It was the thick smell of moss mixed with an old mushroom fragrance that wafted around his nose. It was the intense smell that fluttered him awake from the deep dark abyss he was trapped in.

A groggy groan escaped him the moment his eyes quivered open, his blurry vision of something brown above him became clear. He stared at the wooden ceiling for a slight second trying to get his mind stable to understand his situations.

The long trails on the old wood was faint, captivating him into following the trail. The howling wind had caused the boards to creak a deep croak as if something heavy was walking on top of it.

It was the sudden dawn of realisation that made his heart skip a beat. Jolting up into a rise he was welcomed by an agonising pain from his stomach.

"Shit!" the orange haired man hissed, his eyes squeezing shut to take in the pain. A soft material rubbed against his arm and Ciel looked down to see his upper body exposed, his bare chest that outlined his muscular state, but his lower torso was wrapped around by a white cloth.

Ciel couldn't remember what happened after he had lost conscious but the painful memory of waking up in the forest all alone and surrounded by only trees and whatever creatures that stalked the grounds of Viridis and the bloody pool he laid upon. The empty twilight sky and the growls of the wind that frightened him to stand up and stagger his way out of the sight of any hungry beasts, but the loss of blood made it weak and difficult for him to walk no further but a few steps before he collapsed to another dark consciousness.

How he end up here, bandaged, taken care of, and laying on this bed was a mystery to him.

"Ya finally awake" the sound of an annoyed and old screechy voice startled Ciel with a flinch and turned his head to the side to see an old woman standing by the door draped in a long brown cloak like gown that reached the floor while a small wooden cup rested upon her palm.

Her face was all wrinkled and the flesh of her cheeks hung down as if it was melting off her face. Her nose was long and crooked but it was pointy sharp but what struck out the most was those dark onyx eyes that starred with a narrow look towards him.

The old woman looked bored but annoyed.

"Ya done starring?" the old woman yapped, her tone sharp and filled with irritation.

Ciel was startled again and looked away quickly feeling embarrassed for being rude by staring at.

"Sorry." He managed to say. "It wasn't my intention to stare at you. You just caught me off guard for a second there" Ciel rubbed the back of his neck, awkwardly.

"What? Were ya expecting some pretty angel to be standing here and aiding ya back to health?" the old woman sneered with sarcasm.

Ciel avoided his gaze away inelegantly not knowing how to respond to that. Though waking up to an angel was not a bad idea actually.

"Don't like the fact it's an old wrinkly lady, huh" she crackled like thunder as she began to waddle her way towards the bed he lay. The hems of her cloak like dress trailed behind her.

Ciel wanted to say something to apologise to the old lady, but she kept on talking not giving him a chance to speak "All ya young men are always the same. Wanting some pretty lady on ya bed so you could enjoy ya selves" she waved her hand away as a gesture of irritation.

"Especially ya youngsters these days. Never thanking an old fragile lady who goes out of her way to heal ya back to health."

"I'm...sorry?" Ciel managed to say with a questionable look as a thin light brown eyebrow rose up.

"Stop ya yapping and drink this" she said so impatiently as she shoved the cup to his face near his mouth.

Ciel sweat dropped at her sudden remark. 'You're the one who's talking so much' the orange haired dragon keeper mentally said to himself as he accepted the cup from the old lady. He peered down at the unknown substance in the cup, feeling his stomach acid swirl as if a whirlpool was beginning to form inside of him as the horrid stench of it pierced his nose. A gloopy brown mixture bubbled and popped, a drop of it spat on his cheek. He gagged back whatever that was left in his stomach.

"What is this?" he gagged as he spoke.

"Medicine" the old woman replied bluntly, the offended expression crossing her face.

"Are you sure it's not..." Ciel peered down with one eye, but the ugly substance made him look away in disgust. "poison" he completed his sentence with a little concern, a fist near his mouth to stop him from puking out.

"If I had wanted to kill you, I would have just left you in the forest to die" she smacked her wrinkled chapped lips together.

"What if you dragged me in here to fatten me up and then poison me so you could eat me later"

There was an awkward moment silent between the two as they stared at each other. Ciel was uncomfortable in the position he was as he held the unknown substance.

The old woman face changed, her furrowers came down into a knot and her lips twitched.

Even if she was covered in wrinkles, it was clear enough for Ciel to realise how pissed off she had become.

"If ya don't want it then die an agonising death" her tongue rolled out as it hissed out the 'ths'.

"No, I'll drink it" Ciel answered quickly and bluntly, pulling the cup towards him as if he was protecting it from the evil old hag.

The old woman's eye twitched in annoyance, those hawk-like eyes glaring at Ciel who was still examining the gloopy brown substance she gave him. "Ungrateful prat" she murmured loudly as if she wanted Ciel to hear. "Just like the rest of them"

The dragon keeper peered down at the disgusting medicine one last, watching again how it popped and bubbled like a boiling muddy swamp. Gulping down his salvia bring his fingers to his nose and pinching them to a shut, he held his breath and placed his lips on the tips of the wooden cup.

With a quick count of three, Ciel chugged everything down twisting his tongue to the side so the brown medicine doesn't touch the muscle and give him the awful taste he dreaded not to taste.

He felt the medicine slide down his throat like pouring lava and enter his stomach. The feeling of the medicine swirl and turn inside of him as if his stomach acid and the brown substance were having a bloody war inside his stomach.

Ciel had pulled and stretched to create disgusted faces as the last remaining medicine entered his stomach. "That was disgusting" he breathed out with a fist covering his mouth.

The old hag was watching the whole scene with a raised eyebrow, the annoyed and offended look that crossed her face. She wrinkled her nose and smacked her lips, satisfied enough the old hag turned away and waddled to the door like a disabled duck.

"Ya belongings are on the chair beside ya." She pointed a bony finger towards a chair not so far away from him. A chair that stood alone with his top and vest folded perfectly and placed on the seat while his brown boots that rested below the legs of the chair.

Ciel didn't understand why this old lady was helping him but all he knew was that he was grateful for her help.

The door creaked open, bringing Ciel's attention to it. He glanced back to the wobbly old lady who had opened the door and awaited by it. "Clean ya self-up and come eat. Supper is ready"

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Ciel stepped out the door, pulling down the fingerless glove down his wrist to assure that his hand is set tightly inside the sewed material. The smell of mushroom stew had wafted passed him instantly leaving behind the hot smell to trail around him.

Blue eyes began to examine the small cottage he was in. The wooden boards that the old hag's home was built by, creaked below and above him. Glass jars filled with unusual things he never seen before took over the shelves with dozens of old books and scrolls.

Empty pots stacked on top of each other was placed beside a door that probably took him outside.

Not far was the old woman standing by a bubbling black cauldron that hung above a fiery pit of red flames that sparked dangerously below the black cauldron and the sizzling sounds echoing the wooden walls. The way the place was built and orderly placed it made him realise what kind of person the old woman was.

"You're a witch" Ciel stumbled back a step. His blue eyes widened and the dark pupil beginning to shake fearfully.

With a side glance the old woman looked over at him with her sharp honey eyes that resembled much of an owl, that stated the obvious. Her hands gripping tightly on a wooden handle as it stirred the bubbling stew in the giant black cauldron.

She didn't answer him and turned away back to the bubbling stew.

"The last person who knew I was witch took it more calmly than ya" she said, releasing her grip on the wooden handle to pick up a round wooden bowl. Not even fazed by Ciel's reaction. "Such a rude young lad"

Ciel clenched his trembling fist to ease the sudden spark of terror. He heard stories and legends about witches from when he was a young boy. Stories told by the other dragon keepers that made it hard to sleep without having the shadows play tricks on him.

"The five sisters of Alphyria." He mumbled subconsciously, his back already leaning against the door.

The witch smacked her lips together "Ease ya self-lad. I'm not like those crude sisters of mine" she finished pouring the last bowl of stew and with her waddling posture she approached the table that was set up for two.

Ciel blinked back his fear. She made sense for a reason.

The witch had saved him from near death and brought him into her cottage to heal him back to life without having any ill intentions towards him.

Sure, the witch was sappy and impatient, but it didn't mean she was going to kill him. Well for now it seemed.

"Come, come." She gestured her hand to Ciel. "Sit. The food would get cold if ya stand there like a fool"

Ciel gulped down his fear and slowly walked towards his side of the table, eyeing the witch closely in case she does anything that would give him the reason to attack. He pulled out the wooden chair, it screeched against the wooden floor.

The witch watched the man sit himself on the seat with his guard held up high.

Ciel avoided the narrowing gaze from the witch and lifted his gaze down to stare at the boiling brown stew placed in front of him. Pieces of cut mushroom and green looking herbs floated on top of the stew as it slowly circled around.

The dragon keeper only continued to gaze at the floating pieces of vegetable and fungus without lifting a hand to grab a spoon. He didn't have an appetite to eat, not after the bloody scene of Demarcus being ripped apart in front of him as a blade pierce down his mouth like a nail going through wood to hold the pieces together.

The stinging feeling in the corner of his eyes burned, and his throat tightened.

Ciel didn't know what to do. As a dragon Keeper her failed to protect Demarcus. He wanted to fall in a dark ditch and never come out again.

"Don't feel like eating hey? Think I poisoned ya food, hey young lad?" the witch had destroyed the awkward silence between them.

Ciel didn't respond and only halved up stared at the witch with guilt tripped look, eyes still red and swollen from crying before. "I'm sorry for my rude manners" he spoke.

The wrinkled frow rolled up and she stared at me unfazed "Meh. It never bothered me once" she dug into her stew like a hungry child, shoving the wooden spoon in the wooden bowl and scooping a spoonful of the stew that drizzled down the spoon and back into the bow.

Ciel looked down at his stew and with a soft tone he said "I never got your name"

"Elisaria" the old witch answered still continuing to eat her stew without moving her attention away.

"The names Elisaria. The fifth sister of Alphyria"

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