TALES OF A WITCHER - Season 3 Episode 18

Bell’s condition stabilized.

Like the time they had boarded the ship for the first time, they were once more arranged oddly. Those mercenaries armed with the wooden spears divided the people into smaller groups. Those whose life were in danger were the first to be carried into the strange room. Afterward, they took the young children, then they took families of the children and finally, it was the adults turn.

Lucia was placed together with Bell in the front of the row, the whole treatment process was handled very quickly, they blindfolded her sister, and two mercenaries grasped her under the arms and carried her into the cabin. She didn’t have to wait for a long time before someone placed a pill in her hand. The pill was very small, and had a slightly sweet taste, at the same time the mercenaries also took the initiative to tell her that they had also fed the medicine to her sister so that she didn’t need to worry.

When she was out of the room and could take off her hood, she was pleasantly surprised to see that Bells colors was improving at a visible speed. Although she was still in a coma, her forehead was no longer burning hot, the flush on her face had also faded, and the dark spots disappeared without a trace.

When all the people had been freed from their fear of their impending death, they felt like they had gained a new life and became so excited that they could no longer contain themselves after seeing the man with gray hair standing in the distance. They kneeled down and cheered, paying him the highest of respects. From the mercenaries’ mouth, they had heard that he was the Lord of this land, the one that was in charge of the Western Region, His Royal Highness Roland Wimbledon.

Afterward, following exactly what had been promised in the rumors, the Lord not only lit bonfires at the edge of the pier, but also distributed meat porridge to everyone and told them that they would be paid and also received food and shelter as long as they were willing to work for the town. While everyone was enjoying the fragrant meat porridge, they were also talking about how fortune it was that they had boarded the ships and fled to this Western Region, and then once more praised His Highness for his kindness.

Only Lucia felt a little anxious.

How can I get in touch with the Witch Cooperation Association? The secret message only said that a group of witches lived in Border Town. It didn’t mention how I can find them. Most probably this important part had gotten lost during the transmission process, she had only faintly heard, that the news had been spread within the large cities of the kingdom’s Central Region.

The moment when the people had filled their stomachs, and the mercenaries began guiding them to wooden sheds near the river, a woman’s voice suddenly came from behind Lucia.

“Were you looking for us?”

She was so frightened that at the same time she turned her head she also jumped two steps forward, ready to escape, but when the speaker’s appearance came into her eyes, Lucia couldn’t help but be rooted to the spot.

Gosh, what a beautiful woman! Her long curly hair, illuminated by the gentle orange glow of the flickering flames, her eyes, twinkling bright as the stars, a sweet smile. But the most striking part was her aura, which wasn’t inferior to that of any noble, as if she was a important person herself.

“My name is Nightingale; I’m a witch, welcome to the Border Town.”

Becoming aware of this feeling, Lucia was unable to stop herself from lowering her head “I… my name is Lucia White, I want to join you.”

“In that case, come with me,” Nightingale said with a smile, “I’ll take you home.”

At this time the sun had already fallen behind the mountains, only leaving a weak light behind. While carrying the sleeping Bell, Lucia slowly followed behind her.

“When was your time of awakening?” Nightingale suddenly asked.

“Awakening?” Lucia got started.

“That’s the moment when you got turned into a witch,” Nightingale explained. “From that moment on, your body will continue to gather magic, and because of that, we call this transformation ‘Awakening’.”

“I think… maybe two years ago,” Lucia recalled. “Is magic the power of demons?”

“That’s just the Church’s excuse nothing more,” she shook her head, “Magic is a ability given by God, it has nothing to do with good and evil. The so-called demonic bite is just the pain experienced when the magic within your body becomes too plentiful; this can easily be avoided with practice.”

“I do not need to bear that pain?” Lucia’s eyes grew wide.

“Yes, as long as there is no oppression of the Church, us witches don’t have to bear the pain of the bite.” Nightingale explained, “But here in our home, we can use our magic freely.” Then she pointed behind her, “Is this lovable fellow your younger sister? What about your other family?

“They all died, only Bell and I could escape,” for a moment Lucia kept silent, “A group of people attacked Valencia, burning, looting, and killing everywhere. In order to resist them, father… His chest was pierced by several swords and mother made us run away quickly, in the end, she also, also… ” The grief which had been enclosed within her heart for so long made it impossible for her to continue the sentence. All of the suffering, hunger, thirst, fear and grievances, in short, the whole injustice she had to endure along the way, suddenly burst free.

For her sister, she had clenched her teeth and held on, but now, it seemed that the defense lines she had built around her heart was no longer able to block the emotional ups and downs from her thoughts. which quickly turned her sobbing into very loud cries. She knew that this wasn’t a good time for it, that during the first meeting she should keep her courtesy, but the tears were like a storm, they couldn’t get stopped.

She will hate me for this, right? She could feel how her tears and snot mixed together and her mouth began to taste salty. However, to Lucia’s surprise, a pair of arms suddenly wrapped themselves around her, taking her into a warm hug, gently patting the back of her head. Taking completely no offense because of the dirt and tears on her face. Instead, she softly said: “Cry, cry now, it is fine to let it all out.”

…

When Lucia’s outburst finally calmed, she raised her head, only to see that Nightingale’s shoulders had been soaked through with her tears.

“I’m sorry …” she blushed.

“It doesn’t matter, is it better now?” Then Nightingale took out a handkerchief and helped her to wipe her face clean, picked Bell up with one hand and held her in the other. “Let’s go; there are still many sisters waiting to welcome you.”

Lucia had thought that the witches’ residence would be located somewhere in a small abandoned warehouse or basement, she never expected that Nightingale would bring her to the castle area, wasn’t that the Lord’s private territory? Even more surprisingly, the guards not only did not stop her, instead they also greeted her.

Could it be that the whole town is under the control of the Witch Cooperation Association?

Reaching the third floor of the castle, she walked into a brightly lit room, only to shockingly discover that the man sitting on the opposite side was the Lord who had recently received the cheers of the masses.

“This is the leader of the Witch Union, His Highness, Lord Roland Wimbledon. He took in the survivors of the Witch Cooperation Association, and also let spread the message to other cities, hoping to attract more homeless sisters,” Nightingale introduced the man, “He made Border Town into the home of us witches. You do not need to doubt this point, after all, the people who treated your sister and all the other sick people on board of the ships were us witches.”

Lucia’s head had turned blank, she totally hadn’t anticipated, that there would be noble willing to provide a home for witches, instead of seeing them as tools or slaves. When her soul finally came back to her body, she began to panic and bowed in a flustered manner. Her bizarre posture was so out of shape, that Nightingale couldn’t suppress her laugh, “Don’t mind it, His Royal Highness does not care about etiquette.”

“You came from the Eastern Territory?” The Lord’s voice was calm and relaxed, not giving her the impression of an interrogation, but more of a friendly chat.

Lucia stole a glance at him, seeing that he was sitting leisurely on his chair, and looked at her with an expression full of interest.

“Yes…”

As the conversation became deeper, and Nightingale supplemented some explanation, her mood gradually relaxed. Even though her counterpart was a noble, but he didn’t show an aggressive attitude, but rather the care of an elder.

“So, when your awakening was two years ago, you shouldn’t be an adult yet…” he spoke full of interest, “So, what is your ability?”

“Turning goods back into their original form,” Lucia said hesitatingly, “but it isn’t effective on all things.”

“Their original form?” His Royal Highness touched his chin in thought, he then pushed an beautiful cup to her over the table, “Can you demonstrate it for me?”

“This will destroy it.”

“It won’t hurt.”

Lucia nodded, went to the table and put her hand on top of the cup.

After a short while, the cup began to shrink and deform, ultimately forming into three distinct substances: The one on the far left looked like a pool of oil, dark and viscous. The one in the middle seemed to be a small cluster of fine black powder. Lastly, the one on the far right appeared to be clear water, which was slowly dripping down from the edge of the table.