Episode 8 - The soul

Breathe… 

Breathe… 

Slowly I breathe… 

Breathe… 

Need focus on… 

Breathing… 

Breathe… breathe… breathe

My breathing becomes steady… 

Deep breath… 

Vision is still dark under closed eyelids. What little light that pierces my eyelids is tinted blue, accompanied by a sound I struggle to decipher at first….

Trolling!

Breathe, breathe and breathe…

He’s still alive. Unable to open my eyes, I take in the scent of fresh air blindly… with a deep breath. Feeling the heat from the sun, I shift my attention to my surroundings, feeling more of Trolling’s feet as it is jumps on my stomach, as well as the rough texture of sand beneath me. Being too stiff to move, I wonder if the Red Magic still infects my body. I can feel padsteps as much as hear them; I am hyper aware of a new presence. Is it the evil sorcerer? Back to finish me off? Trolling seems similarly curious - but is able to voice his wonder. 

“What is it? My Meow?” 

Trolling’s voice is a welcome familiarity… but who is he speaking to? 

“Your little helper has tried to wake it up of course!”

The new person comes so close that I can identify the padfalls as that of a Catmen. A female voice flows from them. 

“Holy Miaw! Trolling, do you know what she is?” 

I am expecting an answer as much as this new Catmen is, and as such I am surprised, when I feel Trolling jump higher than ever on my stomach.

“A springboard, my Meow!” 

I take a deep breath…

I know this scene. That voice. Is the Catmen… me? 

The Catmen is not the evil sorcerer… 

“One… Two…” 

I hear Trolling’s wings fluttering near my stomach. I… am the Furless. With similar timing to my realisation, Trolling uses my stomach to catapult himself with shrieks of excitement onto the roof. A soft laugh joins Trolling’s cheeky chuckling. The Catmen - me. She takes one of my hands into her paws and after a moment speaks in a firm tone. 

“Trolling, this is a Furless…”

Suddenly a yellow magic light blinds me. I have soft grass beneath me, the air smelling once more of fire as ash swirls around me. Thick air, once again I need to… 

Breathe… 

Breathe… 

Focus on my inner self. The yellow light disappears. My inner soul, a soul I have never felt, is smiling at me… 

Breathing… 

Able to move once again, I open my eyes, startled by the lack of blue magic. 

Breathing normally again. 

“Alive! You’re alive!” 

I set my gaze upon Trolling, flying around me in circles as I regain my touch with reality. Why had I seen the past as the Furless? I glance around, heart sinking with horror as small flames come into vision. Small flames, along with the black remains of my home. The forest appears regrown; alive as it was before all of this… but all that was within my Shield is black and burnt.

“What… has happened?” 

I mutter to myself, not expecting Trolling to stop in front of me, laughing over his own words in his endearing manner. 

“You should look at yourself!” 

I raise my paw in front of me, extremely relieved to see fur. White fur. Confused, I raise my tail in front of me, marvelling at its thick white fluff. Not a grey hair in sight! Trolling sinks to the leftover floor in bellowing laughter as I twirl, observing the black pads of my paws and the softness of my fur. A nice change from its previous wiry nature. Looking up in my euphoria, I shout at the sky - not words, but a scream of purr happiness. 

"My youth has returned!" 

Panting, but still unable to contain my excitement, I turn to Trolling. Except he’s gone. 

"And Trolling, I have a Princess tail"

Spinning with my tail, I found that I had swept him away, no longer aware of its length. 

“...Sorry.”

At this point, I realise I have no clothing on, my only possession is the Blue Scroll which rests on the ground by my feet. I run my claws carefully across the lighting patterns as I lift it, feeling my fur tingle with magic as the scroll calls out to me. I let the magic flow through me powerfully, a gentle song coming to my ears.

We are here for you, You have said the word, ‘blue’. You are the chosen one, it has already begun.

The master has chosen you, just say the word, ‘blue’. Become the one you should be, gain the magic power of all three. 

We are here for you, just say the word, ‘blue’...

The song fades, leaving my fur on end with its message. Looking down at it one last time, I hold it in front of me and take a deep breath.

“Blue.” 

Disappearing in a flash of lighting, the scroll quickly displays its power. Foreign magic is welcomed into my body, flowing through my veins with a feeling of incredible potential. My arm appears no different, but as I repeat myself once again, blue sparks of lightning dance between my paws. In shock, I clap my paws together, the magic quickly dissipating. Trolling laughs slightly, leading me to look upon him. His face holds a very obviously curious expression and as such, with a grin, I hold my paws apart once more. And, as Trolling jumps side to side, I say it again. 

“Blue.”

The lightning between my paws grows larger with every moment, instinct tells me to open my arms wide. As I widen the gap between my paws, the sparks begin to engulf my whole body, power flowing across my entire being and lifting me in the air with its force. As I stretch my arms out further, the lightning splits, taking the form of a Blue Sorceress Cape around me. The hood flops over my head with precision, my ears in their holes without any adjustment. Flowing down behind me, the cape splits in two as it reaches my tail. As it completes its formation, the lightning’s uplifting force dims, letting me admire my cape from the ground.

As my paws touch the grass, I marvel at the medallion holding the front together. A lightning symbol shines in the sunlight. Along with the cape, new clothing had formed in the shape of a white tunic and pleated blue skirt. My black belt of elixirs has miraculously been returned with the transformation, full of the few potions I’d been able to save from the house. Slowly turning to Trolling, I hear a voice projecting into my head.

“You are the chosen one, through the power of the Fairy Princess, and have been bestowed the role of Princess of the Woods.”

With a noise of surprise, Trolling flies up onto my paw and kneels, laughing as he jokes… 

“My Princess Meow!”

How on Obbisia does he know I’m the Princess now? 

“Did you hear it too?” 

Trolling’s inquisitive look is enough of an answer, and in my newly regained excitement I shout out to the whole forest, 

“I’m not the White Sorceress anymore! I’m the Blue Princess of the Woods!”

Laughing as usual, Trolling continues to repeat himself, 

“My Princess Meow… My Princess Meow…” 

I take it upon myself to ignore him, stretching my left paw to the skies and summoning a blue bolt of lightning. Realising that I am still able to use the White Scroll-magic, I search for it, finding it a few metres away. Brushing the ashes off of it, I summon my White Staff. I am left wielding a different magic with each paw. Trolling looks back and forth between my two magics with wonder before chuckling out, 

“You are the White Sorceress and the Blue Princess! No… you’re… Princess Meow of the Magic Tree!”

“How about… Princess of the Woods?” 

I smile, pleased to have decided on a title for myself. Pulling myself back to reality, I let my eyes search and eventually find a tree on the very edge of the new forest. Pulling in a deep breath, I release it with a bolt of Blue magic at the tree. Upon hitting the tree, the bolt begins to spread in a series of sparks into a flat disk. A… portal? I watch mesmerised as the sparks begin to swirl and a little creature falls out. Looking ecstatic, Trolling skips over and laughs at it. It looks just like a… Fairy, a female Fairy. Clearly confused, the Fairy looks around the clearing, eyes widening as they fall upon me. 

“You!” 

I almost ask who it means, before noticing the way its eyes pierce mine. It is flying towards me. 

“Is it already time?” 

I just stare back at the Fairy. I hope that it can see the confusion in my eyes, as I have been left speechless by the insanity of the situation. Did I really just make a portal… to a Secret Forest? The Fairy clearly notices my need for answers and nods at me, flying forwards to the forest and beckoning for us to follow. I glance at Trolling and unsummon my staff, watching him fly to the house. 

“I shall just grab something and catch up!”