It hadn't taken long for Effie to become fully immersed in the countless valuable books that were suddenly at her disposal. She'd settled down onto a comfortably cushioned couch, absorbing all the information as quickly as she could read. To her, this opportunity could be completely life-altering. The small book store in Evanore didn't have very many books on things like medicine and plants. She'd already read everything they had many times over. It had been so long since she was presented with anything new and interesting.
As Effie read, Verity had become quite bored, though she tried to remain a polite host, not leaving Effie's side. At some point, Verity had picked up a book of her own from somewhere in the library, and settled down next to Effie to read. But soon, she tired of that as well. She put her book down and scooted toward the edge of the couch, kicking her feet like an impatient child.
"Hey.... Effie?" She finally spoke, when she could stand it no longer.
"Hm?" Effie replied absently, not tearing her eyes away from the page.
"Well... You see, Milo will be closing the library soon for the evening, so I think maybe it's time we get going."
Realization struck Effie with enough force that she nearly dropped the book in her hand. It was like someone had just slapped her hard across the face, jarring her back to reality.
"Wait! Verity, what time does the library close!?"
"Milo usually closes around 5:00PM. He'll probably be around any moment to shoe us out of here if we don't leave first."
"Oh no!" Effie cried, her voice echoing loudly through the quiet library as she jumped to her feet. "No, no, no!"
"Is something the matter?" Verity leapt to her feet as well, looking to Effie with worry.
"I should have left hours ago! The apothecary! Aunt Anise!"
"Who?" Verity tilted her head.
"My aunt; she's been taking care of the apothecary all by herself this whole time, while I've been doing nothing but enjoying myself. It's unforgivable!"
"I'm sure it's not that bad..."
"It is bad. It's very bad. You have no idea what the people of that town are like lately. And my aunt has had to face it alone this whole time... I can't believe I've been so selfish. I have to return to Evanore at once!"
"Must you really be leaving so soon..?" Verity's voice was timid now. So timid that Effie hadn't even heard the question as she sat the book down on the couch and whirled on her heel to leave.
Her strides were long as she made her way across the room, practically jogging down the tall, spiral staircase. Verity followed closely behind, her head hanging low so that her hair obscured the expression of utter disappointment on her beautiful face.
"Keep it down, will you!" Milo griped from behind the counter, not looking up once from his work as Effie sped by. "And no running in the library! This is is not a gymnasium!"
But Effie ignored him as she made her way toward the exit. "Could you tell the guards to ready a carriage for me?" She asked Verity. "I know it's not my place to ask something of a member of the royal family, but it's an emergency. I would be eternally grateful."
"It's no trouble at all," Verity replied, her sorrowful expression now masked with a smile. "Anything for the girl who helped my brother."
This was the second or third time a La Croix had said something like that to her; something to the effect of how indebted felt toward her for helping Reign, even though all she'd ever been able to do was treat his symptoms. She wasn't some savior. She was just a girl who hardly understood her own magical abilities. The attention from this family was beginning to make her feel uncomfortable, but she didn't have time to dwell on it now. She had to get to Evanore quickly. She had a feeling something bad would happen to Anise if she didn't make it in time.
-------
The carriage ride back to Evanore was pure agony. It felt like the drivers were moving far too slowly, and even time itself seemed to slow down as she watched the houses eventually transform into the trees of the forest. Deep inside Moonshadow forest the chattering of the trees was erratic. She could hardly differentiate their voices from each other as they tittered on, their uneasy tones mingling chaotically in the wind.
Something was most certainly wrong.
When the carriage finally pulled into the city of Evanore, darkness had already fallen on the land. The night seemed darker than usual, the empty streets only lit by a few dim lamp posts. Effie practically held her breath as the carriage turned the last corner and finally pulled up to the apothecary. And to her horror, the distressing sight that met her eyes there confirmed all of her fears. A small collection of angry rioters had gathered around the apothecary, holding torches, pitchforks, and other various items that could be used as weapons.
"Kill the witch!" They chanted over, and over. "Kill the witch! Kill the witch!"
Anger roiled within her at the sight; a familiar white-hot rage burning like a heavy lump of coal in her chest. The black shard in her heart sent sharp pains like needles through her body. Dangerous power threatened to leak from her fingertips; a power so great she could hardly contain it. In response, the Moonshadow stone tucked beneath her collar swelled, and radiated, burning her skin.
When the carriage finally came to a stop, Effie didn't even wait for the guards to come around and help her out of the cab. She flung the door open herself and jumped down onto the slippery gravel below. And in her enraged state, she swore in that moment that if a single person had laid a hand on Anise, she would level this entire despicable city.
"Move out of my way," Effie demanded, shoving herself between the small throng of people that had collected near the front door.
"Hey, you're one of the witches!" A man nearby yelled, grabbing her shoulder suddenly, squeezing it painfully.
"Let go of me!" Effie spat.
"You're not going anywhere. You deserve to die, witch!"
"You're mistaken. If you harmed my Aunt Anise in any way, you're the one who deserves death," Effie's eyes flashed dangerously, the purple rings around her irises flaring with magic.
Then, without even thinking, Effie focused a stream of burning hot power toward the shoulder that the man was clamping down on in his strong hand. She grunted against blazing pain like fire, and the man cried out in agony, jerking his hand away and recoiling in terror.
"The witch burned me!" He exclaimed to the murmuring crowd, holding onto his injured hand. "She burned me with magic! Don't just stand there. Get her!"
Some of the members of the angry mob began to zero in on her at his command, pointing their pitchforks, shovels, and fire at her face. But Effie didn't back down. She was prepared to take the first blows. No... she was prepared to fight back.
But just in time, before Effie had the chance to make the first, fatal move, a dominating voice spoke over the crowd, commanding silence.
"What is the meaning of this?!" The guards from the carriage demanded, and the crowd parted like the sea for them as they approached the source of the commotion. "Step away from the girl immediately. She is under the protection of the royal La Croix family. Anyone who harms her will be sentenced to death."
"But she's a witch!" exclaimed the man with the burned hand. "We will only be satisfied if you set her on fire in the streets like you should have done from the beginning!"
"That is a false claim," one of the guards replied. "It has been proven false by the king himself. You should step away from her, and from this establishment immediately if you don't want to face the full penalty of the law."
The man growled angrily, but didn't protest again. "Come on, boys," he said to the rest of the rioters. "Time to go home. It looks like the king is even letting suspected witches go these days. What has the royal family come to?"
The crowd slowly dispersed, each going their own directions. But before they were gone completely, Effie had already rushed to the entrance of the apothecary. Her aching heart thundered wildly in her chest, terrified of what she might find inside. Had they spared her Aunt Anise, or had something awful happened? Effie pushed against the door to try and open it, but found that it had been barricaded from the inside.
No! She had to get to Anise.
"Aunt Anise?!" Effie cried. "Are you alright? Please open the door. It's me. It's Effie! The bad men are gone now. They won't hurt you anymore. So please, let me in!"
At first, Effie was only met with sickening silence, making her heart sink with dread. But soon, the slightest of noises could be heard from within the apothecary. The scuffling of feet. Then the loud scraping of furniture being dragged across the floor. The doorknob rattled, and Effie held her breath as the hinges creaked, slowly opening. There stood the outline of Anise's body against the dim light of a few candles that still flickered their orange flames inside the apothecary.
"Aunt Anise!" Effie cried, wrapping her arms around the older woman who readily returned her embrace. "Are you alright? Did they hurt you? I'm so sorry I left you alone to deal with that by yourself. It must have been so scary. I'm such a terrible, terrible niece."
"There, there," Anise cooed, smoothing Effie's short hair soothingly. "I'm alright. I wasn't hurt. Just a bit shaken up. You don't have to apologize to me, dear. You were simply doing what you had to do."
Effie buried her face deep into Anise's shoulder, blinking back hot tears that threatened to fall, while guilt turned her stomach sour. She wished Anise was right, but that's not all Effie had done when she visited the palace earlier that morning. She'd done so much more. She'd conversed, she'd taken a leisurely tour, and she'd even enjoyed the full amenities that a massive royal library had to offer. She had, for only a few hours, managed to escape the hell that was her life in Evanore. Instead of standing by Anise's side, she had merely been hiding.
"I'll never let anything like this happen to you again," Effie vowed right then and there. "Together we will stand against this angry town who wants to exterminate us. You and I together, Auntie Anise. Just as it should always be."