Mardella, The White Witch

SELENE stares at the hand Kaden held out in front of her. For a moment, she hesitated but immediately stomped it down and tried to climb the steps of the large carriage on her own. Kaden looks at her with a baffled expression on his face. However, he didn't say anything and patiently waited for her until she successfully rode inside. He must have already noticed that she's been avoiding him since morning. Selene felt guilty about it, but she is not ready for another onslaught of foreign memories that might invade her mind if she touches Kaden's hand. She didn't say anything about what happened last night when she felt Elijah and saw his memories. Although Selene gets curious and almost asks him about his relationship with him, she thinks that it would be unwise to do so at the moment. And more importantly, Kaden doesn't like it when she's nosy.

Speaking of Elijah, Selene sees him walking in their direction. Kaden said they were also hired as a guard for the caravan. He breaks the news to her last night with a troubled expression. After Kaden caught Selene in a scuffle with Elijah the previous night, Kaden explicitly warned her not to do anything that would further catch Elijah's attention. He also told her that he would ensure that Elijah would never get a chance to go near her.

Just earlier, Selene also sees a new face that looks entirely out of place from Elijah's group. The man doesn't look like a roughneck, and he also has a different aura about him that subtlety says he's not someone ordinary. Above all, Selene has been getting a weird vibe from him, especially with Kaden's looks. She's already caught him sneaking glances at Kaden since earlier, while they were busy loading the carriages with luggage. Without meaning to, she also finds herself following his every move. Because of that, he also caught her looking at him, but Selene instantly walked away and pretended that nothing happened. Though at the back of her mind, she needs to keep an eye on him.

"Your best friend is coming over here," Selene says without looking away from Elijah's approaching figure

Kaden snorts because of her remark and swiftly close the drape to hide her from Elijah. She hears his footsteps as he walks away to lure Elijah away from the carriage. When she was finally left alone, Selene takes a closer look inside the carriage she is riding. If she compares it to transportation from Earth, her ride is roughly equivalent to that of the buses. The transport had four wheels, with benches on each side that could squeeze in about eight to ten people. It also has an ample amount of space for the luggage, and four horses pull this carriage. Before riding the carriage, Selene saw four other wagons like the one she's riding and one massive cage tightly sealed by a drop cloth that is also being drawn by numerous black stallion.

The carriage she's also riding has a clothed top, a poor attempt to save the travelers from the weather because despite being inside, Selene can still feel the cold seeping into her skin. She tightly wraps her coats around her body when the drape opens, and a familiar face of a young boy peeks inside. Their eyes met, and he immediately ducks his head to avoid eye contact before urging someone from the outside to climb aboard. Five women clothed in all white silently climbs inside the carriage, followed by the young boy. Selene gasps in surprise when she realizes who is riding together with her. It's the slave from the street last time. He has the same dark eyes and auburn colored hair. Though no cuffs are straddling his feet, this time, a metal cuff decorates his neck. Selene is having difficulty breathing just by looking at him. If he is here, then the merchant hired Kaden as a guard must also be the one she saw last time. Selene wonders how the merchant is faring; because of what Kaden said to her last time, she somewhat feels guilty about it.

In just a few minutes, the caravan starts it`s long travel while she remains stuck with companions who didn't utter a single word since. Kaden said that their journey would take two days despite planning to take the shortcut by traversing the Crystal Mist Forest. It seems that they need to reach the capital at least a day before the festival starts. Everything that this carriage carries is valuable and rare treasures that will be used as an offering to the temple. At the same time, some will be used for trade. Those are mainly the reason why a lot of guards are accompanying them to protect the caravan.

Selene looks over to her traveling companions; she puts on a friendly smile and greeted everyone. Although she has always been the type to prefer spending time alone and who rarely talks with others except when it requires in her job, at that moment, Selene had decided to strike a conversation. Unfortunately, her simple greeting is not enough to catch their interest. The women barely look in her direction while the young boy immediately avoided eye contact. Selene slowly scoots over to the trembling boy from the other side of the bench where he is sitting. He automatically flinches when he feels her presence and tries to get away but cannot because he finally reaches the edge of the seat.

"What's your name? I'm Selene." Without thinking, she grasps his shaking hands and rubs it, using her hands to warm him up. Luckily, nothing happened just like last night. And upon closer inspection, his face is still covered with fresh wounds along with his hands and arms. She's almost afraid to see what's hidden beneath his thin clothes. He must be around a year younger than her. She can't believe this young boy had to experience something cruel at his young age.

"Can you tell me your name?" It took him a long time to reply, but he must have realized that she won't stop bugging him until he answers her. "Cessair," he whispers without looking at her.

Selene repeats his name in a murmur, and it sounded beautiful to her ears. "You have a lovely name."

Cessair's body hardens, and she can see his jaw clenches tightly. "My mother said that my name means sorrow," he replies in an empty voice. It feels like Selene's chest is wrenched open, and someone rips her heart out and squeezes it dry. She swallows the humungous lump that forms in her throat. Selene let go of his hand, takes off her coat, and put it on his body.

Cessair's body jolts in surprise, and he looks at her in utter agitation. "What are you doing?"

Selene shrugs nonchalantly. "I'm wearing a lot of layers so you can have my coat. You must be freezing, don't take it off." That's a lie; she's freezing, but her heart couldn't take seeing him like this.

"I don't need your pity," he stated in a sharp, biting tone. He's quite defensive. Selene smiles widely in return.

"You need it because it seems like at this moment, I'm the only one who would willingly give it to you. You need to survive. Speaking of surviving, let me tend to your wounds."

Cessair protested, but Selene ignores his objections and concentrates on the task at hand. She takes out the other pouch she receives from Grandfather Kenshin that contains medicinal herbs and other first-aid necessities. Before leaving the village, he gives him a rundown of the essential herbs to heal wounds. She grabs a cut-out cloth and dabs it in a bottle that contains a strong smell of dark liquid. Selene gently pats it into his injuries from his face, neck, and to his arms. Afterward, she put a cold gel-like consistency on his wounds. Cessair remains silent during the treatment's whole duration, but she can see that it's quite painful with how rigid his posture is. He must be trying his best not to whimper.

"Let me see your back." Selene requested coolly. Cessair looks disoriented and already in panic mode. His eyes grew wide, and his mouth hangs open in disbelief.

"No! You can't!" he rejected vehemently.

"Don't worry. I'm just going to treat your wounds."

"Just leave it! How could you ask me to show you my back?"

Selene chuckles. "What are you talking about? I'm just going to treat your wound."

Someone exhales loudly, and Selene turns towards the direction of the sound. "Are you from a different world or just a plain fool? How could a young woman ask a young man like him to show his back? Only married couples should do that." One of the women from earlier speaks up. She looks at her like she's an idiot.

She rewarded her with her usual business smile. "Do you feel like talking now? Besides, I don't have any bad intention aside from treating his wounds."

Her eyebrow slightly rises because of her reply, and a look of disapproval taints her impassive face. "And why would you kindly treat a slave like him?"

It was Selene's turn to sigh. She may be in a different world right now, but she has no intention of blending in, mainly if it means she had to turn back to her beliefs.

"That's because that is who I am. Before being a slave, he is a human being, just like me, who needs help. That's all there is to it. And you can stop talking to me if you don't have anything nice to say." Selene replied calmly.

The woman grunts in disbelief. She stands up from her seat and walks towards them. She snatched the cloth from her hand and squeezed in between her and Cessair. "I will do it for you. That's fine with you, boy?"

Cessair silently nodded. Selene wants to do it, but because Cessair doesn't want to, she can't do anything about it. Feeling dejected, Selene scoots away to give them some space without taking her eyes off them.

"Ma'am, are you also planning to attend the festival in the capital?" Selene asks, wanting to keep their conversation going.

The woman snickers as if mocking her. "You really don't go out a lot, just like the rumors say. No wonder you don't know about me and my job and that slave are not usually treated kindly like this."

What rumors is she talking about? She's only been in the Blackspire for a night, and there are already rumors about her. Is this the power of Kaden's popularity?

"You're right, I've always had a weak constitution, so I don't go out that much," Selene replied with her memorized and well-practiced line.

"Is that supposed to be a jest? When you can easily snap Elijah's wrist without breaking a sweat?"

Selene's jolts in surprise. She hugs herself and starts rubbing her arms to shake off the cold. How the hell did she know that? Is she eating inside the inn during the scuffle?

As if reading what`s on her mind, the woman continues. "It's easy for rumors to circulate in a small town like Blackspire. Are you certain that you are Kaden's sister?"

Selene laughs loudly, trying to ease her nervousness. She's the first person who ever doubts her identity. Everyone is just so accepting that Selene never thought someone could be able to catch their lie. "What are you talking about? Just look at me. We look so much alike."

The only thing that Selene can consider their close likeness is the shade and curliness of their hair. While Kaden has grey wavy hair, she has silver-bluish hair that falls in waves and past her waist. Aside from that, they have completely different eye colors and facial features. Will she buy her lie? It doesn't look like it. Selene just decided to change the subject.

"Anyway, what job are you talking about?"

The woman looks at her after treating Cessair's wound. Her eyes look wise and puzzling. "I'm a shaman. We will travel through the Crystal Mist Forest; that's why we are tasked to prepare an offering and a prayer to be granted permission."

Selene cocks her head. "Permission from whom?" she glances at Cessair, who had gone incredibly quiet and avoided her gaze again.

"Haven't you heard of the White Witch of the Crystal Mist Forest?"

Selene shakes her head. The shaman takes the seat across from her and looks at her gravely. "She's Mardella, the witch who lives and guards that forest. Based on the witnesses' description, she is a beady-eyed hag with hooked nosed and stringy grey hair who wears disheveled clothing. She roams around the forest with a parade of spirits she had captured from those who foolishly cross the forest and die."

A strong gust of cold wind blows in their direction, and the drape opens wide. Selene shivers uncontrollably, and the hairs from the back of her neck stand on end. Without looking away from the woman's gaze, who suddenly has a frightening look in her eyes, Selene intensely focuses on the story. While she continues her story, she feels a chill crawling up her spine.

"We have to offer her food and prayers to be granted permission. However, if she thinks it's insufficient, she becomes a violent demon who devours human flesh. You cannot make a sound aside from us shamans during the ritual, so try not to scream if you see her peeking inside the carriage. You will be taken away. We will arrive there by nightfall."

Selene felt her soul just left her body and got spirited away because of what she had learned. Do these people have a hobby of scaring the life out of her? The carriage has been moving quite a lot because of the bumpy road, and she feels pretty nauseous. To top it off, she's feeling anxious and scared that Selene feels a bit lightheaded. She slightly opens the drape to glimpse the majestic snowy mountains before her. Selene heaves a huge sigh. She hopes nothing wrong happens during their journey.

IT is pitch black when they arrive at the Crystal Mist Forest entrance; though the torches were blazing, they barely lit the whole place. The five shamans were summoned upon arrival, and she was left and Cessair alone inside the dark carriage. Although she feels pretty embarrassed, Selene thinks it is not the right time to preserve her dignity. She slowly scoots towards Cessair until their shoulders touch.

Despite the dark, she could feel his intense gaze boring a hole through her. Selene clears her throat. "I just thought that we should sit close together like this" So, it will be less scary, Selene added inside her head.

Since the start of their journey, Kaden hasn't even once checked on her. While she knows that he is busy with work, she hopes that he has the conscience to check if she's okay or not, mainly that he forgot to mention something important like this. When they arrived at the forest entrance, Selene felt a suffocating feeling that lurked in the dark that her hand started trembling, and Selene had to clench it hard. She placed her trembling hands on top of her legs when she suddenly felt a warm skinny hand placed on  hers. Despite her fear, she can't help but smile.

"Let's sit a little further away from the entrance," Cessair suggested. He stands up while holding her hand, and they move together to the farthest corner of the carriage. Selene patiently waits for the whole ordeal to finish while giving her best to ease her rapid heartbeat. She's afraid that the witch might even hear the drumbeat of her heart. Only a few minutes passed when Selene listened to a clear and melodious singing voice in the far-off distance. It blends with the sounds of the wind as it whispers in her ears. Her body involuntarily trembles. Selene didn't know how long she's been sitting in a stiff position while holding her breath. She just wants to sleep it off, but she's still wide awake.

A thick mist breaks into the carriage out of the blue, followed by a few small glowing orbs that look like they're dancing in the air. Selene hears faint sounds of laughter coming from the spheres, and she gasps in surprise when the glowing orbs encircle her and Cessair merrily. She doesn't understand what's happening; even Cessair stares in astonishment because of the spectacle before him.

Selene hears rustling sounds from outside when bony and pale fingers appear in the gaps of drapes. Selene gawks, horrified when an old and tattered woman slowly enters the carriage with gristly white hair covering her face. When she finally let herself in, the woman parted her hair and looked at her with a sadistic grin exposing razor-sharp black teeth. Selene exactly felt that her soul is being sucked away because of the black depths of her eyes. She looks accurately the same as the shaman`s description. She is Mardella, the White Witch of the Forest. When the realization dawns on her, she feels numb with fear, and her heart starts beating like a drumbeat in a parade. And when the floorboards creak with Mardella's every step, the only thing that Selene can listen to is the tolls of the bell of her demise. Suddenly, Cessair`s body slackens, and she finds him sleeping soundly from her side. Selene clamps her trembling hands on her mouth to stifle her gasps.

When Mardella reaches her, she grasps a few strands of Selene's hair and sniffs like she's branding her scent into her mind. And when she opened her mouth, her voice came out rough and gravelly while wheezing painfully. "You must be the one. That foolish Arabella is talking about."

"I came to give a warning. The chase has begun, be careful not to get caught." Mardella looks in the direction of the sleeping figure of Cessair, a knowing smile etched on her lips. "And do not let go of this child; he will prove useful to you in the future. Do everything in your power to protect him."

Mardella lightly touches Cessair's neck, and a glowing mark appears on his throat. Simultaneously, Selene feels an indescribable burning sensation on her chest. Selene stares wide-eyed and confused. She is just too focused on trying her best not to make any noise. She doesn't understand what's going on anymore. However, a vivid memory of a blonde woman from her dreams who claims to be a messenger faintly resurfaces in her fear-stricken mind. Is she Arabella, this witch Mardella is talking about?

Mardella grins, but it doesn't make Selene feel any better. Her smile looks sinister, and her body screams to break away. "You can talk. I don't mind."

Selene weakly shakes her head in protest, but when Mardella`s long and cold bony fingers reach her hand and try to break away, her tightly clasped hands on her mouth, Selene can't stop the whimpering that escapes her lips.

"Talk," Mardella urges in a menacing tone.

Selene repeatedly swallowed her saliva before uttering a whisper of broken words. It feels like she needs to talk, or else she will die. "Why are you te—lling m—e this?" Selene asks breathlessly.

Mardella burst out an ear-splitting laugh, her voice booming to every corner of the forest and the deepest part of the ground. Selene can loudly hear the flapping sounds of wings and cries of birds from a distance, as well as the whinnying of the horses.

"I just only want to take a glimpse of you. However, in the end, this naughty curiosity of mine couldn't stop pestering my conscience. That is why I want to wreak a bit of havoc. As for the offering, a little bit of your blood will suffice."

Without warning, Mardella snatches her hand and licks it, her fork-like slippery tongue tracing every place on her palm. Selene wanted to get away, but she remained frozen in her spot. It's like some invincible force is holding her down. Selene squeezes her eyes shut as soon as Mardella`s fangs sink into her skin and suck it almost too voraciously. The pain radiates from her hands to her arms. There is no way she just plans to take a small amount of blood. When Selene feels like she is being bled dry, the razor-sharp fangs retract from her skin, and she feels a gentle warmth covering her palm. She opens her eyes only to find another reason to shock the life out of her. Selene watches in shock and wonder as the blood on her hands disappears, and the wound instantly closes. In a matter of seconds, the gash vanishes as if there wasn't one in the first place.

Mardella looks at her with her beady eyes brimming with awe and ecstasy. "You heal very fast. And as expected of your blood, it tastes divine. Your blood brimming with potent mana will help me survive for another decade. Let`s meet again if fate permits us. I will be looking forward to your achievements, Your Holiness."

Selene let out a shaky breath. She is unsure if she's only hysterical, but her hands instantly healed, and Mardella, the White Witch, addressed her as Your Holiness like Selene is some kind of divine or sacred being. The last thing Selene remembers before she falls into deep slumber is the retreating figure of the notorious White Witch and the image of a glowing mark on Cessair's neck. Selene can't help but think that he might be one of the people; she needs to look for.