It Was You!

---Indigo---

Little Katherine and Holly ran and ran. Finally, they stopped at an intersection, completely lost. Holly started to cry again. Little Katherine began crying too, losing hope. Perhaps they really were trapped in here forever.

"Um, hello?" a little boy's voice sounded, startling everyone. Little Katherine whipped around to find the source of the voice, her wooden sword pointing straight out. It was a little boy wearing a yellow shirt and blue overalls, with brown hair and big brown eyes. He looked vaguely familiar. "Are you lost too?"

"Y-yes. My sister and I are lost." Little Katherine put down her toy sword and wiped her eyes with her sleeve. "Were you captured by the witch lady too?"

The little boy shook his head and pointed at a will-o'-wisp. "No, I followed these glowing balls and got lost. There's a witch lady?"

Little Katherine nodded and told him her encounter with Madeline. Aaron, who was gaping at the memory playback, finally snapped back to attention.

"That's—that's me! That little boy is me!" He turned to Katherine. "It was you who I met in the maze?"

"What? No way!" Katherine's mouth hung open. "I thought I would never find out who that little boy was!"

"Guys, hold on. You two were lost in a maze with will-o'-wisps?" I cut in, the distant memory becoming clearer in my mind. "Because I was too, and I met a little boy and a little girl with her sister."

On the wall, little Katherine and little Aaron were walking around together with Holly in tow, looking for the exit. As they rounded a corner, they bumped into a little girl with pigtails and a purple dress—me. Our minds were blown. The three of us had met eleven years ago, and none of us even knew. This piece of memory had been buried away and forgotten, until Katherine brought it back.

"That is wild." Lucian commented. "Did you three find the exit?"

"Well of course we did; otherwise we wouldn't be standing here right now." Katherine said. "It was Indigo's idea to pull off leaves from the hedges and use them to leave a trail so we knew where we went and where we didn't. I remember thinking how smart of an idea that was and really being in awe of the little girl who thought of it."

Aaron chimed in. "Yeah, me too. Do you remember how I waved my hands and a gust of wind blew away some of the leaf trail? You two made me go back and drop more leaves to replace them, even though it was dark."

"I do! And Katherine, you were so brave. You used your toy sword and stabbed all the monsters we saw along the way." I replied, smiling.

"Well, it was less scary knowing that I wasn't alone," Katherine answered. The three of us beamed at each other, remembering the unique experience we shared. On the wall, four young children walked hand in hand through the maze, no longer afraid. Soon, the will-o'-wisps turned into torches, and the children ran out of the exit of the hedge maze, into the waiting arms of their parents. The parents fussed over their children, wondering why it had taken them so long, and as the children tried to explain what occurred, the adults' attention were drawn away by a woman emerging from the maze. Madeline Rowan.

She was well-known and respected all across Crystallea, so it was no wonder the adults were utterly convinced by Madeline's explanation that the hedge maze had intersected with the part of the forest where she was casting spells, and the children had wandered in and disrupted her magic formations. She helpfully led all the children out, and all the adults apologized profusely for interrupting her work. Only the children knew what really happened, but their parents were not interested in their stuttering explanations, and soon the entire ordeal was forgotten.

"My parents told me that we had ran into a woman named Madeline Rowan, prophet and sorceress of Silver Creek, and that we should be very glad she didn't get angry with us for ruining her spells." Katherine glowered at Madeline. "What a fantastic lie you crafted. If it wasn't for Aaron and Indigo, Holly and I would never had made it out."

"We didn't even ask each other's names," Aaron mused. "I had basically forgotten about this, and I definitely didn't think I would ever meet the little girls again." I nodded in agreement.

With a wave of her hand, Madeline made the memory playback disappear from the wall. She stepped toward Katherine, who tensed. "Now that you tell the story from your perspective, I can see how frightening it would have been for a young child. I wasn't lying about trying to find potential candidates for the Rosewood Seven, but I do think I owe you an apology for frightening you." Madeline nodded once toward Katherine, and then looked at Aaron and me as well. "You two as well."

Katherine blinked in surprise. No one had expected the sorceress to apologize. Katherine's hands, which were clenched in fists, relaxed. "You really mean that?"

"Of course. I am sorry I frightened you and your little sister, Katherine. Perhaps a visit in broad daylight would have been the better choice instead of a test for magical abilities." Madeline bowed her head in a respectful gesture. Katherine looked taken aback.

"Well…um…" She met my eyes momentarily for help. I shrugged. "I, um, accept your apology. I guess I can try to forgive you; it's been eleven years, after all."

Madeline smiled. "The test was not unfruitful, though. Think about what happened when you three teamed up in the maze. Your abilities shone through, did they not? The mastermind came up with a plan. The warrior fought off the monsters. The windmaster summoned wind, though no one knew it at the time. Now, eleven years later, you three are indeed part of the Rosewood Seven."

Aaron, Katherine, and I looked at each other, smiling. Fate worked in mysterious ways, and it seemed like our destinies had been intertwined from the very beginning.

"Okay. Enough of catching up. I did tell you I was here on a mission, right?" Madeline was suddenly serious again. "Can the chosen seven please gather here? Everyone else move back." There was a shuffling of feet as the customers in the inn scooted far to the other side and we stepped forward in an awkward circle around Madeline. She turned slowly, looking at each of us: Ashley and Rachel in their sorceress dresses, Aaron by the door, Katherine looking a little uncomfortable without her sword, Lucian, Jason, and me with our swords still drawn…

"Yes. An impressive group. The prophecy has not failed," Madeline mused. "I can see the power and magic in you. Would you all like to demonstrate your abilities for me?"

We looked at each other. There was no point in hiding our identities anymore. Revealing everyone's abilities wouldn't bring more harm. I caught Aaron's eye and nodded. He swirled his hand in the air, and a powerful gust of wind elevated all the loose dining ware into the air. Madeline's skirt billowed in the wind. After making all the ceramic plates, cups, saucers, and silver utensils parade in circles around the room, Aaron carefully set everything back down again, breaking nothing.

Next, Lucian stretched out his hand and fire erupted from his palms. He shot a streak into the air, making the people draw back. Before the fire could burn the wooden ceiling, Jason shot a column of ice to meet Lucian's fire. A shower of water rained down on Madeline, but Jason waved his hand and the water disappeared.

"The boys are all elemental masters," Madeline said with a glimmer in her eyes. She looked at Jason. "You, I take it, are the master of all elements?"

"Yes ma'am." He answered respectfully.

"Now, I know that you are the healer and you are the spellmaster." Madeline pointed to Rachel and Ashley in turn. "Both of you are powerful sorceresses. Now you, you're the mastermind, correct?" Her emerald green eyes pinned me under her gaze.

"I am," I answered, glad that my voice didn't quiver. "I'm the strategist and otherwise leader of this group." Okay, the last part was a bit far-fetched because we never made it official, but I wanted something to impress Madeline.

"Ah. I see." Madeline nodded before turning to Katherine. "That leaves you, Katherine. The warrior."

"Yes I am. But you do know that everyone else here is also more than adequate at swordsmanship right?" Katherine said. Madeline smiled.

"Of course I know that. The chosen seven have to be able to protect themselves and wield a weapon, don't they? But you, Katherine, you are the best of all of them."

Katherine looked like she wanted to protest, but Madeline held up a hand. "You are the one I'm looking for, the one who's critical for my entire mission. Then again, I never told you what my mission was, did I?"

We all shook our heads. The townspeople in the inn, huddled against the far corner of the wall, peered at us curiously. Madeline continued to speak. "I'll tell you about my mission, but before that…" She suddenly spun around and shouted "Dormiunt oblitus!" A streak of mint green shot out from her wand. As we watched, all the people in the inn slumped to the ground and became unconscious.

"What did you do?" Katherine demanded.

"Nothing," Madeline replied calmly. "They're only asleep. When they awaken, they will have no memory of this. Or would you rather have the news spread that not only are the Rosewood Seven here, but two of them are also powerful sorceresses?

"Besides, what I'm about to tell you should be for your ears only. It's a reason why I showed up as an old woman, and not as my normal figure." Madeline looked around to make sure that everyone was asleep.

"Children, you are all in terrible danger."