They’re aglow!’ someone screeched.

‘Tis Satan’s work. They are Satan’s children I tell you!’ another cried out.

‘Satan’s children! Satan’s children!’ the old beggar woman of the village screamed.

The twisting and coiling smoke soon engulfed the mother’s being and began to glow brighter and brighter. The villagers turned away too blinded by the glow to keep their eyes on them much longer. Then there was a bright flash and when the villagers turned, when their eyes adjusted, there was not a single trace of her mother. Not even a piece of her clothes. They looked to the daughter to find a light glow around her pale-pink as it faded.

She then looked over to the villagers and gave them a kind smile as if nothing had happened. They took a universal step back from her in fear. A questioning look crossed her gaze.

‘Why do you cower in fear? I am not going to hurt you, I want to help in any way I that I can.’

She scanned the crowd to find someone -anyone- who showed a sign of believing her statement. None moved, and none showed such a sign.

‘How do we know that you do not lie to our very faces as we speak? We have witnessed with our very eyes that you killed your own mother!! How do we know that you will not do the same to us?’ a voice cried out.

The crowd yelled out in agreement, making her flinch. She then walked back into the dark cottage. The villagers kept their gaze on the door. She stepped back out with a finely crafted broom in her hand. They all stared in bewilderment.

‘Well if you shall not listen to what I have to say, I shall leave then.’

And with those final words she was off into the sky.

 

***

 

She landed briskly in front of the dragon. It, with eyes glowing deep-fire red and its skin the color of coal and ash, looked down upon her with anger and fury. A puff of smoke and flame came from its nostrils as she approached the beast on foot. Its nostrils flared and its wings spanned out, head slashing from side to side.

She looked at the beast with a question in her eyes but put it to the back of her mind. She pulled at the fastening to her cloak at let it glide off her skin to the ground. Her armor underneath was nothing but homemade that she herself molded from scraps she found lying around in the forest.

The dragon set another shop into flames and destruction to show its strength. She paid no heed to the beast and began to mumble a spell under her breath. The dragon aimed the flames at her and she dodged. She stepped forward, allowing her energy to flow into the palm of her hand glowing a vibrant blue.

As the dragon reared its head back for another attempt to thrust its deadly flames upon her, her energy had reached its peak and she formed it into a single bow and arrow. She poised herself into position, waiting for her shot. The dragon took a step forward and she saw her opening. She took no more time and took the shot.

The arrow flew through the air with great speed and pierced the dragon’s chest. The beast’s roar was a cry of pain as it slumped to the ground. She took a cautious step forward to be sure the job was done. A deep voice rung into her head and stopped her in her tracks.

‘Never before have I been defeated.’

She waited a moment before she responded. His voice was shocking to be so calm when just a few minutes before, he was a ferocious beast.

‘By me or anything?’

‘By a human or like this. I have been defeated by others like me.’

‘I am no ordinary human though.’

‘Yes, that I can see, your technique is very effective.’

‘I thank you for your opinion. I have worked for many years on it.’

‘May I ask of you a favor for me?’

‘What is it you ask of me?’

‘I ask that you give me an honorable death that will live on forever, though I do not deserve it.’

‘All creatures deserve honor in death no matter their actions in life, my friend.’

She raised her hands above her head and chanted one last spell. His breath now came in shallow gasps as soft little lights floated down like snow around him.

‘Thank…you…’

His breath then escaped his body as he passed on into the world beyond. The spell raised his body into the air and sat him up at the entrance to the village. The spell then cast a glass smooth diamond covering to protect him from decay and preserve his power.

Ever since that day, she was regarded as the Protector of the village. They say that the dragon is still at the entrance protecting it from any unwelcome guests and that the Protector is still alive but you must go through intensive tests to prove yourself worthy. It is also said that she is looking for someone to take her place and when that person is found she will finally be able to pass on.

The End…”

Alcina’s eyes were filled with wonder. Her dark blonde hair fell across her shoulders as she leaned forward.

“Wow! Tell it again…please, mommy?”

Her mother, sitting on the edge of the bed, gave her a sweet smile. The candle of the bedside table flickered from the gentle breeze that blew through the window.

“No, my darling, you must sleep and be ready for the morning. There will be a lot to do tomorrow and we wouldn’t want you to fall asleep in the middle of it all. Right?”

Alcina yawned and gave in.

“Okay…”

Her mother leaned over and kissed her five-year-old on the forehead. Alcina yawned again and lay back under the covers. Her mother began to tuck her in.

“Momma?”

“Yes?”

“Poppa's never coming back is he?”

She froze and looked over to meet her daughter’s sad ocean-blue eyes of who already knew the answer. A lump formed in her throat. She couldn’t lie to Alcina forever, could she? She pondered the aspect for a moment.

“Momma?”

Her mind wondered back to when she first met him. She had been working in the local drinking house to raise money for a new life. All the married men were drunk and began to harass her about wanting to take her home with them. She asked them to stop but they ignored her pleas and began to pull her closer to them. She grew tired of it and began to yell at them.

‘If you don’t stop that, I’ll get you kicked out of here.’

He was sitting a few chairs down laughing. She looked over at him.

‘What? You gonna join in too?’

He looked at her with the most gorgeous eyes she had ever seen. They were on the verge of being gold. A soft, yet striking amber-brown, still had deep specks of green around the rim of the iris. His hair black as the nighttime shadows. She still saw the laughter in his eyes when he spoke.

‘No. I just never saw a woman with so much…spunk before.’

‘Well, at least you get the message, now if only they did.’

He then got up and put his arm around her waist and turned to the other men.

‘Sorry guys, but this girl’s mine and if you lay one hand on her…’ his voice turned deep and dangerous ‘…you’re a dead man.’

She felt her face flush at his possessiveness and the other men groaned in disappointment. He led her back to his table and sat her down across from him.

‘I really should be getting back to work.’ She said still looking at the floor.

‘Not until we talk for a bit.’

Before she knew it, they were engaged in conversation and she couldn’t help but notice his striking features. His strong jaw line, his muscles that bulged under his shirt, and those deep mesmerizing eyes made her stomach flutter and her cheeks blush.

They married shortly after. She tried to explain to him who she was, show him her powers, but her words would catch in her throat. He became engulfed in his work and thus she couldn’t tell him. Seven years went slowly by and his work finally lessened enough to tell him.

With their five-year-old daughter in bed asleep she told him. He stared at her, stunned.

‘Please say something. I tried to tell you.’

‘When?’

‘The right time never ca--’

‘And this is the right time? SEVEN years and this is the right time?’

‘Momma? Poppa?’

Alcina came around the corner, rubbing her eye sleepily, to see her mother kneeling on the floor crying. Her father heading toward the door. She ran after him.

‘Poppa, where are you going?’

He turned and knelt down. She ran into his arms. He held her tight and whispered, his voice rasp, into her ear.

‘Be strong and take care of your mother.’

‘Poppa…don’t go.’

‘I’ll be back, I promise. I just need some time right now.’

For five months, Alcina waited by the window for him. Every night, disappointment was all she received. Now she’s asking the very question that’s been on her mind.

“Momma?”

She was brought back to the present and looked at Alcina. With a sigh she sat back down on the edge of the bed and turned to Alcina. She held out her pinky to her daughter.

“No lies?”

Alcina wrapped her pinky around her mothers.

“No lies.”

She stared down at the floor.

“I …don’t know, honey. He left saying he would but don’t know.”

“How long has he been gone?”

“Five months.”

Alcina’s eyes filled with hope.

“So there’s still time?”

“Time for what?”

“For him to come home.”

She couldn’t stop the tears from coming and flowing down her face. Alcina got out form under the covers and held to her mother. Her mother cried for, what seemed like, a long time before she composed herself again. She wiped the tears away and looked over at her daughter, the last connection with him. It brought joy yet sorrow to her heart.

How could he leave them? Was it that much of a shock for him to take?

“I don’t know,” she murmured. “I just don’t know.”

Alcina looked down in shame and then looked back up at her mother.

“I won’t ask again…Please don’t cry.”

“No. Asking is good.”

“But it made you cry.”

“Yes, but…”

She paused. Searching for the right words to say.

“It’s just that I loved your father very much but I kept a big secret from him and when I finally told him, he was…he was…shocked, I guess.”

Alcina thought about this for a while.

“So…secrets are…bad?”

“No. Secrets just need to be told to the right person. Someone you trust the most. Anyone else might try to take advantage of the knowledge and use it against you.”

“Oh…”

“Now it’s definitely time for you to sleep.”

She tucked Alcina in again and walked to the door. She paused in the doorway and looked back. Alcina began to drift asleep.

“Goodnight, Alcina.” she whispered.

The candle dimmed then blew out.