Sylas was still reeling in from the realization of the situation. Magically transported into an unknown place. Thoughts of what he could do in this situation raced through his mind. As he looked up approached by a lady in a blue robe.
"While I may not have been there while you grew up my child, I carried the thought of meeting you every single day since then. Not knowing whether I made the right or wrong choice at the time, but now having to face the reality of not knowing the right choice."
What was this woman talking about. She was not making any sense. Confusion browed onto Sylas' face as he tried to make sense of what she was saying.
"I don't even know you. Send me back home, I want to go home."
"Well you will go home I promise you, but you are here for a reason now go get some rest. I have a room set up for you let me take you there."
Sylas knew that he could not do anything in the face of whatever he was confronted by, so he decided to play along until he could find a way home.
Inside the home it appeared cluttered yet curated. A grand, circular bookshelf dominates the main room, filled with ancient tomes, personal journals, and scrolls. The scent of parchment, dried herbs, and faint embers from the ever-burning hearth fills the air. A large wooden desk, perpetually covered in open books and scattered notes, sits beneath a stained-glass window depicting a bird taking flight, casting shifting patterns of colored light across the room.
To the right of the hearth, a spiral staircase leads to a small loft where it appeared the woman slept, the bed was nestled beneath a slanted ceiling lined with shelves holding vials of shimmering liquids and curious trinkets. A single silver lantern hung above, it appeared to flicker like starlight. Below the loft there was another door, and the door led to a hidden room where there was a nice spacious area. The bed seemed comfortable as if made from the very clouds themselves, and there was a small wooden table next to the bed. There was a plate with steaming food on it as if just prepared.
The lady spoke gently as if not trying to frighten Sylas anymore than he already was.
"Do not worry, I will not bring you harm, while you are here for a reason it is not a bad one. Please feel free to eat to your heart's content, and get some rest. Tomorrow in the morning I will explain everything, and then you can make the choice if you want to return to your home."
Sylas was exhausted from everything and did not have the energy to resist so he just nodded in affirmation and went to sit down in the bed. The bed felt heavenly. He had never slept in such a comfortable bed. It felt like a bath after a long day at work. He picked up the hot plate of food, the aroma reminded him of Sophia's cooking. While they did not have much Sophia always made sure Sylas and the rest of the kids were fed. He decided to make the best of the situation and eat the soup. It was flavorful.
His heart skipped a beat when he ate the food. He could taste the amount of care and preparation that went into making this. After finishing the food he set the bowl down, and laid back in the bed. His heart heavy from being whisked away from his home. The sleep taking complete control of him. HIs eyelids growing heavier by the second.
Sylas woke up hoping that what happened the day before was nothing but a bad dream. He peaked outside of the room to see if maybe he could catch a glimpse of the woman that lived there, but to no avail he decided to walk out of the room and find a way out or get some answers. As he traversed the cottage he felt a sense of familiarity, and not only that but
Sylas noticed that every inch of the cottage was radiating an intense white glow. He had never seen anything like it. Finally making his way to the center of the cottage where he was transported to previously. He could not believe his eyes, he was in the middle of a witches house. On edge knowing he had no hope of ever escaping from this place with his life, he took a seat in front of the vast selection of books.
He selected a book and opened it to a random page. The book entailed of grand encounters with various different species of magical creatures from werewolves to fairies, and on the final page it recalled the encounter that this witch seemingly had with a dragon in great detail.
Sylas continued to read the journal, and there were uncanny similarities to the stories of Fleur Murcott that he had previously read in the book back at the orphanage. He thought to himself what were the chances that he happened to be in the home of one of, if not the most well-known witch in the world.
It told tale of how the witch entered the Hollowmere Caverns. Sylas knew of these caves, as when he was little Sophia always told him she would send him there when he was not behaving. They were a system of caverns located it the craggy cliffs near the southern regions of Dravareth. The tunnels were steeped in an eerie, ancient silence. The witch had seemingly made her way there after finding an ancient manuscript, telling of how a creature slept in the depths of the caverns.
As she stepped deeper into the cave, the air grew thick with warmth, the scent of scorched stone and old magic pressing against her skin. The tunnel walls shimmered with veins of molten rock, pulsing like the veins of some slumbering beast. Then the breath of the guttural exhale rumbled through the darkness, sending dust and loose stones skittering across the ground..... before Sylas could continue reading the rest of the journal he heard the person that had brought him here coming closer and closer.
"Ok Sylas I think it is time we sat down and talked about what is going on."
The woman walked into the room, and Sylas could not do anything but admire her in awe of how beautiful she was. He was finally able to discern the details that made up this woman's being, and she looked just like the woman in the pictures if the booked he had read.
She was tall and wiry, with an elegant but weathered presence that spoke of long nights spent poring over ancient texts and even longer days spent surviving in the wild. Her complexion was sun-kissed, marked by freckles that scatter across her nose and arms like ink droplets on parchment. Her hair is a cascade of dark chestnut, streaked with faint traces of silver-not from age, but from lingering effects of something else.
"My name is...."
Sylas knew all too well who this was. How could he not.
"You are Fleur Murcott. Yo.... y.... you are the Fleur Murcott are you not, how am I in Fleur Murcott's home?"
She laughed. She laughed so joyfully.
"Why yes my child my name is Fleur, I see that you know of me. How do you know of me?"
"HOW COULD I NOT! YOU ARE THE BEST MAGE THAT HAS EVER LIVED. YOU INVENTED TRANSPORTATION MAGIC, STUDIED COUNTLESS MAGICAL SPECIES, AND EVEN MET A DRAGON."
Sylas could not contain his excitement. While he was wary the night before, he no longer felt strained to maintain his guard up. He was now completely focused on Fleur. He had so many questions, but one remained ever-present on his mind.
"Miss Fleur, why am I here?"
Fleur's face turned serious. She no longer could keep hidden her reason for having him there, and it was time she faced the truth and told Sylas what was going on.
"You see my child I have thought of this moment for years, and I do not know what to say to this day, I cannot begin to imagine the loneliness I must have made you feel. The weight of the world fell upon your shoulders, as you face all of these fifteen years by yourself. I am your mother my child."