"How do I get you back home? I feel so lost." Marie questioned her mother as they sat on a bench in the enchanted garden.
"It is complicated, my love. Do not worry about that part right now. You have got bigger issues."
"If I was able to kill Sybil, will that free you from this place?"
"Sybil is not so easy to kill. If she is successful in withdrawing your higher powers, we will be in serious trouble. With hers and our powers combined, she is already very powerful. I am not sure if putting an end to her will release me. I am not sure that I want to be released anyway. Isn't it lovely here?" Her mother said with a soft smile.
"Mother, I am serious."
"So am I. What would be my reason for returning to such a dreadful place? It is peaceful here. No one is here to harm me or take anything away from me. I have not had peace in a long time." Her mother said as Marie swallowed the lump in her throat.
"I need you, mother. Sybil wants to take my powers and my life away from me. She wants to kill Alpha Sargon as well. This is an impossible situation, and I am not prepared for it." She said as tears slowly rolled down the sides of her face.
Her mother stood up from the bench, threw her hands in the air and cursed. She took a few steps away from Marie, then stopped with her back facing her.
Her mother became frustrated at how sorry her daughter was feeling for herself. This is not who she was. This is not who she trained her to be. Who was this weak, helpless person? Weakness gives your opponents opportunities and she knew that.
Turning around slowly, she began stalking towards Marie.
"Nonsense! You are my child. I have prepared you from birth and you still refuse to do what you must do in order to help your people. Even when you have nothing left, you still refuse! I do not understand you, Marie." She said as she lowered herself nearly to the same level as Marie while Marie listened in silence. She knew her mother spoke the truth.
"Many are beginning to suffer, and this is just the beginning. Do you think Sybil is the best person to give your power to? Do you think she wants peace and unity? Do you think she will save your friend, a wolf…the Alpha?! Think about it. The Gods chose you! They did not choose anyone else and here you are trying to make deals with a monster, a person who the gods would have never chosen to execute this task because she is unworthy of such a great power! The woman has no soul or heart! What are you doing?!"
"That is the problem. I don't know what to do!" Marie shot back tearfully. Her tears seemed to anger her mother more this time.
"Like I always tell you. You must cry if you need to, but you have got to face your problems and not run from them. Accept your power and put an end to this!" Her mother said angrily as she disappeared before Marie's eyes.
Marie's heart was beating rapidly as she witnessed the changes in her mother's temper. It reminded her of why she and her mother began having issues years ago.
Her mother always became impatient with her when she didn't push forward with accepting and developing power. She couldn't understand why Marie was so hesitant. Why was she so afraid of her destiny? Any witch would kill for the opportunity she was handed.
This time Marie felt different about her mother. She realized her mother grew angry when she felt her daughter was in danger, especially if she could not protect her from anyone. She lost the ability to help her when Sybil attempted her to kill her.
Now, Marie has lost her ability to use her magic. There was no one who could protect her and she cannot protect herself. She would suffer a worse fate than her mother if Sybil was victorious in her attempt.
Marie sat quietly as she watched the smoke cloud disappear. The only time she was able to see her mother was when she dreamed. Now even in her dreams, her mother was upset with her.
She felt lost and hurt as she lowered her face into her hands. How could she have allowed this to happen.
All these years she had been so afraid to be responsible for the life of anyone except herself. Now she is responsible for the chaos and destruction that had begun to take place. It had already begun when rogues began infecting wolves in Sargon's kingdom.
The pressure of the world felt heavy on her shoulders. She regretted not accepting her power when she had the chance and now it was too late. She was too weak to cast spells. Whatever Sybil did to her, bound her magic. There was no way she could break it.
"Wait...accept your power and end this". The words replayed in Marie's head as she opened her eyes.
Her head throbbed in pain as her vision blurred. She reached her hand towards the side of her head and felt a lump. When she removed her hand, a small amount of blood remained on her fingers. Marie remembered Sybil hitting her. That woman needed to find her end, quickly.
Realizing her hands and feet were no longer restricted, she stood up, falling back down to the bed. Her head was spinning. Taking a moment to regain her focus, she took a few deep breaths as she braced herself with both hands on either side of her, while she held onto the bedding.
After a few moments, she took one more deep breath and slowly stood up, giving herself a moment to adjust to standing up. When she felt balanced enough to walk, she took a few steps over to the tiny, single window in the room and tried to look out of it.
She couldn't see anything, so she wiped a small area of the window with her hand to get a better look. Outside, she saw a little garden with a fountain trickling water into the pool below it. Someone was outside.
A child, sat on the edge of the fountain, sitting very still as a butterfly rested on her finger. She brought the butterfly closely to her face as if she was speaking to it. Her long hair was in two braids that reached all the way down her back. She wore a pretty, white dress with no shoes on her feet.
Something caught her attention and she abruptly released the butterfly into the air while turning her head to look at whatever distracted her. She looked over like someone was calling her.
The little girl looked up at the window Marie gazed out of. Marie stood still, staring at the little girl who vanished before her eyes. She began to wonder if the little girl was a hallucination. How hard was she hit in the head? Normal children don't just disappear...unless she was a witch.
Blinking hard, she rubbed off a larger space on the window to see clearer, but the little girl was no longer there. The garden had turned dark and lifeless, and the fountain was dried out. Marie was so confused. Who was that little girl? She looked so happy and worry free.
"The view is better from the outside." An unfamiliar voice said.
Marie jumped as she turned around. She hadn't even heard the door open while she was looking out of the window. "I did not mean to scare you." He said as he leaned on the doorframe with his arms crossed. His ocean blue eyes entranced Marie as she studied them.
"Who are you?"
"Nicholas is the name. And you are Marie, right?" He smirked, looking at her from head to toe.
Marie looked at him and nodded her head slightly, wrapping her arms around herself to hide from his wandering eyes.
"You don't look so well. Are you hungry?"
"Uhm… no. I am fine."
"Ok. Your choice." He said as he sat in the wooden chair across from the small bed.
"Are you a witch too?" She asked. Since she lost her powers, she could no longer tell who or what anyone was.
"Well, not really. I am pretty regular. There are a lot of witches here though, so be careful. They love to play. It is usually pretty fun for them and not fun for anyone else." He shrugged as Marie's brow furrowed with worry.
Marie couldn't tell if Nicholas was here by choice or by force and she was sure he wouldn't tell her either. She had to be very careful with her words.
"Do you know who this room belongs to?" She asked.
"I heard it belonged to one of Sybil's protégés. She was taken away at a young age and never returned. Sybil never changed this room after she was gone."
Marie's heart sank. She couldn't bear anything happening to a child. Children were innocent and deserved to be happy.
"Who would take a child away?"
"Some say it was rogues. No one really has a sure answer for that question. They say Sybil was never the same after that."
"You mean, she wasn't always a monster?"
"Well, she was always a monster, but she still had a heart. It's like they took her heart away with the kid. He said, while he tilted the chair back on the wall.
"That sounds so sad."
"I can imagine that it would be sad." He said as Marie continued to study him. He seemed very nonchalant and playful.
"So, what do you do here?"
"Some of everything and a little of nothing." He said with a smile. Marie couldn't help but smile back. His smile was contagious and welcoming, yet still a bit mysterious.
"Well, Mr. I have no purpose here, but I have every right to be here. What do I have to do to get out of this place?" She asked, as she leaned back against the window and folded her arms.
"Now, the answer to that question will cost you."