Surprised, Cole hesitated, then wrapped his arms around Liana, returning the gesture. At a sudden urge, he put real affection into that hug. Out of the corner of his eye he saw Matilda rolling her eyes.
Liana stepped away, holding his hand for a second more before letting go. With a shy smile she turned away and swung herself onto Aquilla, and Philip followed suit, leading Bucephalus on a lead rope. Philip glanced at the city waiting for them, while Liana murmured. "Farewell."
Philip turned around and grinned. "Farewell, and brick on, you two!" With a wink, he spurred Traveler and started down the grassy field, Liana close behind. Matilda and Cole watched silently as the horses strode away down the waving ocean of grass and toward Stiix. Traveler and Bucephalus strode an eager gait, as if they knew their long rides would soon be over. Aquilla, on the other hand, walked more slowly...Perhaps she could feel Liana's emotions down the reins.
As if she could feel his gaze on her, (Cole wouldn't have been surprised if she could,) Liana turned in the saddle toward his direction. The wind made her silver-blond hair wave wildly, outlining her face in the golden afternoon light. She was nearly at the village and a long way from where he stood, but Cole could just barely make out her smiling face. She waved in his direction one last time, then turned away. They soon disapeared into the city.
Cole and Matilda stood there silently for what felt like a long time. The warm breeze played with the ends of Matilda's robes and strands of Cole's long shaggy hair. As the sun dropped deeper behind the horizon, the sky turned into a mixture of red and pink, while the few clouds drifting by were orange outlined in purple. The grass at their feet rippled and whispered softly.
The two of them traveled away from Stiix and headed toward the mountains. Not the ones they had just escaped with the skin of their teeth, but lower hills, ones where friendly hikers and mountain-climbers frequently traversed across. They left the rolling plains behind them and ventured back under the shelter of the pine trees, hiking the mountains quietly as the sun set.
It was when the sky was dark and the forest cast in shadows when Matilda finally broke the silence. "Do you believe in magic?"
Surprised, Cole glanced at her, then said. "With you, I don't know what to believe."
"And yet, you used a spell only certain wizards and witches know, and made a clump of earth protect us from a falling building."
He shrugged. "I don't know what happened back there...But because your wand was magic, and because I knew the words, that's why it worked, right?"
"Wrong." They stopped walking when she turned to face him. "Do you think just because you're holding a witch's wand and you say a few syllables you can will the mysterious forces of your world?"
"Uhhh....Yeah?"
She snorted. "Unless you're using an ancient language of a far off realm, mere words cannot summon magic. It takes something inside the wielder to touch in with the forces. Sometimes it's genetics. Sometimes it's because they're a so-called "Chosen One", (but that's a different story). Sometimes it's because they have a special relationship with a creature in touch with magic. Sometimes it's because they own an item of magic. And sometimes...They're just special."
Cole raised an eyebrow. "And you think I could be, as you say, "in touch with magic"? Is that why I was able to use that spell and make the earth move?"
Matilda shrugged. "I'm leaning toward genetics, but what do I know? The forces of this land work differently than from where I come from."
He wasn't sure whether he actually believed all this "hocus-pocus" stuff...But something happened that day, that was undeniable.
"If you go looking for something like that, you most likely won't get any results. But--" Matilda raised a thin finger, eyebrows quirked. "When you come across a crossroad, and you take a chance, the answer will probably present itself to you...Eventually."
"How will I know when I've found the answer?"
She cocked her head slightly. "When it changes your life forever."
Matilda continued walking down the cool pine forest, and Cole walked at her side, lost in thought.
* * *
The life around the fire was quiet that night, although in truth there wasn't much one could really talk about comfortably. It seemed all too quiet for Cole's taste without the cheerful chatter of Philip and Liana, without quips to share or Matilda snapping at them to quit chattering like starlings on a spring morning. The witch muttered to herself once in while, but otherwise was silent. Cole tried to force himself to not think about the siblings they had left behind, but he couldn't stop the ache inside.
He was picking idly at his fried rice that evening, a permanent scowl etched across his face. The campfire crackled softly nearby, casting shadows across the undergrowth and dark, looming trees. Matilda was sitting on a log nearby down something in a thick notebook. At one point she looked at Cole, and snapped the book shut and laid it on the log. She walked over to him and crossed her arms. "Aren't you hungry, kid?"
"Mmph." He growled half-heartedly.
She watched him for a second, then placed a hand on his shoulder. "Oi. Look at me."
Bemused, he raised his head and met her stern gaze.
"You need to eat."
"I'm not hungry."
She quirked an eyebrow. "Then you must be sick--Homesick."
He scowled. "No, I'm not. I don't want to go back to school--To go back to Dad."
She snorted. "That's not the kind of home I'm talking about, kid."
"I'm talking about where you belong, not just where you come from. For some people, home is where their life began; where they grew up. For others, it's something to search for, something to gain...Something worth fighting for. Somebody worth fighting for, to be precise."
Cole stared up at her while she continued in a matter-of-fact tone. "That's what you're looking for, kid. There's something inside of you that needs to be set free, and it isn't flatulence. So quit moping! The past is a great place to recall sweet memories, but don't become its captive, for being trapped in the past can only lead to bitterness and hurt."
Her almond-brown eyes met his green ones. "Are you going to quit feeling sorry for yourself, or do I have to give you a chore to do?"
They gazed into each other's eyes for a couple of seconds, then Cole looked down and nodded silently. He hated to admit it, but she was right.
"Good." She muttered in approval. She paused, then went over to the basket of food she had and pulled out a small package wrapped in paper. She ripped the wrappings off the reveal a heavenly-looking cake heaped with thick, white frosting.
Cole slowly grinned. "You know...I think my appetite's returned."
* * *
The next day found the two companions walking quietly in the peaceful pine forest, silently enjoying the bright day. Above the thick green treetops the sky was robin's egg blue and completely clear of clouds. Hot, golden sunshine filtered between the branches of the leaves and cast spots of dancing light across the fertile earth and green undergrowth. Birds chirped eagerly above, shrieking and singing across the forest. Once in a while a mouse, vole, or rabbit would cross the traveler's path. Whenever Cole caught sight of a fluffy bunny chewing on grass, he thought of the bandit Matilda had turned into a rabbit, which would make him chuckle each time.
When Matilda asked what he was laughing about, he told her, and she too chuckled at the memory. "One of my favorite tricks." She chuckled.
"Sometimes I wish I could learn magic. Looks pretty cool." Cole commented.
"Hmph. In order to learn magic properly, you need to be either a student or an apprentice for seven years since age eleven." She glanced at the shirt he was wearing, then chuckled softly.
"What's so funny?" Suspiciously he glanced down at the ratty school outfit he wore.
"Nothing, forget it." She paused, then said. "Though I would like to see how you'd do in--"
Matilda stopped, and Cole realized a new sound had entered the forest. He cocked his head and listened, wondering warily if it was more bandits. It didn't sound like horsemen, though...It sounded like...Singing?
"Everybody's got a water buffalo, yours is fast, but mine is slow! Oh, where do we get them, I don't know, but everybody's got a water buffalo! Ah-Wooooooooooo--!!"
"Jason, won't you zip it?!"
A group of five or six guys came into view, pushing past bushes and weeds as they shouldered heavy backpacks. They didn't look hostile, on the contrary; they were smiling and laughing as if they didn't have a care in the world. The man in the lead looked to be in his mid-twenties, a handsome, well-built man with shaggy blond hair and a permanent smile etched across his face. He caught sight of the two travelers watching them and waved at them, a walking stick in one hand. "Hi, there!" He called. He pushed his way through the green undergrowth with the rest of the group following cheerfully. "Glad to see we're not the only ones enjoying this gorgeous day!" He announced as he neared the two.
Matilda politely inclined her head to the men. "And you are...?"
"Ben Sakarine, ma'am," They shook hands. "These are my crew back there." He nodded to the guys behind him. "The one making all that unearthly racket is Jason." He pointed to a brown-haired dude in the back, grinning cheekily.
"How do you do." Matilda said coolly. "And may I ask what reason you have for trampling across the forest like a stampeding horde of grundles?"
Ben, unperturbed by the witch's sarcasm, laughed. "We're all just excited to climb the mountain nearby today. The guys are all pumped up and ready to scale the cliffs and to test our limits. It's going to be a blast! Hey," He turned to Cole, smiling broadly. "You should join us! It'll be a lot of fun, and we'll be more than happy to have another hiker with us! If your mother dosen't mind, of course." He added with a glance at Matilda.
The witch snorted at being called Cole's mother for the third time, but otherwise was quiet, to Cole's surprise. He looked at her, then glanced back at Ben, who was waiting patiently for an answer. The former opened his mouth. "I--"
"Don't have any climbing gear? Not a problem!" Ben gestured to the packs all the men carried. "We have plenty of equipment to go around."
Cole liked the sight of the group of grinning guys, all around his age and sharing an adventure together. He realized that the thought of scaling a mountain with these boys appealed to him...He would be exploring more of his world, hanging out with guys like him who liked to be outside and active, and testing himself. It sounded...Well, it sounded fun.
He looked at the group, looked up at the mountain rising behind the line of trees, then back at Ben. Hesitantly, he smiled. "That sounds cool."
"So how 'bout it, man?" Ben asked. "Wanna join us?"
Cole opened his mouth to answer, then stopped. He looked at Matilda, whose gaze was unreadable. Was she coming with him?
"And hey," The chatty hiker kept talking. "Your mom could even join us, if she wanted to!"
Matilda shook her head. "I appreciate the thought, but no...I don't make a habit of exhausting myself just for the brick of it."
Ben glanced back and realized one of the guys was having trouble with his backpack. "One moment." He turned away and left them.
"Everybody's got a water buffalo, yours is fast, but mine is slow! Oh, where do we get them, I don't know, but everybody's got a water buffalo! Ah-Wooooooooooo--!!"
Which one? The sense that you're heart will shatter if the character smashes or the sense of wanting to beat the brick out of the wicked little writer who smashes the character?
( meant to put "scene". ) No, the fact that Shauntel met his end.
"Everybody's got a water buffalo, yours is fast, but mine is slow! Oh, where do we get them, I don't know, but everybody's got a water buffalo! Ah-Wooooooooooo--!!"
"Everybody's got a water buffalo, yours is fast, but mine is slow! Oh, where do we get them, I don't know, but everybody's got a water buffalo! Ah-Wooooooooooo--!!"
Which one? The sense that you're heart will shatter if the character smashes or the sense of wanting to beat the brick out of the wicked little writer who smashes the character?
( meant to put "scene". ) No, the fact that Shauntel met his end.
Shauntel was, without a doubt, utterly the best and most well-developed character I have written in my life. He will be missed.
Matilda and Cole both faced each other. "Do you want to go with them to climb those cliffs?" The witch asked quietly.
He hesitated, then said. "Yes."
She snorted. "About time, too!" She planted her hands on her hips. "About time you left!" She repeated. "I'm getting sick and tired of you hanging around, you with your funny quips, your easy smile, your courage, your strength, your sense of responsibility and loyalty! I'll be glad to be rid of you."
He blinked, trying to process what she just said. "Uh--"
"You know what we were talking about earlier, kid? Huh? This is a crossroad...You've come to it, and I think you should do what you feel you want to. You want to climb a mountain with some new buddies? Go for it, because it could very well lead to your destiny. If not, well..." She shrugged. "You'll get a good workout in any case."
He looked at her. "You think I should go?"
"I'm not about to say it twice."
He felt a strange mixture of excitement and remorse inside. "So...This--" He swallowed. "This is goodbye."
"Obviously. As I said, I'm not about to exhaust myself just for the brick of it."
Cole looked away, fiddling with his pockets. It was just like yesterday. He was saying goodbye again. It was strange...Somehow, sometime, he had grown attached to the irascible middle-aged witch. Just as he had grown attached to the Green siblings, Philip and Liana.
With a painful twist of his heart, he realized he didn't want to leave Matilda.
The witch seemed to read his mind. "It was never a permanent deal, kid, you know that. You'll be glad to be rid of this grouchy old badger, eh?"
When he was quiet, she snapped. "Oi. Go have some fun. Have an adventure. Make new friends. Make new memories. Test your strength. Test your courage. Test your limits."
He sighed resignedly, then allowed a faint smile. "Yeah...OK. I will." Awkwardly, he held out his hand for a handshake. She took his hand, then saw it. Her eyebrows raised in surprise.
One of his fingers wore the ring Matilda had loaned him a few days ago, all the twisting and curving hoops carved together into one dark gray iron ring. The peculiar lines etched on the surface formed the picture of a flying dragon, raising its noble head to the heavens as it flapped its wings.
"You solved the puzzle!" Matilda exclaimed in what sounded like approval.
Cole smiled. "Yeah...I finally figured it out." He slipped the ring off his finger and handed it to her. "Here, you can have it back."
"Did you enjoy using it?" She asked, not taking the iron hoops.
"Well, the dragon kinda creeped me out, but yes, I enjoyed solving the puzzle. You were right; it took my mind off things when I needed it."
She waved a hand dismissively. "Then keep it. Think of it as a little momento from this old hag." She gave a wry smile. "I wouldn't want you to forget me as soon as you turned your back."
He smiled cheekily. "Matilda Ravencroft," He said. "I assure you, nobody could forget you easily."
She laughed out loud. "Hah! I believe it. Just as I won't forget you, Cole Brookstone...You and your Dracophobia."
He grimaced as he stuck the ring in his pocket. "Is that what it's called?"
Matilda chuckled softly and looked at the group of hikers standing around the guy having trouble with his backpack. They were still having trouble with the straps, and the other guys trying to give advice really weren't helping. Unsure of what to do, Cole and Matilda stood by awkwardly.
He finally turned to the witch again and asked. "So...Do you have any wise-man advice for me?"
She smirked. "Boy, the words "wise" and "man" don't belong in the same sentence."
Rolling his eyes, he said. "OK...wise-woman. Do you have any wise advice for me or something?"
"About what?"
"I dunno." He shrugged. "Anything."
"Relationships with pretty blind girls with silver hair?"
) No, the fact that Shauntel met his end. 
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