“Stop beating about the bush and tell us what you have discovered, Heidi.” One of the older witches berates her, and she apologizes with a pout. Her sullen expression makes him look all the more adorable.
Heidi. A beautiful name for an equally beautiful woman.
Estelle Vane is not so self-absorbed to think that she is the only beautiful witch in the world. And she does not mince words when it comes to admiring something that is deservedly worthy of the label ‘beautiful’.
This does not affect her stance though. Heidi and the rest of her acquaintances will be reduced to corpses today, and the High Witch will make sure of that. nothing can threaten the safety of her daughter. Not at this time.
She can only blame herself for being with the wrong people.
“Awakening is a matter of joy and a cause for celebration because at last, the children are becoming adults. More importantly, the Awakening of the so-called ‘witch royalty’ would make news headlines for months, if not even years. However, nothing has happened so far- no extravagant feasts, lavish gifts, or even rumors of marriage. Everywhere is quiet, too quiet for a queen whose the child has Awakened.
Why would the news of a royal’s Awakening be swept under the carpet like it never happened? That would be because it actually never happened.”
Silence reigns for a while.
“What nonsense are you spouting, Heidi? Are you disproving the validity of our sources? What insolence!” another young with berates Heidi, who regards her with a look of condescension, like she cannot bear to be associated with her for much longer.
“Shut your mouth Neriya, before I cut off that sharp tongue of yours.” The elderly witch with stringy red hair speaks stops the hot-headed witch from making a complete fool of herself. Neriya keeps quiet, but the aggrieved look on her face reflects her thoughts.
“Heidi dear, come over here.”
The witch named Heidi moves closer to the elderly redhead and accepts the blessing bestowed on her. The other witches look on in envy, wishing they are in her shoes.
Estelle smirks inwardly at the look of jealousy on their faces. Colour green never suit a witch.
The High Witch should be surprised, upset even, at being ignored in her own territory and treated like air, but she isn’t. On the contrary, she is glad they aren’t even paying attention to her. It gives her the leeway to nullify the seals they have set around the room and magically set up her signature slaughter formation.
Let her bask in the glory of her blessing for the little time she has left. That is the best I can do for a fallen genius like her, snuffed out before she can truly blossom and leave her mark in the winds of time.
By the time the witches finish their meeting, the only place free of magic is the area the High Witch is standing.
“Well, well, well. The phoenix births a chicken. How ironic.”
“Maybe she used up all the magic in her womb, leaving the poor girl with scraps. There really is nothing people cannot do to hold on to power.”
“No wonder she sent her far away. She wanted to conceal her iniquity. Only sin cannot be hidden for long.”
“I do not claim to be a saint, but I would never strip my daughter of the ability to practice magic.”
“Perhaps the girl is not even a witch in the first place. All that drama about a witch born was merely an elaborate plot to keep the truth hidden.”
“The more we look, the less we see, and the less we understand. That’s why she decided to shroud her daughter in mystery.”
“All that talk of the birth of a new age for the witches was just fat nonsense.”
Estelle remains unphased as the insults fly, but her heart breaks inside. She didn’t think it is possible for her heart to ache so badly, but their taunts remind her that pain never really goes away. We may learn to live with it, but it never completely fades into nothingness.
Because it is pain. Sad but true.
“So, dear ‘queen’, what will it be?” the words of the elderly redhead are a grating sound to her ears. She clenches her jaw but says nothing.
“She has nothing to offer us. She is doomed. She and that pitiful thing she calls a child.”
A switch goes off in her brain. If she had any thoughts of sparing Heidi, the latter’s last words cut off her chances.
All she can see is red.
“You want to know the truth. Don’t you?”
Estelle chuckles evilly.
“Sit down and let me tell you the truth.”
Everyone looks at her like she has lost her mind.
“Why are you staring at me like that? Have you never seen a beautiful witch before?”
Most of the witches scoff, while the others roll their eyes. A plump witch dressed in ill-fitting clothes mutters, “She has lost it this time. She really has. A sad end for a powerful witch.”
“Why aren’t you sitting?” Estelle asks again, and before anyone can say a word, she uses magic to force them into the chair nearest to them and binds them to the chair, such that they cannot get up. Even if they want to.
With her gaze directly on the plump witch who desperately refuses to look her in the eye, the High Witch speaks in a gentle manner.
“I am not insane, and I have not lost my mind. I only want to give you all a clearer picture of things, so that you won’t speak so ignorantly anymore. Not that you will even have a chance to speak by the time I am done with you.”
“Are you threatening us?”
“Take it whichever way you want to, Imelda. I have heard you all speak, and I have listened. Now I will speak, and you will listen.”