Hocus Pocus: Rising of a Little Witch

Chapter 11: The Fire

    I came to find out that the visit to the meadow brought out something in all of us, especially Winifred.       We began our afternoon from the cottage with the picnic. I have no idea what kind of food it was. It looked strange, but in all, it tasted delicious. I hadn't the nerve to ask what it was, I just ate it.
     We sat on a quilt that Winnifred pulled out of the basket. That thing definitely could hold more than it looked.
Sarah sat beside me, teaching me how to use the words "thy" and "thou" properly.

"Kaytrina, thou hath a frog in thy throat!" she teased. We both giggled. Winifred and Mary watched intently. "Now you try."

     I stopped giggling and rubbed my hands together, thinking of an example. I scanned the pond before us. It was crystal clear. I looked for an example for a good usage of "thy." I glanced over at Winifred, who was now chomping into an apple. It must've be hard to chew with teeth like hers.

"Winifred," I said. She looked at me oddly.
"I find the color of thy hair most ravishing," I had always loved red hair.

Mary and Sarah began to giggle. Winifred eyed me curiously, with a half-smile. She nodded her head before averting her gaze. I looked at Sarah.
"Did I use it right?" I asked, actually concerned about my grammar for once.

"Yes, thou hast used it right," she replied.
     Sarah then got up and walked over to the pond. She took one good look down into the water, and reached for the hooks on her dress. She soon stood before us in her knickers.

"Sarah!" hissed Winifred. "What art thou doing?" Winifred almost choked on her apple.

Sarah went up on her tip-toes, and did a knock-off ballet move. "This," she replied. She then ran and leaped into the water. It splashed all the way up to us, and coated Winifred's dress. Winnifred glared at her.

"Uh-oh," I muttered quietly.

Mary began to scream.

"Shut up, you fool!" hissed Winifred. "It is but water!"

Mary gulped loudly. "Most refreshing," she commented awkwardly.
   Sarah swam over to us and leaned up on the bank. "Sisters, thou shalt join me?" she asked. She smiled in Winifred's direction.

Mary stood up. "I shall" she said.

I wanted more than anything to get clean, and that water looked heavenly. I stood up.
"Why not!" I remarked excitedly.

"Winnie?" Sarah asked, her eyes wide.

"No," Winifred stated plainly. She got up, and began walking away from us. Mary and I looked at each other questioningly. We watched as Winifred strode away. As she got further and further from where we stood, she began to looked like nothing but a green and orange blob. I glanced at Mary.

Mary looked a little downcast. "Coming here hurts her," she explained.
She bit her bottom lip nervously.
"It reminds her of Billy."
Mary then looked down at Sarah, a touch of anger in her face.
"I don't know why she keeps bringing us back here."
Sarah glared back her.
I knew from that comment that Winifred Sanderson indeed had a heart. She was just very careful of who she allowed to take part of it. She was like me in a way: unsure of strangers. It must have took a lot for her to even consider liking me. I know it took me a bit to come to like her. By the time I was done thinking those thoughts, I had taken off my boots and socks, and peeled out of my corset somehow.
   There was a rock on the side of the pond. I stood on it. "Behold!" I teased. "The all-powerful Kaytrina Bleak." And with that, I cannon-balled into the water.
   As I began to sink, I noticed that the water was so clear, I could see all the way across the pond. It had to be the most beautiful water I had ever been in.
    I swam up to the top, and flung my head backward, removing the hair that was stuck to my face. Mary and Sarah giggled. I swam over to Sarah, who was intently watching Mary. Mary stood on the bank, her toes hanging off. Sarah was trying to coax her to jump in.