Bewitched

By Madaline

"Drusilla Webb is the Witch and the Dragon of Ice. She's the

most powerful being in all of creation. She's been living her

life on the downlow in Winter Cove until one night changes

everything. She embarks on an adventure that consists of

falling in love, breaking the curse on the Ice Kingdom, and even

befriending t

• Language: English
• Publisher: Ukiyoto Publishing
• Release date: Jun 7, 2023
• ISBN: 9789361727146

Book preview

Blood Orange

D

rusilla Webb has her arms down by her side with her dark pink lips pursed. She's confused by what's going on. She had been requested to meet her two best friends at Wintergrove Cemetery. Her short, dark chocolate brown curls that frame her olive cheekbones bounce as she casts her forest green eyes around the cemetery. She felt off, catching sight of nothing out of the ordinary.

        She's a beautiful, slim, petite twenty six year old woman who stands at five foot two. She was a smidge insecure about herself as well as her body. Entering a cemetery or graveyard of any kind, close to darkness falling was not Dru's idea of a good time. She places one hand on the black fence, keeping the dark gray, ivy covered, cracked headstones with bodies of corpses below concealed in. Her dark forest green eyes roamed over the graveyard which was medium for the small town of Winter Cove.

        She was in a creamsicle orange, long sleeve knit sweater which showcased the middle of her stomach. Her long sleeve sweater was over a short sleeved, white button up tee shirt. Her bottoms consisted of black leggings with short, black ankle boots to match. She looked like some college student who should be attending classes at Winter Tunda University. She didn't know why there were so many wintery names in the small town she had grown up in.

        As far as Dru knew, she had been born in Winter Cove. A scowl slides into her green eyes as they set upon the sinking sun. A chill ran down her spine as she noted the sun was becoming a full moon. She didn't like the looks of the blood orange tint the moon held. She was about to turn on her heel to leave when her sister appeared, Luna?

        Luna Webb is thirty nine years old, stands at five foot eleven inches in height while holding down a golden, semi fair complexion. She's got lighter, sea green eyes with long flowing, jet black waves. Her hair falls to the middle of her spine. She holds a love for books, the color purple, and her family. She was glaring at Dru, Have you forgotten what happened to Lola?

        Dru felt her lips tug downwards into a frown. She could not forget what had happened to Lola Webb years ago. She sighs, I haven't forgotten.

        Then, why are you prancing around a cemetery late at night? This one to be exact? Luna asks with a scowl sliding onto her lips. She wore a lavender leather jacket over a lavender knit long sleeve, clumsily lapping over dark blue jeans. Her shoes were purple and black sneakers that got the job done.

        I was told to meet my best friend here. Dru says, rolling her green eyes at her older sister. She could never forget Lola who died at the age of eighteen. From what she heard, Lola got burned by some lunatic who went mad and snapped.

        "I assumed as the loner that you are Drusilla that you had no friends." Luna coldly remarks, trying to scold her middle sister.

        Dru hates her full name. She didn't see the need to have a name that was a mouthful, I may be a loner, but I do have friends. Or do you not count either?

        "Why does Jasmine want you to meet her in the graveyard this close to dark?" Luna asks, gaining a purse of the lips from Dru.

        Dru could invite Luna into her circle of secrecy or she could do her sister a favor– leave her from the loop. What happens if the same thing that happened to Lola happens to either one of them? She bites the inside of her cheek, Jaz thinks she may have found something.

        "Found something? Regarding, what?" Luna hysterically asks, shaking her head at the notion.

        Dru nonchalantly shrugs, beginning to enter Wintergrove Cemetery. She needed to get to the bottom of what she had been searching for. She craved answers as to why her sister's killer snapped. She's followed by a hysterical Luna Webb who remains glued to the hip of her middle sister, We're about to see what Jaz found then you'll know as much as the two of us do.

        Luna would prefer to have the answers right off the bat. She doesn't pester her sister anymore as she trusts that Dru knew what she was doing, I'll trust you, Drusilla.

        Dru closes her eyes, releasing a groan of annoyance as she stops in her tracks. She caught sight of a few trees which were shady even during the day. She didn't like the area near the metal shed where the tools to keep up on the cemetery were kept. She takes deep breaths, Can you not keep using my full name?

        Why? What's wrong with your name? It means strong and valiant…or was it strong and resilient? Luna bombards Dru with curious questions.

          "Yeah, it's a beautiful name, but idiots associate me with that Buffy character. I don't even like Buffy." Dru says, replying to Luna with a simple answer. She was being honest. She sees the face of her sister fall, not stopping to consider the reasoning.

        "Everybody likes what they like. We're all different. Luna agrees, pressing her lips into a thin line. She nods to the shady, clearing with too many gathered trees, Is this where you're meant to meet these best friends of yours?"

        Lu, I knew you were gonna follow me. My only two best friends are you and Jaz. Dru clears up the confusion of her sister whose lips parted.

          Luna parts her lips, unsure of what to say. She didn't think Dru thought all that much of her. She knew how their other sisters chose not to appreciate their family, "You seem to be the only one who appreciates me, Dru– of all our family."

        Dru blows a raspberry. She had reached out to her second oldest sister and their second younger sister. She was unaware that neither knew about the death of Lola Webb. She went into much detail through email with them about Lola's murder as much as possible, I may have reached out to them.

        Luna rubs her eyes, "Wait, what?"

          Dru releases a shaky breath, We can talk about it later. We've got business to attend to.

          Luna frowns, but gestures for Dru to walk further into the clearing of the trees. She follows behind Dru who comes to a stop in front of Jasmine Scott.

          Jasmine has a bit of fire in a lantern burning. She went old school, because it's what the twenty six year old did. She's got brown skin, stands at five foot two, is slender, and has jet black waves which also fall to the middle of her back. Her eyes were the color of charcoal as she lifts something up so Dru and Luna can see, What do you see?

          In the dark? Luna asks, scoffing as her sea green eyes drink in the darkness. She can barely see the fire Jasmine has got burning due to how dark it had gotten. She couldn't even see the light from the blood orange moon, shimmering in the pitch black night skies. She scoffs as she adds as an afterthought, Nothing is what I see.

        Dru inches closer, eyeing a pendant in the palm of Jasmine's hand. She furrows her eyebrows as she extends a hand towards it, Why is steam that feels cold seeping from this pendant?

        "I tried to look it up. It's rare– one of a kind. Something about an ice pendant which will awaken the dragon; bringing the end of Winter Cove as it is known." Jasmine eagerly informs Dru who scoffs at the idea.

          Are you trying to tell us that magic exists? Luna asks, scratching her head of hair. She couldn't see nor could she sense the pendant, but Dru could.

        Dru gently touched a pointer finger to the pendant causing a sense of a cool chill to run through her. A sense of belonging passed through her allowing her the insight of change looming over the horizon. Excitement of energy coursed through the woman with short, dark brown curls, This is fascinating!

          Exactly. Jasmine Scott agrees, beaming from ear to ear. She then clears her throat, However, do we need a dragon in the small town of Winter Cove?

          No. Which means we should slay this dragon if it does come to fruition. How do you think it will come about? Luna bombards Jasmine and Dru with questions.

          Dru was unsure if she agreed or not with the rambling of her older sister. She sighs, I don't think that an actual dragon will appear. Do you?

          Luna bites the inside of her cheek as she shrugs, I guess not.

          Jasmine didn't utter a word. She smirked inside, burying it behind a look of stoicism. All good things would awaken when the time was right.

          Dru withdrew her hand from the pendant which dissolved upon her retraction, "Where did it go?"

          Jasmine shrugs, Not sure, but I'm certain we'll find out soon enough.

Chasing Shadows

D

ru finalized the finishing touches of the novel she had been writing. She put her blood, sweat, soul, and pain into writing Chasing Shadows. She had written a true story about sisterhood, being broken, a romance that never got to flourish, and healing. She was proud of herself, beaming from ear to ear. She wrote her nonfiction into fiction in order to keep it from biting her in the arse later down the road.

          Laughter came from down the hall of the Webb household. She had grown up, raised in Winter Cove in a one story house with an attic, four bedroom, two bathrooms. She raises an eyebrow at the laughter, knowing who it was coming from. But why was Luna laughing like she found a new comedy? Dru eyes her bedroom briefly, before opting to go see what her sister was laughing about.

          "Drusilla, you truly know how to write our sisters. They're gonna be furious!" Luna picks up on Dru having entered the living room. She had begun binge reading; Chasing Shadows. She places a bookmark inside, softly shutting the book. She pats the ripped, torn, canary yellow sofa for Dru to join her.

        Dru becomes agitated at the use of her full name. She doesn't care what the name means, Luna, I wrote a fictionalized version of the truth. Life was never easy or beautiful for any of us growing up.

          Yes, but things and people change as they grow. Luna sighs, shaking her head. She wipes stray tears from her face due to all her laughing.

          Dru never forgot the outrageous temper her second older sister held. She would never know the reasoning either, "They don't live here anymore. They haven't for a while. I don't think they'll read my book either."

        Luna inhales sharply, keeping in air as she turns her palms upwards in a shrug, You would be surprised.

        Dru is even more confused, About which part, would I be surprised?

        "That some of us do read the bullshit you write. It's all a lie." The sudden, angered, feminine voice of Venus Webb coldly remarks from somewhere behind Dru. She's in a black, shimmering mini skirt with a dark red, long sleeve shirt that causes her cleavage to pop.

        Dru feels her eyes widen upon seeing her second older sister, Venus.