The Young Witch by Etta

‘ CRACK! BANG!’ went lightening on a stormy night. Raven hopped onto a stool and popped an ice-cube in her mouth. Her face lit up as a burst of cherry lime ran through her mouth. ‘Aunt Dorothy, this is HEAVENLY! My favourite one so far!’ Raven exclaimed, licking her lips.  Aunt Dorothy grinned and squeezed Raven’s hand.  ‘Thank you, darling girl’. Raven hugged her aunt tightly. ‘Now, time for bed’.

   

‘Aaaaaaaaaargh! Aaah!’ Raven’s screams awoke Aunt Dorothy from her deep sleep. Aunt Dorothy ran into Raven’s room.  Raven was sitting upright in her bed, trembling uncontrollably. Three chairs were dancing in the air, shaking dust everywhere. ‘Help’, cried Raven hoarsely. Aunt Dorothy shook her head. ‘Oh, my goodness, Blinky, Betsy and Boo come down from there at once1” Aunt Dorothy shouted. The three chairs whimpered and floated down to the ground sullenly. She sat beside Raven. 'Sorry honey, I should have told you earlier', Dorothy murmured.

      ‘Told me what?’ Raven paused to catch her breath. ‘That you’re a…..a ..a witch?’, she said incredulously.

      ‘Technically, yes. But a good one’, Aunt Dorothy replied, stroking Raven’s head.

      Raven fainted. The three chairs shrugged their armrests and bounced out of the room.

 ‘Clink, clink, CLASH!!! Raven woke up to her aunt doing the dishes.

      ‘Hello. You slept in. You must have been tired…’,  Aunt Dorothy’s voice trailed off.

      ‘What happened last night? Raven bit her lip thoughtfully.  ‘Oh’, Raven remembered, her mouth forming a perfect ‘O’.  ‘You’re a ..a witch..?’,  her voice trailing off.

       ‘I was hoping to tell you when you were a bit older’. Aunt Dorothy handed Raven a plateful of fluffy pancakes drowned in maple syrup and scattered with strawberries. Raven pulled a chair out and took a bite of pancake. ‘So what do witches do?’, she asked.  Aunt Dorothy smiled at her niece’s curiosity. ‘Well, I could turn you into a turnip’, she said.  Raven scrunched her nose up. She had detested turnips ever since she was a baby. ‘Other than that, they can do spells— but it’s not like making pancakes. Instead of ingredients, they use their minds. But to be a witch you have to have one tiny thing.  A birthmark.’ She turned to Raven and took hold of her hand. ‘And you, my darling have that birthmark’.

      Raven’s eyes opened wide as she stared at the perfectly formed brown circle on her pointer finger. ‘Funny how we witches store all that power in this finger’, Aunt Dorothy continued.  Raven quickly finished her breakfast and, after complementing her aunt on her cooking, said excitedly. ‘So, what are we waiting for?  Teach me some magic!’.

      By that afternoon, Raven had learnt the fundamentals of shape shifting and casting magic spells. She could even split bamboo in half.  Aunt Dorothy

was very impressed at how quickly her little niece had learnt witchcraft— it would have taken most other young witches years to pick up what Raven had learnt in just one afternoon.

‘Aaaaaaaahhhhh!’ Raven’s screams woke Aunt Dorothy up once again. ‘HELP! AUNTY DOROTHY! HEELP!!’ A ghost-like figure swept Raven through the glass doors of Aunt Dorothy’s house and into a dark, endless forest. Once there, Raven fell into a deep sleep.

‘Wake up! Wake up!’ Raven opened her eyes to see a pixie shaking her vigorously.

      ‘Where… am I…..and who are you?’. Raven said groggily. Then she remembered what had happened. ‘Something dragged me into a forest…a…a …ghost!’

      ‘Oh, don’t be silly’, the pixie said, rolling her eyes, ‘everyone knows ghosts aren’t real. That ‘thing’ that dragged you out of the house.  I suspect it was Esmeralda’.

      ‘Who’s Esmeralda’, Raven asked.

      ‘A witch, a terrible witch.  She took me away from my parents because I’m a good singer. She probably did the same to you. Do you have a talent?’, the pixie asked.

      ‘No, not really’, Raven said modestly. ‘Sorry, I didn’t introduce myself.  I’m Raven, Raven Bedlam— what’s your name?’

      ‘Saturn. And this is my little brother, Mars’. Saturn reached over to a cot where a tiny baby was sleeping. ‘You see everyone here has a talent’, continued Saturn. Raven looked around the dungeon-like room.  ‘See that fairy over there. That’s Rosaline. She is special because she is under an obedience spell. She does anything anyone tells her to do. And those two elves—Agis and Feanor— they’re very strong. Crystal over there can make gemstones out of pieces of grass.

And Mars, my little brother, he can make you see things. For example, he can make you think there’s an elephant in the room, but it’s not actually there’.

      Raven surveyed the sorry scene in front of her.  Rosaline was weeping in a corner. Aegis, Feanor were bent over, exhausted, while Crystal looked miserable. Suddenly, they heard footsteps in the distance.

      ‘Speak of the devil’, whispered Saturn, her eyes filled with terror. ‘Here she comes now’.  A tall, spindly woman wearing a long, dark purple velvet dress appeared through their prison door.  Her long, yellowing fingers clutched  a staff . ‘Stop that infernal noise Rosaline’, Emerald snarled, revealing her sharply honed black fangs.

      ‘Sorry, your Highness’. Rosaline replied, casting her frightened eyes to the ground.

      ‘Why don’t you stand up you numbskulls?’,  Esmeralda shrieked at Agis and Feanor. Then her eyes fell on Raven. ‘Ah, What do we have here?. Welcome to my prison’, Esmeralda hissed, her teeth gnashing, ‘You will stay here until you tell me everything your Aunt has taught you’.

       ‘No’, Raven replied with a resolve that surprised her. ’I will not’. Rosaline, Aegis, Feanor, Crystal and Saturn all gasped in unison.  (Mars hadn’t learnt how to gasp yet).

      ‘Is that so’, Esmeralda shrieked. ‘Insolent brat! I will come back tomorrow. If you don’t tell me what I want to know, I will tear you and everyone else in this rotten prison into tiny pieces’.  Esmeralda slammed the door shut behind her. Raven slumped to the floor ‘Wow, that was….scary’.

The next morning breakfast arrived consisting of bread and water. After everyone had eaten their tiny rations, Raven addressed the group. ‘We need to make a plan to get out of here’, she began.

      ‘But it's impossible’ said Aegis. ‘The walls are extremely deep’.

      ‘Well, I have an idea’, continued Raven. ‘Aegis, see that loose brick in the wall. Start pushing it.’ Aegis nodded and began pushing.  Clink!. The brick slid out, leaving  a hole in the wall. ‘I did it’, Aegis cried excitedly. ‘Great! Now Feanor push those other two bricks over there next to the hole’, Raven exclaimed. Feanor pushed with all of  his strength. Clink ! Clink! CRASH! Part of the wall collapsed, leaving a small opening. ‘Excellent! We can all fit through here’, Raven cried.

      ‘One down, to go’, Saturn said, morosely.

      ‘What do you mean?’,  Raven said, her excitement dissipating. ‘Are you telling me there are  walls?’ Saturn nodded, her head bowed.  When they had all climbed through  the opening in the wall, sure enough there was another wall awaiting them.

    ‘It doesn’t matter’, Raven said, undeterred. ‘Crystal, do your magic and turn this blade of grass into diamonds and rubies’. Crystal broke a blade of grass in half and a shower of precious gems fell to the ground.

      ‘Wow’, whispered Raven, marvelling at the beauty before her eyes. ‘Ok, everyone, let’s throw these jewels at the wall . Try to aim at the centre’. Everyone picked up handfuls of jewels and hurled them at the wall. CRASH!! The wall crumbled instantanously.

     ‘Wow, how did you do that?’, cried Rosaline.

     ‘Oh, I used a bit of extra witchy power’, Raven smiled, cheekily.  

The next wall was made out of glass. Raven instructed Saturn to sing a high-pitched note. Within seconds the wall smashed into tiny pieces.  The last wall was made of wood. Raven noticed that Rosaline was sobbing.

     ‘What’s the matter, Rosaline’, Raven asked, concerned.

      ‘Everyone else has got a talent. But I’m just obedient and nice. I never do anything naughty. I’m just no good for anyone’, Rosaline cried in despair.

     ‘But Rosaline, we’ve seen you do karate before’, Crystal said, putting her arm around her friend,  ‘you totally smashed Aegis’ blocks.’

      ‘Rosaline, I want you to kick this wall down. I know you can do it!’ Rosaline said reassuringly.

       ‘But it’s not nice to kick’, Rosaline said gingerly.

      ‘Just think of Esmeralda and how she talks to you. Doesn’t that make you mad?

       ‘She’s horrible’, Rosaline’s face contorted in anger.

       ‘Well use that anger and channel it’,  Raven said firmly.

       ‘But…but…’ Rosaline resisted

        ‘ROSALINE KICK THE WALL!’ Raven shouted. Rosaline closed her eyes tightly and kicked with all the force she could muster. The wall split in half and fell likes a great tree in the forest.

Soon they had managed to knock last wall down. ‘its amazing Esmerelda hasn’t heard all this hullaballoo by now’, remarked Feanor and Aegis.

    

They had spoken too soon. In that moment Esmeralda came bounding in,  her voice screeching. ‘I’m coming for you, you pesky little ungrateful miscreants!’. Raven turned to the others and said,

‘Everyone, make a run for it.  Leave Mars with me. We’ll meet you on the other side’.

     “But will you be alright?’. Saturn looked at her with concern

      ‘Yes, yes, now go’. The others quickly fled as Esmeralda descended on Raven.

      ‘ Now, now, now, what do we have here?’ Esmeralda looked Raven up and down.  ‘I should have known you were a troublemaker when I found out you were Dorothy’s niece. What have you done with the others?’ Esmeralda demanded.

           ‘I don’t know’, Raven said firmly, trying not tremble. Then she quickly whispered in Mars ear, ‘Let her think there’s a dragon chasing her’.

      ‘What did you say?’ Esmeralda hissed. She was about to strike Raven with her staff when, suddenly, her eyes filled with terror. 'Help! Help! Someone help me! I'm terrified of dragons!’, Esmeralda cried, and she began running in  circles as though being chased by an imaginary creature. Raven quickly picked up Mars and ran with him through the gap in the wall.

       Raven was overjoyed to see all of her friends waiting for her on the other side. And with them was Aunt Dorothy.

        ‘I’ve been looking for you all this time Raven, but it was only when I heard Esmeralda’s screams that I knew where you were’, Aunt Dorothy cried, clasping Raven in her arms. ‘ You had me so worried, Raven’. Aunt Dorothy wiped a tear from her eye. ‘Now everyone, hop on. We’re all going home’. Aunt Dorothy had brought her broomstick and it was big enough to fit everyone: Raven sat next to her Aunt, then came Saturn, with Mars on her lap, followed by Aegis, Feanor, Rosaline and Crystal. ‘

      ‘Wheee....’, squealed Raven in delight as they whizzed past the moon and stars.  Esmerelda's screams could still be heard when they arrived at Dorothy’s house.