Witch Bewitched (COMPLETE)

Chapter 42

The world was massive. Misa found herself looking up at a tree thrice her width and a hundred times her height. An illios tree. She stared up at it in wonder, watching how its bark whorled around it, and marveling at the thickness of its branches. They would be so easy to climb.

Vibrant green leaves waved at her, and Misa beamed up at them, tuning into their silent conversations.

A giggle resounded from somewhere above. "Come on, silly! Aren't you going to come up?"

Misa grinned at the voice. "Just you wait! I'm going to get to the top!"

"Ha! I'll laugh if you fall off! It's a race then!"

Not wanting to be left behind, Misa reached up for the first branch. She heaved herself up, using chubby hands to grip the rough bark tightly. She jumped for another branch, her feet finding purchase on the uneven trunk of the tree.

"Storelia belha modhor!" The child's voice yelled. The tree began to shake, and Misa looked up to see a little girl in a puffy pink dress riding a branch.

"Hey, that's cheating!" Misa yelled. The girl with flowing brown hair only giggled in reply.

"Girls!" A strict, angry voice sliced through their play. Misa's heart dropped when she looked down and saw a beautiful woman with a crown of flowers resting on her head. "Get down from the tree. Now!"

Misa's branch trembled. It grew out of the trunk and plummeted downwards. Misa screamed, her stomach dropping from the speed. If she didn't do something, she would be splattered all over the rocky path. Her hair flung wildly past her face. The ground drew closer...

~ ~ ~ ~

Gasping, Misa jolted up. Sweat sheened her forehead and plastered the shirt against her back. She flipped the corner of the blanket to expose her legs to the cold night air.

That dream...it was so vivid, and it had felt so real, unlike anything Misa had experienced before. Instead of the abstract, strange, warped reality she usually saw, this had been so real. As if Misa had done it before. She could even remember the words the girl had spoken to grow the tree. Storelia belha modhor.

Misa was aware of how dry and sticky her mouth felt. Water. She swept her legs off the bed and slipped off. Her nightdress swept over the floor. It was still in the room where she'd left it the last time she was here. It seemed so long ago.

Quietly, Misa crept towards her door, easing it open without making a sound. The floor was dark, save for the dim, blue moonlight casting through the windows. Misa considered going back to find a lantern but decided against it. The moon would have to do.

The house groaned. Goosebumps covered Misa's skin as she looked down the pitch blackness that engulfed the bottom of the stairs. Something was watching her—perhaps it was Tika's spirit. Misa's throat felt drier than a desert. All she had to do was make it through the darkness. That was all.

Shaking off her unease, Misa forced herself to go down one step. The wood creaked. Her pulse pounded against her temples. She took one more step. Then another. The comfort of the moonlight reached only her face. She hesitated because the next step would cover her in darkness.

"Misa?"

Misa shrieked. She jerked away from the voice with her hand against her racing heart.

A silhouette stood in front of the door next to Misa's room. For a second, Misa thought she was seeing Tika's ghost. But then, the figure reached inside the doorway and pulled out a lamp.

"Royle!" Misa hissed. Her heart was still thumping against her ribcage. "You scared me!"

"I heard you leave your room," he said. "What are you doing?"

"I wanted some water," Misa replied. She gazed down at the blackness once more, wondering if she needed the water anymore. "Did I wake you?"

He paused. "No."

So, he had been awake this whole time?

They stood, frozen in place. Misa stared at the darkness before her, still contemplating if she wanted to go down or not. Then, Royle moved, the floorboards creaking under his weight. Warm light washed over Misa as he approached.

"It's dangerous to go down the stairs if you can't see them," Royle said. He put a hand on the small of her back, urging her forward. Misa swallowed, ignoring how safe she felt with Royle next to her. Her steps were more confident with him by her side.

Royle accompanied her to the kitchen, where Misa got a quick drink of sweet water. It slid down her throat, washing away the uncomfortable dryness that had settled there.

"Um, thank you." Misa looked away, placing the cup on the sink. "For the light."

When she turned back around, she found him shrugging. "It's nothing."

"So, you can't sleep?" They made their way back. Misa unwittingly stayed close to him, trying not to think about the darkness looming just beyond the bubble of light she was in.

"No."

They made their way back up the stairs. Silence beat down on them, and Misa pondered over what she could fill it with. The exhaustion was returning, and with her throat satisfied, her eyelids had become heavy.

"Why can't you sleep?" Misa immediately regretted the question. The answer was obvious. Someone close to him had passed on. How could anyone sleep after something like that?

And still he gently answered, "There's too much to think about."

About his plans. About his traumatic past. About his loss. Misa was sure Royle was just as weary as she was, if not more, and she was positive he was trying to rework a plan to get close to Nisha. And more likely than not, the spell that was bound to him plagued his every waking moment.

When they reached their respective doors, they continued to remain still and silent, trying to think of what else to say.

"Um, goodnight," Misa finally said.

"Goodnight." Royle sighed. He fiddled with his doorknob.

Misa clicked open her door. She glanced at Royle, and before she could stop herself, uttered, "Do you want some company?"

The captain halted all his movements. He tilted his head. "Company?"

Misa touched her cheeks to find them heating up like she was having a fever. What had she done? She should have just kept her mouth shut.

"It's just that...I find it helps to have someone to talk to when you're troubled." She saw the tip of disagreement in his frown and spoke before he could reply. "I mean, you don't have to talk about what is troubling you. I'm just saying that it can be a helpful...distraction?"

The silence was deafening. She was making it worse. She should've shut up after the invitation.

"If not, nevermind." Misa chuckled awkwardly. "I don't know what I was saying. Sleeptalk, I suppose. Goodnight, then, Captain." She pushed open the door, ready to bury herself in the blankets and die of embarrassment.

"Actually, yes."

Misa blinked in surprise. Was she hearing things now? "What?"

"Yes," Royle repeated. "Some company would be nice."

He twisted his door open and stepped inside. He peeked at her when she didn't move. "Are you rescinding your offer?"

Misa smiled, dropping her hand from the knob. "Not at all."

Her heart fluttered as she walked through the gap the captain had made for her. The bed was still made, confirming Misa's thoughts.

"You weren't even trying to sleep," Misa said, sitting on the mattress.

Royle set down the lamp and took a seat on a wooden chair. The light illuminated the papers scattered across the desk. "Like I said, I had too much to think about."

"Royle, that can't be good for you." Misa patted the space next to her. "Try to get some sleep. You can't function if you're sleep-deprived."

"What are you suggesting, Miss Carpenter?" Royle gave her a pointed look. Misa flushed.

"I'm not saying anything, Captain. You need to sleep. Here, let me show you." Misa cleared her throat, hoping to clear the tension in her voice. She slipped her legs under the covers. "Just lie down like this and close your eyes."

"I know how to sleep," came his dry reply.

Misa huffed to hide her embarrassment. She turned on her side to face him properly, tucking her arm under her chin. "Doesn't seem like it to me. When was the last time you got any sleep, Royle? When you were drunk?"

He let out a soft laugh. "You got me there."

And still, he made no move to join her on the bed. Instead, Misa saw him glancing at the papers on his desk.

"Royle," she said. She wasn't sure why she was so concerned for him, but it was her responsibility as a friend to help him when he was struggling. And the best way she could think of helping him right now was to distract him from his worries.

He only looked at her in response.

"I'm serious." Misa pushed herself up. "Don't make me drag you here. No more planning, no worrying about the future, no working. We can talk until you fall asleep, okay? Then, I'll leave. So just...get some rest. Please?"

It took at least another minute before Royle finally listened. Reluctantly, he joined her, laying on top of the covers. "Happy?"

Misa nodded. It would have to do. "Yeah."

There was silence again. Thoughts of Tika, of what happened in Harthem flitted in Misa's mind. She forcefully pushed them away. No. She didn't want to think about any of her problems, not right now. And she could tell Royle had fallen into his thoughts again.

She mustered the courage to ask, "What are you thinking about?"

Royle sighed. "Everything, I suppose."

He left it at that, unwilling to elaborate. Casually talking to him was going to be harder than she'd thought.

"So, um..." Misa traced her finger along her pillow, trying to think of anything to talk about. A distraction. That was what they both needed. "You said you grew up on a farm?"

"Yes."

"What was it like?" She was genuinely curious.

Royle hummed in thought. "Large fields of stalks, fences after fences, and so many livestock. My father started with chickens and sheep, then tried pigs and cows. We once had at least six cattle at once, but the herd was struck with some type of disease. When we lost the animals, the crops were all we had left."

"It sounds like you had a lot of fun growing up," Misa remarked. She didn't know if she kept the envy out of her voice.

"I suppose. My brother and I were expected to pull our weight since we were half. Father never wanted us to take what we had for granted."

Misa wished she could see what he was talking about. The fields, the animals, the children. She dreamed of painting and capturing the essence of what Royle reminisced about. Then, a realisation dawned on her, a certain curiosity about the man laying before her.

"Royle?" she prodded, tentatively.

"Yes?"

"What dreams have you had?"

"Dreams?" He seemed uncertain, confused, as if he'd never thought of it before.

"I know you want to get rid of Nisha, but what did you want to do before? What would you have given anything to do before Nisha destroyed your village?"

Royle turned over to face her. His eyes shone with some kind of distress, some kind of pain that arose from Misa's question. "What's the point of it now? When this is all over, I won't need a dream anyway."

Misa's stomach dropped at the resigned tone in his voice. She recognised it all too well. He had given up. His only goal was to kill Nisha, and he had accepted that he would die trying.

"Royle, no," Misa insisted. She inched closer to him and touched his cheek. "Tell me what you've always wanted to do. What you've dreamed about. And it can't have anything to do with Nisha."

"Misa," Royle murmured. "I can't. I can't be distracted like that. If I start having dreams again, if I start wishing for something again, everything I've done will have been for nothing."

"Just think about it, Royle. You don't have to give me an answer now. Promise me you'll think about it?"

He put his hand over hers. "Fine. I promise."

"Good." Misa held back a yawn. "Now, tell me more about the farm."

"You look exhausted," Royle said softly.

"Mhmm..." She was. The tension that kept her awake was slowly releasing, and the sleep she staved off flooded back. "Maybe I should go back to my room."

"Do you want to?"

A weight hung from Misa's eyelids, and it was so warm under the covers. "No, not really."

"Then, stay."

Misa was too tired to resist, and part of her was relieved that he asked because she wasn't sure she would have fallen asleep again with the eerie, creeping knowledge that a witch had died only a few rooms away if she was all alone in the dark. Despite knowing she was going to regret it in the morning, she nodded and closed her eyes.

"Okay."

"Goodnight, Misa." Royle said, and Misa sank back into the world of strange words and trees that never stopped growing.