Somewhere in the Forest of Silence...
Taking a break from her ingredient hunting, Lily sat on a toadstool to eat a few berries she had foraged.
After her short respite, she checked her list and the items at hand.
She had managed to gather most of the ingredients by the end of the eighth day.
Only three more nights before the moon will start to wax. By then, the girl must go back to Nightshade's Grove to start making the potion.
"Let us see." The girl waved her hand and allowed the preserved items to float before her.
"Silver rose, check! Water from the Agape' Spring, check! Cinnamon sticks, check! Vanilla extract, check!" the girl said as she had made sure that her ingredients are in good condition.
"Now, all I need are three candles, one pink, one red and the other green. I could find them in Hemlock."
Lily stopped short and mused. "But I think I had missed the other ingredient."
She clasped her hands when she finally remembered. "I forgot! I need the golden apples from the Orchard of Ardour."
Using her map to find the location of the orchard, Lily had traced it towards the Vulpes Valley in no time at all.
Lily urged her broom to fly beyond the clouds until she reached the valley where the orchard was located.
Unfortunately, by the time Lily had been gliding down, she had noticed the entire area was barren. Not a single living tree or plant can be seen.
"If this is an orchard, then I can say that this is the worst that I have ever visited." She muttered as she scrutinized the place.
There were but a few trees which were reduced to charred stumps. A number of burnt trunks were even lying on the ash covered ground.
"Must have been a forest fire." The girl mused as she inspected the ashes of the fallen wood. "The golden apples might have perished as well."
The young witch would have given up her quest and leave, but something caught her eyes.
"How queer!" she exclaimed as she drew near. "What is that door doing in this area? I don't see a house anywhere."
Lily drew near and began examining the rustic door, which was old and wooden. It was the only thing left untouched by the flame. It was as if the door did not even belonged to that place.
Lily's fascination did not stop on the strange door. Growing curious, the girl opened it.
Instead of seeing the burned orchard as she had expected, she was greeted by the sweet smell of ripe fruits and a slightly darkened cavity at the other side.
"Queerer and queerer!" she tried to peek into the uncharted territory.
Finally giving in to her urge to explore, Lily stepped inside the doorway. The enticing scent had grown stronger with each step that she took.
With the fragrance came an intense aura and the familiar feeling of being watched.
Although her instincts told her to turn around and run, the girl's curiosity had gotten the best of her.
Throwing all precautions in the wind, Lily began navigating her way further in. Just then, the girl heard a warning growl which made the hair on her arms stand.
"Oh dear! I don't think that feeling is good." She grinned as she rubbed her arms.
Her sense of adventure was resurfacing and overwhelming her as she moved towards the lighted part ahead.
Her eyes grew as big as saucers when she finally reached the core of the chasm.
Light was filtering through the huge gap on the ceiling and was the source of energy which kept the orchard underneath it flourishing.
The orchard in itself was a marvelous sight. The trees were laden with different luscious fruits which made the girl's stomach rumble.
She only had a few berries earlier after all. Despite feeling a little bit famished, she kept herself in check.
Sauntering towards the trees, she began looking for the items that she needed. All she found so far were peaches, pears and other stone fruit, not the apple that she needed.
Walking further in, her eyes caught a magnificent tree at one corner. Its leaves were dazzling emeralds and its fruits were apples of gold.
"Found it!" The girl exclaimed and excitedly made her way to the tree.
But before she could even approach its trunk, the ground shook and from it sprouted vines which entangled around the girl.
"Whoaah! What's going on?" Lily cried out as she struggled against the vines. But the creepers wouldn't let her go.
"what is this? Ah... a human..." A gruff voice said which made the girl halt her struggles.
From where she was restrained Lily could barely make out the form that was coming towards her. A pair of yellow eyes flashed and was focused on her.
"Who are you and how did you get in here?" the voice once again probed and this time Lily finally saw its owner when it emerged.
Lily drew in a huge breath as a woman stepped out from the darkness.
The dark haired woman was beautiful and elegant. But what caught Lily's attention were her fox ears and her nine tails which stood proudly like a bushy fan behind her.
"A nine-tailed fox." Lily breathed out in awe.
The woman stretched her hand and held Lily's chin.
Narrowing her eyes at the girl, she said. "Only special beings are granted access in this place. Who are you child and why were you trying to get a golden apple?"
Lily gulped the lump on her throat. This is the first time she had encountered a nine-tailed fox.
From Hazel's stories, they were tricksters.
Most of them were quite sly and cunning. They fool humans before devouring them.
"Speak! Or I'll eat your heart, you little thief!" Her ears twitched in impatience as she snarled at the girl.
"I am not a thief. My name is Lily and I came here to get some apples for my potion. If I had known that you were guarding it, I would have politely asked to get one from you."
Lily reasoned out while trying to get a vial of potion from her pocket. She needed to get away from this beast.
"So you are aiming to get my golden apples!" The woman's eyes flashed.
She put enough space between her and the girl. All of the sudden her face started to change and her body shifted as well.
Lily had found herself facing a menacing fox. But before the fox managed to launch an attack, Lily was finally able to break her restraints and move out of the way.
However that didn't stop the beast, it came after Lily and used some of her golden tail to assault.
Fortunately, the girl was able to evade her attacks. Anger by the girl's dodging, the fox snarled and her hackles rise.
"I have to calm her down." Lily gritted as she watched the fox getting ready to pounce.
While keeping an eye on the predator, Lily got the vial and opened it. Herbal scent engulfed the place which somehow calmed the aura down.
The girl managed to dodge another attack and at the same time pour the fluid on the fox.
The concoction was supposed to jumpstart the spell that would calm the fox down. Instead of calming down, the fox suddenly grew even more agitated.
Lily looked at the vial and grimaced.
"Of all the times, now isn't the perfect moment to mess up! Godsdamnit!" Lily cussed as she got the wrong vial.
She tried to recite the spell, but halted midway for the fox got more livid than before.
The fox gave a deafening snarl and it was answered by the vines which had seized Lily once again. Lily tried breaking her restraints but to no avail.
In desperation, the girl gave the calming spell another go.
However, it had seemed that the calming spell did not work. Instead of calming down, the fox had almost gone berserk.
"Come on! You, stupid calming spell, work!" She cried out in anguish and ire.
Ready to shred her to pieces, the fox was coming towards her at full speed.
But when it reached a few meters away from Lily, an explosion shook the place and engulfed the area in smoke.
All the while Lily thought that she was going to die, but was pleasantly surprised when the smoke subsided.
The fox stopped just a few meters from where Lily was restrained and in between them a miniature version of the nine tailed being stood.
"Mother!" the teenaged fox cried out. "Sorry for intruding but this is an emergency! Rei was taken away! I'm sorry. I tried to warn him not to wander outside but he still escaped."
"What?!" The fox snapped and all of the sudden she changed back to her previous form.
With that distraction, the mother fox had forgotten about Lily and focused on her child. "Rena, what happened and where is Rei now?"
The young female fox sniffled. Her tails were curled downwards in distress. "I told him not to go through the crack but he did not listen as always. He got captured."
The mother fox began pacing while muttering to herself. "What a stupid child! Why did he escape the Orchard, he knew the perils of the outside world."
"Mother. What are we going to do? We couldn't go outside the orchard like Rei could." The younger fox sobbed.
Lily saw the opportunity before and decided to make a bargain.
"I'll get your child back." She began which grabbed the attention of both beasts. "If you release me, I will help you get your cub back."