krystalkatzficz | The Witch part 5

When Satoshi opened his eyes again the pain in his face almost gone and he was able to sit up in the bed and look around the home that he was in. It was different from any other building he had ever been in and yet it he was sure that he was more comfortable than he had ever been. There were strange carvings on the walls and he suspected that if he could get a better look it would be images of the old gods of the woods. A door opened somewhere behind him and he wrenched his neck to see the woman in white coming in with her black hair tied with a ribbon and thrown over her shoulder and there were delicate flowers placed here and there. She looked like a forest nymph herself and Satoshi gave a small smile as she came to him.

“The gods have spared you for another day. How are you feeling?”

“Not as bad as I should be, thanks to your skill, my lady...” Satoshi bowed his head as the woman gave a sharp bell like laugh. She sat beside him on the bed moving the fabric away from his wounds. What she saw seemed to please her as she smiled and hummed to herself.

“I wish that I could claim credit, but it was the gods that spared your life and healed you. There will be scars but that is fine, it will add character and you will have more once you have faced the trails ahead...” She told him, her face was serious and Satoshi noticed once again that her eyes had that distant faraway look as though she wasn’t looking at him.

“You speak as though you know the future” Satoshi whispered softly. The lady inclined her head her head the smile not slipping away from her mouth as she answered him.

“Not all, but some. I told you that for this portion of your life I am to be your guide”

“Can you help? There is a girl in the tower at the palace” Satoshi asked remembering the small girl. The lady clearly had powers and she seemed to be a caring lady. The smile slipped away now and her eyes filled with a deep sadness as she shook her head slowly.

“I know of the child in the tower and I know what it is they face but I cannot help. Their trials are theirs alone...”

“But I can’t leave her there” Satoshi raged attempting to get up from the bed. The sound of her tears was fresh in his mind. The lady held him down with firm hands on his shoulders saying almost sharply;

“And you won’t. But you are not strong enough yet...”

“That is what she said...But...She is so scared... The things that my father is doing to her...”

“Are monstrous but it is what it is. You have your own trials ahead. Now settle back down and I will fetch you something to eat” The lady got up from the bed and then moved to the small table at the far end of the room. She proceeded to spoon something savoury into a bowl before coming back to him with a spoon.

“How can you be so calm about what is happening to that girl?” Satoshi asked shocked when a sharp blast of cold hair. Her hair bellowed out behind her and her eyes lost all colour becoming just black holes in the centre of her face. Her voice lost the musical touch as she snarled;

“I never said that I was happy, I said only, that it was what it was. I cannot change what is happening to the child within the tower. It is not my duty, my duty is to make sure that you are strong enough to face the challenges ahead. One of which, is to rescue the child from the tower...”

“I apologise, I did not mean to offend you...But when I saw what the girl was suffering...What my father is doing to her...” Satoshi swallowed bile rising up at the back of his throat. The lady returned to normal, her face relaxing into a small smile as she nodded slowly.

“I understand. You are a different man from your father. One that will one day make a fine emperor but only if you eat and prepare yourself in the coming days” She said handing him over the soup and the spoon. It was a thick broth with large chunks of a mystery meat and Satoshi hoped that it wasn’t his horse.

“Prepare myself for what?”

“Training. You will need a lot of training for what will come” The lady said once again with that all knowing calm air about her. She rose from the bed gracefully tossing her hair back over her should dislodging some of the flowers and causing them to cascade down around her bare feet.

“And you will train me?”

“I will...Now eat, we will talk of things later” She coaxed and Satoshi looked back at his soup lifting up one of the pieces of meat before saying;

“Yes, um...what became of my horse?”

“He recovered faster than you and has been turned lose, his time in the forests will prepare him well for what will come. He will return to you when you are ready. The meat in your soup is rabbit...It will make you strong and well, so eat...” The grin she gave him let him know she knew what he had been thinking about his horse and Satoshi flushed a little before eating the soup. It was rich and filling, quite possibly the finest he had ever had and he ate it happily.

When he finished the lady returned and handed him an earthenware cup of flowered scented drink. It was sweet on his tongue and Satoshi sighed with a strange kind of happiness before whispering;

“My lady, you know me, and my name but I do not know yours...”

“Correct, most call me the witch of the woods, or the white lady...Both have served me well in my life but my true name is not so fanciful. I am simply known as Ninomiya Kazumi...I pleased to be of service...Now. If you are feeling strong, I suggest that we begin. The training will be long and taxing and it is best for us to start at the beginning...”

“I have had basic training”

“Indeed. It is what will make the process harder. Before we can truly begin you must forget all that you know...” Kazumi smiled her eyes twinkling in a merry way as Satoshi tried to work out what she meant by that. “Come, stand and let us go outside...I am rather fond of my home and do not wish for it to be destroyed...”

TBC

A/N: I hope that this is okay >.<