Witches at the Palace

Creakkk…  I peered into Naraja’s chamber. She covered her forehead with her hand and groaned, “Come in, Desdemona.” I gulped. Naraja seems to know whenever someone is at her door. I scurried into her chamber and looked at my toes. I knew a horrid consequence for spying on her was incoming.

“Desdemona, how many times have I reminded you and the other ten witches about not to spy on me?” Naraja complained. “Sorry, Naraja,” I apologized. “Um, do you mean eleven?” Naraja glared at me. Her face was pale and cold. “Ten. I cannot spy on myself,” she explained. “Oh.”

Clunk. A light knock coming from the door interrupted the conversation. “Ugh. Come in,” Naraja moaned. “Um, Naraja? There’s a message coming from Luna City; from Lunaria,” another witch, Lora, announced. Naraja grinned diabolically. “Gimme the letter,” she commanded. Lora handed Naraja the letter and hurried away. 

No one, and I mean NO ONE, wants to mess with good ol’ Naraja.

Maybe, except for me.

“Triumph! The day I have been waiting for has come. Witches?” Naraja cackled and then snapped twice. The ten other witches appeared at Naraja’s door and saluted. Naraja beckoned me over. I shrugged and stood at the back of the line. Twelve brooms flew over at Naraja’s command. We zoomed off to Lunaria’s palace.

Naraja paused at the Emerald Forest. “Alright, witches,” Naraja clapped twice. “Time for your broom’s real work.” The other ten witches stood in place while I was fiddling with my broom. “Desdemona…” she glared at me again. “Move it!” I was startled, and stood into place as fast as I could manage. Then, the other eleven witches zoomed towards the moon. 

I was still trying to figure out what was happening when Naraja glared at me (AGAIN!) and used a spell to pull me up. “Desdemona, you need to learn how to OBEY,” she complained. I rolled my eyes. “Whatever.” Then I sneezed. I’m pretty sure I’m going to catch a cold anytime soon. “Bless you--” Lora comforted. Naraja glared at her and mouthed, What ‘bless you’?! CURSE you!  Lora stared at Naraja in horror and replied, “Oh, um, Naraja, I-I’m so sorry!” Then she turned to me and whispered, “Curse you,” with a pouty face.

Then, Naraja started to lose her patience. “Where on earth is that hag?!” she cried furiously. She stomped around Luna City, making it storm. I looked at the terrified residents of Luna City and felt guilty. 

Naraja grabbed a puny little girl and threatened, “Tell me where Lunaria is or else I’ll turn you into a legless centipede!” She raised her wand, about to cast a spell on her. The girl responded, “Her g-grace is i-in the m-main room of C-c-cloud Castle! P-please don’t turn me into a legless c-centipede!” Naraja let go of her and threw the girl against the hard cement. “Looks like you have problems with your talking, eh? Pathetic.” Naraja cackled again and motioned the other witches to follow. 

We soon arrived at Cloud Castle. “Expected it to be locked. No biggie,” Naraja muttered as she shook the lock. She raised up her staff and exclaimed, “Lockaopenia!” Crash! The whole gate crashed into smithereens and then dissolved. “Come in, fellow witches,” she grinned with a sinister face. Then, she hollered extremely loudly, “WE ARE THE WITCHES AT THE PALACE OF LUNA CITY! LUNARIA, LET US IN! NOTHING CAN STOP US! MWA-HA-HA-HA!!!” The other witches (Except for me) echoed her diabolical laugh. 

Naraja turned back and mouthed at me, What are you doing? Start echoing! And then she glared. At me. Again. Typical. 

I was very appalled that, out of all the other ten witches’ voices, she could make out me not echoing. Naraja is Naraja, I repeated to myself. There’s no telling when Naraja’s here. So then I started echoing the mwa-ha-ha-ha....

Creep. The cloud door was opening! Lunaria was coming out! A beautiful woman with a dress laced in beautiful patterns stepped out of the castle. “Welcome, Naraja, and the other eleven witches,” she greeted. “I see you have destroyed our gate. Please, please come in.” Naraja, for once in a lifetime, looked bewildered. “What? You’re not here to fight?” she questioned, eyeing the woman suspiciously. The woman smiled. “Of course not, dearest Naraja! I am here so maybe for once the witches and the Lunarians can be joined. Come in, it’s meeting time.”

My eyes were locked on the beautiful sculptures and paintings in the castle. The woman (Or Lunaria, as I suspect) opened the twelfth door on the left and unlocked it. There was a sign on the door that read, Reserved for the Twelve Witches. Inside, there was a very long table. Five of us sat down on the left, and another five of us sat down on the right side. Lunaria sat on one end, Naraja on the other. Naraja sweetly informed me that since I was spying on her, I shall receive no seat. I grumbled and leaned on the wall.

“So,” Lunaria started. “Let’s see. Lunarians are very normal beings, but you witches toy with frog legs, toad tails, spiders, potions, cauldrons, and a lot of other peculiar materials.” Wow. I stared at Lunaria. She was correct. Naraja nodded. “So,” Lunaria repeated. “Would you like us to join you witches, or would you like to join ours?” Naraja grinned sheepishly. “I will have to think about that,” she wondered. I rolled my eyes. (Did I roll my eyes before? Is this an “again”?) “So,” Lunaria repeated again. Naraja lost her patience and slammed the table. “EXACTLY HOW MANY TIMES DO YOU HAVE TO REPEAT ‘SO’?” she mocked. Everyone in the room was startled. Even Lunaria looked frightened. However, she soon shook away the feeling and smiled. 

“I won't say it again,” she sweetly promised. “So-- I mean, um, next subject.” She gave us each a folder and we opened them. “On the right, there is a map of the whole Luna City, and on the left, there is a map of the Emerald Forest, where most witches live--” Lunaria had no time to react when Naraja screamed, “THAT’S IT! YOU’RE JOINING US!” Naraja grabbed her staff and enslaved all the Lunarians.

The spell can only be broken if Naraja is dead, and that is impossible, because Naraja is immortal. In fact, all witches are immortal.

From that day on, still the same today, all Lunarians have been enslaved.

By the witches at the palace.