The Green Witch

Chapter 7 - Isabella Briggs

Isabella Briggs, a self-proclaimed witch hunter, is a very pretty young woman in her early thirties. She is blonde, has blue eyes, and longer hair that she ties up in a ponytail. She is also on the taller side, with a lean, athletic build, that she has because of the exercises she does to make sure she’s ready for a fight at all times with the witches that she hunts.

But she’s also very troubled. Because of her tragic past, she’s very upset about the possibility of witches in her village, and she’s also very upset with the decision of the Stone family to pass laws making the act of vigilance, or being a vigilante, illegal, even if the accused were suspected of practicing witchcraft. She was the woman who actively wanted to capture and see all witches die. She even studies the ways of the witch because she thinks that it will help her end them.

Three years ago, Isabella saw a woman in the market with her young daughter carrying a pouch full of crystals that Isabella knew held magical components and she acted quickly. She captured her, questioned her, and with the help of some village people, she drowned her. And rightfully so. There was no place in town for a witch. Or her pretty, young daughter. Isabella’s only regret was that her daughter got away, and try as she might, Isabella could not find their home in the woods, where the daughter ran to. She tried for months afterward, and there was no sign of a home or even a small dwelling. She must have been mistaken on her route, but soon her daughter would return to the market, and Isabella would be ready. She was ready to capture anyone who posed a threat to her village. If she was not here to protect the village, then who would? The Stone family, with their progressive views, have already proven that they will not be protecting anyone in the village from the dangers of a witch. They believed that all people were generally good until proven guilty of evil and wrongdoing. Pfhh! That was utter nonsense. Evil hid and needed to be drawn out to be hung and destroyed, by any means necessary. The evils of a witch also had no discrimination against age, and there were none who were innocent. These were facts, as Isabella knew them. Too bad there were those who did not agree with her, but they will soon see the truth. Isabella was already very aware of the dangers and evils of a witch.

What Isabella didn’t know, however, was that it was not a witch who had destroyed her family, but a witch hunter just like her. Isabella’s mother was a good witch in hiding, and a witch hunter came and killed her mother, her father, and her two brothers. Isabella hid in the forest and was left for dead. Ironically, the witch hunter who murdered her family found her in the woods and raised her in the ways of witch hunting. She grew up not knowing the truth about her family, and who really killed them. She grew up under the impression that a witch had come and committed the heinous deed. She devoted her entire life to learning the skills of being a witch hunter and she was the best. Unfortunately, although it made her strong, Isabella was raised in the home and in the ways of prejudice.

Kastor, the witch hunter who found Isabella and raised her as his own daughter, hated witches and was not subtle about it. He despised the Stone family for their inclusive and progressive beliefs. He believed in ending anything different that was a threat. Witches were a threat. They held on to powers that could not be controlled by an outside source, and therefore, it was blasphemy. Only those connected with the one true religion could hold that kind of power, and he vehemently believed that. His backward ways of thinking destroyed any chance he had at peace. Kastor’s prejudice started at a young age, back in the monastery he was raised in. He was not in the presence of good men of the cloth, unfortunately. These were the most evil of men, pretending to do God’s work. What they did not do, was teach acceptance. They did not spread the word that God accepts and creates all beings and some beings he blessed with special gifts. He bestowed gifts as he saw fit. That’s what these men did not understand. They took it upon themselves to go out into the world and spread hate instead of love. These teachings were then taught to Isabella.

One day, coming back from a hunt, Isabella was walking through the village on her way back to her home on the outskirts of the forest, and she was approached by two farmers. They looked worried.

“How do you do, Gentlemen?” Isabella asked.

“Not so good today,” one of the farmers replied.

“Is that so? And why the misfortune today?” asked Isabella.

“There’s a rumor going around the village that young Reed Stone has fallen for a witch!” the farmer replied.

“A witch? How can you be so sure?” Isabella exclaimed.

“I suppose it's just a rumor, but it is very strange that he fell for this young lady who has been living in the woods alone for years, without anyone knowing her.” The farmer said. “Daughter of the woman who was murdered during the market a few years back,” he continued.

Isabella’s breath stopped and her heart jumped a beat. The daughter has returned and has fallen for Reed Stone. Can it be? Could it be the same young witch girl who ran off and got away three years ago? If it was her, she would be waiting for her to finish what she started with her mother.