030 Emma

"Wh--what?!" Kitty couldn't believe her ears.

Just when she was finally accepting the fact that her mom was a witch all along, and she might be a part of the magic world, she was once again, thrown out of it. Just like how her whole life had been:

losing everything.

"I..." Kitty opened her mouth, but couldn't find any words. She didn't know she wanted a witch life that much. Now her expedition was over, and she was sad it never got a chance to exist.

"But you were right. Lilith died. I didn't know until you told me." The witch kept on, not noticing Kitty's getting taken over by the disappointment.

"Lili..." Kitty mumbled. That WAS her lovely mother's name, Lilith. Her father called her "Lili", "How, how did you know?"

It felt funny because last time Kitty asked the same question when the witch identified her AS her mother's daughter, and Kitty was hoping she was wrong last time too.

"Aww, I'm sorry, darling..." The witch finally noticed her sadness, and she patter her on the back, "I sensed Lilith's appearance in the city, it was either her, or her blood. And then I saw you, not long after, so I just assumed... Because you look so much like her, you know?"

"Really? You mean..." Kitty was confused.

"Blue hair, grey blue eyes. I would have believed... I mean, I DID believe that you are her daughter." The witch touched Kitty's hair as if missing an old friend.

Kitty did get the eyes and hair from her mom. Guess it was understandable that the witch took her as the witch Lilith's daughter by mistake.

"When you told me she died, I was shocked. I haven't check up on her for a while so I didn't know. But when I tried to locate her, I realized she is no longer in this world with us. But I found a trace of her magic, IN this city, but it wasn't you. I'm sorry about it, my child..."

"It's okay... it's me who is silly to get upset over something I never had in the first place." Kitty shook her head and tried to return a smile. A witch or not, this old lady had been nothing but nice to her.

"So have you figured out what happened to the stone though? I mean Phosis. Now that we know I'm not a witch's daughter, why did Phosis disappear when I touched it? Please don't tell me I broke it." Kitty suddenly remembered why she ran away last time.

"Yeah, peculiar indeed, that one..." At the mention of the mysterious stone, the witch drifted into her thoughts again, forgetting Kitty's presence, "Why indeed, why..."

"Has something like that ever happened before?" Kitty suggested, trying to help, but she really knew nothing about witchcraft whatsoever.

"No, not ever. Like I said, Phosis was power, pure power. It was rare enough that Lilith was able to extract it from the dark forest. I've never seen anyone else who has ever resonated with it, and certainly not myself. I was more like a guest, borrowing its power. That's all." The witch took Kitty's hand in hers, observing her as if there could be clue on her face.

"..." Kitty felt guilty as if she stole something that didn’t belong to her with a false identity.

"It okay, child. Phosis chose you for a reason, a reason not to known to us yet, but it's a choice I trust." The witch said as if she knew what was going on in Kitty's mind.

"Thanks..." Kitty nodded gratefully.

"There IS one other thing I don't understand though." The witch went to attend to the tea pot, "There was two men following you the day I stopped you and took you here."

"What?!" Kitty gasped, "How did you-- Wait, what?!"

"Ohh, I saw two cubs following you, not friendly look, so I lured them here and dealt with them." The witch waved as if it was nothing.

"Oh my God! What... did... did you kill them?" Kitty didn't realize how frightened she was before the question was out of her mouth.

"Haha, nooo, of course not!" The witch burst into laughter at Kitty's dark imagination of her, "I could use some help around the house."

And that was when Kitty noticed there were two dogs curling in the corner under a shelf.

"You..." Kitty took a step back in shock.

"They are good kids now, aren't they?" The witch smiled at her, watching the two dogs together with her.

"How did you know they were Perses's men? And if they were, wouldn't this be dangerous to you?" Kitty didn't feel particularly bad for them considering they are killers who wiped out a village without even blinking an eye. It was the witch that she was worried about more.

"Well they told me. Those boys told me a lot of good stuff before they say goodbye to their human form. I think the world is a better place with them like this, don't you think?" The witch was smiling, but Kitty could tell there was anger in her when she said that. Apparently, she was aware of what happened to the village, too, if not more.

"They were instructed to leave no survivor." The witch said, "And that's why they were following you. You seem to be the last one survivor." The witch explained, "I might have saved you once, but I might not be there next time, dear. Here, let me..."

So said, the witch turned and dived into the messy shelves, looking for something. Kitty didn't dare to disturb so she just stayed where she was, waiting.

"Here, my child. This was a relic from the Greats, they are the greatest witches and wizards from ancient times, way before me." The witch handed Kitty a dusty old paintbrush, "Well, I said 'was' because it's broken now. There's no magic left in it, and it's no use to a witch now. But it WAS left with a protection spell. Take this with you, and it will protect you, exactly once, because once the spell is broken, it will be just a paintbrush then."

"Well, I could still paint with it." Kitty grinned at her, taking the brush, "I'm really grateful, for all you have done for me."

"No need to thank me, my child. I like you. Even though you are not her daughter, you still remind me of her, and not just appearance, but how you treat people. She had that genuine but naughty look in her eyes, too."

"That's so nice of you..." Kitty stepped up and hugged the witch tight.

"Although, I do think that she had a daughter, well, maybe a son, haha." The witch hugged her back, and that was the first time Kitty felt a motherly warmth in a very long time.

"Why?" Kitty rose an eye brow curiously.

"Because in my divine, her life line stopped three years ago, but then right from that breaking point, a new line, a line with a slightly different color, kept on in her place. It was either a resurrection, or a new born baby."

Three years ago! That WAS when Kitty's parents had their car accident, but also when--

"Emma!" Kitty gasped.

"What? What do you mean?" The witch didn't understand her sudden exclamation.

"Emma. There was this little girl who was living in that village that was wiped out by Perses. She was blue hair, and she was three years old!" Kitty told her, and saw the shocking look on the witch's face, just like her own.