NIGHTS OF HALLOW

”I am a witch, My Lady. Your guardian witch.” Emily revealed, her transformed green eyes staring back at Perdita who was more shocked than she was already.

The first few seconds in the room were enveloped in silence as everyone stood in one place digesting the new information.

Perdita was the most shocked as what Emily said replayed in her head. ’I am a witch, My Lady. Your guardian witch.’ What and how was that possible?! Even if she tried to ignore the words of Emily, the green eyes staring back at her proved every possibility before she could deny it to be futile.

”You, you are a what?!” Perdita blurted when her gobsmacked self became conscious of the situation again.

”A witch, My Lady,” Came the prompt reply from Emily, and before Perdita’s eyes, she went down on her knees, head deeply bowed as she beseeched, ”Forgive me, My Lady. I didn’t mean to keep it away from you. It was the situation that required it. Please, forgive this maid of yours, I am deeply sorry.”

Perdita still not believing her eyes and what her ears were hearing suddenly laughed. A mock laugh that sounded as if she heard the best joke from Emily. But this was no joke, her appointed maid was a witch. A green-eyed witch.

”Where do I start from again?” Perdita asked herself with the confusion that now clouded her mind. From the corner of her eyes, she saw Sthena kick a chair toward her and say to her, ”You may want to sit down lest you fall,”

Perdita exhaled deeply at first and then slowly released the air from her lungs. She proceeded to sit on the chair Sthena had pushed toward her, exhaling again not knowing where to start with her questions anymore.

”Calm down, Perdita. Take it slowly, ask your questions one by one and who knows, your puzzles will be solved.” Sthena’s assuring words reached Perdita’s ears somewhat soothed and encouragingly made to get hold of herself.

Perdita’s green eyes which she had closed to recollect herself snapped open and the questions came flying from her lips one after the other.

She began with a sharp intake of breath, ”How long have you been a witch? No, that is not it,” Perdita shook her head and rephrased her question ”For how long have you pretended to be a human?”

”Since I came to work in the castle, My Lady.” Emily’s reply came without wasting a second.

”Why?” Perdita narrowed her eyes on Emily, her voice now stable as she wanted to get to the root of everything. ”Also, since we now know you as a witch, your green eyes, does it mean you’re part of my coven?”

”To fulfill what was written, My Lady.” Emily answered Perdita’s first question, and to the second she said, ”Yes, I am, my Lady.”

”Have you always known I was not a human?” Perdita curiously questioned, her eyes still on Emily while Sthena on the other hand only sat in his chair in a relaxed position as he watched the unfolding scene.

”Yes, My Lady,” Emily replied with a nod. ”The day I first saw you and your brother in the castle, I knew that spoken ancient prophecy was beginning to take its course.”

”What prophecy?” Perdita quizzed now paying rapt attention to what Emily was saying.

”The prophecy of old where the return of the great vampire-witch siblings would be made known.” Emily asserted, her voice unintentionally taking the tone of an older woman. Her now green eyes were mesmerizing to look at as she continued to speak as if reminiscing an old memory. She asked Perdita, ”Recall what I said about being your guardian witch?”

”Yes. What does it mean?” Perdita replied as the situation was now reversed where Emily was now the key to knowing more about the whole vampire-witch siblings.

”It means I am the one who would be in charge of protecting you, guiding you, and also seeing that your powers are harnessed fully without causing harm to others and especially to yourself,” Emily explained, she took a deep breath and continued with her tale.

”That day when in your room I had gone to get the matchbox to make a fire in the fireplace, and there was already a burning fire in the fireplace when I came back, I knew it was your doing even though you said you found the matchbox and had ignited the fire. I knew it was your powers resurfacing. I have been discreet in watching over you since you came to the castle so you wouldn’t do anything to cause harm to yourself.

Even before you came to the castle, I have been searching everywhere for you, and I was lucky and relieved His Majesty found you else my job or fate to be your protector and guardian would have been futile.”

”You see this mark on my palm?” Emily asked and went on to say, ”This mark is called a mark of identity because it signifies that I am the true guardian of one of the great witch siblings. It marks my loyalty in both serving you and also being your guardian.

I am sorry to reveal this now but all along I knew what you have been reading, the answers to the questions you have been searching for. I didn’t interfere with those basic steps as they are crucial in getting your body and energy ready for the powers that would soon return to you. I must also confess, I was behind what happened some minutes ago.”

A surprised and suspicious look flashed across Perdita’s face when she heard the last words of Emily. She didn’t say anything but allowed the maid to continue.

Emily went on, ”The book you read is no ordinary book which I am glad fate brought you to the castle for you to get your hands on. Even if you didn’t come to live here, one way or the other you would have read it.”

”My lady,” Emily paused in her narration and gently called Perdita who stared in awe as she explained how things happened. Emily continued, ”Today was meant to happen, I didn’t want everything to confuse you more than you were already, that is why I had to do what I did on that piece of paper.”

”What did you do?” Perdita asked, her voice a whisper against the torrent of emotions overwhelming her. She then told the kneeing Emily ”Stand up,”

”I drew a marking on the paper to fully unlock its potential.” Emily answered Perdita’s question and then went on to speak, ”That paper as I had said was bound by magic and only you can unlock it with your touch. From the prophecy book, it is said that once you touch it, it would glow and give a spark, after which, a marking was to be drawn on it.

When I saw the glow on the paper followed by the first spark, I knew I had to do it quickly, if not it would lose its magic essence you opened and in turn become useless.”

”But it’s just a key, what am I going to use it and do?” Perdita interjected, her eyes going back to the molten golden key that shone in the light.

”It is no ordinary key, My Lady,” Emily’s lips curved into a small smile while continuing to say, ”This key is the answer to many questions bothering you. It is a key to a land that has been locked for a long time now. Lest I forget...” Emily paused before saying, ”I believe you have gone to Hawthorn Hollow?”

”Y—yes,” Perdita skeptically answered, sharing a look with Sthena who had been quiet. ”How did you know about that?” Perdita queried Emily who everyone had viewed as a human maid, not knowing she had been with a fellow witch until now. A witch who not only was young but also had the answers to the questions she hadn’t been able to answer till now.

Emily already seat on another chair as she explained and answered Perdita’s questions spared a glance at the key before saying, ”You see, My Lady, everything that happens and will continue to happen all have a sequence they are meant to follow if one of it is breached, it would cause an unrepairable damage.”

”For example, your going to Hawthorn Hollow before reading this book made it easier for you to transform the piece of paper bound with magic to what it was originally. When you stepped into that land, you had unconsciously drawn the energy from there, and it was that energy you used to unlock the magic used to bind the paper.

Everything is like a puzzle, where you have to put the pieces together before unlocking each stage. Even this key is another puzzle to solve before you can unlock the town of Hawthorn Hollow and restore its light, My Lady.”

Perdita blew a deep breath out from her lips as she digested every piece of information being said by Emily. She couldn’t help but remark, ”You seem to have every answer to my questions.”

”That is the reason why I am your guardian witch. I am here to help you along every step of the way to unlock all your powers at every stage.” Emily responded, her calmness in answering every question was both intriguing and unbelievable to Perdita.

”Okay,” Perdita nodded her head in acknowledgment while recounting what she had discovered today in her head. The biggest of it all was that Emily was her guardian witch. This was the first time she heard this. Out of curiosity, she inquired, ”This guardian witch, does my brother have one too?”

”Yes,” Emily confirmed. ”In no time, he should be reunited with his.”

”Oh,” Perdita mouthed, another question already swirling in her head she voiced out, ”From this book I read, the vampire-witch siblings that were birthed by the first pureblooded vampire and the witch, are they us? I mean, are they the same me and Marco?”