The Encounter

As promised, they went to the store first thing in the morning. Elaine checked if it was still there and to her relief, it was. Logically speaking, she knew it wasn't possible for it to have been sold when they came first thing in the morning, just a few minutes after the store had opened.

They went inside and the bells rang, alerting the shopkeeper. Elaine looked around inside and she noticed many other gems being sold. Either as an accessory or just the gem itself, raw and unpolished. On the walls hung bracelets, earrings and necklaces and the rings, stones and other sorts of accessories were displayed on the shelves. There was no space left unoccupied. Those that looked more valuable had been placed behind the counter within glass containers. Elaine looked up and saw the chandelier was endorsed in gems as well. She was amazed.

"Good morning!" An elderly man greeted them as he appeared from the door behind the counter. He wore decent clothing, fitting the ambience of the store. He had more wrinkles than her grandfather, Elaine had noticed. He went around and came up to them. He smiled. "How may I help you?"

"We would like to purchase the amber brooch by the window. Is it for sale?" Miles asked, speaking in Elaine's place. He knew she would be too shy to do so herself, as she was hiding behind him. Only her head could be seen.

"Ah, of course." He went and took the box that held the brooch. He showed it to them. He noticed Elaine was a timid girl, just like how his daughter was as a child. He smiled at her. "I must say you have a very good eye, my Lady. This here is The Beast's Eye, named for its resemblance to a beast's glowing eyes. This stone was mined and made into a brooch in our neighbouring country Tegra known for its superiority in arts and technology. I heard a rumour that this brooch has the ability to detect a witches presence by touch, but unlike the church's artefact it just glows. If this is true or not, I leave it up to you to decide."

Elaine looked at the gem closely and began to wonder if the gem truly resembled a beast's eye. She has never seen one and hoped it would stay that way. All the books she has read on them described them as monstrous animals that devoured everything in their path. Many knights have lost their lives in the war against witches because of the beasts they controlled. And wouldn't it be useful if it could really tell when a witch was nearby?

"What say you, my Lady?"

Miles bent down and whispered into Elaine's ears. "I believe those rumours are untrue, Milady. Would you like to purchase it either way?"

"Uhm," Elaine put both of her hands together. She then whispered back to Miles, "I think I would like to get it. It doesn't matter if the rumours are true or not. I just want to give grandpa something nice."

"Alright," He said. Miles started to bargain with the old man and was surprised he gave a reasonable price. The purchase was successful and they both went out with the tiny blue box in Elaine's hands.

Feeling contented, she was more than eager to return home. The faster they travel the earlier they get home. But a scream was heard throughout the street, catching both Elaine's and Miles' attention. Miles quickly placed himself in front of Elaine and had his hand ready on his sword.

"No! This can't be!"

In the middle of the street were a priest and two knights that dragged a woman across the floor. She struggled, trying to free herself from the knight's hands.

"Please," she begged and cried. "Have mercy! I have been nothing but a good citizen and have been living a normal life. I never even knew I was a witch!"

"But you are a witch," said the priest. "Hence we must detain you for the people's safety."

"I haven't harmed, nor will I harm anyone in the future," she was desperate to escape death. The panic was clear on her face. "I swear on Zailea's name."

"How dare you say our Goddess' name, you witch!" The priest looked furious.

"Please, I promise I will never hurt anyone!" she grovelled on the ground. "You can even keep an eye on me, hmm? I just want to live. Please."

Elaine's breathing became unstable. She hasn't been this close to a witch for a long time. She kept her eyes on the witch, scared she might do something out of the blue. But she looked so normal, so human. What if the priest was mistaken?

Many people who were present had the same doubts as Elaine. She looked just like any ordinary woman out there. The priest could tell with how everyone looked at the woman with pity. So he brought out what looked like the artefact Elaine saw at the procession. It had the same blood red stone and golden decor, but smaller in size.

"It seems there are doubts whether this woman is truly a witch," the priest began. He held up the artefact to show everyone. "I will teach you not to trust purely in what you see."

The woman turned pale and tried to escape with more force than she did before. But the knights held her tightly and the priest slowly walked towards the woman. She yelled at him not to get closer. However he didn't bat an eye, even when he placed a hand on her head. She began to shriek with pain which silenced the crowd in an instant. Many began to step backwards to distance themselves from the witch.

The priest was about to leave it at that and leave, when a person stepped up and said, "Wait! If I'm not mistaken, I have seen this woman before. I think she lives in the slums with her children."

This caught the priest's attention. He turned back around to face the witch who could barely move after going through such pain.

"Tell me, where are your children?" The priest asked with a commanding tone. But the woman stayed silent. The priest demands her to speak and she began to cry.

"They are dead," she said with a faint voice. "Died a few days ago from a disease."

The priest frowned, clearly suspicious of what the witch had said. Elaine could hear the murmurs saying she must have killed her own children and used them as a sacrifice to gain more power.

"Tell me the truth, woman. Where are your children?"

The woman lowered her head, her hair covering her face. Then she began to laugh crazily and looked at the crowd. "You're right, I lied. You caught me. I was in the middle of planning to kill them. If only I had killed them sooner, I wouldn't have gotten caught like this. Ah, they must have escaped by now."

Just at that moment, someone threw a stone which hit her cheek. She turned around to see who did. It was a boy who threw it.

"B-Burn the witch!" A spectator shouted. Many others began to say the same thing and many more began to throw stones. Except the knights were also affected, getting hit by some stray stones that were thrown from different directions.

"Cease this at once!" The priest's voice overpowered those from the crowd. "Can you not see you are harming the knights as well?"

The crowd stopped immediately, feeling ashamed. But their anger and fear still remained. Just as things got quiet. The witch began to laugh once again, now covered in her own blood.

"You dare throw stones at me?" She snickered. "Should I take your children's life as a price?"

She began to look around and every parent with a child shielded them with their body to keep them away from the witches sight. The children began to cry and their parents took them and left as quickly as they could. She began to laugh again.

"I curse you all, every one of you. I hope you all die a painful death just like me!"

The crowd began to disperse quickly. They must be scared, now that the witch had cursed at them. They all prayed she was just saying those to frighten them and that she hadn't really cursed them.

Elaine felt as if she were about to faint. She grabbed onto Miles for support. She couldn't help but feel a chill all over her body. Her fingers began to feel numb as well. She was trembling and sweating. They should have left as soon as they saw it was nothing but trouble. Now the witch had placed a curse on everyone on the street. Elaine deeply wished it was nothing but a nightmare and that she would wake up in the carriage. Miles would comfort her that it was all a nightmare. But of course, reality can be quite cruel.

The priest clicked his tongue, annoyed with the witches behaviour. He should have just taken a less crowded road to avoid attracting attention. But it was too late to think of that now. This was his very first catch and he would surely receive a promotion to a higher position. He smiled, feeling proud of his achievement. He cleared his throat.

"Take her away," He ordered. He wanted to get this over with as quickly as possible.

Elaine looked up at Miles wondering why they still haven't left the vicinity. She saw how he never took his eyes off the witch and the priest. As Elaine struggled to retain her consciousness, she heard something behind her. Something like muffled voices. She looked behind her to find an alley and hiding in its shadows were three children, crying and trembling at the same time. They were frightened.

They were the exact same children she gave bread to the other day. The eldest sister covered her younger siblings mouths and held them close. They didn't even notice Elaine as she watched them.

"...is mom really...?" was the only thing Elaine heard. But that was enough to make her understand. Elaine turned paler than she already was. Were they her children? Wouldn't that mean they were also witches?

Elaine couldn't believe it. She got so close to them. She even touched them. She turned around to see the witch looking at her direction- no, at their direction with creepy looking eyes. She looked back at them and saw them flinch. They took a step back. But they stayed and watched their mother get dragged away to certain death, unable to do anything about it.

Elaine's memories flashed before her eyes. Her parents dying, her mother's last wish and how she felt so miserable and weak. How she ran all the way to the next town without rest, abandoning her parents.

They reminded her of herself. But shouldn't they be afraid of their mother? She planned to kill them after all. Perhaps it was a normal occurrence amongst witches. They should be running away from her. But they were witches. And they might harm people in the future if left alone. Just like how their kind did to her family. She should just tell the priest they were there. She had to. She looked over to the priest and saw he was getting further away. She had to do it now while he was still there.

The priest walked behind the knights and the witch, allowing them to make way through the crowd. He noticed how the witch kept looking back. He turned around to look for what the witch was searching for.

Elaine saw it was the right moment to alert the priest. But she hesitated. She didn't know why. But before she could even process her thoughts, Miles stepped in front of the children preventing the priest from seeing them. Elaine was shocked. She stared at him with disbelief. But he didn't dare look down at Elaine.

She quickly looked back to search for the priest, but he had already left. The street became quiet again because the people have locked themselves in their house, fearing they might get cursed by the witch. She looked back at Miles who still stood his ground despite the fact that the children were already gone. There was only silence between them. They didn't know what to say to each other.

"...do you hate me now, Milady?" Miles asked, breaking the silence.

"I-I," she tried to respond, but she didn't even know what to say. Her mind was a mess and she didn't know how she was supposed to feel.

"I d-don't approve of what you d-did," she finally said. She looked down at the ground. "But I don't h-hate you."

"...I see. Thank you, Milady." His face softened.

They both head back for the inn. Miles told the rest to prepare for departure and soon enough they were on the road. It was often quiet during their journey. Elaine read books in the carriage to pass time and Miles focused on his job. However, things felt odd that time around.