An old story

“Many decades ago, I killed a witch.”

That’s how the story my great-grandmother would often tell me started. I was only six years old when she first told it to me by candlelight, which was not a suitable age at all to hear such a story. I guess she started telling it to me at such a young age to really instill a fear of witches in me.

Children from around the village would gather in her house to listen to her horrifying tales. We didn’t get much education, but the little we did get was usually on the subject of the Great Holy War and the evil nature of witches. Great-grandma’s stories were an essential part of our early education.

“At seventeen, I was already the foremost swordfighter in the wide area. Back then, our village was a flourishing town of a few thousand people. But the witches who were ravaging the land took notice of us. They came on a moonless night. There were only four of them, but their powerful magic was enough to set the entire town ablaze.”

At this point one of the kids would usually ask why the witches would commit such evil acts, to which they got an ominous reply.

“Because they traded their hearts for power.”

This would send a shiver down my spine, but before I could really think what that was supposed to mean, she had already moved on in her story.

“Many of the townspeople were trapped in their homes as the fire raged around them, but I was lucky enough to escape to safety with my weapons in hand. This was the moment I’d been training for for years. As the witches flew around and laughed at our misery and picked us off one by one, I went up into the hills. The tall grass obscured me from their view, and I waited for the perfect chance. My opportunity soon came.”

At this point in the story all the children were either mesmerized or crying that they were scared, but she didn’t pay any attention to them. She was back in the past, reliving every memory.

“One of the witches flew just a bit too close while they circled the town, and so I rose from the grass and chucked a spear at her with all my might. The spear connected and she fell to the ground with a shriek. I unsheathed my sword and drew closer as the witch laid on the ground in agony. When she noticed me approaching she got up with much difficulty to face me. You see, witches excel at long-range combat, but at close range they’re defenseless. So she tried to keep me at bay by manipulating the wind and earth, while I got ever closer and closer…”

“At last I saw an opening after ducking beneath a desperate fireball, and my sword pierced right through her chest.”

She would hesitate to continue for a split second as her expression went blank, it was so brief that you only barely notice it. She quickly pulled herself back together and continued.

“Upon seeing this, the witches retreated back into the shadows. I had warded off the threat for now, but the town was in ruins and would never quite recover.”

Now all the kids were either crying or cheering at Alicia’s courage. I for one was one of the crybabies. I would certainly face a few sleepless nights while I saw witches behind every corner.

I recalled this story while I looked at the young witch by my side. She was in turn looking over at the village in the distance with a sad expression on her face. She appeared to be completely different from the witches in great-grandma’s stories. She didn’t have a black heart filled with malice, nor did she appear to be trying to bring the Devil back into the world. But how exactly did she attain these powers then?

Before long the mysterious girl turned away and walked over the crest of the hill, away from the village. At that moment I was torn between two worlds.

My fear of witches was still very much present, and I didn’t want to leave the village behind. On the other hand, did I really want to return to a place where executions were seen as entertainment, and I could possibly become the next victim of the village’s bloodlust? I shook my head to scramble my thoughts and finally came to a decision.

“Hey, wait for me!” I yelled as I chased after her. She looked over her shoulder.

“Why are you coming with me? Everyone is afraid of me, but you still want to join me?”

I struggled to put my thoughts into words. “Well, uh, I can’t go back to the village anymore or I’ll be dead before sundown. Plus, you’re going to run into a lot more people who want to kill you from now on so, uh, you need someone to keep an eye out for you, r-right?”

She smiled at me as a sudden breeze rustled the grass around us. It must’ve been at that moment that my feelings for her were seeded.

“Thank you, but I just want to get back home. This place is worse than a nightmare.”

I had no idea where “home” was for her, probably in a far-flung place that would take months to reach.

“By the way, what is your name?” I asked her. “I’m Oliver.”

“Chiyo Arata, but please call me Chiyo. Arata is kind of boys’ name wouldn’t you agree?”

What a strange name, I’d never heard anything that sounded remotely like it. Her home may be farther away than I thought.

“Nice to meet you, Chiyo. Why don’t we go to the capital, Indestria, first? We might find some answers there and get you on your way back home. But we’ll have to keep a low profile in order to not be found by the Inquisition. Though, that may already be too late. I bet the village is notifying every town in the province of your existence at this very moment.”

Upon saying this she sighed deeply and I immediately regretted telling her anything. She probably realized that wherever we went, we would be hunted down. There would be no rest for us. 

Suddenly it dawned on me that I would likely never return to the village again after today. Now that I'd seen the villagers’ true nature this didn’t dishearten me as much as I would’ve expected, but it was still the only home I’d ever known. Then I thought of a pressing issue I was facing.

“Hey… Chiyo. I need to find a weapon before we set out. I know the risk is very high and we’re better off moving quickly, but the only good weapon I know of is my great-grandma's sword, Serpens Aurum. It's on display in her living room.”

Chiyo didn’t appreciate this. “I can’t believe you! First you drag me out here and now you want to go back to that granny from hell? Don’t you remember she just tried to kill me?”

“I know, but still… I simply can't go out into the wilderness without a weapon. I don't want to have you protecting me all the time.” There was also the matter that we didn't know enough about the limits to Chiyo's power. I needed to be there to back her up when things got dicey.

“Hmph, do whatever you like! But don’t come crying to me when you’re up on the chopping block!”

She was clearly angry with me, but I didn’t let that deter me. Honestly, I was scared to death of going back into the village, yet there was some part of my mind that kept pushing me forward. I couldn't be a burden to Chiyo. 

“Let’s wait until nightfall so I can sneak in undetected. The village is on high alert but I know some secret routes in.”

And so we hid in the tall grass, watching the shadows grow longer while we made sure not to doze off. There were patrols everywhere after all. 

Before long, the sun had traded places with the moon, and the ocean of green we were in had turned silver. It was time to make our move. I explained the plan to Chiyo, who was still sulking.

“There’s an hidden underground tunnel that leads straight into the village chief’s garden. Only family members know about it, so I’m pretty optimistic that it won’t be guarded.”

“’Pretty optimistic’ isn’t going to cut it, your life is on the line!” Chiyo was genuinely worried.

“I’m going to go check it out, if there’s too many patrols we’ll have to come up with something else. Maybe you can create a distraction on the opposite end of town while I sneak in?” I’d rather not get Chiyo involved with my plan as her magic was very unstable, but if worst came to worst we would have no other choice. Who would’ve thought obtaining a weapon would be so difficult?

While Chiyo stayed put, I snuck the long way around to the wheat fields while, where the tunnel was located, and was relieved to find them devoid of life. After some stumbling in the dark I finally found the stone slab covering a dark hole in the ground. There was no going back now.