Drink this,” the old lady said to the knight, who, though wounded, was still distrustful.

“Drink, drink, you have nothing to fear from me. Look at me! I cannot harm you any more than help you. The least I can do is give you this nectar. Trust me, it will help.”

The knight looked her over once more. The old lady looked innocent enough. She had a warm look on her face, and the weeds and flowers in the basket she was carrying were enough evidence to show that she was simply wandering the woods for personal reasons. Despite the gnawing voice in his head which told him to pass it up and keep shut, he gently grabbed the cup she had carried near his face and drank from it. It tasted surprisingly good and, wait, what was this? The pain in his stomach was receding.

“It feels good, no? I can tell. I can tell.”

And yeah, she was right. It did feel good. He looked down towards his gut and saw that while it was red, the cut had healed entirely. He wiped the blood and saw not even a scar. A witch. She must be a witch.

“I know what you’re thinking, but don’t be alarmed. I am not a witch. I am simply an herbalist.”

“I don’t know of any herbalist who can create a concoction that would seal a gaping wound,” he replied.

She looked at him with one eyebrow raised and then laughed. “Young man, you probably thought it was a gaping wound because you were in shock. It was probably a small prick that had already healed. My nectar simply healed it quickly.”

Her words made sense. She didn’t feel like a witch.

“Try standing up,” she said, motioning towards his legs. “Maybe walking about and being active might show you how well you really are.”

Without even thinking about it, he got up. She was right. He could walk and he did so. He even sprinted a bit to the nearest tree and back. “You’re right, lady. I think I had probably been too out of my mind. It was my first battle after all. I’m glad none of my kinsmen saw my silly state.”

“Oh, were you fighting?”

“Yes, there was a battle going over yonder the blue hills. We were on the losing edge so my kinsmen and I scattered. I truly thought I was going to die and before I knew it, I found myself laying over that stump there where you found me. But thinking about it now, I feel too strong to have run away. Wait, why did I run away if I was feeling this strong? I don’t know. I feel confused..”

Before he could finish his sentence, the old lady placed her hand on his shoulder. “Hush, knight. You are still confused. Come with me to my cabin. Let’s get some food in you and then you can be on your way.”

The knight, now feeling less and less thoughts pop up in his head, did as she said and followed her. They walked, silently, to her cabin. Once they reached the door, she opened it and walked inside. As she did, the old lady transformed into a tall, dark, woman with scales on her face. The knight upon seeing this transformation couldn’t feel any semblance of surprise or shock. He simply accepted it. As he walked inside and looked around, he saw a familiar sight. The rest of his kinsmen were there. They were sat in two rows, facing each other, in the middle of the cabin.

“You go sit over there,” the strange woman said to the knight. He walked, as she commanded, and sat towards the end of the left row. His kinsmen wore the same look on their face as he did. No expression, just a strange, dull air around them. After he sat down, his arms locked into the same position as everyone else, with his hands, palm down, on his knees. He looked straight to his kinsman on the other row and sat.

The strange woman glided up to the upper floor and pulled out a book. She then flew to the floor above and sat down on a couch and started reading it.

Back at the ground floor. The knight and his kinsmen sat still, like she had made them so. All of a sudden, one of the knights at the right row, the one second from the door, twisted his neck. “Hold fast brothers,” he said. I will free you from the witch. This knight, whose name was Pleblas, then yelled out. The witch, startled, jumped down to the ground floor. She looked at Pleblas. “How are you not frozen?”

He replied, “I didn’t really drink that swill you gave me, witch.”

“Impossible.”

“Let me show you the power of a knight,” said Pleblas and jumped at the witch. He grabbed her face and pulled her towards him, with his other arm waiting for her stomach. Then, he grabbed her throat with his left hand and kept punching her with his right. Soon, he had her on the ground as he pummeled her stomach. The air in her lungs wheezed as he did so. Unable to take the pain anymore, the witch snapped her hands. This made the knights stand up. Pleblas looked at them in disbelief.

“Yes, you stupid knight, did you not consider this? Of course, I have them under my control. ATTACK.”

The remaining knights pounced on Pleblas who skilfully dodged all of them. “Brothers, please,” he pleaded, but they didn’t hear him. He continued to dodge them, refusing to hurt his fellow kinsmen, as the witch, who was gliding up close to the ceiling, laughed. Pleblas looked at the witch and yelled out, “I will find a way to stop my brothers and I will kill you, you wi…”

Pleblas looked behind him. A knight had stabbed him from behind. “Joshua..” he muttered, and then fell down. The witch flew down and landed atop the corpse. She looked at Joshua. “Oh, am I glad I picked you up today. Good boy.” She clicked her fingers, and the knights all walked back to their seats. Except Joshua. The witch ordered him to hack Pleblas into tiny pieces and throw him in the river. He nodded and went out to do just so.

It was raining outside now. As Joshua hacked up Pleblas’ body, a single raindrop landed on and fell down his cheeks. After he’d finished hacking the body, the raindrop continued falling down the side of his face.

Shakya is a writer based in Kathmandu.