The Forest Witch

Mida was very facetious and agreed without saying a word, and when she heard that it was to be a birthday gift for Dill, she didn't forget to include several things along with it to try to make a good impression in front of Amber.

Milda's beloved apprentice, Helena, brought over an extremely delicate jewelry box. Since the Great Fable was a gift for a lover, the box that held it naturally took some care.

The box was made of large mother-of-pearl from Hebert; the lid was lined with a layer of natural, brimming white beads; and the edges of the box's feet were encrusted with all sorts of unseen colored jewels. At first glance, it looked like a valuable Heber mother-of-pearl jewelry box, in which it was not difficult to see the passion and sincerity of love in the thick of it, only that the dusty gemstones on the top had already indicated the end of the love affair.

Even when Amber inquired of Milda, the other woman was wearing her beautiful silver hair, smooth and discernible, not knowing where she was going to another appointment, and could not for a moment remember what it was that Amber had spoken of in the great fable.

Helena and Dill walked side by side out of the house, where Milda was asking Amber for some blessing that would add to her charms. Meanwhile, only Milda's silver cat-enchanted demon was in the doorway to see the pair off. When Dill turned around, though, it was tidying its gray-blue fur with its tongue until it was covered in a silky sheen, with a hint of silver on the tip of its tail fur.

"You should have asked for the teacher's mirror; just shine it through the light of the full moon, and the werewolf's disguise will be invisible."

The two girls, both of the same age, were also familiar playmates. Every little witch received a number of coming-of-age gifts when she turned sixteen, and it was the gifts from the Grand Witch that would come in most handy for the hunting trips that followed, so Helena couldn't understand why Dill would want such a flashy gift.

"Such a precious treasure; if I were to leave, what else would Ms. Mida give you?"

Helena's white cheeks blush. Dill really isn't talking nonsense. Mida has always only used that silver mirror that can purify dirt to comb herself, but just now placed on the dressing table is an ordinary-style bronze mirror. It still looks a bit old, but it seems to have been temporarily turned out to replace it.

"Only the teacher's long silver hair can make the silver mirror bloom with the most beautiful light; it's enough for me to have Aminos with me."

Helena's tone was as content as could be. Despite the fact that her buffalo enchanter pressed on, soaking in the mud pits near the valleys and forests all day long, every now and then Helena could be seen with a brush, panting and getting muddy from brushing the back of the buffalo that looked like a small mountain.

Mida practically hated the buffalo, even stating that the big white goose at least knew how to bathe with fresh water, but every now and then she ended up carrying the exhausted and dirty Helena back to the hut herself.

"By the way, there's a carnival at night in the Moonlight Forest; all the sisters will be there; everyone wants to sing and dance and get together one last time before we leave; and Dill has to come too."

The falling brown hair could not hide the young girl's blue eyes, so deep that they could encompass an entire ocean, just like that gentle and sincere heart. Among the little witches who came to visit Dill at that time, she was the one who couldn't help but choke back her sobs over Dill's fate.

That's why Helena hoped that it was the silver mirror that Dill was going to walk away with, not even thinking that, as Mida's apprentice, she should have more power to fight for her teacher's magic weapon.

Helena ruffled the long hair in front of her forehead to cover her eyes and said with some embarrassment, "Veranica said she had sent a demon to inform you this morning, but all the cats..."

I do not want to get close to a big white goose that is fierce and violent.

At this time, the turnip is also step by step behind the dill; its round and fluffy appearance is like a fluffy cloud. Helena cannot help but sigh for a few breaths. How pure and innocent creatures, snow-white feathers and its black-haired master form a wonderful contrast, different colors, but the same harmless and charming.

Helena was becoming more and more convinced that someone must be maligning Dill and her big white goose. She and Dill had been close since childhood, and both had been born into similar circumstances from the slave trade in the harbor, but one had been a second-hand bargain and the other a gift for a lover.

Seeing that Helena is blinded by the appearance of the great white goose and wants to reach out and pet it before she is bitten by it, Dill offers to go straight to the Moonlight Forest to bring Aminos back. Helena looks at the reddish sky and sees that the evening's revelry is not far off, so she gladly goes with Dill.

The two of them arrived at the Moonlight Forest, a dense forest born at the mouth of the canyon, so every night here, every treetop seems to be covered with frost and snow. The entire forest is bathed in silvery-white moonlight, along with streams gushing with flawless moon springs, which is why it is regarded by moon witches as a place where the goddesses take refuge.

Legend has it that if you go into the forest during the full moon, you will see the goddess putting down her silver bow and walking calmly through the forest. At this time of the moon, the goddess cherishes living beings, excludes killing, and is the holy mature full moon goddess of the posture; good luck. She will also use the soft light of the magic silver staff to give believers some magic inspiration.

A number of small tents had been set up outside the forest; presumably all the little witches were planning to stay drunk tonight. Helena generously shared her large, beautiful white tent with Dill, saying that it was an elephant-skin tent given to her by Mida and that even Aminos could easily accommodate it, probably another gift from some rich lover.

Dill touched the delicate fabric and finally decided it would be better not to tell the other woman that it was actually a cowhide tent.

"Ayo, if it isn't Dill! I thought you wouldn't be going out for a few days."

Several red-haired heads emerged from the small tent next door, and Veronica and her cousins, the same ones who had been clamoring for a boiled egg earlier, eyed Dill with their usual impishness.

"And brought the main meal for the feast." Veranica immediately cracked a smile at the sight of the turnip, and the red-furred fox in her arms matched her master's, revealing sharp, morose white teeth.

Helena glared angrily, and Dill flashed a smile at the fox and said, "Goose meat is too tough; the main meal of the banquet is still the kind of hen that squawks loudly and fatly, which is the most suitable."

Veranica, the meanest and smartest of the few, caught Dill's hint at once and was so annoyed and afraid that she immediately pulled the curtains of the tent closed.

A few days ago, Amber punished those broken-mouth witches, Veronica and others; they were turned into red plume hens by Amber, cooing and begging for help inside and outside the village with their short legs. A few people only returned to their original state in the evening, eating, drinking, and pooping all day without any personal appearance. Afterwards, Amber also regretted that the fox demon was able to recognize her master, and this witch with high magical power was also extremely shortsighted and ruthless at the same time, so no one dared to intercede for Veronica and other people at all.

As the orange-red firelight faded to the edge, the blue of the deep sea began to rise from behind the mountains, and the breeze on the slippery surface brought a coolness to quench all the remaining heat of the day and also added a smile to the children of the Moon God. The ghostly mushrooms hiding under the trees sprouted clusters of glowing heads, attracting fireflies and phosphorus moths to surround them, and the feast of the forest was about to begin.

Dill accompanied Helena to the forest to look for Aminos, who, not surprisingly, was soaking in a large puddle of muddy water. Without a pair of large, back-curved horns, the motionless buffalo would have looked like a small mound of mud, with a few toads with red tumors climbing up and down its back.

"Aminos!!!" Helena stepped away happily, unable to lift her pretty skirt in time, losing the ladylike look that Mida had always urged her to have.

The dark brown muddy water churned with bulging, rotten bubbles of some kind, perhaps not least of which were the feces of other animals, and when the bubbles popped, the smell was indeed unpleasant. So despite the fact that the bull was a symbol of power, the beauty-loving Mida hated the smelly beast.

At her master's call, the buffalo looked indifferent and didn't move a muscle. However, Dill still noticed that the grassy, rope-like tail of the buffalo voluntarily waved up when its master approached, dispersing the mosquitoes and insects that coveted the young girl's fair skin.