Chapter 24- Wicked Forest

The dragons had been sent. He just hoped it was just the one that had seen them, or they were done for. If there were more and reported back their whereabouts then they were dead.
“Why did you do it?” he asked her.
“Do what?”
“Touch those runes,” she flicked her hair over her shoulder and met his gaze. Her makeup had run leaving behind black streaks and her curls had become a tangled mess. Still, she looked beautiful in her wild state.
“I don’t know. It was this feeling. It was so strong, pulling me forward. I just can’t explain it.”
“Yeah, magic can be a funny thing,” he knew what she had meant. The hands of fate were pushing her to follow the path that destiny had in store for her. She couldn’t run from it. No one could out smart destiny.
***
As they walked through the forest, Crystal couldn’t stop thinking about Drake. She was worried. He was alone and after the creatures she had seen, she hoped he was still alive. They came upon a small cottage. Smoke drifted from the chimney. At first Crystal thought she was daydreaming, just imagining the surreal scene. It sat alone surrounded by the trees and bushes. It was the first home they had seen.
Slowly she walked beside Levi, when she looked up at him, he gave her a small smile.
They reached the door and Levi knocked three times.
An old lady swung the wooden door open with force. Her face lit up with a grin.
Without warning she threw her arms around Levi. Crystal was attacked by a gust of wind. Her blond locks blew into her face.
The old woman had wings. They flapped in a crazy rhythm. See through and large they fluttered uncontrollably.
“Levi Carmichael, what a surprise. Come in, come in,” she sang opening the door wider. They stepped into the tiny room that homed one small couch and a chair. A thick rug covered the wooden floor in front of the fireplace.
“Let’s not pretend you didn’t see us coming,” Levi smiled waving his forefinger at the old lady.
“You must have a death wish boy,” the woman said shaking her head, yet she still held a small smile.
“It wasn’t intentional, trust me,” Levi answered.
“Well, I would have thought your father would have picked you a better fit,” the woman eyed Crystal with distaste. Levi laughed then tried to hide it with a cough which resulted in a snorting noise.
“Margon, this is Crystal Hudson. Crystal this is Margon.”
“A Hudson witch? My, My what a surprise,”
“Yeah, tell me about it. Listen we need a place to stay just for the night….”
“You are both more than welcome,”
“Thanks, Margon, we will understand if you do ask us to leave.”
“Nonsense boy, I can take care of myself.”
“That you can,” Levi laughed.
Margon cooked them a hot meal of stew and bread. Crystal enjoyed the meal and felt much better with a full stomach.
“Is that the way the human’s dress?” Margon asked once they had all chipped in with cleaning and were relaxed on the couch.
“No, that is her costume,”
“Costume?” she raised her eyebrows.
“Long story,” Levi said.
“Come, child. I may have something more suitable to fit you,” Crystal followed Margon into a small bedroom. A wardrobe and a double bed were the only items in the room. She opened the wardrobe muttering as she searched through the clothes. “Here we are,” Margon said as she popped her head out holding a light brown dress. “Put this on.”
Crystal took the dress with hesitation. “Thank you, where is the bathroom.”
“Oh outside,” Margon marched through the cottage and Crystal followed her. She walked to the back of the cottage and there stood a small shed like hut. “In there,” Margon pointed to the hut.
Crystal opened the door. It had no sink and no plumbing. It looked like a wooden seat with a hole inside which needed emptying manually. Ignoring the makeshift toilet, she changed into the dress. It reached her ankles and had a white apron attached to the front. The dress also had long sleeves which needed to be folded up.
When she went back in the cottage, she thanked Margon. The dress would help to keep her warm. “Now child, you look worthy,” Crystal didn’t know what she meant by that but didn’t ask.
Crystal yarned, it had been a tiring few days and their journey was not yet over.
“You can go lay down, the room in which the dress comes from,” Margon said giving Crystal a smile for the first time.
“Thank you, goodnight,”
“Goodnight,” Margon repeated.
“Have you seen Drake?” She heard Levi ask and paused as she reached the door to the bedroom.
“No, his he here too?”
“Yeah, we got separated. Well, he went out to hunt but never returned,”
“He will be fine boy. He can handle himself.”
Crystal went inside the room and curled up on the bed. She was thankful for somewhere more comfortable to sleep and to be out of the bitter cold. As she lay there, her mind went into overdrive.
Something wasn’t right. Levi knew the place. Yet he had said that witches had been exiled from the land. It didn’t make sense. Margon had been shocked to see him. Whatever was going on, Crystal didn’t like it one bit. It left her confused.
***
“It has begun,” Margon said as the bedroom door closed.
“Yeah, I just wish I knew how this end,” Levi muttered.
“Knowing the future can be a curse. Just knowing it can change it in devastating ways,”
“You must be strong boy. Remember who you are. Who you once were? Times are changing and you need to be prepared for those changes,”
“Margon, you really need to take people classes as you talk in riddles,”
“Yes, that I do. But can you read between the lines and find the meaning to my words?” she asked him, and Levi smiled.
“I am sure your words will reveal themselves soon enough, but for now I will bid you goodnight.”
***
Margon wished him goodnight. His path was still unfolding. He would embark on a journey no other had ever been on. Crystal would be in good hands.
Levi Carmichael had no idea what was in store, she wished she could warn him. Warn them both, as Crystal’s path was just as dark. Yet she knew that if she did, she could change the future in ways that even she would not be able to undo. It was best to let them follow their own destiny and figure it out as they go. Still, she worried about the pair.
Fate had one heck of a journey for them, one that would be written in legends for decades to come.