Chapter 100: A New Face
Knock knock came on the front door. It was early in the morning, and I had stepped out to take a normal walk when I heard it.
The skies were still gray, clouds up high. It was not even morning completely, sunrise was still away.
"Who could it be at this gosh-darned hour? If it’s the pipsqueak mayor I am driving his cone head into the ground today I swear to god—"
The door swung open and on the other side was... a Pelican! Again!
"AH!" I froze, my jaw on the ground.
"KWAK!" The Pelican screamed back.
"I-It’s you...!"
"KWAK!"
The pelican reached into its bag and handed me a letter. My hand quivered as I took it.
"KWAK!" It saluted. Pulled out its broom. Turned back to the open air. And with a kick-off, the Pelican started flying away.
"But..." I muttered, still in complete shock. "But you have wings..."
"KWAKK!!"
I could hear it speak from behind, like a fading, hell, a faded echo reaching my ears going straight for my heart. A voice, a remembrance, a teasing? God knew what it was.
I took that tease on my soul as what it was. A reckoning that I was still too young and too weak for the mysteries of this world (pelicans that fly on brooms) and turned around.
My mother used to say it’s okay, little Phantom. This kind of thing happens to everyone, little Phantom.
The door closed behind me. And right then, it was knocked on once again.
"Huh?"
I opened the door.
There stood a platinum blonde woman. She was a little shorter than me. On her head was a twisted pointy hat of purple, and her robes were the same shade. Though her clothes fit on her body well, they fell straight down from her chest. Like a clothes hanger.
She looked up at me with large blue eyes. Her face was completely devoid of any strong emotion.
"I have arrived," she said. Her voice was flat and simple.
I looked out into the gray morning behind her. There was no carriage and no horse. Just the empty dirt path leading to the city.
"Who are you and who exactly has arrived," I asked her.
"Me," she said pointing a finger at her own chest. "I sent a letter to announce my arrival."
I looked down at my right hand. I was still holding the sealed envelope the broom riding pelican had shoved into my hands literally ten seconds ago. I looked back up at the platinum blonde girl standing on my porch. Then I looked at the letter again.
I let out a very long and very tired sigh.
"The letter just arrived," I told her. "You beat your own mail."
"The pelican service has been slacking lately," she nodded solemnly. "But it matters not. I am a witch. I have come to meet the Queen of Witches and request her guidance."
I brought her inside to the main hall of the Grim Palace.
The kitchen was quiet so I brewed a simple pot of tea myself. Nea was still asleep upstairs. I was definitely not going to wake her up after the night we just had. And I was absolutely not going to wake up Weiss either. The Witch Queen valued her sleep more than she valued most human lives.
We sat across from each other at the large wooden table. The new witch sipped her tea in complete silence. She held the cup with both hands. She was incredibly still. She did not look around the room or ask any questions about the palace. She just stared blankly at the surface of her tea. She seemed like a very simple and quiet person.
"So," I tried to make conversation. "You are a witch."
"Yes," she said.
"And you need guidance."
"Yes."
That was the end of that conversation. I drank my tea and listened to the clock ticking on the wall.
An hour passed before the sound of heavy footsteps came from the stairs.
Weiss walked into the hall. She was wearing her usual dark messy robes. Her silver hair was sticking up in three different directions. She had dark circles under her eyes from staying up all night researching ancient magic. She looked like a ghost that had given up on haunting people.
"Phantom," Weiss groaned rubbing her eyes. "Why is there a stranger in my dining room."
The quiet and simple girl across from me suddenly froze. Her teacup rattled against the wooden table.
The girl slowly turned her head. Her large blue eyes locked onto Weiss.
In a fraction of a second the stoic and silent witch completely vanished.
"Oh my god," the girl squeaked.
She jumped up from her chair so fast it tipped over backwards and crashed onto the floor. Her hands flew up to cover her mouth. Her eyes were practically sparkling with starry light.
"It is really you," the girl squealed. "The Queen! The actual Queen of Witches! You are even more magnificent than the paintings!"
Weiss stared at the girl with a look of pure disgust.
"Who let the fan club inside," Weiss asked me.
"She said she needed guidance," I defended myself. "She sent a pelican."
The blonde witch rushed forward and threw herself onto her knees right in front of Weiss. She grabbed the hem of Weiss’s messy robes and pressed her forehead against the fabric.
"Your Majesty," the girl cried out with absolute devotion. "I have traveled so far. The Witches need you. We need our Queen to return to us and lead us once again!"
Weiss yanked her robes out of the girl’s hands and took a big step back.
"Absolutely not," Weiss said flatly. "Get off the floor. That whole Queen of Witches business was completely stopped over three hundred years ago. I am retired. I am busy. Why the hell should I go back to dealing with a bunch of annoying spell casters."
The girl scrambled to her feet. The starry eyed fangirl look faded just a little bit. It was replaced by a very real and heavy panic.
"Because they found it," the blonde witch said. Her voice was shaking now. "We tried to stop them but we were not strong enough. The Empire found it."
I put my teacup down. The casual atmosphere in the room completely evaporated.
"What about the Empire," I asked.
The girl looked at me and then back to Weiss.
"It is because of the weapon the Empire has developed," she said. "This entire side of the world could be on the edge of war."
My heart skipped a beat.
I looked over at Weiss.
Weiss’s eyes were completely wide open. The sleepy annoyance was entirely gone from her face.
And my own eyes were open just as wide.