2

Helena couldn't sleep all night thinking about Axton's curse. She couldn't bear to be like this all the time. She desperately wanted to get his soul back, wanted to know why the man killed her sister. 

Helena got up in the middle of the night. She changed her clothes and closed the door lock. Tonight she plans to head to the Balkans, the center of the wizarding city. There are a lot of very good witches there. Helena hoped she could find an answer to her question.

She passed through a forest that was so dark, the sound of a wolf's roar gave her goosebumps. Instantly her guts shrank, she was afraid to be here alone. Helena turned around. The city at night will always be quiet like this. Everyone must be at home gathering with their family.

The girl sat on a park bench, gazing at the beautiful flowers in front of her. Helena likes to paint flowers the most. Its colorful petals and the sweet scent of flowers always inspire her. 

“Why did I meet you again?” said Vale who suddenly appeared in front of Helena. The girl nearly fell over in shock. 

“Gosh, Vale! Why did you surprise me!” shouted Helena exasperated. She pinched Vale's arm, but the man laughed instead. 

“You know that my nickname is the god of the wind. I can show up at any time,” Vale replied in a playful arrogant tone. 

“Indeed, like a ghost,” Helena sneered, and then asked, “Why are you here at this time of night?”

“I just finished teaching. Mr. Smith asked me to teach his son to master the fire element,” said Vale. 

Helena nodded while making an oh gesture with her lips. “Really? I also want to learn it. Can I?”

Vale didn't answer. He instead made a puff of fire and disappeared again. Helena was very upset with his attitude. Why did he appear and disappear suddenly like this?

What a show off.

Tired and never getting an answer, Helena decided to sneak into the castle. She wanted to see Axton. God knew why she wanted so badly to see that man's face.

The girl teleported, but accidentally, while she was teleporting, an adorable white cat got into her cloak and they ended up here, in Axton's room. 

“Hey, why are you following me? Good grief.” 

Helena picked up the cat, then cradled it in her arms and led it to sit beside Axton who lay motionless. It had been almost two days since her sister's death. She couldn't bear to let Axton's body continue like this. Not to mention he couldn't eat and drink. Helena was worried that he would die at any moment if he continued like this. 

“Meow!”

The cat jumped on top of Axton, sat on his chest and wagged its tail. Its eyes met the eyes of the man lying down. The cat's hand touched Axton's forehead. It could tell if he still had any hope of life. 

Helena carried the cat back. They stare at each other. Don't know what happened, but suddenly Helena could see how to release Axton's curse. In her vision, she found the Forest of Death, Sendero Encantando, and saw a golden foxglove flower there. She had an instant enlightenment.

Axton's soul must have something to do with the forest though she didn't know for sure. 

The cat scratched Helena and jumped away. She tried to find the cat, but to no avail. Putting that aside, that very night Helena tried to find out where the Forest of Death was. She immediately went to the city library, where all the maps and magic books were stored. 

At night like this, the library must be closed. Helena was about to turn back home, but the light shining from inside the library, like a spark of magic light, caught her attention. She then tried to break through with his teleportation. Actually Helena can't just teleport randomly. It's depending on her Mana power. If her Mana was drained from exhaustion, she wouldn't be able to cast any magic.

Helena silently watched the light that continued to exist and then disappeared. She walked silently towards the last bookshelf. There she saw a little girl reading a book with her stick.

“What are you doing? Why are you here?” Helena asked. The eleven year old girl turned around. She stared at Helena wide-eyed.

“S-sorry, I was just learning magic!” she said looking down and then returned the magic book she was holding.

“Are you interested in magic?” Helena asked. The little girl nodded enthusiastically. Helena then came closer and rubbed her head.

“Let me teach you about magic, even though I don't have a level, but I'm good at healing. I used to heal others,” said Helena. The little girl was happy to hear her words.

“Try reciting the spell carefully. You have to swing the wand slowly and the shape of your wand swing must be the same as the picture in the book,” said Helena. 

Helena's hand grabbed the little girl's hand. She helped her swing the wand and, sure enough, the little girl's magic worked. She managed to make the withered flower in front of her come alive again.

“Wow, thanks, Helena!” she said excitedly.

Helena frowned, surprised. “How did you know I was Helena?”

“Who doesn't know you? You're Selena's sister, the perfect tier one witch. No one can beat Selena, but sadly she's gone, even though I wanted to study with her. He damned prince! If only he didn't kill her, all the little witches would be good at magic!”

Helena smiled. She didn't expect her sister to be so popular in the magic school. In addition to helping the government, Selena also teaches at a magic school. Selena is a talented witch. He can master unlimited abilities, even the Mana energy that Selena has may not be used up.

“It's late. Go home and sleep,” said Helena, rubbing the little girl's head.

“I want to be able to master magic to escape this curse,” said the girl pursing her lips.

Helena blinked. “Curse? What curse?” 

The little girl looked at him seriously. “Try to make me angry.”

Helena didn't know what the little girl meant, but she lightly hit her hand. Immediately the girl turned into a white cat. Helena was surprised to see it.

“God, you're the cat from earlier? Are you cursed to be a cat?” Helena asked. The girl just meowed softly. She will turn into a human after an hour.

Helena grimaced. “Oh my, I feel sorry for you.”

Helena decided to wait for an hour, until the girl returned to being human.

“You see, right? I become a cat when angry. I have been cursed for torturing a cat. Evil witch! Oh yes, my name is Winter.”

Torturing a cat. Obviously that was wrong, Helena thought. However, she didn't say it. Instead she asked, “I remember you telling me about how to release Prince Axton while I was staring at you. How can you do that?”

“That's easy.” Winter shrugged nonchalantly. “I've always had a sixth sense, but I've never mastered any kind of magic. All of my family are tier four witches and the one who cursed me was my own twin. I'm so upset that I can't fight what she did. She always teases me."

Helena chuckled at Winter's very funny explanation. Her face is sweet and adorable to Helena.

“It's late, go home.”

Winter shook her head. She didn't want to go home. She was always belittled by her family for not being able to become a witch. One thing Winter's weakness is, she easily forgets spells. 

“No, I want to sleep here.”

“All right, then go to sleep, Winter, I want to find a map.”

“You want to find the Forest of Death, right? You won't find it on the map,” suddenly Winter said.

Helena looked at her confused. “Then how do I find the Forest of Death?”

“Come with me.”

Winter walked around the library. She then went to the very corner of the room, pressed the room button and made it open. A secret room that holds magic books for tier one witches. The book was flying, unlike the books in the front room which were neatly arranged on the shelves. Helena just found out there was a room like this. Each book was coated in fairy powder, so it could fly on its own.

“This is the book!” Winter exclaimed. She reached for a book with a red cover; a book that could show a map of the world.

“Here—” Winter pointed to an area, “—the Forest of Death is located, in a Balkan city. You can only come at night. Find the golden foxglove and that's where all the cursed souls are.”

“Foxglove?” asked Helena in surprise. She had never heard of this. 

“Gosh, you don't know? All the cursed souls would be trapped in the Forest of Death, but no one would be able to see those souls except… Selena herself.”

Helena gaped at Winter's statement. For a moment she gave in to her intention to free Axton's soul. If only Selena could see them, how could Helena find those cursed souls?

“I know your intentions. I can read your mind. There was very little chance of finding Axton's soul. Honestly, when Selena used to teach my class, I had absorbed her thoughts, so I know this secret. Selena is very wise in using her powers. She's my role model. She only cursed the bad guys.”

Helena nodded. Her sister was really good. She always uses her magic on bad people. Her sister always upholds justice for the poor. 

“Try going to the Balkans if you want to free the prince's soul, maybe you'll find another clue, but I'd rather you don't help him. Let him die in a moment. In fact, the curse cursed forever. The prince will not be able to move, until the age that has been determined by God. Although he does not eat or drink, he is still alive, but his life, as we can see, just lays stiff. I know it all because my uncle also got the same curse. My uncle loves to steal and rob, and kill innocent people. At that time Selena immediately cursed him.”

Helena felt stupid. She knows nothing about this. She was taken aback by Winter's words, didn't expect her sister to have such strong magic power. 

“All right, thanks, Winter, I'll try to figure that out.”

“Yes, be careful on the road. I suggest you leave at dawn.” Winter blinked. She then waved to Helena and was about to go out for a walk in the middle of the night. For Winter, she was never comfortable sleeping at home. Only she can't do magic. Sometimes her own parents always said she was a useless daughter, even though Winter had an extraordinary talent for literature. 

Winter wants to live life as a normal human being, but her parents always look down on ordinary humans. They always told her that living the life of being a witch was more secure, things were easier. Even now the witches are prospered by Lucas with his new policy. The witches who were able to rise to level three would work in the government and be crowned warriors of war.

Winter chose to sleep on a park bench. Even though it's cold, she really likes it here. It feels lonely and no one makes fun of her. Helena feels sorry for Winter. She wakes her and invites her to sleep at her house. 

“Don't sleep here, or you'll catch a cold. Come on, sleep at my house.”

Winter smiled seeing Helena who had been following her since earlier. She thought Helena had come home. Helena prepares a warm drink. She also prepared a comfortable mattress for Winter to sleep in. 

“Thank you, someday I will repay your kindness.”

“Never mind, you don't have to, the most important thing is that you can sleep well tonight.”