High Witch
Chapter 7

Brayden and Ariel arrived at a forest later that morning, to give Ariel time to practice using her magic. They left their horses to rest nearby, then stood together in the center of a clearing, facing each other. Brayden smiled.

“Alright,” he said. “What you did with your eyesight was amazing, but there’s so much you need to learn. You need to learn to control your magic with finesse. I want you to try to bring some leaves to us. Just relax, and concentrate.”

Brayden pointed to the trees circling the clearing, and moved a few paces away. Ariel held out her right arm at a large oak tree, wrinkling her nose, narrowing her eyes as she focused. She leaned her head back, as if she was frightened she’d uproot the entire tree, then twitched her index finger. She scrunched her eyes shut, waiting. Brayden was relieved to see a solitary leaf float towards her. He smiled.

“You did it! Ariel, you...”

Brayden gasped as the tree suddenly leaned forward, as if a giant was pulling it from the top, then all of the leaves became detached from the branches and began to hurtle towards them. The tree flung back upright, causing all the others around it to vibrate, dozens of birds squawking from within and flying away. Brayden stood there as he and Ariel became surrounded by piles and piles of leaves, right up to their waist. He frowned. Ariel grimaced.

“Try again?” she asked. He scratched his head.

“Why didn’t that work, Ariel? You were able to fix your eyes without them popping out of your head. Why couldn’t you bring a small leaf to us?”

She threw her arms up into the air. “I’ve only been using my magic a few days, after suppressing it most of my life. I can’t just do it perfectly straight away.”

Brayden clenched his jaw, as he tried to think of what to do. He didn’t want to become frustrated with her, especially as she was completely right. She had no experience — fixing her eyes was probably just a stroke of luck. He wanted to walk up to her, but didn’t think he could wade through the thousands of leaves. He suddenly found himself grinning.

“Brayden!” Ariel exclaimed.

“I’m sorry,” he said, “it’s just so cute. But this is serious, you’re right.” He rubbed his chin, trying to stop smiling. Then he thought of something.

“When you were concentrating on fixing your eyes, were you trying to be careful?’” he asked. “I don’t mean careful to hold back your magic, I mean careful of your eyes. Was it like a combination of letting out your full strength, but using part of your power to protect what you were using your magic on?”

Ariel stood there thinking for a moment, then she nodded. “Yes. It was like I knew I had to completely release my magic, but I was using a layer of it to shield my eyes, so they would be okay. How did you know?”

He shrugged. “Just an educated guess. It’s obvious you have the ability to do what you want, you just need to think about things differently. The question is, how do we make you bring out that layer of protection at all times?”

He ran a hand through his short hair, looking around him. He smiled, something occurring to him. He looked at Ariel. “Use your magic on me,” he said. Ariel gasped.

“No! Are you mad?”

He smiled again. “No, it’s perfect. I can’t walk out of these leaves, so you have to help me out anyway. So, help me out.”

He crossed his arms over his chest and gazed at her. She glared at him, like she thought he was doing this just to annoy her. She looked around, threw her hair over her shoulder, then magically transported out of the leaves to the edge of the pile. She stood there for a moment, then held out her arms towards Brayden, staring intently. He started to feel very nervous.

Ariel stood quietly for a long time, arms still outstretched, then Brayden suddenly felt like an invisible field of energy was covering him. He felt the force surround his body, making his skin tingle, then was surprised to feel himself lifted off the ground. He was carried up above the leaves, then over to the other end of the clearing. His feet gently touched the grass near the trees, then Ariel walked over to him. She smiled at him.

“I didn’t kill you!” she said happily. He grinned.

“No, you didn’t. Thank you. Now, think about how you did it.”

She narrowed her eyes. “Like I said, I released all of my magic, but I used some of it to shield you from the strength. I had to focus on both things at once. But how does that help me with moving objects?”

Brayden chewed his lip. “It’s the same thing. If you’re bringing a leaf from a tree, you imagine protecting the tree. Then you can release your magic, while holding back from causing such a huge impact. Do you think you could try?”

He gestured towards the trees, just next to them. Ariel turned and faced them, holding out her arm. She frowned, then wiggled her fingers gently, standing there silently. Nothing happened at first, the air still, silent; then the branches of one of the trees vibrated slightly, and a few leaves broke away and floated towards her. She held out her hand and they landed in her palm. She smiled again.

“I did it, Brayden. It was difficult, though. I need a lot of practice.”

Brayden stepped forward and wrapped his arms around her, making her drop the leaves. He kissed her neck. “Then practice. But you did do it. I’m very proud of you.”

He looked at her fondly, and she blushed. He tucked a few strands of her hair behind her ear, then stepped back again. She stared at him for a moment, then turned back to the trees. Brayden felt his heart fill up with love for her. He thought she was so lovely.

Ariel practiced for several hours at the forest, rapidly gaining much better control over her powers. It was as if, once she knew how to think about her magic, she was able to improve very quickly. They rested briefly for a late lunch, then traveled until it was dark. They stopped for the night at a small, rundown inn, sitting in their room after eating a hot meal. Brayden yawned, feeling like he could go to bed, even though it was early. He looked at Ariel as she sat beside him on the bed, in the quaint room filled with old, rickety furniture, a dusty rug, and ripped curtains. He put his hand on her back.

“How are you feeling?” he asked. “Tired?”

She nodded. “I learned a lot today,” she said, “but there’s so much I don’t know. We’ve never really spoken too much about High Witches. I feel like I’ve been given all this power, but I don’t know why. Why me? Why wasn’t I just an ordinary witch?”

Brayden shrugged. “No one knows why a woman is chosen to be a High Witch. The story goes that whenever a High Witch dies, another is instantly born to replace her. It’s not something that happens to you later in life — a High Witch is always born with her power, like a regular warlock or witch. The difference is other people with magic usually have one or both parents with magic, but a High Witch can be born to people without magic.

“As to why you — I don’t know. Women with your powers could be born anywhere, to any family. There’s no way to predict it. All we know, from what’s been written down for centuries, is that there’s only ever three in the world at once. But, given how people with magic are often frowned upon all over the world, through no fault of their own, some women who are High Witches might not even replace out, as they keep their magic hidden. Like you.”

Ariel frowned. “I just wish — I don’t know — that I could be enjoying getting to learn to use my powers, instead of having to run. I don’t want this, Brayden. I just want to be free. And to be with you.”

She looked down, fiddling with the folds of her skirt. Brayden reached over and took her hands in his, and she met his gaze. He drew her into his arms, holding her closely. He smoothed his hand down her hair.

“We’ll get through this somehow, Ariel,” he whispered. “I don’t know how, but we’ll get through it. I don’t want you to worry. I’m with you.”

She nuzzled his neck, sighing against him. Brayden wished he could protect her against everything. In the end, though, he knew this was mostly up to her. He completely adored her. He wondered if it was infatuation, but it wasn’t a simple case of being attracted to her — he loved so much about her. Her sweetness, her intelligence, the way she coped so well with what was happening to her. He loved her goodness, her heart. He knew some people never met someone they truly loved, but had he found her already? Was this her?