Sinister Revenge

Salem, Massachusetts, the year 1630, far outside the comforts of the quaint little village and civilization, sat a humble hut in the depths of an ancient forest. Thick tree trunks shaped the walls of the home, while the roof was made up of the branches and leaves of the trees. As if the forest had built the home itself, it appeared as though it had grown straight out of the earth.

Life was rich in this forest. Natural wild life roamed peacefully even with this small home dwelling in their habitat; the birds chirped and fluttered about, deer roamed freely with ease, and even the insects were sounding lively. There was just something... soothing, about the environment.

This hut though, was far enough away that it was not easily discovered from the town skirts. Not to say that the villagers of Salem didn’t know of its’ existence, but none would venture into the forests depths willingly. Nothing evil lived there, instead it was the opposite; a gentle white witch took comfort under the huts roof. It was just the superstition that clouded around her, like an unsettling fog, made up of outrageous tales by ignorant humans’ who lived in the village.

Humans are simple creatures, compared to the existence of the other creatures in the world. They tended to have a negative look towards what was beyond their understanding or ability. Which was why this little witch lived safely within the forest, far away enough that she wouldn’t have to worry about the judgmental eyes on her all the time. The less they knew about the white witches magic, the better.

Even with the lack of information that they had regarding the witch, these humans did their best to come up with anything to spread around the village. They would say she was nothing but a wrinkling old wench who brewed over her cauldron all day, planting evil spells and curses on innocent humans. Others would say that she had the beauty of a fallen angel, one look at her could captivate even the strongest of hearts and they would fall willingly under her magical influence.

Not a single human from the Salem had laid eyes on her though. Thanks to her magic, she always knew when someone was desperate enough for help, her head would be wrapped with a cloth, covering the entirety of her face except for her eyes.

None of the rumors were correct, obviously. Although a few held some truths, they still knew nothing about the wild witch who lived rather peacefully in the woods by herself. Not that it mattered whether they feared her or not, if the villagers had no other options, they would find their way to her, seeking her magic to help themselves. Many times, people had come to her needing remedies, spells, or even occasionally some of her wisdom. That would not stop them from going back to their homes and spreading their false rumors, regardless of getting her help.

The white witch never turned anyone down when they requested her help. It just wasn’t in her nature to be so cruel.

This time was no different. A small sigh left my lips as I watched the two daring village girls giggle gleefully and practically skip back towards the town. Soon it would be dark, and for a moment, I just watched the late sunlight filter through the leaves of the trees. Such beauty always brought a smile to my face and calmed the hurt in my mind and my heart. Even though the village spun their outrageous lies about me, after all I had done for them, I still couldn’t find it in me to refuse them.

Today it was these two young girls who asked of spell to win the affections from the heart they desired. Though they were brave enough to request my help, it hadn’t stopped them from being nervous in my presence. I was not annoyed by their anxiety and fear. Instead, the youths had such a natural innocence that always made me think of better times and it wasn’t long before I was able to get them to warm up to me. Being a white witch also helped with that, since my kind had a pure aura that could calm even the angriest of creatures.

Much to their disappointment, I was not able to provide them what they asked of me. Such magic was considered dark magic, that not only went against everything I stood for, it always ended poorly. It would destroy the essence of my natural, white magic, to force another heart to feel love when it was clearly not there. So I supplied them with a bottle of liquid rose petal fragrance, and instructed that it be placed upon their wrists and behind their ears. The smell would hopefully at least attract the attention of whatever male they got close too, that was the best I could do.

Once they were out of sight and the sound of their voices couldn’t be heard anymore, I undid the scarf secured over my head, taking a deep breath of fresh air into my lungs. My hair tumbled out like spun gold, falling down in blonde waves once freed from the fabric. Earth magic is my families heritage, so our features have a simple kind of beauty, our traits being of sun-kissed blonde hair and the earthly brown eyes. All white witches were naturally beautiful, which I personally believed had something to do with the pure magic flowing through our veins.

I used to have that natural beauty also, until my face was marred with an ugly scar.

I didn’t have to touch the horrid deformity to feel its’ jagged path cross over my face and down to my chest. Part of the reason I kept my features hidden was because of the scar, otherwise word would spread quickly about the witch with the claw marks decorating her face. Rumors such as those could possibly bring the wrong type of people to my home, and there were some out there in the world I was trying to hide from. Staying hidden from the world as much as possible was necessary not only for myself, but for my kind also. I considered myself lucky enough that all the villagers did was speak poorly of me, there were worse outcomes out there for non-humans like myself.

Though my biggest fear, were not humans. Most humans were blissfully unaware of our existence and the ones that were, did not have complete knowledge of all of our abilities, of our ways.

It wasn’t long after I felt the presence of the villagers leave the forest completely, my fingers grazing along my wooden work table, that a light set of vibrations pulsed up from the ground, shooting into the bare soles of my feet. The intrusion so sudden that it had me desperately gripping the table in front of me for support. Before I had any time to recover, the sensation jolted me again and I felt the beat of it intensifying.

There was no way it could be the village girls, they were in the opposite direction, towards the town, and this felt like just one pair-

As gasp shuttered past my lips and I found myself stumbling outside of my little hut, unsure as to why someone else would be heading my direction with the sun about to fully set. While the villagers were sometimes brave enough to venture to my home, they would never do so this late. The village itself laid towards the southwest of my hut, this unknown person was coming from the north, and I knew of no village that laid in that direction.

I was sure though that this person was heading in a steady pace towards me as the magic pulsating up through the earth to tingle through my feet was warning me of the possible danger.

Soon I could hear leaves crunching under heavy footsteps, while a sinking feeling had my gut churning the louder and closer it became. Something I always trusted were my natural instincts, it ran as strongly through my veins as my magic did.

Right now they were screaming at me to flee.

“Fariah.”

My name came out from a strained voice in the now darkening forest, the sun almost completely set which made it harder for me to see the stranger from its’ depths.

I squinted into the dense foliage, the voice causing a familiar sting to ping my mind as I tried to place it. “Surely if you know my name, I must know you.”

The grass surrounding my bare feet grew slowly and slithered like snakes up my skin until they elongated and tied themselves tightly around my ankles. Even my magic was trying to warn me, grounding my stance so that it could react before me should I not be fast enough. Dread washed over me the longer I stood there listening to the heavy silence, my stomach sinking even further.

“Fariah, it was not my intention to startle you, the journey here was long and I have not rested.” The feminine figure finally stumbled out from the shadows with her arms crossed over her chest, hiding a small bundle from my view. “No ill intentions brought me here.”

Blinking in the light darkness, my eyes were not sure I was seeing what was plainly right in front of me. It had to have been a trick of the darkness, it couldn’t be my own flesh and blood standing less than a few feet away from me. With my surprise came panic and as my heart spiked in my chest, my magic lashed out and sharp roots shot up from the ground, creating a spiky barrier around me.

Next, my hands flung out to my sides, sending out a silent wave of magic that would attract the fireflies to my call and soon the dark clearing we were in filled up with the lightening bugs, illuminating the area in their glow to further confirm what I was seeing in front of me.

At the sight of my older sister, a new kind of panic weighed down my limbs but caused my magic to thrash with fear because of it. Along with terror arose the memories from when we last met . In response to my sudden and painful reminiscence, the crooked scars that ran down from the middle of my right cheek and disappeared down my neck under my clothes, burned as if it had just been inflicted.

With jerky steps my sister darted forward to close the space between us, her own darker gold curls bouncing as she continuously looked behind her; the fear that someone was there was evident in her movements. Even her breathing was shallow, as she came closer I could see that every breath, every step, was hard and painful for her.

My fear had to have been written clear as day across my face and I found myself unable to move from my spot even though every cell in my body was screaming at me to run away. Her eyes held more pain the longer she stared into mine but I wasn’t sure as to where that pain stemmed from.

Was it because she could see that I was terrified of my own sister? Or was it that she was finally seeing the mark she gave me the last time we had seen each other over nine cycles ago?

“Please, loving Fariah... My heart is desperate for your help....” The battle in my mind and my limbs had finally dulled down as her voice broke through my emotional turmoil, and my bright eyes snapped to focus on her. I was not exactly sure if I could believe her. Desperation laced her voice and her features, and she looked...older, despite her actually being the older sister. There were wrinkles and dark lines edged across her once flawless skin, and the air that hung around her was sickening.

White witches aged a bit slower than humans, I personally believed it was because of our pure aura that kept our beauty for longer than humans. My parents believed it was because of the natural magic in our veins. No one really knew for sure, but there was no way that my sister should look that old when she was just a little over thirty.

“Do not speak to me as if we are family, you tore yourself from us ages ago.” My words came out more as a hiss and if anything, my magic had grown more frantic, trying to form itself around me to protect my ranging emotions. As my eyes scanned her from head to toe, I could tell that in her state she was no threat. That did nothing to ease the fear that settled in my bones though. Long ago, I had once trusted that she was no threat and she betrayed that trust in seconds.

Aurora, had been born a beautiful white witch just like our mother, from a strong bloodline of powerful witches. Our mother was so proud of Aurora, she was pushed and trained to become the villages head Seer. Now being able to see the mistakes of our parents constant grooming of my sister, it was clear why she did what she did. Though it didn’t mean I had forgiven her for what she did.

In her twentieth year, Aurora had become infatuated with a strange man. He showed up on a Spanish ship despite his European features with no explanation for his arrival. The whole situation seemed out of place, but our village was too kind to turn down seemingly peaceful creatures. Being a white witch with earth as core element meant we were born from the Goddess Briony, the Goddess of life itself. We were know for helping and taking in all forms of life, rarely turning away anyone.

Everything about him had radiated unnatural danger to me, yet no one had listened. I could see the predator that lurked under not only his skin, but his entire crew. They were welcomed in with open arms and our hospitality cost us so many lives. Almost instantly one could see his interest in my sister, and she was not shy about her afflictions for him. I should’ve known that the day he showed up, I’d lost my sister forever. Disregarding mine and our parent’s warnings, she abandoned her entire family, her home.

But the man had changed Aurora, more than I even knew at the time. I had made the mistake of following and stepping between them, trying to bring my sister back home. Anger overcame the man, and in the next instant, he was no longer a man, but a horrid, massive beast. One that looked half animal, half human. Dark fur sprouted from bare skin and his hands and feet took on the features of deadly humanoid paws with razor sharp claws coming out of each index. Some days I still struggled to believe the change that happened right in front of my eyes; the worst part being the monstrous wolf-like features that his face morphed into.

It was not this new beast in front of me that I should’ve been wary of though. My terror of the scene in front of me had kept me blind to the true danger next to me. One second I was pulling her away from the creature, calling on my earthly magic to protect us both, then I was being attacked by my sister, not the beast. Aurora’s human structure had changed just like him. The rage in my sisters’ eyes that weren’t even their usual honey brown color, were then yellow slits, intent on hurting.

Hurting me.

After Aurora attacked me, she left me bleeding to death in the forest, like my own flesh and blood hadn’t cared if I died. I remembered every aching second of that night, the grass brushing against my skin as the ground beneath me became soaked with my blood. My magic probably could’ve saved me, had I wanted to live after her attack.

But I didn’t. I wanted to die in that moment after the pain she physically and mentally ripped me apart with.

Somehow, my parents found me after I became unconscious and carried me back to our village. Then, when I awoke next to their broken stares and our best healer, grimly attending to my wounds, I still wished I had died.

Nothing could’ve been done about the scaring, it was apparently a miracle I had survived, even when I hadn’t the will too. Afterwards though, my recovery was slow and painful, while the loss of my sister was heavy in the air constantly. My new scars were a constant reminder that my sister was stolen from us and I had miserably failed to bring her back. The pain constantly lingered my parents eyes, and in the eyes of our whole village.

Eventually after that, I could not stay any longer while having to choke down my failure constantly that I breathed another day, and my sister was lost to a beast. So in the dead of night, like the coward that I was, I left my only home without so much as saying goodbye.

“I do not seek forgiveness, Fariah, please, listen to me speak.” Aurora’s voice brought me out of the assault of my memories that her presence alone forced to come to my mind again.

Before I could open my mouth to protest, the wrap that was pulled against my sisters breast moved and cried out, causing my interest in the situation to peak. Whatever caused her to seek me out had to be grave, that was, if she felt any shame for the damage she caused. Obviously she was also crazy enough to think I would trust the dammed beast I used to call sister, but clearly desperate nonetheless.

Do not trust her, the last time you did she ruined you, and your family.

A war between my brain and my heart ensued, leaving absolute carnage in its’ wake. The need to take her in and give her whatever she needed of me was what my heart strongly wanted, but my brain knew that she was no longer the sister I knew. For over nine cycles now, Aurora had a life that neither I nor our family knew about. We didn’t know if she was even alive.

Surely she still cared, otherwise why would she be here?

Biting my lip in frustration, I couldn’t help but reach my fingers out to touch the curse my sister had given me on our last encounter, the blaring sign as to why I shouldn’t trust her.

Against my better judgement though, my aching heart that wanted my sister to be like the sister she should’ve been couldn’t turn her away. With a flick of my wrist, I allowed her to come into my home and the fur rug swung closed behind us. Quickly, I went to the center and lit a fire in the pit and gestured for my sickly sister to sit in the oak rocking chair I had made for when I wanted to sit outside and enjoy nature during the warmer times.

“Where is...the beast....?” I couldn’t help but spit the words out after she was settled comfortably in the chair, rocking the small bundle in her arms.

It was obvious what I said struck Aurora’s heart since she visibly flinched at my harsh words, but it didn’t make me regret the tone of my voice.

The words that came out of her next though were laced with grief and fresh tears had pooled in her eyes, “Dead...he is d-dead....”

Sobs threatened to wreck her body and all I could do was take in my older sister with sudden surprise, although I felt no symphony. Her choked wailing was the rawest of sounds, the one that could only be made under true suffering. Maybe her obsession had turned into true love in all these past cycles, but I could not find it in my heart to feel any remorse at her statement.

Good riddance.

Anything that was strong enough to come between the bond of family deserved death.

“This is his babe...our daughter.” Continuing despite her obvious pain, she lowered the wraps in her arms and I could now see the tiny fairy-like child that was snuggled into the cloth.

I was sure confusion was now swimming through my eyes once the initial shock dissipated as I looked between my older sister and the child resting peacefully in her arms, puzzled as to why this all now concerned me. Aurora stood weakly and tucked her daughter into my arms, her body clearly growing frailer by the second as I could see her shaking just to hold the child. Once the babe was safely cocooned against me, she dropped to her knees on the dirt floor and I followed quickly, worryingly freeing a hand to touch her.

Despite all of my previous feelings towards her and her past actions, I found my hardened heart aching at the sight of her fragile state of being. One arm securely held the babe to my chest and the other tightly brought my sister into me, supporting both of their weights evenly. Her head rested on my breast, while her eyes stayed on her infant, possibly wanting to glimpse at her child for as long as possible.

“My body, my heart will die without him, no longer can her well-being be my responsibility.” Rushing out her words as quick as possible, I could see with every passing second that she didn’t have much longer at all. It would be just minutes now before whatever this sickness was, took her. “There is no time for me to explain, but you must protect her. Burn my body, they cannot find my scent if there’s nothing left of me after I’m gone. Then you must promise to raise her as your own.”

This could not be happening.

My heart and my mind were at war with each other again as I found myself struggling on what to do, what to say even. I had so many questions and none of them could even be asked. Her hand trembled as she struggled to touch the infant in my arms and ended up dropping it back into my lap, her breathing harsh and rapid.

While there was love clear in her eyes, pain was etched across her features and her eyes were wet with tears. Whether it was the sickness that was killing her or the fact she would never get the chance to see her own babe grow, I said nothing anyways. I watched with pain growing my own heart as her head lolled back into my shoulder, and her body weight becoming heavier against me.

To my own surprise, tears of my own started to flow down my cheeks while I looked down at her troubled features. Her voice was horse and straining out a whisper, but it was not directed towards me. Instead, her watery eyes were fixated on the roof of my hut, seemingly staring at nothing.

“I did it, Kane, she’s safe.”

Had her lips not been right next to my ears, I might’ve missed it, and my heart started to ache fiercely in my chest. After all, we were still sisters. I had a stupid amount of hope that one day she would’ve come running back to us, to her family once the obsession wore off. Only now to be torn apart at the realization that although she was back, in a way, I was not about to have her in it for much longer.

Familiar fear gripped my body, as my sisters eyes’ flashed to that unnatural yellow, like it had all those years ago when she attacked me. This time though, it was not rage that brought her beast forward, it was the urgency of the situation for me to save their daughter. She was waiting for me to say something, to tell her no on her deathbed.

Had the distrust been that easy to read in my eyes?

“Aurora, this does not-”

“Fariah, please!” Desperation and pain leaked from her voice, stopping me from talking even as she cut me off and more tears slipped from my eyes, betraying me. “There is not much time left for me.”

All I could do was nod numbly in response, the both of us freely crying now, and as if sensing our torment, the baby stirred and started to wail. Lifting a finger to stroke the infant’s cheek, I rocked back and forth to soothe its heartbreaking cries. The feeling of my sister slumping weakly into my lap as I took care of her child caused a lump to form in my throat. How did it all come to this moment? Why had the goddess in all her virtue, done this to us?

Time seemed frozen and I wasn’t sure how long we stayed on the ground like that before I felt my sister draw in her last painful breath. My legs were numb from sitting for so long, but I had no want to move anyways, my heart feeling too heavy to let me breathe, let alone move. A new sharp pain ripped its way through my stomach, and up my body as though I was feeling her loss everywhere all at once, leaving a fierce burn in its wake.

Finally the ache settled heavily in my heart and started to feel like a burn that flamed hotter with every passing second, ripping deeper as though it was not only trying to tear my heart, but my soul too. There was no part of me that was safe from the devastation of loosing Aurora.

I would have screamed for the pain that was rapidly consuming me. I would have screamed for the loss of my sister, never wishing to have known what it felt like to lose her twice in this life. I would have screamed to all the divinities and the Goddesses for the cruelty that they wrecked upon my life.

Certainly I would forever scream my hate for the beast and all of his kind that lead me down the path of losing my sister and orphaning this child.

Nothing about the life of a beast made sense to me, my sister was the only one who would know those answers, but now she laid dead in my lap and her babe slept in my arms. Grief slowly tore at my body, taking a massive part of me as it ripped my very soul to shreds. Something darker, something...sinister, was replacing itself where the light in my soul was. I could feel it eating me whole, gobbling down all the light that was in my magic, in my body, was turning black.

I will destroy-

Warmth, was what saved my light, saved my soul, from sinking into the darkness, as I looked down to see a little hand from the babe, moved to wrap around my finger. The rage that was going to turn me dark, had all disappeared as I stared down at the sleeping girl in my arms. So peaceful, so innocent. Would it not have been for her touch, I was sure I would’ve lost myself to the darkness, to the madness that claims a witch when she becomes dark. When the last of my anger left and I could feel myself becoming light again, the sorrow spurred into a new determination, a new hope of what I could do with my life, for my sister.

For her daughter.

Using my best fur blanket, I swaddled the baby up in it and then rested her in the basket I usually used to gather my herbs in. Of course that would have to change, well, a lot of things would have to change.

I will raise her as my own, for you, Aurora.

Giving the infant a small kiss, I forced myself to keep moving as my thoughts rampaged through my mind, threatening me to break down if I focused too long on it. There were so many things to do so suddenly that my hands trembled as I set about grabbing some herbs and ritual objects.

As my shaking hands worked on a impromptu weaving, my mind slowed enough to think about what I now needed to do for the child. Firstly, there was no way I was going to let an innocent babe be raised in the world of monsters. Though it was not my own daughter, I would raise her like she was, but in the ways of our true family. It was very possible the child could have inherited her mother’s magic before she threw them all away to be a monster.

My sisters instructions were still ringing in the back of my head though as I worked. Once I had the small, wooden wreath made, I tucked it into my pouch along with a few other things I’d need and then began hoisting my sisters’ body up from underneath her arms. A decent amount of sweat started to trail down my back and across my forehead as I dragged her out of my home, trying not to cry as I did so. It was completely dark now, the only thing that could be heard was the occasional hoot from a owl and a few lonely crickets singing into the night.

There was a small meadow a few feet behind my home that seemed like the perfect place for her burial. When I laid her body down, I knelt down on the soft grass with it and dug my fingers into the dirt. Soft whispers of encouragement passed my lips as I willed the roots to grow up out of the ground and slowly wind itself completely around the body. Just before the roots covered her whole, I leaned over to kiss between her eyes, and something shiny caught my attention. Gently, I reached down to pull off the small pendant that rested on my sisters’ lifeless chest; it was a small stone of amber tied to a silver chain.

I remembered it as one of the many gifts Aurora boasted about getting from that awful beast. Not that I wanted to keep it, but their child would most likely fare better with having something that both her mother and father touched. Setting the necklace down next to me, I pulled out the wooden wreath and pushed a little bit of my magic into the wood so that little twigs grew out of the larger ones and twined together towards the middle, holding a small emerald gem in the center. Softly, I set it upon her chest as the roots and grass continued to rise up and consume her body.

“Rest peacefully, my wayward sister, your kin will be taken care of.” Tears threatened to spill from my eyes once again, but I just tucked away the necklace in my pouch and went back to where I placed the basket nearby, checking in on the small baby to make sure she was still sleeping soundly.

A proper witch funeral would be what my sister was getting, even if the Goddesses didn’t accept her when her soul entered their realm, I would at least make sure that her body was at rest. Death flowers, which were a beautiful shade of purple and had little flecks of white on the petals, and the wreath with our families core element represented in the middle of it; both were resting on her chest with her pale hands clasped over them.

I hope our ancestors welcome you home, Aurora. May the Goddess Briony grant you sanctuary in her endless gardens.

Using the flint from my pouch, I lit the wood on fire, watching the flames grow and grow until soon, I couldn’t see anything but flames, my sisters’ body disappearing behind the wall of fire.

The stench of burning flesh stung my nose, even though that was not real reason for my tears. Quickly turning away from the pyre and struggling with my heavy footsteps, I walked back to my small hut with the babe in my arms. Somehow sensing my distress again, the girls round, innocent eyes opened and she began to wail, mirroring my own pain that I felt tearing at my soul.

“Shh little one.” It occurred to me then that my sister failed to give me the name of her daughter and once we were inside the safety of my home, I paced back and forth deep in thought.

Then, the perfect name struck me like lightening, and it just made sense to give her Aurora’s second name.

“There there, my sweet Sybille.” Cooing gently, the tiny babe seemed satisfied with the name as her cries finally subsided and she stared up at me with a stunning color in them.

Though I had never seen her fathers’ eyes closely, I was mesmerized by the deep forest green they were, like the summer’s leaves on an oak tree. The only thing that seemed to have her mother’s family gene in them though, was the golden flecks that swirled around in the sea of green.

The void in me seemed to fill with a shinning warmth as I looked into eyes of this pure child. It seemed that it was going to be so easy that I would love this baby with all of my heart. Maybe, through my niece, I could bring honor back to my sisters’ name and my family.

After I was able to put the babe to sleep with her snuggled against me, I pulled out a worn journal that I had kept all my life and my secrets in, and started a new page. When she was old enough I would give her this book so that she can know the life of her family. Her true, family.

Into the night I wrote, occasionally looking down at the infant in my arms, not once stopping until the sun shone through the branches of the hut.