PROLOGUE

PROLOGUE 

Long ago in the Land of Ramain, witches or anyone who were practicing witchery were being chased down and executed. The law of Ramain forbade the use of spells, witchcrafts and any form of magic to prevent chaos and maintain peace around the land.

Witches escaped and isolated themselves in the middle of the woods, where no one could harm them. They also stayed away from one another to live safely.

A witch named Sarah, who was separated from her family, lived alone in the dark side of the mountains. Her mother was one of the witches who died during the run and had no idea what happened to her older sisters and to their father.

She tried to live harmoniously with the birds, the butterflies and the trees. Never had she imagined herself going down the mountains and leaving her new home. With her messy curly hair, big pointed nose and ugly face, humans would surely recognize her as a witch and would kill her on the spot.

But one day, in a cold rainy night, a knock from her door made her woke up and turned her life upside down. It was the very first time that someone knocked on her door. She was so sure that it was not an animal as she could hear a voice along with it. It was a man’s voice. She was frightened and didn’t know what to do. She remained silent until the voice disappeared.

When she opened the door, a man, who was filled with blood, was lying down in the doorway. She was very confused but later on helped the man and welcomed him into her humble house.

After years of forbidding herself to use magic, she decided to break her promise and cast a spell to the human. She didn’t want him to see her true appearance. She didn’t want him to be scared of her face.

When the man woke up, he then was mesmerized by Sarah’s fake beauty. The man said that he was a prince and was looking for his soul mate. He wanted to take her to his kingdom. But Sarah refused to leave with the prince as her spell only worked for him. Since then, the prince was visiting her place from time to time until the two fell in love.

But fate turned down Sarah, the prince broke out from the spell and was hated by him. He was mad by the idea that Sarah deceived him. He was hurt by the thought that all of it was a lie. The prince left the witch without knowing that Sarah was pregnant.

And because of the memories that the prince left in her place, Sarah decided to leave and transfer to another home where the prince could no longer find her and her daughter.

Sarah gave birth to a very beautiful baby girl and she named her, Sharifa.

When Sharifa was about four, she started asking her mother about their situation.

“Mother, why is Benben a bird and not like us?” she innocently asked her mother about her friend, Benben.

“It is because God wants Benben to be a bird. He wants Benben to fly, and He wants us to walk.” her mother simply told her many times.

As Sharifa grew older, she started asking a lot of questions. When Sharifa was about ten, her mother explained everything. She learned about her mother’s tragic love story with her father, except for the fact that her father was a prince, and the reason why they were living in the woods away from others.

     

After twenty years, the witch’s daughter turned into a fine-lady. Her hair was flowing like calm waves, her nose was perfectly shaped and her face was lovely and shining. Her beauty was very far from her mother’s. She was more like a princess than a witch.

Sharifa promised to herself not to follow her mother’s step. She will not let her heart fall for some petty love.

But fate was cruel. History repeats itself.

She just found herself fell for a prince. She felt like she was trapped and her soul was caged in the prince’s heart.

“My heart is beating fast when he’s around.” Sharifa told her mother about her first love. Just like what happened to her mother, it was a ‘love-at-first-sight’.

Prince Ameril of Ramain was always been kind and smart. Aside from his good looks, he also had the good heart and the genuine smile. He had everything that a girl would look for. And when Sharifa was saved by him from the rage of a wild bear, she totally broke her promise.     

“He is a prince and is bound to marry a princess. Mother, he is in love with someone else.” Tears were kept on falling down her cheeks. “I should have listened to you, Mother. This feeling is suffocating.” Sharifa just recently learned about the prince’s incoming wedding and was invited to come.

After the incident with the wild bear, Sharifa would visit the area where Prince Ameril saved her, almost every day. It was where the prince hunts animals regularly as his pastime. They met there many times. Prince Ameril saw it as a coincidence, but Sharifa rather saw it as destiny.

Then, it came to a time that they became friends. Prince Ameril was kind to her, he treated her like a sister but Sharifa seemed to misinterpret his actions.

“I am in love with you, Ameril.” Sharifa confessed after a year of continuously meeting. She was so nervous that time that she couldn’t feel her hands shaking and dripping wet. All she could think was the man who was standing in front of her.

They were standing in their usual meeting place in the woods. The sun was setting and the dark was starting to envelop the place.

“I am so sorry, Sharifa. I was so irresponsible. I should have seen this coming.” Prince Ameril said.

“W-What do y-?” Sharifa stuttered. She was confused and lost.

“You are like a sister to me, Sharifa. I am so sorry but I am marrying someone else.. I came here to give you this.” It was Prince Ameril’s words that made her heart sank deep into nothingness. And the world that she built with Prince Ameril on it vanished into thin air when she saw what was written in the paper. It was a wedding invitation.

“N-No! You are just teasing me!” Sharifa couldn’t accept it and was being in denial.

“I am so sorry, Sharifa.”

“Stop saying sorry! I hate you!”

After her first rejection, every day was painful for her. She couldn’t eat, she couldn’t sleep, and everything was awful. Their memories together were repeatedly crossing her mind. She threw away the gifts she received from him but it was not even helpful.

“My daughter, you need to accept it and move on..”

“I-I am trying.. but it’s hard. I feel betrayed.”

However, along her way of freeing herself from her first heartbreak, another prince came into her life and made it more chaotic as ever.

“You must be Sharifa, the little witch in the woods.” A man of Sharifa’s age came into their house and offered a hand.

“Keeram Monalier, your first love’s brother.”