I opened my eyes in a state between dreams and reality. The dream I had last night left me a warm, fuzzy feeling even though I didn't remember its contents. I couldn't shake the tranquility of the dream, so I decided to take it slow. My body will move when its ready, besides I quite enjoyed savoring the warmth of my bed in the meanwhile. A soft light spilled through the curtains, painting the room in shades of morning gold.

My eyes fell upon the messy potion equipment. I should really tidy it up before I leave again. My mind was quite chaotic at the time I was leaving for the journey that I didn't realize I left a mess behind me. I wasn't sure whether my parents were awake so I tided up as quietly as I could.

The room was sparkly clean again. I didn't cast any without magic, so I broke a sweat. It's been quite a while since I did work without relying on magic. I used to be annoyed at my mother for forcing me do physical labor but not it wasn't that bad. It was almost refreshing.

"Good morning, Trixie," dad passed by my room.

"Morning," I happily said.

"Are you hungry?" he asked.

"Just a little bit," I said.

We went to the kitchen where mom was preparing bacon and eggs. The little hunger I had increased greatly with the delicious smell and sight of the food. We sat down together as family and happily chatted. It seems their tailor business was blooming which was a great thing but the funds from the people buying the stuff were dubious. I decided to let it go and enjoy my time with them.

Returning home felt like we were picking off where we left which reassured me. Next time I come home it'll be the same. Family will always be family. I took a good look at their faces before I left, their eyes looked happy to see me during all the time I spent here.

I said a casual goodbye since I was sure I'd be back soon. Our parting was brief as I ran towards the windmill. I promised I'd write them letters again to keep them updated.

All the villagers were back, so my journey to the windmill, which should have taken five minutes took half an hour. They were at a grand feast the king prepared at the citadel yesterday. Some of the villagers shared local gossip which went in one ear and out the other. Stuff like who cheated on whom, who was in love or what bad deeds certain villagers committed. Others asked me for potions which I promised to give them on my way back from Arlette.

I wonder how she was doing? It's been quite a while, but I couldn't suppress my smile. She was still my best friend. I did write her a few letters, but I got no replies. Maybe she was too busy? I remembered how she was talking about some secret goal of hers.

A cold breeze past by but that wasn't enough to make me colds. It was still a warm, nice day. The best time of the year to be in my village. My pace fastened as I saw the outlines of the windmill more clearly.

The old windmill stood on the open plains as it cracked terribly as though it was completely broken. When I focused on its wooden propeller, I noticed that its movements were out of its usual sync. The wind it created was eerie as though it was possessed by something bad but I couldn't feel any magic or demonic traces so it was just the bad feeling of something not working and looking as it normally should. I don't remember it being this way.

"Arlette?" I called out but there was no answer. I circled around the windmill calling her name but I was greeted only by silence. There wasn't anybody around which was odd. Did the whole family go out on a business?

I gently knocked on the old entrance door which felt like it could fall off at any moment. "Arlette?" I called out again and the door fell off. The sound of my voice seemed to be its final straw. I quickly pushed the door with my hands "Reparare" I cast a spell to fix it but then I realized I wanted to get in and my fix was only one to return to its previous state so it broke again when I touched it. This time I cast a stronger spell that will make the door hold. The millers were welcome.

Dark wooden beams stretched overhead with their old age being clearly visible by the circles in them. The air carried a faint and earthy scent mingled with loads of dust. I coughed form all the dust. It was like nobody cleaned here for years but that wasn't possible.

The out of sync rumble of the grinding stones was constant vibrating through the floorboards, Round and massive millstones grind against each other, slowly transforming wheat into fine flour. It was like there were constantly processing grain although none of it was visible.

I looked around confused. "Arlette?" I quietly said although I knew she couldn't be here. As I continued my search I came across a dark envelope on old, abandoned shelves. Its black colour was quite unique and I couldn't help myself picking it up. It wasn't closed and a piece of paper was sticking from it. I instinctively took it as my eyes fell upon the beautiful calligraphy:

Dear Calytrix,

I'm going on an adventure too. This village was always too small for the two of us. Let's meet up somewhere on our journeys. My brother and father gave up on the mill too, but the neighboring village makes great flour, enough for the entire kingdom even.

Lots of love,

Arlette

I clutched the note as emotions of sadness and happiness overrun me. She was somewhere out there too. It was just a matter of time before we see each other again. My dear friend... To this day she was still my best friend. "I look forward to meet you too," I quietly said as I left the mill.

The sun was still high up and I had a few hours before my meeting with Akios. I walked slowly back to the village to brew the promised potions. Even though my pace was extra slow the sun didn't move much. There was still plenty of time, but I already said my goodbyes, so I felt silly to go back to my parents or the village. I continued with a snail's pace to the citadel.

On the main road I saw a velvet bunny with fluffy fur and a rounded body that protruded out of nearby bushes. Its long ears stood tall, catching whispers, flicking to rhythms only they seemed to hear. It was way too cute... I froze on spot in order not to alarm the bunny but it quickly noticed my presence. Its nose trembled while the bunnies' dainty paws barely left a trace on the earth.

I always thought of bunnies as fleeting creatures of the wild, born of whispers and tenderness, skipping lightly wherever they went, and it was always a delight to see one.

After the bunny left, I had another chance encounter with a crow. It's sharp, intelligent eyes, as dark as ink carefully looked at me. I wonder what they thought about, but that was one of the questions I'd never had an answer to. Its feathers were of a deep, glossy black colour, giving it an almost metallic sheen. The crow turned its back on me and happily took a few steps up and down as though it was doing a little dance. I smiled at it as I pondered whether I should join it too but it flew away before I came to an decision.

After the crow I had no other encounters as I slowly walked to the citadel.

As soon as I stepped into the citadel I was surrounded by a bunch of kids. Most of the faces were familiar, but a few of them were new.

"Calytrix! Welcome back!" I felt some hearty hugs. "Did you become a real witch?" the asked.

"I always was a real witch," I commented as let out laughter, screams and other sounds of joy. They were still a little bit annoying, but I thanked the spirits that they were all right.

"Are you all okay?" I asked them and the immediately nodded except for a little girl in the back wearing half-undone little twin tails. "My brother," she sobbed "he has gone missing." I felt as though darkness covered my eyes. Not anymore. I won't let any more kids be sacrificed.

"Calytrix..." they all said in one voice." Magic show! Magic show!" they didn't want to take no for an answer.

"Okay, okay..." I tried to calm them down. "A magic show first and then I'll ask the king about your brother," I turned to the little girl. As her face immediately lit up an overwhelming feeling of despair filled my heart. How could I tell her that he's probably dead, killed by the king? I made a promise in my heart that justice will be served.

I tried my best to hide my emotions as I made my way to the square where I'll have more space to wave with my hands and lightning spells. The kids did their best trying to make my walk the hardest it could possibly get with some of the tugging my hands and others even climbing on my legs to hitch a ride. I guess they missed me a lot... I missed them too.

"Are you ready?" I asked them as I stood in the center of the square. They excitedly jumped on the paved marble blocks as I showered them in flower petals and little leaves. "Dona mihi fugatur spirituum flamma, virdi, caeruleus, flavus, purpura." Yellow, green, blue and purple flames danced around me in various directions switching sides with each other. They were so much more vivid now compared to the ones I started out. It was nice to see how much my magic improved even if it was such a trivial matter.

At the end I closed my eyes as I waited for an applause. I heard the kids scream in joy. They filled my heart with happiness and I promised them to show some more. The flames took shapes of animals, birds that flew high away, deer that rushed to the left and bunnies that went straight to the audience. The kids tried catching my creations, but one couldn't trap light with bare hands. I was having fun watching them too.

The kids were yelling for more and I tired to humor them, but once I started feeling tired I vawed them goodbye with a promise that I'll be back again. The little girl stopped me to tell me all about her brother and how poor they were...

It would be nice to come back at least once each year. As the years pass and the kids grow older they might lose interest in shows like this but maybe their kids would be willing to watch? I would like to see them get older and be healthy. There's been enough of murder here. With gloom over my I slowly headed towards the castle.

The guards were the same as the last time. They wore simple, non-decorated metallic armor covering them from head to toe. Their choice of weapons remained the same too: swords, spears, and short pistols. I walked around the entrance, but the guards didn't turn their heads towards me or made any kind of gesture at all. It was like they were frozen in place. I guess the king ordered them to stay still and they were doing a marvelous job.

Akios was nowhere in sight, and I was thinking of making a long stroll to spend some more time until the meeting.

"Caytrix," I heard a familiar, unpleasant voice. A girl with long brown hair neatly done in a braid today and heavy make-up looked at me intensely. Her clothes were tattered and dirty, but she had a strange aura of dignity.

"Aliz.." I replied with a creeping pain in the back of my head.

"Back so soon... the journey didn't go well?" she mockingly asked.

"I'm here only for a short while... " I said without any further explanations.

"Oh, right... the rules forbid you from living here anymore," she said as I turned my back because I was done with the conversation. "Did you know that there was a handsome fella looking at you during you little show, Calytrix?"

"It's a magic show! Of course, people were watching!" I tried hard not to lose my temper.

"Well, this one seemed to have taken a liking at you," she appeared in front of my face.

"Whatever," I said doing my best not to look her in the eyes.

"This particular stranger was seeking information about the king earlier," Aliz said"His blue eyes and is ridiculous height made him stand out too much,"

"Akios!" I immediately said and regrated. It would have been better to keep all the information secretive. „What kind of relation do you have to the king?"

"I'm just a loyal subject," she said annoyingly strolling in front of me. "You know, lately I even got a job to put food on the table," I looked the other way, "My task is to keep watch so none of the lovely children go missing." He strolling pace hastened and she became a distant figure.

"Obex" I called forth a magical wall to stop her from moving but she held a bright golden necklace high in the air that dispelled my invisible wall. Such an expensive tool must have been a gift from the king. For a second I hesitated whether I should go after here or the king first. I cast my gaze down but as soon as I raised my head I knew I should deal with the source of evil first.

"Obex," I quickly cats a protective spell "Abdo mihi "the second spell I cast made me unvisitable.

I returned to the palace which I used to think of as magnificent, but I had an impulse to tear it all down. The rare plants from faraway places that decorated it and the small, engraved statues made by the best sculptors was something undeserving of the people who resided in it.

There were a lot of people inside from the poorest workers to the noblest ladies, but nobody noticed my presence. I tried to retrace my steps from my memory. First, I walked through a long hallway and a few beautifully decorated rooms until I finally arrived at my destination.

"Aer, "I violently flung the massive wooden doors open because it was nice to give somebody a head start although I knew he'd gain nothing from it.

The king remained the same as he was in my memory: dressed in traditional black and red colors. A big crown was present on top of his curly hair. He looked at me with his eyes full of darkness.

"You're going to pay!" I yelled at the king. Fire slowly engulfed the entire room. I stadied my trembling hands I reminded myself that I should refrain from fire for the spirits sake. There are lots of other spells I could use.

The king quietly looked at me as though he was in a state of shock.

"I don't recall seeing you ever this angry," Akios remarked as he took a sip of tea. I didn't even notice him standing on the left side of the throne. He called forth a barrier in front of the king. Before I could react, I noticed that the atmosphere suddenly got weird. Chills ran down my spine. The king remained unmoving because Akios stopped time.

"Why are you blocking me?" I asked.

"I don't mind you murdering the king, but have you actually thought this through?" Akios asked.

"The king deserves to be brought to justice," I yelled.

"That he certainly does," Akios agreed. "But by killing him now do you really thing all the problems would be solved? That the new king wouldn't use these methods?"

"I-I..." suddenly I lost my confidence.

"Temporary it might make you feel better..." Akios paused" but on the long run taking another person's life would eat you away. No matter how evil that person was, it would still be a heavy burden for you to carry, Caytrix."

"But what do we do?" I asked" Are you suggesting we do nothing," my vision became darker.

"If you were really to kill a king you should consider who will ascend the throne next," Akios explained" if you are going all the way, one should not only consider the future king, but also the people who surround him."

"That kind of thing... it will take a while," I dejectedly said.

"No... it won't," Akios took a long sip of tea and I found myself frozen in the moment just looking at how calm and casual he could be in situations which made me lose my temper. He stared back at me until it got so awkward that I had to turn my gaze away.

"Did you want some tea too?" he asked.

I shook my head. "I just want justice for the murdered little souls,"

"Say no more," Akios said as he turned his back on me and unfroze time. The king blinked but his time had slipped away as he was engulfed into black flames. Unnatural flames made by demon power... he had no chance. It all happened so fast he didn't have to react. He didn't have time to move his hands and legs or even scream. All that was left of the king was a little pile of ash.

"Now that that is done, we can be on our way," Akios said as he rubbed his hands against each other as though he was congratulating himself on a job well done.

"But what about careful consideration?" I blinked way too many times in surprise. "Have you already chosen the next king and his advisors?"

"No," Akios shortly said.

"No?" I asked.

The chilling sensation overcame again as Akios froze time again. He didn't seem uncomfortable at all, but it was his spell after all. "I didn't want to waste too much time here," he said.

"Why not? It's not like we have a clear goal," I said.

"We do, it is to make you powerful and to help you find your place, " Akios calmly said" This is just a waste of time."

"A waste of time..." I swallowed the words" Where is the hurry?"

"I didn't want to tell you yet..." Akios quietly said," but the black holes are back..."

My shoulders immediately dropped, and my heart started beating faster. I was sweating like crazy. Not only did I fail Awaretaton but also the world. Our past efforts weren't enough...

"Calytrix?"

The spirits lend us their strength the last time but now the fire spirit was too weak for us to ask any favors. Are we on a fast carriage to doom? I tried my best to stop my rapid breathing.

"Calytrix?" Akios reached out his hand to me but I ignored it.

Maybe this time around all the remaining witches should get involved. If even one out of seven had information how to handle the crisis it would be super helpful.

"Ca-" I avoided Akios as I was walking in circles at the throne room. He was looking at me with sadness in his eyes. Why would he be sad?

"Akios..." I said as I took a break from the circles. "You don't need to carry the burden of saving the world all alone again," He looked at me without blinking.

"I know that," his expression softened."That's why we formed the pact..."

I walked another circle to calm down. Nothing good comes out of panic... just one more circle and I'll be fine.

"Calytrix... let's get out of here," Akios softly said.

"No!" I said as he gently covered my shoulders with his hands.

"Not yet..." I said looking at him intensely."I'm not done here yet." Akios took a thinking stance.

"Give me half a day and let's meet up here," I said while looking at the door.

"You don't have to..." he said.

"I do!" I said as I sorted out my thoughts. "It seemed like I was always waiting for you to show up before and now it's your turn to wait," I said. Akios didn't say anything as he let me go. I didn't want to waste any more time so I rushed out without looking back.

Aliz was nowhere to be seen but that was what I expected. It would be too easy otherwise. I took a deep breath in front of the palace entrance in order to prepare myself for the incoming spell. A cool breeze helped me calm down, but that also meant Akios dispelled his time freezing spell. I guess he wasn't afraid of being found out but this wasn't the time to think about him, so I shook my head to concentrate on the task ahead.

"Vestigium..." I chanted as I thought of Aliz, of her uneven steps, of her long brown hair that must have left some strands of hair. "vestigium..." I imagined her walking in front of me. The spell didn't make her traces visible as I thought it would but instead a faint smell of cinnamon surrounded me. I went to the left but the smell of cinnamon faded so I want back and tried the right road where the cinnamon smell became stronger. Why cinnamon? I don't recall I noticed it or any kind of fragrance the last time I saw her. Maybe she had some sweets in her pockets.

I carefully walked around the citadel as I followed the fragrance praying it wouldn't lead me near a pastry shop where the smells from cookies and my spell could get intertwined. Nobody noticed the fragrance spell besides me because otherwise a bunch of kids would be on the same path as me.

As I walked fast, I didn't take notice of my surroundings until the glimmer of jewels caught my attention. They were so pretty: sparkly diamonds, mesmerizing emerald, ruby flames... I remembered watching them from far away. They were all too expensive and the merchants would chase away dirty little kids like us... I wasn't looking at the precious stones alone way back in the past, there was someone else with me, but I couldn't remember. Was it a little girl or a boy? I couldn't remember even that.

"Buying or leaving," I heard a merchant yelling at me.

I shook my head as I whispered sorry. There was no time to lose. I closed my eyes to focus. The cinnamon fragrance was coming to my left. I hastened my pace one again and in only a few short minutes I was looking at an abandoned house. It was made half from wood and half from stone, but it's left side was completely crushed. The door on the left side seemed to be miraculously standing. I probably wouldn't take notice of a place like this if it weren't for the strong cinnamon fragrance. It was like there were making gingerbread sweets in there, but I knew it was much darker. Suddenly a memory of a child smiling passed my mind. The face and the shape of the person my mind was trying to remember was blurry, but that smile felt like one of the prettiest things I saw. I could feel my old love for them.

There were no sounds coming from the house, but I still knocked at the door. There was no response as expected. It was locked tight so I had to use a little bit of magic to get in.

"Lux," the entire mossy room light up. The damp smell mixed with sweat made me cover my nose. There wasn't anything in that room except a small trap door in the corner. I had a feeling I'd regret opening it but it felt like I had no other options. "Please spirits, let the kids be okay," I pleaded in myself as I opened the heavy wood door.

Strangely there were no sounds as I loudly opened the door. For a second I though maybe there wasn't anything there after all but as I jumped under the ground, I noticed the jailcells. A feeling of unease spread to my entire body as I remembered the underground encounter with Rheya, but there was no black magic here, only terrible humans.

The jail cells were extremely small with walls of hard concrete. My magic was the only light but the sudden change didn't wake up the sleeping children. Their breaths were quite shallow. I magically broke the hard, cold bars but nobody woke up. They weren't under a spell. Who know what kind of gruesome things they did to the little ones. I touched the nearest little boy whose body was extremely cold.

"Cayltrix," I suddenly remembered the voice of a little child playful calling out my name. The smile, the voice... but still I couldn't remember my old friend.

I shook my head and focused on the situation. "Please forgive me fire spirit," I said solemnly, „Dona mihi ignis" I called fort little balls of fire to give some warmth. The children whimpered. Although it wasn't a nice sound, I was happy to hear any kind sound from them.

They can still be saved, "Spirituum dona mihi virtute sanitatem!"There were ten children in the room but they could all be saved. The injuries they suffered from weren't grave and their bodies just needed a little bit of push. I dispelled the fire and light magic in order to focus all of my energy to healing. I could hear the children moving trying to speak which felt like increased my power.

"What is going on?" I could hear a croacky voice.

"Are the children trying to escape?" As the guards voice was coming closer anther memory flashed by. I was playing with my friend when the guards took him. They separated us as they remarked that witches should be let go. "Don't worry, Calytrix... I am in fact a royal heir," his words resounded in my memory. He was a bad liar and couldn't hold his tears as they forcefully dragged him. I wasn't skilled with spells at the time and when I tried to cast a spell the guards immediately dragged me all the way back home. "Have you hear about all the disappearances lately," I remembered more of his words. There were quite a few kids missing those days. I remembered I searched for my friend everywhere but I couldn't find him. It was many years later that I found out what actually happened to the lost kids. My friend was a street urchin so nobody really cared that he went missing.

My reminiscing of the past got interrupted as a guard grabbed my neck in the dark. I quickly cast a strong wind to push him away. He screamed as he hit the ground. Two guard against a witch were no match at all. I could hear the children's footsteps as they ran towards the exit but one of them screamed as the other guard grabbed him.

"Don't touch them," I yelled „unless you want to get burned by the witch Calytrix,"I could sense the fire spirit surrounding me. It was angry at the situation too. The guards quickly ran away without saying a word.

As I was left standing in the darkness I let out a deep sight.

"That wasn't bad at all, "I heard Akios clasping as he cast light on the eerie prison." You can do it when you tried," he smiled happily.

A sudden embarrassment filled my body as I could sense my temperature rising higher. "I wasn't doing this for praise, besides I threatened only two guards, who knows how many more are in the organization."

"You don't need to worry about it, Calytrix, " Akios calmly said" I just happened to find out that the next heir to the throne is a relative of Valerius and wouldn't stand for human trafficking."

I let another sigh of relief as the situation unfolded itself.

"Axhvdsjd is the name," Akios said it slowly but I still couldn't catch the name. It didn't matter who it was as long as the kids were safe. I didn't even bother to ask for the name again.

"Shall we be on our way," I happily nodded to his words. At least the problem with Awareteton was solved. We'll deal with the black holes again next. One problem at a time. My friend was avenged, not exactly by me, but at least no more kids will have to suffer the same fate.