Nota bene: the chapter features mature content!
“I’ll do it myself,” I say a little capriciously, when the witch tries to grab me under the arms again and lift me to the mirror.
“As you wish,” she snorts, quickly letting go of me, and I clumsily fall onto the bed.
“Maybe I should put something on? It's somehow strange to go with you wearing only one T-shirt,” I ask in a pleading voice.
“There’s no time, and you’ll need no clothes there,” the girl smirks crookedly, lolling on the bed and watching me put my knee on the dressing table.
When I almost climbed there, I felt her hands on my bun.
“Stop that! You're embarrassing me!”
“It's just a helping hand,” the witch coos innocently, flapping her eyelashes. “Come on, just move, and don't be afraid!”
The “helping hand” does not help at all, but only distracts me. Our reflections in the mirror look like a scene from an adult movie: with my mouth half open and with my matted hair covering the half of my face, I am standing on all fours on the table, and she is standing behind me and doing God knows what, while staring at my face in the mirror reflection.
Ok, I need to concentrate! For some reason, I take a deep breath as if before jumping into the water and move forward. I realized that I was no longer standing on the dressing table when I felt wet soil and grass under my palms.
“Loooook out!” the girl shouts cheerfully and jumps over me. “Why are you still crawling on your knees? Get up already!”
She stands a meter away from me with her hands on her hips, looking into the distance. I, too, following her example, stand up and look in the same direction. Incredible! It's one thing to get through the mirror from room to room, quite another when you move into an open space. We are in the middle of a huge clearing. Above us is the sky that is black as velvet, not a single star can be seen. In the distance there is the forest blackens: the reddish damage of the Moon is sadly strung on the very peaks of the fir trees. The air is so unusually clean that you can understand where you are even with your eyes closed, this cannot be faked.
“Beautiful,” I say, smiling; I am a little embarrassed to disturb the natural silence of this place. She nods and also smiles affectionately, maybe thinking about something personal.
The moment seems to be the most appropriate...
“Listen, what is your n...”
“Nahhh, they will immediately understand that you are a human,” she does not let me finish. “Of course, you can pass for my shifter familiar, but you smell human. Okay, wait a minute, I’ll manage everything!
The girl walks quickly towards the fluffy bush and disappears behind its branches. And I, as always, have no idea what to do and keeps on pulling my T-shirt down as if someone in the middle of the forest would take a picture of me and put it on the net. The T-shirt, of course, is long, but doesn’t resemble a summer dress.
The witch appears from the bushes, with her tesak sword on a leather belt, which she managed to fasten to her pants. She’s holding some kind of green bundle in her hands (a "bouquet" for me?).
“This is for you,” she seems to be very pleased with herself, showing me a bunch that looks like parsley sprigs.
“Emm, thanks,” I don't even know what to think: no one has ever given me bouquets, especially such a strange one.
“Stay still for a minute,” she gets up very close to me and begins to separate the branches and gently weave them into the strands of my thick storm of hair. “This grass is adored by shape-shifters. It affects them as a valerian tincture affects the cats. Well, I think, everyone has already dispersed into groups, and they will not pay attention to you, especially when they feel that you smell like an ordinary shape-shifter. The main thing is not to talk to them and, girl, don’t go far from me. We'll just run in for a minute, I'll have a couple of words with some witches, and after that I'll be at your complete disposal,'' she says, gently touching my hair with her fingers, evoking goosebumps again that are running all over my body. It’s just such a simple touch, and such simple words, but my breathing quickened a little; I want to close my eyes and dissolve into the bliss of her proximity.
“Where exactly are we going, and with whom do you want to talk?” I ask sadly when she's done with my exotic hairstyle. I don't feel any special smell of shifters’ grass at all.
“We need to go to the Green Navel,” she waves her hand in the direction where the valley is smoothly descending, starting from the forest glade (What a funny name! But amazingly suitable for this place: the hill really resembles an inverted green cup). “There is the witches sabbath,” she sums up cheerfully. “I wanted to skip it as usual. More recently, there is nothing to do there! No new spells, no new faces... boredom to death! But according to rumors, something had happened with one of the witches from the Southern Lands and they want to discuss it. As if she hadn't decided everything without me ... But don’t worry about it: we will only go there and return back as quick as possible. Good?
Of course, the sabbath! Where else could I be taken to. Surely, not to the Queen of England for a nice cup of tea!
“Where are we now?”
“In the Northern Lands”
Yeah, this explains a lot! Everything has immediately become clear, as if I'd opened google maps!
“Are we somewhere in another world?”
“No, just in one of the curvatures, "sleeves", you know?” she obviously did not want to explain it to me now. Not to make myself a complete fool and not to annoy the witch, I decided to stop asking questions.
“Mistreeeess!” a cheerful, clear voice is heard from the direction of the forest, and it is reflected by an echo, rolling throughout the valley.
The girl runs up to us and embraces her. My witch grins, but then puts on her indifferent, cool mask again.
“That’s enough, Mika, enough of the lovey-dovey! Shouldn't you be there already?” the witch pushed her away like an annoying monkey, but her action did not offend her at all.
“Mistress Angerona ordered to find you,” Mika notices me immediately and points her finger, “And who is this? Another familiar?”
“Sort of,” the witch mutters evasively. “Less questions, more actions. Let's go already, since she herself ordered you to find me.”
Mika looks at me with displeasure, but does not ask anything and obeys her mistress. I sadly lagged behind a little, feeling like the “fifth wheel” again. She didn't even introduce me! Although, what difference does it make, the witch's mood seemed to have soured a little at the mention of a mistress Angerona.
“Let's move, otherwise we won't get there until morning! And stay close. What did I tell you about it?” the girl turns to me and grabs my arm abruptly, thereby speeding up my step. “And you, Mika, don’t spread about her presence around, is that clear to you?”
“Yes, mistress,” the newcomer mutters with resentment in her voice. Mika looks at me with obvious disapproval, and it seems to me that she sees right through me, realizing that I am a human.
“If anything, always contact Mika,” the witch continues a little warmer. “She is my apprentice, thus fulfills all orders, but I spoiled her too much and, as you can see, the girl has got out of hand!” the witch frowns, looking in the direction of her apprentice.
“It's nothing like that!” Mika protests vehemently.
“I told you, no respect for elders!”
The witch is teasing her, and her apprentice, like a holy innocence, is trying to defend herself: in a word, they are clearly on very good terms. The witch's girl is shorter than me: thin, but strong, with short blond hair covering her ears and forehead; She would be a bit like a classic, graceful Frenchwoman if it weren't for her short denim shorts, sneakers with multicolored laces and a chubby windbreaker that is not in size. Mika was one of those very people whose age is impossible to determine: she could be safely given both fifteen and twenty-five. Surprisingly, just like the marble-eyed girl, she has the same thin, graceful lines that are running and wriggling like snakes on her visible skin parts. I try to look closely, but the witch pulls me even harder.
“What are you doing?” I can't stand it. “Why are you dragging me so, I will stumble and fall!”
Mika snorts:
“Familiars should keep quiet in the presence of witches!”
“I'm not her familiar! Shut up yourself, you're only an apprentice, aren't you?” I remark sarcastically, and it seems that I hit Mika's most sensitive spot, because even in the dim light of the natural satellite, I can see her blushing and clenching her fists.
“Shut up both of you!” the witch hisses at us through her clenched teeth and hugs me, squeezing tightly to her chest. I can smell the pleasant scent of her body again, and out of the corner of my eye I notice how it infuriates her apprentice. “You’d better look who is coming here, Mika! If she realizes that the girl is not a familiar, then be prepared for that spell that I taught you yesterday. But only at my command. Don't let me down!”
“Of course, I won't let you down! I’ll do everything for...”
“What did I tell you about the flow of words, little one? And you, be silent no matter what she says or asks you,” she whispers to me, lightly touching my hair with her lips.
“Who will ask me?”
“Sshhhsshhhssshhh,” they shush at me.
“You are always late, princessie?” I hear someone's languid voice, savoring every word. “Ah, I see you are not alone... Who’s this little creature this time? Another animal-toy? Don't be greedy, let me play a little too...” the witch hugs me even more tightly, hearing the words of the stranger.
“If mistress Angerona sees that you are not at sabbath, you'll be in trouble. Don’t you think so?” Mika asks insolently.
“Babe, you’d better keep all your zoo inhabitants in a cage, otherwise you will find some of them missing!”
“I'll keep it in mind! And you, babe, go take yourself for a walk or someone might miss you too,” with open and all-consuming friendliness in her voice, the witch enters into the conversation. She again pulls me so tightly to her as if ready to merge our bodies together; I can hear her heart beating violently.
“Is she gone?” I whisper eternity of silence later. The witch nods and pulls away from me.
“Mistress, why do you need so many problems because of one human girl...”
“Maybe it’s worth keeping you in a cage, eh, Mika?"
The apprentice pouts her lips, but does not answer, glancing suspiciously at me and frowning when the marble-eyed girl takes my arm.
“Everyone, let's go, the threat has passed. No one will pay attention to us at the Navel: there are not so many meticulous vipers as her,” the witch chirps as if nothing ever happened, “The faster we come there, the faster we leave the damn meeting.”
She winks at me, but her hands seem to be trembling.
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