.

In the cold room where there was no fireplace right now, Penny was surrounded by the cold weather. The only comfort being given by the fur coat which she hadn't removed since she had stepped into this room. She had also gone as far as to cover and surround herself with a blanket while reading the book of the first witches. 

Leaning her back against the pillow, she flipped the page before continuing her read. As time pa.s.sed by which she hadn't recorded as she had her own work to do while Damien had gone to speak to the Lord of Wovile right now, she was yet to find out how to unbind the markings. She read more and more, and the more she came to flip the pages the more disheartening it was to think that she hadn't found the answer yet. Though Damien had booked the room for four days, they didn't know when the moon would show up. The clouds above these lands were as cloudy as the ones in the land of Bonelake. 

After a while, Penelope decided to take a break. Pus.h.i.+ng the blanket away from her, she let her legs hang at the edge of the bed. 

Her own mind trying to figure it out on where she could find the answers. It was told that most of the people of the same kind often thought and did the same way others did. Following the trail like an ant that followed one after another without unless someone came to make it lost. Penny was never a white witch from the beginning, at least not until the alignment of stars had taken place. 

The white witches were the ones who had created the initial markings. Surely there was a way to nullify it. That was right, thought Penny to herself. The lines weren't just pretty designs but each of them when connected to another line or the placements of it had different meanings and understanding of why they were done.

She started to go through it again, making some more notes but without using many words. Short and crisp wordings like phrases where if another came to stumble upon it would not have the complete information.

She was only reading the book when she heard some whisperings that came to reach her ears. The whisper so soft that at first, she hadn't noticed it until it turned slightly higher for her to look up from her book. Placing the book aside and sliding down the small bed to go stand near the window as she felt it coming from outside. 

Her eyes moved across the barren land. The trees that were still there had shed all their leaves to leave all the trees around this local inn bare. The darkness of the grey clouds and the snow that stretched far from the inn until the horizon at one corner and another corner letting her see the tower bell which stood tall from the rest of the town, she caught sight of a figure that stood in contrast when compared to the rest of the things around. 

Penelope's hand which had been holding the grill bar of the window slowly slid down on seeing who it was. Her hands felt close, her face pale which had nothing to do with the weather. The person stood there with the same black hair and brown eyes staring back at her. A smile on the woman's lips.

At first, she thought it was her imagination. Her eyelashes flicking open and close where she saw her mother standing in the midst of the snow land. 

She was here. 

"Mama," she breathed the words to see the continuous smile on her mother's face. 

She saw her mother's lips move but what she said never reached her ears and she guessed that her mother had called her name. She didn't know how to react right now. The mother whom she had buried in a casket, cried and cried until there were no more tears right now stood in front of her. Penny was too shocked to process it. She knew there would be a day where she would meet her mother, had also antic.i.p.ated it but not this soon. 

She was here, realization slowly started to sink into her mind as they stared at each other. When her mother raised her hand, waving at her, her heart only sunk down further in her chest. She saw her mother starting to walk away after that which snapped her from a daze. 

Penelope, quickly put the books away while ignoring the papers. She then reached for the door, opening and closing it behind her with the key in her hand. Quickly running down the little stairs, she heard the woman say,

"Do not run here," the woman glared looking at the girl who ran out of the inn without apologizing. The wooden stairs were weak as it had been years since her grandfather had built it. 

Holding the front of her dress so that she wouldn't fall, she reached the back of the inn. Looking for her mother who was missing from where she was standing before. She looked back at the inn room where she had been a few moments ago, her eyes reaching the room before s.h.i.+fting her gaze to search where her mother was. Seeing a diminis.h.i.+ng figure far away which was heading towards the forest, Penny started to run towards it. 

It had been months since her mother faked her death. For months she had mourned her, at the loss of her mother who she believed had loved her. But recently, since her lost memories had started to resurface and make an appearance she had only come to realize that her perception and what she saw and believed was nothing but lies. The very life she had led had been a lie. 

With her shoes dipping into some soft fresh snow and some snow that had watered and turned to an icy surface, she followed the figure into the forest.