It was a race against time. The sun was slowly sinking below the horizon. The princess knew that she might not make it.
Holding on to the little hope left in her heart, Lily ordered the broom to fly faster. Her eyes squinted as Nightshade's grove came into view.
With a burst of adrenaline and with sheer determination, Lily made the broom zoom past Sorrel's house and zigzag through the trees.
Due to the acceleration, Lily lost control of the broom. Fortunately, Heather's house was just a few more meters away.
"How do I stop this thing?!" she screamed.
Left with no choice, Lily swerved the broom sharply to the right to make it stop.
But the rebellious thing refused to do so. Lily ended up crash-landing on Heather's porch with a huge thud.
"Seriously? That hurts!" she groaned while trying to get up.
In that instant, Dusk and Shadow approached her.
Dusk's eyes glowed and nudged the girl with her muzzle. "Are you still alive?"
Lily groaned in pain.
"Welcome back, young one." Shadow greeted before rubbing himself on Lily's backside.
"You barely made it on time." Heather said as she appeared by the door. Her face was grim.
Definitely, the head witch was not pleased that Lily was able to pass her trial.
"So, do I get my wish?" Lily asked with hopeful eyes.
"Get inside first. Then, tell me what you want to do." That was Heather's only reply.
After a moment of respite, Lily was given food and medication.
The girl was happy that she was able to accomplish the task. All the hardships she went through were worth it.
It was not because she will get her wish, but because she had seen Hazel being accepted back by her family.
Lily had tears on her eyes as she witnessed how Sorrel cried out while holding her cousin's remains.
Though her face was devoid of emotion, Heather seemed to have mellowed that her daughter –or what was left of her daughter was returned.
Zeke was there as well, watching Hazel's remains with longing. Though he tried his best to remain stoic, Zeke was not able to prevent a few tears from falling from his eyes.
"So what happens now?" Sorrel sniffed as she held Hazel's remains close to her chest.
"I have to keep my part of the bargain and fulfill this girl's wish." Heather said with resignation.
Although Zeke was against the idea, he had no choice but to allow the princess to get her wish. He knew how hard-headed and stubborn the princess can be.
Lily took the remains from Sorrel and held it up to the headwitch. "Incorporate in me the flesh and blood of Hazel."
The two days later, the moon was at its fullest. It was high time for casters to have the ritual.
With growing anticipation, Lily could fell her heart thumping out of her chest. This is the day she would finally get her heart's desire.
The young princess was led towards Heather's personal work place, Arcana.
Making her way inside the dimly lit room, the girl could not help but admire the headwitch's collection of potion, grimoire, tomes, cauldron, spell books and other stuff which had to do with magic.
Walking towards the witch's worktable, she took note of Hazel's body wrapped in a clean cloth.
The girl then asked. "About the process, I am quite curious. Will you be using the same process that Hazel had done?"
"What kind of process?" Heather probed as she prepared the needed materials for the said ritual.
The headwitch brought out some herbs and other ingredients that Lily could not recognize.
"She used her blood as catalyst to open my Caster's circuit." The girl replied as she eyed the huge cauldron that even five children could fit in.
"We will be using a different process. Hazel's flesh and blood will be needed for this to work." Sorrel butted in while towing a sack of powdered silver.
Lily's brows creased in confusion.
'Hazel made me drink her blood. Now they will be using her flesh... could it be that...'
The princess's eyes widened in realization before her face contorted in disgust.
'They couldn't be thinking of letting her do that, right?'
Choosing her words carefully, she began. "How are you going to incorporate hazel in me? Are you going to feed her flesh to me?" The girl turned green at the thought.
Sorrel gasped in horror while Heather had a look of disbelief.
"Where did you get that idea, child?" the headwitch asked.
"In stories, witches eat children." The girl began in a low voice.
"So, I was thinking that for the ritual to work, I would have to eat Hazel's flesh." Lily added before turning a sickly shade of green.
"Don't be ridiculous!" Sorrel exclaimed.
"Cannibalism is a big NO." Zeke incised. "It is considered as a taboo in our coven and in Nightshade's Grove."
"In some historical accounts, there were a number of witches who practiced that disgusting ceremony to gain more power and magic. But the price for that seriously ill deed was quite high." Sorrel said.
That explanation seemed to perk the girl's interest. "What happened to them?"
"They got cursed in return." Heather answered before Sorrel could.
"They transform into monsters who craved for human flesh. Although they had gain additional abilities, their appetite for human flesh drove them to insanity and made them lose their capacity to think."
Lily nodded before remembering her previous question. "If that won't be the ritual, then how are going to turn me into a witch?"
Sorrel sighed at the girl's curiosity. The witch was slowly losing her patience.
"Like we have told you, there is a process. Just relax and keep your mouth shut while we are preparing."
Zeke took the opportunity to convince the princess when Sorrel and Heather got back to work.
"Your highness, the process is long and agonizing. Opening your caster's circuit and letting a huge amount of mana to flow into your body might tire you out. Only a few percentages survived this ritual. You might not make it."
Lily stomped her foot like a child and looked at the wizard in the eye. "I will take the risk. If I become a witch, I can avenge my family and my people."
Zeke looked at the girl with concern and sadness. "Lily, avenging them won't exactly bring them back to life."
"I know, but I want to see those people suffer and die for what they have done to my family and kingdom!" the princess argued back with conviction before walking out on the wizard.
Left with no choice, Zeke went after the girl and help prepared the needed things.