Miss Midnight

Chapter Eleven: Legend of Walpurgis Night

Chapter Eleven: Legend of Walpurgis Night

My bare feet slapped against cold cobblestone as Miss Walpurgisnacht and her familiars led me out of the manor and down into the estate's sprawling gardens. Wilted rosebushes dotted by withered black blooms lined the paths, alongside the occasional rows of apple trees. The sound of rushing water echoed in the chilly air as the blood-like liquid flowed through the irrigated canals beneath the gossamer rainbow bridges. Dark clouds churned above, as though to warn of impending doom. Several weathered stone statues were scattered about, depicting figures of ancient, long-dead witches, warlocks, and fairies.

The giant black teacups were a lot bigger than they looked from the window view, towering above me at a height of at least ten feet, at a glance. They were undecorated and wide-rimmed, similar to something I'd seen in Witch's Brew before. I guessed they were probably used for some kind of mystic or divine rituals back in the old days. Either that or it was the remnants of some giant's long-forgotten tea set.

I was whisked off to the edge of a cliff overlooking the rough, choppy ocean. Howling, icy sea wind lashed at my face like whips. My crimson pigtails ripped back and forth in the gusts.

My stomach clenched with dread. I glanced at Walpurgisnacht, her back turned to me. I didn't care what she had been through, it didn't justify any of this. Not after what she did to Kirsten.

I wouldn't stand for it. I refused.

Quietly, I slipped a couple fingers into my nightgown pocket, grasping the metallic hilt of a kitchen knife I had snatched from the table. Gripping it tightly, I tore it from my pocket- and lunged forward. I swung down my arm with all my power, hoping to stab Walpurgis in the nape of the neck. I expected to feel the cold steel pierce warm flesh...but all my breath escaped my lungs in a single hollow gasp instead. I clenched up and crumpled to my knees in the dirt, coughing, clawing at my throat and gasping for air.

Garnet loomed above me. "You should know better than to try to attack my Mistress. Human girls are rather stupid, aren't they?"

Garnet did something to me, hit me with some kind of chop to the throat, and man, did it work. As I writhed on the ground, Miss Walpurgisnacht spun around to face me. "What'd you think you'd do to me with that little butterknife? You should just give up with the last bits of dignity you have left. Without your brooch, you have no means of escaping me. Your precious little familiars and witch friends won't be here to save you either."

An eye-shaped sapphire gem dangling from Walpurgis' choker shone brightly, unleashing rays of light that eclipsed and swallowed up its wearer, who soon burst free clad in a flowing navy-blue gown trimmed by white lace at every fringe and hem. Laced black boots spiraled up onto her legs, an azure witch's hat materialized onto her head, and a pair of skeletal claw-like gloves concealed her delicate hands as she grasped a spiral-hilted, broad-tipped spear the size of her own body. She opened her clenched fist before me, revealing a purple teardrop-shaped crystal.

"T-that...that's...Miss Twilight's Mystic..." I muttered.

"Indeed it is," Walpurgisnacht answered brusquely. "This is the source of a witch's power, a chunk of pure, concentrated magical energy compressed into a physical form. Under the circumstances that caused us to be born witches, these gems were grown within our bodies from the moment we came into this world. These little crystals make us what we are. They're rooted to our very nerves and veins, but they can be extracted through magic...although the process causes immense pain...and death."

"Y-you...you can't be serious!" I snapped.

"Do I look like I'm joking?" the witch sneered. "It won't take long, and it'll only hurt for a moment...then you won't have to worry about anything ever again. After I take your Mystic, Garnet will make a lovely feast out of you, I'm sure..."