violet lights

Chapter 1

12 years ago

Little valerie stood frozen stuck to the ground as the other kids huddled around the injured boy who was heaving for breath.

She didn’t mean to do it in fact she never knew she can cause anyone any harm until today, It all started when her older sister told her to go pick flowers so that they can make a flower crown for her birthday.

And so she went so excited and ecstatic, holding her skirt high so it doesn’t get dirty in the mud like the previous time after all she didn’t want to get yelled at by her papa or schooled in front of her siblings. They weren’t the worst but they weren’t a lovely family either, her dad always ignored her existence unless she did something wrong to be punished for, her mom wasn’t better she favored all of her siblings to her who in turn mocked her for her odd looks. They called her a freak of nature for she had white hair like the fresh snow, eyes of violet bright as the full moon and a chestnuts like skin. whereas her siblings had dark brown eyes and soft brown hair, except her eldest sister serene she was like a ray of sunshine on a cold day, she took care of her, taught her everything she knew, even celebrated her birthday with her. Valerie knew her sister was beautiful even in a young age she can see how people are swooned by her, she had a button nose and soft charming features.

At the meadow Valerie crouched low to pick the blue irises and white lilies for the crown .

She was too focused on the task to notice the kids of the village approaching behind her. Not until Aidan stepped forward and pushed her on the ground

" What are you doing here freak? We told you to not come back here and ruin our land ”

Valerie stammered for words as her eyes sting with tears ” I .. I’m sorry I only want to pick some flowers”

Aidan sneered at her words and said ” you hideous creature should not exist, Jax peri hold her up”

Both Jax and peri got moving and rose Valerie off the ground while she kept weeping and begging them to let her go ” please I wont come back again..” Aidan didn’t leave her to finish her sentence as his fist came down on her stomach

She doubled over with pain and cried But her cries fell on deaf ears “this should teach you to know your place freak”

His punches were relentless and with each hit Valerie lost connection to the real world.

She can’t hear her surroundings or the cheers of the young villagers, all she felt was this darkness that stretched forever and surged in her veins.

She remembered all the times her siblings mocked her for how she looked or when people assumed she’s evil for that, even her dad never liked her and her mom tried to get rid of her when she was born.

All of a sudden, her body started to vibrate as violet light started to shine until all their movements ceased to stop.

peri and Jax took their hand off of her as Aidan took a step back .

Then in a blink of an eye her head was thrown back and her eyes opened brighter than ever and a surge of light emitted from her to Aidan’s body.

Aidan was thrown back 5 feet away like a rugged doll and then his body thumbed to the ground.

All you can hear are his grunting and moans of pain. All the kids started to yell in fright and ran to his aid

While Valerie returned back to normal, she starred wide eyed to the view in front of her.

“She’s a witch, she’s cursed, burn her ” yelled peri.

At the same time a frantic serene came to her view ” Valerie what was that ? Why did you do that?”

Valerie broke out of her daze as tear started to flow like rivers ” i i didn’t mean to, i don’t know what came over me, i was scared and hurt “.

Serene took her hand and darted toward the trees. She needs to hide her sister or else the villagers will stake her and burn her alive, they might kill her entire family if they doubt they were witches too.

She took the dark path through the forest were no one will suspect them going and searched for the scholar’s cottage.

It was an abandoned cottage and isolated from the village since the scholar didn’t like people interfering with his business. In fact she had never seen him before , all she knew about him were the stories she heard while eavesdropping on her mom’s friends.

He was there before her grandmother’s birth and he’s still alive after all these year , apparently he doesn’t age like normal people. He’s very secretive but people can sense the power surging from him.

He was a warlock.

Serene noticed Black fumes coming from a chimney in front of them so she hurried her sister to run faster, then the cottage came to view. It looked rugged and old and it gave off a bad vibe but this was her only solution to save Valerie’s life.

When they reached the door, she knocked once then twice but no one responded so she started to pound the door in case he didn’t hear her. All of a sudden, the door opened wide and she stumbled outwards. A man who looked like he’s in his forties came out wearing a black cloak with black feathers stitched to the hood, dark leather boots knocking on the wooded floor. In two strides he reached them.

The two sisters shivered in horror as they looked anywhere but him, it wasn’t until he cleared his throat that Valerie raised her violet eyes to look at him.

He was dashingly handsome, dark eyebrows stood strong, his eyes shone with wisdom were a dark brown, his lips were full and his jaw was defined but he looked pale like he hasn’t seen the sun for days.

He waited for her to finish inspecting his face. “what are you doing here children ” his voice was unexpectedly warm.

Serene took a step forward and said with begging eyes” I’m sorry we invaded your privacy but my sister here is in need for a hide, if the villagers find her they will kill her, please take her ”

The scholar looked solemnly for a moment then asked” why would they kill her”

Serene contemplated if she should tell him the truth or not then she decided that if he takes her in he will find out anyway ” they think she’s a witch, she.. she hurt a boy with her light or something, I still don’t get it . But please take her”

The scholar’s eyes landed on Valerie, she looked vulnerable and weak how could she hurt anyone and then she looked at him with her puppy eyes and quivering lips as a new round of tears made it’s way down her red cheeks.

His face changed from its usual stoic nature to an empathetic look and he bended slightly so that their faces are on the same level, ” what’s your name fair child ?” he asked softly.

Valerie looked up to her sister as if to ask for her permission and serene nodded slightly with an encouraging smile . Valerie looked back at the older man then answered shyly ” my name is valerie ” then she added amusingly ” and i turn five today ” raising 5 fingers up to the scholar’s face .

This time the scholar’s face broke into a smile which encouraged valerie to ask him ” and what’s your name sir handsome? ”

He couldn’t contain the deep laughter that came out of his throat. She was amusing he thought ” i am harold pretty girl ” in return she gave him a grin missing few teeth .

Harold moved to serene and said ” she can stay but you will never see her again, and no one should know about her coming to me . Tell them she was eaten by the wolves ”

Serene’s eyes widened. She won’t see her baby sister again but this was better than being staked and burned. He looked like a nice man that will take care of her besides he can’t be worse than how their parents treated her .

She looked at her little angel and pulled her in for a hug, she cried on her shoulder while she inhaled her scent for the last time .

After a few minutes she held her at arm’s length and said ” valerie never forget me for i will never forget you . Be brave for me and happy birthday my dear . I will miss you ” she snuck her hand in her hair and pulled a needle like hair accessory then she put it in Valerie’s small hands “keep this”

valerie hugged her sister one last time before serene was running back to the village.

Valerie watched her sister get out of sight and the realization landed on her , she will never see her sister again. No one to protect her , no one to love her and teach her . She’s all alone .

Harold watched the girl with empathy as she grieved the loss of someone precious to her then

he extended his hand to her and said ” let’s get inside fair child it’s going to get cold and dark”

valerie took his hand and followed him back to the cottage but when they reached the door she hesitated.

Harold could sense the girl’s hesitation and fear so he gave her little hand a reassuring squeeze .

Valerie looked up just as the scholar looked down at her with a smile and said ” no one can hurt

you here valerie ” .

With that the door closed behind them and the cottage started to shimmer then there was nothing. It evaporated.