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Hellena never dared tear her gaze away from the window that displayed the forest with the eerie fog still visible around it, eyes swimming in worry. She didn’t even pay much mind to Alexina as she spoke to her, only listening to her words half way on something about the fog having a name and rumors about some Black Knight. Her focus only shifted once Alexina decided to stand by her by the window. She as well had the same look of concern on her face.
Ultimately, she continued to explain how the fog has its own nature of appearing whenever it pleases. Trying to eliminate it would only be the work of the gods. But so will for it to be able to enter coven grounds.
But at the end of Alexina’s last statement, Hellena’s brow perked up in question. How long exactly are “a couple of days”?
“Ahm, m-mistress.” Lucy quietly hissed from the nape of Hellena’s neck as she pointed her little nose at the drenched cloth that her owner still held in her hand.
“Ah, right. My apologies.” Hellena uttered as she proceeded to gently wrapped the cloth around Alexina’s hand.
“Expect it to heal before you even know it.” And shed a gentle smile at her coven leader and friend.
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Mixture after mixture, strange combinations of ingredients one after the other. All results differ, but none of any so far came out with the desired outcome. Upon a big wooden bowl, the last potion mixture Hellena attempted made a dark yellow substance that gave out the sharp smell of burning wood. The smell was quite strong that it’d escape through the small openings of her door as well as her window.
“Well… that doesn’t seem to be the right one, my mistress.” Lucy frowned as Hellena clicked her teeth in frustration. Time passed of gaining extensive knowledge on her potion-making profession, this one sure posed as a challenge for the red headed witch. Demons this time around refused to lend their assistance, because in this case, she is actually helping someone from their sufferings.
“Do you think we need…well,…something like, a piece of her skin or nail…?” Lucy hissed in question to which Hellena shook her head and exhaled from her nostrils in low spirit.
“Almost every part of Rebecca is rotting – skin or nails won’t do.” Hellena remarked as she ambled to her open cabinets of glass bottles and jars filled with assorted flowers, dead creatures, fruits, colored liquids and many more.
“I feel like if I ever did that, it’d just make it all worse.”The chamber stayed silent and the only sounds that could be heard were the eerie bolts of thunder outside, glass containers tapping against one another and the pitter patter of raindrops hitting the wide window pane of the chamber. Hellena took her sweet time, rummaging through the stacks of glass jars and wooden pots, being mindful not to let any of it drop to the floor, despite how flooded her mind had already felt. She stood awhile in deep thought with a glass jar filled with red roses soaked in water in her hand, chosen out of complete randomness.
By now, Hellena had completely spaced out, totally sunken into her internal realms of focus to even notice how much the sun had gone down with only it’s light orange hues still visible amongst the dull sky.
Reversing time may be impossible indeed. And with how severely rotted Rebecca’s skin had become, the miracles that Hellena’s potions contain could never comprehend…. almost.
Hellena’s wits just simply refused to give in. What would be the extremities of someone’s doings to be able to reverse aging…? Out of the hope for one last attempt for the day, Hellena carefully opened the glass container of soaked rose that she held in her hand and immediately, a strong whiff of such an alluring scent slapped her across the face.
It was coming from the jar of roses.
Lucy eyed her owner from the table in the middle of the chamber who seemed frozen in place by the cabinets, intensely studying the jar of roses that she held in her hands. It took several minutes for Hellena to come back down to earth, but as soon as she started to approach the table, Lucy could already smell the sweet aroma from a distance away.
“I was just about to ask you for your thoughts, my mistress.” “Perhaps I kept the roses soaked for a bit too long in there.” Hellena addressed. Lucy slithered from the table up to Hellena’s neck and neared herself to the glass jar. She then took a long whiff of the scent and sighed deeply in euphoria.
“Well, it’s certainly done some good. Perhaps we should try that one?”Lucy didn’t need to ask – Hellena has already been preparing the potion mixture starting from scratch after the previous failed attempt. All odd ingredients that include different kinds of herbs and liquids such as tree sap and milk have been added into the wooden bowl.
In the midst of the process, the rattling and tapping of rain on her window had only grown louder, ultimately disturbing her in her work. But again, it may have served as a good alarm for her to collect water from the pouring rain. Rainwater had been deemed essential to making Hellena’s potions as its elements tend to be much clearer than of river water.
It was as if she was really being reminded.Hellena had then, for the moment, left her potion mixture and collected any found empty jars or containers lying around her chamber. She instructed Lucy to carefully open up the window and soon then placed her jars just by the outside sill of the window where raindrop freely fell. (As Lucy slithered back up to Hellena’s neck)
Just at her clear vision was the forest with the tints of fog still seeping out of it. Hellena could only cross her brows in pure curiosity; venturing into the forest to see what’s going on had already been something she had thought about, but the idea of Alexina’s disapproval is what ultimately halted her from doing so.
Her train of thoughts had been cut by a sudden bright light illuminating just by the castle courtyard. And walking alongside it was Taran. Both Hellena and Lucy loomed in closer from the window to make out a female figure out of the bright light that was actually flowing lava.
The pair watched them receive merry exchanges of warm welcomes from Alexina, Usoa and Saen that came to their aids.
“How delightful, we have a guest!” Lucy hissed with excitement to which Hellena simply hummed in approval. Though it had been quite some time since Hellena had interacted with any new people other than her coven brothers and sisters, and so thought that the fate of the new girl would have nothing to do with her and would depend entirely on the ‘flow’ of things. This would also include any possibilities of both of them creating any sort of friendship. Hellena have never been the type to initiate after all.
The pair continued to watch them until one of the jars had reached its fill of raindrops. Hellena turned back to business and left whoever their guest was to Alexina’s hands, taking the small jar of rainwater and leaving the others out until they are filled.
The jar of rainwater was eventually added into the potion mixture and with a little chant, the pair watched as it worked its wonders. The alluring scent of sweet roses only grew stronger and filled every corner of the chamber. The mixture blended into a frothy pinkish cream.
Hellena was rather surprised at the outcome. Potions she had created would result in common forms of liquids, sand, smoke and all of the sort, but a cloudy-like cream substance is deemed to be a first time. It looked quite delightful, it almost looked like sweet strawberry frosting!
“Do you think… that’s the right one?” Lucy uttered in question as she once again loomed in closer to take a big whiff of the sweet scent escaping from the bowl. Hellena’s brow held the same curiosity as it perked up. She allowed an index finger to reach out into the frothy mixture and rubbed it against her thumb – the texture felt rather soothing on the skin! But the more deeply she studied it, the more her satisfaction only dimmed.
“Not yet. But I feel like I’m getting close. Something still seems missing.” While in total focus towards her unfinished experiment, Hellena’s thoughts were cut by the distant sound of a neighing horse. She clicked her teeth in annoyance and loomed out of the window to find out who the reckless suspect could be.
The sound came from just by the courtyard – a dark, spirit-like horse galloping its way towards the forest with Ryleth riding it, looking as if he was in a hurry.
“Master Ryleth? But didn’t mistress Alexina tell us….”“He’ll be alright.” Hellena blandly remarked. The bond she held with her coven brother wasn’t what anyone would say as ‘close’. But being quite familiar with the warlock’s wits, passing by a ‘dangerous fog’ would be but a stroll for him.
As the pair watched the warlock disappear from sight, they too decided to turn back to the matter at hand. But as darkness entered the chamber, energies drained and Hellena slumped back into her comfortable sofa, not even realizing sleep engulfing her the moment she closed her eyes.
