Daeva stared into the cauldron and shook her head. “She’s known these two for less than a day, and yet she risks her life to help them! Why does she value them so much?”
The other three witches shrugged, and then Kadera suggested, “So, why not capture the other two and lure her here? She doesn’t overcome any obstacles without their help, so she’ll be weak without their help.”
Daeva dismissed this notion. “No, no! If we were to harm her friends, it would only increase her fury and desire to get to us. Remember, we want to distance ourselves from her.” She paused and added, “We’ll have to figure it out later though. I have something pressing to attend to.” And with that, she ambled out of the room.
In the castle Rogamaith, King Dorian blankly focused on the door on the other side of the meeting room. The round table he sat at had piles of papers haphazardly strewn enough to leave very little room left on it. The door opened, and a man who also dressed in royal garb gingerly entered. “King Dorian?”
“King Kahlil,” Dorian mechanically replied, “enter.” Kahlil shut the door behind him and chose the least cluttered spot to sit down at. Dorian hollowly asked, “How can I help you?”
“How can you help?” Kahlil answered in astonishment. “I’m here to find out why you arbitrarily cut off trade with my land!”
“I explained it all in my letter,” Dorian apathetically recalled. “The people of Caragsona no longer need to rely on foreign goods. We are entirely self sufficient, and by producing our own goods, I’ve created more jobs for my people. Since we’ve done that, we’ve become the economic envy of the world!”
Kahlil countered with, “I’ve heard otherwise. Our reports have indicated that your infrastructure is crumbling and many of your citizens are starving!”
“These reports are false!” Dorian scoffed.
“King Dorian,” Kahlil differed, “My sources come from the testimony of some of your own people!”
“Those people are lying!” Dorian picked up a piece of paper from a large pile next to him and manically waved it at Kahlil. “Do you see this data? It shows an increase of annual household earnings! And this one!” He picked up a sheet from another pile. “Our castle treasury reported an increase on the new budget due to more people paying taxes! The previous king let our roads and buildings decay, we cannot realistically fix the entire land after a mere ten years! And if anyone is starving, it is through their own folly! Caragsona is doing better than ever since I took charge!”
Kahlil did not look swayed. “If we hear that you are committing such atrocities against your own people, we will have no choice but to send our military and-!”
“You wouldn’t dare wage war against my kingdom!” Dorian snapped. “Our knights would destroy yours in an instant! I am insulted by your hostile attitude! You are no longer welcome in Caragsona! If we see you or any of your officials near our land, you will be met with our military force! Get out!” With a look of grave sympathy, Kahlil marched out. Dorian sat down, sighed, and continued to stare at the door absentmindedly.
Yasmina, Ardeshir, and Aidan sat on some stones, which were between leafy trees that overlooked a jewel-like lake. Aidan snacked on some berries and nuts while Ardeshir gave Yasmina a lesson, “Don’t close your eyes!”
“How am I supposed to look inward without closing my eyes?” Yasmina probed.
Ardeshir continued, “How can you see what object you’re hexing if your eyes are closed?” Yasmina thought he had a point but clearly struggled to implement his recommendations, so Ardeshir told her, “Okay, practice looking inwardly with your eyes closed for a moment.” Yasmina closed her eyes, and Ardeshir asked, “What do you feel?”
Yasmina answered, “I feel the smoothness of the rock underneath me.”
“Good. Now move upwards to your organs,” Ardeshir directed.
Yasmina complied and felt her body from the inside. “I feel my stomach full from our lunch. I feel my heart beating from…excitment. And I feel energy coursing through my veins.”
“Good! That’s your magic!” Ardeshir informed her. “Use your mind to push it towards your wand.”
Yasmina followed his word and willed her powers to flow all the way down her arm, and it reminded her of the spell she produced when they fought that beast at the start of their journey. It differed from the fire she produced in Santach, which got created by instinct just as it had the few times she did magic by accident in the past, but the magic she used against the monster had been the first time she did it on purpose. She had some sense of how it worked, but now that Ardeshir had explained it, it really clarified the topic for her.
“Now, concentrate on what you want the magic to do,” Ardeshir instructed. “Command it to move that pebble in front of you. But first your eyes need to-.” Before Ardeshir had finished his sentence, energy shot out of Yasmina’s wand that made the pebble Ardeshir referred to explode with such a force that Aidan had to use his arms to shield his eyes. Ardeshir inquired, “Did you do that intentionally?”
“No!” Yasmina became upset and turned to face the other way. She held back her tears of frustration; she did not want to admit she let her emotions get the better of her.
Ardeshir empathized with her, but Aidan was the first to act. He went over to her rock, sat beside her, and put a sympathetic hand on her back. “It just takes practice!”
Yasmina felt comforted by his gesture, but she did not feel reassured about her abilities. “What if I don’t get better? What if this is the best I can do? I mean, the entire kingdom depends on my magic, and I just can’t get it right!”
“You’ve put a lot of pressure on yourself to be perfect,” Aidan observed. “Do you think my family was all knowing? We made the best decisions we could with the information we had at the time. Sometimes those choices had terrible consequences, but we learned from those experiences and made new policy from it so that no one had to go through our hardships again. And when we realized we made a mistake, we found ways to remedy what was done. We weren’t always successful, but we found satisfaction in knowing we did all we could. I didn’t bring you on this journey assuming you’d be perfect. Everyone makes mistakes, but you’ll find a way to overcome them and emerge victorious! I mean it! I have a feeling you’re going to do just fine!” He saw her smile weakly, and he could tell his message started to sink in. “Why don’t you take a break from learning and clear your head a bit.”
Yasmina didn’t respond to his encouragement or kind words. She stared out at the lake, but her expression started to soften. After a while, she noted, “It’s so unfortunate that evil overtook the Shadow Path! It really is beautiful here!”
“It really is!” Aidan agreed while also looking out at the water. “Once we take back the throne, this path will open up to good again, and everyone will have a chance to see it again!” Yasmina’s face showed hints of doubts, so Aidan iterated, “You have to believe that if we’re going to get through this!”
“You’re right!” Yasmina tried to convey as much confidence as she could in that sentiment. “Someday soon, everyone will get to enjoy it as we have!” Before anyone could expand on the subject, something from within the lake moved! Yasmina stood up with her wand ready while Aidan did the same with his sword. As whatever it was grew closer, it made a bigger and bigger ripple in the water. When it neared the surface, they saw air bubbles form. Suddenly, something big splashed out, and they were prepared for a fight. After a moment though, they could see the thing was a stunning horse with a mane so silky that it looked aquatic! It trotted up to them playfully and beckoned for them to climb on its back. Aidan and Yasmina lowered their weapons but did not appear remotely tempted to ride the horse. Yasmina said sarcastically, “Oh, a horse that can apparently breathe under water wants me to ride it, nothing bad could possibly happen, right? You wouldn’t happen to be trying to drown me, would you?” The horse’s expression soured and it sniffed in resentment. Yasmina, Aidan, and Ardeshir laughed as they left the lakeside.
After they returned to the Shadow Path, Ardeshir praised Yasmina, “You remembered something we taught you! Well done!”
“Thanks!” Yasmina realized he was right and sheepishly smiled.
“Now, can you name the monster?” Aidan teased.
Yasmina tried to recall the name of the creature but couldn’t, and when she saw the smirk on Aidan’s face, she objected, “Oh, come on! I remembered everything else about the beast! Isn’t that enough?” The three of them had another hearty laugh as they continued walking.
As they trekked through a very wooded area, they all seemed to be in a contemplative mood. Now that she had given her brain a break, she felt more balanced. She savored the sight of the jagged trees and the sound of birds settling in the branches. She really did feel it was a shame that this path turned to evil because the beauty of its nature was almost blinding! As she heard even more birds land on the treetops, she felt glad that a few normal animals inhabited the area. Suddenly, the clang of metal sounded from above them, causing the three travelers to stop in their tracks. Curiously, they craned their necks to see what happened. What they saw made their jaws drop!
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