“We need to move quickly if we want to slip into the kingdom by--” she began, but then I raised a hand to cut her off.
“Penelope and I will go and hunt for the ingredients,” I explained in a gentle voice. “You should stay here with the others. We won’t be long.”
“And if you please, Professor,” Penelope said in a respectful voice. “Could you brew some water for us before we return? It would be most helpful.”
“Fine,” the beautiful professor answered after a long silence, “but be careful.”
“We will, and we won’t go too far,” I assured her before I turned to look at Penelope. “Right?”
“Yes, master,” she said with a bright and eager smile.
We both turned away from Vanessa and the sleeping familiars before heading back into the woodland. The woods were cold, and the early morning sunrise was barely visible, but it still cast a pale glow on the forest floor and vibrant trees.
“So, how hard do you think it will be to find these ingredients?” I asked as we walked onward, and the sun began to burn a little brighter.
“It shouldn’t be too difficult, they’re rather common,” she responded before she stopped in her tracks and then looked around. “In fact… I think we could find a moth nest in one of these trees.”
“Yeah?” I arched an eyebrow as I turned and looked at the differently-colored barked trees. “Any particular one?”
“If my memory serves me correctly,” Penelope began before she drummed her fingers along her lips. “It should be inside a dark purple barked tree. Moths love to nest inside them because darker colors tend to attract more light and warmth, and they thrive from it.”
“Got it,” I said as we looked at all the colorful trees around us. “Well, that shouldn’t be too hard to find. Most of these are light, so a dark tree should be easy to spot--”
“Look, there’s one just ahead,” she gasped as she pointed to a dark tree among a cluster of yellow, green, and red ones. “Let’s check it out.”
I followed Penelope as she ventured toward the deep, plum-colored tree, and then she pulled out her wand and aimed it at the bark.
“Aperto,” she recited before a speeding green light fired from the tip of her wand and tore a hole into the purple tree trunk.
We both neared the broken bark and peered inside the opening. I saw a small nest built from little, bird-like bones, and there were white and black spotted moths fluttering wildly inside.
Penelope reached into the tree and grasped one of the winged creatures with her bare hands, and then she squeezed it with all her might until a satisfying crunch followed.
“That’s one ingredient down,” she said in a pleased voice before she withdrew her hand and placed the dead moth into her pocket. “Now just three more to go.”
“Which one should we hunt for next?” I asked.
“I’d say we should try to find the thyme,” Penelope said before she stopped and looked down at the brightly-colored forest floor. “It’s a plain green ingredient, and it should stand out from everything else around here.”
“Understood.” I smiled, and as I watched the orange-haired witch with careful eyes, I couldn’t help but marvel at how confident and gifted she was. “You know, Penelope, without you, we would have been fucked countless times before. I hope you know that.”
“I do, master,” she replied before she looked up at me with adoring, honey-brown eyes, “but you do know the only reason we’ve come this far is because of you, right?”
Before either of us could answer, there was a sudden rustling of leaves, and we both whipped around with our wands pulled out and aimed at the ready. We both prepared for anything to appear, but then we found ourselves staring at Penelope’s panda, and we both laughed in relief.
“Oh, it’s just you, Naomi,” the orange-haired witch giggled.
And me, too! a familiar voice said in my head, and when I looked up, I saw Alexander flying just above my head.
“Were you not asleep when I left you?” I laughed before he perched himself on my shoulder.
So? he said in a stubborn voice. Did you really think I wouldn’t follow your scent? You can’t get rid of me that easily, you know.
“I know that,” I chuckled. “Anyway, now that you’re here, I want you to fly up and see if you can spot a bright green herb growing from the earth.”
No problem, he said in my head, and then he sprung from my shoulder and took off. I’ll be back sooner than you think!
“While Alex is gone, let’s look for the seeds,” I suggested before I turned to Penelope, who was petting her panda with a loving smile. “What kind were they again?”
“Citrus seeds,” Penelope clarified before she looked at her familiar and whispered something into her ear.
The bright orange panda nodded her head and waddled off into the woods, and when Penelope spun around to face me, she flashed me a small smile.
“She’s going to kill some fairies, and once I have their bodies, I can retrieve their powder,” she explained.
“Great,” I sighed. “So, let’s find the seeds, and by the time we’re done, hopefully the familiars will be, too.”
The bright-haired witch nodded in agreement and began to look up at the sky, and for a moment, I was confused.
“Hmmmmm,” she hummed aloud.
“What are you doing?” I asked.
“Looking up at the yellow trees,” Penelope explained. “That’s where lemons grow.”
“Ah,” I said with a small chuckle, “but of course.”
