by Dani Corlee
All the witches were looking at their chiefs. The alliance was established.
Kim suddenly could see sparks coming from the two girls' hands. Were they wearing a ring?
CHAPTER 19
Isidora's office was crowded with witches when Kim arrived. She had slept till late, too tired to wake up at the usual time, after a night full of scary dreams.
Everybody seemed to speak at the same time, and this time even Lucille could do little to restore order.
As soon as Kim entered the office, holding Aurora by the hand, everybody fell silent.
Aurora left her mom's hand and came across Dolly, who knelt down and kissed her on her cheek.
"I have been always with her," Dolly said. "Aurora was well protected and will always be," she added, looking at Kim.
Isidora sat on her chair. With a gesture of her hand she made many chairs appear and, with a loud and determined voice, as she had always had before the previous night, she asked everybody to sit. Kim was surprised to see Catarina was among those present as well.
"We all need to understand what has happened and what has changed now," Isidora said, making a gesture with her head to Dolly, who crossed her legs, adjusted herself on the chair while a thick cushion appeared beneath her, and started to speak.
"While the exiled witches began forcing the spell, I found a way to enter their world and work in disguise. My different approach to problems brought me soon under the eyes of Cassia, their chief witch, the one who ruled their organization with full powers. Those witches manage their group in a different way we do. And their number is much small than ours. Let's say she's a sort of queen. I've always been very careful, though, to hold their trust and little by little I instilled into them the ideas we think right. When Magnolia, the hereditary queen, was born, I was chosen as her tutor. She is a quick-minded girl. Very attentive and caring. It was an easy job for me to teach her love, not hate. She's wise." Dolly looked around at her audience, giving everybody a meaningful gaze. "She's a wise child."
Those who remembered the ancient story looked at each other, and soon everybody was talking at the same time again.
Isidora thumped the desk to gain attention and frowned at everyone. She then gestured Dolly to go on.
"We all know the world is undergoing many problems. Hate, wars, pollution, drought and floods, famine, old and new illnesses, and economic recession. Not that we haven't endured the same problems before, but now many of these are due to our own bad habits. Places with good weather now are experiencing terrible natural disasters. Our seas are getting hotter and hotter. Glaciers and icebergs are melting down. Soon ice at the poles will disappear. What will happen then? Some scientists even think that the lack of weight at the poles will make the Earth's axis rotate and change. This will bring more terrible consequences: earthquakes, volcanic eruptions, tornadoes, and tsunamis of huge proportions. I would like to say the humankind still has time to do something, but this isn't totally true. The changes have already started and there's nothing that can stop them. They can be slowed down, though, waiting for a technology to reverse the process."
She moved in her chair, while nobody dared to say a word. She started again. "But humankind is made up of witches, too. We have powers, great powers. But they aren't enough for such a huge task. Yet, there's something which might increase our powers. Something which was decided and created long ago. The power of the wise children and their rings."
"We don't know much about them," Ravyn intervened. "I searched many ancient books after Kim found the ball, but the information is very scarce."
"That's true." Dolly nodded and looked at Aurora, on her mother's lap, caressing Mrs. Daisy.
"The story of the wise children and their ball has been long forgotten. Even the exiled group didn't remember the story, and the ball had been placed among many other old, unused things in their queen's palace. I myself thought it to only be a myth, until I found the ball."
"Did she have a palace?” Catarina asked breathlessly.
Dolly nodded. "Yes, the witch that ruled them at the moment they had been exiled held strict control over the others, frightening them, telling them only strict order could save them and give them the strength to fight the spell and come back to the world. I think that the hereditary succession has been held for a long time, but I doubt the current chief is a direct descendant of the original chief. There must have been witches who only gave birth to males, or witches who couldn't have children at all... all things we cannot control with our powers. In any case, they created a sort of line of descent with many privileges, such as a big palace, servants, and wealth. But I'm wandering off."
Isidora and the other witches looked at each other but didn't dare to interrupt Dolly. Kim did from time to time send glances at Catarina, and had to really use her self control not to ask Isidora what was going on with that young witch. The present threat, she felt, was more important to her than things that had happened many thousands of years before.
"Please, go on, my dear," Isidora asked.
"Yes," Dolly replied and blew on a cup that suddenly appeared in her hand. The light swirl of steam coming from it smelled like hot chocolate. "Would you like some?" Dolly asked. A tray with a big pot and various cups appeared on Isidora's desk.
"Yeahh!" Aurora shouted and, still on her mom's lap, helped herself, pouring her chocolate with a spell. She prepared a cup for her mom too.
"You cannot imagine how much I missed hot chocolate!" Dolly confessed.
"Why? Don't the witches of the moon have chocolate?" Hylee looked puzzled.
"Yes and no," Dolly said licking her lips and looked at Aurora, who was sipping her hot chocolate, carefully holding her cup with both hands. The little girl twisted her head up, feeling observed, two big brown mustaches showing over her lips. She licked them and looked at the other witches, smiling.
They all couldn't help laughing, looking at such a normal scene.
"She's so little," Kim exclaimed. "What has she to do with all this?"
Dolly nodded. "I'll tell you in a minute." She looked at the other witches and gestured toward the tray. "Help yourself. What was I saying? Oh, yes. The chocolate."
Kim's discomfort was evident by the way she wrapped a curl around her finger, over and over again, while her cup was flying back on the tray. It seemed that slowing down the explanation was a shared problem among these witches.
"Chocolate as we know it was invented in France during the 17th century. Cocoa beans had been used by pre-Columbian Americans for thousands of years. But cocoa isn't sweet, and the cocoa drink they had and considered as a luxury was bitter. The witches on the other side of the moon had cocoa, not chocolate."
"What about all the other things we invented or discovered since they were exiled?" Lucille asked.
"Can we please go back to the main subject?" Kim asked, exasperated, and started cleaning Aurora's face.
"Sorry," Lucille said with no expression and popped her gum loudly.
Dolly nodded and returned to her story. "When I arrived—mind you, it happened by accident. I was studying a spell for time travel, but something went wrong and I found myself on the other side of the moon. I suppose you know that the other side of the moon is a euphemism. They aren't really on the moon. Nobody could survive on the moon, least of all on the other side where it is so cold that nobody could survive."
"Where are they, then?" Lucille asked then looked at Kim, whose eyes darted toward her and closed her mouth shut.
"They are on another dimension. In a sort of parallel universe. Similar to that where they brought Kim when they kidnapped her." Dolly adjusted herself again on the chair and went on. "It took years for me to win their trust, while I studied a way to get back. I become Cassia's advisor, who is the present Queen; then she wanted me to be her daughter's tutor. I had many enemies at the court. But I also made very good friends."
"What do you mean you had enemies, my dear? Because of the prestigious position you held?" Isidora p
oured herself some hot chocolate and sipped it. Then she made a face, turned her index finger a few times over it, and smiled, satisfied. At Kim's puzzled expression she shrugged and simply said, "I'm a tea person!"
Dolly nodded and went on. "It wasn't only for the position, which of course gave me the opportunity to live in the Palace and take advantage of a very luxurious life, but also because of an internal crisis due to the different way of thinking. Life on the other side of the moon is pleasant and easy. I would say easier than here. That world doesn't known pollution, junk food, and the like. Nevertheless, those witches have lived there with the awareness that they don't belong there. New generations mostly are happy with what they have, although eager to experiment with new things just for love of adventure. Older generations have still been brought up with revenge in their soul. Thousands and thousands of years and they don't even recall clearly what have happened to their ancestors—nor do we, to tell the truth. We know very little about the war. In any case, they have been trying to break the spell for a long time. I took advantage of their experiments and of a sudden strength I received a few months ago and found a way to go to and fro, something they didn't know." Dolly fiddled with her many bracelets, which jingled at her touch. "Many of them think about revenge as a duty. The queen doesn't feel like fighting us. She just wants to free her people and, most of all, doesn't want to displease them. Her daughter, though, strongly feels that she wants to get to know us and talk to us. She's a wise child. Just as Aurora is."
"A sudden strength?" Kim asked, feeling that she knew what it was.
"Yes, it was Aurora turning into a witch. I believe her powers must have connected to the crystal ball which suddenly emanated some strength. I knew already that Magnolia was a wise child and that there must have been another one somewhere, but two wise children aren't enough to activate the ball to its full potential; and before Aurora turned into a witch, it only gave very few signs of life. So, there must be another wise child somewhere. Only two wise children who weren't aware they were waiting for the third. Aurora was unexpected, and she turned into a witch to join the two children and form the ancient group. There will be great changes."
Isidora's forehead furrowed. "I wonder why this all happened here. There are places where witches have been living for much longer than our countries. Places which have a great magical tradition. Why here?" she repeated.
Dolly gave everybody an intense look and shook her head. "I don't know. I suppose it had to happen somewhere and it happened here."
"What must we expect now? How can I protect my community and all the other communities?"
"There won't be much danger anymore. Many witches were ready to fight, but when they had the opportunity and were close to Aurora they obeyed Magnolia. Just one single gesture was enough for her to stop them. Magnolia now is really excited to have the opportunity to study us and talk to Aurora. She is aware Aurora is younger than her, but they have the opportunity to share their feelings through the ball and to grow together. Some witches will still try to fight us but Magnolia is strong enough to control them—and most of all, the majority of her people are willing to obey and follow her. We must be ready to protect ourselves, though."
"Will Magnolia live near our house now?" Aurora suddenly asked, taking everybody by surprise.
"Oh yes!" Celeste screamed. She had been very quiet during the meeting and now she frantically started asking one question after another. "Will they come here? Here, near us? Where will they live? How can it work? They cannot all come here! And what will they do? What will..."
"Celeste!" Isidora frowned at her daughter. Then her expression sweetened and she continued. "My dear, one step at a time. We will have to discuss the whole matter with them, and I suppose Aurora and Dolly will be our intermediaries. They don't necessarily want to settle here for good." She turned to Dolly. "Do they?" she asked with a hopeful gaze.
Dolly didn't answer and Isidora slowly paled, finally understanding that soon the old enemies would arrive. And most of all, would probably settle in her community.
"Oh, my dear! Magnolia will want to stay near Aurora, for sure. And her people will want to live near her." She took a piece of paper from her desk and used it as a fan, cold drops of sweat wetting her forehead.
CHAPTER 20
"I'm exhausted," Kim told Samia while exiting the Magic Club. She closed her purple coat tight and adjusted her pink scarf, looking at the sky and breathing the cold air deeply. Her friend looked at her with a worried frown.
"I shouldn't have asked you for a walk," Samia replied, shaking her head. Her long, black curly hair rippled nicely, shining in the pale autumn sun.
"I really feel like going for a stroll," Kim said, staring at her friend. "I wish I had your hair. It's really gorgeous. Did you decide on the wedding hairstyle? And what about the dress?" They walked along the tree-lined avenue that led to the center.
Samia laughed and clapped her hands with excitement, her gloves creating a muffled sound.
"I've only started thinking about it! But there's one thing I'm sure about." She turned to Kim. "I want you to be my Maid of Honor." She smiled, a little embarrassed, not sure about Kim's answer. After all, she had gone into a huge transition in her life and with the other witches coming, things could get complicated. She was sure Kim was going to have a difficult time but she couldn't help asking.
"Oh, that's so nice, Samia! Are you sure? You have many sisters who might get upset because of your choosing somebody outside your family."
"Not at all. They know already and approved the choice. They will come here in few days and will help me decide about the ceremony logistics, so you won't have to worry about the preparations, even though I would like you to have the last word on everything. Along with me, of course."
"I suppose you had to ask Isidora to have your wedding here?"
"Yes, I had to. Francesco and I officially asked her to be part of her community. With the upcoming changes, she is quite busy and upset, and she said that the fuss for a wedding is nothing compared to all the other preparations the community needs to start. We told her we can wait, even though it isn't really true because we want to start our life together as soon as possible, but she said she doesn't know when the situation will be calmer, therefore a wedding cannot make things more complicated than they are already. That's not the answer we were hoping for, though. But she said also that in other circumstances she would have helped us and also held an official ceremony to ratify our admittance to the community."
"Right. You aren't rushing things, are you?" Kim asked, still walking along the way, her hands deeply hidden in her pockets. From time to time a car quickly passed by, the only other sounds were the chirping of few sparrows and the sounds the two women made stepping over the fallen leaves. "I mean, you only met few months ago."
"I know, but he's the right one for me and he feels the same. He said he has never felt he could spend his whole life with somebody. Marriage has never crossed his mind till now, just as it had never occurred to me. But now it’s different for both of us."
Kim nodded. "I understand. Sometimes you just feel inside you know the person already. I've never experienced it with a man, but I have with some women. With you, for example. I feel we have always been friends. Yet I think you should wait a little more. Sorry to play devil's advocate, but I'm coming from the experience of a divorce and I had to tell you."
Samia smiled. "I know you are just concerned about me. Don't worry, I'll be safe. And I'm so happy right now!"
"Happy? You look radiant!"
"I've already got in touch with Mabel Sephiran for the dress. Shall we go back? It's starting to get too cold."
The two women turned, heading back to the Club.
"Mabel who? Who's she?" Kim asked.
"I thought you met her, or heard of her. Sorry, I'm so excited I think everybody knows all the people of the community involved in weddings. She's a fashion designer best known for her wedding gowns and evening dresse
s. She has many requests and a long waiting list, but being a witch helped me get accepted."
"Is she a witch?" Kim looked surprised. "I've been so concerned about my problems that I really never thought about witches' jobs. Most of the witches I know have part-time jobs which they sort of consider as hobbies."
"That's because you mainly know the people who run the Club, which is a great commitment and therefore they haven't much time for anything else."
"You must be right. Here we are," Kim replied, looking at the Magic Club. "Isidora is waiting for me. We need to talk about Aurora. I wasn't a happy Queen and now I'm even less happy. I wanted a normal life for Aurora. I was very concerned about her having turned into a witch at her young age. The new situation is driving me mad."
"I'm sorry we talked only about me and my marriage. I've been selfish." Samia looked embarrassed.
"Not at all. I enjoyed spending a little time thinking about something else. I felt my mind was going to blow up! And let me know how I can help you with the wedding."