In a warmly lit bookstore with yellow lights was a cushioned rocking chair, where an old man sat. The pitter-pattering of children's footsteps echoed against the wooden floors. In the next moment, they all ran to sit in front of the old man who pushed up his round, silver-rimmed glasses.
"Librarian! Read us the story of the Solaria Kingdom and the Evil Witch, Elodie!!" One yelled out, a tiny hand waving excitedly in the hair.
The old man rubbed his hand over his light grey stubble beard. "I suppose I can, but, don't you all wish to hear a more entertaining tale? What about a dragon? A knight with many obstacles?"
Despite this, kids all shook their head, eager to hear the tale.
"Very well," He sat up straight, removing the gloves from his fingers with a smile. "There once was a kingdom of love and light, called the Solaria kingdom. There lived the king, the queen, and their four children. The eldest- prince of peace, the second child- prince of love, the third child prince of kindness, and the fourth-"
One of the kids jumped up, waving their hand. "Ooh! Ooh! I know! Princess Isabella! Princess of the crystal shard!!"
The old man chuckled. "Yes, Princess Isabella, princess of the crystal shard." He said. The kid sat down happily, allowing the old man to continue speaking. "The kingdom lived in harmony for many years with neighboring light magic kingdoms. That was until the Solaria kingdom faced a war unlike any before, the Great War of Jidlkea. The War of Jidlkea was brutal, and nearly impossible to win. If it weren't for the help of the three princes and the princess' war tactics, the Kingdom of Solaria would have fallen.."
One of them scratched their head, looking at the old man puzzled. "But Librarian, why was the war started in the first place? Wasn't everyone happy?"
The old man nodded.
"As the tale says, there were dark magic kingdoms who saw how happy and powerful the Solaria kingdom was. They grew envious, and, tried to steal the kingdom's crystal shard!" The kids gasped. The old man nodded agreeingly. "That is right, the crystal shard that powers all sources of light magic was almost stolen! The dark magic kingdoms partnered with the Evil Witch, Elodie, to try and steal the crystal shard."
"But, Librarian!!" The little girl raised her hand.
"Yes dear?"
"Why did Elodie want the shard? Wasn't she a powerful good guy?"
The old man feigned a surprised expression from behind his spectacles. "Very good question! The Evil Witch was one of the good guys, and, a very close friend to the princess of the crystal shard. However-"
"I know! I know! It was all a trick! Elodie tricked the Princess to get the crystal shard!!"
The old man laughed, nodding his head. "My, my, it seems like you guys should be the ones telling the story!"
The kids laughed.
"But, you are correct. The Evil Witch Elodie tricked the royal family in order to get the crystal shard! And when the Queen discovered her plan..." The old man covered his mouth while moving closer to the kids. The kids copied his actions. "The Evil Witch killed her!"
The kids eyes went wide, they stared at one another.
"B-But, Librarian," the little girl spoke up once again. "What did the King do then?"
"The king went crazy!" The old man said. "It is unfortunate, but he was driven to death by the Queen's passing."
"No way…" The girl breathed in, growing sad.
The old man nodded. "The children of the king and queen were in mourning but needed to protect their people. So they fought, and fought, and fought, until they were able to defeat the dark magic kingdoms."
The kids stood up, clapping loudly. "Yay! Woohoo!!"
"Go Princess Isabella! She is the smartest one." One of the children said.
A boy sitting next to the first shook his head, frowning. "Impossible!! The eldest, prince of peace must be the smartest! And the strongest!!"
"No! That isn't true!!"
"Is too!"
"Is not!"
"Is too!"
"Is not!"
"Is-"
The old man clapped abruptly, causing the two kids to quickly go quiet. He smiled looking at them. "Now. Who wants a cup of hot chocolate?"
Their eyes lit up, agreeing in unison. "I do!"
The old man nodded. "Alright, go wash your hands."
The kids took off, scrambling to wash their hands. Their loud bickering could still be heard from the reading room. The old man shook his head, humored by their actions. He turned to look at the only child left on the mat, staring at him intently.
"Isaiah?" The man called out. "Do you not want hot chocolate?"
The little boy blinked. "But.... that can't be the real story, can it?"
The old man stood, picking up the boy to seat him in his lap. "Why do you say so?"
"Elodie was a good guy." Isaiah mumbled. "She had to be, right?"
The old man smiled. "there is far more to the story than you think, Isaiah. What I told you was simply the tale of the Evil Witch, Elodie. Would you like to hear another one? The one of the Emerald Witch that saved our kingdom?"
The little boy faced the old man with a bubbling expression of curiosity. Isaiah nodded his head quickly. "Okay, What happened?"
๏๏๏ꪉꪉꪉꪉꪉꪉꪉꪉꪉꪉꪉꪉꪉꪉꪉꪉꪉꪉꪉꪉꪉꪉꪉ๏๏๏
Far away, off the outskirts of the Solaria kingdom, where the sun and warmth were scarce. A dark cave, lit only by the dim reflection of silver chains, suspending a single person to an icy wall.
The person's skin, dark and covered in winters frost. The hairs on her head and eyelashes were grey, covered by tiny icicles. Her lips, pale of all color, cracked, and like the rest of her, cold.
But, slowly, her lips were the first to melt. Her eyes started to flutter open, revealing brown eyes flickering with white. A bright, illuminating, magical white.
"Kill the queen. You must kill the queen. That is why you are alive."
The iridescent shimmer of white began to spread across her body, intertwining itself with the natural ebony color of her skin that was stuck to her bones. The intense frail appearance of the girl filled out into a healthy complexion. The melting ice dripped like water down her skin, and the more that dripped, the more alive the unconscious body seemed to become.
Just as a first warm breath escaped the girl's mouth, a spiteful emotion bubbled up to the surface, flashing across the girl's eyes.
Pain, suffering, and betrayal. Those were the three most prevalent in her expression.
One of the three must've been a feeling strong enough to revive the dead. The chains on her arms were thick and bulky, frosted over with a glaze of ice and frost.
In a second however, she ripped her arms away from the stone that in prisoned her, falling weakly to other side, where her other arm remained suspended to the ice wall.
A screamed ripped out of the girl who had just awoken, the voice of regret. It echoed against the walls of the cave. Her restraints shattered in a horrifying unison, metal bits flying in different directions in the room. Falling to the ground, her shivering body hit the ice floor below her.
The ice ground made direct contact with her knees and forearms. Under the intense contact, they scraped and peeled.
Yet, the girl's hands and knees held strong as she stood up. Her dark, raven black hair fell in front of her face, a protruding but delicate nose bridge interrupted its flow.
"You will never be forgiven..." Were the first words to leave the girl's lips. The white flickers and crackles in her eyes and across her skin had calmed. The iridescent shimmer had also vanished, and yet,
Now was the moment the girl appeared the most intimidating, warm tears of anger had overtaken the melted ice on her skin, obstructing parts of her vision.
The girl had no need for her vision and closed her eyes tightly, raising her head as her palms opened outwards. It was like she was summoning something in the silence of howling, cold wind.
When she raised her head, a stem of green glow manifested from no where. In her palms, the white shimmer of light had now turned a threatening forest green.
Her eyes had opened, her tears now cut off. Instead, her face released all tention and she took a deep breath. One of acceptance and revival. After all— she had a mission to complete. That was why she was here.
In this icy prison was where the infamous evil witch was held captive. It would also be the same place which this story begins.
The story of the Emerald Witch, Elodie Adamandi.