The Vampire & Her Witch
Chapter 285: Joining Ashlynn’s Coven

Chapter 285: Joining Ashlynn’s Coven

The diffuse light in the Briar had begun to dim as Amahle and her coven stood in silence, waiting through the final hours that would determine Heila’s fate.

Ashlynn still lay next to Heila, wrapped comfortingly around the diminutive horned woman like a mother cradling her child. A thin, steady stream of emerald green energy flowed from Ashlynn’s hand into Heila’s heart, sustaining and strengthening the prospective witch as she continued to struggle with whatever seemed to be obstructing her trail.

"Mother, mother, look," Talauia cried, pointing excitedly as her wings began to beat rapidly with a high-pitched hum.

The sound of a soft -crack- broke the still silence that enveloped the island and a piece of willow bark that had grown over one of Heila’s horns cracked a second time before falling to the ground. The first piece was followed by a second and a third as the transformation gained speed.

A healthy pallor returned to her face and the green tendrils that had crept up her neck faded away as though they’d never been there. While the process wasn’t instant, it took only a few minutes for the diminutive woman’s transformation to completely reverse, leaving her even more radiant and healthy than she had appeared before the start of her trial.

Behind her, an ethereal willow tree took shape, starting as a sapling and growing rapidly until its branches drooped over Heila and Ashlynn. The branches moved and swayed in the wind for a moment before the tree transformed into a stream of silvery-green energy that flowed into Heila.

No sooner had the glow faded than Heila drew a deep, shuddering breath, opening her soft, grass-green eyes and blinking several times in surprise when she found herself in Ashlynn’s warm, comforting embrace.

"Welcome back," Ashlynn whispered from behind her diminutive friend. Her arms wrapped completely around Heila, drawing her in close for a fierce hug. Tears dripped down Ashlynn’s eyes and her heart trembled with relief. "I was afraid we would lose you. That I would lose you," she whispered.

"No," Heila said softly. "No, no, no, no, no. You need me," she whispered fiercely. "And, and I need you too. So I’ll never go. I, I’m sorry I took so long," she added, closing her eyes and hanging her head low. "If I was just a little bit smarter, I would have,"

"Enough of that," Amahle interrupted as she knelt by the two women. "You are here, Little Heila," she said gently, reaching out with a hand to brush sweat-soaked curls out of Heila’s face while her less mundane senses examined the flow of magical energy through Heila’s body. "You did your best and your best was good enough. You’re a witch now," she added. "Whether it took three days or nine, that you passed your trial is all that matters."

"Nine? Has it really only been nine days?" Heila asked, sitting up and pulling away from Ashlynn as she looked around in confusion. "My lady!" Heila exclaimed when she saw the state of Ashlynn’s torn and stained dress. "What happened?"

"Nothing important," Ashlynn said, sitting up before she recaptured Heila and pulled her into another embrace. "I felt like something was stopping you from passing your trial when even the Ancient Willow felt content with you. I didn’t realize it until it was almost too late," she said in a voice that was rough with emotion.

"Now, now," Amahle said, using her spider-like limbs to pull both women into an embrace. "Y’all have both been through an ordeal. We can talk about the details later, but right now, I think both of y’all could use a good soak in a bath, some fresh clothes, and a home-cooked meal."

"Tala, honey," the Mother of Thorns called. "Get the boat ready to go. Jacques, help your auntie and cousin to get settled but when we get home, you need a long bath yourself. Let Tala and I take care of the cooking and everything else tonight. You’ve done enough."

"Yes, Maman," Jacques said before he took her place kneeling next to Ashlynn and Heila. "Ma petite," he said reaching out to gently stroke Heila’s hair before his hand froze awkwardly in mid-air. After spending so many days watching over her, he felt closer to the newly born Willow Witch and even more so now that she was a real ’cousin’ but... Heila had been asleep all this time.

"It’s fine," Heila said, smiling at his awkwardness. "You’ve been standing guard all this time, haven’t you? Go ahead."

"I didn’t make it easy for him," Ashlynn added while Jacques affectionately ruffled Heila’s curls. "I asked him to help me with my training since we’re so far from Thane but the longer things took, the rougher things got. Jacques," Ashlynn said, placing a hand lightly on his forearm. "I took out much of my anxiety on you, and you never once complained. You had every right to refuse me. I’m sorry."

"Dis ain’t a ting to worry about, Auntie," Jacques said with a toothy grin. "I was anxious too. Little Heila, she’s too precious to say goodbye to so soon, non? Now, we’re all together in de end, jus’ like it should be."

"Just like it should be," Ashlynn agreed.

When Heila tried to stand, her legs trembled beneath her and refused to support her weight. The long days spent lying motionless had left her muscles weak and unresponsive. Before she could fall, Jacques was there, kneeling beside her with gentle hands ready to help.

"May I, ma petite?" he asked softly. At Heila’s grateful nod, he scooped her up carefully, cradling her in his strong arms while his scaly hands held her with surprising gentleness. "You’re looking drained too, Auntie Ashlynn," Jacques added as he looked at the exhausted young Mother of Trees. "I’ll come right back for you, jus’ wait a spell."

"No, I’m fine, if, if you can lend me a shoulder," She said, pushing herself to her feet. Her body ached and she felt like she was a towel that had been rung out but she was no worse off than she’d been at the end of her grueling training sessions with Thane during her blossoming period. "I want to stay close to Heila," she added softly.

"Den, my shoulder is all yours, Auntie," Jacques said. As they picked their way carefully over the earthen berm and the ground that had been torn asunder by their intense training sessions, he also lifted his tail, wrapping it around Ashlynn’s other side to help steady her when she stumbled over the rough terrain.

"Let me help you, jus’ dis bit," Jacques added after settling Heila in the back of the boat. Standing ankle-deep in the water he gently lifted Ashlynn up and placed her in the boat next to Heila before fetching a blanket for the two of them.

In the oppressive heat of the Briar, most people would reject anything that would have kept them warmer, but there was something comforting about being under a blanket together with someone, even if it just lay across their laps. For all his exterior was rough and thorny, even Jacques understood this much and from the relieved look on Heila’s face when he held out the blanket, he’d made the right decision.

"Take these, take these," Talauia said, holding out cups of cold, crisp lemonade that had been muddled with mint and other herbs. "It’ll help perk you up on the way home. Mother’s potion helped you to last this long, cousin Heila, but even Mother’s witchcraft has limits."

"Thank you," Heila said, gratefully accepting the cool, refreshing beverage that wet her parched lips. Along with the sweet and tart beverage, her senses detected the slightest trace of wood energy that she would have missed before her ordeal.

Clearly, Talauia had been worried about her too if she’d gone so far as to add a bit of witchcraft to the simple beverage, but in the state she was in, Heila could only admit that she likely needed it.

The boat ride back to Amahle’s home in the Briar passed in relative quiet. It was clear that both Heila and Ashlynn and to a lesser extent even Jacques, were still processing the events of the past several days. But this, to Amahle’s eyes, was the foundation of a good coven.

Ashlynn had done as a mother should. She had provided a way for her daughter to grow and realize her potential, even though doing so was painful and carried risks to herself. Then, she’d let Heila do everything she could to take advantage of that opportunity and when it was clear that something was preventing Heila from succeeding, even though there was little she could do to help, Ashlynn hadn’t hesitated to step in.

The difference between being a Child of the Earth and becoming the Mother of trees was the ability to take this step. To create a coven that was bound together like a family and could face the countless trials to come together.

However hard it had been on them, in Amahle’s eyes, they had succeeded in the most important part. If Ashlynn could continue this way, then Amahle felt like there was hope that the darkness that clung to the Harbinger of Death wouldn’t swallow her.

And if it tried to... well, Ashlynn wasn’t just the Mother of Trees now. She was also someone that, after seeing how she’d responded to her trials, Amahle felt proud to call her little sister. And if someone came to hurt her little sister, whether it was vampires or the human crusade, Amahle wouldn’t stand idly by to let it happen.

As she watched Ashlynn wrapping a blanket around herself and Heila so they could continue to comfort each other on the way back home, Amahle made her own promise. It was rare for her to take sides in any conflict, after all, nature itself was neutral in the conflicts between men and nations, but if anything came after Ashlynn and her coven... the Mother of Thorns would take her stand alongside the Mother of Trees.