Astith's Prophecy

Chapter 13

~Michael's POV~

I am currently waiting in the carriage that will take both the witch and me back to the castle. We're at the fork of the road where the fight happened.

I frown when I have to address the girl as the witch, but I have no other name for her.

I honestly want to ride with the siblings, but I need more information from the girl. With the siblings, I already know almost all about them as they are quite famous for their parents' death. The girl, however, she is famous for being the witch. No one knows about her name or why she became the witch. The only things that I know about her is that she makes a living by selling firewood and that she has a pet wolf following her.

With so little info on her, this makes me want to know the witch even more.

And I do like a challenge.

It is about to hit the two-hour mark since I've arrived. I am getting impatience when I see the witch emerging from the forest with her wolf following beside her. Besides the clothes that she wore the previous day, I see she has a big bag slumped over her shoulder. At her waist is a purple, sheathed sword that wasn't there yesterday.

I frown the second time today to see show little her luggage is. I didn't have time to think as the witch reaches the carriage. The man, who is this carriage's driver, jumps off from where he sat and moves to open the door. The driver wasn't quick enough as the witch opens the door. Her eyes narrow when she sees me already in the carriage.

I put on my best public smile and motion her to get in.

"Good morning." I greeted her.

The corners of her mouth turn down into a frown. Her eyes narrow even more. She didn't say anything as she tosses the bag on her shoulder in the carriage before climbing in herself. The wolf follows behind her. The witch drops herself on the seat across from me and the wolf lays itself across her lap. The driver hesitantly closes the door and goes back to his place.

It has only been a ten-minute ride and the silences is bothering me a lot. The witch did not seem bothered by the silence and just stares out the window, watching the scenery pass by. I can't take it anymore.

"Can I finally get a name?" I asked.

The witch and wolf turn their heads towards me eerily in sync. I didn't let it show on my face though.

"Do you really want to know?" the witch asked.

"Yes." I said. "We are going to be around each other a lot, so we might as well get to know each other now."

The witch sighs before going back to watch the outside again. We are back in silences. I feel myself deflating as I thought that I could have at least her name. Before I could accept defeat, the witch speaks up.

"TN." The witch mumbled.

"What?" I said, not believing what I am hearing.

"My name." she said vaguely. "It's TN."

For the first time in a long time, I feel myself giving a genuine smile.

"Well, TN," I said, getting her attention. "I hope we get along from now on."

TN stares at me, trying to look for something. I don't know what she is looking for, but it seems to satisfy her. TN looks down to where the wolf is and the same with the wolf looking up at her. They seem to be having a silent conversation before they turn their attention back to me.

"So," TN began, "what is your reason for me to go to this school you mention?"

"What do you mean?" I asked.

TN is quiet for a moment, thinking of a way to explain what she means.

"Why do you want me to go to the school?" TN rephrased her question. "There is nothing interesting about me besides the whole witch thing, but it seems to me you are interested in something else."

I am surprised by how docile TN looks now that she is talking to me. She wasn't glaring or hissing words at me. I would have thought she would at least give me the silent treatment throughout the ride, but it seems like she is willing to have a chat with someone who threaten her wolf.

"I can't really tell you." I said. "It's not like I am trying to keep it a secret."

"What does that mean?" TN asked.

"I do not have a solid answer yet," I said, "but I can only know if you are there for me to watch you."

TN's eyes go back to being closed off. The wolf seems to sense its master's mood as it growls at me.

"You want to monitor me." TN said. "You think I am dangerous."

"No," I quickly said. "It is nothing like that."

"Then what is it?"

I can see TN is getting defensive now. I can't tell her about the prophecy yet. I am not even sure if I am doing the right thing by doing this, but I need to do this for my land.

"I can't tell you." I said.

TN huffs before turning her attention away from me. We are back to where we were at the beginning of the ride. I did not speak to her again.

It has been an hour since we departed. With each minute passing, TN gets more restless. The same goes for the wolf.

"Stop the carriage." TN finally spoke up after our conversation.

"Why?" I asked.

"Just stop it."

I did what she said and tell our driver to stop. Before the carriage can completely stop, TN throws the door open. The wolf gets up from its spot on TN's lap and leaps out. TN follows suit and slams the door shut. I move the curtain to see TN and the wolf stretching.

"What are you doing?" I asked.

"Walking." TN said.

"Walking?"

"Walking."

TN did not explain any further.

"My Lady," the driver spoke up. "I don't think it is wise for you to walk all the way to where our destination is."

TN frowns at the way the driver addressed to her.

"I don't like it." TN said.

The way she says these things are vague. Both the driver and I don't understand what she means by 'don't like it.'

"What you don't like?" I said.

"The carriage."

That still didn't give the driver or me an idea what she means. TN huffs in annoyance.

"I don't like to be in the carriage." TN finally explained. "I don't like to be in one place for a long time."

We finally get what she means now.

"And," TN added, "Dark doesn't like it either."

It takes me a minute to realize she was talking about the wolf. I can see why she name it that. Its fur is darker than any of the wolves that I seen before. But there is something about this wolf that is different for regular wolves.

Dark seems to have powers just like a human can. It is rare for animals to have powers, so it is interesting to have this wolf to have any at all. I don't know if TN knows. I guess I'll have to ask her when we get back to the castle. That is if we make it there in time. If TN is going to be walking, we might be back at the castle by tomorrow afternoon.

I am actually okay with that as I am also not ready to be back at the castle. At least I got our driver to pack us food for cases like these. I am also really excited to camp outside for the first time in my life. I want to know what is like to rough it out.

I just hope I don't regret making this decision.

Written By: TN