18 Rite of Passage 1

Lily woke up from her peaceful slumber. Confusion etched on her face as she allowed her gaze to travel in the unfamiliar room.

"Where am I?" she asked.

When she tried to get up, her body protested as pain shot through her muscles.

"The calming effects of Zeke's cocoa had worn off." At the thought of Zeke, fragments of what had happened flashed before her.

Grief gripped her heart. She could already feel the tears brim her eyes. But a glow in the living room caught her attention and stopped the impeding shower of tears.

With a bit of difficulty, Lily managed to navigate her way towards the living room. There she found Sorrel.

"That woman tried to kill me." She muttered under her breath while trying to keep her presence concealed.

"You are finally awake." Sorrel said as she made her way towards Lily. "You were knocked out for a few days."

Lily stepped back but Sorrel caught her wrist and dragged her to the living room. She made Lily take her seat on a couch before Sorrel snapped her fingers. Sable appeared with a basket of assorted ginger bread and a bottle of milk.

"Please eat your fill and fix yourself." Sorrel said. "Then we will have a talk on what we are going to do."

Lily eyed the refreshments that Sable managed to put on the coffee table. She made no move as she scrutinized the items before her.

Ginger bread is usually used by witches to lure children before they eat the unsuspecting victim. She recalled one of Hazel's stories.

"Don't worry those gingerbread don't have poison." Sorrel seemed to have read the girl's thoughts. "And although I specialize in enchantment and curses, I won't subject you to anyone of them."

The princess's brow rose at that. "You almost strangled me to death when we met." She muttered under her breath.

Sorrel gave a sigh. "I am sorry for attacking you. I tend to act impulsively and jumped into conclusions. You don't have to worry. That will never happen again."

Though, apprehensive Lily nodded. She reached for the treats and ate a few while Sorrel was watching her closely.

"Lily, what are your plans?" The witch suddenly asked.

The child just stared at her blankly.

"You have lost everything. Everyone you cared for died."

Being reminded of the events that took place, Lily lost her appetite and the urge to cry resurfaced.

"So, what are you going to do now? Are you going to cry and sulk in one corner?" the witch tone dripped with sarcasm as she eyed the girl.

Lily fought the tears that were trying to escape. It was not the time to wallow in misery. She needed to do something for her people, for her parents and those she held dear.

"My people, my parents' and Hazel's blood...They are crying for revenge." Lily gritted out while clenching her hands. "I will avenge their death!"

"I don't agree with that." Zeke suddenly voiced out. The two females turned and saw him appearing through the doorway. He was glaring at Sorrel.

"Avenging their death won't bring them back to life. Plus, Lily can just..." Zeke was cut off when Sorrel snapped her fingers. Vines suddenly restrained him and his mouth turned into a zipper. He tried to move around but the vines become tighter.

Lily would have helped him but Sorrel made her stay put. "Before we were rudely interrupted..." The witch glared at Zeke who was struggling against his shackles. "let me get things straight. You want to avenge your family and Hazel's death."

The girl nodded in response.

"Humor me, Lily. How can you exact vengeance, if you are this weak?"

Lily suddenly lost confidence after hearing the witch's question. How can she possibly avenge her family with the way she is? She couldn't even hurt a fly, literally. She could curse those people but the only spells that she could do are mere tricks.

"I can help you." Sorrel broke the girl's thoughts.

"How?"

"You can become a witch."

"I always wanted to become a witch but I don't have caster's blood in me." Lily said dejectedly.

Sorrel smiled faintly at the information. "Well, it is possible. Hazel had awaken your caster's circuit. All we needed to do is to train you properly. I am pretty sure, I can make you become a witch. So, what do you say?"

Before Lily could utter a word, a voice boomed. "Stop encouraging this non-caster to become a witch!"

Both girls jumped as smoke clouded the area. Sorrel just scowled while Lily had a frightened and apprehensive look on her face.

When it dissipated, the headwitch came into view. With her face devoid of emotion, Heather looked as daunting as usual. Her eyes narrowed at the Lily before she approached the young girl.

Lily shrank back instinctively. Intuition tells her that this woman is twice more terrible than Sorrel.

Unfortunately, Heather did not allow her to slip away. "Stay where you are." She muttered as her eyes glowed.

Lily froze in place. It was as if Heather cast a petrifying spell on the girl. Lily's eyes widened as the headwitch sauntered near her.

Heather stopped before the young girl and held her chin. With brows raised, Heather scrutinized the princess.

"Is this the child?" she asked Sorrel. But even before the younger caster could answer, Heather let the girl go and remarked. "She is measly and weak."

Sorrel drew near and almost pushed Lily behind her as if to protect her from harm.

"Due to the things she had undergone, Lily may be weak." She muttered in defense. "But I can assure you that she will become stronger and more powerful if she will be trained properly."

The older woman scoffed before taking her seat on a couch. Waving her hand, a tea cup appeared before her. Taking her sip, she eyed the two younger females.

Sorrel continued coaxing the stone cold woman. "Aunt Heather, you need an heiress but your daughter is dead. This girl can be the one."

"I will...will...re...replace her." Lily suddenly said in a low voice. The other two women barely caught her words.

Surprised that the princess spoke, Heather zeroed in on the girl. "What did you say?"

Gulping, the princess tried to meet the headwitch's scorching gaze. "I will replace Hazel."

Heather gave an unexpected cackle which brought goose bumps on the girl's skin. Glowering at the lass, she gravely uttered. "Don't be ridiculous child. Nothing can ever replace another person's life. Besides, you don't have a single spec of magic inside you. It will be impossible."

"But...but I can do spells." The child protested.

In order to show off, she motioned her hand and allowed a light fabric to float. Despite having her caster's circuit activated, Lily was not trained well and her body was still adjusting. Casting even a simple levitation spell is quite hard for her. Only a few minutes of floating the fabric fell on the floor.

The headwitch cackled at the princess's attempt to impress her. "That was just a simple trick. Did my runaway daughter teach you that?"

The girl nodded.

Heather sighed in disapproval. "Stupid child. That trick is just for kids." She gritted before turning towards the child. "Little girl, in order to be a proper witch, you have to be a witch born. The crafts blood should run in your veins. Otherwise, you would only qualify for low class magicians who were performing out on the streets."

But something caught Lily's attention. The crafts blood should run in your veins. The idea began revolving around her mind. Hazel used her blood as catalyst... then maybe...

A bulb lighted inside Lily's head. "Where's she?"

"What?" Sorrel asked but Lily dashed towards what seemed to be Sorrel's room.

The princess took Hazel's preserved head and presented it before the two witches. Heather's eyes widened at the sight of her daughter's severed head.

The princess approached the headwitch and held out the relic. "Incorporate inside me the flesh and blood of Hazel."

Heather cackled at the ridiculousness of the princess's request.

However, Sorrel decided to jump in. "Hazel was successfully able to open Lily's caster's circuit by using her own blood as catalyst.

Heather stopped her mocking chortles. "The survival rate of such process reached barely 10 percent. Hazel may had been successful, but there is no guarantee that the child here will live for long."

But the princess refused to give up. "I am willing to take the risk."

The headwitch just emptied her cup and got up. "I don't want to waste my time experimenting and making failures." With that, Heather disappeared into thin air.