2.1 CHAPTER SEVEN: THE CRESCENT ISLAND

2.1 CHAPTER SEVEN: THE CRESCENT ISLAND

Celeste stared in awe all around her. Karme had broken all magical barriers that she knew of. She had created her very own island!

It was a feat even Celeste found impossible, much less to do it on a whim.

It was small, shaped like a crescent moon island. The sea was gentle and calm as it splashed against the place's edge. The moon shone brightly in the middle of the sky, along with a crowd of glittering, shining stars.

Celeste had always thought that Karme had an affinity with the moon. But she was not expecting it to be that strong. If she were to discover her real self, Celeste had no doubt she would find her to be much more powerful than any mages that lived, including Celeste.

"I…" Celeste started but stopped. Then, she laughed. "I am lost for words, child. This is… beyond anything I thought to be possible,"

"Is it?" Karme asked, unreservedly proud and slightly bashful at making her mentor speechless.

"It is," Celeste confirmed. "But I must leave now. The king needs me. He–uh,"

"He cannot do anything about my father, can he?" Karme guessed, to which Celeste nodded. "I predicted as much. For, after all, he is still the royal duke. But worry not. Here, he would no longer be able to hurt me once more,"

~oOo~

Something woke Karme up. She looked around the small house she had just created. There was nothing strange at all. With a frown, she stood up from her bed and walked barefoot to look out the window.

Outside, she saw a woman standing–visibly confused about where she was. Karme's eyes widened as she realized what had happened. She quickly snapped a finger to change out of her nightwear.

She was wearing a simple blue dress that complimented her hair, which she left down as always. Her necklace, which Maya had left her, dangled preciously on her neck. Above her dress, she wore a black, long cloak with an oversized hood, which reminded her of the one she wore as a Kifo.

She exited the house and walked toward the woman. After Celeste had left, Karme continued to work on her newfound sanctuary. She conjured up a little cabin that was perfect for one person. Rosebuds adorned the front of the place while different flowers grew in the garden. She added an Iloe tree on the left side.

It was a little piece of home.

She crossed the garden, through the stone path, and called out to the woman. Who looked at her like she was the answer to everything. The stranger closed the distance between them. She grabbed Karme by the shoulders as if letting go would make her fall.

"Please, please, help me!" the woman cried; her tear-stained face looked more sorrowful under the light of twilight.

Karme's hands reached out to support the woman, who immediately fell to the ground.

"What is it?" she asked.

"It's my child, please! The clerics could not heal him, nor did they understand what was happening. Please, help me. I do not know who you are. Even so while I was praying to the gods to help me, I found myself walking here,"

Karme nodded and helped the woman to her feet. She questioned her about her child, which the stranger answered in haste.

With other words of comfort, a small vial appeared in her hand. It was tiny, barely an inch tall. The container's content was a two-colored liquid. The thinner one was blue, like the color of her eyes. It somehow shimmered with the thicker gray liquid as they mixed around inside.

She took the woman's hands and put them down her palms.

"Here is a medicine," she explained as she closed the woman's fingers around the small glass. "Have your child drink it as soon as you return. You have my word, he will be perfectly fine,"

"Thank you. Thank you," the woman repeatedly bowed her head.

With a smile, Karme gestured her the way out. She watched as the stranger slowly vanished from her sight. She had put a spell on the island. That only those who needed her shall see it.

Knowing the spell worked perfectly boosted Karme's trust in herself. And to help a total stranger instead of killing them, Karme found it uplifting.

With a smile gracing her lips and never leaving, she walked back toward the cabin, practically skipping all the home.

Whilst the woman found herself home as soon as the fog cleared. But she could not bother to think about it at the moment. She rushed toward her son, who was lying in bed.

His eyes were closed, and his face was full of cold, beaded sweat. His mother opened the vial and emptied its content into his mouth.

As soon as the strange liquid touched the boy's lips, his eyes fluttered open. The woman fell to the floor as she stared at her son.

"Mamma?" his tiny, squeaky voice called.

"Yes, my child!" the woman cried, pulling his son into a tight hug.

The next day, as the clerics returned, they saw a perfectly healthy young boy. Instead of the sickly child, they could not help the night before.

As they asked her how he was healed, the woman happily told them of a mage living in the forest.

"Would you mind accompanying us to this mage, madam?" one of the clerics asked.

The woman nodded and started leading the way. "She was a miracle," she answered as a cleric asked her who the mage was as they walked toward the forest.

"Her hair was so red, like it was fire itself. Her cloak seemed like wings as they fluttered behind her last night,"

The two clerics stared at one another as the mother continued to sing praise to the unknown person who had healed her son. They could not recall such a mage fitting her description.

"Is there anything else you remember about her?"

The mother nodded. "Oh, yes. There was a raven in her neck,"

But no matter how much they walked, how far they went–the mysterious island the woman told them could not be found.