Chapter 1
1160 Words
•|• Elera POV •|•
I think I died somewhere around the third day.
Not truly died, obviously, because dead people probably didn’t wake up half-faced in mud with sticks tangled in their hair and every inch of their body screaming in pain.
But something inside me definitely broke.
The forest had become endless.
Every direction looked the same—towering dark trees, tangled roots, thick fog curling around my ankles like ghostly fingers. I had stopped trying to remember where I came from. I had stopped wondering if anyone was searching for me.
The moon goddess had changed me.
And ever since swallowing that glowing white orb, nothing had felt real anymore.
Not my white hair.
Not my golden eyes.
Not the power simmering beneath my skin.
Certainly not the voices whispering through my dreams.
By the fifth day of running, I couldn’t feel my legs anymore.
I remember stumbling.
Then falling.
Then darkness.
When I finally woke up, my face was pressed against damp earth.
For several seconds I just laid there breathing heavily.
My throat burned with thirst.
My stomach twisted painfully from hunger.
Everything hurt.
A sharp sting pulsed through my arm when I tried pushing myself upright, and I hissed softly through my teeth. Looking down, I realized why.
Cuts.
Bruises.
Dried blood.
My dress looked horrific. The pale blue fabric was ripped beyond recognition, hanging off one shoulder and torn open along my legs from forcing my way through thorn bushes for days.
I looked like something dragged out of a grave.
“Oh gods,” I whispered hoarsely.
A soft rushing sound reached my ears.
Water.
Turning slowly, I spotted a stream several feet away glittering through the trees.
Relief nearly made me cry.
I crawled toward it at first because standing felt impossible. My hands trembled violently by the time I reached the edge.
The girl staring back at me from the water barely looked familiar.
White hair spilled wildly around my shoulders.
Golden eyes glowed unnaturally bright.
There was dirt smeared across my cheek.
And fear.
So much fear.
I looked cursed.
My reflection stared back at me like a stranger.
I swallowed hard before splashing water into my mouth desperately.
Cold.
Fresh.
Perfect.
I drank until my stomach hurt.
Then I sat back breathing heavily.
That was when the pain returned full force.
Every scrape burned.
Every bruise throbbed.
I stared down at my torn arms before suddenly remembering the grimoire I had bought weeks ago at the market square.
The old seller had laughed so hard he nearly cried.
“White witches?” he had wheezed. “Girl, those are bedtime stories.”
I almost smiled bitterly remembering it.
Maybe I should go back and haunt him later.
Because apparently bedtime stories were real.
Healing.
White witches could heal.
I stared at my hand uncertainly.
“Okay…” I muttered. “Please work.”
Closing my eyes, I tried remembering the spell exactly as written.
“Vireltha nox serenya.”
Warmth bloomed instantly beneath my skin.
I gasped.
The deep cut along my arm sealed itself right before my eyes.
Gone.
Like it had never existed.
“What?”
I touched the spot repeatedly in disbelief.
No scar.
Nothing.
Excitement rushed through me so fast I almost laughed.
I quickly placed my hand over the bruise along my ribs.
“Vireltha nox serenya.”
Again warmth spread through me.
Again the pain vanished.
“Oh my gods…”
I looked down at myself in shock.
It worked.
It actually worked.
For the first time since all of this began, hope flickered weakly inside my chest.
Maybe I wasn’t cursed.
Maybe…
Maybe this power wasn’t entirely horrible.
Then I looked down at my dress again.
Hope vanished immediately.
“Oh this is just wonderful,” I groaned.
I looked insane.
Even healed, I couldn’t walk into civilization dressed like this without people assuming I murdered someone.
Still, I had no choice.
I needed food.
Shelter.
Answers.
So I forced myself to stand.
At first walking felt easier now that my injuries were gone, but after several minutes exhaustion slammed into me all over again.
Magic drained energy.
That much was obvious.
My legs felt heavy.
My breathing uneven.
I leaned against a tree with a frustrated sound.
“Think, Elera.”
White witches.
The grimoire.
There had been another section.
Something rare.
Shape shifting.
I blinked slowly.
Right.
White witches connected with living creatures more deeply than other witches. Some could supposedly take animal forms.
I remembered laughing when I read it.
Now look at me.
Taking a deep breath, I closed my eyes again.
The spell required repetition.
Three times.
Breathing with intention.
I swallowed nervously.
“If this turns me into a frog, I’m ending it all.”
The forest remained unhelpfully silent.
I inhaled deeply.
“Lunareth vala mireth…”
Nothing.
Again.
“Lunareth vala mireth…”
A strange tingling spread through my bones.
My eyes snapped open.
“Oh no.”
One final breath.
“Lunareth vala mireth.”
Agony exploded through me.
Every bone in my body cracked violently.
I screamed as the world tilted sideways.
The ground rushed upward—
No.
I was shrinking.
My hands disappeared beneath white fur.
A tail burst painfully from my spine.
Then suddenly—
Silence.
I stood frozen.
Tiny.
Very tiny.
“Oh gods.”
It came out as a meow.
I stared at my paws in horror.
White paws.
Soft white fur covered my entire body.
“No no no no—”
Meow meow meow.
I wanted to cry.
Instead I sounded adorable.
Which somehow made everything worse.
Carefully, I stumbled toward the stream again and peered into the water.
A fluffy white cat stared back at me.
Bright blue eyes blinked at me innocently.
My ears twitched.
I was… cute.
Annoyingly cute.
“You have got to be kidding me.”
Meow.
I sighed dramatically.
At least nobody would recognize me like this.
Experimentally, I took several steps.
Then several more.
Soon I was running.
And gods—
It felt incredible.
The exhaustion vanished beneath quick, light movements. I flew through the forest effortlessly, darting over roots and rocks with ease.
Wind rushed through my fur.
For the first time in days, I felt free.
I followed the stream for what felt like hours until eventually the trees began thinning.
Then I smelled it.
Smoke.
Bread.
People.
I slowed instantly.
Carefully creeping through bushes, I emerged onto a hillside overlooking a town.
A real town.
Stone buildings crowded together behind protective walls while people moved through busy streets below. Market stalls lined the roads. Horses pulled wagons through the gates.
Civilization.
Relief hit me so hard I nearly collapsed.
Then reality followed immediately after.
…I was still a cat.
I sat there staring blankly at the town.
“How exactly am I supposed to fix this?” I wondered miserably.
Oh god.
- Writer
