688 Need To Find The Young Black Witch
Seren eventually calmed down after crying for a long time. Martha then came in to help the young queen change into a dry set of clothes, but neither she nor Drayce asked Seren the reason for her tears, sensing her need to have time and space. After Drayce put Seren to sleep, he found Martha waiting outside the door of the bedchamber. "Your Majesty," she greeted the King. "What is it?" Drayce asked.
"Her Eminence and Lady Sierra are leaving for Agartha. Before that, they wish to see you. They say you know where to go."
Drayce went silent for a while. "Take care of Seren," was all he said before he disappeared from the tower, only to appear at the hidden glade in the forest where Seren trained to use her divine power of earth. The ground was muddy due to the earlier rain, but the sky had already cleared up. Not too far from the glade, there was a small cabin that was a replica of Yorian's rustic cottage in Megaris. Yorian, Evanthe and Sierra, all three supernatural beings were waiting for his arrival at the front porch. Evanthe smiled at her son lightly and asked, "How is your wife?"
"Not so well. Resting at the moment," he replied, his tone emotionless. "I heard you are leaving for Agartha."
Evanthe nodded, gesturing for him to sit with them at the lounge area on the porch. She spoke after Drayce found himself a seat. "Queen Seren has learned how to use her powers, and Yorian can continue guiding her with the magical knowledge she lacks. There is no need for us to watch over her for now."
"I understand."
The red-eyed black-haired young man looked calm on the surface, but Evanthe could see her son was somewhat distracted. So much must be going on inside in his head, but he was not saying anything.
"Has she told you?"
Even though her question was vague, Drayce knew she was referring to the cause of Seren's sorrow. "She didn't," he replied.
"So you don't know yet."
He shook his head, his eyes filled with complicated emotions. The most prominent was the helplessness he was feeling, as well as anger—anger that his wife was shedding tears for reasons he was ignorant of. Evanthe glanced at Sierra, but with the hooded woman keeping her silence, she reluctantly continued, "I can explain it to you, so when you go back to her—"
"No need," Drayce cut her off. "If she wants me to know, she will tell me on her own." Since Seren requested to talk alone with these women, then the conversation she had with them probably involved a topic she didn't want Drayce to know. He respected her wishes though he was worried for her.
"As you feel right. I trust you will take care of her," Evanthe said. "There is something else I wished to talk about."
"What is it?"
"Yorian mentioned that you two had come across a Black Witch during your travel and only you alone saw her."
Drayce nodded. "Indeed. I was hoping to talk about it, but never had the chance till now to talk about it. I have never met a Black Witch for as long as I remember, but in the past month, I have met two. There was Zaria Lynx who targeted my wife, as well as this younger witch who I met in a remote island. I learned from the Crown Prince of Griven that Thevailes has been acquiring precious herbs in huge quantities, and this younger Black Witch also happens to possess deadly banned herbs when I found her. They must be related."
"I am worried about that as well. A Black Witch mingling with humans is often not a good sign," Evanthe agreed. "Although, I heard from Yorian that you found one of Zaria Lynx's hideouts in Megaris and got clues of someone we need to save."
"Aureus' mother?"
"Hmm," she agreed. "The hair strand Yorain showed me, it sure indicates she is still alive. I wonder if that young Black Witch can help us find Zaria Lynx's new hideout."
"We need to first confirm if that young Black Witch is with Zaria," Yorian said. "Shall I try tracking her after Queen Seren's training ends?"
"What do you think about her?" Evanthe asked Drayce. "Only you actually got to observe her up close."
"She is strange, that's for sure," Drayce replied. "She ought to possess the strongest energy core among all the witches I've met, aside from you, but she never used magic, not even once. Even when I nearly caught her, her reaction…was way too human. Instead of using her magic, she preferred to run away like any ordinary human in trouble. Witches always rely on their powers like a human relies on breathing to keep living. But this witch, she neither attacked nor defended herself using her powers."
"Do you mean to imply…that she probably does not know she's a witch?" Yorian said. Drayce agreed. "And I don't feel she is associated with Zaria Lynx's people. From what I understand, it was the palace of Thevailes that had been gathering those ingredients for her use, and paying human merchants and smugglers is more than enough for that. There is no need to send out a witch to personally buy such a small amount in a faraway place. Even if that young witch needs herbs for her personal use, she could just transact with Zaria or the manpower under her." "That is possible," Evanthe said, a little distracted. Her eyes met his gaze. "Can you tell me how she looks?"
"She managed to hide her face, but from what I can tell, her physical body is young, at most in her twenties. She has long reddish blond hair and hazel eyes."
Something flashed in Evanthe's eyes, and she chuckled, "For such a young witch to escape from a powerful being like you, without even using magic, she seems like an interesting youngster. If I were you, I would have made such a seedling with good potential a subordinate."
"I have more important things to do than disturb the life of an unfamiliar witch."
Evanthe laughed at how he reacted to her teasing. Drayce looked at his mother's wide smile—it was an expression she often had when he was a child.
"Take care of your queen." was all she said in response, "and yourself as well."
"I will."
"It's time for us to leave."
The two women in white robes disappeared from the cottage, as if they were mirages blown away by the wind. After some time, Drayce bid the silver-haired elf a silent farewell before returning to Seren's side. On a mountain far from the capital of Abetha, atop a jutting cliff edge overlooking the city, the two robed figures appeared.
The hooded Sierra turned towards her pensive friend. "That young Black Witch, is it the same child you hid two decades ago?" Sierra asked, breaking the silence between them. Evanthe stared at the sky while standing at the mountain cliff. "I am worried what you are thinking is right."
"You didn't say that in front of Drayce."
"I don't want to add to his worries."
"Do you believe that the new Queen of WItches will bring problems to him?"
Evanthe chose to respond to Sierra's question with silence.
"I can only hope it's not her and that child is still hiding somewhere," Evanthe said after some time. "At that time, I made sure to hide her birth from the entire witch race. No one should be able to sense her essence. I was surprised that both Drayce and Yorian could sense it."
"It is reasonable. Drayce is your son and he inherited a part of your power. There is bound to be resonance of some sort, and it weakened the concealment of that young witch. As for Yorian, rather than magic, isn't it his sensitive spiritual power? You told me before how Yorian's maternal bloodline came from a line of powerful priestesses."
"If the concealment spell has such loopholes, I wonder if Zaria would have special means to find her."
"Nobody has found that child for more than two decades. That means your spell worked. There is indeed a small chance of her being found, but you should not overly worry about a possibility we do not even know exists."
"Should we leave things up to fate? Do not be optimistic. If Zaria finds her and controls our race using that child's authority, even our own freedom will be restricted, unable to wander freely."
"Then, do you want to seek out that child?"
"If that young witch is indeed the new Queen of Witches, then I should head out to confirm it. There is no such thing as coincidence in this world. For Dray and Yorian to spot her, then it meant her secret will soon be likely discovered. That child needs to be protected, not just from Zaria, but from something even more dangerous than an ambitious witch."
"You shoulder too much burden, my friend. Let us tackle things one at a time. First, let's reach Agartha and see the reincarnation of the Deity of Fire," Sierra suggested to which the other witch agreed.
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