Witch Doctors Inc: SEASON ONE (Completed!)

Part 3.5

Bronna returns, still grumbling about Ivy. "Maya Cerberus this, Maya Cerberus that. My sister is worshipping some outsider celebrity with pink hair. And, apparently, a bunny she dresses up like a unicorn."

"She'll grow out of it," Addy assures her.

"You didn't," I mutter.

Bronna eyes Addy's snake charms with distaste. "Of course, sharima," she replies, without even a hint of resentment.

"I'm sorry if I encouraged her, Bronna. I won't wear charms in my hair again."

"Why not? Your mother does," I make the mistake of saying.

Bronna stiffens immediately. "The Hamima has lost a husband and a young daughter. It is not your right to judge her."

I hold my hands up in surrender. Is she saying Queen Irine's taste for glamour is due to grief?

Onyx settles into my lap. The queen's grief is hers alone to mould.

I feel bad now. Could she really be charming her hair blue because she misses Lima? It's not the way I would do things. But then I'm not her.

Onyx rises from my lap. Are you quite alright, Adamantine? You look rather green.

Addy grimaces. "Actually, I feel a bit ill. There was something off with the sautéed beetles. Did you notice?"

I did not try any. I do not fancy crispy things.

Bronna's eyebrows come together in a frown. "Are you talking to the cat, sharima?"

Addy starts. "What? No, of course not. It's a game we play. We pretend Onyx can talk."

"Sharima..." Bronna's gaze is stern. "I suggest you do not play that game anymore. We do not want people to say things."

"What things?" I demand.

"It's nothing," Addy says quickly. "There's an old legend about witches talking to cats, that's all."

"The sharima must be free from that kind of gossip," Bronna says firmly. Her expression softens. "You do look a little off colour, sharima. Perhaps it is time for you to retire to your tent."

"But the party's still going," Addy protests.

Bronna shakes her head. "You have become accustomed to city food. Our food no longer sits well with you. It's something we'll have to change, but for now I suggest you rest."

Bronna gets her way. A few minutes later me, Addy and Onyx are in one of the tree tents, huddled in the glow of an aquamarine candle. Addy's tucked into bed. Her face is a weird green in the candlelight. "I don't think we need to make all this fuss," she says. "It's just a slight stomach upset."

I can't imagine anyone not having a stomach upset after gobbling down sautéed beetle.

Perhaps they were the wrong beetles.

Addy shakes her head. "Bronna picked them herself."

Onyx curls up at the foot of her bed. I ease myself into my own hammock. I slept in a hammock when I was training in the Crystal Hills, so it's nothing new to me. The Crystal Hills, however, didn't have quite so many weird and wonderful bugs.

Party music still thumps outside. There's a loud pop, and a cheer goes up. Addy pouts.

I pull the covers up over my shoulders. My bug repellent charm had better work.

*

I wake up with a scream. There's a fat glocha slug in my hammock, grinning at me with yellowed teeth.

Onyx leaps off Addy's bed. What? Where's the danger? He spots the glocha and rolls his eyes. Must you wake the entire tribe every time you see a slug?

"This bug repellent isn't strong enough." I scramble out of the hammock. The glocha drops to the floor beside me. "The spell needs more fire quartz." I turn my eyes to Addy's hammock. "How's she doing?"

Better. A few other people have reported feeling ill after trying the beetle dish.

So there you go. Bronna did pick the wrong beetles then. So much for Miss Perfect.

Queen Irine sends Bronna to fetch us. I don't know why she doesn't just come to us herself. It's a bit pretentious if you ask me, but then again no one's asking me.

The queen's tent is surprisingly simple. There's a hammock at one end, a small table in the middle, and a mirror that sits on top of a chest of drawers. There's only one painting on the wall. It's of a very young girl with hair the same butter-yellow as Addy's. There's a flower in her hair, and she's smiling.

Addy's eyes widen when she sees the picture. "It can't be..."

Queen Irine appears in the doorway. She smiles at the look of astonishment on Addy's face. "She always looked best with a flower in her hair," she says.

Addy's eyes are welling with tears. "But I thought..."

Her mother takes her hand in hers. "Madelima deserves to have her picture on the wall," she says. "It gives me much joy to see her face first thing in the morning."

"Oh, hami. It's a beautiful picture. Lima did love those big white flowers."

"Do you remember the time she came back with five of them in her hair? We all thought she was wearing a hat." Queen Irine laughs.

Addy wipes away tears. "Oh, I do remember," she says, her voice still wavering. "She looked so silly but you let her wear it to dinner."

I shuffle awkwardly.

Queen Irine sees me and straightens. "There is no reason for you to stay, Lily. I will take care of my daughter from here. Addy can bring her hammock into my tent."

"Hami!" Addy's horrified. "It was just an upset stomach. I'm fine now, I promise."

Queen Irine purses her lips. She's looking at me like I poisoned the beetles or something. "Alright," she says finally. "I suppose you consider yourself too old to stay in your mother's tent. But I expect you to take care of her, Lily. You must refrain from the usual antics. Remember, this is not Witch Doctors Inc."

I keep the smile frozen on my face until we've exited the tent. Onyx is next to the tent flap, where I assume he's been eavesdropping the whole time. Hee hee, he laughs gleefully. She really truly hates you.