The days that followed were nothing short of torture. Since she had snuck out of her house she couldn't tell her parents what was bothering her. She had to bottle up her anger once again. It also didn't help that Melina wasn't talking to her. Melina had stated that since Aradia had abandoned her at the party she deserved nothing more than the cold shoulder. The fiasco with Bane was enough to make her feel like she couldn't trust anybody. She was completely alone. Whenever she walked in the school hallways she had to do her best to restrain her urges to make everyone around her spontaneously combust. Dax had tried calling several times but she ignored him.
One day, however, she went to the woods to gather some fleawort seed for a prophesying potion and that is when he finally managed to corner her. He stood behind her as still as one of the trees but he knew Aradia could sense him.
"What do you want?" she snapped.
"I want to explain..."
"Why you were cheating on me?" Aradia cried, "Why I caught you with another woman? Why you lying to me has become such a natural habit for you?"
"Aradia..." Dax began.
"Shut up Dax! Just shut up!" Faint hot tears started to prick the corners of her eyes, but she refused though to let him see her cry. She didn't know if it was that subtle, but she turned and quickly blotted her eyes with the back of her sleeve.
Dax slowly shook his head. "Aradia, I am sorry. It wasn't suppose to be like that. It wasn't suppose to lead to anything."
"What the hell is that suppose to mean?"
Dax sighed and kept his eyes on the ground. "Please just let me explain..."
"Fine! Go ahead but I can promise you it won't change anything."
Dax sighed again. He then slowly circled her, shaking his head sadly. "I hadn't seen Hesper in centuries. I was surprised to say the least when she turned up."
"Is she an old girlfriend?" Aradia sneered.
Dax ran his fingers through his hair. "Yeah."
Aradia scoffed and rolled her eyes. "Why did the two of you break up?"
"She left me for another vampire..."
"So what? You were kissing her out of gratitude?"
"No!" Dax shouted. "No!"
He sighed once again heavily. "After Jack and I went our separate ways, I was very lonely and it wasn't until five years later when I met Felton..."
"Felton?" Aradia interrupted.
"Mr. Dayton," Dax clarified before going on. "Anyway, it wasn't until five years when I met him. Having been betrayed and used by my best friend after being turned into a monster...I don't think you could ever understand how horrible I felt."
"Boo hoo sucks for you," Aradia couldn't stop herself from muttering.
Dax didn't even hear her, he was too lost in his unpleasant memories. "I felt vulnerable and alone. I needed someone to love me..."
"And along came Hesper," Aradia bitterly concluded.
Dax nodded slowly. "She was so beautiful, and so confident. I had never met anyone like her before and her hair.. It reminded me of my mother's."
Aradia clenched her fists and resisted the urge to strangle him.
"It was the only thing she had in common with my mother though. Everything else...she was selfish, cruel, and mean. She used me and lied to me numerous times."
"So you were basically the tortured partner," Aradia concluded, "and when she showed up you went back."
Dax couldn't look at her. "I am sorry Aradia. I really am sorry."
A moment of pure painful silence passed as Aradia still stood with her back to Dax. Slowly, however, she turned to face him. He smiled a little with a shimmer of hope in his eyes.
It was quickly extinguished though as soon as Aradia said, "I told you before it wouldn't change anything."
She inhaled a deep and angry breath and exhaled through her nose. "You have betrayed me for the last time Davignon Dayton. It is over! Do you hear me? It is over between us for now and forever! You are no longer my consort! You are no longer my boyfriend! You are no longer anything to me! I never want to see you again! Never!"
Aradia then quickly turned away from him with the intent of storming away.
Dax, however, rushed forward to grab her arm. "Aradia, wait I..."
Almost instinctively, Aradia snatched her arm from his grasp and raised her fist. She then quickly and swiftly clocked him! Dax flew back and collided into a tree. His hand immediately went to his eye while Aradia looked at him with pure contempt.
"If you ever touch me again," Aradia spat, "I will kill you!"
"Dax!" Tristan shouted gleefully, "You just broke the heart of the last witch, what are you going to do next?"
Dax shrugged Tristan's grasp off his shoulders and continued to walk down the cobblestone path. Tristan hung back, smiling, and then spun on his heel to walk back towards the group. Melina, Roy, D, Rhonda, Al, Calvin, Everett, and Felix awaited him at Rita's custard palace. Melina sat in Roy's lap, Rhonda did the same with D, Calvin had his right leg propped up onto his left, Everett had concern practically written all over his face, while Felix had yet another comic book in his grasp.
"Well?" Everett asked Tristan as soon as he sat down who just shook his head. Melina seemed the only one who noticed Tristan's malicious little smirk. Obviously, he was enjoying the situation although Melina could not determine which one gave him more pleasure. The one where Aradia was in pain or Dax being so miserable.
"I feel so sorry for Aradia," Everett said as he slumped back in his chair. "I mean can you believe it? Having your boyfriend cheat on you? In front of everyone? It's terrible."
"Yeah it's almost as terrible as having your friends gossip about it," Calvin sneered.
Everett just scowled. Melina, however, stayed silent. She knew she had been spending a lot of time with Roy, but she had not meant to neglect Aradia. She had been hearing little bits of rumors about Aradia and Dax's relationship going sour but she had never taken them seriously. At least not until now.
"I actually think Aradia and Dax splitting up is a good thing," Calvin declared.
Everyone turned to look at him.
"Why?" Melina asked.
Calvin shrugged. "I know it's not my place to say but I always thought Aradia was too good for a guy like Dax. He's always acting so damn high and mighty, treating Aradia like some piece of arm candy when she is really far more intelligent than he gives her credit for."
"Besides," he leaned forward to whisper, "I don't know if any of you have noticed but I think Aradia is really special."
Melina, Roy, Rhonda, D, and Al and Tristan quickly averted their eyes.
"You know I have noticed that before," Rhonda said, "the way she seems to know things before anyone else does, how strong she is, and the potions she concocts on the side..."
"Jesus people this is Salem we are talking about here!" Felix snapped but not taking his eyes from his comic book, "every where you go you will find people conducting seances, making potions, reading tarot cards, and god knows what else. This is witch central we are living in you know. You should be used to seeing weird things. I sure as hell am and I don't think Aradia is anything special. She's just doing what everybody else in Salem has been doing for years."
Calvin, however, was still not finished with his opinion. "I just think that Aradia is better off without that guy. Although I have to say I doubt she will stay single for long."
This definitely got Melina's attention. "What do you mean? What are you talking about?"
Calvin smiled slyly. "Well I didn't want to say anything before but seeing as Aradia and Dax are through I see no harm in it."
Everyone was practically on the edge of their seat as they stared at Calvin in anticipation who just sighed dramatically. "Last week," he began, "I saw Aradia at the club with another guy. A blonde wearing black who was obviously into Aradia. After a few words exchanged, he and Aradia danced and the next thing I know they were involved in a hot make out session."
Rhonda gasped. "No way!"
Calvin nodded.
Melina just raised an eyebrow. "Who was the guy?"
"Excuse me?" asked Calvin,
"Who was the guy?" Melina inquired. "I mean when one of your friends is kissing some guy one would think you would know his name."
Calvin shifted uncomfortably in his seat and then shrugged. "I didn't really catch his name."
"Yeah well," Tristan said as he stretched his arms above his head. "One thing for sure though, Aradia is going to be in the market for a new guy." He then titled his head back with a dreamy but sly look in his eye.
Try as she might, Aradia couldn't find the fleawort seeds for her potion anywhere else in the forest. She had to go back to that spot where she had Dax had broken up and get them before the winter. Her heart as heavy as the earth she stepped on, Aradia squatted around and began to pluck out the plants. Carefully, she brought out a pair of embroidery scissors and began snipping off the seed heads. In the back of her mind, she hoped Dax wouldn't show. Unfortunately, thinking of Dax triggered a whole slew of memories of the day they first met, their first kiss, and their first date. It didn't help that the moment Aradia had finished putting the seeds in a small paper bag she lifted her tear heavy eyes and saw the pool where they had almost made love. It was as if her own mind had turned against her because like a tidal wave it brought back a rush of memories. Aradia began to remember Dax's smile, his hair, even his laughter. The image of him throwing his head back and laughing seemed to dance before her very eyes like flames.
Aradia's fists clenched as finally all the emotions she had kept bottled up exploded. She threw the bag away. She then threw her head back and screamed a horrible blood curdling scream at the top of her lungs. She then pounded her fists into the ground. Raising her eyes up like an animal eager for the hunt, she ran forward and started kicking things around. She raised her left leg and kicked a tree so hard that it fell to the ground in an instant. This didn't seem faze to Aradia, she just went on releasing every bit of her anger. She threw fire balls at trees, burning them to a crisp. Conjuring orbs of lightning, shooting them too at trees and incinerating them like giant match sticks. Kicking hard into the ground make it shift and slamming her fists into rocks making them crack in two. All the way she did this, she was screaming curses at Dax, her family, her school, at being the last of her kind, at everything and at everyone. It went on for over an hour before Aradia's energy finally left her. Her knees buckled as she tried to steady herself, but then her foot tripped over a stone. Aradia then collapsed face first onto the cold dirt ground. Her first instinct was to get up but she was so tired. Her arms lay limply at her sides and she turned her head slightly. Her eyes began to droop and the next thing she knew Aradia was asleep.
When she awoke night had fallen and Aradia felt chilled to the bone. She was shivering so much that her teeth were chattering. Rubbing her arms, Aradia got up on onto her knees.
"I know I should go home," Aradia muttered to herself, "but I don't want to. The thing is though if I can't go home then where can I go."
A loud clapping suddenly erupted from behind her, Aradia spun around and saw Saul.
"You?!" She spat, "what do you want?"
He shrugged. "Oh nothing really except to congratulate you on such magnificent use of your powers."
"Huh?"
"C'mon," Saul stated, "tearing down a forest like this would usually take years but the way you used your powers today you could demolish it in one swift swoop."
Aradia's ears perked up at the mention of tearing down a forest. "What do you mean?"
Saul said nothing, he just tilted his head towards his right. Aradia looked and her jaw dropped. From the direction she had just come from, she saw nothing but charred remains of trees and foliage. In fact, the scene was so bad that it looked like a wildfire from hell had torn right through the Salem woods.
"Oh my God," Aradia whispered, "what the hell have I done?"
Saul just shrugged. He was amazingly calm while Aradia was overwrought with depression. She sank to her knees again and covered her face with her hands. Saul then noticed the quivering of her shoulders and rightfully assumed she was about to cry.
"Hey c'mon now," Saul crooned, "don't be sad. It's really no big deal..."
"No big deal?!" Aradia snapped. She quickly stood up and pointed to the remains of the forest. "Look! Look what I have done! How can you say it's no big deal?"
Saul turned his head casually, surveying the damages. "It really is no big deal because you can fix it."
"What?" Aradia asked, her eyes growing wide.
Saul smiled a little. "You don't really know that much about your powers do you?"
She shook her head slowly. "I mean I know I can do plenty of things but I don't..."
"Well," Saul interrupted, "the thing of it is witches of the hidden race can do all kinds of things. Most people don't know this but the real reason witches have covens is because their power is greater in groups. Their power was their energy after all and more energy means more power am I right?"
Aradia stared at him in disbelief, she knew some things about her people but not that much. "How do you know this?"
Saul shrugged. "I am a bit of a historian of sorts. I research races and their past, but my particular favorite are the witches."
"You do realize," Aradia sneered, "that the witches are all dead right?"
Saul nodded his head sadly. "Yes. I know about all that. It was such a terrible tragedy what happened to all of them. They had such history, such power..."
"You mean you know about them?" Aradia asked, finally intrigued.
"Of course I do!" Saul laughed, "I am after all a historian. I know all about their history, their powers, and..." he trailed off for a few seconds. "I know that they could easily make a forest re-grow itself in a matter of seconds."
"What?"
"By concentrating their energy and visualizing the result, witches were able to regrow or actually make entire forests bloom out nowhere in probably five seconds flat," Saul explained.
Aradia's expression was that of delight until her distrust of strangers kicked in. She then folded her arms and glared at Saul. "Why should I trust you hmm? Do you have any proof that what you say is true?"
Saul looked uneasy. "No."
Aradia then nodded with satisfaction at least until he said, "but I can show you how it is done."
"What?"
Saul then swooped in and took hold of Aradia's hands. Instinctively, she fought to break his grip but he held tight and spun her around towards the burnt remains of the forest. He then held up both her hands, palms forward.
"Now," he whispered in her ear, "don't focus on what remains of the forest. Focus on how the forest should look. Visualize in your mind the greenness of the trees, the rocks with no burn marks, and the dirt filled with life once again. Don't try to force all your power out though, that takes too much of your energy."
"Helping recreate this forest might drain me permanently," Aradia pointed out with her voice shaking.
"No," Saul whispered, "it won't and I will tell you why. What gave the witches power was their energy. People believed that once they were killed their energy would disappear. It didn't, because you lived their energy and their power came to you. You are the last witch, the only one capable of receiving their power. It came to you. It is inside of you."
"Why should I even believe you?" Aradia snapped.
"Let me show you how to heal this forest," Saul crooned, "and you will see."
Aradia sighed heavily, but her curiosity to know if Saul spoke the truth got the better of her.
"Do I have to close my eyes?" She asked.
He softly shook his head but still kept his cheek next to her's. "Just focus, visualize, and see what you can really do."
Aradia sighed once again. Closing her eyes, regardless of Saul's instructions, she visualized the forest before she had started her rampage. She imagined the thickness of the leaves and branches, the wet smell of the dirt, the gray color of the stones, even the small patches of moss growing at the foot of the trees.
"Take a deep cleansing breath," Saul instructed, "and try to steady your thoughts and heartbeat."
Aradia did as he said.
"Now hold on to the thought of making this forest beautiful again,"
"And then what?" Aradia inquired.
"You'll see," Saul said in an overconfident voice.
In spite of her eyes being closed, Aradia rolled them. Still she spread her fingers wide and did as Saul had instructed. Slowly, she began to feel her summoning power coursing through her veins. This sensation was nothing new except this time instead of feeling like it was forced the summoning of her power seemed to be flowing through her body like currents of water. Beads of sweat did not appear on her forehead, she had no loss of breath, but most of all she felt omnipotent. This was something she had never felt before, and strangely she found it thrilling.
"Open your eyes," Saul suddenly said.
"Why?"
"Just do it," he stated flatly.
Aradia exhaled through her nose. However, it was when she finally did open her eyes her breath seemed to leave her completely. It was just as Saul had said, the forest looked just as it had before. Nothing remained of the damage Aradia had inflicted on it either on the tree bark or on the ground. There wasn't even any smoke drifting in the air. The grass was just as green had been before, the stones had been moved back to their original spots. Aradia couldn't believe it! She rushed forward to verify what she was seeing and was shocked to feel the grass she was touching feel wet and alive.
"I did it," she said softly, "I really did it!"
"Of course you did," Saul stated while folding his arms. "It doesn't surprise me one bit."
Aradia turned to look at him. In a rush of gratitude, she ran forward and flung her arms around his neck.
"Thank you, thank you, thank you so much!" Aradia cried out enthusiastically.
Saul smiled and clung to her, happy for the close contact. Aradia didn't know if it was the spur of the moment or something else but suddenly she tilted her head back and kissed him. Almost as quickly, she jerked back and stared at him in shock.
"I am sorry," she stammered.
Saul, however, looked far from offended. "Don't be."
Aradia chuckled softly, not realizing that in spite of her apology her arms were still around him.