The Shattereds

Chapter 5

Emily was sick for days. Servant Vine had been with her the entire time. At one point, she had even held Emily's hand. Finally, she started feeling better. She woke up and saw Servant Vine looking at her. "Servant Vine," whispered Emily.

"Yes. I'm glad to see you feeling better," she answered. Emily slowly sat up. She looked at Servant Vine.

"Thank you," said Emily. Servant Vine smiled. She hugged Emily, letting her lean against her. Emily sighed. She closed her eyes. "How long was I sick?" asked Emily.

"3 days," said Servant Vine. "You were bitten by a magic bug."

"I thought I wouldn't make it out. I couldn't keep up with Witch Broom," Emily told her.

"Did she disappear into the big oak?" asked Servant Vine. Emily nodded. "She does that every year. The student has to make their way back. Usually, they come back with a broken bone, but you came back with the bite, which is poisonous. I can heal broken bones, but not magic bug bites," said Servant Vine. Emily only nodded. Servant Vine let go of her. "Why don't you try to get up?" asked Servant Vine.

Emily slowly got up with Servant Vine's help. She walked with her around the room. Emily then sat on the bed. She was already tired. "I'll go get you some soup," said Servant Vine. Emily nodded, and Servant Vine left. Emily sighed. She wondered why Witch Broom had taken her into the forest during her first week. Didn't Servant Vine say it usually happened the second week? Her head hurt thinking about it.

Servant Vine returned. She put the soup on the desk. Emily sat down. Servant Vine pulled out clothes for Emily as she ate. Servant Vine waited next to the dresser. Within a few minutes, the soup was gone. Emily turned to Servant Vine. "Why don't you get dressed?" asked Servant Vine. Emily nodded. She grabbed her clothes and went into the bathroom to change. When she came back out, Witch Broom was with Servant Vine.

"I am very impressed," she said. "Usually the poison takes a week to get over, yet you did it in three days." Emily blushed. Witch Broom's eyes seemed to shine. I want to duel you," she said. Emily was shocked. "In three days, we will duel," she said. There was a look of horror on Servant Vine's face. Witch Broom smirked. "You better start preparing," she said. She then disappeared in a cloud of black smoke.

Servant Vine ran and hugged Emily. She held her tightly. Emily felt her hand on the back of her head. "No. Not you. You're too young," she said.

"Will she make me a servant?" Emily asked.

"Do you know how a real duel works?" asked Servant Vine.

"No," answered Emily. Servant Vine let go of her.

"It's a fight to the death. She will kill you, then erase your existence. You will then be faced with the same choice she gave us," said Servant Vine. "Say you want to die." Emily could see the worry on her face.

"What if we find a way to beat her?" Emily asked. Servant Vine took a step back, shocked. She didn't answer right away.

"I guess," she finally said. She thought for a minute. "The upstairs library," she said.

"What?" asked Emily.

"There's another floor no one except Witch Broom goes on. The staircases are all cursed, so it's hard to get up there. I bet one of those books can tell us how to defeat her," said Servant Vine. Suddenly, she winced in pain. She clutched her chest with her hand. Then, she stopped.

"What's wrong?" asked Emily.

"Nothing," Servant Vine said. Emily sat on her bed. Servant Vine sighed.

"I heard you're very powerful. Why haven't you tried to defeat her? You know about the upstairs library, right?" asked Emily.

"Remember. We don't have breaks. We can't read books. The words will just appear fuzzy to us," said Servant Vine. "Only the cooks can read the cook books. We can also read the servant spell books in our library. That's it." Emily didn't answer.

"I'm going to make a deal with the witch," said Emily suddenly.

"No," said Servant Vine immediately. "Never make a deal with the devil."

"I can free all of you if I win. I'll tell her if I lose...I'll be her servant for the rest of my life," said Emily. Servant Vine suddenly pushed Emily against the wall. She put a finger under Emily's chin and tilted her chin up. They looked at each other, eye to eye.

"You. Will. Not. I repeat: not, do any. Such. Thing. Do you understand?" asked Servant Vine. Emily looked her in the eyes.

"Fine. You're the one suffering though," said Emily. Servant Vine let go. She backed up. She sighed.

"I'm sorry," she said. Emily looked at her. Servant Vine let out another sigh. "I'm sorry. I don't want you to end up like me," said Servant Vine. She looked back at Emily. "You're so young. You need to live out your life. You don't need to be servant for your whole life," she said. She walked over to her. She put a hand on her cheek. She then pulled her into a hug. Emily hugged her back.

They held onto each other for a few minutes. When they let go, Servant Vine pushed some hair behind Emily's ear. "Servant Vine?" asked Emily.

"Yes?" answered Servant Vine.

"What are those red bracelets for?" asked Emily. Servant Vine looked down at them. Her sleeves usually covered them, but her sleeve had fallen down.

"They restrict my power. Witch Broom doesn't want any of their servants trying to rebel against her with magic, we can still use some spells, but we are very limited," said Servant Vine. She pulled her sleeves over the bracelets.

"Do all the servants wear them?" asked Emily.

"No. Not all of them have magic," said Servant Vine. "Anyone can be turned into a Shattered, even against their will." Emily stayed silent. "Never mind about that. We need to prepare your strategy for the duel."