“I still don’t trust you,” Xander said, coming up beside me.

Trying to balance myself over the saddle, I looked at Xander. Tarina had lent me her horse. I had never ridden a horse before and it was proving to be a herculean task now—my hair was all over my face, my legs burned, and my back hurt from my weak attempts to sit up straight on its back. I was really missing Kia at the moment.

“What were you saying?” I asked him, tucking strands of hair behind my ear. It was a wrong thing to do at a wrong time as the horse jumped over a puddle of water and I nearly fell off the saddle.

Xander regarded me and my pathetic situation. His nose wrinkled a bit. “Ryan may have been able to tell you the spell, but I don’t realize how you can be trusted,” he said nonchalantly.

When the horse strutted along at a normal pace, I said, “The lack of realization is mutual. However, do tell me the reason of so much hatred directed towards us by your kind.”

Xander cut a sideways glance at me. “The humans may be unaware of our presence,” he said. “But we are told about your kind since childhood. The way you lie.” Xander looked forward as he spoke, “The way you revel after destroying the nature.”

I huffed. “Humans may be able to lie, but the faeries are deceptive, benders of the truth. Xander, while it does not bother me if I have your trust, I must say that I have no reason to lie here. And if I am willing to trust your words, I would expect you to trust mine.”

Xander barked out a laugh, his teeth bared in an almost vicious manner. “It doesn’t happen that way, Venus. You cannot,” he shook his head. “You cannot expect people to do things your way.”

I shrugged and sat properly onto the saddle. “Did you come here yesterday, after Ryan did?”

Keeping his eyes fixed on the road, Xander kicked his stallion on the side and moved forward. I kicked mine on the side well and with a neigh, it galloped forward, moving ahead of Xander.

I heard Xander chuckle from behind, and after a moment he came beside me, sitting peacefully on the back of his stallion. Ignoring him, I pulled the reins of my horse till it calmed down.

“You need to take lessons on horse riding,” Xander said, mocking me.

“So, did you come here yesterday?”

“Are you not going to stop asking till I provide you with an answer?” he mused.

“And if you don’t, then I’ll ask someone else.”

Xander gave me a lopsided smile. “Well then. To save you the misery, no. I’ve been living here for quite a few months. Meeting Ryan here was a nice coincidence.”

I let out a sigh and we fared in silence, the rhythmic strutting of the horses and enthusiastic chirping of the birds being the only sound accompanying us. The fields on the sides of the road were starting to cease and small cottages started to appear.

After a few moments, we were in a more crowded place, with houses and lush courtyards serving as our scenery. Small flowers and decorative vines hung from the roof of the houses looking beautiful and not wild at all. A few witches lounged on wooden chairs in their gardens, but most of them scurried along the road and in and out of their houses — a normal, busy day for them.

I saw a male witch pluck some herbs from his garden, he then poured them into a glass vial. As the content inside the vial turned red, the witch threw the vial onto the ground, shattering it in the process. My nose scrunched up automatically. What kind of mad witch was he? As I pondered upon his madness, I saw the witch utter a spell and join the pieces of glass back into a vial, albeit a bit deformed.

“We’re here,” Xander informed.

I looked around as the horse came to a stop. We were in front of a beige and brown house decorated with red flowers and pigmented leaves. With much difficulty, I got off the stallion and gave its reins to Xander so that he could take it to the stable. I would have accompanied him if I did not feel so tired.

“I shall be at the garden,” I said to him before entering through the small wooden gate that opened to a stone pathway.

Xander stopped and looked at me. His lips were twisted up on one side and brows furrowed. “Garden? Don’t you want to go inside?”

“The door isn’t going to open itself on seeing me. Moreover, I would like to sit in the garden for a while.” I glanced at the rows of orchids and shrubs with tiny, yellow and orange leaves. There was a fresh fragrance in the air — sweet, floral and clove-like.

Shrugging, Xander went towards the back of the house with my horse while his stood near the gate munching on a bucket of horse-gram. Its shining, black mane glimmered in the morning light.

The garden rounded the house to either side of the pathway. Keeping my satchel on the ground, I sat on a wooden chair and took off my boots, stretching out my toes onto the wet grass — it felt soft, tickling against my skin. Some butterflies danced around the flowers and a wood-pecker pecked on the branch of a tree. Soothed by the ambience, I rested my head on the back of the chair and closed my eyes.

“It would have been better if you considered sleeping inside.” Xander’s mocking voice startled me out of my sleep.

“It would have been better if you stopped talking.” I swept a hand over my face.

“Just come,” he said, “I am taking your satchel inside with me. You can accompany me or you can stay here. I’ll be going back for I’ve work to complete.”

Groaning, I sat up straight and rubbed my eyes open. Xander was already walking towards the main entrance with my satchel in his arms. I debated putting on my boots, then decided against it; the sensation of the grass and wet stone on my feet was too impeccable to not make the best of it. Picking up my boots on one hand, I hurried towards Xander.

As I thought I was catching up with Xander, he stopped walking and turned towards me, tapping his feet impatiently. Letting out a heavy breath, I joined him at the entrance.

“Took you long enough,” he said.

“Just open the door.”

Xander shrugged, tossing me my satchel. An irritated groan left my mouth.

“Thistles, pines, ash and oak

Burning candles, altar and smoke.”

Xander spoke loud enough only for me to hear it, and immediately the door opened with a low creak.

I muttered a ‘wow’ as I crossed the threshold. Intricate, winding patterns bordered the walls of the hallway, and a couple of medium-sized paintings adorned the walls — their bright and dark colours a contrast to the pale, light walls.

“I hope you’ll remember the charm,” Xander said as we winded the small hallway that opened to a room with couches and archways. One archway led to the kitchen and another to the staircase. We went towards the stairs crossing neatly positioned couches and big windows.

“Is Tarina going to come here anytime soon?” I asked as Xander went up the stairs. Tarina had asked me not to take bath immediately, instead rest for some time. I hoped she would not take too long to come here, after finishing her work — I hadn’t taken bath in the morning and now all I wanted was to freshen up, then rest.

Xander turned to me. “Probably,” he said.

***

I was at the terrace, my head resting over the railing. The soft breeze, bustling streets, and my half-lidded eyes — a perfect combination.

“Who are you?” A soft, feminine voice called out from behind. Not Tarina.

I immediately stood up from the chair and turned back to face a tall, beautiful woman standing before me. Her brows were creased, and arms were crossed in the front, but after a moment a smile was starting to form on her lips. The black mark of the witches shined against her pale neck, although most of the symbol was covered by the rich burgundy coloured hair that fell over her shoulder. The terrace, built towards the back of the house, didn’t allow me to see her entering through the front.

I was in an uncomfortable position —unable to talk, trying to chew and gulp down a candy — I had found a seemingly new pouch of candy inside the satchel I brought from the Kingdom of Water. “Venus,” I said after I finished eating the candy. “Venus Hill. I…”

I stopped, not knowing what to say. “Who are you?” I asked instead.

Her smile blossomed into a toothy one. “Laurel,” she said, relaxing her arms. “I know you!” she squealed, then plopped over a chair adjacent to mine.

“How can you know me?”

“You need to sit down,” Laurel said, still smiling. “I presume Tarina allowed you in here? The terrace is my favourite place in here, too. Sit. We have so much to talk about.”

Laurel. She seemed friendly and her smile never faltered while she said all those things. “Ryan told you about me,” I realized and sat down.

“Oh no,” Laurel crossed her legs and leaned towards me, ready to chat. She smoothed her white dress and shook her head. “I came here to meet Tarina yesterday while she was conversing with Xander and Ryan. I like to think I was at the right place at the right time.”

“What were they talking about?” I asked, popping up another candy in my mouth.

“Everything,” Laurel exaggerated. “By the time I joined them, the meet-greet was already over. Xander kept asking Ryan if he was an imbecile for bringing you to Odalis because humans are known to grow mad here, and Tarina was trying to indulge in more important topics of conversation. Can I get one of those?” Laurel pointed at the pouch I was eating candies from.

I gave her a candy. “So, I was everyone’s hot topic of conversation yesterday,” I affirmed. It made me a little queasy, that.

“Don’t think of it like that,” Laurel’s words came out slurry due to the candy. “Ryan came here for some reason and without mentioning you, I don’t think he would have been able to lay out his purpose.”

I shrugged. “He came here so that he could gain back his powers.”

“Maybe,” Laurel sat back in her chair. “But it’ll be beneficial to you too. Why didn’t you come here yesterday?”

“Long story.”

“Well, I’m glad you decided to come,” Laurel extended her arm for another candy. “Do you have some water?”

I did have a bottle of water with me, but it was almost empty. I took the green-tinted glass bottle out of my satchel and showed it to Laurel. It was funny, how I had brought drinking water and food with me from the Kingdom of Water (and by luck, found a pouch of candies, too), but didn't deem it necessary to bring any clothes.

“That is empty,” she said, standing up. “I’ll go get another bottle.”

I followed her out of the terrace and to the hall. “Aren’t you able to fill the bottle with the use of spells?”

Laurel took a bottle from a shelf and went over to the couch at one side of the hall, neither of us wanted to be at the terrace now that the weather was starting to get humid. “Only faeries can do pure elemental magic,” she said, sitting down. “We, however, use a combination of elements and spells — it is hard to explain.”

“Hmm, fascinating,” I sat beside Laurel. “Can everyone who knows the charm enter the house?” I asked. I had been thinking about that ever since I entered Tarina’s house.

Laurel gulped down her water and nodded.

“So, I’ll be able to come here anytime I want. What if Tarina does not want me in her house?”

Laurel took another swig of water. “Once the owner disapproves, you will forget the charm. You don’t need to worry, Venus. Our houses are secure,” she chuckled.

I let out an awkward chuckle. “I was not—”

I stopped noticing Tarina walk towards us.

<<•••>>

Ahh long time. Hope you enjoyed Chapter 37! Do vote and comment🐣✨

So, what do you think Tarina is going to say to Venus?