Once my parents left the Castle realm, I followed. The tracking skills I had learned courtesy of my father were put to use. Earlier I had to bathe myself in a concealing spell to hide my scent. Dad was the best hunter there was. One sniff and I would be exposed.
Outside the Castle Realm was vastly different. Fields of dandelion and glowing flowers decorated the realm, yet the trees in the real world were just tall. Normal. They didn't sway or dance to the soft magical tune of a wind fairy. I almost laughed at myself for expecting the sky to be different, too. Both were blue and filled with fluffy white clouds. Somehow, everything seemed natural here. It wasn't orderly or neat. Even my shoes got dirty.
I chuckled at the realization.
Maybe the people in the real world were the same. After all, Mom and Dad had to leave the safety of the Castle Realm to save one person or another. From the books I've read in studying, there was always a war or another. They were always fighting for something.
I should never want to experience this malfunction. The Castle Realm was safe. Everything including the grass and flowers worked together. Everything was done just right. Perfect. Yet, I craved the chaos of the outside world. I wanted at least one taste of imperfection.
The journey took me to a small cottage on the outskirts of a town called Redwood. By the time I got to the scene, Dad and an elder female had a dragon pinned to the ground. The dragon was knocked out. The elder female sat before it, a spell poured from her lips and circled the animal. Dad eyed the animal like it was the next meal.
My gaze flickered past them. Mom and three other witches were chanting around the cottage.
A low curse roll off my tongue. I missed the action.
I hid behind a few bushes in front of the scene, giving me a comfortable view of what was happening.
The soft chanting from the four witches grew louder. The wind ceased and a frosted opaque glass barrier appeared around the cottage. It stood still for a short time frame while everything around us went quiet. Two minutes later, the barrier wobbled and flickered like a light bulb. And, everything quickly grew out of control.
"Caroline!" A female voice blasted through the air. "I can't hold it any longer. It's getting too strong."
"I don't think I can hold it if you let go, Lucile," shouted another. "We told you not to come."
"This isn't the time!" Mom grunted. "No one is letting go."
The wobbling got faster. Mom gritted her teeth and sank her feet into the ground.
"Miranna!" Mom cried out; her voice strained. "Try to contain it."
My heart tried to break through my ribcage. They were all struggling as my breathing from watching the scene unfold. Mom's face grew redder by the second.
'Are you going to let her die?' bellowed wolfie, the voice in my head.
Before I knew it, I stepped out from my hiding place. Dad was the first to spot me. His eyes widened, but he couldn't move due to surveying the dragon.
The white wolf growled and Mom shot me a startled look. She stiffened and the other witches groaned from the added pressure. Mom went back to chanting, getting back the portion she had.
"Mom," I started. "Let me help."
There was no response.
"Mom," I whined. "Let me help, please. You know I can help."
She shook her head, still chanting.
Another witch cried out and the veins in Mom's temple throbbed.
Why was she so stubborn? I had the power to help them.
"Mom, please. You know I can help. Please, you need me." I licked my lips and flash a glance at one of the witches. "They need me."
As if on cue, a witch cried out," Caroline!"
Another chorus of groans followed.
Seconds turned into minutes and Mom still paid me no attention. Getting ready for a full-on whining now, she stopped me with a, "Fine."
My heart skipped and a sigh left my lips. Not wasting much more time, I hurried to the barrier before she changed her mind. She had a tendency of doing that, and I needed to show her what I could do.
"Be gentle," Mom instructed. "Rest your palm directly on the barrier."
Before I could ask how, the barrier steadied long enough to accommodate my palms. The cold wall sent chills up my arm and through my body. The shock almost made me drop my palms, but I flashed the alienated feeling away. By the time my body adjusted to the cold, it quavered from the wobbling barrier.
"Now, imagine the wall as a bubble and command it to burst at the top into the air," Mom's voice distracted me from the new weight on my arms.
"Caroline!" someone shouted in pain.
However, Mom ignored them and continued, "No matter what, keep the picture of it blasting into the air in your mind. Command it to do what you're thinking. Can you handle that?"
"Yes," I answered without hesitation.
Mom, on the other hand, was still a little hesitant, but when another cry sounded in the air, she added, "السحرة هم العدو ، نوبات الحب سامة ،آمرك ، حاجز ينفجر في الأعلى ، وحرر هذا المكان من اللعنة." (Witches are the enemy. Love spells are poisonous. I command you, barrier to explode at the top. And, free this place from the curse it is under.)
As instructed, I chanted the spell. With each word a new weight added to the pressure on my body. My teeth clattered from the violent wobbling of the barrier. Perspiration soaked my clothes as my body fought with the excess pressure.
A sharp scream pierced through the chanting.
More pressure stressed my body.
Another cry sounded not long after.
More weight sank my feet into the ground. The dry dirt crackled beneath my weight. My muscles begged to release the twelve thousand pounds weight. Or maybe it was more.
"Lucile is not breathing!"
I wasn't sure who shouted, but my gaze flashed to Mom. She stayed in place.
"Caroline, your sister…" shouted another.
I had an aunt? How?
"Mom?" I gritted out.
Mom's brows furrowed. Her lips were pierced, yet she never let go of the barrier. Her eyes were glued to me.
'She's worried about you,' wolfie confirmed.
She didn't need to. I could do this. I had an aunt and I wanted to get to know her. No one was dying today.
"Go!" I grunted. "I can do this!"
My feet sank further into the hard dirt.
"Go, Mom, please. Don't let her die," I pleaded. "Just trust me. I can do this."
Her features softened at my last statement. She then backed away from the barrier. "Don't make me regret this." Mom gave me one last glance before she dashed to help her friends.
'Show them what you're made of,' encouraged wolfie.
Returning my attention to the barrier, I buried my feet deeper into the ground, widening my legs a little.
The wobbling grew fiercer.
"I have to let go!" someone shouted.
"Don't you dare leave him alone, Scarlett!" Mom's command was powerful. A tone I wasn't used to.
"I'm sorry," the witch sobbed. "I have to."
And, then there was one.