"So Curtis, what did Katarina say about the storm?" asked Ollie as he looked at Curtis as they were both in the kitchen.
"She said that it's strange, because the storm is being more violent than usual" said Curtis as he replied.
"So it won't end anytime soon?" asked Ollie while sighing.
"Apparently not" said Curtis as Ollie sighed.
"Annie is going to be so disappointed then, she was so ready to end this all" said Ollie as he felt bad for Annie.
"I know she was, but there is nothing that we can do except wait" said Curtis as Ollie knew that he was right.
"Hey, where is Annie?" asked Matt as he walked into the kitchen with a confused expression on his face.
"What do you mean? Isn't she in her room?" asked Curtis as he turned to look at Matt.
"No, I can't find her anywhere, I checked in her room, and there is no one there" said Matt as he was worried, he had thought that maybe she was in the kitchen, but Ollie and Curtis were here, and she was nowhere to be found.
"Are you sure that you checked everywhere? I mean where else can she be?" asked Ollie as Matt looked at him.
"The bathroom door is left open, there is no one in Maddie and Annie's room, and she won't go to any of our rooms or Katarina's room, so yes, I did check everywhere" said Matt.
"Then that Is serious, where could she be?" asked Ollie as now he was starting to get worried, they had left Annie to go back alone for a long while now, one of them should I went with her.
"What if she went back to the training grounds to look for us?" asked Ollie.
"I doubt that, there is only one path, we would have seen her then if she did" said Curtis as Ollie and Matt looked at him.
"Yes, I agree, but there is no harm in going to look for her there, who knows, we can maybe find her?" asked Matt as Ollie nodded.
"Yes you are right, let us go now then" said Ollie as he rushed out of the kitchen door as Matt and Curtis followed behind him.
Maddie was walking back to the house when she heard Curtis, Matt and Ollie's voices calling out for Annie.
"Annie" called Ollie as he looked around but he could not see her anywhere.
"What's going on here?" asked Maddie as she stopped walking and she looked at Matt in confusion.
"Maddie, have you seen Annie?" asked Matt as he looked at Annie and she looked at him in confusion.
"No? I haven't isn't she supposed to be in the house?" asked Maddie.
"That's what we thought as well, but we can't find her anywhere" said Ollie as Maddie looked at him in nothing but worry.
"Oh no, where could she be then?" asked Maddie as she looked at Matt.
"I don't know, we thought that maybe she went back to the training ground" said Matt.
"No she isn't there, I just came from there and I did not see her at all" said Maddie as she replied.
"Then where can she be?" asked Ollie.
"No don't tell me that someone took her or something" said Maddie in worry.
"I don't know" said Matt as he sighed in worry.
"I think that we need to split up and look for her" said Matt.
"But where do we look for her?" asked Maddie as she looked at Matt.
"I don't think that she would have gone to the colony, she know better than to go down there, so maybe we should look in the forest?" asked Ollie.
"Yes, you are right, we should" said Matt.
"Matt wait, can't you hear her? I mean pick up something on her? Like her heartbeat or whatever?" asked Maddie as she did not like the sound of them splitting up and going into the forest, they did not know what was in there.
"No I can't pick up anything, nothing at all, and that worries me, because it means that she is either too far away for me to hear, or she was captured" said Matt in worry.
"Captured by who?" asked Maddie as she looked at Curtis who was just quiet, he was just as worried as the rest of them were, if they could not find Annie, then they had a big problem on their hands.
"I have no idea, but right now we have to spilt up and look for her" said Matt.
"No wait, let's wait a bit" said Curtis as they all looked at him.
"What do you mean wait? We cannot find her anywhere and you want us to wait, what if something bad happened to her Curtis?" asked Maddie as she looked at him.
"I am only saying that we should wait here a while, we do not want to raise a false alarm, and we also shouldn't split up because we don't know if Annie just got lost or something, and if we wait for her here, we have a better chance of finding her" said Curtis.
"But that's crazy Curtis, what if she doesn't come back?" asked Maddie.
"Maddie please just listen to me" said Curtis.
"Fine Curtis fine, I give you 10 minutes, and 10 minutes alone, if Annie is not back by then, I am going to look for her" said Maddie as Curtis sighed.
…
Annie watched as Griselda mixed some potions as she threw them into a big cauldron in the middle of the room.
"The preparations are done, all that is left, is your blood, and then I will be able to see everything" said Griselda as she turned to look at Annie.
"But wait, you said that once I give you my blood, the ceremony won't stop?" asked Annie as Griselda nodded her head.
"How long will the ceremony last?" asked Annie.
"I am not sure, it has been a while since I have done this, I would say about 5 hours minimum" said Griselda as she replied truthfully.
"5 hours??" asked Annie in surprise and Griselda nodded.
"But that is too long, we can't do that right now, it would take forever *Gasp*, wait my friends must be so worried about me right now, I forgot" said Annie as she gasped when she realized that she had spent a long time here.
"I understand your concern, if you wish to leave right now you may go, we can continue tomorrow" said Griselda.
"We can?" asked Annie.
"Yes you can dear" said Griselda as she smiled and she nodded.
"Oh thank you Griselda, I am so sorry for wasting your time" said Annie.
"There is no need to be sorry dear, all these things are not important, they can always be redone, if you wish me to, I can take you back home" said Griselda as she smiled.
"Oh thank you Griselda" said Annie as she smiled.
"You are welcome dear" said Griselda as she smiled.
…
"Curtis, 10 minutes have passed and Annie still is not here" said Maddie as she looked at Curtis, believe her, she had been counting.
"Alright fine then, we can go look for her now" said Curtis.
"*Sigh*, you know what Curtis, are you too much" said Maddie as she sighed and they all heard some rustling in the trees as they turned to look in the same direction as they were surprised by who they say.
"Annie, thank goodness that you are alright" said Maddie as she sighed in relief and she rushed to Annie as she hugged her, she was so worried that something bad happened to her.
"Oh guys, I am so sorry, I lost track of time, I am sorry for making you worry" said Annie as Maddie broke their hug.
"I can see that you got home safely, I will return now" said Griselda as they all turned to look at her.
"Wait, wait, who are you?" asked Ollie in confusion as Maddie, Matt and Curtis were about to ask that same question.
"I am Griselda" said Griselda.
"That doesn't make any sense, who are you?" asked Maddie as she looked at Griselda.
"You guys wait, stop, I will explain later, Griselda, thank you so much, you can go now" said Annie as she smiled and she looked at Griselda.
"Thank you dear" said Griselda as she smiled and she walked away.
"Annie, who was that woman?" asked Maddie as she looked at Annie.
"And why are you talking with her?" asked Matt.
"You guys, let's just go inside first, I promise you that I will explain everything" said Annie as she heard Matt and Maddie complain.
"Let's go inside first, Annie is right, come on now" said Curtis as he walked ahead.
"Annie, you better have a good explanation for this" said Maddie as she looked at Annie.
"Believe me I do, I will explain everything" said Annie as Maddie sighed and she followed after Curtis as Matt and Ollie did the same.