CHAPTER FIVE:THE WITCH
1242 Words
CHAPTER FIVE :The Witch
POV: Seraphina Garrett
I should have left Velmora the moment I met Mark Garrett.
That truth haunted me long before the kingdom ever fell.
Witches survive by disappearing.
By remaining unseen.
By never allowing humans close enough to matter.
But Mark ruined that the moment he looked at me like I was a person instead of a curse.
And gods help me,
I was weak enough to love him for it.
The rain finally stopped sometime before dawn.
I sat silently beside the fireplace inside the cottage while soft flames crackled against the heavy silence surrounding us.
Mark stood near the window, still wearing his soaked royal coat despite the cold.
Watching the forest.
Watching for soldiers.
Watching for danger.
Watching for a future that no longer existed.
Neither of us had spoken much since the clearing.
Since he chose me.
The memory still felt unreal.
A crown prince had threatened his own kingdom’s soldiers to protect a witch.
I stared quietly at the fire.
“You should go back to the palace.”
Mark did not turn around.
“They will become suspicious.”
“They already are.”
A long silence followed.
Then finally, he spoke.
“I meant what I said.”
I lifted my eyes slowly toward him.
“What part?”
“That I would protect you.”
Pain tightened inside my chest immediately.
Humans always made promises too easily.
Especially humans in love.
And love was dangerous.
Love made people reckless.
It made them stupid enough to believe fate could be changed.
I knew better.
“You do not understand what you are risking,” I whispered.
Mark finally turned toward me.
The exhaustion on his face startled me.
Dark circles rested beneath his eyes, tension tightening every movement he made.
Yet despite everything,
His gaze softened when it landed on me.
That softness terrified me more than hatred ever could.
“I understand enough,” he replied quietly.
“No.” I stood slowly from the chair. “You understand nothing.”
The shadows beneath the cottage floor stirred faintly around my feet.
Magic reacted to emotion.
And mine had become dangerously unstable lately.
I moved away from the fire before continuing.
“You see a lonely woman hiding in the forest and think kindness can save her.” A bitter laugh escaped me softly. “That is not how this world works, Mark.”
“Then explain it to me.”
“You cannot save witches.”
“Why?”
“Because humans fear what they cannot control.”
He stepped closer.
“That does not mean everyone is the same.”
Even now he still believed people were good.
The palace had not destroyed that part of him yet.
I wondered if it ever would.
“You speak as though your kingdom would spare me if they discovered the truth.”
His silence answered enough.
I looked away.
Exactly.
Velmora would burn me alive without hesitation.
And if they learned their future king loved me?
They would destroy him too.
A heavy ache settled inside my chest.
Because despite all my attempts to resist it,
I had begun imagining impossible things.
A life beyond hiding.
A home.
Peace.
Love.
Foolish dreams.
The fire crackled softly between us.
Then Mark asked the question I had feared most.
“Who hurt you before I found you?”
I froze.
The wound along my side still burned beneath the bandages he wrapped around me days ago.
I should have lied.
Instead, exhaustion loosened my guard.
“My mother.”
The silence afterward felt suffocating.
Mark frowned slightly. “Your mother did that to you?”
I regretted the words instantly.
Humans did not understand witches.
And they especially would never understand my mother.
“She is not” I struggled briefly for the right words. “Normal.”
Mark crossed his arms slowly.
“You say that as though you are.”
A faint smile almost touched my lips.
Almost.
“My mother was once one of the strongest witches alive.”
“Was?”
I stared into the flames.
“She died.”
The cottage suddenly felt colder.
Mark remained still.
“Then how did she hurt you?”
The shadows around the fireplace flickered.
A warning.
Magic disliked conversations about death.
Especially unnatural death.
I lowered my voice.
“Some things should remain buried.”
Mark studied me carefully.
“She came back.”
Fear curled sharply through my stomach.
Because he was too intelligent.
Too observant.
I hated that part of him sometimes.
“Yes,” I whispered finally.
The fire dimmed instantly.
Outside, the wind began howling again despite the clear skies.
Mark stepped closer carefully.
“How is that possible?”
“She used forbidden magic before her death.” My throat tightened painfully. “Magic that tears through the natural order.”
“And now?”
“She wants power.”
“Over Velmora?”
“No.” I looked directly at him. “Over everything.”
For the first time since meeting him, genuine fear crossed Mark’s face.
Good.
He needed to understand the danger surrounding us.
My mother was not merely cruel.
She was ancient.
Powerful.
And completely consumed by hatred toward humans.
“She believes witches were meant to rule this world,” I continued quietly. “She thinks coexistence is weakness.”
“And you disagree.”
“Yes.”
The answer came instantly.
Because despite everything humans had done to witches,
I never wanted war.
I only wanted peace.
Mark’s gaze softened again.
Gods, that look would destroy me someday.
“She sent people after you,” he realized.
I nodded slowly.
“She discovered I’ve been meeting you.”
“And she attacked you because of it?”
A humorless laugh escaped my lips.
“She attacked me because I refused to manipulate you.”
The room fell silent.
Mark’s expression hardened immediately.
“She wanted you to use me.”
“Yes.”
Rage darkened his face.
“She thinks your love for me could become useful eventually.”
The words tasted poisonous.
Because deep down,
Part of me feared my mother might be right.
Kings were powerful.
And men in love were easily destroyed.
Mark suddenly moved toward me.
Before I could react, his hands gently held my face.
The warmth of his touch shattered every defense inside me instantly.
“Listen to me carefully, Seraphina.”
His voice became low.
Steady and more certain.
“You are not your mother.”
Emotion burned painfully behind my eyes.
“You do not know that.”
“I do.”
“How?”
“Because you’ve had countless opportunities to hurt me.”
I could not answer.
Because he was right.
I had every reason to manipulate him.
Every opportunity.
Yet every time I looked at him,
I only wanted him safe.
That alone proved I was already doomed.
Mark brushed his thumb gently against my cheek.
The intimacy of the gesture nearly broke me.
“No matter what happens,” he whispered, “I will not let them hurt you.”
A tear slipped down my face before I could stop it.
Poor foolish prince.
He still believed love could protect us from fate.
But fate had already begun circling around us like wolves in the dark.
And somewhere far beyond the kingdom walls.
My mother was watching.
- Writer
