"I’m sorry, you're expecting me to believe all of this?" questioned Ally.
"I know, it's an incredible story, unbelievable, but you must trust and believe me, for we don’t have much time, the knight that Dan released was immediately transported to another world, another realm. I'm the one responsible for this, for you see, I’m the one who helped Dan release the French knight; his name is Jean d'Alluye. We needed Jean to travel to a distant world, for he was the only one capable of killing three evil witches. The witches were plotting to devastate my realm, my world, and they intended to hand it over to the dark forces of evil destroying it forever - we couldn't let that happen. One of the witches was a beautiful temptress and an extremely powerful witch. She could captivate any man, but she was dangerous, nasty, and spiteful. Jean killed her, and the other two witches. Killing the temptress angered the most powerful witch in all realms - Elora. The temptress was Elora’s sister; Elora is the oldest and most powerful evil witch that exists, even I fear Elora. Raj has passed away; bless him - but the quest for her sister’s revenge is now squarely targeted upon Dan and Jean. As a bonus, her search will lead Elora to me."
"You?" interrupted Ally, clearly intrigued by the story.
She waited, as if reflecting upon her interruption, "Yes," she admitted, "me. I will always be in great danger, but I possess certain powers that I can use to protect myself. In your world, here, my powers are suppressed, muted, which makes me incredibly vulnerable, making it so dangerous for me to even be here. Jean can travel between realms, between different worlds, moving backwards and forwards in time. He can hide effectively, disappear at will, and adapt to different worlds. It's Dan that I'm so worried about," she paused wistfully, the feeling of guilt clearly written across her concerned face.
"So, let me get this straight, you recruited Dan to lead a dangerous mission to free a French knight. The knight killed three witches who were determined to destroy your world. The knight disappears leaving a grieving evil witch, hell bent on exacting revenge upon Dan for killing her sister, where Dan is now exposed, defenseless, and vulnerable. You've traveled here through my dreams to warn me but conveniently all your super powers have been removed when you landed on our planet and you can't help Dan. I'm sorry lady, this has been a fun and fascinating afternoon, in fact it’s been great entertainment, the stuff great books are made of, but I know Dan and the boring life he leads. If I came up with a story like this, well, they’d cart me off to Elmsworth mental hospital and throw away the key. It was pretty entertaining though, worth a cup of coffee on a dreary rainy day." Ally smiled and sat back in her chair, folded her arms, and waited for the woman's terse response, what happened next caught her completely off guard.
The woman removed a few dark strands of wet hair from her face; she leaned forward across the small round coffee table. She had left the coffee untouched and still steaming from the cup placed in front of her. She reached carefully beyond the cup with both hands and held Ally's hand firmly. She removed a dull looking, green jade ring from her index finger and slid it firmly onto Ally's finger, despite Ally’s protestations.
Ally felt a powerful surge of energy shoot through her body, like a bolt had energized every cell, every nerve ending, and heightened every sense. When she regained control of her senses, she looked around the café trying to make sense of her surroundings. It was clear that Ally wasn’t sitting in the cozy café anymore; she appeared to be sitting on a wooden pew, a worn bench in the middle of a large stone church. She glanced upwards at the vaulted ceilings painted with scenes of the eternal battle of light versus darkness, good versus evil, and demons versus angels. Stained glass windows glistened with vibrant colors as the light streamed through illuminating pictures depicted in blue, yellow, red, and green. She marveled at the scenes with religious men dressed in brown monk robes carrying ornamental canes, orbs, and books adorned with fancy designs. She heard music, an organ accompanied by the sounds of chanting, emanating from the front of the church, but she couldn't see any signs of life. She touched the smooth worn wooden bench, as if to confirm it was real and not a dream. A monk in a long brown robe approached slowly, his face hidden by his hood. He walked in a methodical way, navigating his path from the front of the church, as beautiful chanting melodies filled the air.
The monk approached calmly and entered Ally’s row of wooden benches. He walked slowly and deliberately towards her before sitting next to her while facing the front, his hood still hiding his face. In a low deep voice, he began to speak, "My child, you need to believe that your life is going to change beyond your imagination, and it's normal to have doubts and questions, but if you resist and fight this change, it will destroy you. If you embrace the light, and the forces of good, then all of this will become clear. You’ll see things that you’ve always suspected were real, because you believe in fanciful things." The monk slowly turned his head to reveal an unshaven face covered in dark stubble, a large scar running from his eye to his chin, and the most piercing blue eyes Ally had ever seen. "Dan needs you, more than ever. Come with me quickly."
The monk rose and walked towards the direction of the back of the church; as if connected by an invisible cord Ally followed uncontrollably. They walked past wooden benches organized in rows; they passed two large brass stands that supported numerous flickering candles, their flames swaying rhythmically in the drafty hall. They entered a smaller part of the church, it was narrower, older, and the stone floor was rougher and uneven. A smooth section had been worn into the stone by the feet of many monks over hundreds of years. They approached a large double door made of solid oak and the monk gave the blackened iron handle an almighty tug. The door swung open creaking upon its heavy hinges. He didn't wait; he walked into the opening with some haste, dutifully followed by Ally. Behind the large door was a smaller square shaped room with another set of large wooden doors secured by two thick iron bolts that slid into a hole bored into the stone surround.
Cold air whistled into the room from the direction of the second set of doors. The monk unbolted one of the doors swinging it open and stepping into the blustery cold air beyond. Ally followed exiting the church without questioning the monk's motives. Immediately the surrounding air temperature dropped to an uncomfortable level as she found herself outside of the church and walking across an uneven paved stone patio. She followed the monk to a dark colored stone retaining wall and realized she was standing on an observation point high in the mountains, above the wispy clouds that floated by innocently below. Dark jagged rock faces plunged to a raging river with rapids crashing through the rocks and the valley below. Ally instinctively clutched the edges of her coat together to offer some protection from the biting wind, as her rain-soaked denim jeans seemed to freeze to her thighs. "What is this place?" she wondered, her words tumbling from her mouth in the extreme cold.
"This is the Monastery of Light, a holy place, it’s a sacred place where we train our warriors with the skills needed to fight the forces of evil. Those are the mountains of Haitden and the brave woman who brought you here, risked her life to find you. She cares deeply about Dan, and she feels responsible for his wellbeing - we know you do too." The cold wind increased and whistled by whipping Ally's hair as she tried to pull at the protection offered by the hood of her coat, "Dan's a special boy, I know how brave and intelligent he is, and I'd be proud to fight alongside him once again. Ally, you're special too, you just don't know why yet. Certain people throughout history can be trained, they practice and refine their special skills required to fight the forces of evil – for that, they come here. A few, and only a few, are inexplicably born with these talents, and that’s very rare! You and Dan are meant to be together, for destiny has chosen you both to fight evil, and we need you to listen to us carefully; let us guide you, now, give me your hands."
Ally gingerly extracted her cold shaking hands from the warmth provided by her coat pockets and held them out for the monk as instructed. He held her hand, selecting the one with the jade ri
ng, and placed both of his thumbs upon the ring. A familiar exhilarating surge of energy rushed through Ally's body jolting her back to reality and causing her to fall from her café chair. She regained her faculties quickly when she discovered her limp body sprawled upon the shiny floor of the coffee house. She felt rather silly attracting the attention of a few patrons who reacted to the sudden noise by casually glancing over at Ally’s crumpled body lying in a heap on the bright tiled floor. Ally pulled herself back onto her chair and pretended to dust herself off with as much dignity as possible. The patrons unsurprisingly went back to their business, chatting, reading, and daydreaming, while getting their coffee fix.
"My ring please," demanded the slender framed woman sitting opposite Ally by extending her expectant hand. Ally slipped off the green jade ring and slid it across the smooth varnished wooden table. Little sparks of energy seemed to flare out from the surface and into the air like a miniature firework display. The woman grabbed at the jade ring and placed it quickly upon her finger.
"Where was that place?" inquired Ally, now a believer.
"You were transported to another realm, another world, it wasn’t on this Earth. You see, we all exist together in this vast universe, but we co-exist across time and space; we must work together, all of us, if we’re going to defeat the unrelenting forces of evil. For as long as time and memory serve, we have always been in an external struggle with the forces of evil. My dear Ally, I had to do something like that, so you’d take me seriously. You visited the Monastery of Light, located high in the mountain peaks of Haitden, where we train the monks to fight evil – its where I was trained."
Ally rubbed her face in dis-belief, her cheeks were still cold from the mountains winds, "Who was that man, the monk I spoke with?"
"That was Kaan, he's a good friend of mine, and he’s a close friend of Dan," she watched as Ally raised her head, suddenly realizing she knew nothing of Dan’s secret life.
Ally’s thoughts turned to the stone monastery and how cold and windy it had been nestled so high in the mountains. She thought about Kaan, before turning her thoughts to Dan - how long had Dan led this double life? "Ok, I'm totally confused, and a little weirded out; I don't know how you did that, but now I'm a believer, you've seriously gotten my attention - what do we do next?
The thin framed lady calmly adjusted her old fashioned clothing and made herself comfortable, "Now – it’s your turn to listen," she said confidently, her demeanor had changed, she seemed more confident knowing she'd managed to get Ally's full attention. "I have a lot more to tell you and you have a lot more to learn. This information will be really important for you, so you have to concentrate, and I'll try to explain."
Ally nodded keenly, taking a deep breath and blinking rapidly with a mixture of excitement and anticipation.
"There's a reason why I have the ability to communicate with you through your dreams, why you are susceptible to this type of approach. There's a reason why you're strongly drawn to certain topics and stories, for example the assignment you're currently working on for school."
"The Pendle Hill witches," Ally interjected.
"Yes," said the woman flashing Ally an irritated look, "the Pendle Hill witches. This is an interesting story, today it’s told as two families fighting for the right to practice spells and witchcraft. They were all hanged because of testimony given from the chief witness, the young daughter of one of the families."
"Jennet Device," stated Ally, taking great pride in the fact that she'd remembered the child’s name from her research. "Her foul-mouthed mother blatantly denied that Jennet was her daughter at the trial."
The thin lady glanced to each side, and lowered her voice, "That's because she wasn't her daughter, the foul-mouthed mother was telling the truth. The witches were unsophisticated and relatively harmless, but the mother was evil and dangerous. Her powers were growing, and, if left unchecked, she could have evolved and eventually have the power to develop a coven that would become very dangerous for your world. We needed to stop her, and our weapon of choice was the young girl - Jennet. Jennet was one of ours, a young girl from another time."
"Oh, now I get it,” said Ally, adjusting a strand of hair intruding onto her face, “Jennet, was you?" stated Ally confidently.
Ally observed a smile, "No, not quite, Jennet wasn’t me. She was actually a good witch, a white witch as they’re known; now brace yourself, are you ready for this?" She didn't pause or wait for Ally’s answer, but she noticed Ally had a sparkle of curiosity in her eyes, "the white witch Jennet, was your great great-grandmother to be exact. Jennet is part of your lineage, and that's why you’re special and so important to us. That's the reason why you’re so drawn towards the topic of witches and specifically this story - it's in your history. Ally, don’t you get it - you’re a white witch, a good witch. You possess the dormant powers that are now awakening, and you don't even know what you’re capable of yet, including the ability to travel between realms. There's a reason why you and Dan are attracted towards each other, your vibrations are in harmony, and therefore you must help Dan. I know it's a lot to take in, but Ally; we just need to help you develop your powers. You must understand, good witches are extremely rare; I'm not talking about mumbo jumbo spells and stuff you can learn from a book. You are part of a long lineage and you have this special gift. People like you are extremely precious - your destiny is set."
Ally’s mouth hung open, she finally crinkled her forehead in disbelief, "So my Mum's a witch also?" Ally asked lowering her voice.
The thin lady shook her head glancing from side to side, "No, I’m afraid not. The gene can lay dormant for a long time and can skip entire generations."
Ally leaned across the round table, she whispered, "How do you know I'm a white witch, I mean, that my powers and lineage are active?"
The thin lady whispered back, “I have many gifts, and I can see your aura, your energy, it shines brightly. I know who you are, and I've used my gifts to enter your unconscious thoughts, your dreams. I know many things - you'll have to trust me Ally, I know a white witch when I see one," she said smiling an assured smile.
"A white witch," Ally echoed, shaking her head, “Sorry I’m still trying to process that information; that's a good witch, right? I mean, I'm destined to fight evil right?"
The woman nodded, "Yes, but first you have to focus and help me, to help Dan."
Ally leaned back in her chair reeling from the recent information she'd just been exposed to, "This morning when I left the house, I was unaware and blissfully ignorant, then I meet you and you tell me you're not from this world. You tell me my boyfriend has a cane that can transport him to different worlds. You tell me I'm a white witch that’s apparently something darn special. You tell me tales of other creatures in other realms and I’m suddenly zapped from sitting having a coffee with you to some freezing monastery perched on top of some snowbound mountains in an instant. How can my life ever be the same again? Yet you side step my most basic question - who are you and what is your name?"
"If I tell you, then I’ll place you in great danger," she whispered.
"Sounds like you've done that already. By knowing what I now know, am I not in more danger than before?" Ally looked to her side to see if her words had been overheard.
"True."
Ally cut her off impatiently, "Your name?"
The thin lady leaned as far back as she could in her chair, took a deep breath, and paused, just for a moment, "My name is Rose, I was abandoned as a baby girl in the third realm many years ago. I was fortunate, the monks at the Monastery of Light decided to take me in and generously taught me their ways. I was gifted and adapted and embraced their teachings easily. Today, I possess powers that I’ve honed and perfected to fight evil forces, with a power to shift my form and appearance between realms. My name is Rose, but only three people in this vast universe knows that, people call me the Crocodile Queen."
Ally stared at the thin oriental woman accompanying her at a c
offee shop in her home town, she waited for a punch line to round off this joke, but it never came, "The Crocodile Queen? Why?"
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