Flowers

Where am i? The first question which popped my mind. Sky so blue and taintless, trees full of leaves and fruits and the ground covering with grass and lots of different flowers, all of them colourful. I wonder why and how? I touch my chest, i am sure i got pierced by that woman and …. i died. But i am in my body and i can move. I am touching the back of my head to feel if i still have the scar from the accident. Just as i feel the bump, i hear a rustle and look to the bushes to my right to find a fox. Behind the fox a tall woman with long red-brownish, wavy hair, dressed in a simple shirt and longskirt. She holds a basket with lots of herbs, fruits and flowers: „Are you lost?".

I turn my body and walk a bit closer to her: „I am. Can you tell me where i am?". Furr touches my leg, the fox smells my legs and walks around me.

The woman puts down her basket and starts collecting more flowers: „We are in a forest between the empire and the republic. Where do you come from?"

„Empire and republic? I come from germany." i kneel down to look which flowers she's collecting, „Can i help collecting... uh..?"

„Purpurea. I've never heard of germany. Is it a kind of small island?", she holds up a blue tulpit, „i need 5 of them.What is your name?"

„No, it's …. never mind you probably won't find it on any map you have... My name is Gwendolyn.", looking around to find the tulpits on my left.

„Interesting... i know every race and land there is on Dzalana. Could it be that you are not from Dzalana.?", she asks me.

„Is it this obvious?", i respond.

„You have no luggage, are barefooted and you have told me of a place called germany i dont know of. You are interesting and you have some unusual eyes.", Purpurea stares right into my soul.

„My eyes? Is it because they are almost black?"

„No, they are emerald. How come you think they are almost black?"

My eyes changed? Is it the only thing which changed about me?, „I used to have dark brown eyes.", i answer.

„You are really interesting. Would you want to learn more about this place and learn about more than land?", she asks me charmingly.

I put the last tulpit into her basket. She stands up and takes her basket.

„If you are willingly then just follow me.", she starts walking further into the woods.

I follow her and say: „ Sure i want to learn. What are you going to teach me....?"

Her basket starts floating around the same way she's moving her finger around.

„Never mind what i said. Magic it is, right?", i see a small house build around a tall tree.

„Yes. We are here. Its a chant. There many more things you can learn but only if you want it.", she opens the door to the house. Her house smells like wood, books and a nice fragrance of different herbs and flowers. Many books fill one side of the wall and the other side is being filled with different kinds of herbs, materials, flowers and charms. I walk to one shelf of books and want to take one. As i try to grab one, Purpurea holds my hand.

„Please dont soil my books with your curse.", she tells me, putting my hand down.

„I am cursed?", i wonder if its from the woman who killed me. Her name.... what was it again?

„Yes, you reek like that curse. You should take a bath before you touch anything. Your curse is pretty nasty and could destroy many valuable items here.", she offers me another door which leads to the backyard of her house and there she controls water, fire and flower petals into a wooden bathtub. Speechless i just take off my white dress and drown myself in a flower bath.

„It feels so nice and refreshing. Thank you for your hospitality, Purpurtea.", i never thought just flowers and water could feel so nice. Relaxing under a bed of treetops, listening to wind, grass and treetops. I close my eyes to relax. Light footsteps, heavy ones, the chatters of the trees and bushes when wind brushes through and chants. Through some focus on the chants i can clearly hear them, they are from Purpurtea, „To avert her pain from the containment, this flower takes it all from her." I open my eyes to look for her but she isnt anywhere near me... probably in her house. I can hear unusually good and i close my eyes again to hear something from the woods. Running, light footsteps on 2 legs run away from heavy ones with 4 legs, hooves? The water from the bathtub turns cold, look around for a towel or cloth. „ Are you looking for this?", Purpurtea offers me a white towel.

„Thank you.", taking her offering and covering myself with the towel, „What were you chanting?"

„You could hear me chanting?", she asks me dumbfoundedly and halting her movement.

„Yes, something with flower and pain.", i walk past her to reach the door to her house. I wonder why she is so surprised, it wasnt really quiet. She remains silent and opens the door for me. On the left wall is a floor and a small staircase which she walks up to, there i only hear some rustle and see her coming back with a long-sleeve dress in dark blue and underwear. „You can have those, but only take on the underwear first. I have to adjust the dress a bit or else you keep stumbling.", she says to me smiling and turning over to a shelf and taking a thread and needle. She starts sewing: „ You can take a seat on the couch. I brewed tea which will help you relax."

I am suspicious of this tea she talks about, she is too nice to some complete stranger. I pour tea into a small clay cup. To my right are the shelves with the books, reading one would be interesting.

„The curse i have told you before, is one a bit known but also unknown for me.", She moves one armchair right next to the books and sits down.

„What curse? How can a curse soil items or anything?", i ask her.

„Usually the normal curses dont influence the environment. Yours does.", she holds on up the 5 tulpits which i picked for her. They are withered down: „ It is a strong curse and there are 2 parts which of how they act. One which lets you emit death magic, which can be sealed away. The other one is something which i dont understand yet. Its ancient and acts as a curse but it does have no affect for now.", Purpurtea explains to me while picking up a book. I wonder why she helps and explains it to me.

„Your magic circulation is different from other people.", she continues while turning pages.

„Why?", i ask.

„Why not? I want you to be my student. I probably could learn things from you and you can learn things from me.", she tells me. What could she learn from me?

How can she know that my question is meant on why she helps me. „What do you not know?", i wonder and taking the towel to cover me. It kind of gets cold.

„Many things from your germany.", she blinks at me. „ But first of all we should stop your body from emitting death magic. This tea will numb your sense of feel and pain. I have prepared a chant to seal away your first part of the curse but it will be painful not only physically also mentally. The tea will take only your physical pain", she explains and offering her hand to me. I take her hand and stand up.

„I will take it but only on one condition.", i drink the whole cup of tea, „You have to teach me everything you know about magic and about this world.", i pledge to her. Its better to not have everything killed in my close vicinity and i could learn how to use magic. Thats something which could help me. But help to what? To survive or to get back home? I have no attachments to my homeworld.... I should trying to survive here on Dzalana. No knowledge could lead to my death.

„I accept your condition. So please follow me.", she holds my hand and brings me to the outside, the frontyard of her house. On the ground there is a magic circle with many unknown letters and signs. She leads me to the middle of the magic circle: „You sit here, i will touch your back and chant the seal. Dont be afraid of what you see."

The fox sits on the outer ring of the circle and watches closely.

I tell her: „I have lost the sense of fear. So i think i will be good."

Purpurtea lays her hand on my back between my shoulderblades. Her hand is soft and warm, i feel something under her hand.

„Contain thine curse in flesh to prevent thy demise", she casts the chant 5 times. On the fifth time i lose my sight and hearing again. I faint.