Elize sat on the old rocking chair in her room with the grimoire in hand. She was absentmindedly staring at the thick forest growth outside her window, her gray eyes bereft of the light that once shone through them. Dawn was fast approaching and the first streaks of sun"s rays had lit up the whole sky in a pinkish hue. There was a slight chill to the wind, which glided through her long dark locks every ten minutes. Birds of various sorts were chirping loudly, welcoming the new day by jumping around from one branch of a tree to another in search of food. None of this succeeded in capturing her attention. The girl was lost in a world of her own thoughts.A tiny blue bird suddenly flew up and perched on her window sill. c.o.c.king it"s head to the sides, it started chirping at the girl who barely noticed its presence.
*Chirp Chirp*
The sound brought her out of her thoughts. Elize"s face registered a faint smile at the little visitor who was vying for her attention.
"h.e.l.lo there." She addressed the little creature gently, without moving an inch. She was afraid that she"d startle the little bird.
The bird chirped back.
"Are you lost too?" She asked with a sad smile.
The little creature curiously c.o.c.ked her head to the side and flew away away, without giving her a second glance. As soon as the bird left, Elize heard a knock from the other end of the room. She turned her head towards the door lazily.
"Were you talking to someone?" Agatha asked, unable to decide if her presence was welcome or not.
Elize looked away without answering, her attention once more directed towards the breaking dawn outside her window. She couldn"t decide if she wanted to talk to Agatha or not. Yesterday they had left her alone at Aileen"s place after receiving an urgent fire message. When she had asked them what it was about on their return, both the witches had chosen to remain silent about the matter. After knowing what she knew about her past, Elize couldn"t help but feel resentment towards the people on the Island. The witches hiding things from her didn"t make it any easier for her to trust them again.
Although she was technically not a part of the Island and its various covens, and that it was not her fault that things had turned out this way, Elize couldn"t help but be irritated at her friend for keeping her in the dark about everything. Hence the distrust that she felt towards Aileen was unconsciously projected at Agatha as well. The fears that gripped her heart from the knowledge she gained, was way too strong for her to dismiss. Did Agatha too see her as a sacrificial offering? Elize thought sadly.
"Elize, you need to tell me what the matter is. I wouldn"t be able to understand if you don"t tell me."
Agatha said, finally deciding to enter the room. She walked with confidant steps towards the dark haired girl.
Elize sighed. "It"s nothing. I just miss so many things right now." She lied.
She knew that she couldn"t tell Agatha the truth. After all, Aileen"s reaction at finding her with the Book of Lost Covens had convinced her of her guilt. At this point of time, she felt like she couldn"t trust anyone. If the Islanders had sacrificed the witches of her family, generations upon generations, then she had no doubt that that"s what they meant by her being the Chosen one. She didn"t want to be a sacrificial offering. She had a life of her own, a mate and a pack to look after. Or did her life mean so little to everyone including Aileen? The woman was practically her family.
"Look, if this is about us keeping you here, please know that it is for your safety." Agatha said, coming to stand by the window. She bent down and put a hand on the side of Elize"s face, turning the younger witch to face her.
Elize huffed inwardly. The two witches had warned her of straying from the premises of her mansion. Hence how much ever she had insisted n going back to the pack house, they didn"t budge. There was something going on that she didn"t know about. For her own safety?! More like they don"t want her to escape now that they have her in their grasp. She thought with resentment.
"I understand." She replied, maintaining her best poker face.
Agatha sighed. Leaning against the wall, she said, "It won"t be long before you regain your powers if you keep practicing small spells every day. I can help you recover Elize. I know that it"s hard right now but-"
Elize got up from the chair suddenly cutting her friend off. "No." She stated, pus.h.i.+ng the grimoire towards Agatha.
The blonde witch hesitated at first and then took the book of spells from her hand halfheartedly. A sad expression came over her usually cheerful face. Elize noticed it, but didn"t respond although it hurt her to see Agatha sad.
"Don"t give in yet Elize. You need to find the truth first." She scolded herself in her mind. A long awkward silence stretched between the two, either of them unable to decide what to say to each other.
A long howl cut through the silence between the two. Elize"s heart broke hearing the pain in the howl. She"d know that sound anywhere. It was her mate. She hadn"t contacted him even through their mind link from yesterday night. After all, Zack could be in on all of this too, consciously or unconsciously. She"d have to confront him herself in order to decide if she could trust him. It was at that moment that she had made up her mind to do whatever was necessary in order to arrange the meeting. If the witches didn"t allow her, she was going to find her own way, Elize thought to herself.
Noticing the sudden s.h.i.+ft in her friend"s emotions, Agatha tried to reach out. "Elize I-"
"Tell me, have you sealed off my mansion too with a spell? How long are you guys going to keep me a prisoner here?" Elize taunted, cutting the witch off.
"You know that it"s not like that." Agatha said, shaking her head sadly. She continued after thinking,
"Your actions prove otherwise."
"Fine, I"ll remove the barrier around the mansion while I"m in the house. If you need to go anywhere, then you can go with me." Agatha said, extending an awkward smile towards her.
"Do whatever you please. I no longer care." Elize said with a smirk. "If you"re done, please leave. I"d like to get some sleep." She said, making a show of flipping her hair to the back nonchalantly.
Without waiting for a reply, she turned away and walked towards her queen sized bed. Slipping inside the covers, she covered her head with the blanket, making sure to drive home the point. Elize heard a sigh and within minutes, she heard the door to her room close shut. She peeped from underneath the blanket to make sure that the blonde witch had left. Elize sighed in relief when she understood that she was all alone. Her attention turned towards the open window and returned to her blanket. Her lips tilted up in a triumphant smirk as she quickly formulated her plan for escape.
She walked towards her window and threw a pillow outside with as much force that she could muster up. She nodded her head in satisfaction when it didn"t bounce back after hitting the invisible barrier. It could only mean one thing- Agatha had brought it down.