029 Her Expedition

"A small town named 'Evergreen' was found burning with none of its residents anywhere to be found. The reason for the destroy of the town is still under investigation. The police are suspecting it to be some kind of natural disasters leading its residents to leave..."

Kitty turned off the TV and fell back into bed. Now that she had a few stable days without too much to worry about, she finally felt a bit settled and had more room in her head to think about stuff.

It has been a week since Erebus delivered Perses to the King. It was not like the King of the underground werewolf world would announce his decision and stuff exactly, but Kitty was expecting SOME kind of sign, indicating some justice been done.

Not like this.

Besides, Perses's men didn't seem to be stopped by his capture on following with his plan -- they were still hunting her the very night Erebus delivered their master to the king for the crime Perese had committed. Though Kitty never met any danger after that, it had been a worry at the back of her head.

She was now a target of a vicious werewolf and his army; she was the daughter of her parents, and then the daughter of a witch, and then the daughter of a couple who mysteriously died last month. There has to be more about her.

She needs to know more about this magical world hiding right in front of her eyes. She IS part of it right now, for whatever reason. Now that she got a glimpse of it, suddenly the human life became less interesting. She HAS to know more!

Besides, she just agreed to help Erebus, and while she didn't know on what exactly yet, Kitty was sure it was not something like "help me with my laundry" kind of human problem.

She needs to see the witch!

Kitty jumped out of bed and grabbed her coat. It wasn't exactly "cold" cold outside yet, but she loves this black trench coat Erebus got her. It's soft and warm with a decent weight and a scarlet hood. It was a bit bigger than her size so she felt like being hugged and tucked in.

It makes her feel safe.

Breakfast was like always: the right amount of food, and a huge bowl of fruit. This hotel is very customer friendly with healthy diet! Kitty thought as she grabbed the last few strawberries on her way out. And that's one of the things that she likes about this hotel the most -- apart from it being a luxurious hotel with EVERYTHING she wants and needs obviously -- they always serve her favorites.

The street was sunny and windy, classic autumn weather.

Now that Kitty didn't have to worry about surviving anymore, she finally found the luxury to enjoy walking on the street back, like how it was supposed to be, like how she was when she had her parents by her side.

Golden leaves twirl into small swirls by the side of the road, playing the shadow game with the sunshine. Kitty was once again on Maple Ave, looking into the window of that small store, as if staring at a one-eye mischievous witch looking back at her with a grin.

She knew what she saw.

The store was right here when she walked in and watched a stone disappeared under her touch. And she missed that store on that day too! She knew she wouldn't miss such a curious store, not just because she had always been a curious cat for these kinds of unearthly stuff. After all, Poe's Tales of the Grotesque and Arabesque HAD always been her favorite.

Kitty took a deep breath and stepped on the stones leading towards the store not too far away as if she was starting a expedition. Either she confirms that she WAS a witch, and officially be a part of the magical world, or she's out, and thrown back to the ordinary, boring human life once again. And Kitty realized that it was the second possibility that made these few steps seemed so hard to her.

Even expeditions end, no matter how far.

Kitty held up her hand, only to pause again before she lifts the curtain, and the next second, she was dragged inside by a dry, slender hand reached out behind the curtain!

"It's you!" Kitty gasped after she saw who dragged her in.

"Of course, of course!" The witch waved her hand as if that was a silly question to ask.

"Well, you weren't here last time I came!" Kitty got defensive by her casual tone as if Kitty was the one that was acting weird.

"I was." The witch looked at Kitty with a smile, waiting for Kitty to get the answer.

"You-- it was a jewelry store last time I came, and there was-- Oh, my, God!" Kitty exclaimed right in the middle of her own words, "You were the shop assistant?!"

"Even that big dog didn't sniff it out of me!" The witch gave a cute laugh like a kid showing off in front of adults, "Aren't he supposed to be a, what, prime?"

"Alpha." Kitty corrected her, and laughed realizing the witch was talking about Erebus. But now that she thought about it, the witch WAS good if she even fooled him!

"Yeah, that. Those cubs with their chess games..." The witch waved her hands again, and went to get the tea pot over the fire.

"Chess game...?" Kitty asked, noticing that the fire is dancing around in the air instead of on some wood or anything, and she awed the witch, for the first time wishing her mom WAS a witch in secrecy.

"With their kings, and queens and knights and stuff. They established their kingdom thinking that some original game. There are much more to the world, than a throne, my dear." The witch shook her head in a grandmotherly way.

Kitty was shocked speechless hearing the witch called the legendary alpha a "cub" and hesitatingly outed with her question: "How... how old are you, if I may ask..."

"Hahaha... well, you may, but I'm afraid I cannot answer that question my dear. After a few hundred year, you just stopped counting I guess." The witch smiled, and handed over a cup of tea.

"You... you mean my mom was also..." Kitty didn't know how to accept the fact that it was a hundreds-year-old woman talking in front of her. What that makes her?

"Ohhh no, no, no. She was a YOUNG, that one. Only a hundred or so, I think. And to think how much she had achieved in her short time with us, ohh..." Her words suddenly saddened and Kitty fell in silence.

"So... how... how old am I...?" Kitty suddenly realized this puzzling question. Could she be not aware of how old she was? She had merely 17 years of memory here on this earth, how could--

"Ohh, about that..." The witch patted on Kitty's head, "I need to make an apology, dear, I made a mistake. She was not your mother."