Release That Witch

If Maggie were here, she would have been constantly chirping to inform her how far the island was. But right now, all she could hear was the sea waves crashing against the sides of the ship. Although it sounded a little monotonous, for the crew, it was actually a lucky beat, as it meant that today was a good day for sailing.     

Oh, now there was another one, Ashes thought. The footsteps were banging against the old teak board, issuing a slightly squeaky sound—someone was coming over to her.     

"I don't expect that you've actually settled down in Sleeping Island." A white-haired old man stepped to her side, resting his hands on the railing. "That place seems spacious but once the tide rises, most of the land will be flooded by the sea, so it's not suitable for settling down. Why not live in Crescent Moon Bay? It's the second largest island among the Fjords and there're still many uninhabited spaces there."     

The one-eyed Jack, Captain of the Charming Beauty, just like his name suggested, had a blindfold on his face covering his left eye. He was also one of the few captains willing to transport goods for the witches—even though the people in the Fjords did not hate witches like the residents on the mainland, they still were not keen on dealing with outsiders.     

"Not everyone is willing to deal with witches like you are." Ashes smiled. "The sea will indeed flood Sleeping Island and that's the reason why even if its area is the third largest among Fjord Islands, it's still a deserted island."     

"Being the third largest area doesn't mean that it has an equivalent inhabited area." Captain Jack shrugged his shoulders. "If it's impossible to live there, then size won't matter. Take Searing Flame Island for example."     

"The witches are the best at altering nature," she earnestly said, "after all, this island will be our home. As long as we're free from the oppression of the church, we can create an entirely different world, a… brand new world." She paused for a moment. "When was the last time that you were on Sleeping Island?"     

The captain took off his hat and scratched the back of his head. "It's been almost a month now and last time I sent a group of witches and a full cabin of pearl rice. To be honest, the way those girls were playing around on the ship made my sailors drooling all over them. It's really hard for young men sailing at sea, and they're like volcanos that can erupt at any time, but fortunately, I was able to control them. Otherwise, my precious ship would be in trouble."     

Ashes instantly ignored the last part of his words. "One month is enough for Heaven and Earth to be turned upside down, Mr. captain. I bet that when you see Sleeping Island this time, it'll be much more different than that in your memory."     

"Really?" Jack whistled. "Then I 'll be looking forward to… Wait, what's that?" He leaned over the ship, staring at in front of him. "Monkey! Get up on the mast. There's something in front of us!"     

The sailor named Monkey swiftly climbed to the top of the mast, and lifted the telescope. "Captain, it looks like an island!"     

"Island? What nonsense is this." Captain pulled out and glanced at his compass. "There shouldn't be any other island near us except for Sleeping Island."     

"But it's really an island, captain, I swear!"     

"Don't swear to me. Let me see," Jack said taking off his hat.     

"No, no, Captain, it's best if you don't come up here, the wind is too strong." Monkey continued to observe. "By the name of Three Gods!" He exclaimed incredibly, "This is actually the Sleeping Island! It's taller!"     

…     

As the Charming Beauty approached the docks of Sleeping Island, all people on the ship could not almost believe what they were seeing.     

The towering island resembled a small mountain located above the sea surface. The mountain slopes were straight and steep with the distance of at least dozens of feet to the top.     

It was the first time for Ashes to arrive at the island so her reaction was much calmer than the rest. In the eyes of Captain Jack, this represented a calm and confident character.     

"You won." He sighed. "I never expected that you could raise the level of a whole island. No wonder why those church fanatics hate your witches so much, you're comparable to the Gods."     

"Uncle Jack, it's not like that we raised the whole island," a smiling young girl standing on the pier said, "but we only built a 'city wall' around Sleeping Island, and you'll understand in a moment after you come with us." Then, she turned to Ashes and bowed her head saluting. "You're finally back. Lady Tilly has been talking a lot about you."     

Ashes stroked her head. "Don't be so formal, Molly. I'll have to trouble you with carrying my stuff."     

"I got this." The young girl said patting her chest.     

Once the sailors transported all the grain to the pier, Molly summoned her magic servant—a light blue sphere with two arms that could be transformed at will. The arms were turned into a net, firmly grabbing all the bags and carrying them in the air. "Let's go," she said proudly.     

"Oh, what a convenient ability," the captain said. "Did you see that, men? You can't even compare to a little girl."     

The pier was built in the middle of the mountain slope. They climbed up the stairs and as they reached the top, Ashes instantly understood the meaning of "building a city wall around Sleeping Island".     

They did not raise the island itself, but rather the outline of the island—turning the whole Sleeping Island into a basin, surrounded by thick edges. This edge was what Molly referred to as city wall. Inside the wall, many stairs were leading down to Sleeping Island itself.     

"This… is unbelievable." Captain Jack curled his lips. "You turned the island into a city. What would happen here when the tide floods? My God, you would be living below the sea level!"     

"That's correct." Molly laughed. "that's the reason why we have two piers, one below the sea, and one above sea level. Of course, they can also be considered as one at sea level and one at mid-air."     

As they reached the center of the island, they came across all kinds of houses but unlike traditional wooden or brick houses, these buildings looked as if they were grown out of the ground, as the foundations of the houses were attached to the ground. Without a doubt, just like the wall itself, these were all Lotus's work.     

"Sister Ashes, the house in the most tip of the north is Lady Tilly's palace. I'll go with the captain to deliver the goods, and you don't need to come with me, just going straight to see Lady Tilly," the little girl said as she waved.     

Ashes nodded, said goodbye to the two of them and walked towards the north quickly. She saw a lot of familiar faces along the way, some bowing to her and some waving smilingly. "The homeland of the witches" made her feel more and more hopeful and powerful.     

The founder of this homeland was Tilly Wimbledon, Queen of Witches.     

Unlike the royal palace, this spacious house had no guards or locked gates. Ashes walked straight through the vestibule and upon entering the hall, she saw a familiar figure in front of her.     

She quietly walked behind the other person and used her hands to cover the gray-haired girl's eyes.     

"I sensed you as soon as you reached the door." The other side laughed. "Don't forget how I first found you in the crowd."     

Extraordinary witches had the ability to sense magic power, and between two extraordinary witches, the mutual feeling would be even more intense. This kind of magical connection, like an invisible fetter, had resolutely connected herself with Tilly.     

"I'm back," Ashes said softly.     

"Yeah," Tilly replied cheerfully, "Welcome home."