Mystical Misadventures of Morrighan Bigby

It was a fresh new day at the Bigby household. The morning sunlight had beamed through the tree canopy of the Dark Forest, and it shined through the windows of the four-floor medieval house that sat aside off a busy road that split the tall dense forest in two. It looked like a someone cut through it with a knife and completely unnatural going straight to Dragon’s Col where two glacier covered peaks touched.
On the outside wall of the house at the ground floor hung a wooden sign that said, “The Gold Witch” in big black ye olde font style. The sign also had a picture of a staff with a shining crystal. The crystal was real and would light up the sign at dark. The shop itself specialized with magic paraphernalia and traveling supplies.
All travelers and merchants would stop by for supplies before traversing the pass to go into the castle town and ports or they would visit “The Safehouse Inn” across the road for respite after facing dragons and other monsters. It was very unwise and unlucky to pass up the hamlet. Attached to the Inn was a blacksmith forge where a man with curly grey hair and chocolate skin was already busy hammering away at a repairing a broadsword. At the Inn itself, a plump woman with ginger white streaked hair was sweeping off the wooden planks off the porch and boardwalk.
From the Bigby household you could hear a mother calling her, “Morrighan! It’s time to get up, hun”
The mother was dressed in a black sorceress gown with a hooded red satin cloak. She had golden glowing and radiant skin, and she was very youthful. She opened the bedroom door to her daughter’s room where she smiled clutching her gravid belly as it brushed up against the door, “Come on honey, breakfast is ready. You better get down there before your father wolfs it all down”
Morrighan poked her head out from the several thick blankets she cocooned herself in. She had soft honey skin with wavy hair like her mother and grandmother; although, her hair was brown unlike her mother who had black hair or her grandmother who had ginger hair. Her face was not rounded like her mother or grandmother. Her mother and grandmother were very heavy in the chest area and below the waist. Morrighan was grateful that she was thin, and she dreaded the thought of having parts of her jiggling with every step she took or having to walk through most doorways sideways.
“Okay mom, I’ll be down” She answered back. She had a noticed that her voice had been changing over the summer. It was still high and child like but it was starting to become a nurturing and soothing voice like her mother’s. She got out of her bed and shivered.
Her room was so cold that they could see their breaths. Even though it were the peak of summer, the Dark Forest was high in the mountain plateau. It was not unheard of to get snow there in the summer. She did not understand why they did not use the fire to warm up the house like her grandparents would at the inn. She was not freezing, but she did like to have that luxury. Her father was a big tall burly woodsman, he could easily cut up a few trees to heat everyone up. Whenever it got really cold, he would do it, but it would have to be snowing in hell before he would put one piece of firewood in.
She stopped in front of her mirror and stared at her chest in dismay. Her grandmother told her that she was an early bloomer, but she was having nightmares of herself blowing up as big as her mother did. She had seen paintings of what her mother looked like. She was thin and sleek, but she still had well-endowed chest and curves; although, they were tiny in comparison to now.
She spent her ritual in binding her chest. She could not stand her family’s embarrassing questions and comments about her body changes. She could not cope with anymore weird things that puberty had in store for her. She got dressed in a cute black renaissance dress, a hooded blue wool cloak, and furs.
She made her way down into the dining room where she always got a view of her mother’s rear spilling out over her chair as she sat down in her chair. She had to have the arms taken off to alleviate her problem with getting stuck inside it. She felt like it was always getting fatter.
Her father looked at her strangely as she entered the room. He had sand colored skin and was so hairy that you could barely see the skin on his arms, legs, and chest. He watched her intensely and growled lowly when she sat down into her seat. “I didn’t know it was snowing outside” he commented about the way she was dressed.
“It’s cold” Morrighan replied.
“It’s summer!” he retorted.
“Baby, it is rather chilly in here. You wouldn’t notice with all that body heat you give off” Her mother defended her.
Her father snorted. “Are you growing fur?”
Morrighan’s eyes widened in horror and gasped. “What!? No!” she shouted before her twin brothers snickered.
Her father’s eyes narrowed skeptically at her. “Your brothers did the same thing when they started sprouting fur. It’s nothing to be ashamed of” he told her.
“Baby, she’s just cold. Just feel her hands, they’re freezing” Morrighan’s mother told him as she finished holding onto her daughter’s hand.
Her father reached out asking her, “Give me your hand” he grabbed onto her hand after she approached him. His hands were so very warm almost hot, it felt like he was a furnace. He seemed disappointed to feel her cold hands, and he sighed. “I guess you are a late bloomer”
Morrighan stared at him confused, “But everyone else says that I’m an early bloomer. What do you mean I’m a later bloomer?”
Morrighan’s mother cleared her throat can scowled at him. He kept quiet when he noticed her look before she explained to her, “Honey, what your father doesn’t know that you have bloomed already”
“Uh, yea I do” He spoke up.
“You don’t” She spoke up.
“I don’t?”
She gave him an intimidating look while pulling her wand out from her hair bun, and Morrighan thought she could hear her father let out a soft yelp as he flinched from her casting some kind of shock spell. Her brothers bother laughed as it was all known that their mother was in charge of things. Their father might have strength and brawn, but their mother had the knowledge and power.
Their father stood up out from the chair and sighed heavily. “I’m going out to help your father with some sword project he’s got going. Sounds like he started without me” he said.
“Oh, um…Ulf…please don’t break the Dragonbane this time” Their mother told him.
He gave her an odd look and seemed slightly confused. “That thing has a name?”
“Yes baby…it has a name”
His eyes narrowed upon her and smirked incredulously. “Hardly deserves the name if I can break if…unless that mean that I’m stronger than a dragon that is”
Their mother stared at him unamused before she pointed towards the stairs. “Out, you!” she demanded.
Morrighan looked towards her mother finding this to be hyperbole. “Mum, that’s a legendary dragon slaying sword! He couldn’t possibly break it could he?”
Their mother let off an exhausted sigh as she got up out of her seat. “Your father has a proclivity in breaking things. That is why I do not allow him to touch anything in my shop” she told her before she snapped her fingers and all of the used dishes levitated and went into the sink where the brushes and sponges began to scrub away. There was an automated assembly line where there where at the end the dishes would be set in the rack. She was quite proud of how she devised her spells.
The twins went were rushing towards the stairs after their father where she called to him. “Boys! If you are going out into the forest to harass monsters again, can you please at least fetch me some fiddleheads and salmonberries while you are out?”
The twins stopped and looked back at her. “How can we fight monsters and carry your ingredients mum?” Remus asked
“Well, if you can’t figure that out, maybe you shouldn’t be fighting monsters behind me back, now should you?”
“Way to go, you turd!” Romulus shouted as he slugged his twin in the arm.
The twins are about two years older than Morrighan, and they had vitiligo which the patterns on their faces resembled a skull. When they went to school, they were given the nickname the “Reaper Twins”, but they got into so many fights that they were taught at home. Remus had a waxing moon crescent blonde spot on the right side of back of his head, and Romulus had a waning moon crescent blonde spot on the left side of the back of his head. The two had put on noticeably more muscle than other teenage boys their age, but they were still scrawny runts compared to their father.
The boy ran down the stairs nearly missing every step before they barged out of the shop very heavy and sturdy doors. There was a gentleman in purple wizard robes who had his nose nearly caved in from the door smacking into him. “Ah, blast!” he shouted with a high pitched nasally voice. “Hey you! Boys!”
“Stop where you are!” Their father barked.
The twins both froze in fear when they heard him. His voice was so strong and scary that it sent chills through their bodies despite being a quarter of a mile away. They looked back at their father who stood in the middle of the highway brandishing a gigantic battle hammer with ends as big as human heads. It was still red hot, and he held it one handed. “You boys go apologize to your mother’s customer!”
The twins both stuffed their hands into their trouser pockets growling lowly. They marched their way over to the wizard who appeared to be the same age as their mother. He had pale skin, jet black hair, and he had a vertical scar on his brow and cheek. He looked down at them with equal contempt. “Well?”
The twins looked away. “Sorry mister, we didn’t mean to break your nose”
“Do you two know who I am?” The wizard raised his voice in frustration.
“No, but I think he’s going to tell us anyway” Romulus muttered rolling his eyes.
“Such impudence! How about I teach you a lesson!” The wizard shouted as he pulled his wand out from his sleeve. The twins watched their father swing the war hammer towards them and a bolt of lightning streaked between them. A sonic boom punched them all in the gut making the boys collapse to the ground. The lightning bolt struck a tree and the bark exploded off it upon impact.
“Did you just threaten my boys!?” His voice boomed.
The situation escalated when their grandmother came out from the tavern and gasped. “Beauregard!? I haven’t seen you around here since Maya’s wedding!” she shouted. She waddled over to her grandsons where she placed her hands on either of their shoulders. “Have you decided to sponsor my darlings to the Academy yet?”
“Grandma, he was about to curse us” Remus told her.
“Yea, dad stopped him” Romulus added.
Beauregard gulped. “No, you misunderstand…I was only going to…I wasn’t going to harm a bunch of kids!” he stuttered.
“You said you were going to teach us a lesson then drew your wand” Romulus retorted.
The wizard backed up into the stone wall glancing over at the electricity arching around the gigantic war hammer that the father was wielding. “Maybe we got off on the wrong foot here” he told them nervously. He cleared his throat and told them, “My name is Beauregard Chevalier, I am a Professor at Tarn Lake Academy for the Magically Gifted”
“Did you say! Tarn Lake Academy of the Magically Gifted!?” Morrighan shouted as she barged out of the doors. She shrieked jumping up and down then ran over to hug him. “You mean you got my letter!?” she shouted.
Beauregard nodded pulling out the letter. “Aye, I saw that you wrote about how your mother slayed the Big Bad Wolf, and I only know of one woman who had done such an incredible feat. Naturally, I came here. I didn’t know she had more than one kid though”
The twins huffed and walked off in disgust. Beauregard watched them walk away, then he looked towards their grandmother. “Why are they not excited for their sister? This is a glorious occasion”
Their grandmother looked towards the ground in dismay. “Well, this will be the third year that they have been snubbed”
“I’m sorry, but the Tarn Lake Academy for the Magically Gifted is named for just that. We only accept the most talented and gifted of students” Beauregard told her; although, this sounded rehearsed.
Morrighan’s father snorted and spat of the ground. “You call two boys who go out into the Dark Forest to fight monsters as not talented or gifted enough for your damn school?” he spoke up gruffly. His eyes narrowed upon him, and his nose and lip curled. “It’s all about money with you! You didn’t recognize the Bigby family name, and you deemed us as commoners!”
Beauregard’s held his hands up. “No, sir…we…well you’re right about us not having the Bigby family name registered on our alma mater, but the O’Connell family name are. Sir, we…we…we had no idea that there was other talent out there”
“You were at our wedding, you lying mother…”
“Ulf! Please, let me handle it! Go back to the forge, and you better not break anything!” Morrighan’s grandmother told him. He snorted and stormed off past Morrighan’s grandfather who had just walked up to them having overheard the conversation.
“I have to say this. Your academy had no problem with the Mwangi family name, a foreign family name, my family name. I am not an alma mater with Tarn Lakes, and Maya was the only one. I find it very strange that the academy wouldn’t send any professors to vet both my grandsons’ talent like you did for Maya” Morrighan’s grandfather spoke with a low raspy voice.
Morrighan’s grandmother turned towards Beauregard and frowned. “Surely the school has some sort of scholarship for disadvantaged hidden gems? Or are you bitter about Maya falling in love with Ulf?”
“Yes, that’s what I’m thinking” Morrighan’s grandfather added.
Beauregard looked to Morrighan and gulped. “We-we have scholarships, and I…I honestly forgot that Maya’s changed her last name. It’s been 15 years since I’ve seen her. I get many letters from during admissions asking for me to sponsor them. I cannot vet every single applicant I get. I go off their resume and Morrighan’s mentioning of being the daughter of slayer of the Big Bad Wolf. Now I get letters of boys bragging about killing monsters all the time. There are many kinds of monsters, and to be vague and I believe it’s kept that way to embellish killing a Flame Newt into looking like they have killed an Aurora Bellied Quetzalcoatl. I’m sorry that I didn’t recognize the surname”
“Hmph, I see” Morrighan’s grandfather spoke with skepticism.
“Henry…please” Morrighan’s grandmother said with a sigh. She was doing her best to deescalate the tension, and she finally escorted Beauregard into the shop. Morrighan’s mother, Maya, was sitting on a chair supervising her younger children who were helping mix potions, a son aged 10 and two daughters ages 8 and 6.
Beauregard was shocked and somewhat horrified to see the state that Morrighan’s mother was in. “Maya? Is that you!? Y-y-you’ve changed…a lot!” he remarked. He stared at her chest then his eyes wondered to her exaggerated pear shape figure.
Morrighan’s mother saw where he was staring, and she laughed it off. “Oh yes, I have packed on some weight over the years. I’m sorry I haven’t written to you in a while. I’ve been so busy with running my business and being a mom. Hehe, have another baby in the oven so to speak” she spoke as she cradled her baby bump. She was happy and Beauregard’s lip quivered.
“Business? I thought you wanted to become a teacher? You are the best witch our Academy has ever produced” Beauregard asked.
“But I am teaching. I’ve been teaching. I will continue to teach” she told him motioning to her kids. “Hehe, I’m sure you tell all the witches and wizards that they are the best” she said before she looked back up at him and smiled faintly. “I do like teach, but I can’t be a mom there. Ulf provides for me…I’m happy” she told him before she looked towards Morrighan. “If you’ve come to measure her talent, she’s already got the credentials she needs”
Beauregard reached into his satchel and pulled out a crystal ball holding it out in his palm towards Maya. “We have gone to quantifying a witch or wizard’s potential. This here orb resonates with a target’s mana reservoir, and it can tell us how deep and vast it is by displaying a color. I have a sheet here that will help me translate” he said before he activated the orb. Her color was teal, which he seemed disappointed. He pointed his orb at Morrighan, and it was deep blue. He got curious and aimed the orb at Maya’s stomach and he was caught off guard with it turning yellow. He then aimed his orb at Morrighan’s grandmother who turn it purple.
“Interesting, your unborn child has more mana than an average first year student, and…Morrighan’s mana is as higher than a majority of our professors. Maya…there is a lot of mana siphoned off from you. I would have expected you to be purple or violet, but teal…that’s less than most of our graduates” Beauregard stated.
“Hmph! I’m pregnant, Beauregard! You try growing a heart and liver in your womb and tell me you don’t get exhausted!” She snapped at him.
“Well…fair enough…I will sponsor Morrighan for a scholarship. Here is a list of school supplies, but…you look like you already have them” he said as he looked around at the shelves. “Well, I’ll see you in three weeks” he told her. He handed Morrighan’s mother the list from his satchel.
She took it from him and frowned. “Beauregard? Will you please clear up with admissions about my sons? I need them to be challenged. Spriggans and Ogres aren’t cutting it anymore for them”
Beauregard looked to her and nodded. “I’ll see what I can do. I will document my findings, and I will definitely see to it that they start out as third year students. I doubt they would make it to the placement examinations…you know how it is. I’m sorry for the confusion”
“Thank you, Beauregard” she told him.
Beauregard tipped his hat towards her before he headed out the door. Morrighan to the door holding it open, and she watched him hold his orb out pointed towards her father. She was just as curious to see what his color would be. Pop! The orb exploded into dust and shards, and it was so loud that it made her eardrums ring. Beauregard held out his hand in agony as his hand began to bleed out where the crystal had embedded into his skin.
Her grandmother heard the sound, and she ran out to render first aid using her wand. Morrighan snickered to herself. “Wow grandma, mum wasn’t joking about daddy having a talent for breaking things”