And even though the markings hadn't been placed, the abandoned church didn't allow her to use the spells. If the ritual was going to take place there, her spells were going to be utterly useless and all she would have to rely on was on her elemental ability and the weapons that she had brought along with her. 

To say she wasn't nervous and anxious would be an underestimation. She had met the kinds of witches who would be there in the evening during the ritual's time. Black witches who were modified and having their own strange powers that came from the locked black magic that had oozed out. And this was an advantage. If Penny had not taken part in the council exam, she would have never come to know that there were witches who looked like monsters that they dreamt about. 

She picked only the weapons that could come in use. Thankfully it wouldn't be just Damien and her but there were other council members who would be fighting next to them. It was only time they would be arriving by the time of noon or late noon. 

Having eaten the food which was given by the innkeeper's wife, they politely ate it and excused themselves back into the room before apparating out and away from the inn. 

Damien, who was walking next to her, asked, "How do you feel today, mouse?" 

"I cannot wait for the day to end," she responded back, her green eyes looking around the forest they had stepped into, "Where are we heading now? The church?" Penny asked him. 

"Rueben said to meet in the town of Grims.h.i.+re. Said he would be sending the men there, just some fine people who are good at fighting," suddenly a thought occurred in Penny's mind that she hadn't come to realize earlier. As if already knowing what her thoughts were, he said, "Yes, the people who come here today and who will continue to live will know you are a white witch. But that's not something you have to worry about right now. Rueben will send only the ones who can seal their mouth about it."

"What is happening today is not known to all the people and is a secret that needs to be eaten and swallowed without letting anyone else know about it. There are some ethics that need to be followed by the council members when the order is sent by the head council," Damien turned his eyes to her, "You will be safe."

She knew that. She knew she would be safe, she was much stronger than where she had first started. 

When Damien tried to apparate again, he couldn't from the forest. 

"Spilled magic," Penny muttered under breath now knowing when the magic had started and till where it stretched. She tried to cast a spell but that didn't work. 

"Guess we'll be walking to the town. We still have decent hours left with us. We shouldn't be late," said Damien to her. Holding her hand tightly in his hand, they continued to walk through the try forest that looked more orange than green. 

The sun had finally reached up and high, the heat getting into her skin as she wasn't used to the weather of Mythweald. It took them more than an hour just to step out of the forest and find the road and on their way, they found a carriage that was riding on their way. Seeing it come into view, Penny raised her hand as if wanting a drop to the next village.

Penny quickly tied the coat around her body to not let anyone know what she wore underneath it as there were too many weapons that had been placed in there while she carried the trunk in her hand. Before they had left the inn, Penny had placed a charm on the trunks to make them look like actual luggage so that they would look less suspicious to a stranger. 

The coachman appeared to give them a skeptical look but that didn't stop him from pulling the reins of the horses to a pause.

"Is the carriage headed to the town of Grims.h.i.+re?" Penny asked the man. 

The coachman looked at her and then the man who stood next to her. As if the person inside the carriage said something, he said, "We are headed in that direction," saying this, he jumped down from his seat and opened the door of the carriage. 

"Thank you so much," Penny uttered the words of thanks. 

When she got inside the carriage, she noticed a young girl who sat with another little girl. The young girl smiled who appeared to be around the age of fifteen or sixteen years old. Her bright blue eyes looking at them.

"Sorry for imposing so suddenly out carriage broke in the middle and we decided to take help from the next moving carriage," Penny apologized to the young girls. 

"That's alright. We are glad to be able to aid you. n.o.body ever walks in here, therefore, there aren't many carriages that move in this direction. Do you live in Mythweald?" asked the older girl out of the two while the smaller girl sat quietly without a word staring at them with her focus more on Damien. The girl stared at him because she felt she had seen him somewhere but she wasn't sure where she had seen him.

"We come from the North of Mythweald," Damien answered in a very serene and gentle demeanor. In the end, he coughed as if he had caught a cold, "Pardon me, I have been having a very dry throat because of the heat." 

"I hope it gets better," said the older girl with a small smile on her lips, "I am Lucile and this is my younger sister, Chloe."

Penny bowed her head in greeting to introduce, "I am Marion," Penny used her aunt's name, "And this is my husband Peter," she used simple names 

The young girls who were riding the carriage had used part of the black magic to disguise themselves completely from letting anyone identify them as black witches, making them look like young harmless-looking girls. Another reason being it was a spilled black magic that was present all around the forest they were in. And on the other hand, the couple had never crossed each other's path with the witches to let the witches know who they were. 

When the town arrived, they stepped down and thanked the girls, "Thank you for helping us. I hope you can one day come and have tea with us when you visit the Northside of Mythweald," Penny said with a sweet smile. 

Damien put his arm around Penny's shoulder to say, "Yes, please do visit us. We would like to repay you," he bowed his head. 

The blue-eyed girl smiled saying, "We were glad to help you. We must be going on," saying this, the carriage left the road and Penny said staring at the back of the carriage,

"Holy c.r.a.p."

"I don't think c.r.a.p is ever...well never mind," Damien said to ask her, "What happened?" Penny appeared shocked. Penny quickly looked left and right and said,

"Cover me," when he did, she moved her hand between them to see light reappear in her hand, "I think we were riding the carriage with black witches."