Prologue
Once upon a time there was a witch and a warlock who fell in love. They lived together in a modest and remote castle, working the land, making essential oils, and giving back to the earth. They were a good witch and warlock who loved their life and wanted nothing more than to share their love and good fortune with others. But most of all, they dreamed of having a tiny magical being of their own. This was not to be. For all their trying, the witch could not become pregnant. They grew herbs to make special teas, mixed up potions for fertility, and even cast spells under the light of the full moon. Nothing worked. The witch’s belly remained empty. The days turned into months, into years, then into decades. A century passed, but no baby came. The witch fell into a deep sadness. She no longer got out of bed and tended to her garden. She no longer sang while strolling through the meadows of wildflowers. She no longer ate until she was full. She cried. She slept. She stared into the nothingness of the night.
Heartbroken to see his love so forlorn, the warlock decided to venture out of the safety of their secluded castle and find a Baba Yaga to heal his wife and give them a child through either light or dark magical means. The day he left, he kissed her and promised to always love her in this world, and the next. He vowed to search eternally for help for his barren wife. He vowed to find a way to give her a child. The witch pleaded with him not to leave. She told him she’d felt something terrible coming his way. He saw it, too, but knew her happiness was more important. She cried and held onto the warlock, but he pushed her away. Before he mounted his stead, he placed a soft kiss on her lips. The warlock embraced the witch’s face in his hands and looked deep into her aqua eyes. He said, “you are my heart. Without you by my side, this muscle in my chest would cease to beat. I will travel to the end of the earth and time to make you happy.” He kissed her again. “If I do not return, always follow your heart.” He removed a long chain that held and small key from his neck and placed it in her hands. “This key opens the lock to the future. It’s been passed down in my family since the beginning of time, bestowed upon those with a purpose to learn. Use it and our love will be for all eternity.”
The witch did not see the warlock alive again.
