Veronica left her mentor's fortress in hopes of finding Ludwig near their secret meeting place in the forest. It really wasn't that far out of the way but if it was she'd walk to the ends of the planet and back for him, she cared for him. He was her best friend; the gargoyle seemed to be the only creature to affect her like he did. She headed back over the rough terrain leaving the fortress behind her, as she lost herself in thoughts of him. She didn't just hope he was there; she needed him to be. The young dark sorceress carefully made it through the large rocks and rough ground with little to no difficulty. She hiked carefully in the night, truth be told she wanted to just be able to transport herself to him. It didn't take her long to reach the large granite rock formation near the creek. She arrived, looking around to the trees and crickets of the forest. Ludwig was no where to be found.

She slumped down in disappointment; she didn't want to miss him. She leaned against the huge granite rock formation, awaiting her dark guardian. She sat there anxious and fidgeting; nervously awaiting the arrival of the gargoyle, her most trusted associate and friend.

"Ludwig, where are you?" she whispered into the nothingness of an empty dark forest.

 Worry and fear began to stir within her as her eyes went completely as grey as little storm clouds hazing in the distance. She had never felt such a sensation in her life. She wasn't sure what to do next; advanced sorceress or not she knew if you weren't sure to wait, to listen first and act second. She closed her eyes and began to concentrate, thinking of nothing but her Ludwig. She wasn't attempting mind control, she didn't try it often. She was simply probing his mind, to see if he knew she was doing it. Veronica had a very strange feeling and just waited, looking at the stars she smiled.

The moment she did, there was a figure in the sky flying toward her. It was too far a way to tell at first. As the creature flying in the night got closer to her, she could tell it was him; her Ludwig was coming to see her again. She waved to him, resisting the urge to jump up and down with excitement. The young dark sorceress sat down on the rock formation to give him plenty of space to land on the ground. She watched him land, balancing gracefully until he met the soft patch of earth. He walked over to meet her.

"Dark one, there you are. Do I a favor will you refrain from poking around inside my head? It bothers me." He glared fiercely at her. 

 He wasn't truly that upset with her over it, but he liked his privacy. There were things she wasn't supposed to know about yet; mind probing was just that, magical invasion of privacy. He knew to put a stop to it now. He knew one thing about all mortals and even magical ones; curiosity. Once they figure out how to mind probe, read thoughts or thought displacement magic, they get curious. They wonder what else I can do. In Ludwig's opinion it was best to stop it before it starts.

Veronica was taken aback by this, first for fear of disappointing her gargoyle; and for the second reason, it had actually worked. She could probe minds. That thought got more than a few wheels turning in her own head. She just nodded slowly in agreement. Ludwig flashed her grin of pure wicked intentions. He glared at her for just a moment.

"Don't worry I am not angry with you in the least bit, you are only mortal after all."

Veronica's eyes widened.

"You are wondering how I knew that you were thinking that? You stay out of my head sorceress, and I shall stay out of yours." Ludwig replied to his mortal.

"I am sorry; I just wanted to find you." Veronica replied. Ludwig began to laugh, loud and for a long moment.

"You wanted to know if you could do it, if you had that power. "

"Ludwig, I thought you weren't mind probing?"

"I didn't I just know the dark princess too well." Ludwig commented to her. Veronica blushed ever so slightly.

"So, my dear sorceress why were you looking for me?" He asked the mortal with a smirk.

"A few things that were bothering me, I thought you would have a good idea of what to do."

"Well tell me mortal what the matter is?" Ludwig asked, concerned for her well-being.

"It has to do with that girl I don't like, the blonde haired blue eyed dimwit from the other side of the forest."

Ludwig nodded listening to her every word with great caution, he knew not to reveal too much for her; but give her hope and understanding. "Go on, tell me more." Ludwig pried without really needing to.

"I don't understand it, I try to stay away from the little wench but she seems to cross my path, and it literally makes me ill to be near her."

"I see, well dear I'm not sure. It is good of you to try and stay away from her. Is she a dark sorceress too? I know that has been known to happen with talented dark witches."

"No, she is a light witch. It gives me headaches And nausea to be near her."

Ludwig just paused a moment, unsure what to tell her. It wasn't his place to mention too much of her destiny to her. He knew how much trouble that can cause. He had done so, getting too close to other mortal decades ago and it had backfired, horribly. He just nodded to her before trying to think of something else to talk about.

"Have you seen the raven?"

"No, not lately. Why do you ask?" She lied.

"I just wondered his opinion. When you see him again ask him if he knows Terrance. "

Veronica shook her head yes, but the request confused her. She would of course do any little thing that her gargoyle would ask of her, without question. The two of them sat together on the great rock formation, talking of the light witch, for a little longer before he had to go off into the night. The dark sorceress hated this part of the evening, having to watch him go. It always saddened her more than she truly cared for. She could never fully admit that to Ludwig, she knew that. She didn't like it, but had no choice but to accept it. Her thoughts were going a hundred miles an hour as she slowly walked from the rock formation, back to her family's castle. It wasn't really that far, a few miles on foot at the most. She was rather surprised to see that she had made it to the courtyard behind her castle in no time. She hadn't been walking any faster than a turtle; she was in no hurry to return.

She put on the amulet instinctively; she knew it had to be from the raven. She wondered when he had been there. It was a very beautiful amulet. She had jewelry, but most of her jewels were locked away for her for safe keeping in the castle vault. This one was special she could sense it. She ran her fingertips across the jewel, feeling its smooth design. It was quite impressive. She looked down at the note that had been resting on her bed with the amulet. The note read:

Sorceress,

This amulet shall help you if you ever need it. I'm sorry to have missed you.

Your dark guardian

Blood rite-

Go out under the light of the moon for ancestral help

Chant

The blood of the fallen,

The blood of the few,

The blood of the fallen,

The once I once knew.

I call to thee in the dead of this night,

It is my given birth right.

Come to me the dark ancestors,

I am of the dark descendant's.

Aid me in the night, to keep my magic from a foe's reach,

Now I sat this ritual is complete.

Veronica took a deep breath, gazing at the moon before going back to her bed to sit down. She lit a few of her candles before working on her book of shadows for the rest of the evening. She did as always begin with meditation before slowly opening her book of shadows. She sprawled across the bed as she began to write about the run in with Gwen the prissy witch. She also wrote down that there was a new witch involved, twice the headache. She also began writing down the spell she had found placed on her bed, that it had been performed this night. She had filled more than she expected before she snuffed out the candles and crawled under the covers with her spell book. She slept peacefully long before the sun had risen from beyond the Galderian Mountain and through the valleys, waking up the other side of the forest. The sun always rose on their side and fell upon her side of the massive forest. She slept well into the afternoon, resting for whatever the night would bring for her. 

"What a pleasant surprise to see you here." Veronica greeted him. He simply nodded to her, tipping his beak to her.

"Sorceress, I see you found my gift for you."

"Yes, and I love it."

"Did you perform the ritual?" The raven asked.

"Yes, oh before I forget a friend of mine, another guardian wants to meet you."

"Who is it?" He replied in an almost defensive manner.

"He's a gargoyle; he asked if you knew someone named Terrance?"

He paused for a moment before finally answering her.

"Alright, when would you like to have me meet your friend?"

Veronica smiled, a bit of an ironic grin. "I was actually on my way to meet with him in the woods."

"Oh, really? That's good timing on my part isn't it?" The raven responded in a joking manner.

"Well then why don't you just come with me, I'll introduce you to him."

"If I must, I'll go." The raven spoke with a hint of sarcasm.

"I'll meet you in the courtyard, ok?"

The raven nodded, hoping to get this over with; preferably sooner than later. The young dark sorceress grabbed her knapsack and left her bedroom chambers, nearly flying down the marble stair case, with grace and perfect ease. She darted through the kitchen nodding to Agatha as she passed by the old cook, making a bee line for the back door and outside into the fabulous court yard.

The raven was sitting there perched on the edge of the fountain; the center piece to the courtyard.

She nodded to him; he swooped down and landed on her shoulder. He noticed she was still wearing the amulet he had given to her. The thought made him sneer a bit. She needed to wear it; he hoped that she would keep it on. There was more to the talisman than he had led her to believe. The two of them headed into the dark, massive forest together to meet with the gargoyle. It intrigued him, but the raven couldn't tell her that. How did this gargoyle know to call him Terrance? It perked his curiosity; he wanted to know who it could be. He had known a few gargoyles in his time. He was an immortal shifter; he had lived much longer than most humans would hope to see.

DrUy