The Devil's Cursed Witch

When Ember stirred awake from sleep, she looked around the familiar room in a daze before realizing she was inside the guest room of Cornelia's residence.

She sat up in the bed just as the door opened, and the owner of the house came in with a smile. "I guessed you would be awake by this time, Miss. How are you feeling now?"

Ember looked at Cornelia. "I am feeling good. Have I slept for long?"

"Just an hour," the witch replied. "Miss, you must be feeling hungry now."

Ember realized she was in fact hungry. She looked at the window and could guess it was already afternoon and she had missed her midday meal. "Thank you, Lady Cornelia. I would like to eat something."

"You can freshen up. I will have a servant wait for you outside till you're done." Cornelia then excused herself while Ember stepped out of the bed.

After a while she came out of her room, feeling fresh and her clothes tidied up, and the servant guided her way towards the dining room. When she entered the room, Erlos and Cornelia were already seated in the chairs on the long table. The two were seated side by side, with the head of the table empty, and the servant offered Ember the chair directly opposite Cornelia's.

Seeing the clean plates and untouched food on the table, Ember could not help but comment with wide eyes, "Have you two yet to have your midday meal?"

"How can I have a meal without my guest?" Cornelia replied and looked at the young elf beside her. "Erlos wished to have a meal with you as well."

Ember felt touched and embarrassed at the same time. "Apologies that you two are late for your meal because of me."

"It's nothing, Miss. To be honest, after eating that tasty fish we caught by the river, I am still a little full," as he said that, he offered her an assuring smile.

As the host of the meal, Cornelia then proceeded to introduce the delicacies on the table. Though the meal was not as grand as the food she eats in the palace, there was an assortment of dishes she had never tried before, and Ember made sure she got to have at least a bite of each.

By the time the desserts were served, Ember hesitantly opened up a concern she's been politely withholding since she woke up. "Lady Cornelia...about that vision? What are we going to do?"

"His Majesty has some plans in mind so let's just wait for him to verify some things," Cornelia replied.

"His Majesty?" Ember asked, feeling surprised. "By chance, was he here?"

"Hmm," Cornelia nodded. "He dropped by while you were sleeping. He is your mate so I had to inform His Majesty about anything that happens with you."

Ember understood. "Then, what does he plan to do?"

"He wants to bring Her Eminence the Queen of Witches back to Agartha. He believes Her Eminence can tell us a lot of useful things related to the green-eyed woman."

"I remember you mentioning Her Eminence left for some reason. Does that mean it will be difficult to search for her?"

"We do not know where she had gone but His Majesty seemed to have some clues. Do not worry, Miss. We have a general idea of her whereabouts. We believe she is on the part of the continent south of the Great Mountain Range."

"Are you talking about the land where His Majesty's guest, Mister Aureus, came from?"

"Yes, Miss. We merely need to wait until we find more useful information."

----

Meanwhile, after showing off the different territories of the Kingdom of Agartha, Morpheus brought his nephew back to his favorite spot at the peak of the rocky mountain surrounded by a sea of clouds. The two men were leisurely snacking on the wild fruits they picked along the way.

"Agartha is truly a beautiful, magical place," Aureus said as the two were sitting at the edge of the cliff, looking at the clouds. "I feel like if I want to take a proper look at each town and city, I'd need to spend at least a month more. Unfortunately, now that I have passed my message to the King of Agartha, I need to start heading back to Megaris by tomorrow."

"So soon? You should stay here a little longer. The journey is long, and we'll never know when you will get the chance to come back again."

"I can't. I have to return as soon as possible," Aureus replied without budging.

"Then wait at least after the day of mourning." Seeing his nephew's expression, the gray eagle clarified, "It is the time of the year when the survivors and their descendants pay respect to the people we lost in that catastrophic war I mentioned to you before. Especially for our family, our clan... This is something I wish you to witness."

Since Morpheus had put it that way, Aureus no longer refused. "When is it?"

"In a week's time. I am sure the King of Megaris would not mind if you stay here for a few more days."

"He won't but we have to protect Seren from lurking danger. Unless I am by her side, I won't be able to stop worrying. Besides, I need to pass him the information I have found here about the woman in Seren's dream."

"Look at this lad." Morpheus chuckled. "You say your Queen's name so easily without a title, don't you?"

Aureus turned his face towards his uncle who was sitting next to him and the older man squarely met his gaze. "Don't you do the same?"

Morpheus offered him a playful smirk. "She is not officially a queen yet."

At that very moment, the two Divine Eagles sensed another presence suddenly joining their company. It was precisely Draven who had just left Ember's side, using his power to teleport straight out of Honeyharbor City.

Morpheus sighed as he realized the identity of the intruder and didn't even turn to look at him as he muttered, "This Dragon won't leave me alone with my nephew."

Aureus didn't react to what his uncle said and stood up to greet the King of Agartha.

"I pay my respects to the King of Agartha."

Aureus was raised among humans and he was used to following the royal etiquette practiced in the Kingdom of Megaris. Given that he came as an envoy, he was even more careful in his conduct, though of course, his uncle had an annoyed expression seeing the highest-ranking member of his clan act that polite in front of Draven.

Draven accepted the greetings with a light nod. "I have something important to talk about, Aureus."

"Yes, Your Majesty?"

"I wish to search for one person who left Agartha a century back. I believe the possibility you might have come across her by chance is high, and even if not, I'd like to request your assistance to help in the search."

"Her? A woman?" Aureus probed.

"Hmm," Draven agreed. "Have you come across a witch named Evanthe?"

"Evanthe? I don't recall such a name...."

Morpheus, who heard the familiar name for the first time in a while, stood up and joined them. "Evanthe? Why are you searching for her?"

"We have to find her," Draven replied.

"Why so suddenly? And after these many decades to boot?" Morpheus asked, his intuition telling him this might be related to Ember. After all, Draven's utmost concern as of late had always been his little mate.

Draven didn't hide anything from them and briefly told them the vision Ember had about Evanthe.

"Ember had a vision of Evanthe?" Morpheus exclaimed. "I have been to her castle countless times and I've also seen that camellia flower after she left, but I never triggered such a vision."

Draven had no answer to that. "I have questions as well but for now let's talk about Evanthe." He then looked at Aureus who appeared to be deep in thought.

"Aureus, Evanthe is a powerful witch, and we call her the Queen of the White Witches. She might have used a spell to change her appearance so describing what she looks like is useless. Try to think of the most powerful witch you have ever come across. If you had come across her, it's impossible for you to not sense the essence of her powers."

Aureus didn't answer for a while and then looked at Draven. "Are there many Queens of Witches? Aren't witches separated by covens?"

"There is only one," Draven answered firmly.

Aureus tried to speak but then Morpheus explained it to him. "Witches live in covens, and they have a Head Witch, the most respected and most senior witch who guides their group, so there are many Heads of Witches. However, there has been only a single Queen regardless of the hundreds of different covens in this continent.

"The Queen's power is absolute, and the entire race follows her command. They worship their Queen like a goddess, even more than the feathered race worships you. She is the only witch who possesses a mark on her body, and it looks like this."

Morpheus used his magic to produce a faint replica of a witch's symbol in the air.

"Without this sign, one cannot be regarded as a queen, no matter how powerful a witch she is. Only one queen was born in their race, and for thousands of years, Evanthe had been the Queen of Witches. She had this mark on the back of her neck to give away her real identity so that any of her kind would recognise her right away."."

"I have come across one Queen of Witches, but I remember her being referred to as the Monarch and her name is not the name you said," Aureus replied.

Given what they explained so far, Aureus could only think of a single person who fits their description of a powerful White Witch. It was the previous Queen of Megaris who had saved his life but he had never heard anyone calling her Evanthe. Even her most trusted servant, the half-witch Lady Tyra, always only addressed her as Her Eminence and Monarch.

"Who is it?" Morpheus asked as he was sure that there couldn't be another Queen of Witches.

"Her Majesty Esther Ivanov, the previous Queen and the birth mother of the current King of Megaris."

Hearing it, Morpheus and Draven were surprised and looked at each other.

"Are you sure she is a Queen of Witches?" Morpheus asked. "Besides, wouldn't that mean your king is a half-witch?"

"I can't be mistaken. She has that mark on the back of her neck. The woman who raised me had also told me that Queen Esther, the Monarch of Witches, is the most powerful witch in existence."

"Then there are two possibilities," Morpheus said. "Either there is really another Queen of Witches or Evanthe has changed her name."

Draven agreed to it. "I find it hard to believe another Queen could have been born, because if the mark was bestowed by nature to another witch, then that would mean Evanthe has fallen."

Morpheus pondered as he looked at Draven. "We both know Evanthe. She would not fall for a mere human and even give birth to his child. We know she was someone else's soulmate who she could not be with."

"True. But still we cannot discard the possibility of her being Evanthe. Many decades have passed and unexpected things could happen."

Morpheus agreed. "Can you tell me what this Esther Ivanov looks like? What kind of person is she?"

Aureus explained how she looked and behaved as per how he remembered her. Despite it being two decades since she left, she was still clear in his memory as if she had met her just a day before.

"Her description sounds like Evanthe, and if she stayed for years under the public eye, then it would be difficult for her to keep an appearance-altering spell without pause throughout the years. It is likely that the blond hair with caramel brown eyes is her true appearance, but many witches have similar looks and they are always beautiful too."

"We can only confirm once we have her portrait or we can personally go to Megaris to visit her," Draven suggested.

"Unfortunately, Queen Esther is not in Megaris, and her whereabouts are unknown," Aureus said. "She had left two decades back."

"Left? Why?"

"She had her reasons, I guess." Aureus didn't explain much as he himself was not entirely clear about why she left.

"I have a question," Morpheus said. "Since you say that the King of Megaris has a witch as his mother, then you told us before that his father is human, then how come their son is a Dragon?"

Draven had the same question before. Aureus didn't answer the King, and the same goes with his uncle.

"I cannot say more about my King which doesn't concern official matters."

Draven and Morpheus both understood that Aureus was unwilling to say more.

Draven decided to return to the subject at hand. "She left Megaris as well. Sounds so like Evanthe. She is exactly the kind to put herself in trouble, only to pay for it by leaving the ones she loves."

"Most importantly, if this Esther Ivanov is the current Queen of Witches, then why was she with humans and not with her kind?" Morpheus added and then asked Aureus. "Is there a coven of witches in Megaris and that Queen is leading them secretly?"

"No. There is no such thing. From what I know, aside from the woman who raised me, Queen Esther never interacted with other supernatural beings. She preferred to live like a human being for the sake of her husband and son. She never liked to use her powers, let alone leading any coven," he answered. "His Majesty King Drayce is also searching for his mother. However, it has been decades of fruitless labor. It will probably take a miracle for us to find her, let alone seek the answers of the woman in Miss Ember's dreams through Queen Esther."

"Then we can only hope the King of Megaris will find his mother as soon as possible."

"There is something else as well," Aureus said as he thought about it carefully.

"What is it?"

"Before leaving, Queen Esther told me about Agartha and even gave me a map of how I can reach here. She said I can use it if someday I wish to return to my kind. That means..."

"....she had been to Agartha," Morpheus continued. "Only the one who had been here, can give you a way to reach here. That mean she is Evanthe?"

"If she is Evanthe, that also mean she knew the importance of existence of Golden Eagle and she would have also known that Aureus is Myra's son. But she didn't send Aureus back here and didn't send us any message about Myra. That means, we can not say she is Evanthe for sure. Evanthe would have definitely informed us about Myra," Draven commented.

"I agree. She would have also send Aureus here knowing someone was trying to harm him instead of giving him just a way to return Agartha. She would have also sensed the presence of Black witch and would have send us information about her whereabouts." Morpheus sighed, "This woman...she can't be Evanthe."

"We can't say that either. If she is Evanthe, we need to know why she didn't do all this we said just now and if she is not Evanthe, then how come she is aware of Agartha. No other witch Queen had ever visited Agartha after Esther was gone. If she had, witch clan would have known it and we all would have been aware of her existance."

"We can only understand it when we get to see her."

With the discussion they had, it was difficult to confirm if Esther Ivanov was Evanthe, the queen of witches.

"Aureus wished to return but I am expecting him to stay here till the day of mourning so that he can pay respect to our ancestors with us. So your message to the King of Megaris would reach later once he left." Morpheus replied.

"The King of Megaris is not in his kingdom from what Aureus said and he must be dealing with some important issues so we can wait."

Aureus agreed, "Something important is there. I don't wish to add anything more to his already existent worries about his wife."

"Fine, then you leave later and that is confirmed. Till then, as you wanted, I can make you visit those cities closely. By the way, you said you wanted to visit how witches live. Do you want to go there and visit?"

Aureus nodded immediately but it was for his uncle's sake. He could have gone there later but his uncle could get a chance to see the woman he liked who was in the witch clan at the moment.

Morpheus looked at Draven, "We are leaving for the witch clan. You can enjoy the lovely view of clouds from here."

Aureus bowed to the king before leaving. Draven accepted it with a nod and saw the two shapeshifters flying away. Draven didn't stop them as he felt it was fine to let them meet Ember. It would make her feel better to see her friend.

Draven had to leave as well because he had some other plans. He had to use this chance to go to the other side of the continent and try to search if he could get any clue of Evanthe's existence. He could not simply rely on others or wait for them to be free and then get information from them.

'If there is any chance that Evanthe is Esther Ivanov, then I better visit that kingdom first.'

Draven disappeared from there, only to appear at the top of the mountain around the capital of Megaris as the pair of red eyes looked around the place.