Chained

Asterid was up and awake before the sun had fully risen above the trees, again, but this time to accomplish some tasks before sneaking off again to Cartazonos Forest again. Sky merely sighed as she helped her put on a sable brown jacket and riding skirt, mustard yellow gloves and scarf. She had decided to wear a brown hat, when she usually went without, just in case she encountered a guest on her ride. Sky had put up her hair, and, so it would keep together for the morning, looked rather stern and tight.

Hoping that by completing a few morning tasks, she could get away with an hour or two of freedom as a good eighty percent of the guests left today, most of them in the morning. The rest of the next four days would be spent discreetly cleaning up the castle as the other guests slowly left.

Asterid squared her shoulders, a quiet sigh kept behind her lips, and headed out of her rooms. Sky shook her head, and followed behind.

In the western part of the Cartazonos Forest, just before it ended and where the border of the Indivedic Empire started, a tall amazonian of a woman, with golden blonde hair, loose and to her shoulders, and piercing electric blue eyes, clouded by worry, paced. She looked to a small path that headed to the east, but ultimately went west, taking a long circular route from where she had entered the forest. It had taken her hours to get here. The dirty scum who had led her to the path, had said that her target would be passing by the road just by here before noon.

"A'fore noon, a'fore noon. Anytime can 'e a'fore noon!" She muttered and paced more, creating a worried pocket within the small copse of trees. She peered at the road she could just see through the bushes screening her hiding spot. "Evil man, harmin' peoples families, threatenin' them to do things they can't do…"

The woman checked a pocket on the left side of her apron covering a simple skirt and blouse. A tiny tree frog's skin, a caterpillar's cocoon, and a tiny glass jar with a water like substance met her eyes. "Escapin' is just a word away, but can't actually do any killin' even if they have my lil' boy and man." She frowned. "They don't know what spells I have, so they don't know what I'll do. Just hope they don't have no magic folk with them."

The witch paced more, "Hope this prince hasn't already gone past." She stopped again, closed her eyes and breathed in, then out. "They'll come, just gotta remember. Jump out, find prince," an image she seared into her mind at the estate of that noble, where she and her family were brought to four nights ago. "Cloud vision, change the prince. 'Ounce outta there."

The noise of horses and people cut through the forest, and the witch opens her eyes. They start to come into her sight. Watching carefully, she tries to find where the prince is, and is startled to see him riding not too far from the front of the party.

Quickly! She bursts from her hiding spot into the road, the prince right before her. Nerves trembling, "It's all your fault! Your fault there's clouds coverin' the good parts of my life!" Misty fog coalesces, as if she were breathing air upon a glass, yet it was covering the whole of the stretch of road. If the witch hadn't kept her spell from covering her and the prince they wouldn't be able to see what was in front of their noses. Dipping her other hand into her pocket and roughly grabbing all within it, she brought it up, circled her other hand around it. "Sometimes a little change in life is needed to bring good! Taking this form and changing it to something definitely not human." Fist upturned and then opened as she thrusts both hands, one pointing, to the prince again. "Have fly food!" A whirling beam of energy shot out from her and hit the prince, who yelled out. His scream was cut off at the same time the beam ceased.

Sweating and feeling weak, the witch dropped her arms. "I did it! I killed him!" Then whispered, "Not."

She dropped the fog spell, allowing the others to see what was left of the prince, clothes and his nervous horse. She spoke once more, "And I'm gone." Her form faded and then disappeared from their view. All that was left there was panic.