Outcast of the factions

Mission

I read the book from beginning to end before I got to stretch. The world I lived in had always been described as divided into two. Vampires on one side, witches on the other. The book made it clear that this version of history was incomplete, and maybe intentionally so.

There was a time when the world had been divided into three. Vampires ruled one end of the land. Witches ruled the other. Humans existed between them, since they are not powerful enough to threaten either side and therefore left alone. They were neutral by necessity, and that neutrality was protected by pact and punishment. Neither witches nor vampires were allowed to cross into the human lands. Blood oaths sealed the agreement, and magic enforced it.

It worked until it didn’t when a witch and a vampire had found ways to meet in secret. The book detailed how they hid their presence, how they used combined power to erase tracks and blind watchmen. Then they had a child.

The moment that child was born, the balance collapsed.

The vampires saw him as a destabilizing force while the witches saw him as something that belonged to them. Humans were no longer neutral as both sides began encroaching, looking for this child. Torturing his parents for answers till they died. The war that followed was huge.

Now the world was divided into four.

Vampires remained as they always had, but alongside them were the half-vampires. Humans who had chosen alignment over neutrality, trading loyalty for protection or power. Some wanted longer lives, while some wanted safety others simply didn’t want to be caught in the middle anymore.

Witches held their territory just as fiercely. Alongside them were the half-witches, humans who pledged allegiance and learned what magic they could. They were not equals, but they were useful, and usefulness bought tolerance.

I closed the book and sat there for a long moment with my hands resting on the cover.

I moved on to the watchmen reports next. Decades of them were stacked and organized by region. I read through sightings that had been dismissed as exaggerations and incidents that had been quietly buried. The same territory kept appearing, the half-witch land.

It made sense the more I looked at it. The borders there were unstable by design. Humans and witches lived too close together. Magic was diluted, inconsistent, and difficult to trace. It was the kind of place where something unnatural could exist without drawing immediate attention.

By the time I finished, there was no doubt left, I was going there. I packed slowly, checking and rechecking what I needed. Clothes, supplies, the book, and the dagger my grandmother insisted I carry. I hesitated before adding a few personal things, knowing that if I left them behind, I might never see them again.

Before I could leave, I went to the kitchen to see our head chef. She was there, just as she always was. She looked up the moment she saw me, her expression changing immediately.

“You’re leaving,” she said, setting what she was holding down.

“Yes,” I replied.

She crossed the room and pulled me into her arms before I could say anything else. She held me tightly, like she was trying to memorize the feel of me.

“You shouldn’t be going,” she said quietly.

“I have to,” I answered.

She pulled back just enough to look at me properly. “They don’t deserve you.”

“I’ll come back,” I said, even though the words felt untrue.

She shook her head, tears already forming. “You don’t know that.”

“I will,” I insisted. “I promise.”

She kissed my forehead, then my cheek, lingering longer than usual. “You are not a monster,” she said firmly. “No matter what she says.”

I swallowed hard. “You were good to me.”

She gave a soft, broken laugh. “Someone had to be.”

She packed food quickly, wrapping it in cloth and pressing it into my hands. “Eat,” she told me. “Even when you don’t feel like it.”

Guards appeared in the doorway before either of us was ready. One of them cleared his throat.

“It’s time.”

She gripped my hands tightly. “Come back to me, sweet girl.”

I turned away before she could see my face fall apart.

The guards led me through passages I had never been allowed to use before. The air grew colder the deeper we went, the walls narrowing until a stone entrance appeared ahead of us.

“This path will take you beyond our borders,” one of them said. “After that, you’re on your own.”

I stepped into the tunnel without responding. The stone sealed behind me, cutting off the last familiar sound.

I kept walking.

The half-witch territory was nothing like I had expected. It was bright in a way that felt intentional The streets were wide and clean, stone paths swept smooth, lanterns glowing even in daylight as if no one liked the darkness to linger too long. Shops were open and busy, people moved without suspicion or fear. And laughter existed here so much, it was nothing I had ever seen. . It was nothing like the half-vampire lands, where everything was bland and pale.

I blended in easily. I had no fangs to hide, no unnatural height, no glowing eyes to draw attention. My skin was paler than most humans, but that was common enough to be ignored. If anyone looked twice, they did not stare at me. For the first time in my life, I felt unremarkable. A little girl smiled at me and I smiled back at her. She was giddy I did, even half vampire children in the palace avoided me.

I spotted an inn at the end of the street, its sign was swinging gently above the door. The Turned Around Inn was it's name. The building itself was warm and inviting, with wide windows and flower boxes resting beneath them. Light spilled from inside, carrying the sound of voices and clinking dishes. I push

ed the door open and stepped inside.