A soft ribbon of golden sunlight splashed across Effie's face, warming her skin, and pulling her out of a deep sleep. Her eyes fluttered open, head swimming with confusion. The last thing she remembered was pain, followed by an enormous amount of power scorching every cell of her body. Then an explosion. Blood. Death. Collapsing onto the ground. Then nothing.
Now, Effie found herself laying on a soft, downy bed, all tucked neatly into the warmth of a comfortable, quilted blanket. As her bleary eyes adjusted to the world around her, she realized that she was inside of a little log cabin -- a home that seemed even smaller than the cottage she'd shared with her mother. Inside the cozy room there was almost as much wilderness as you could find outside in the Moonshadow Forest. Rows of dry flowers, plants and herbs hung in bundles from every ceiling rafter, and there were live plants too, growing in planters placed here and there around various cabinets and shelves that lined the walls of the cabin.
Nearby, there was a wide, crackling, stone fireplace with a huge cast iron cauldron sitting in the open flame. Inside the cauldron, a delicious looking vegetable stew bubbled and steamed, filling the room with a piquant, savory aroma that made Effie's empty stomach do a somersault... the first sign of hunger she'd felt since... wait... how long had she been asleep anyway? And just how did she come to be in a place like this?
The answer to that question seemed to be coming from somebody snoring nearby. Effie glance down, noticing a familiar head of mousey-brown hair laying face down across the foot of the bed, looking as though the woman had been sitting by Effie's side all night, and had accidentally fallen asleep.
"A-Auntie?" Effie croaked, her little voice hoarse from exhaustion and dehydration. "Auntie Anise?"
But Anise did not stir.
"Auntie Anise," Effie tried again, louder this time, working to pull herself up into a sitting position with much effort. Her limbs felt as heavy as lead, her body stiff and sluggish. Her muscles throbbed with a deep, aching soreness in response to every movement. But somehow she managed, and once she was finally sitting up, she reached over with one short arm, and began shaking Anise's shoulder in haphazard motions trying to wake her.
"Auntie Anise? Auntie Anise, please wake up!"
"Hmmm...?" Anise's voice was groggy at first as she finally began to come around. "Effie...?"
In the next instance, as if remembrance had struck her over the head, Anise suddenly sprung up in the chair next to Effie's bedside. Her fingers grasped the corner of the bed frame, her eyes scanning every inch of the girl as if to make sure she was still in one piece. Then, after confirming with her own eyes that Effie was fine, Anise allowed herself to relax a little.
"Effie, you're... you're awake," she finally said with relief.
"Was I asleep long?" Effie asked.
"No... not long. You slept through the night. But you weren't- What I mean is that I'm just happy to see you awake." Anise smiled the kind of fake smile that Effie was starting to recognize. The kind of smile that pretends everything is fine when it's really hiding something unpleasant. Effie tried to ignore that smile. She wasn't sure she could handle much more unpleasantness.
Instead, she asked "What is this place? How did we get here?"
"Oh! This is my hidden cabin in the woods," Anise replied, seeming relieved to switch topics. "The place I mentioned we were going to before. That means we made it. We're finally here, and we are safe."
Effie felt a wave of warmth and happiness wash over her at the word "safe." Even though her harrowing experience had lasted only two days, to Effie it seemed like a lifetime. So much had happened in those two days; enough to break a grown adult, let alone a small child. Now all Effie wanted to feel was safe. But was she truly safe? A feeling of doubt crept in to her heart.
"Can the bad men find us here?" She asked, shifting under the covers with unease.
"Oh, no. That's impossible. The cabin is hidden, you see. It is under an illusion spell that obscures it from the sight of anyone who doesn't wield magic. In other words, ordinary humans can't see it. And it uses such a low level spell that even the royal army's detection crystals can't pick it up amidst the rest of the magic that floats through Moonshadow Forest naturally. As long as the illusion spell holds out, they can never ever find us here. But look at me blathering on when you're probably half-starved to death. Let me pour you a bowl of vegetable stew. I'll be right back."
Anise scurried over to the bubbling cauldron on the hearth, and quickly began ladling some stew into a small clay bowl. And as Effie watched her bustle around the hearth like a busy bee, she started to grow aware of a stony, cold hardness that had settled in her chest at some point. It was a difficult, uncomfortable sensation to describe. It was as though half her heart had turned to stone; a terrible, empty feeling that she didn't quite know how to voice to Anise as the older woman came scuttling back toward the bed with a full bowl of piping hot stew.
Did this sensation have something to do with last night, when her powers awakened and raged out of control?
"Auntie Anise?" She finally dared to ask, as Anise gently blew the steam off a spoonful of stew.
"Hm? Yes, dear?"
"Did... did I get my witch powers last night?"
"Ah... Well... Yes. It does appear that way," Anise answered bluntly as she fed Effie the spoonful of stew.
"I thought I wasn't supposed to get my witch powers till I was older."
"Well, normally that's how things work. Witches powers don't normally awaken until they hit puberty. Which means you should have had quite a few years left to go. But somehow, for some unknown reason, your powers seemed to have awakened early. And they seem much stronger than usual. There aren't any witches live today that can... can face an army."
"Oh..." Effie pondered over another bite of stew, which would have tasted even better than it smelled if she wasn't so deep in thought to notice.
"It actually does remind me of someone," Anise went on. "A witch who existed long ago. In fact, she was a Blackmoore. She was your great, great grandmother. Of course I never personally knew her. I may be getting along in years now, but I'm not quite THAT old!" Anise chuckled at her own joke. "Anyway, your great, great grandmother Euphemia Blackmoore - you're named after her - was a very, very powerful witch. One of the most powerful witches of all time. She existed over one-hundred years ago. She actually managed to escape the very first Witch Hunt ever enacted, which was a mass genocide at the time and wiped out almost all witches throughout the four kingdoms. It's the reason why there are not many of us left these days. Anyway, Euphemia Blackmoore was powerful enough to escape from entire armies, and she did. Because if she hadn't, you wouldn't be here right now."
"Did... did she kill armies?" Effie asked, almost in a whisper as images of the soldiers she'd killed last night flooded through the gates of her memory.
"Well... I'm not sure. But... at least I don't think so. Otherwise I imagine her powers would have gone rogue."
"Do you think my powers will go rogue since I killed all those bad men?"
Anise bit her lip, realizing she was going to have to tell Effie something she'd planned on hiding from her for a little while.
"Oh, Effie. I suppose hiding the truth from you will only hurt you later. What really happened last night... after your new powers raged out of control on all those soldiers... those powers were already starting to go rogue by the time I carried you back to the cabin. Normally, it takes quite a long time for the darkness to consume your powers, but for some reason you- the darkness... it... it was spreading quickly. Your heart was blackening. And I... I had to preform a ritual last night. A very difficult ritual. Thankfully, there was enough magic in the forest to lend me a hand so I wouldn't have to drain my own reserve to a dangerously low level. And there's another thing. I don't know- I'm not certain how well the spell worked, or for how long it will hold off the spread of darkness, but I can't promise you it will be forever. You'll always have a patch of blackness on your heart that fights to grow, and overtake you. But you're very powerful. Perhaps even as powerful as your great great grandmother Euphemia Blackmoore. If anyone in this world possess the ability to figure out how to save you, it's you."
Effie sat in silence, working another spoonful of stew around her mouth, trying to take it all in; trying to make sense of all of these heavy words. And who really knows how much of it a little girl her age could truly understand or fathom? After all, Effie had always been told she was mature for her age. She'd been called things such as grown-up, smart, wise beyond her years, an old soul. But in the end, she was still only a child, and this was all so much for someone so young to deal with.
"Oh, Effie, I know this is a lot to take in for a little girl," Anise said with pity.
The woman thought how lovely it would be if Effie didn't have to deal with any of this; if she could just live the happy life of a little girl. But unfortunately, life had dealt her a cruel hand and now she was being forced to grow up much too soon.
"Don't worry, Effie," Anise added, with a tear in her eye. "I promise you this; I will protect you with my life, and shield you from all of the evil in this world so you can still have a chance to grow up with happiness and love. I'll help build a new life for you. I... I have an apothecary business over in Evanore. After you've had enough time to recover, I can take you there, and show you how everything works. We should be relatively safe in Evanore for the time being. But you'll want to go by another name... The name Blackmoore carries too much weight in these parts thanks to the infamous actions of your great, great grandmother. "
"Then what should I be called?"
"How about... Euphemia Barlow.... Euphemia Barlow of Evanore. I think that's a common enough name not to arouse any suspicion. And perhaps... perhaps we should cut your hair to make it a bit more difficult for anyone to recognize you."
In response, Effie pulled a lock of her long, shimmering brown hair over her shoulder, stroking it gently. It was the very same hair her mother loved to comb every night until it reached a beautiful sheen. Effie's hair was her mother's pride and joy. No... that's not quite true. Effie herself was her mother's pride and joy, wasn't she? And wouldn't her mother want her to do everything she could to survive now, even if that meant cutting all her hair?
"Alright, Auntie," Effie finally decided after a few moments of careful consideration. "I'll do it."
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As weeks passed, Effie slowly began to regain her strength. Anise took her out into the forest daily, letting the fresh air and the the magic on the wind heal Effie's physical and emotional wounds over time. And as they went trekking out into the forest, Anise would teach Effie all about the plants that grew there; about the herbs that could be used for healing, and the toxic plants that could harm.
And right there in that wood, Effie grew up under the care and tutelage of Anise, hiding her powers from the world, and becoming an expert herbalist. Effie had built that new life for herself as Anise's apprentice in the apothecary business. Eventually, Effie eventually something of a household name throughout the city of Evanore, for she was quite the prodigy when it came to healing.