Morwitch - Breaking the Rules (Complete)

Chapter Seventeen

After finishing dinner, Isabel suggested they move to the lounge room and get comfortable. Jayce leaned back against the soft cushions and stretched out his legs, while Ellie snuggled up close beside him. He couldn't remember the last time he'd felt so relaxed.

His eyes met Jasper's across the room and Jasper nodded silently. It was time. The old man reached down beside him and pulled a previously concealed drawer out of the bottom of the recliner on which he sat. Lifting a large, heavy looking book out of the drawer, he placed it on the coffee table in front of him, flipping it open to a previously bookmarked page.

"This book is not supposed to exist. It's my family history, and should have been destroyed back when the law regarding witches and dragons was first passed, as all others were. Luckily, one of my clever ancestors created an exact copy and submitted that in its place. I think you may find some of the information in here very interesting."

"This bookmarked section chronicles the time leading up to the law about dragons and witches being imposed, and explains a little about why it came to pass. It certainly explains why the Council are so eager to have one or both of you dead."

Ellie sat forward eagerly, excitement radiating from every pore. Jayce chuckled, slipping his arm around her waist and pulling her back beside him. "Would you mind reading it aloud, Jasper. Before little-miss-impatient here bursts."

Ellie threw him a just you wait look, then sighed and sat back, snuggling up beside him again.

"Before I start reading though, there are a few things I need to tell you that you may not be aware of. A witch's familiar can combine their own magic and strength with that of the witch, thus amplifying the witch's powers accordingly. So, if an already powerful witch were to have her powers bonded with an equally powerful creature, such as a dragon, the results would be phenomenal. After seeing Ellie's scars from the healing you did together, I think I understand why the Council is nervous."

Jasper leaned over the book and began to read:

"A number of disturbing incidents have recently been brought to the attention of the ruling Councils in the magical realms. A certain bad element of witches has been found guilty of hexing dragons in an attempt to bond them as their familiars and thereby enhance their magical ability. This has prompted the need for a new law, prohibiting a witch from taking a dragon as her familiar, regardless of the circumstances. This new law is to be enforced in the realms of both Dragons and Witches, and any incidents found to infringe this law will be punishable by death."

Jasper looked up at Jayce and raised his eyebrows. "There is another entry underneath this, which I fear tells a truer story:

Above is the official announcement regarding the introduction of the new law. It is rumoured, however, that the ruling councils had ulterior motives for instigating the law. It is believed that a young witch and dragon, who were drawn together and bonded by mutual consent, became a powerful threat to the ruling Councils. The pair were separated, and both were reported banished from their realms; but as there were no witnesses to the banishments, it is feared the Councils may have disposed of them."

Ellie shook her head. "So this is all about us being a threat? Well, if anyone had bothered to ask us, I'd have happily told them we couldn't care less about their stupid Councils. We just want to be left alone."

Jasper shook his head sadly. "I'm sorry Ellie. I'm afraid you'd be wasting your breath. Just the possibility that your bonding with Jayce could pose a threat to the ruling Councils would have been enough to throw them into a tailspin. I'm not sure they'll ever give up searching for you. But we can live in hope. Who knows what the future may hold?"

***

ELLIE SAT in a state of numbed silence as the conversation continued to flow around her. She hadn't quite grasped the enormity of their situation until Jasper had explained exactly how much trouble they were in. She'd just assumed that if they disappeared for a while, the Councils would realise they weren't a threat and eventually let them be.

I'm not sure they'll ever give up searching for you. Jasper's words echoed around and around in her head. This wasn't going to just blow over like they'd hoped. So what was the point of running and hiding? It was hopeless.

When she realised Jayce was standing in front of her and holding out his hand, she forced her mind to concentrate on the conversation.

"Sorry, I was lost in my own little world there for a while. Are we going to bed?"

Jayce smiled and nodded. "I thought you looked beat, so I suggested we call it a night." She knew Jayce would have heard the thoughts tumbling around inside her head, and she smiled gratefully as she took his hand and stood up.

"Thank you so much for the lovely dinner. I'm sorry if I was rude, but it's been a rough couple of days," she muttered.

Isabel stood up and surprised her with a warm hug. "Don't be silly love, you have absolutely nothing to apologise for. We understand how out of control things must feel at the moment. Get some rest, and tomorrow we'll think about where to go and what to do from here."

Ellie's eyes filled with tears at Isabel's comforting words. She smiled and nodded, then followed Jayce from the room, up the stairs and into their room. She felt like she was on autopilot; going through the motions of appearing normal while on the inside she was falling apart.

But she couldn't fool Jayce. He was privy to everything going on inside her head. Without a word, he picked her up and sat down on the window seat, cradling her in his arms.

"Hey beautiful girl. I know what Jasper told us tonight was hard, but you can't give up hope. We'll find a way out of this, I promise. We can't let them win Elle, we need to keep fighting. You and I are a force to be reckoned with, and they have no idea what they're up against."

Ellie felt the numbness slowly recede into the background. Jayce was right. If she allowed herself to sink into mindless despair, the Councils had already won. Her battered emotions roused themselves, fighting their way back to the surface. The tears she'd buried finally found release, and she turned her face into Jayce's chest and sobbed.

"That's my girl. You need to feel all the hurt and anger, and then use it as a weapon against them. We can beat them baby, but only if we're strong... and we do it together."

Ellie felt some of the fear, anger and frustration that had been building up for days' ease. She needed to feel the knot in her stomach and the ache in her chest, they were a constant reminder of what they were up against. Jayce was right. She wasn't going to just give up and make it easy for these people who wanted them dead. Whatever happened, she wasn't going down without a fight!