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Authors Note:

Hi All!

Exciting news! You may have noticed from the cover photo, but I was recognized for the 8CC and for the 30 Day challenge for June 2024 and August 2024!!

 YAY!!! Here is a Margo Phone wallpaper to celebrate!

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Holly took a step forward, pulling Robin after her. As he stumbled forward, his foot landed on something entirely new. The brown dirt road behind the Deadwood was suddenly replaced by slick, polished, light gray stone. The harsh late summer sun beating down on them was replaced by a damp, cool breeze that softly whispered in Robin's ears.

Robin crashed into Holly as she stopped in front of him. He mumbled an apology as he regained his balance, slowly looking around at the gray rocks that surrounded them.

Robin looked at Holly to see her face motionless, glaring at something ahead of them. Following her gaze, he saw a giant orange rattlesnake blocking their path. Its long body coiled up, and its tail rattled threateningly.

"What's with this welcome, Harold?" Holly grumbled through gritted teeth, speaking to the snake like a troublesome child.

The snake hissed in response, puffing itself up as if to strike.

"Harold... No."

Holly swiped her hand, and the image of the giant orange snake snapped away.

Robin blinked in surprise. A small, fat gray cat sat in the monstrous snake's place. The exposed animal let out a meow in displeasure before huffing and turning to trot down the hall before them.

Robin rubbed his eyes with his free hand, was this a dream?

"That's right. Let's go find your mom, Harold. She should know better than to put you up to this."

Holly shifted her grip on Robin's hand, holding it tighter as she stepped down the corridor before them, once again pulling Robin after her.

The hall seemed to be part of a cave. The tunnel was made of polished limestone, with occasional windows that peeked out to the forest beyond, illuminating their path. Where there wasn't a window, a chandelier hung from the rock above, casting a soft light with tiny blue flames that danced along the candles.

After a few turns down the rocky corridor, Holly arrived at a rounded wooden door. This door had a peculiar hand-shaped knocker, similar to the one that adorned the front door of Sunshine Acres. but unlike the one at Sunshine Acres, this hand held a large pearl in its closed hand

Holly hesitated for a moment before the door, her eyes locked on the pearl.

Suddenly, the door swung open, and a gust of blue fire shot through it. Robin flinched, shutting his eyes and cowering as if doing so might protect him from the wall of fire before him.

As if anticipating the blaze, Holly sidestepped in front of Robin, blocking the flames from reaching him.

"Hey! If you were back in town, you could've just told me," Holly yelled, her voice muffled by the roaring flames, but her frustration evident.

A loud, whirling noise rose above the flames, and the intensity of them diminished. Robin cautiously opened his eyes to see an invisible force pushing the fire back.

Holly adjusted her hold on Robin's hand and moved forward.

Robin was terrified, his heart pounding faster than he knew to be healthy. This was the strangest magic he had seen in his life. Truthfully, he wanted to run away screaming, but Holly's hand kept him moving forward.

Something told him he'd face more danger if he let go.

The blue fire surrounded them; however, the invisible force was too strong, and the fire continued to retreat as Holly led them through the doorway. As quickly they had arrived, the blue flames disappeared as the two of them passed into the room's threshold.

"Bitch of the white snakes... a pleasure to see you again." Holly sneered upon entering the room, positioning herself protectively in front of Robin.

The room was the size of a ballroom, still cave-like, but unlike the polished stone of the halls, the rock walls here were jagged. Numerous flowering plants—orchids, lilacs, roses, and others Robin couldn't identify—grew in the cracks of the walls, all reaching toward a large glass window at the front of the room. Behind which lay an expansive wild garden.

A young woman sat in front of the window on a stone throne. To her left stood a large man, who raised his eyebrows in amusement as they entered. The woman, however, did not share his amusement. She sat with her hands on her knees, glaring at Holly.

With one look, Robin could tell who the woman was. There was no doubt that the Witch of the White Snakes sat before him.

She had light brown skin and deep brown eyes, which narrowed in annoyance toward the two of them. Her long black hair was braided meticulously into two braids, which lay lazily over each of her shoulders. Her hair was so long, that since she was hunched forward, her braids trailed down to the floor, nearly touching the chilled limestone beneath them. Both braids were menacingly tied off with marble snakehead skulls at the end. Her dress was loose with intricate white beading, decorated with imagery of white snakes.

The man beside her had deep brown skin and short black hair hidden under a wide brimmed Stetson hat. His curly dark hair extended into light facial hair around his face. He wore comically large circle-rimmed glasses, making him appear less intimidating despite his robust build. His light blue and green flannel shirt was paired with a peculiar necklace: a loose choker with several large pearl spheres. The amusement in the man's gaze disappeared when he noticed Robin hiding behind Holly.

"Bitch of the red crows. it's been too long." The Witch of the White Snakes finally said with a sneer, slowly reclining into her seat. "What have you been up to while I have been gone?"

Holly clicked her tongue, slowly bending down and picking up the gray cat that had led them into the room and was sitting by Holly's feet.

"Why, I came to ask the same of you... Harold gave quite the welcome to his dear Aunt Holly," Holly said, pressing the cat against her face. "Any particular reason you're trying to kill me today?" Holly's voice was edged with annoyance, but her eyes blinked innocently at the pair before her.

The Witch of White Snakes rolled her eyes.

"Don't be dramatic, I obviously wasn't trying to kill you."

"Oh. Just Robin, then?"

The Witch's brown eyes shifted to Robin, her face twitching in irritation.

"Holly, did you unsubscribe from the Sorcerer's Weekly?"

Robin tilted his head as he watched the exchange between the two sorceresses. He couldn't help but be very confused. What was this dynamic between them? After all that had happened today, he couldn't tell if they were friends or enemies.

Holly scoffed.

"Margo, you know I don't want to be a part of all that."

"So you unsubscribed? You should have told me, I'll start forwarding you a cop-"

"No...I still get it in the mail. I just don't read it. You know I don't read my mail."

"Well, you need to start," Margo said sternly, scolding Holly like a child.

Holly let out an annoyed breath.

"Why would I need to? Every time we meet, you tell me the important parts."

"Because I was gone for a few months, get back to find you in trouble, and now I have to intervene!"

Holly scoffed. "What do you mean? I have gotten myself in trouble?"

"Well, you would know if you just read the news."  The Witch of White Snakes remarked,  exasperated. "Before I left, I told you about the 'Curse of the Heart Bandit' rumor that was going on, right? Do you remember that? Sorcerers disappearing, wandering around with gray eyes and missing heart stones. The newest development is that they recently discovered that more than one person is involved with the thievery and more than twenty sorcerers have fallen victim."

"Okay? Why does that make you want to kill Robin?"

It was the Witch of the White Snakes' turn to scoff.

"I wasn't trying to kill him! Holly, I came back from my trip to search for this heart bandit, only to find a stranger living in your house! I just wanted to understand his motives."

"Margo, you could have just asked me-"

"Just for you to tell me whatever lie he must have told you? I'd rather get that sort of information from the source." Margo said, stealing a suspicious glance at Robin. "Besides, If I told you I planned to force the truth out of him, you would have begged me not to do it."

"Yes, of course, I-" Holly started, before shaking her head. " I mean... Margo, even if Robin was part of this 'Curse of the Heart Bandit' nonsense, which I am pretty sure he is not, why would they pick me as a target? My heart would be impossible to get to. It wouldn't be worth the trouble."

Margo, which Robin now assumed was the real name of the Witch of the White Snakes, rolled her eyes and stood up from her throne.

"Holly, just because it's hard to get to, doesn't mean it's impossible to steal. If they knew of its power, someone would risk fighting for it."

Holly let out a sad chuckle, her gaze dropping as she shook her head. Robin felt her grip on his hand loosen.

"It's not going to happen, Margo."

Margo walked over to Holly, hesitantly putting a hand on Holly's shoulder.

"My biggest regret is that I can't say I told you so the first time. I don't want to have to regret it a second."

"I know," Holly said, her voice almost apologetic.

Margo sighed and nodded slowly, looking carefully into Holly's eyes. After a moment, she glanced at the tall man behind her, who solemnly nodded back. Margos firm gaze finally made its way back at Robin, glancing at the whistle around his neck.

"I hope you are right, Holly," Margo said. "This time, I really hope you are right."

"Thank you, Margo," Holly said, relief filling her voice. "You are too good of a friend for me. I don't deserve you."

"Yeah, well," Margo said, shaking her head, "I'm the only one who stands a chance against your magic, so it'll be my job to clean up any messes you make for yourself."

"And yet, you are still willing to be my friend, despite my messes," Holly said, pulling Margo into a hug. " You really are one of the best people in the world."

"Yeah, I am. And don't you forget-Hey, wait—" Margo said with a sudden laugh that quickly turned into a shriek. Holly began to tickle her aggressively.

The tall man by the throne's laughter boomed around the ballroom, and he turned away to hide his amusement.

If Robin hadn't been so shocked by the sudden change in tone, he might have laughed as well.

Instead, he jumped back in confusion, unsure if this was more fighting or Holly was only acting in jest.

"Stop! Holly! Stop!" Margo laughed, attempting to push herself away from Holly.

"This is revenge for attacking me and trying to kill my guest," Holly grunted, continuing her tickle assault.

Margo finally managed to escape, pushing Holly back and catching her breath amidst more genuine laughs.

"Fine, fine. I'll apologize," Margo said, finally catching her breath. "Listen, Robin. Holly is like a sister to me, and I only tried to protect her....I'm really sorry I hurt you in the process. I should have handled this better." Margo gave him an embarrassed look as she extended a hand to Robin. "You may have heard of me as the Witch of the White Snakes, or even the Silver Snake, but you can just call me Margo."

"Well I- I appreciate the apology," Robin said hesitantly, unsure of how to respond. "My name is Doctor Robin Prakash."

"Oh? A Doctor named Rob?" The man in the back finally spoke up, raising an eyebrow at Robin. "It's good we will have some variety, at least."

Holly and Margo let out a laugh.

"Robin, this is my husband, Robert," Margo said, turning to the man. "He prefers to go by Bert, so if you want to go by Rob, you're welcome to that shared half." Bert made his way down from the throne and joined them, carefully putting his arm around Margo's.

"Ah, that's fine," Robin said awkwardly. "I much prefer the name Robin."

"Good, because if I ever wanted to go by Rob, I wouldn't want to fight you for it," Bert said with a laugh. "I'd feel bad having the magical advantage."

"Oh, don't be so sure, Bert," Holly said, with a joyful grin. "Robin is a magician."

"Oh?" Bert said, surprised. "And what is your gift?"

"I-" Robin started.

"He can fix things as if they were never broken," Holly said excitedly, accidentally speaking over Robin.

"Really? Can you demonstrate?" Bert asked, his eyebrows raised excitedly behind his large-rimmed glasses, " I would love to see that kind of magic."

"Sure." Robin said nervously," What would you like me to use?"

Bert hummed before turning his muscular forearm, showing Robin a cat scratch. An easy fix for Robin, as he lightly touched his finger to the abrasion, instantly healing it.

Bert let out an amused hum.

"Anyone might be able to do that if they tried hard enough," Bert said, his voice tinged with amusement. Bert glanced at Margo, who gave him a raised brow, before smirking at Robin with strange look in his eyes. "I'll give you a harder challenge. Come with me."

Bert turned and led Robin through a door in the large window that lead to the garden.

The garden beyond was expansive, and appeared to be arranged as to look wild, despite its well-maintained pathways. In the center lay a stack of broken stones, as if once part of a grand centerpiece.

"Can you fix this?" Bert asked, trying to suppress a smirk. His expression suggested he didn't believe Robin could succeed, but the look behind his eyes held a glimmer of hope.

Robin gave Bert an amused smirk of his own before turning his attention to the pile. Robin looked curiously at the rocks in front of him, grabbing a small piece from the ground and examining it in his hand. These rocks appeared to be made of the same stone as the cave, a light gray with a small shimmer as it hit the light. Robin carefully inspected the piece in his hand before lowering it beside another broken piece, starting the tedious task of slowly putting the pieces of stone back together.