Chapter 7: The Goat and The Pig and the Butterflies

John Peter

The hut was empty, but the problem is that the wooden door to the hut would seem to not open.

"How do we get to open this?" Kim asked John who was motionlessly sitting on a nearby log, lost in thoughts. Kim grabbed the handle, tilting it at her mightiest.

"Hello? Is anyone there?" She called for about a thousand times now, the torches that ignite fiery green flames were starting to look creepy as the night deepens.

Maybe his mother was worried about him being lost now. He was an important subject to her experimentations somehow.

"If that door was locked by magic, maybe I can negate the power that holds it," John suggested, he stood up from sitting on the log and stepped beside her. He reached out his hand to the knob that their hands touched.

"I thought you wouldn't offer," Kim said, backing away. It's hard to read her expression since it was dim.

John felt the surge of warmth from the touch of her hands. He closed his eyes, summoning his powers and then purple mists started to cover the door's knob. The door opened.

"Whoa! Finally!" She declared happily and entered first.

The hut was unbelievably enormous, the door shut itself, locking them inside.

"Magic seem to be working strong here." Kim speculated. She moved her gaze from the floor to the dome shaped ceiling. The floor creaks every time they moved. There were two rooms identical to each other,  there was a mattress on the far edge at a corner. There were bottles of potions placed in rows in an open cabinet. Leaves of different kinds hung on what seemed like a copper wire. Brown small pots and a cauldron were placed on a flat surface.

"A witch seems to have deserted this place," Kim guessed.

"Witches," John corrected.

"Judging from the rooms, there were two witches inhabiting this hut, and it seemed like they have deserted this place for years." John wandered around. He moved near the nearest room and put his hand on the knob of the door.

"Whatever, Mr. Investigator." Kim walked into what seemed like a potions area.

The door wouldn't budge open, so he tried using his power again. A blaring sound hit the hut.

John looked startled. Kim jumped and broke a conch she's holding in her hands.

"What the!" Kim blurted.

The sound stopped and the door opened. There was a huge bed inside. The room smelled musky, mixed with the scent of vanilla that it looked prettily inviting. Kim was standing behind him now, inhaling a deep breath that it made the hair on his neck stood up with goosebumps.

"Won't we get inside?" She whispered from his back that it made John's spine tingles even more that he was forced to stumble inside, Kim followed right next to him and they stumbled on the hard floor, Kim was on top of him and she seems blushing.

The door shut close.

"Excuse me? You're heavy." John grumbled. Kim hastily got up, looking the away.

"What were. . .those. . .soft. . .round things. . .I just touched? They were. . .so,"

"Stop it!" Her eyes glowed in rage. Mud is starting to swirl around her hand.

"Have I said something wrong? I was just asking though, oh are there enemies? Where? Can't feel them though." Kim shot him a piercing glare. She took a deep breath and calmed herself.

"Naïve!" She was about to walk out though the door, but it won't budge open.

"Darn!" She kicked it.

"Won't you accompany me?" John lit a candle he got from the top of the cabinet. The dim room was ignited in the process. He placed the candle on the floor then he sat there cross-legged. Kim frowned as she moves forward and sat beside him, they were face to face.

"I didn't mean to anger you. I apologize for what I said," John looked at the burning candle rather than looking sincerely to the person he wanted to ask for apology. He was placing his palm on top of the orange flame, catching the black smoke it emits. Kim stared at his emotionless face and straightened her posture. She shifted her expression from frowning to a serious look.

"How did your sister get lost?" The question was like a cold water splashed on his face.

"It's a long story."

"The night is long too."

"Fine," he sounded forfeited as he motioned on the floor uncomfortably.

"She wasn't lost, my speculation was that she got abducted."

"My question was 'how'," she reminded him.

"Four years ago, we. My twin brother, my sister and I," he started glumly.

"We broke a very important experimentation our mother was currently working that time, she named it Disaster. She was and is still looking for specimens to finish her work, and we delayed its perfection by breaking it, that was why she banished sister at Goosebay, abandoned her alone." There were streaks of tears in his eyes.

"That wasn't long though."

"Ya," he wiped his tears.

"But why just she?" She asked. John didn't expect her to ask that question, his expectation was that she'll be asking him about he having a twin brother.

"I and my twin were important specimens of her experimentations though," he retorted.

"My sympathies for your sister," her face saddened as well, like his words seemed like seeping into her bones like a chill air.

"Thanks," he forced out a weak smile and lifted his head to meet her gaze.

"So tell me your story."

That made Kim look the other way to avoid his gaze.

"It's long, and I don't like sharing my tale to anybody." She said it icily.

"Like what you've said, the night is long. And you think I have liked it to share my story?"

"Okay, fine. Just to be fair."

Her stomach rumbled.

"But, I can't tell a story if my stomach is churning in hunger," she grumbled, smilingly at him as if begging him to give her something to eat.

"And where are we getting food for us to eat?" John eyed her seriously. His stomach rumbled in response.

"You've never told me that you have this amazing power of passing your hunger." John grumbled.

"Maybe the witches have foods stored here, somewhere. So, would you please do the honors of opening that door?"

They both stood up and went to the door. John opened it and they stepped outside. Cool air meet them, making their hunger to grow much worse.

A dark shadow was standing on the far side of the room, a heavy aroma of baked cookies met their senses of smell.

"Is that Mrs. Goodman baking?" Kim hissed.

The shadow turned to face them, the room where the shadow was standing is dim. The shadow has horns.

"Hello?" A cute tinny voice called.

"You aren't a demon right?" Kim called back, her voice quivering.

"Of course I am not." It is hard to distinguish whether the creature was a male or a female.

"Then show yourself." Kim's voice was feeble.

The room ignited. The creature looked more of a male from its features. He has a human figure, he has a goat's horns, a goatee, and hooves.

"Are you happened to be a faun?" Kim guessed. The creature shook his head.

"A satyr?" John joined the guessing. The creature shook his head again.

"You're a goat?" Kim said. The creature didn't respond.

"And a cursed being?" John added.

"You were both right, I'm a goat as well as a cursed being. I'm Jamesu." He introduced himself, his voice shifting into a bass.

"How poor of you." Kim said sympathetically.

"I'm John."

"And I'm Angelica Kim. You can call me Kim for short. Oh, What were you baking there?"

"Cookies," he smiled and took something out from what looked like a cube object, placed inside was a flat metal and above it was the baked cookies.

"Want to dig in?" He invited, smiling meekly at them. His legs were hairy, he was covered in fur and he wore a black tunic as an upper clothing.

They walked into a small room, there was a small table inside and four small chairs facing each other in opposite directions.

Jamesu placed the flat metal plate atop the table. They took their seats, John sat facing Jamesu and Kim sat beside his right side. Kim grabbed two cookies and started nibbling. John got one and ate. He discovered it was rock hard so he was forced to eat it distastefully.

"So why were you cursed?" Kim asked, letting chunks from the cookies to drop on her dress. Jamesu just smiled in response.

"If I knew loving would lead me to being accursed I shouldn't have loved." There were streaks of tears in his coal black eyes betraying his brave looking face.

"I'm sorry to hear that," Kim apologized.

"What are you doing here?" John asked suspiciously.

"What are you doing here also?" He retorted.

"Answer me first," John insisted.

"I was once a gardener, I guarded and tilled. . .Aishah's garden."

"You fell in love with Aishah?" John's eyes were stern, but he didn't raise his voice nor showed any sign that he was shocked.

"Nah! I fell in love with her mother. I fell in love with Enchantress," Enchantress' name vibrated inside the room. Jamesu sighed like a big burden has been lifted from his shoulder.

"Seriously? You fell in love with that witch?" John tried not to sound sarcastic because he doesn't know how to make senses of humor, though deep inside he's laughing.

"One day I confessed, telling her I loved her, she didn't respond. She hadn't even showed a bit of remorse; only I had witnessed pity in her eyes. I took her hand and kissed it. Then, I shifted into a beautiful man, then I changed suddenly and I became what I looked like now."

"So you were a goat that time?" Kim butted in.

"Yes, I was. Then she removed me from my position. She banished me. I then wandered for years that was next fled into the Forest of Feesh. Finally, I saw this hut deserted so I took refuge until now you saw me."

"How did you manage to open the door then?" John questioned.

"I don't hold magical powers. So technically, I can get myself in. But I can do lots of things like healing, calling the winds and blah blah blah."

"How 'bout you two?" He pauses, "How have you gotten in here?" He added, raising his thick furry brow.

"I am looking for my sister." John was expressionless.

"I took a quest from Goosebay, met him, went with him, and ended up helping him in finding his sister. We were sent here by the Ghost Goose," Kim said, gnawing a cookie.

"Have you seen the butterflies?" Jamesu asked excitedly.

"I saw them. They guided me out from the labyrinth."

"You were inside a labyrinth?" John asked astonished.

"Why were you asking about them?" Kim asked, ignoring John's question.

"They were with me when I got exiled, I lent them with one of my best friends. I lent them with Rodney."

"The Ghost Goose?" Kim was smiling in their conversation.

"He gave me this." Kim pointed at her neck, a crimson pig was etched into it. John hadn't noticed it being etched there 'til now.

"Yes, that was a blessing from him. Do you happen to live in Pasaso?" Jamesu replied, he seemed as well very interested in their talk.

"Yes, I'm a mage and a princess. I'm a daughter of Aslan," Kim said confidently.

"Never thought of that Lion having a daughter of a pig," Jamesu laughed, John joined and they laughed weakly.

"Eh? She's a Lioness-pig my little sister calls her Jollibee."

"A lioness-pig? Never heard of that." John brushed the chunks of cookies from his sleeve. He wore a violet long-sleeved cloak. Kim stretched her arms and sighed.

"She's a half lion and a half pig. Weird is it." She stood up.

"I'm sleepy."

"Me neither." John stood up brushing the chunks from his cloak.

"You can sleep in the rooms, I'll be sleeping on the mattress in the potion room." Jamesu offered.

"Okay then, I'll be taking the room from the right." Kim blurted.

"So the room next to yours is mine," John said then he ambled out.

The floor creaked. Jamesu proceeded to the potion room and took a seat on the mattress. He waved his hand goodbye.

"Good night to the both of you," he said.

"Likewise to you goat-man," John replied back.

"Would you mind opening this door again?" Kim asked while keeping her hands in twisting the knob but nothing happened.

"Sure," he shot it with a bolt of purple light and it swung open.

"That was fast, thanks." Then she went inside. The door shut itself. He opened the door to his 'room'. He started feeling agitated as he moved inside the room which revealed a big bed and a wall decorated with a stag's head. A candle on the small table was automatically lightened as he entered the room. There were vials and small bottles of potion arrayed on a furniture.

He sat on the bed, grabbed the blanket and whipped the dust off of it. He removed his slippers and get himself to bed. He muttered a silent prayer, shot a purple beacon on the candle, severing it light.

The room was filled with darkness. Finally, he closed his eyes.