Author's note; I could not resist uploading this story. I have a lot of ideas for stories which are patiently waiting to be written properly on the PC and I decided to post this one which was created during this week. But I couldn't help myself I'm totally addicted to it. I always to write a fantasy story like that and now I'm full of ideas for this one.

Disclaimer; I do not own please.

Please enjoy the first chapter of 'Heartbeat'!!!

For your convinience;

Velonica the city and kingdom of witches.

Uverworld, known as the outer too, the rest of the kingdoms excluding Velonica.

Asterisk capital of Oz kingdom

Aqua Timez capital of Falis

Serrahield and Endra-La cities of Falis.

Heartbeat

Heartbeat 1: A witch with a heartbeat

One another beautiful day has arrived in Serrafield. The sky had its wonderful blue color without any threatening gray cloud on it to make its habitants fear it may rain that day. The milkman had passed from all the houses of the town early in the morning. The paperboy was strolling around shouting the news trying to attempt the passengers to buy a newspaper. The daily trains were passing one by one and the train from the capital Aqua timez had its usual five minutes delay. At the main street of the city all vendors had already set their stalls long ago and they were blazing about their goods waiting their usual customers.

Nothing seemed that could disturb the phenomenal everlasting peace of Serrafield. Everyday passed exactly like the previous one without any changes or troubles. Yet that certain day there was someone in Serrafield who could cause unimaginable trouble. That person was just getting out of a tea-selling shop thanking the girl in the bench holding in her hands a small packet. She was a small short girl with black hair like the ebony and warm smiling eyes with the same color as chocolate, skin at the color of snow and cheeks red as blood. The girl turned her attention from the shop she had just exited and her eyes got fixed in a vendor's stall with red juicy apples. She approached the stall and she started examine them thinking they would make a good marmalade.

At the same time a big gang of mysterious guys dressed in black carrying swords, axes and war clubs exited from a dirty bar in a dark, dirty and filthy alley. They were laughing since they had succeeded in arranging a big job. Merry as they were they abandoned the dirty alley and step their foot on the main street of the town laughing and kicking stalls of unlucky vendors. A few minutes later one of them noticed the young girl who was buying apples and cried out.

"Boss isn't that the bloody witch we caught in Endra- La and the nobles would pay a fortune to have her but she managed to escape?" A tall guy with a body full of tattoos and scars turned his head to look at the girl his surbodinate had spotted. As soon as his eyes met her figure he exhaled like a steam engine and hissed.

"She is the one! A witch rumored to have a heartbeat. A faint one but a heartbeat none the less… Catch her boys!!" he commanded and his fellow who cheered in unison.

The girl had just finished her purchase when she heard exited screams coming towards her direction. She quickly turned her head and saw a group of stalwart tall aggressive men who curried several deadly weapons and ropes that sealed magic. In a blink of eye she was running as fast as she could holding tightly her shopping in her embrace. She was used to this situation so she didn't lose time thinking if they were after her or someone else. They had to be after her, not to mention that they were somewhat familiar.

The girl ran as fast as she could without looking behind her. She knew she was followed because she heard racket behind her. She couldn't use magic to escape them and even though she had a broomstick with her it was in her back in along with her keepsake stuff her great-grand-grand-grand-grand-grand-grand-?-mother had left her but she couldn't use and reach any of them because she had to drop all her packages in her hands in order to do so and she couldn't leave behind the book she had come to collect. It was absolutely precious. So she kept running and heading out of the town hoping that a representative of the law would stop her. If that didn't happen she planned to confront them outside the town. There was also the possibility of being caught but she could simply escape them then. She didn't need magic to do that.

The only thing worrying her was if that entire running would cause her heart to beat more than usual and then she would get a heart attack. Another experience like that was unwelcome. Witch hunters once caught her because she had collapsed in the middle of the road. But the situation was different then. She was in the center of Asterisk then, with tons of other people around her and she had to run a day in order to get out of the city. She couldn't afford use magic then too, the town's people would capture and killed her themselves.

The girl risked looking what was happening behind her back and saw that her pursuers were approaching her. She made a strange noise, which was expressing her fretting. But since she wasn't paying attention in front of her she accidentally bumped into someone. The one she had bumped into extended a hand and prevented her from falling in the ground. She looked at him surprised muttering her apologies. The young man she had crushed was short with white spiky hair and aquamarine eyes, which stayed at her for a moment and then fixed on the girl's pursuers while he didn't release her from his grip. The witch hunters soon reached them and stopped a few meters around them without showing any signs of fatigue. They were smiling self-contentedly thinking that they had finally cornered their victim and that they had gained an inestimable prize.

The young girl tried to break free from the stranger's grip but in vain, he was holding her with uncharacteristic power for his size. He was shorter than she was. As she started a new attempt to break free he said to her his voice not above a whisper.

"Don't worry I want to help you."

The leader of the hunters made a step forwards and said to the newcomer smiling broadly.

"Thank you for stopping the chick but we're the ones who saw her first so give her to us. But if you're interested we can give you percentage when we sell her to the nobles. She's a unique witch and a lot of rich guys would pay a lot to have her in their collection. What do you say? Seems fair to me." As he said those last words the black-haired girl felt the temperature drop and the boy asked.

"You intend to sell her?"

"That's right boya. I already told ya some guy's gonna pay a lot of money for her." Replied the boss winking at his comrades who laughed contented.

"You intend to sell her even though slave trade is illegal in this kingdom?" he asked again with his calm hoarse voice.

"Hey boy relax. Who's gonna stop us? The baby prince?" replied the man with a grin spreading in his face. The boy's aquamarine eyes narrowed in a dangerous way. He moved the girl behind him, told her not to move and with his right hand he grabbed a long katana with a four-pointed star shaped hilt and pointed it at the gang who seemed to live up. Their leader told him mockingly.

"Do you want to play boya? I'm afraid we're no nannies. The game with us can cause you a lot of pain."

The white-haired boy didn't pay attention to his words and the temperature dropped more. The girl trembled and tightened her arms around her watching the sky turn gray and get full of thick gray clouds. Then her eyes got fixed on the sword he was holding. He didn't lose any time and attached.

Despite his appearance he was an excellent fighter. He dealt with the gang members with ease and soon he knocked some of them out cold. Then he turned his attention to the weapons they were carrying. When he had broke those which could break he played his big card. He made a step back and said loud and clear.

"Shoten ni zase Hyourinmaru!" immediately water and ice appeared out of nowhere and formed a giant ice dragon who he trough to those who still fought him and got trapped into an ice prison. The few who were lucky to be standing away lost their color and ran for dear life.

Contented by the result of the battle he seethed back his katana and his attention back to the girl as the sky turn back to its normal blue color. As he had thought she didn't look surprised at the least, she only looked a bit cautious. She actually seemed like thinking whether she should start running again so he said.

"Do you want me to escort you out of the town?"

"Ok but to your information I won't hold back out of the city if something or someone threats me." She replied with a warning tone in her voice.

"By the way what's gonna happen to them?" she asked pointing at the ice prisoners.

He without even looking replied.

"The police will take care of them. Why didn't you use magic to get rid of them, they said you are a witch aren't you?"

"Yes, I am indeed a witch but the use of magic is not allowed in this city. There's a big sign which says so at the entrance of the city." The boy looked at her surprised but let it go. He motioned to her to walk and she did so. As they were walking she said to him.

"Thank you for saving me I'm Hinamori Momo."

"The name is Hitsugaya Toushirou and it was nothing. I can't stand guys like that… You don't seem very shaken or shocked." He commented as he saw she was totally carefree and she was spacing.

"Hm? Oh that staff happens all the time to me. I'm used to it."

"You don't care if people see you only as an object in order to make money? That you're not being considered human?" he asked troubled.

"Most people in Uverworld don't think that witches are human." She replied as if he was the strange and weird one for making those kind of questions.

Hitsugaya examined her more closely. She was a little bit taller than he was. She had black hair like the ebony, which reached her shoulders and were tied with a dark red ribbon. She was wearing a yukata. The upper part of it had the color of the late peach and the end of her long sleeves were decorated with pink peach tree flowers while the rest part was colored with a deep dark red. She had a sack at her back, which was tied in her chest with a long ribbon in the same way his sword was tied. Her eyes were warm and in the color of hazelnut while her skin were white like snow and her cheeks in the color of blood.

He thought she looked like that famous fairy-tale princess Snow-white. Especially since she was carrying a packet with apples and looked so innocent. She didn't remind a witch in the least. He had the chance to meet a lot of them but she didn't have the air of them. She looked totally like a human.

"If witch hunters are after you why you stay in Uverworld and don't move in Velonica were you'll be safe?" he thought out loud.

"But I do live in Velonica!" replied Hinamori cheerfully. "I'm here on busyness."

"What kind of busyness?"

"You don't expect me to tell you, do you? It's classified." she whispered at him. He looked at her with suspicion but she smiled again.

"Don't worry. You have to know that the witches of Velonica desire peace with the kingdoms of Uverworld."

Since they were already outside of the town. Hinamori gave Hitsugaya the packages she was holding for a few moments and she started opening her sack. Inside there were a broomstick and a tall white sculptured stuff with a big stone in the color of the late apple and a jewel, which formed a corona around the stone. The girl took out the broomstick she placed her other two packages inside and rode on the broomstick. Then she turned back at Hitsugaya and said to him.

"Farewell Hitsugaya-kun take care of yourself."

"You are the one who should take care." He replied with a frown. The girl smiled at him again and took off.

He watched her fly away unable to shake off the fear she might fall from her broom. When she was nothing but a black spot in the clear sky he shupponed away. As soon as Hinamori found herself in the air she felt a unique feeling of freedom only witches could feel, since they were the only ones who could use flying broomsticks. When she rode all the problems seemed to fade like the people in the ground. She enjoyed herself playing tag with the wind; she had fun watching the lands expanding kilometers under her feet. She took the air path, which led to Velonica, the witch kingdom, which was founded by Alice. She would make days to reach Velonica if she was following the terrestrial road but in a broom she would reach it in a couple of hours.

The hours passed quickly like they always did when you were riding a broom. Soon two towers appeared between the clouds. They were the control center of arrivals and departures trough the air. They were two breathtaking buildings especially since they were standing in the air themselves. Hinamori landed to the arrivals' runway and show her ID to one witch who was working there. When the check was over Hinamori took off again this time heading to the royal palace. Since she had actually fall from the arrival runway she had had developed too much speed so she was able to see the houses of the city soon. A few meters above the roofs she slightly lifted her broom's edge and it took a horizontal citation. Hinamori lifted another few meters above the roofs and headed forward.

The palace wasn't far from there and it was easy for someone to distinguish it. It was a magnificent building constructed in the gothic rhythm with white marble. It was one of the most ancient landmarks in both Velonica and Uverworld. A big lake with crystal water and magic lights resting on its surface was in front of it. Whenever ambassadors or Kings or any other important nobles come to visit Velonica it was customary to come crossing that lake. It was so big and so beautiful that witches of several generations ago had built a big kiosk where music nights were being held.

Hinamori reached the lake and leaned on her right and tough the clear crystal water with her hand. Then she flew high again towards the western tower, where the palace's arrival and departure runway was spotted. The little witch got off her broomstick; she placed it in its rightful place in her locker and then taking her sack she headed for her private rooms in the palace. Once she got there she placed her packages in a little room which was used as a kitchen she prepared a cup of tea for herself she sat in a comfortable armchair and sip it slowly enjoying the feeling of being back in the ground. The warm tea was what she definitely needed that moment since traveling in the air had the disadvantage of the cold which penetrated your skin and reached your bones if you didn't wear suitable clothes to decrease the side effect.

When she had warm her whole body and had relaxed her muscles Hinamori sat up, reached her pack, opened a special case on it and took out an old worn out book. She carefully took it in her hands and then exited the room. Ten minutes later she reached a big oaken two-flap door. She opened it with a move of her hand and stepped inside. Immediately her eyes spotted a woman taller than her with black hair, violet eyes behind a pair of glasses and an expression that made her look like a teacher. She was wearing a yukata with the same design as hers but with different colors. The upper part was light blue with decorative birds in the sleeves and the trouser part was dark blue. She was sitting behind a big sculptured office full with books, blank papers, stamps, inkhorns and pens placed in absolute order. Behind the office you could see countless bookcases and big square tables with chairs or low tables with armchairs around them. The older witch raised her eyes and once she saw Hinamori her lips formed a smile.

"Hinamori-san you're back!" she said whispering. The girl approached her and showed her the book she was holding.

" 'Potions of Alchemy' volume two. Good now we have the full series of that trilogy. I hope you didn't have any problems in the outer." She asked her worried but always whispering.

" Oh! Just the usual pattern. Some witch hunters recognized me and started chasing me but I bumped into a young man who helped me and got rid of them." Replied the girl with a little excitement in her voice but whispering too.

"Really he helped you knowing that you were a witch?"

"Yes, he did and not only that he asked me why I wasn't upset for they wanted to sell me as an object."

"He did so?… How weird for a human in the outer. Maybe he had a close relative who was a witch. Anyway Hinamori-san you'll have to go in the outer soon again. Our agents tracked a very old history of magic book from the time of the five founders, which is going to be sold in an auction in Aqua Timez."

"Thank you for informing me Nanao-san I'll make sure that book will come to the property of people who recognize its true value."

As she finished her sentence Hinamori took a stack of books from Nanao's office and went to place them in the self they belonged to.

Author's note; That's it for today. I hope you enjoyed and that you'll let me know what you think through reviews.

Till next time. :)