Solaria felt unease in her gut, what if it was all a lie?
"Well...Holly of Harbrook...if you are who you say you are, you should know that there is no way to pass through my front door..." she proclaimed with a small snide little smirk of pride, "The Lock Spell can never be broken, ever. So, sorry Holly of Harbrook, your luck has-"
Suddenly, the door burst open, sending Solaria flying off her feet and into a bookshelf in the back corner, spraying her with dust bunnies that skittered about and old books that were so yellow, one could think they would fall apart at any moment. In a moment of dizziness, white mist floated into the room, mixed with the golden moonlight of the harvest.
Solaria's eyes fell to a short plump black cloaked being standing into at the busted doorway. To top it all off, her shadow was casted over Solaria. Never before had Solaria felt so intimidated before.
The hood was removed from Holly's head to reveal sleek raven hair that fell past her shoulders. Her skin was a light tan, and her eyes were like green almonds. Her eyes widened as she glanced at Solaria, her cheeks burned a bright red.
Solaria felt her cheeks burn, mostly from humilation. So much was her embarrassment that the fireplace burst into flames. Illuminating the room with warmth and orange glow.
"I...should have warned you I was going to blow down the door..." Holly muttered.
Solaria let out a sneeze, "Y-You think? You'll wake the entire village! They might think you are the killer and you will be hung! And I assure you, your neck will not snap! The executioner makes sure of that!"
Holly smiled warmly, "I'm certain your village will do nothing...in the course of this moon, your village have submitted to be meek cowards. Mice if you will."
"That is bold of you to say."
"No, that is being direct. Blunt is a better word actually."
Solaria then stood up and with a flick of her hand, the books returned to their shelves.
"So Holly of Harbrook, how do I know you aren't really the killer of Farthing?"
Holly took a seat at the table, it was then Solaria saw something hidden in her cloak. In those moments, her gaurd was hightened. She hid her hands, sparking every few moments as she took a seat across from her.
"Because I know where Luna is...as well as the killer..."
The silence in this room could not be cut with any knife. Solaria sat there, her eyes wide with tears building up slowly.
"Y-You...do?"
Holly nodded, she reached into her cloak to reveal a grey witches' cloak bundle. She placed it on the table as carefully as she could. Instantly, the bundle began to coo.
Curious now, Solaria took the bundle and began to unwrap it.
There in her hands was an infant girl sleeping in the oversized cloak.
Solaria felt confused, "A baby? What does that have to do with my sister...?"
"That baby is Luna..." Holly told her.
Solaria felt like bursting into laughter, "Nice jest, but Luna is eighteen and full grown..."
The infant yawned, revealing its toothless gums, and opened its piercing blue eyes.
The same as Luna's.
Solaria covered her free mouth in utter shock, "L-Luna...?"
"Oh so now you regonize her..." Holly mused.
"I know those peircing eyes anywhere..." Solaria breathed, "Those eyes used to scare anyone..."
Luna began to suck on her oversized sleeve, blissfully unaware of Solaria's shock.
"What happened to her?" Solaria questioned.
Holly frowned, "The killer used her to return..."
"What in the name of Gaia does that mean?"
All at once, Luna began to wail, most likely out of hunger.
Holly snapped her fingers, bringing the baby into her arms, "Do you have a cauldron? Luna must be hungry, it has been a long road it has.
Solaria pointed to the cauldron by the fireplace, barren and unused.
"Do you have any poppyseed? I can give her poppy milk."
"On the herb shelf, third jar in the center of the third shelf."
Holly nodded and turned to the shelf, snapping her fingers once more to have the cauldron come to light. She took the the wooden cup of black seeds and tossed them into the cauldron. With a wave of her hands, a bucket of water flew in through the open door and poured itself into the brew. A few muttered soft words of gibberish and the brew flashed white as milk.
Holly then grabbed a wooden cup with a wooden spout from her cloak, muttered a cooling spell, and spooned the liquid into the cup. She then presented the cup to Luna, who began to suckle diligently. Holly then let out a sigh and took a seat back at the dinner table.
Solaria reseted her head on her hand, bordom rising in her brain, "So...what happened?"
Holly then began.
"In order to explain what happened to Luna. You have to understand what happened to my village..."
"Go on then..."
***
"Long ago, my village, Harbrook, thrived by the Rivers of Elwin. It was a lovely place, and a place that was beloved by many...until Merlot the Maid was born."
"From a young age, she was thought to be a powerful witch. And everyone thought she would bring glory to Harbrook. But the minute she found darkness, she loved it. She broke the reede. An it Harm None, Do What Ye Will."
"She started on murdering animals. Bunnies at first but then her love of murder brought her to kill the first human....the town mayor...when we found out, we tried to hang her...but before we could, she went on a murder spree. And she managed to burn the entire village down, even with a river in our midist. I managed to escape into the Forboden Wood. But my family wasn't so lucky."
"Merlot was powerhungry. She just loved to hurt because she liked the feeling it gave her. Because not only could she kill, but she was only a hair-length away from learning how to raise the dead, just to keep that feeling of power..."
"I then knew I had to stop her...I challenged her to a fight she couldn't resist. A fight to the death."
"We faught for what felt like hours. But eventually she had the upper hand. She had me pinned, poised to slit my throat."
"That was until I realized what I had to do. I broke the reede myself. I sucked the very spirit from her body and burned it. She became nothing but mist, and I thought my revenge was complete. I was wrong."
"Her spirit remained in the mist, waiting for a chance to return. Waiting to exact revenge on me."
"But she couldn't in a spirit form. No, she needed a life. And not just any life, a young life, one of magical potential. That was where the Thorns of Youth were planted. When Luna got caught in the vines, the vines sapped her age and magic down to her being only minutes old. Then it was transferred to Merlot. Along with her added magic, she is unstoppable."
"The killing spree is to get my attention, she wants me to fight her...but I can't do it alone...not anymore. I need someone to help me fight her off...and with the daughter of Stellaria at my side, I will stand a better chance."
"So...to stop this monster...to make up for my failure...will you help me destroy the Maid in the Mist?"
***
Solaria said nothing for the longest time, so much was reeling in her head.
"So, this Merlot bitch took my sister's age? Can we get it back?"
Holly shook her head, "Thorns of Youth are not permanent all on their own. Typically, they store the age in the tree in which it grows...but if it grows from the magic wielder, that age goes to the one who controls the vines. And there is no way to return it."
Solaria felt her hopes sink, "So...Luna is stuck like this forever...?"
"No, she will grow up all over again...no memory of her past life. A clean slate, a second chance."
Luna finished the milk and was promptly burped before yawning and closing her eyes again.
Shame filled Solaria's mind. Luna had always wanted to grow up so fast. She could not have wanted this. But...maybe this would be a good thing. Solaria could teach Luna that there was more to life than being cooped up studying. Maybe this wouldn't be a bad thing for Solaria. After all, she was still the older sister.
"And...you can't fight Merlot anymore...? Why?" Solaria continued.
Holly examined her own hand, lost in her own mind for a moment, "I..." she winced, "It doesn't matter...will you help me?"
Solaria rolled her eyes, "I'm not good at magic, do you not hear? I couldn't get the lock spell to work, the best I can give you is a fireball and an invisibility spell."
Holly giggled, "You would do better than I can now...that blast spell usually never works. At this point, I can only use vine whips."
"So, we would like kittens going to fight a lion..." Solaria remarked.
"Your mother fought a dragon..."
"I am not my mother..."
But you have her magic, her blood...plus...you want revenge...do you not?"
"Of course..." Solaria muttered, "My mother was murdered by that monster...my sister's magic was taken...as was her first life...there have been so many murders and executions...Farthing is dying...I was about to give up...but knowing my sister is alive..." she stood up and poked at the fireplace with a stick, "I can't believe I wanted to give up in the first place."
Holly's eyes lit up, "So, you will help me?"
Solaria smirked, "Yeah, sure...my village is at stake here...and that Merlot destroyed everything I cared about..."
Holly smiled, "Thank you Solaria...you don't know how wonderful it is to hear that..."
"So, where do we start?"
Luna yawned one final time, prompting Holly to glance at her.
"Well, first...we have to pick someone to watch Luna for the night."
***