by Ritu Ghosh
Aaron’s head hurt and slowly he remembered what had happened last night. It took him more time than usual to get ready for Breakfast as he kept getting lost in thoughts. The thoughts of his village and the people there, thoughts of wolves and Lurgs, and how terrifying it must have been in the village when they attacked.
He suddenly realized how risky it is to fight Zorath, the Dark Lord. When he finally got dressed and packed, he walked towards the dining room with a heavy heart.
Everyone at the table had almost finished their breakfasts. Billy was sitting silently next to Flynn. Aaron didn’t remember seeing Billy since he met him last night. It was as if he had disappeared into thin air for the night.
The table had exotic dishes, the aroma of freshly cooked bread filled the room but it made Aaron feel sick. It brought too many memories of his home. The home he didn’t have any more. Nobody spoke at the table till Aaron was done.
“Aaron, we will do whatever it takes to find your brother” Ony said with determination.
“Yes” agreed Belster “If there is any chance to find your little brother, we will be with you till the end” Sandra and Jane nodded in agreement.
Aaron felt good. Never in his life, so many people were concerned about him.
“We are in this together Aaron. We will fight with all out strength to bring him back.” Dan assured.
Aaron felt a confidence building inside him. He did not feel alone anymore, for the first time in his life, he felt that he belonged to a big family who really were there for each other.
The horses were kept ready outside. The Defenders mounted on them quickly after exchanging kind words and goodbyes with Tom Cinn and promising him many times that they will come back soon.
Dan took the lead and next to him rode Jane to show the way to others. Soon, they were crossing the woods with massive trees with thick branches which almost touched the blue sky. They rode till the sun started to set. The sky appeared golden red at the Horizon. They had reached a meadow filled with red and white flowers. These flowers were very rare and they filled the air with their sweet aroma. They rode through the meadow.
Many miles through the beautiful meadow that had strange flowers and fruits, they saw a lonely hut with no barriers or gate. Dan and Jane stopped in front of the hut and so did everyone else. Jane made all the horses stand in a row and suddenly a barricade appeared around them from the ground. Leaving the horses safe in the barricade, Jane asked everybody else to follow her inside the house.
Before knocking on the door, she turned towards everyone and spoke in a hushed voice “This is my grandma’s house, but she has a problem. She has lost most of her memory, so she might appear a little strange to you. Please don’t panic. We will be here only for the night” she then turned towards the door while everyone stood behind her.
The hut was not much of a looker. It was made with mostly mud and dry leaves and some wood here and there. The windows were so crooked that it looked like the house could fall apart anytime. Aaron and Flynn exchanged looks, they were thinking of the same thing. How in the world would so many people fit in such a small hut?
Jane took a deep breath and finally knocked on the tattered old wooden door, nobody answered for a while.
“Grandma, it’s me Jane, open the door. I am here with some friends.”
But still, the door didn’t open. She knocked a few more times.
“I don’t think she‘s home” Sandra said standing at the back with folded arms. Flynn seemed to adore her from a distance as he was not allowed to speak to her anymore.
“She never goes anywhere. I hope she is alright.” Jane gave up and decided to leave.
As they were about to turn back, the door opened with a creak. Nobody appeared from inside.
“Grandma!” Jane shouted as she went inside. Everyone followed her reluctantly. It was pretty dark. Jane clapped her hands three times and the whole room was lit, but they were no lamps. Some strange glass balls were illuminated high on the ceilings and the walls.
The inside of the hut was not at all the way they imagined. It was not dingy and falling apart with old and broken furniture. It was a big hall with beautiful wooden furniture covered with magenta silk coverings. The place was huge, and deceived its appearance from the outside. The hall looked so well maintained that it reminded them of a palace. Many more rooms could be seen down the hall. Aaron couldn’t believe his own eyes.
“What is this place?!” Aaron asked amazed.
“I can’t believe we are inside a hut” Flynn said with his mouth wide open.
“Oh! This is an enchanted castle. My grandpa built it. From outside, it appears like a poor peasant’s hut, but from inside, it a real castle” she said absent mindedly and disappeared into one of the rooms still calling her grandma.
Everyone was astonished. Ony was checking a large mirror in which he appeared to be fit and lean. “I like this place” he said loudly, looking very happy.
Flynn kept his distance from Sandra, but he wished to speak to her. Soon, everyone was sitting on the soft cushions and talking to each other. The tiredness of their journey stared to wear off.
“So, you have finally come my king!” an old lady was standing in front of them, she wore a long pink gown with her white hair tied in a bun. She was looking at Dan who had his jaws open in surprise. She walked closer to him and took his right hand and stared to kiss it. “Oh! I am blessed, the king has come to my house” she said. Dan stood there looking at everyone expecting someone to know what the old lady was saying. After a few minutes, she turned toward Ony “Long live the minster of the king, oh master Lan, what a pleasant surprise!”
Ony looked puzzled and Flynn laughed with his hands on his mouth.
The old lady turned to Belster and her expressions changed “Your king is standing. How dare you sit in front of him? Stand up and respect your king”
Belster stood at once, the irritation showed on his face immediately. Flynn gave out another chuckle and looked down at the floor as Belster eyed him.
“Won’t you bring a glass of water for your king?” The old lady was looking mad now. Nobody knew what was going on.
Before Belster could say anything, Jane walked into the hall.
“Grandma! there you are. I have been looking all over for you”
“Jane” she gave a loud cry and hugged Jane tight and showered her face with kisses till Jane could pull away.
“Look Jane, the king himself has come to visit me” she pointed to Dan.
“And his minister too” she said, pointing to Ony.
“And their good for nothing servant.” she pointed towards Belster who was clenching his fist to keep himself in control.
“But who are these people?” she wondered looking at Aaron, Flynn, Billy and Sandra.
“They are my friends grandma” Jane said quickly “They came with me!”
“Oh! What a lucky day. The king comes to my house and my granddaughter is here too with her friends. I am going to make a feast for our dinner.” She said and walked away singing a happy tune.
Jane waited till she was out of sight. “It looks like she thinks that you are the king, I don’t know why, but it’s better for us to play along. Anyways, we are here only for the night” Jane said. Everyone agreed. Belster didn’t like it a bit, he agreed reluctantly.
The bedrooms, kitchen, dining, cellar and pantry of the enchanted castle were grand. Jane gave all of them a tour of the castle which left everybody pleased and wondering that how an old lady alone takes care of such a big house. They met Jane’s grandmother again in the kitchen. She was busy making all kind of delicacies for them. The papers on which the recipes were written were flying all around her as she cooked.
Jane showed them to their rooms where they stretched their legs and took a short nap before dinner.
Aaron felt very much at home. It was cozy and much care had been taken in the arrangement of everything. He looked forward to dinner. He wanted to speak to Jane again. It g
ave him so much calm. He thought that she has all the answers he needed. She was full of magic just like his mother would have been.
Aaron had a ton of questions regarding magic. Till a few days back he didn’t know that magic existed and now he has seen so much in just a little time. Jane came from the same place as his mother. And now, they would be reaching that same place very soon. His curiosity about Witch Valley was growing by the minute.
Soon, Jane called him for dinner. Aaron changed into more comfortable cloths and came to the table with Flynn. Jane’s grandma had filled the table with all kinds of dishes. There were five kinds of main course. Chicken with roasted potatoes and green beans; Broccoli and baked Duck; barbecued lamb; Cos and lentil salad; slow roasted garlic beef and plenty of fresh milk bread. For dessert, there was a big apple pie. All the food was mouth watering. After eating most of the dishes, there was no place for the beef in Aaron’s stomach. After finishing their deserts, all of them helped clean up the table.
Aaron decided to take a little walk after dinner. Most of them were sleepy after the big meal. They all left to their rooms. Aaron slipped out through the back door. Outside the house, he found that the castle had changed into a hut again. The meadow still smelled fresh and the citric smell of some fruit that was in the air was overbearing. The moon was full that night and he could see everything very clearly. He found a cluster of rocks nearby and sat on one of them thinking about his future.
A touch startled him. As he looked back, Jane was standing there with her generous smile. She wore her white gown again and looked like an angel.
“What are you doing outside all alone?” she asked as she sat near him.
“Nothing…” Aaron didn’t want to sound worried. They said nothing for a while but stared into the endless meadows under the moonlight. The wind was blowing gently, it was not too cold.
“So were you born a witch?” Aaron asked.
“Nobody can be born a witch or a wizard. Magic is something that one has to earn. One should learn and master it over many years. But yes, I was born among witches and wizards. I was lucky that way” Jane answered.
“What’s magic like? Can you do anything you want?” Aaron asked.
“Not really. There are many rules and laws which we have to follow. We can’t do whatever we want. Besides, most of us do not even know about all kinds of magic. Some of us have special gifts only we can use” Jane looked like a princess under the moonlight with her hair shining golden and the glow of the moon on her face. Aaron felt dizzy without any intoxication. The night got deeper and it became really cold. They knew they had to go inside soon.
He finally asked “So everyone who knows magic follows these rules?”
Jane’s expressions turned grave. “Not really, the wizards who practice dark magic do not. They go against the rules of magic like playing with people’s free will. But that has its consequences. Any such person will never be at peace.”
“Are witches fighting against the evil force too?” Aaron asked wondering.
Jane hesitated at the question. She straightened her dress and said “No, they don’t. They never have, they are just fond of their magic, and they do not want any trouble”
“Then how come you are fighting?” Aaron asked doubtfully. Jane looked up at the moon as is she was gathering strength to speak. She gave a deep sigh. “Some of us do not want to hide and that’s why we are fighting.”
Aaron looked puzzled. He thought knowing magic should make anyone brave.
“When the destruction first began, the magic race stayed clear of it. They said they have nothing to do with Dark Magic. They knew that Zorath will never attack them because they were powerful wizards themselves. Zorath wanted us as his friends because together, we could become very powerful. The elders did not wanted to do so, they did not accept Zorath’s proposal. When Zorath started to attack the other kingdoms, the kings came to us for help. It became harder to refuse as time went by. So the eldest wizard of that time, Macsandor put a spell around our town to keep it invisible from all the passersby. Only the ones who knew magic could get through. People never came asking for help again, but it became difficult for some of us to live in ignorance. We knew what was going on out there, so when the Light king’s invitation was received, a few of us went to the kingdom of light to prove ourselves. One wizard was chosen to become a defender and a small group of witches and wizards supported him. I am a part of that group Aaron, we want to fight and restore the order. We do not want to hide anymore. Besides, we are not hidden from anything which has magic like the Lurgs or the Dark Lord himself. The elders do not understand that we are the biggest threat to the Dark Lord. He might wipe us out any time if he wants to. We have to stand up for ourselves” Jane explained. Aaron nodded. He thought how little he knew about the world he was living in, till now.
“We should go inside; we have to start for the valley early morning” Jane said as she stood up. Aaron followed Jane inside the hut and closed the door behind him. Jane planted a kiss on his cheeks “Good night.” she said and walked to her room. Aaron stood there feeling his ears turning pink.
Chapter 14
The Witch Valley
The next morning everyone said goodbyes to Jane’s grandmother. She hugged all of them. Everyone, except for Belster was happy. He was made to the house chores while the others slept.
Their horses were well kept safe inside the barricades. They were rested and well fed. The wooden barricaded disappeared into the grounds again as Jane commanded them to.
They were now on their way to the Witch Valley. They rode through the beautiful meadows for a long time till it ended abruptly. The skies were gray and cloudy. Jane and Dan stopped at the end of the last tree and served everyone a breakfast of oatmeal porridge. After eating, everyone admired the meadows for the last time. Ony lighted his pipe and blew smoke rings in silence as he sat under the tree.
They continued their journey as the day passed. Occasionally, they stopped for a short rest and for water. The roads were plain and clearly visible. They stared to climb a mountain, the road turned harder as they went up. The trees at every step made it difficult to ride. Dan asked everyone to get down and walk with their horses till they came to the open roads.
Aaron stopped and watched, he could see far from the top of the mountains. He could see the vastness of the land. It was endless. Dan saw him standing alone and came to him.
“These are the Northern Lands of Kron kid! There is Arktor. We will be reaching there soon” he said, pointing to a greener patch of land far away.
“And there is your village, we left it far behind” he pointed in the other direction.
Dan then told him about all the kingdoms in the Northern Lands. Aaron realized how well travelled Dan was. Aaron listened to him with all his attention. The fact that Ony told him there was a rivalry between Dan and his father made him a bit uncomfortable.
“Its not safe here, we should go” Ony came panting towards them.
“What do you mean?” Dan frowned.
“Lurgs, I saw lurgs down below the mountains.” Ony added.
Aaron looked in horror at Dan.
“If Ony has seen Lurgs, that can only mean that the Searchers have found us. We better hurry out of the valley” Dan said.
Dan hurried towards his horse and Ony told the rest of them about the Lurgs. In no time, they all rode together at a high speed.
“We have to avoid the road at any cost, we cannot be seen by the Lurgs” Dan shouted “Do you know another way to the valley?” he asked Jane.
“I do! Alfadon showed it to me once. It is through a forest. But it is very dangerous. Without Alfadon we may not be able to cross it” she replied.
“We don’t have a choice now, show us the way!” Dan gave way for Jane to lead.
“But there are vicious creatures in this forest; it has not been disturbed for ages. There could be anything in there” Jane was unwilling to lead them there.
“It’s either th
e Lurgs or the forest” Dan looked at Jane as if he was giving her a choice. “We do not even know the number of Lurgs yet” he added.
Jane turned her head and looked towards the east.
“Follow me!” She said and galloped away towards the east. Dan signaled everyone else to follow her.
Soon, they came off the clear path and were standing in front of the forest that Jane had told them about. There were some strange trees where the forest began. It was very dark inside. Jane was staring at the forest, she was not ready to go in there.
“What are we waiting for?” asked Belster impatiently.
Billy and Flynn looked uncomfortable too.
Suddenly they heard the sound of a horn. Everyone looked at each other with puzzled eyes.
“The Lurgs are coming! They have tracked our trails. Fast! Into the forest” Dan said and vanished inside the forest quickly. Nobody stopped to think, they entered the forest at once. They rode through the dense forest holding onto their dear lives.
Aaron stuck close to Jane, he checked on everyone from time to time looking around in the dim light. The trees were enormous and Flynn was murmuring his prayers. Some trees looked like they have eyes and were looking back at them. Flynn with his eyes closed, almost got hit by a branch that appeared in front of him, he ducked just in time to save himself. The forest was so silent that it bothered Aaron. He had never seen such eerie silence in any jungle. They eventually had to slow down as the ground became very wet and muddy at places. They came near a pond. There was moss everywhere.
“Stay on the stones and the fallen branches” Jane commanded, but there was panic in her voice that Aaron recognized. Now, they were going at a walking pace as it was really hard to ride on the little dry patch of land that was full of stones and dry branches.
“Why is it so silent here?”asked Aaron “Why aren’t the birds chirping?”
“Trust me, you would not like to see the birds that live here” Jane said looking at the sky.
