Chapter 1

VIOLETTE.

"Once upon a time, humans and lycans were not the only ones who dominated the earth. There were vampires and witches. The earth was constantly in turmoil since each of them wanted to dominate the land. Humans, as the weak without a superpower, fall behind. Thousands died in battle but survived until today while vampires and witches ceased from history." I told the story to five children I had been teaching for over a month. 

They usually paid more attention to me when I didn't ask them to read. One of the children with auburn hair—Roman, if I remember his name correctly, raised his hand and interrupted me. 

"Ms. Dalley, I have a question. If we are weak, then how did we manage to live?"

I smiled at his innocent question. "Because a human is a scary creature. They might be weak physically, but their mind is stronger than the rest. Humans knew they were weak, so they used their heads to battle. That's what differentiates them from the rest of the other species."

"The point is?" He interrupted me again. I know he had been eager to learn about how his ancestor won in the end. So, I wasted no more time and gave him the answer. 

"Humans colluded with each of them; then they abandoned the one who would likely lose. That was how simple their strategy was, but it worked like magic. So now there are only humans and lycans walking on this world." 

"Now, this makes me proud to be human," Roman shouted, and I could only chuckle. He then placed his hand on the left side of his chest and bowed slightly as if he was thanking his mighty ancestor. The rest of the children also followed along.

What I told them was just a half-truth most people had known for a long time. Not all witches were gone. In fact, my father survived the madness of war, which resulted in me entering this world. 

I, Violette Daley, have witch blood flowing in my veins. 

I noticed the wetness at the top of my blonde hair, making me look up to see the beauty of the sky alongside the snow. I inhaled the fresh air, filling my lungs. Then I heard the sound of the children laughing, which added to the beauty of the moment. The kids had stopped caring about me after they noticed snow graced its presence. 

They ran around, throwing snowballs at each other. Looking at their carefree action makes me miss my childhood days. Although my childhood wasn't one filled with beautiful memories, it was still memorable enough to remember for the rest of my life. 

Suddenly, one of the kids threw the snowball in my direction, and before I could dodge it, it landed straight on my face.

"So cold." They laughed when I complained, but I wasn't mad at all. I rubbed my face swiftly, letting the kids play. Then, squatting down, I gathered enough snow on my palm, molded it into a ball, and ran after them randomly. 

"Revenge time!" I screamed and ran from one kid to another without wanting to attack them. I only wanted to join the fun. After all, it had been too long since I played like a kid. 

"No!" 

Their screams highlighted the stillness of the night. They dashed in a different direction, which was useless because I was twice their size. With my big, giant steps, I could easily overtake them. I hefted both hands in the air, changed my walk to be slower but stiff, and acted like a monster. 

The snowball was long gone from my hand, making me use another trick. So when I caught Roman in my arms, I started to tickle him on his stomach. 

"I surrender, no more, please, hahaha." Roman laughed out loud, tears starting to fall from the corner of his eyes. "Ms. Daley, stop it, please. I lose!" Roman pleaded in the middle of his crazy laugh, but I ignored him.

"Ms. Daley."

My back turned stiff as my motion came to a complete halt. I knew who that voice belonged to. From how she said my name so sternly, I knew it was the head village's wife. 

I immediately let Roman go. Fixing my posture and wiping the trace of snow on my upper body and skirt, then I spin around to face her. 

I bowed to her to show my respect, then lifted my eyes to meet with the middle-aged woman. "Mrs. Krester."

Mrs. Krester, as usual, didn't bother to behave politely around me. She blatantly showed her disgust toward me. "It's late. You should go back."

"Thank you for reminding me, Mrs. Krester. Indeed, the sky is darker now." I pointed at the sky, which actually was not as dark as she claimed. The truth, the night was still young. "Then, I shall take my leave." 

From the corner of my eyes, I could see Mr. Krester watching our interaction with great interest. It seemed like Mrs. Krestes locked him in the house again. It wasn't the first time it happened. Mrs. Krester always made sure I was not to be near her husband. And I know very well why she did that.  

Jealousy. 

For the past month, Mr. Krester had shown his interest in me, making his wife wary of me for absolutely no good reason because I don't even give the same response to her husband. 

I don't understand what made her think I want to be Mr. Krester's second wife. 

Mr. Krester was almost thrice my age. The reason for his sudden interest was quite ridiculous to me. Claiming he wanted more children, which his wife couldn't provide him anymore, so he sought younger blood. 

Apparently, he thought that two daughters and three sons were not enough for him. I didn't know what made him so confident about bringing more children into this world when he wasn't wealthy enough to provide support for another head. Not that I want to give him one. 

Before I could spin around, Mrs. Krester's voice stopped my motion again. "Here is your payment for today, and from tomorrow onward, you don't have to come again, Ms. Daley."

My brow arched as I looked at her, "Did I make a mistake?" 

"Of course, no. I just think that there is no improvement in my kids' studies. They don't remember everything you teach except the little tale you keep telling them after the season ends." 

Just say you are jealous because your husband keeps peeping at me while teaching your children. That was the answer I wanted to give, but I swallowed the words back. 

What Mrs. Krester said was the foolest lie someone could utter. I had been working for them for less than two months, and I could see her children's significant progress. The children finally could read, although only a few simple passages. But that was a massive improvement on their part. 

"These days, your kids can read a few lines from the book, Mrs. Krester. If you don't mind, please elaborate on which area you think they lacked so I can improve my teaching method."

I noticed she balled her fists hard when I acted calmly and confidently despite losing my primary source of money. Mrs. Krester then tightened the cloak around her body and opened her mouth. "I believe you are a smart woman, Ms. Daley. So you must know why I made this unfortunate decision. You don't want me to spell it for you, do you?"

Of course. I was right. Woman and their envious tendency for no reason still made me baffled. "Very well, then. Thank you for being honest."

After that, I shifted to look at the kids behind Mrs. Krester. I would definitely miss them dearly, but now it was over. So, I turn my back on them. As I walked farther, I could hear a faint scream from them arguing, so I concluded that the couple didn't have an agreement to fire me. 

I didn't care anymore. I will look for another job again tomorrow. So many kids needed to be taught in this village. Sure, it wouldn't be hard, right?

I left my house to pick herbal in the forest the following day. While on my way, I met Brian Harris, the man working in the rice field near my small home. He offered me a ride in his humble carriage. Still, I had to refuse because it was inappropriate for us to ride alone. 

I didn't want to hear another whisper of people claiming I was whoring around in the village. All my life, I never dared to think about that kind of shameful act, let alone act on it. The truth, this village was the first place I dressed as a woman after so long. 

Since my mother went missing nine years ago, I started dressing as a man whenever I went because it was safer that way. So instead of getting molested, I often get beaten. 

I braved myself to dress as a woman again because I would turn nineteen this year, which I thought was old and mature enough to protect myself. 

I might have the witch blood in me; sadly, I could only use a simple spell. No one could teach me after my father was dead. Maybe if someone were to teach me, I might be able to be a strong witch. 

My dear father died tragically when I was still a baby because humans discovered his identity as a witch. While my mother suddenly disappeared out of nowhere when I was ten. Until now, I had never heard of her. I had been desperately moving from one village to another to look for her, but everything was fruitless. 

I wasn't ready to give up, so I moved to this village. I hadn't met all the people, but until now, I found no one resembling her features. 

"Violette, are you going to the forest?" 

My head jerked to Mrs. Davis; the old woman worriedly looked at me.

"Yes. Is something wrong, Mrs. Davis?"

"I just returned from the village's hall a while ago, and someone put a warning notice on the wall saying that a witch is living among us." Mrs. Davis shivered in fear. "There is a witch in this age. Can you believe it? That sinful creature should have been dead, but we have one hiding here."

Upon hearing Mrs. Davis' words, I felt my breath stuck in my throat. 

I was founded. Someone was able to notice that there was something different from me. 

My eyes fell to my hands, looking at my skin color. It was still pale. No greens at all. So how could someone identify me?

"Mrs. Davis, do you know when the notice was put on the wall?" I asked carefully. 

"It should be early this morning because the paper is still in good condition." Mrs. Davis' fingers stayed on her temple as she tried to recall the appearance of the paper.

"Thank you for telling me. I'm going to see the announcement first." I said, then dashed toward the village's hall in a hurry.

When I arrived, numerous heads surrounded the big wall in the hall as they hurried to read the urgent warning. They gasped collectively, and I could hear my heart drumming fast.

I forced my petite body between them and reached right in front of the wall. The paper had turned dirty quickly, meaning half of the people in the village probably had read it. 

BEWARE OF THE ATTACK OF THE WITCH. 

THE WITCH HAS BEEN LIVING WITH US FOR A WHILE, DISGUISING AS A HUMAN AND LURING US TO BE USED AS A SACRIFICE TO STRENGTHEN THEIR POWER. IF YOU SUSPECT SOMEONE, PLEASE DO TELL THE HEAD VILLAGE SO WE CAN START TAKING ACTION BEFORE ONE OF US STARTS LOSING OUR LIFE.

Below the announcement was the list of strange occurrences for the past three months, which included the shooting stars. Everything that was mentioned was a natural cause, not because of a witch. 

I wanted to scream. I never did any sacrificial ritual or wanted to increase my power. 

"Don't you think we should suspect new people who recently moved to the village?" 

"You're right. The last time we had this problem was before the war ended, but a witch suddenly popped out of nowhere. So the witch must be new to the village."

"We should start looking at the list of newcomers in the village."

My gaze landed on a group of women gossiping. Among them were Mrs. Krester and a young woman who harbored deep hatred toward me—Mia Harriet, the woman who was supposed to marry Brian. Perfect, just perfect. Two women in love ganged to lead people into believing their claim. 

I know for sure that I have to move before they can find out about me.

I made my way out hastily without looking back once. My goal for today was clear. 

As I arrived home, I began packing my most valuable possessions. I placed several bottles of potions on my back and changed my clothes to ones I used to wear when I dressed as a man. Finally, I combed my long blonde hair and hid it under my father's black hat. 

"Violette Daley, we demand you to surrender!"

Suddenly I heard a loud voice from the outside, followed by a crowd of cheers. I peeked over from my small windows and saw Mrs. Krester and her husband leading the villagers. 

"Why are they so fast? It's not even an hour yet." I grumbled and noticed each of them had a torch in both hands. 

"Witch Violette Daley, come out before we barge to your house!" Mrs. Krester shouted with a sinister grin on her face. 

I didn't know how long Mrs. Krester had planned to trap me like this, but that woman's plan worked like magic. I don't even think she knew her accusation of me was true. I believe Mrs. Krester's goal was to make me flee from the village and out of her life. 

"VIOLETTE DALEY, COME OUT NOW!" 

I ignored their shout as I escaped through the back door. I looked over my shoulder and cursed how despicable human behavior was. Then, ran toward the direction of the forest without an ounce of hesitation. 

One of the villagers might be able to see me moving because a second after, I could hear them shout, "She is running away. She is a witch. Violette Daley is a witch."

They went mad and began chasing after me while chanting 'burn her' multiple times. 

My steps, however, never faltered. It only grew faster due to my desperation. I had to get away if I still wished to see another sunrise. 

"Stop running, Violette!"

My feet pounded the dirt path; my hair was freed from the hat. I gasped as I ran past towering trees and could hear the other villagers' feet hitting the ground somewhere behind me. Sweat beaded on my forehead, and my lungs burned as I pushed forward. 

I skidded to a sudden stop when I saw the stone pathway winding through the thick forest to a giant wrought-iron gate. 

"LYCAN'S TERRITORY." 

I gulped. The other side of this forest was the land of beasts. A dangerous beast I only encountered in tales and books. I took a hesitant step; my heart wanted to leap out of its place as I thought about the probability of dying at the hands of the beast. 

"You have no place to go now. Surrender, witch!" The villagers arrived, their breath laboring as they delivered their sentences. They smiled triumphantly, thinking I wouldn't dare to cross the gate. 

I hardened my heart. There were many possibilities in this whole universe. If I were to die in the unfamiliar land, so be it. At least I should try to save myself first from these despicable humans.

I spun around, facing many familiar faces who used to greet me warmly and now turned to hunt me down. I could only smile bitterly. 

"From now, I curse this village with endless drought. No rain shall fall in this land." I knew my tone had changed to dangerous as I muttered the curse. Terror flashed in their eyes as they watched me step my foot past the gate. 

"May all of you have a painful death." 

Then my body vanished.