Moonflower - Chapter 1

I sighed heavily. It was yet another long evening of poring over my spell books by candlelight. The full moon shone through the open windows of my tiny room, adding its pale light to the pages. I was once again reading through the most ancient of my books, trying to locate the spell that would solve all my problems. It was slow going, however. The words were faded, and the language had changed some in the centuries since it had been written. As I started to turn one particular page, I stopped. How odd - this page seemed heavier, thicker, than the rest. Excited, I looked closer. Yes! Two pages had been carefully fused together. With trembling fingers, I tried to pry them apart, but there was no need; they fell open at my touch.

There it was - the spell I had been searching for, for so long. Why did it reveal itself to me this night, and not any of the long nights before? For, I was sure, I had not found it by accident. I squinted at the faded words, and ran my finger along the lines as I read:

Summoning Spell
This spell remains hidden until a time of dire need arises. At the proper time the spell will be revealed, and when performed in the light of the full moon, will summon the bearer of the charm, an ancient and powerful witch.

Underneath, the spell itself shimmered on the page, fading in and out at first, then slowly growing more substantial. And below the spell, a drawing appeared - a golden circle, with a tiny flower positioned slightly off-center. I traced my finger around the circle. This must be the charm that the spell required.

I don't know if was the full moon, or my complete desperation, but, barely considering the consequences of my actions, I rushed outside to begin the spell. I just hoped I was doing it correctly. I had never attempted such a powerful spell before. I wasn't even sure I have enough magic to complete it. But the spell came easily, as if it was drawing power from a source other than my own.

Suddenly the air in front of me shimmered, and the fuzzy outline of a man's face appeared, fading in and out. He was surrounded in darkness, and barely visible, but there he was. Was this the ancient and powerful witch the spell book spoke of?
My heart pounding almost out of my chest, I called out, "The charm, do you have the charm?"
The man's face faded then, and two golden half-circles floated into view. What the...??? The charm was broken? Now what? I panicked.
"Wait! I'll be right back!" I was almost in tears. This couldn't be happening. I was so close.

I raced back to my books. I tried to calm myself down and think, as I frantically flipped pages. A mending spell maybe? Would that even work on such a powerful charm? There was only one way to find out. Quickly I called up the vision of the man again.
"Like this!"
I showed him the mending spell. His efforts to copy me were laughable.
"Again."
I frowned in consternation. This man was supposed to be a powerful witch. How could he not know a simple mending spell? It didn't make any sense. Maybe he was so powerful he didn't concern himself with mundane spells?

Finally satisfied that he could reproduce the mending spell, I waited. Surely he would have the charm fixed shortly. But although I attempted the summoning spell several times throughout the night, he never appeared again, and I spent the rest of the night until dawn puzzling over the apparent contradiction he presented.

My hopes died with the rising sun. I despondently plodded to the edge of the sea for my daily ritual. This day my spell casting was even more abysmal than usual, and I could almost see the water defying my orders and trying to creep over my toes.

I was worn out, and my stomach was growling fiercely after my futile efforts of the previous night. The best I could conjure for my breakfast was a tiny apple, disgusting and brown and mushy when I bit into it. I forced it down anyway; I knew I would need it for the day ahead.

I headed off on my daily rounds of the island, always carefully avoiding the dark and overgrown center, where the wolves resided. The old community buildings were there in the interior as well, but had been abandoned years before, when I was a child, and my parents....  I purposefully pushed the memory of those days out of my mind. There was no use dwelling on the past, when I could barely control the present.

First on my list was to check on Summerwind and Zephyr. I wasn't too worried about them; they were actually better at conjuring food than I was. And it appeared they had their minds on other things than my company. I don't think they even noticed my presence.

"Beautiful flowers for my beautiful lady."
"Aw, Zephyr... you are so sweet, my love."
I moved on, leaving them to their fun. How they could behave so frivolously, when we were all on the brink of extinction, I could never understand. I had tried to get an answer in the past and was only rewarded with nonsense.
"My dearest Moonflower, do not dwell in the past, do not dream of the future, concentrate your mind on the present moment."
Hmph. Somebody has to worry about the future, and I guess that would be me.

Next, I stopped it to see Marten and Fawn. Marten met me with a worried frown, which was quite unusual for him.
"Where is Fawn today?" I asked. Like Zephyr and Summerwind, I rarely saw the two fairies apart.
"She isn't feeling well, I left her lying down upstairs. I was on my way to find you."

I followed him up the staircase to their bedroom. Fawn insisted on getting up to greet me, but it was obvious she was too tired to stand long. Yawning profusely, she soon excused herself to lie down again.
"Can you help her?" Marten pleaded.
"I will try," I promised. "Let me check my books, and see what I can find."
But deep inside, I knew it was futile. I didn't have enough magic left in me to do anything useful.

I conjured a few of my terrible apples for them, and took my leave. I made Marten promise to eat one of them himself, but I knew he would give them all to Fawn. There just wasn't enough to go around, and I couldn't do anything about it.

I spent the rest of the day patrolling the beaches, watching for the wolves. I spotted Ulric near one of the abandoned houses, near the edge of the forest, and warned him again to stay off the beaches.
"And where is Lupa today?"
"None of your business, witch. I advise you to stay out of our business."
"And I advise you to stay in the forest."
"The day will come, witch, when you will not be able to enforce your edicts, and then I say to you, 'Watch out!'"
"Don't you dare threaten me, wolf."
I watched until he disappeared back into the underbrush, then set out to locate Lupa.

I knew it. I found her far out on a sand bar, doing who knows what. She was up to no good, that I was sure.
"Leave, wolf. You aren't welcome here. You know the agreement."
"Try and make me. I have just as much right to be out here as you do."

"Go, or I will cast a curse on you!"
I put on a brave front, but inside I was quaking with fear. I started the spell, but if Lupa knew I didn't have enough power to complete it, I was finished. Fortunately, she took off running toward the woods and never saw as the spell dissipated harmlessly into the ether.

And so the days passed until the full moon once again made its appearance in the night sky. I stood on the beach staring up at it for a long time, thinking, wondering if I was doing the right thing. If I did manage to summon this ancient witch, would he help or hurt my people? What if he didn't want to be summoned? Is that why my efforts had failed last month?
Finally I made up my mind. I would try the spell one more time. It was my only option.

Immediately as I began the spell, I could tell it was different this time. The vision appeared almost as soon as I began the spell, only this time clearer, sharper. I saw a young man with beautiful moss green hair, holding a large round piece of brightly glowing amber. And yes, there was the tiny flower, slightly off-center. It was obvious now, that my new found power was emanating from the charm.
I almost lost my concentration as I gazed into the man's gorgeous green eyes, but I forced myself to continue.
"Are you ready?" I managed to call out. I was still worried about the consequences of summoning a powerful witch against his will.
"Yes.." The answer was soft, and sounded very far away, but it was enough.
I finished the spell with a flourish, and the young man and the vision disappeared in a flash of blinding light.

And then..... nothing. I stood staring at the spot in front of me, expecting the man to appear any second. But as the seconds turned into minutes, and the minutes into an hour, I slowing began to accept, that I had done something wrong, messed things up yet again. I turned and trudged slowly back to my little bungalow.

So lost in thought was I, that I never saw Lupa until she jumped out from under my stairway right in front of me, blocking my path.
'Eep!"
I must have jumped a foot in the air. I immediately regretted that little show of fear. The wolves would take advantage of it, I was sure.
"I've been watching you, witch." She growled at me. "What evil magic were you up to out there tonight?"

"N-none of your business, wolf. Now go!"
"Not so fast, witch. I've been watching. I know your magic is failing. And when it does, it will be our turn to rule."
And with a parting snarl, she leapt off into the darkness, leaving me shaking.

I raced up the stairs and into my room, slammed the door shut, and barely managed to stutter out a minor locking spell. I hated to admit it, but Lupa was right. I couldn't keep them at bay much longer. I spent the rest of the night at my spell book, reading and re-reading the ancient summoning spell. Had I read it wrong? Some of the words were so difficult to decipher.  By the time dawn was approaching I was literally tearing my hair out in frustration.

Reluctantly, I left my books and padded out onto my balcony, intent on my daily morning ritual. The full moon was slowing sinking beneath the waves, drowning my last hope with it.
Suddenly a sound broke my reverie. I could barely hear it over the crashing surf.
"Halp! Please halp! Somebody! Anybody!"
At first I thought it was Marten, that something seriously was wrong with Fawn, but no. I had never heard this voice before, and the words were oddly spoken. I looked out over the water, and my heart leapt up into my throat.

There, bobbing up and down in the surf, was...   a head of moss green hair. Ack! What was he doing in the water? My witch was struggling mightily against the undertow, but I could tell he was exhausted. With a small cry of alarm, I dashed down the stairs to the shore.

I quickly waded in.
"Here, grab my hand!"
He gladly held on as I struggled to pull him out onto the beach.
"You.. summoned.. me?" He managed to gasp as we stumbled onto the shore.
"Umm...yes, that was me.." I ventured hesitantly.
"Damn it, girl. *cough* Did you know *gasp* that you dumped me in *hack* the middle of the ocean? I've been *sniff* swimming all night."

And with that, he passed out on the beach. I bent down and shook him gently; he was definitely breathing, but he was out cold. Now what? I was sure he wasn't going to be happy when he woke up. After all, I accidentally almost drowned him. I was pretty sure that ancient powerful witches hate it when people try to drown them.

Nevertheless, I managed to wake him long enough to get him up the stairs to my room. I didn't dare leave him alone, for fear he would disappear, so I sat and watched him sleep all day. Actually I had a hard time taking my eyes off him. That beautiful hair - my mother had told stories of witches in olden times that had hair that color. But like the magic, our mossy green hair had faded to white.

Finally in the late afternoon, he began to stir.
"Uh..where am I?" He looked around, confused.
"Umm.. I s-summoned you, remember? I-I'm really sorry you landed in the ocean, I didn't mean to, really I didn't. It's just that my spell casting is so bad, and that's why I needed to summon you, and .. and.."
He was just staring at me with the odd little smile on his face, and I realized that I was babbling. My voiced trailed off into silence.
"I remember. You said you needed me, and so I came. You're the white haired girl in my dreams."
"And you are the ancient powerful witch. I thought the spell hadn't worked but it did!"
I was so relieved. My troubles were over. My ancient witch would take care of everything. He must have very powerful magic to have created that charm. The waters would recede, there would be food enough for everyone....

.... my daydream was interrupted abruptly by the mossy headed man. He was smiling and shrugging his shoulders.
"I'm not sure where you got that idea.. but my name is Oakheart, and I'm definitely not ancient, and I'm quite sure I'm not powerful, and I'm not even sure if I'm a witch. I just have this pendant, see.."
He fished the amber charm out from under his shirt and held it up.
"It was supposed to lead me to my heart's desire, and it led me to you."

Oh dear. Oh dear, oh dear, oh dear. What had I done?