The Witch of the Woods

Before I knew how the cool rain felt on my skin after a hot summer day, I was alive with the ability to see things others cannot. To feel emotions intensely and taste colors in a way that allowed my surroundings to become more than a simple backdrop to everyday life.

Ah, there was once a time when I knew what could stop me from living was out of my control. What greater forces there were that I could not control and would never dare to understand. Yes, that was once.

It is strange to look back on a time when I believed true happiness was in the presence of others. When objects of no spiritual value held greater power over a human life. A time when men worshipped in public and sinned in private, shoving their beliefs of fulfillment down the throats of innocent children. I believed many of those lies, too, before I knew of the greater power that kept this world in an orbit. Before I became what I am, a force of nature, a whisper in the woods, I was nothing more than a broken soul.

I moved the tea kettle to hang over the fire, warming my hands as I did so. The rain filled my ears as it hit the leaves outside, thunder sounding on the horizon. In the early morning hours, all was quiet in the forest save for the morning storms, often in the summer months. The storms were never the problem, I realized, it was always the perspective. Storms do not bring inconvenience, they bring life. One is not angry at the water that soaks them but instead themselves for not listening to nature. I was grateful to be greeted by a storm and welcomed them to stay as long as they’d like. Nothing would hinder my ability to gather ingredients but myself.

When the kettle rang out to me, I removed it, pouring myself a cup and adding some herbs, lavender and mint. As I sipped my tea, I sat by the fire, reading an excerpt from the worn book I kept at my bedside table. So old it was, the title Book of the Natural Mistress was barely visible. Every chapter was different scriptures to live by.

Today’s line: Ask a stranger not why they choose to live but how they choose to give back.

Below, it continued: Nature as a higher power must be treated as such. If you walk on this Earth and leave your footprints, you must choose a way in which to eventually erase them completely.

After finishing my tea, I gathered my baskets, slipped out of my night dress and into a more form-fitting dress, with sleeves that reached my wrists and a hem that nearly hit the floor. The white dress was tighter in the waist and flowed looser as it reached the bottom. I grabbed my large cloak with a hood wide and thick enough to keep out the rain, braided my hair in one long stride that reached my hip, and set off out of the cottage. I did not own a pair of shoes. Shoes did not belong on the feet of someone who trusted the natural world.

Every morning I followed the trail to the river. I marked the way the moss grew on the trees, how the branches hung overhead, all at the mercy of time and elements. These little signs led me to discover the river that ran down from the mountains. Here, I gathered fresh spring water, occasionally bathed and practiced rituals. On this particular morning, I needed to gather the water for my tonic, both spring and rainwater, two very different ingredients.

But first, I shall practice a water ritual, one that involved becoming intertwined with the water elementals. The gentle rush of the river sounded ahead as the pitter-patter of raindrops against leaves continued, angry clouds thundering in the distance. I removed my cloak, setting it on a nearby mossy rock as well as my baskets, letting the rain settle on my skin.

Treading into the flowing water, one icy step at a time until I reached the knees, I began to remove my dress, letting it slip down my body until it submerged fully. Before it could float away with the current, I placed it on the surface of a stone that looked promising to keep it safe.

And then I began. I placed my hands out in front of me, palms up, accepting. Tracing every line on the skin in front of me with my eyes, aware of every part of me that sang out with the gift of life and power. Closing my eyes, I focused the energy within me outward, solely aware of every raindrop, every lifeform that existed with the power of nature, the power of this forest. All was living, breathing, existing just as I.

We were one in the same lifetime, the forest and I.

I gathered my magick and it spread throughout my body, leaving only to strengthen the natural world around me. The wind picked up, thunder roared overhead, and I could feel everything.

Until something felt… wrong. Once the energy swept through the forest and returned to me, I felt the presence of another. A lifeform unworthy of existing within this forest.

A human.

Before I could gather my thoughts enough to decide what to do to protect our home, I heard a twig snap behind me.

I whipped around and found a man standing at the edge of the river. Immediately I transformed, becoming air and placing myself at the top of a tree, dressed once more, cloak and all.

The man blinked, looking around, startled at the disappearance of my figure. I watched from the top of the tree, looking down at the man and waiting to see him off. Nothing more than a nuisance that would need to be scared. Though if this man happens to be a threat, he would become nothing more than a body of nutrients for myself and the forest. I waited to see what the outcome would be.

“Please,” he called out into the forest, looking around for any sign of life. “I am lost. I cannot find my way through this maze, and there is a storm coming. I fear I will become hopeless.”

He wore the clothes of a royal and held himself as such. He carried a sword at his side, and he looked quite afraid and out of place from the world he is used to; a city of dirt, stone and bricks. The natural world, an entity that man found unfamiliar and dangerous. That was why a man of his nobility was a rare sight.

I decided to entertain the idea of scaring a man out of my forest, especially a royal. I appeared behind him and spoke.

“What is it you seek, prince?”

As he turned around, hand shooting to his sword, I looked deep into his eyes, reading the fear on his face. Another one of my forms stood behind him, one he could not see nor feel but helped me to watch his every move. Though he could only see from my nose down, as I used a glamour to hide my face with the cloak, he tried not to act afraid. “Please, miss.” He pleaded, his features softening. Quite handsome for a human male even with the dirty clothes and rain-soaked hair. He continued, “It seems we are both lost within these woods. If you wouldn’t mind me asking how you arrived here…?” He looked me up and down, curiosity and question taking over his features.

“You will not question me, prince. It is up to you to find your way out of this forest. Do not become your fears. You are a knight after all, first and foremost, are you not? Listen to your instincts and you will find your way.”

As I turned to leave and disappear from sight, the ringing of metal sang out.

“My instincts tell me you are not at all lost in this forest, witch.” The prince stood ready, sword drawn, the look of rage as he realized just who he had encountered in the forest. Nothing more than the sight of a scared little boy.

I laughed, dark and cruel. “You dare to threaten me. Let us see if you will make it out of these woods alive, princeling.”

The prince was not expecting a fight by the look on his face, let alone fight a woman who could turn herself into the largest 8-legged beast to walk this forest. As I transformed into an Orb-Weaver, standing nearly 10 feet in height, the prince did not yet give into fear. Many who come across this form run before their eyes can fully take in what crawled out of their nightmares, while others simply do not ever walk away.

As I readied for the first strike, instead it did not come.

The prince dropped his sword, dropped to his knees as well.

“Spare me, creature of night. I do not wish to die. I have only come for one thing and nothing more. Please, I surrender.” The prince held up his hands over his ducked head, not daring to look at the creature before him.

I waited, considering the threat. If this prince indeed meant what he said or was looking to buy time.

“I will ask this once more.” I spoke through the spider. “What is it you seek, prince?”

The prince rose his head, hands trembling as he lowered them back to his side.

“I-I was sent to… to kill you. The witch of the woods. Please, it was a foolish errand. Please, spare me, I wish to harm you no longer. I only wish to live.”

The prince’s voice cracked when he spoke, tears beginning to fall down his cheeks.

“You are no true prince if you are ordered to kill mindlessly.” I remained in my form and continued “I am not so sure you should be allowed to return to the beasts who sent you on this quest. Do you know that these woods are sacred?” I asked, waiting for an answer. The prince looked up once more, cheeks stained with tears. He was young, yet old enough to be considered a man, considered for the crown. He shook his head.

“We are not the same, prince. I do not kill what does not try to kill me. I am here to protect these woods, that is all. If I wanted to kill men, I would leave this forest and destroy your cities, but I do not. That is not my purpose. So, I ask you; why is it your men continuously try to kill me?”

Once more in my human-like form, I removed my hood, revealing my face fully. The prince looked up into my face, fear melting away at the sight.

“Do I look like a monster?” I asked.

The prince stood, mesmerized. Many men were when they saw me. I was a woman in every sense of the word, as was part of my gift, eternal youth and ethereal beauty. Pale skin and long, dark hair. Wide, amber eyes that glowed. Soft, inviting features. If only they knew what lied beneath.

“You are beautiful,” The prince breathed. I took a step toward him and he moved back. “Then why do you want to kill me?” I asked.

The prince straightened. “There is no reason, if what you say is true. If you will let me live and walk out of these woods, I will tell all the truth, and you will no longer be bothered by our kind.”

The prince’s sword still laid discarded on the forest floor. The rain sprinkled down around us and I spoke through the mist that thickened between us.

“You will leave here alive and unharmed. Once I have my way with you.”

My smile seemed to scare the prince and promise pleasure or pain. Still, he did not resist when I bound his hands with vines and led him back to my cottage. The truth was, I did not care for humans or their petty opinions. Let them think what they will, so long as my forest remains.

For if the prince could tell a lie, as shall I.