The familiar echo of black boots trailing through the dirt path rang out through the forest. Annapolis, the bored adventurer, moved with a lazy gait that suggested she would rather be anywhere else. She had dull brown eyes, a flat line for a mouth, and despite her limitless strength, she had no meat on her bones. Her arms were like twigs and her legs like sticks, yet she moved with a quiet, heavy confidence.
"I heard there was a witch here with magically enhanced herbs for better flavoring," she muttered to herself.
She continued her lethargic pace until a tall structure slowly faded into view through the treeline. It was an ethereal mansion that glinted under the radiant silver of the moonlight. Annapolis looked up at the towering architecture with a characteristically unimpressed expression.
"Guess this is the place."
She gave three light knocks on the sturdy door, which appeared to be crafted from ancient dark oak. The door creaked open, but from Annapolis's eye level, the entryway looked empty. She began to look around, confused, until a voice rang up at her from below.
"Hey! Down here!"
The voice had a sassy, childish ring to it. Annapolis looked down and saw a little girl with violet hair wearing a silky smooth dress that pooled around her small, thin body. The girl smirked up arrogantly at the adventurer.
"I see another human has stumbled her way to the witch's house. My name is Luna. What brings you out here, girl?"
Annapolis tilted her head, scratching the back of her neck. "Uh, kid, are your parents around? I heard one of them is a witch. Also, why'd you call me a human? You look human yourself."
At the mention of parents, Luna's face darkened instantly. Her body tensed, and an irritated, sharp expression flashed across her youthful features.
"Don't you dare ever bring them up again," she said, her voice dropping to a low, serious tone. Her body began to emanate a terrifying amount of magical power, casting an aura of magenta light into the hallway.
"Why? Did they ground you or something?" Annapolis asked, her tone taking on a conversational pace. Despite the very real, shimmering threat the child posed, the danger didn't even remotely register on her senses. "Never really experienced what it was like to be punished. What is it like?"
"They didn't ground me... they abandoned me," Luna hissed, tears welling in her eyes as if the memory were a fresh wound. "They left me to be burned alive by our village because I looked hideous from my disease. In my last moments, I crawled out of our burning house and killed them both with a fireplace poker. How could they do that to me?!"
In her rage, Luna thrust her hand toward the wall. A magical flare of red formed in her palm and shot out like a missile. It dissipated harmlessly against the magically enhanced oak, but Annapolis, not wanting the property value to go down, grabbed Luna's wrist firmly.
"Whoa, kid, don't burn this place down. It isn't worth causing a forest fire," she said casually.
Luna roughly freed herself and stomped her child-sized dress shoes against the creaking wood floors. Annapolis, unbothered, closed her eyes and puffed out her chest, knocking on it with her fist.
"Anyways, I'm a humble tea connoisseur. I heard you had magically enhanced herbs and I wanted to try some."
Sensing that the house needed to feed, Luna's face darkened into a grin. "Sure, human. Over here. I've got a special surprise for you."
Luna turned and led Annapolis toward the center of the mansion. They ascended a grand staircase and moved down a dark, oppressive hallway. Eventually, Luna stopped at the entrance to a room, gesturing for the bored woman to enter.
"The herbs are in there?" Annapolis asked.
Luna nodded silently, a devious smile plastered on her face. As soon as Annapolis stepped into the room, the door slammed shut, plunging her into pitch blackness.
"Time to listen to my monologue, human!" Luna's voice echoed through the door. "I am Luna, an immortal witch of five hundred years. I was rescued from the fire by a black cat named Paradox, who brought me to this mansion. To keep my youth, I must feed this house the souls of humans. You are the five-thousandth victim!"
A spotlight suddenly revealed a massive mouth filled with teeth as sharp as steel, floating in the darkness. It began chomping with hydraulic speed, moving toward Annapolis.
"The house doesn't want your body," Luna shouted. "It wants your soul!"
Annapolis looked at the floating, gnashing maw with total boredom. "You know, kid, you sound like a child having a temper tantrum because she didn't get her way. I'm sorry about the disease and the village, but you don't have to kill people to look pretty. You remind me of a vengeful spirit from a campfire story."
Luna's eyebrow twitched. "What did you say? You compare my suffering to a story?"
The house stopped its charge, sensing the witch's rising frustration. Luna stormed into the room, her arms trembling with rage. She shot her hands forward, and a pair of magenta spiritual hands flew at the adventurer.
"Take this! I'll wrench your soul from your body!"
The spiritual hands struck Annapolis, but they didn't penetrate. Instead, they merely pinged off her body, falling uselessly to the floor like a marionette with its strings cut. Luna's jaw dropped.
"W-what? Your soul is impenetrable! How is that possible?"
"Hey, these things aren't moving," Annapolis said, poking at the magical energy. "Anyway, can you point me to the herbs? I don't see any in here."
Luna let out a long, dejected sigh, her shoulders dropping. The fight was gone. "They're in the backyard. I infused them myself to test some spells. Since you're immune to magic... what did you say your name was?"
"It's Annapolis."
Luna smirks, but this time, the expression was genuine. "Annapolis."