“I’m going with you.”

That’s the first thing Ward states to her when she and Haze propose leaving. His adamance is cute and touching, but they both know it isn’t his choice.

They turn to the princess.

“I apologize Ward, but I need you here,” Princess Aziza grimaces, obviously feeling bad, but there’s no way around it.

Nova gets it. With Don and Sebastian back, Princess Aziza needs more guarding. With how Haze’s shoulders drop in relief, Nova can tell that Haze feels better with Ward there to be another set of eyes for her. There are a lot of unknowns with Don’s evil plan. It’s best that someone be with the Princess.

Who knows. Maybe Don wants to take out the royals.

That’s why they need to do this fast.

“Nova, I’m not going to just sit here while you risk your life,” Ward argues.

Nova takes one of his wildly waving hands, “Yes you are because you are going to be there with your best friend. For your best friend.” She pointedly looks to Princess Aziza. He practically deflates, the fight he just had, gone because of logic.

“But—“ he starts, but she cuts him off before he can say another word, “Ward, I’ll have Haze with me and Faira as backup. You don’t have to worry about me. I will be coming back.” The ‘to you’ is unspoken but not silent.

It travels between their gazes.

“Ok. I guess I shouldn’t be worried. You’ve got your Starshine.”

It’s the smile that he sends her way that melts something inside of her. Maybe a wall.

OoOoOoO

“So how do you know this girl?” Faira asks.

They are outside the castle property and just entered the Wild Thicket boundaries. It had been quiet with just the sound of their shoes on the ground until she disrupted the rhythm.

“It’s not difficult to have run-ins with fellow witches,” Haze says. Nova can see Haze in her natural habitat now. The trees and the plants and the animals light up her sister. “Cedar’s mom is a prominent well-connected witch. She is known to be very knowledgeable,” Nova explains.

“Our mom used to know her mom,” Haze supplies for further explanation.

Her excitement is palpable with the smile permanent on her face and an extra bounce in her step.

Faira has always been a questioning soul, so Nova isn’t surprised when she asks another inquiry, “What makes you think she’ll have any information about Don?” Nova respects that quality since you can never have too much information. That’s how you can prepare for battle.

Unfortunately for Faira, their path isn’t paved with certainty. “We don’t. It’s really a long shot. But the possibility is better than the whole lot of nothing we have currently,” Nova replies.

“I thought your talk with the gua—Devland would give way for some evidence,” Faira stutters out, correcting herself. After Nova told her and Ward about what Devland said——that he was spelled by Don——both of them promised to use his name since he did nothing wrong.

He was just a puppet. One that had his strings pulled in a very harmful direction.

“It’s a confirmation, but we both know that won’t be enough. His testimony of Don being the last person he spoke to won’t help if he has already been discredited. At the end of the day, without proof, it’s our words against Don. And it doesn’t take a genius to foresee how Princess Aziza’s parents will lean.”

It goes silent again. Well…not silent since the sounds of nature fill the air. Crickets chirp a song. The rustle of leaves. Various animals could be heard.

So what she means is that they stop talking for a bit.

Faira could be processing what Nova said. Because it’s true. And while Faira understands the unfair bias now, it’s not how she grew up.

And if Nova’s learned anything, it’s that unlearning something you’ve been taught takes lots of time and even more effort.

Anyone who says it’s easy is lying.

It’s a blissful twelve minutes of just existing. It’s what she and Haze are used to. Existing in the Wild Thicket. It’s as natural as breathing air. It actually hurts Nova’s bones to finally relax with how tense she is in the castle.

They happen upon a dead end. The trail they were following has no distinct leads.

“Which way now?” Faira asks, all of them having stopped for the moment.

Nova and Haze simultaneously shrug. She can see and hear Faira’s alarm bells ring. Like she mention before, having information is power. “How do you know if we’re going the right way then?”

“The Wild Thicket protects the life within its borders. It changes. Even if we knew it once, it isn’t the same anymore,” Haze says.

“You have to go by instinct,” Nova adds. It isn’t helpful for Faira, but it’s all they have to tell her. For them, navigating the Wild Thicket comes as first nature. They grew up hiding and running through them. It’s something only being who live in this environment can fully grasp.

Haze leans down and feels the dirt, the grass around her instantly perks up, as if they welcome her presence. Her eyes fill with lavender as she uses her magic to see something that neither Nova nor Faira can visualize. “I can feel her signature. We still have a bit to go.”

She jerks her head to their right. With that motion, a sliver of a path opens up from the heavy shrubbery. To the naked eye, it is barely registers as a path with the overgrown plants and crowding branches.

But to someone looking for it, it’s there.

OoOoOoO

They’ve been traveling for a few hours, turning and twisting into different directions, either guided by Haze or the woods.

The sun is high in the sky now, beating down on them. Thankfully the trees have stretched over to shade them.

To Faira’s credit, she doesn’t complain about the unknown route and just stays quiet with that huge backpack. Nova wonders what all she has in there.

Whatever it is, she’s glad that Faira has it. She has a feeling that Faira prepares for everything. Which is useful to have on your side in the Wild Thicket.

Nova loves this place, but it has its dangers. Ones that even seasoned dwellers face.

Just as she is scanning their surroundings, something in the air shifts. It’s thicker and harder to breathe.

The noise dies down, still there as a hum but drowned out. Everything is softer.

“Wait,” Nova orders, thrusting her arm out to stop Faira from walking.

Haze feels it too. “She’s close,” she informs them. It’s a warning.

The closer you get to someone means the higher likelihood of something harmful may occur. Like they said before, the woods protect its inhabitants.

And the inhabitants will protect themselves.

Before Faira can get off another question, the ground beneath them changes form. Instead of the solid grass floor, it morphs to a thick liquid mud. Their feet begin to sink, immersing them in a coat of brown mud.

“It’s quicksand,” Faira announces. She isn’t panicked, which is probably a good sign. Panicking in quicksand only kills you quicker.

Nova takes out her sword and impales it into the nearest tree. Haze says something about the health of the plant, but Nova will worry about that later…when she isn’t getting shorter.

She lifts herself, using the sword as leverage. Faira is doing the same with a rope that she must have been carrying in her backpack. She had lassoed around a high branch.

Haze’s lavender mist spreads around her and the dirty mud becomes crystal clear water. She happily swims to the edge and sits on the edge, keeping her feet in the mini magic made pool.

As Nova dangles, trying to swing herself so she would land on the ground and not in the water, she hears the littlest of scuffles. It’s footsteps. “Haze and Nova. What a surprise. To what do I owe the pleasure?” A voice rings out.

Nova gets to the ground and there she is. Cedar Callaray. She looks the exactly the same as the last time they ran into her. Her posture exudes confidence, straight and poised, but she actually is a very quiet, nervous girl. Her glasses glint in the sun as she pushes them back up onto the bridge of her nose.

It isn’t her power that makes her intimidating. It’s her knowledge.

Her fingers tap at her side as she awaits an answer.

Faira joins Nova. Haze stays out, her feet still kicking in the water.

“Cedar. We came to see you,” Nova responds flatly. Just because they need her, doesn’t mean she has to be nice.

Cedar ignores Nova and glances at Faira. Her eyebrow raises in surprise. “Faira. How do you do?” Cedar asks, having recovered and already flaunting what she knows. That’s how she hides her anxiety—she puts on a show with her information.

Faira physically takes a step back. “How did you know my name?”

Nova understands the suspicion. While Haze is as nonthreatening as a magic user can get, Cedar is unfamiliar to Faira. She can’t unlearn what she’s been taught all in a couple weeks. She’s going to see Cedar as a threat. And Nova can admit that with Cedar, Faira is right to have her guard up. “I know a lot. Like how you are a royal knight and a friend to fellow knight Ward and Princess Aziza. Your father is a retired soldier and now is a diplomat. Former King Sebastian has returned and with that something doesn’t seem right. That’s why you’re here.”

It doesn’t surprise her that she already knows a lot. This vast information is why they’ve come to her.

Never one to stand down, Faira stands tall, “Don Vesperine, I assume you know who that is.” When Cedar nods, Faira continues, “He has proven to be a threat to Oreza.”

“What suspicions do you have?” Cedar questions, keeping her distance from the on the other side of the Haze-made pond.

“Don’t you know?” Faira shoots back. Cedar lets out a little chuckle. “I can’t know everything.”

Nova rolls her eyes. They don’t have time for this.

“He spelled a guard to attack Aziza, a dragon to come near the castle, and has alluded to a bigger plan to Nova,” Haze explains.

Cedar turns thoughtful, her eyes unfocused, clearly thinking or seeing something in her mind. Nova has never been a patient person. “Just tell us what you want so we can make a deal,” Nova interrupts.

That’s how it goes with Cedar and her mother. They wield their knowledge and don’t give it up for nothing. It’s not that Nova entirely disapproves. While Haze hates the transactional vibe, Nova is a bit more logical.

In the Wild Thicket, you do what it takes to survive.

Cedar cocks her head in mock confusion. “In a rush Nova? Is that because you want to make to back to a certain knight?”

Nova grits her teeth to stop from making a biting response. They need her unfortunately. She can’t be prickly and sting her. No matter how much she wants to.

“What do you want Cedar?” Nova asks instead of attacking her.

“I’ll tell you what I know. In exchange for safety in the castle for me and my mother,” Cedar finally reveals. Haze gets up and stands next to her and Faira. She squints in question, “That’s what we are trying to do anyway. Clear the witch name.”

“Not everyone can have the positivity that you do. I would like to ensure our safe passage.”

Internally, Nova curses. This means more witches in the castle. More opportunities for this to go wrong. And not everyone is as kind as Haze and as receptive as Princess Aziza.

This will certainly be interesting.