The Mayor, the Witch, and the Lumberjack - Part 6

Instructions

Varona narrowed her eyes darkly as Owen regarded the tale to her. This love-stricken fool… As he finished up, she slowly stood and took in a deep breath, composing herself as much as she could. The rune on her necklace glowed an angry red, showing the emotion she couldn't allow herself to. “So,” she summed up. “You botched this whole damn thing up.” “Well, if you *have* to phrase it like that," He muttered darkly. She opened her mouth to snap back, but she caught herself and took in another deep breath. He shifted nervously in his seat. They were at his dining table inside his cabin, where they'd met every night for the past three days. Things *had* been going well, but then he'd gone and broken the *one* rule she'd given him! It had been three days. *Three*! It was pure frustration that she had to waste her energy on this idiot. And she wasn't even getting anything out of it! Well, other than her brother would stop being a sad, sappy, head-over-heels idiot. “Listen, you messed up. Big time,” she explained exasperately. She walked around the table and aggressively placed her palm on his chest. They stood like that for a few moments, Owen tense and Varona annoyed. She flinched her hand back, narrowing her eyes. “Sorry… it's… snapping at me. The- the magic's still there. But it's not going to do anything.” “What do you mean?” He tilted his head cautiously. The way she'd flinched back unnerved him. “It's not gonna… It's not gonna do anything *bad* if it stays there, is it?” “No, and luckily so.” She glanced out the window. Her necklace shifted from the intense red to a grey-ish purple. If she had to explain more, she had to be *sure* no one was listening. Why someone would come out to the woods as the sun was setting, she had no excuse. But that didn't stop her from worrying. The witch turned back to the lumberjack, assessing that no one was there. “Magic is… *tricky*. It’s not alive, but you still have to coexist together like it is. You can't control it, not in the slightest. You have to guide it without fighting. With mine, it sees strong emotions as just that–fighting. It thinks you just tried to force it to work faster, and it's petty, so it's going to refuse now.” Annoyed, she flicked her pendant. “Not dissimilar to its wielder, I see,” He muttered with a smirk. She shot him a glare. “Don't act smart.” She smacked his hand, and he flinched back. “How in the hell are you related to Louis?!” He rolled his eyes. “You two are polar opposites.” “Let's not bring Louis into this any more than you already have.” Varona huffed as she grabbed her bag. There wasn't much in there that could help at this point, but she searched through it anyway. Owen watched her before letting out a quiet sigh. “Listen… Varona, I'm sorry. I-I didn't mean-” “Owen.” She cut him off with a stern voice. She looked up from her bag, but didn't look at him. “Shut up.” “... fair enough.” He stopped talking. They sat in the uneasy silence for longer than either would have liked. The sun had disappeared from the sky when Varona placed her bag back down and slumped back into the chair. She stared at the lumberjack across the table, waiting to see if he had more to say. He watched her, wondering the same thing. “Well.” Varona finally sighed. “You might as well stop by tomorrow.” Owen raised an eyebrow. “Really?” “Yep. The magic won’t work anymore. Might as well stop this stupid game and have you two kiss.” His face grew beet red as she spoke bluntly. He stammered for a minute, placing a hand to his face. She smirked self-righteously as she stood back up. Her pendant shifted to a calm yellow glow as she removed it from her neck and carefully placed it in her bag. Couldn’t have anyone seeing that. She was at the door, bag in hand, when she spoke again. “Louis has something to tell you, anyway. Don’t make him wait any longer than he has to.” He couldn’t do anything but stare as the door quietly shut. He glanced at the walls, expecting something more to echo off them, but the only sound was the forest outside. He sighed, long and slow, hunching over as he covered his face with his hands. The linen around them was scratchy and unforgiving. “Of course I messed this up,” he muttered. “Why wouldn’t I? Leave it to the bad omen to be impossible to cure.” Same as always, the walls offered no comfort. Outside, making her way to Oakhurst’s walls, Varona stared back at the cabin she’d left. Something was off. When she’d been feeling for the magic inside Owen, she’d felt something else. Something… darker. She couldn’t find another way to explain it. Just darkness.