Chapter 1 | The Murderer's Return

The long-sleeved, black dress she wore dangled all the way to her ankles as she elegantly sat down the sofa. Her contemptuous ocean eyes interpolated with the color of the red sea, and her perfectly molded nose was just as pink as the cherry blossoms in spring. She might be beautifully described, but she looked like a disaster. For more than a week of pooling her eyes with raindrop tears, her eyes were nothing like the tranquil sea. She was more like a turbulent ocean with obscure and vicious tidal waves. Dark, violent, and resentful was she – Elise, the widowed witch.

She stared blankly at the busy city streets of Verdana. Her swollen, red eyes glared distastefully at mortals on the other side of her glass window. She thought that mortals were much busier than the beings in the Immortal Realm. She observed that most mortals were distant from each other although they walk on the same ground. They seemed like they’re always looking for something extraordinary. She snickered; she thought that their desire for greater things must be the reason why they destroyed her family. Certainly, she was not over with her husband’s death.

A sad smile formed on Elise’s lips as she remembered how she met Gustavo, the vampire she once hated, yet also the man she loved most. It was by the wishing well of Moldengork, her hometown. Inspired by how mortals made themselves believe that wishes do come true, witches and wizards built a wishing well, too, even though they could just use their own magic to make their wishes come to life. However, using magic to fulfill wishes was limited to material things only. Since her wish was something difficult and forbidden to magic in an instant, she thought of relying on a piece of coin to make her wish a reality.

 “Those coins won’t make you fall in love,” Gustavo commented as she threw a coin in the well.

Elise was a lonely, yet rational witch so she knew it was ridiculous to wish for love; but she foolishly wished for it nonetheless. Embarrassed and at the same time annoyed, she gave Gustavo a piercing glare to which the latter found amusing.

“Is eavesdropping on people one of your hobbies?” Elise accused. “I really dislike vampires like you!” she hissed at him, upset at eavesdropping on her simple wish.

Gustavo cocked his head teasingly and smirked naughtily at Elise’s feisty remark. Little did Elise know, Gustavo fell in love with her the moment their eyes first met. And just like that, though non-material wishes rarely come true in the Immortal Realm, the wishing well eventually granted her wish – to fall in love.

“A bouquet of red tulips, please,” a loud, baritone voice mixed with the chiming of bells interrupted Elise out of her reverie.

A tall, young man dressed handsomely in a blue polo just entered her flower shop. Elise eyed him in distaste as the young man fixed his crumpled collar. His lips suddenly twisted into an excited smile, the type of smile which those in love were only capable of forming. Elise scoffed in annoyance. She could not help herself but feel envious; her resentment and jealousy evident as she tightly gripped the stems of the tulips she just picked. She clutched them so tightly that if it were roses, her hands would have bled from the piercing thorns. She wrapped the fresh, red tulips into a beautiful bouquet; and out of jealousy, she sprayed a magical perfume on the tulips which casted a powerful spell that would make whoever smell it become ill. She did tricks like this to her customers occasionally. She was both resentful and envious of humans, for humans such as her customers were free to fall in love with whomever their hearts desired to be with. It annoyed her so much that even revenge did not seem satisfying.

“Come again!” Elise chirped as cheerfully as she could when the young man took his leave; the little bells hanging above the entrance once again chimed adorably.

It was like all the other days which she did not enjoy: meeting mortals to either curse or envy them. Playing charades with humans was never her cup of tea. It was more of a role she wanted to play in order to avenge her loss and regrets. However, Elise, the ‘con artist’ never felt victorious even after killing all those involved with Gustavo’s death and of their baby’s disappearance.

Elise knew that harming mortals came with a price – death. However, now that she was left alone, her fears vanished. With a frown etched on her forehead and her eyes flaming in anger, she grabbed her broom and took a flight back to the Immortal Realm.

Living a life without love was like existing without a heart, like a soulless being wandering the depths of the earth as if it was the punishment for being in love. Well, if everyone had not felt that way, just for Elise in the very least. That was how she felt when she lost everyone she loved, and it pained her whenever she reminisced those moments of being in love for she could no longer trace the smiles on her loved ones’ faces. Memories, at least, allowed her to remember the sparks in Gustavo’s emerald eyes; the charismatic, little mole under his left eye; his husky laugh that sounded like the melody of singing nightingales; his scent that smelled like a mixture of apples and coffee – a homey scent that she longed to cuddle once again; his contagious smile that made the boisterous sun jealous and the lonesome moon in love; and his kisses that made the butterflies in her stomach explode into pieces of baby breath flowers which he frequently picked for her.

Elise was unfortunate enough to not know their baby’s gender. Either it was a boy or a girl, to her, it was a saccharine angel she wished to have held a little longer, a little tighter, and have looked at a little more so that she could have memorized every little detail of its angelic face. Even though Elise’s memory of their baby was short and vague, she could not forget its tranquil, forest-green eyes which the baby inherited from its father. Elise could only think of them, remember them, love them, and hurt inside a thousand times more. Memories, somehow, became her only companion.

Elise wiped her teary eyes as she crossed the forest of Nardovoa, the portal across each world. It was the only forest that connected the three empires of the Immortal Realm: Zornoxphere, Zophora, and Zorpithia. She made her way through the familiar set of tall trees and she easily entered the boundary of Zornoxphere’s empire with her swift movements. It was as if she was invisible because the Griffin Guards and Vampire Warriors failed to notice her as she passed by.

Zornoxphere was a large empire with three kingdoms – Bardovia, where vampires reign; Griffindelle, the home of the griffins; and Zaldigore, the domain of werewolves. It was not complicated to tell the kingdoms apart at all since all three are located in the empire’s north, east, and west part respectively. Dwarves, witches and wizards, on the other hand, lived together in a smaller area of Zornoxphere called Moldengork. It was at the southern part of the empire, and also the closest to Nardovoa. Fortunately for Elise, a longer flight was not necessary due to the close proximity.

At last, Elise arrived in her beloved hometown. She carefully maneuvered her broom to a safe landing as she blinked continuously to fix her blurry vision caused by the cold air which dried the tears pooling once more in her already puffy eyes.

She wandered around the familiar streets of Dentilphia – the noisy and busier part of Moldengork. Dwarves, witches and wizards were everywhere as they strolled around town either to party or cause trouble. The marketplace was noisy as all kinds of gambling, bids, and bets could be found in every crook and nook; and the sky was lit with colorful fireworks as bands from different parts of the empire came every night to keep the town alive. Apart from the presence of magic, Dentilphia, the heart of Moldengork, was not that different compared to the cities of the Mortal World where everyone always had something to do.

Elise rode her broom slowly, away from the noisy crowd. She never fancied that part of the town for it was always bright, crowded, and uncomfortably spirited. She liked atmospheres like that of Wiltovia, the other half of Moldengork. It was the peaceful part of town where little children ran around casting harmless spells; the front yards were the campsites for family nights; and the old ones were always on their rocking chairs as they enjoyed the town’s view from their porches. It was also her birthplace, where she had memorable moments with her family, friends, and neighbors. As much as she wanted to go back there, she could not. Everyone she knew would wonder where she went, and she wanted to avoid questions as much as possible since answering would only arouse more questions and complications she could not explain. For instance, she possibly could not tell them that she married and had a baby with a vampire. That would be the end of her.

Elise got off of her broom and went to the wishing well where she met Gustavo for the first time. Tears escalated down her cheeks as she saw him leaning against the well’s post. He smiled handsomely as Elise walked towards him.

“Don’t miss me too much,” Gustavo teased.

Elise longingly reached for him to cup his cheeks, but the cold air froze her hands as Gustavo’s smiling face slowly faded away. Her hands fell to her sides as she realized that her imagination toyed with her feelings again. She laughed bitterly as she turned her back to leave the well, trying to avoid her memories of Gustavo from flooding her mind.

“Watch your step, will you?!” a grumpy, old dwarf snarled angrily at Elise. She immediately apologized for accidentally ‘almost’ crushing him. “Have I seen you before?” he asked, his brows furrowed together as he tried to recall where he had seen her. “Could it be? Aren’t you the witch who killed a vampire in the Mortal World?” He stared at her scornfully, not even flinching at the fact that he was in front of a rumored murderer.

Elise was taken aback by the dwarf’s sudden accusation. His story seemed familiar for some reason. Elise thought about it for quite some time, the dwarf still glaring cynically at her, until it finally dawned to her. No other witch and vampire crossed the Mortal World recently other than her and Gustavo, unless if there were someone else, of course. However, her guts were sure it was them. “How else would this dwarf know me, then?” she mentally asked herself.

There was a bigger question, however. How could she be her own husband’s murderer? Elise knew what really happened to Gustavo and their baby – only she did – but, what if she lied to herself just to comfort her guilt and regrets? After all, she had no one to blame but herself.