Seemingly empty (part 4)

"I can see it now. Fairy lights strung up here and there. Healing herbs on that shelf. Potions and concoctions on the other shelf. Crystals set on the display table. Can someone get the scented candles? Thank you, place them next to the books. Light them too, will you? The cauldron goes in the corner...no, the OTHER corner."

A petite, young woman is running around, ordering the crew to help her organize out all the decors. Her bright, sky-blue eyes meet mine and she stops in her tracks. "Dani!" She squeals, hugging my torso tightly which could squeeze my soul out of my body.

Ruffling Angie's fluffy medium champagne hair, I manage to awkwardly side hug her with my free arm. "Hey, how's my little angel doing? I see that you are royal commander of the decorating committee." My hand gestures to the rest of the construction crew who has HAD IT with my princess charming.

I honestly don't blame their aggression towards her. She can be a bit TOO happy around people, to the point where she scares people off because it seems phony or fake when it isn't. Angie's ultimate optimism is just how she functions. That's why my realistic, yet pessimistic view on the world balances each other out.

Cyrus, one of my close friends, was leaning on the yurt's doorframe, raising an arched brow at us. "Well, this decorating committee is exhausted. That one has been working us to the bone. It's already sunset. We want to go home, please." His voice was tired, but polite, which I appreciate because I know he's restraining himself from using his usual sarcasm.

Evangeline falters, taking Cyrus's words too seriously. She walks up to him, lifting his hand up so she can examine it properly. "I don't see any bones..." her voice trails off and I chuckle. "Baby, he didn't mean that literally. He just meant that you worked them very hard."

"No kidding she worked us hard! We've been here since the crack of dawn to dusk. If not for out lunch breaks, we would've collapsed from fatigue. I mean, look at my hand." Cyrus shows his calloused palms, which were shaking slightly. "I'm shaking from the extreme hunger. I am completely FAMISHED."

"You and your crew are dismissed. Thank you for helping us out." Angie gives Cyrus the money that paid for their hard labor throughout today. He does a curt nod towards the both of us and leaves the yurt with his posse following him.

We leave after tidying up the dwelling house, by then it was drizzling quite a bit. Opening a clear umbrella, we stroll the dimly lit cobblestone streets. Angie's warm hands warmed my cold ones. She inches closer to me to avoid getting wet since a few raindrops got onto her silk rose gold jumper. Heavy fog drifted through the dark streets. I squint to try and find the inn we're staying at.

A small, hooded figure lurked nearby. I felt an ominous aura radiating from the stranger, so I pick up the pace, pulling Angie along. Once we pass by, they start following us slowly. Even though the fog made it hard to see, the unmistakable gleam from the dagger told me everything I needed to know.

I am not about to stick around and get murdered tonight. I turn and run into an alleyway. Not exactly my ideal escape route, but it'll have to do for now. Racing down the narrow passage, dodging the piles of stinky litter left over by the homeless which could possibly delay our quick exit. Evangeline looks over her shoulder and her eyes widen.

"Danica... we haven't lost them." She points to roof tiles, showing the stranger was hot on our trail. We haul our butts as fast as we can, unfortunately for us, there's a dead end. Angie doesn't give up yet, she pulls out a small drawstring bag, and throws a tiny smooth pebble at the wall which plinks against it, making a ripple like water.

Soon it turns into a vortex, and we jump in. We finally land in our inn room. I exhale, not realizing that I was holding my breath in the first place. "No matter how many times we use the transportation rocks, I will never get used to that feeling whenever we fall. I always expect that we'll come out soaking wet but then we don't and it's weird."

Angie silently giggles, then her face becomes completely serious. "True, but that situation was awfully odd, don't you think? Aren't the patrols out at this hour?"

"Probably, but heck, any felon can get away with a crime if they are sneaky enough. Though, I wouldn't recommend that you think about it too much. You'd be very sheltered if you haven't encountered someone dangerous at least ONCE in your life." I speak to her logically, balancing out the possible statics in my mind.

"But who was that? Why would they want to hurt us? Did we do something wrong?" Evangeline's innocent questions were conflicting to me, but I think about the answers carefully.

"I'm not sure who that was. Maybe it was an assassination attempt? A robbery? Something darker? We probably didn't do anything wrong, unless it was a thing against witches or through homophobic hate towards us."

She goes silent for a moment then whispers softly, "It's late. Let's get some rest."

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By the afternoon, the whole town was buzzing with excitement for the Autumn Festival. Vendors setting up their spots, food trucks aligned with hungry customers approaching, merchants with unknown items from foreign lands. Evangeline, Cyrus, his crew, and I were preparing for a tidal wave of people coming to our yurt to buy our rare finds with slightly reasonable prices.

Kids swarming in their creatively crafted costumes at the games section, challenging one another to win the biggest prizes. Parents frantically looking for their supposedly lost children who wandered off in the crowd. Upbeat band music playing in the main plaza, charming the pedestrians to join in on the dancing.

A fun-sized imp steps into our yurt. "Hello ma'am, how may I help you today? Would you be interested in some crystals? It's the new fall arrivals-" My voice was cut off when I got a good glimpse at the imp's pale-yellow face. Unmistakable scars crossing over the crimson eyes. The unruly jet-black hair in a bob cut. The dagger...

It couldn't be. It just couldn't be. There is NO WAY this is happening. I'm dreaming, right? This has to be some sort of sick prank.

"Why now... out of all times... how are you back?"

"Long time, no talk, Dani. Now, let's do this the easy way. Tell me, where are the ancient wrath reeds?"

"Morrigan, how could you?!"

-To be continued...-