The Witch's Apprentice and the Princess

The river ran backwards on the day the Queen vanished. The crops withered and the sun disappeared from the sky. When I was a child, a woman came up to me and told me this day would come. I truly wished that it was just the ramblings of an old hag. But standing here seeing it all happen just as she said, I hate that she was right.

“Dammit old hag! Where did you fly off too?” I shouted annoyed. When I was just a child abandoned on the streets, a nice and kind lady took me in. That’s when I met the old hag. The witch and the woman who I came to call my mom. I still didn’t know why the two of them are together. Apparently that old hag is a very kind and caring person. At least that’s what mom says. She isn’t kind or caring to me. I know my mom loves her and has told me lots of stories about how they lived their life and eventually got married. However, that old hag is nothing like the woman from the stories my mom tells me.

“Bonnie, would you stop teasing Sylvia so much. She’s starting to think you actually hate her.” Mom shouted out the kitchen window. Starting to think that? I’ve known she’s hated me since I arrived at this house.

“I wasn’t teasing anyone. I went out this morning and just got back.” The old hag yelled back as she came down on her broom with a bag of herbs in tow.

“You could have told me; I would have gone with you.” I said to the old hag sincerely.

“Huh? Why would I want you to come with me?” She replied snarky.

“That’s it! Why do you hate me so much you old hag?” I shouted angrily.

“Cause.” The old hag said matter-of-factly.

“How is that an answer? It’s been fifteen years and the only emotion you have shown me in anger. What’s with that? You told me what would happen when the Queen vanished, and now that the day has come you haven’t said anything to me about it.” I started yelling but slowly calmed myself down.

“When did the Queen vanish?” she said surprised. I just looked at her dumbfounded.

“You didn’t know!” I shouted louder than I have in my whole life. Mom came out of the house and walked up the old hag. She started whispering in her ear. The old hag looked annoyed but nodded her head in agreement. Mom gave her a kiss on the cheek and then walked over to me and gave me a hug.

“I really wish you two would get along better. I really do, but I know that’s hard for Bonnie. The only person she ever liked was me. That’s why she agreed to marry me. Even if she was reluctant at first.” She laughed a little a the last thing she said. Mom always spoke so soft and kindly. Just hearing her talk was enough to make anyone relax. “I just want you to know she really does care about you. She just has her own way of showing it. But when we are alone, she talks fondly of you. I just thought you should know. As far as the Queens disappearance, Bonnie doesn’t want you involved. That’s why she is feigning ignorance. But she has known about this for a while. She tried to stop it, but the person responsible is far more powerful. It’s just too dangerous. So I also don’t want you involved. You are my daughter, I want you to be safe. I’m not a witch, I don’t have any special power or ability. All I can do is stay home and hope you come back safe. I also wanted you to be able to protect yourself. It’s why I asked Bonnie to teach you. I want you to live a long and happy life. So please, leave this to Bonnie.” Mom said slightly holding back tears. I couldn’t say no.

“I understand mom. I thought that’s what the old hag was training me for. But if it was too much for even her, I won’t be of any help. So, I will leave it up to her and continue my own training.” I said sincerely.

“Thank you dear.” Mom said happily. She smiled and gave me one more hug before heading back in the house.

“So, you want to keep training huh?” the old hag said annoyed. Man, she really knows how to push my buttons.

“I do.” I said through my teeth trying to suppress the rage that mom just calmed out of me.

“Great. Let’s get started I guess.” She said sarcastically and headed out to our training area. Mom says she cares about me? Yeah right.

**********************************************************************

“Here. This is yours.” The old hag said reluctantly and handed me a book.

“Wait. Is this?” I said getting excited.

“It’s your first grimoire. Create a way of disguising your writing and show it to me tomorrow. That’s all for today.” The old hag said coldly and flew away on her broom.

“My own grimoire!” I shouted excitedly. For us witches a grimoire is our most treasured possession. It holds spells, research, and many secrets. Because of this, all witches create their own special way to hide the contents of the grimoire. Some create a special language, some a hidden code in the way they write, I even heard of a witch who made her grimoire a cookbook. Each normal cooking ingredient was a key word that correlated to a witches spell. It was a really smart idea. But I have something more elaborate planned. That old hag will never be able to decipher my grimoire. She never told me how to decode her grimoire. She told me that no one should ever know how to read your grimoire. It makes sense, but it also kind of sounds lonely.

“You. You’re a witch!” someone yelled from the woods. A woman dressed in the armor of a royal knight emerged from the woods, sword at the ready.

“I’m not what you think I am” I said hesitantly. I mean she clearly said witch. Which isn’t wrong. But also, not completely accurate.

“I saw you and that other woman. She just flew. So, it’s no point in hiding. Tell me where the Queen is! Now!” said the woman nervously.

“Look. I am a witch's apprentice. My name is Sylvia. We don’t know where the Queen is. I promise. Look, why don’t you come to my home, and you can look for yourself. We have nothing to hide. We live out here peacefully. We don’t mean harm to anyone.” I said as sincerely as I possibly could.

“Fine. Show me the way. I’m Liz by the way.” She said and as she took a step forward, she stumbled forward a little. Her face was somewhat covered, but it looked like she might be scared. She was shaking too.

“Right. Umm. This way.” I said and walked up to her so I could show her the way. As she turned around to follow me, she tripped, and I reached out to catch her.

“Are you ok?” I asked worried. I didn’t notice at first, but now that she was in my arms I could tell she was not.

“I. am. Fine.” She said stubbornly trying to breathe through some kind of obvious pain.

“You are clearly not. I am taking you to my home.” I said sternly.

“I thought witches were mean. But you seem really nice and kind.” She said softly, but she winced whenever she slightly moved at all. She’s clearly in really bad shape and not good at hiding it.

“Here we go.” I said and picked her up.

“What are you…” She started to say but then passed out. Who is this person? She must be hiding her injuries under this armor. Maybe picking her up was too much? I think she just passed out from the pain.

**********************************************************************

“Mom! I found someone in the woods! She’s injured!” I shouted when I approached the house. Mom came out and saw me carrying Liz, then ran back inside and prepared a space for me to place her down.

“Start by taking off her armor.” My mom spoke quickly and with purpose. I followed her orders exactly. Once her armor was removed, we could see the blood stains.

“This is bad Sylvia. Without Bonnie here, I am going to have to rely on you. I can’t cast spells, but I know them. Listen carefully and repeat after me. Understood.” She said seriously. I have never seen my mom like this before. I nodded that I understood.

“I need you to say you can do this. If you can’t confidently say you can do this, we need to take another approach. Tell me you understand and can do this.” Mom was a little intense, but at the same time I could tell she was worried about me.

“I can do this.” I spoke confidently.

“Good. Now repeat after me.” She started saying the spell and made sure to speak clearly. I was nervous, but mom somehow was able to keep me calm and focused. It was as if I wanted to freak out but somehow was unable to. The spell took about five minutes to complete. I am sure that if that old hag was here, it would have taken no time at all.

“You did great Sylvia. I am very proud of you. For now, she is stable, but we should have Bonnie look her over once she gets back.” Mom said after we finished treating her major wounds.

“Honestly, I was somehow very calm, but now I am starting to realize what just happened and I am shaking. That was pretty scary.” I said nervously.

“You did everything correctly. You did an amazing job and saved her life. I am so very proud of you.” She said kindly and gave me a hug.

“Thanks mom.” I said a little relieved. That was a lot scarier than I would have imagined.

“Do you know anything about this woman?” My mom asked curiously.

“All I know is that she said her name is Liz, and she was looking for the queen. She saw the old hag fly away and thought that we took her.” I said factually.

“Liz? It couldn’t be.” She said quietly. Does she know who this is?

“Well for now, lets let her rest. I’ll start making dinner. Stay with her would you? Its best if she doesn’t wake up alone.” Mom said and left the room.

**********************************************************************

“Where am I?” Liz said hazy.

“You are in my home. You’re safe now. We took care of your wounds. You were gravely injured. I am amazed that you were able to stand when you confronted me in the woods.” I said softly to try not to alarm her.

“You healed me?” She said a little surprised. “You really are kind, just like I thought.” She said happily and smiled. She tried to sit up, but I pushed her back down.

“Don’t get up just yet. You need to rest. My mom is making dinner for us. You were only asleep for a couple hours. We will sit you up once dinner is ready. For now, just continue to lie down.” I told her. I am actually worried that if she moves all her injuries will just appear again.

“Sylvia, you don’t have to worry so much about it. Her wounds aren’t going to magically reappear. You did everything correctly. I wouldn’t recommend that she go back to her knightly duties, but she’ll be able to walk around.” She said in her usual calm and caring voice but put extra emphasis on the word knightly. I think my mom knows who this is.

“Also, Lady Liz, my daughter is a very kind and caring person, but she doesn’t know much about what goes on in the capital. I think it would be beneficial to be truthful with her.” My mom said seriously. Today is just full of surprises.

“So, you know who I really am then?” Liz asked letting out a sigh. I looked over at my mom and she nodded then left the room. How does mom know Liz?

“Your mom is smart. She really cares about you, doesn’t she?” Liz asked me curiously.

“Yeah, she does. Although, I have never seen her so serious before. When I brought you here, it was like she was a different person. She acted quickly to save you. It was kind of shocking, but it was honestly the only reason I was able to stay calm myself so that I could help you.” I said thoughtfully.

“Thank you for saving my life. I’m sorry you had to do that. It never should have happened.” She spoke. I could tell she was sincere, but I had the feeling she felt bad about the whole situation.

“There is no need for that. I saved you because I wanted to. I couldn’t let someone so beautiful die.” I told her. I can’t believe I just said that out loud.

“So, you think I’m beautiful huh?” She said teasingly. I want to die.

“Well.. I.. umm..” I just started stuttering and couldn’t actually say anything. Can I die now?

“Back to what your mom said. She is right. I need to be truthful with you. My name is Lizbeth Escalant, First Princess of the kingdom is Escalant. The queen is my mother, which is why I am looking for her.” She said so casually that I didn’t react at first.

“That explains why you out here in the woods. I’d be the same way if my mom went missing. I would like to help you.” I said sternly.

“Huh. Most people tend to freak out when they realize I am the princess. But you act like that doesn’t matter.” She said shocked.

“If I am being honest, I am trying to not think about that too hard. I mean, I just called the princess of the kingdom beautiful and then started stuttering like a complete fool. I mean. Yeah, I guess I am freaking out a little, but it just hasn’t really hit me or something. But also, you’re like super easy to talk to and I feel calm when I am around you. Please stop me.” I said embarrassed. I put my face in my hands and turned away from her. There is no way I’ll be able to look at her ever again.

“Why would I want you to stop? I am enjoying this.” She said teasing me again. This is not how I expected a princess to act.

“Also are you really wanting to help me?” Liz asked genuinely.

“Of course! I’d be happy to!” I smiled happily.