Nataniel woke up that morning. Again, Ariel had not slept. He was sitting beside the fire, looking at the firewood while adding small twigs or sticks to the fire at long intervals. Nataniel rubbed his eyes and walked out of the cottage. He touched the snow and closed his eyes, looking for food or prey. His eyes stopped at an old plum tree, he opened his eyes and saw that he was surrounded by plum trees. The cottage had disappeared, and he was in the middle of a plum forest. He heard a voice and chased it.
Someone was digging a ditch into the ground, with a bucket full of plum seeds. Nataniel looked at him from afar. He stopped digging and threw the shovel away. He turned back and looked at Nataniel, it was Remitte, he had stitches on his neck and an icy glare, "Who digs the ditches, Nataniel?" He asked him.
Nataniel was terrified, and he began running away from him, "Nataniel," He heard his mother's voice resonating in the plum forest, "Impudent child,"
He stopped as he didn't know where to go anymore. The voices were everywhere. He clenched his ears and sat down. Slowly, someone approached him from behind, "Why did you let Remitte do it?" It was his mother's voice, "That was your job, Nataniel," She brought her hand forward and Nataniel turned back to look at her, holding Remitte's decapitated head by his hair.
He screamed as he crawled on the roots of the huge plum trees and the plums began falling, bursting into blood, "NO! NO! I DIDN'T KNOW YOU'D KILL HIM!" Lightning fell, strong and loud, her blue eyes looked down at him, and he began breathing faster as he ran out of breath.
She smiled and sat down in front of him. She gently touched his face, "How are you alive?"
"You think I am, therefore, I am," She grabbed his face and brought it closer to hers, "I knew you would not disappoint me, you ate a demigod, just like a monster,"
"I'm not a monster! I'M NOT A MONSTER!"
Nataniel woke up with a jolt, he was standing in front of the cottage again. Ariel sat at the door. He turned back and looked at him and then touched his clothes, he was drenching in sweat. He touched his palms on his face, trying to calm himself down, then, he turned towards Ariel, "Come, let us go,"
He grabbed Ariel's hand and they continued their journey toward China,
"I loved too much at too young an age," Nataniel thought by himself, "Maybe, maybe that's why I'm going insane..."
. . .
Vierne stood on the balcony of the gatekeeper castle, guarding the gates as she looked at all of them from there.
"Lady Gatekeeper," Swift-footed Iris flew towards her from the dark sky and stood on the balcony. She bowed, "Yes, goddess Iris, I hear you,"
"My portals would not open, and the opened ones do not close,"
"What?"
"Yes, is it so,"
Vierne looked concerned. She jumped down the balcony and reached the garden. There, she saw the portal that Lict had opened a few hours ago. It was still there, it hadn't closed. But it was difficult to pass through as if some translucent sheet had covered it. So, that had been happening. More portals couldn't open anymore, and the old ones won't close, because time and space weren't able to heal themselves anymore. And the falling tower merged worlds, so they weren't two words anymore, but half of each other. Therefore, they won't open portals to each other.
All the portals closed after Shire Towey was smashed, had remained open. Vierne touched the drying portal, hardening like amber.
"Lady gatekeeper?" Iris flew towards her.
She looked at Iris, "It's the tower... Could you tell me the way to Shire Towey?"
. . .
Cynth came out through the portal that Annelece had opened. She walked into the first and began collecting plums from the trees. She took a small jug and collected some water from the lake. Then, she ran back into the portal, down the rocky mountains of hell, down the and on it's bank, she saw a small, wooden door surrounded by a broken fence. She passed through it and reached the witch village. However, someone was following her all the way. She greeted all the witches, all of them were old and wrinkly. There were no men in the village, only women, old and unpleasant to look at. Cynth was young, though. Younger than everyone, around Jevelene's age. All of them lived in cottages, the young and poor ones lived under trees and worked as servants to the older witches.
Cynth walked down her bark and reached Jevelene. All the bark around Jevelene had moss and flowers growing around it. "Wow...You did this?"
"I do not know. I woke up and it was this way,"
"It's beautiful. Thank you for decorating my house. Look, I got you more plums, and here is some water,"
Jevelene ate and drank, "I need to go back to the mortal world, I have to meet Ariel,"
"Did you master the spell I gave you?"
"A little bit, but I need to practice," Jevelene said.
"You can practice in the mortal world, tonight, I will help you escape,"
Jevelene smiled, "Alright,"
Cynth smiled at her and then looked at her hands, "Jevelene, your hands are glowing,"
Jevelene looked at her hands.
The old witches collected themselves at an old woman's place, "Cynth, that wretch, she is hiding someone from the mortal world into her bark,"
They all gasped, "How do you know that?"
"I saw her carry fruits from the mortal world, I followed her,"
"That traitor! She is giving homage to an enemy!"
"What's if it's a man!"
"Or worse, an immortal!"
"Women, we must barge into her house and get rid of whatever resides with her!"
They all screamed their chants and walked out of the cottage, towards Cynth's bark.
While Cynth held Jevelene's hands, "So warm," An ear to ear grin covered her face. Jevelene furrowed her brows, "Cynth, are you okay?"
But Cynth wouldn't stop looking at her hands, "What is this...So beautiful..." Her hair slowly began turning darker, all the maggots in her hair vanished and the filth washed off with the grass. Her sore legs healed and her eyes glowed brightly, "Oh my god, I'm being reborn,"
The grass began covering Cynth's legs, and her face changed. Her nose changed its shape, her eyes became bigger, her cheeks became fuller, and her lashes grew longer. "I feel so beautiful..." She looked into the mirror.
Jevelene heard loud bangs on the bark, "CYNTH! YOU WRETCH! OPEN THE DOOR!"
"Cynth!" Jevelene touched her face, but Cynth seemed to be in a daze as if she was drunk and suddenly started laughing, "Jevelene, you must be a god!" Cynth hugged Jevelene.
"CYNTH! OPEN THE DOOR!"
Jevelene's entire body began glowing and her hair grew longer and more orange, the entire bark began turning green, full of moss, wilderness and flowers. They finally broke the bark and walked in, seeing Cynth, drunk, laying on the grass floor with her saliva dripping down her mouth, Jevelene stood beside her, dressed in her clothes.
"It's...It's a child of a god!"
They ran towards Jevelene with their axes and their knives. Jevelene squirmed and all the grass began covering their feet. They began cutting it off with their knives, "Ugh! This thing is thick!"
"Marlyine," One of them looked up, "You are young again!"
Maryline, the oldest witch, looked at her hands. The wrinkles were gone, her hair was black, her skin was olive and her face was pretty.
All of them soon turned young and beautiful. They all laughed and hugged each other. Each of them looked like a beautiful maiden. They turned towards Jevelene, "Our god!"
They all got on their knees, and Cynth bowed with them, "Our god!"
Cynth touched Jevelene's feet, "You are our god!"
The flowers and the grass spread from the bark to the entire village. All the trees bore fertile fruits, they grew bright leaves, the barren lands were soon covered with vines, the cottages were covered with foliage and moss, the entire black landscape soon turned green, mud turned to clear water and the lakes began shimmering. Wherever the vines touched, they cleaned.
All the witches went them went into a frenzy, dancing with their long hair open. Dancing barefoot on the bright grass as they sang louder and louder. They clapped their hands and circled around Jevelene, they removed her clothes and covered her both with a white tunic, lined with gold. They covered her arms with flower bracelets and covered her hair with flowers and gold, while the others danced around her.
Jevelene sat on a throne of flowers and grass. She held a bouquet of wildflowers in her hands. She watched them sing, dance, laugh, eat and truly enjoy themselves. Some played the instruments, and some sat around Jevelene and fanned her. Hundreds and hundreds of witches. The entire village was dancing around her, it almost didn't seem like they were in hell. They were so happy. So sweet, so very fine.
Merrily, they screamed, "You are our tir na nóg,"
-To be continued
Cynth
Dear Ms Lady Demigod: Six Days To Doom