The Sorceress and the Kitsune
Chapter 6:
In the following days, Hanako spent her time in her room, studying the old book and attempting magic. Just the feeling that there was hope began to change things. Twice, Vanessa tried to feed her the sleeping porridge, but Hanako refused it. Her nose could detect when it was the type of porridge that would force her to sleep. She just hadn’t thought to refuse it before.
Little by little, Hanako noticed Vanessa’s confident exterior beginning to crack and crumble, just like the castle she resided in. However time was on the sorceress’ side. This day the snow began to fall. It was a light snowfall, but it was a warning of things to come. Soon the snow would fall heavier. The river would freeze. The forest would go to sleep, and the Kitsune would be trapped with the sorceress.
It was late on that snowy evening when Hanako finally had a breakthrough. She had found a navigation spell two nights ago and had been feverishly practicing it.
“Navos!” she said for the thirtieth time. The wand moved in her hand, and pointed towards North.
The old book outlined many amazing concepts, from stories of mythical creatures, to stories of future predictions involving man leaving the world for days or weeks on end, then returning safely. One such story was that the world they all lived in had invisible energy fields, and that certain animals were aware of these fields and used them to navigate. An example was birds flying south for the Winter.
The Navos spell allowed a wand to act like one of these birds, and become sensitive to what direction North was. From there, the other three main directions could be deduced. It was a way to finally cut through the confusion Vanessa had placed in her mind!
It was a way out.
Donning scraps of old clothing and fabric she had found while exploring the castle, she set off in the middle of the night once more. Upon stepping through the gate, she immediately became confused and lost some of her confidence. It was cold, snowy, and dark.
“Navos!”
The wand pointed North, right towards the castle. The castle was north! The town and castle were parallel to each other, separated only by the forest. So, she had to head South.
A few steps into the woods and she became confused again.
“Navos!”
The wand pointed North. She continued South.
Vanessa’s magic was persistent. Hanako could only go a few steps at a time before losing her direction and needing to reorient herself. However she didn’t lose hope. She was getting somewhere this time, albeit slowly.
Hours passed, but every time she started to lose her sense of direction and her confidence, Hanako used the Navos spell. She didn’t know where the Town was, where she was, or indeed where the river was. all she knew was that when she said Navos!, her wand pointed back towards the castle, and she needed to go away from the castle.
It occurred to her that she might die out here.
It was better to die free then live as a pet.
The collar around her neck got less and less happy the farther she moved away from the castle. At first it began to tingle. Then it began to burn. It only felt like it was burning though. Still it felt real enough, and it soon stopped her in her tracks, screaming and crying. Somewhere in her confused and pained mind, it occurred to her that it wasn’t the collar causing the pain. It was the damn jewels!
The old book had taught her that magic was a property of living beings, and that it could be channeled through inanimate objects. The needles, that weird abacus, the collar around her neck with its embedded jewels, all mere conduits. She had to damage the conduit... break the link...
Gritting her teeth in pain, she reached down and grabbed a rock. She lifted it up and bashed it against one of the jewels on the collar. A sharp, intense pain jolted through her, dropping her to the ground. This actually encouraged her to bash that same jewel again, and again, and again, screaming in pain every time she did it. Let it kill her! She didn’t care anymore! She wasn’t going to have any more needles stuck inside her! She wasn’t going to become Vanessa’s pet!
One final bash, and the jewel cracked and fell off. The pain and burning sensation subsided slightly. Laughing despite the continued pain, she started bashing the next jewel. Her laughter continued, interleaved with yelps as she bashed the next jewel. Eventually it too cracked and fell off. She tugged at the collar with all her might!
The collar came free with a faint ripping sound. The pain immediately ceased. Hanako threw it to the forest floor, and continued to bash it with a rock, screaming with rage and laughter! She was free! Finally free!!
She wasn’t just free from the pain. Her confusion was also gone! She knew exactly where the river was, exactly where the town was, and exactly where that damnable castle was! After recovering a bit, she rose to her feet, and sprinted through the forest, towards her freedom!
She soon located the town, and what a beautiful sight it was, even in its dark and silent state. She walked into town, grinning, eyes alive with excitement! However this soon faded and she stopped dead in her tracks. Now that she was here, what would she do? There was no place for her to stay. She had no money for the inn. There was no food out in the open for her to steal.