Chapter Eight
The tale of Rosa and the witches’ trade
The night was long and the journey seemed never ending, but in the morning Juliana was woken up by Rosa tagging at her sleeve. Calling her name until she had awoken completely and when see opened her eyes she saw Rosa’s smiling face as she said, “where here”.
Juliana looked at to see whether Drake was still where he was last night, but he was gone she heard Rosa’s voice once more and said “he’s unpacking dear”.
She started to get out of the carriage to look outside to see where they were, and when she started to get out. The sun’s ray of light blinded her for a moment, and when she stood up on her two feet she could feel her feet sink and felt a strong chill of wind that made her shiver, and when she opened her eyes all she could see was snow.
The trees had shed there leaves and all that could be seen was the dark brown empty branches, that was now holding snow and the ground and the high hill that was in front of her was covered by a cold blanket of it. She cradled herself as the coldness grew stronger “get in” said Rosa “you’re shivering all over we do not want you catching a cold”.
“In where?” said Juliana and before her eyes a large boulder covered in snow moved itself before her, and there revealed a dark cave. It seemed like a tunnel from the outside that got even darker when she looked to see the very end of it, and when she stepped inside small orbs of light appeared one by one, going all the way down the tunnel. As she was walking to get to the end of the tunnel, she looked up and saw that the small orbs were actually floating candles that never moved an inch. It amazed her that such small candles could give that such a bright light, but then she thought that maybe Rosa’s magic must have something to do with it. She carried on walking until she saw a brighter light that was even brighter then candles, and she could feel the warn rosy heat coming from it.
The warm heat drew her closer and closer to it and before her eyes was comforting scene, there was a huge fireplace caging a giant rosy fire and beside it was a chair covered in patterns of flowers and giant cushions of green and purple. Covered by a knitted large quilt with different square colors. And behind it was a wooden cupboard and table, and on the opposite side was a wide double chair that nearly looked the same as the one near the fire but with two larger quilts over it. The room was covered by a red glow which the fire had created, and right near the fire was Drake putting the logs that he had cut from yesterday into it. Juliana felt cozy as she sat at one end of the wide double chair, she couldn’t help but put her legs up as well as she had herself comfortable in the corner of the chair. It was so comfortable that it made her feel like she could fall asleep again, but she soon felt energetic when Drake had sit next to her and said. “Are you alright malady?”
She sat back up to be polite and replied, “Yes. I am alright but why are you always calling me malady, if I may ask?”
He was shocked at her question and said back, “it is polite to call a lady as such, do you not like it”.
He looked at her with sadness in his eyes and Juliana felt a little guilty as if she had hurt his kind curtsey. “Please I did not mean to upset you, and I do like your kind manner. But please call me by my name as I would like to be your friend”.
He nodded feeling nervous as no- one had ever said such a thing to him before, the only friends he had was from the palace and Humphrey who he had met the day before his enchanted began. For he had no other friend from outside world.
Then Rosa soon appeared into the cozy room as the lights from behind her had put themselves out. “It feels more comfy as the last time we were here”, she said as she walked to the chair next to the fireplace.
And as she sat down Drake and Juliana could hear Rosa’s back creak as they both asked whether she was alright, she gaze a smile as she looked comfortable and said, “yes I am alright diaries. Just a little tired”.
Drake tired to convince Rosa to rest and sleep for a while by she would only decline, she said that even though her body was tired and aching her mind was truly awake. She looked into the fire as if she could see a play within it; she was quiet for a while and suddenly looked at both Juliana and Drake and asked them. “Would you like to hear a tale?”
They both looked at each other and looked at her and asked back, “what kind of story?”
She gave a small light cackle and said an adventure of many tales but it will take the whole winter to tell, she warned them. “It is a magical story?” asked Juliana.
“Yes and a funny one at that too” she replied.
“Once a upon a time, as all stories go. There was a woodcutter that had a daughter and was married to her stepmother, and they all lived in a hut made of strew. The hut was fairly large and yet small but cozy, it was a place of laughter when the young girls mother was alive, but since her mothers death when her father had remarried, life became very dull. Everything had to be set the perfect way for perfection, the chair had to be moved from the fireplace to the cold chilling window, and the table had to be placed in the middle of the room from the wall. She could not stand the copper pans and pots or the wooden bowls, plates or the cutlery. Oh, no she had to have the pots and pans had to be of new shiny tin, the bowls, plates had to be ceramic and the cutlery silver. The change was unbearable for the young girl and her father, but he would smile to please her stepmother and would ask his daughter to also pretend. But in time her father would like her puppet going her every whim, and his thought was clouded and had the mind like her own. However life became difficult for the young girl, when she would play with her toys silently her stepmother was always watching with cold stare. It made the little girl worry but she could not say anything to her father as he would only say that her stepmother loves her. Though she knew it wasn’t true, and in a few days the cold stare was now watching her everywhere. Was she going to make her change too the young girl thought? But one extraordinary day, a marvelous day when a new magic was born, the girl realized that she was something special, she was a witch but she knew she couldn’t let her stepmother find out. For who knows what she would do to her? She tried to keep it secret until she started talking to a squirrel. And when her stepmother saw her do this she immediately grad the girl by her ear inside the hut, and convinced her father to get rid of her. At first she thought her father would break the spell he was under from her charm, but he did not when her stepmother said, think of what the neighbors would say. And within an hour they both gave her away to the witches’ trade, and when she was thrown in the wooden small carriage and locked. She looked at her father with sadness in her eyes, but he did not change his mind and that was the last time she saw her father”.
“What a terrible story” said Juliana with a horrified look on her face?
Rosa lifts her finger as if to say that the story wasn’t over Juliana settled down again like Drake and listened carefully to the rest. As she carried on, “the young girl was taken away to something called the witches trade, which was where young girls with talent for magic was sold off to witches if they’re parents did not want them. There were many young girls that were sold there, and all their clothes were ripped and dirty with heavy black chains on their waists and ankles, and the young girl was one of them. Each girl was called up one by one by name, and the girls that were called up stood on a stool. And was shown to all they middle to late age old witches in fine clothes, stared and thought in which young girl they would have. When the young girls name was called, one of the men that worked there pushed her to walk faster until she went through the curtain and on to the stool. She saw a crowd of witches all with grey whitish hair, looking at her as they whispered to them selves thinking aloud. They looked as if they were whispering to someone that wasn’t there as if they had all gone mad, but want would you expect from witches? As they young girl stood straight looking miserable and was uncertain of what would happen to her.”
The overly large gentleman who stood beside her wearing a purplish red suit, with his belly sticking out, and black combed hair and a curly mustache, who wore a black hat and shiny polished shoes. Who seemed to be the auctioneer of the trade selling young girls at the highest price? He looked at the young girl with ghastly stare, as he went down a step of the stage as he was fairly tall grabbed her chin, and with his thumb pulled down her bottom dry cracked sore lip, to see her teeth and once he let go of her. He suddenly looked at her forehead as if she had already been labeled, with a price on her head. And once he was done he got back up onto the stage, with a tiny wooden hammer in his fat chubby hand. Started to speak out aloud saying the girl’s name, “do I hear ten pieces of silver?” As he pointed out into the crowd.
One by one the witches began to shout with their cracked voices as the price went up, until a tidy old lady like witch appeared from the back. “I will pay hundred and ten silver pieces” she shouted. The other witches went horribly silent as they were all now beaten to obtain the small girl, the auctioneer’s jaw dropped he could not believe his ears. As he replied unsure “I am sorry could you repeat that?”
“Are you deaf sir? I said I will pay a hundred and ten pieces of silver for the girl” replied the witch.
The auctioneer’s jaw was slowly becoming an evil grin and the young girl felt uneasy for she could see that this witch did not seem the sort that would be friendly or a little nice. “Sold to the posh looking witch at the back!” shouted the auctioneer.
The young girl was quickly snatched from the stage as two of the men that stood beneath it, were making sure that the girls did not attempt to escape. They carried her off the ground as they both held her upper arms at the side of her, landing her in front of the witch, collecting the ragged purse containing the hundred and ten pieces of silver. They both quickly counted the money and as the counted their eyes glistened with greed, and when they were done they handed over a long black key. Which was they key to release her from her chains, the young girl couldn’t help herself, but watch the key being given to the witch and putting on a empty chain for a necklace to hide it for safe keeping. And when the two men left the witch pushed the young girls back to start walking. The witch walked slowly, walking in a noticeable way as if she was important and had to be noticed. Her face was fairly up in the sky as if she was in a higher class; she may have looked and dressed nicely. But the looks of a wise witch could be highly seen, her hair was grey and plaited tightly at the back so the waves of her hair could be tamed. And her hands were much wrinkled for hard labour of witchcraft could be seen, even though her face had not a wrinkle or mole upon it but full of unnatural youth, wearing a crimson red dress with black lace.
She said not a word to the young girl until they stopped near a window of a cloth shop, called “Madame Pompoms”. When they witch said “you will have to be dressed finely and out of those rags it will not look good for business”.
They young girl just looked at the witch following her into the shop, and as the bell rang two of the shop keepers instantly came near the counter, one was a middle aged lady that had the face that resembled a pig covered by tons of make- up wearing a purple dress with long sleeves, pearls around her neck coming down to her overly large chest and belly and her round spectacles, and she had curly white short hair and pearl earrings. The girl beside her was tall but thin wearing a pink dress and a silk laced apron, with her blonde hair tied back. They both stood straight until the middle aged woman recognized the witch, as she wobbled forward and greeted the witch. “Oh!” said the middle aged woman, “it is good to have to back in our shop we truly honored, what we can do for you this time Mrs. Hill?”
“I want this girl dressed finely for my tastes, Madame Pompom”, replied the witch looking down at.
Madame looked at the young girl looking at her unsure, “of course Mrs. Hill”, she stood straight again facing the witch, “would you like us to give her a bath before you decide on what you would like?”
The witch raised her eyebrow at the question and looked down at the young girl, seeing the dirt and greasiness of her as the young girl looked into her empty eyes. “Yes, of course, Anna prepares the bath” she replied.
The girl did what she was told, she fetched a wooden tub full of warn water and placed at the back of the counter, and placed a bar of soap, a glass bottle of shampoo and a white cloth by the side of it. While the young girl went into the tub being washed from head to toe, the witch and Madame Pompom was discussing was would be proper the material for her under garment. She tried to suggest many things as she showed her the materials one by one, until she showed her the thin woolen material from the third shelf. The witch quiet like it and gave a nod of approval, and instantly Madame Pompom laid the material on a tidy table with many draws. Then she looked at me for a second and asked the witch, “Would you like the length long or fine. Tight or comfortable Mrs. Hill?”
“Long and comfortable can’t have her work distracted”, replied the witch as she sat on a wooden stool.
Madame Pompom’s hands worked like magic as they were sift and clever, as she did not have to measure the young girl at all. She cut the material with a pair of scissors from a draw from beneath her; she cut the material as if it was nothing. She did not have to fear about making mistakes and while she was cutting bits and pieces to make the young girls under garments.
The assistant asked the witch whether she could take the chains off the young girl to clean her wrists, the witch handed over the key without a single thought or complaint. And as the girl came back she took off the chains and gave the key back to the witch, she came back and washed and washed the young girls wrists until they was spotless. She then started with the young girl’s hair, grabbing a small wooden bucket from under the counter, and filling it up with the water in the tub and spilling it over the girls head. Then she started putting the shampoo on her wet hair and scrubbing the shampoo that smelt like rosemary and cream, into the girl’s scalp, as the assistant did this the young girl started to fell the pain of the assistant’s long fingernails. Until she moved on messaging the rest of the shampoo into the ends of her hair, and when was done she grabbed the bucket yet again rinsing the shampoo out of her hair. By the time she was done she went to fetch a towel and when she came back she rapped it around her to dry her. At that time Madame Pompom had finished the under garments completely and was talking to the witch about the style of the dress, which the young girl couldn’t hear as the assistant was drying her hair. As the assistant finished the young girls hair by combing it, she then dressed the young girl with the under garments that were made.
The young girl was then put on a round wooden circle that was apart of the floor in the middle of three large mirrors. She felt like she was back on the stage being stared at, once more until Madame Pompom asked the witch once more. “Would like the fabric patterned or plain, or of mixed colors?”
“Plain but the fabric must be silk nothing else”, replied the witch.
“Of course” said Madame Pompom bowing slightly as if she were bowing to a queen.
The assistant went over to the shelves, which was full of different plain colours of shimmering silk, and carried each different colour near the mirrors. Placing it beside the young girl and both the assistant and Madame Pompom went down on their knees, as the assistant gave each colour to her employer. As Madame Pompom put the colour silk near the young girl showing it to the witch for her approval. She the first colour which was a vibrant red, and the witch waved her head side to side, and so she put another colour up near the girl but the witch disagreed. Until there was just two colours remaining she decided to pick them both up and stood up feeling her feet again she went behind the young girl placing both colours near the girls head. The young girl looked at the two remaining colours and saw a blue silk fabric and a bright pink. The young girl that didn’t have much in the way of coloured clothes, but she really liked the pink silk but the witch picked the opposite. She was measured every way possible by height and width, from her neck to her toes, and soon enough her dress was made. And it fitted her very well, as she couldn’t help herself but feel the material of her dress as it was alien to her; the witch was pleased with the dress and paid them well.
As the witch looked down however and saw the young girls bare toes, she clasped her hands together and there appeared two new black shining shoes. And when she handed them to the young girl she ordered her to put them on, and the girl could see the witch’s cruelty in her eyes. The young girl made hast in putting the new shoes on, and followed the witch out of the shop into the street.
It seemed a short time to travel to the witch’s house, although the young girl’s feet were thumping with aches and pains. As they went through the town into the woods, was a small wooden cottage covered by red roses and daisies. Beside the cottage was a small vegetable and herb garden with labels, and a white garden table and two patterned chairs.
However even though the cottage and the garden were beautiful and fine, the young girl could see that there was some sort of magic that made it seem that way. But she dared not ask. “This is where you will be learning the art of witchcraft as my apprentice”, said the witch breaking the silence.
She looked at the girl for a second then faced the house again and continued, “You’ll be living here with me until I die, and do you understand that child”.
The young girl nodded and replied “yes Mrs.”
A few years had passed and the young girl lived with the silent posh witch and learned many things, things that the other witches have not learned. She began to like solitary life however; she did feel lonely most of the time as the witch was not fit for such comfort as a friend to talk to.
Although the young girl had now become a young adult, who was pretty but plain had just managed to soften the witch’s heart, only to have little time with her as the witch was meeting her end. There she lay on her bed of pillows and quilts, looking paler then what she was. Told the young witch that she could take all her books if she wished, but asked her a huge request that she would have to take one important book, that other witches must not lay their hands on. This was called ‘The book of Darkness’
“What’s the book of darkness?” asked Juliana concerned, as she held her head in her hands.
Rosa’s tired smile slowly turned serious as she threw a new log into the fire, as she answered “the book of darkness is the most powerful ancient book known to magical beings. It is known as the devils instructions to create chaos and torture; it can not be destroyed unless one with a pure heart full of love strikes it with a righteous sword.”
Drake listened but didn’t ask a thing as he sat silently opposite Juliana. Rosa gave a small sigh as she started to wonder off in thought, and as she looked at the youths before her she continued the story.