A/N: It's been too long since I've written anything x_x So this'll probably be pretty short. This is pretty... Sketchy, but it's for WillowWhip! Hope you feel better soon!
Disclaimer: Don't own GC~ (I should really get creative with my disclaimers some time o_o)
Oneshot: Witch
Bright yellows and reds lit up the otherwise pitch black walls of the buildings of a village, angry screams filling the air. Flames flickered as people ran by with torches in hordes, destroying wooden doors and bellowing in enraged tones back and forth to one another. Loud, stomping footsteps pounded across the ground, causing a single female to shudder. Stowed away in the closet of a small house near the centre of the chaos, a girl of about fifteen sat whimpering and crying as silently as she could. Her knees were pulled tightly to her chest; her quaking hands balled in fists against the material of her dress. Pressed between the wall of the closet and a rather large tote, the clothes piled all around her concealed her from whatever curious soul would open the closet and muffling her sobs. All these measures of protection, she knew, would total up to nothing in the end. They would sooner burn down every house in the village than let her walk free.
Her body quaked again as another door was crashed open; she could hear them getting closer. The blazing lights from the fires came in through the window and flickered through the slim crack below the door, letting her know when they moved. The fear inside her grew as she finally heard what she had been expecting; the sound of the front door of the house she had chose to hide inside cracking and shattering. It was only a matter of time... She curled into a smaller ball, hoping somehow, just somehow, they would pass by her and give her a chance to escape. A chance to save herself...
Footsteps stormed up the staircase, yells accompanying them. The girl's breathing got more and more ragged as the door to her room was destroyed, and her heart was beating so strongly it was painful. Shadows blocked the bright light filtering in under the door, and a sickening sound of metal on metal reached her ears as an axe was swung at the hinges of the closet door. She let out a near silent moan as it was destroyed, and the lid of the chest next to her was thrown open. The clothes that covered her body were thrown about; Arme could feel only a thin sweater covering her head when, by some mercy, the person turned around.
"Next house!" The horde of people stormed back down the stairs the way they had come to rejoin those on the streets, and the female let out her breath in a shudder. Unable to bring herself to the feeling of safety, she held her head against her knees in foetal position for several more minutes before sitting up. Opening her eyes timidly, her mouth fell open in a silent scream.
One of the soldiers had been left behind in the room; he was staring at her with an angry smirk.
"You thought you could escape us? Did you, witch?" He yelled, stomping over to the closet quickly.
"I FOUND HER!" This yell led to a momentary silence outside as he reached in to grab the arm of the girl, who had pressed her back against the wall of the closet like a frightened animal.
"No, no! Let me go!" She moaned, digging her nails into his hand as she attempted to release herself. The sudden sound of another horde of people coming frightened her further, and she knew any luck she had possessed had run out.
"Why, so you can lurk in the village and curse my pregnant wife? Kidnap children whenever you see fit and practice your accursed craft freely?" The girl shook her head furiously, holding onto the door frame with her right hand as she was yanked to her feet.
"All you are is a witch! Accept your fate!" Shaking, the girl nearly fell to the ground again, though she was held up by the arm that had been captured by the soldier.
"I'm not a witch!" She hiccuped, "I- I'm Arme!" A stinging feeling blossomed in her cheek as she was backhanded violently.
"You're no one!" The violet haired girl whimpered again as the room filled with more screaming people, and Arme's hands were soon bound firmly behind her back with a thick rope. She couldn't find the strength to complain that the rope was cutting into her skin, and she knew they wouldn't care... She was going to die in a few minutes anyway... The thought brought on a more strong bout of tears, and she made another ditch effort at struggling out. This attempt proved fruitless, and soon she was powerless to do anything but cry as she was dragged down the stairs. Her feet dragged along the floor, and her head swung as she looked through the crowd.
"I didn't do anything!" She coughed, "I-" A filthy cloth was tied around her mouth, making the violet haired girl gag.
"Nothing! You killed my sister!" The voice of a man bellowed back.
"You possessed my wife and made her leave me!" Another screamed. I didn't! I didn't do anything! Regardless to her mental protest, the group dragged her out into the streets. At that point, they would have blamed her for anything. M-magic isn't bad! Why am I going to die for it! She could come up with no answer, and instead took to futily searching for her parents in the crowd, though she knew they probably wouldn't be there. Even if they were... They wouldn't do anything. Their chance to help her had long since passed. Shaking as she struggled weakly against her captors, her mind replayed what had happened a mere hour ago.
Arme sat on her bed both hands held out in the air in front of her.
"Come on, come on..." She willed the air in between her hands to combust with all her might, watching the spot intensely.
"Come on, I know I can do this... I know I can." Since the girl had been a child she had found things going her way to often; when the wind blew heavily on the other children and nearly made them freeze it left Arme well alone, and when it rained the water didn't seem to fall nearly as hard down on Arme. Bit by bit she had began exercising her control on those events until she had come to the realization that she could do more than just protect herself from the elements... It wasn't natural, she knew that. She also knew about her home's lack of tolerance for things out of the ordinary, but... Something inside told her that the power she held wasn't bad. It was with this belief that she had began practising day after day doing different things; pushing things across the room with a simple hand gesture, stirring up large ripples in water with a wave of her hand... Nothing big, just things enough to prove to her that there was something there. That particular day, however... Arme had decided to challenge herself to something slightly larger.
First there was a flash-a small spark that warmed the palms of her hands. This made the violet haired girl's heart race in anticipation, and she concentrated even further.
"Come on..." She whispered again. As if by request there was a small crackle in the air, and soon a small ball of flame flickered into life. Arme's eyes widened, and she stared at the flame for a moment before breaking out in a childish, giddy bout of laughter.
"It worked!" Watching the flame mesmerizedly, she could have stared at it forever had a voice not rang up the staircase at that point.
"What are you laughing about up there all on your own, you silly girl? Why don't you come down here and help your mother with dinner instead of spending all of your time pent up in your room like we've grounded you?" Arme blinked, waving her hands hastily and biting her lip when the fire refused to be extinguished.
"Y-Yeah, I'm coming!" She yelled back down, trying to clap out the flame. Pressing her hands down on her bedsheets in an attempt to smother it, she gasped her comforter shot into flames.
"Nn!" Her hand singed, and she pulled it out of the fire as quickly as she could. Almost on impulse she grabbed her pillow, trying to beat out the flame while keeping quiet. At her racing thoughts Arme blinked as both her blanket and her pillow frosted over, and she let out a sigh as the flame extinguished.
"That's gonna be hard to explain..." She murmured to herself, looking back at her bed embarrasedly as she made her way to her door to head downstairs, "... I think I'll need a new comforter." Shrugging, she made her way down the staircase. Her mother was standing in the kitchen and glanced over at her as she entered, blinking at her daughter's frazzled expression.
"Run into a storm in between here and your room?" She asked, causing Arme to roll her eyes and press a hand to her hair to flatten it out.
"Nope, I'm glad to say the weather on the staircase is all clear." She replied, making her way over to the counter. Her mother grabbed her hand quickly, and Arme realized quickly it was her burnt one.
"Arme? What happened to your hand?" The girl shrugged nonchalantly, averting the blue eyed woman's stare.
"I burnt it when I was cooking lunch today." She replied, getting a sceptical stare.
"You burnt your hands making sand witches?" Arme paused, then nodded as an awkward smile crossed her face.
"... Yes?" The elder woman sighed.
"You're hopeless, my daughter..." Ruffling the girl's hair and releasing her hand, Arme's mother turned to the small living room door.
"I suppose you can go back to your room, though. The stove isn't lighting... I'll have to get your father to look at it." Arme blinked, looking at the mentioned appliance. Her hands held behind her back, the violet eyed girl bit the inside of her cheek.
"M-Mom?" The woman turned back to her.
"Yes, Arme?" She responded questioningly. Arme looked down at her feet, taking in a deep breath.
"I... I think I can get the stove working." She blurted out quickly. Her mother tilted her head, looking at Arme skeptically.
"You really think so? Try it, I guess." Arme nodded again, taking a deep breath before stepping closer to the stove. When she was close enough she reached out, hovering her hands next to the element. She avoided her mother's stare as she focused, trying to recall the magic of moments prior. There was a pause before anything happened, and then a quiet fizzle was heard. The next moment a flame burst out of the air, catching onto the stove and lighting the burner. Instead of trying to extinguish the flame in her hands she tried to frost it over, and soon all that was left was a small puddle of water in the palm of her hand and a lit stove.
"It works?" She said, her statement as she turned around slowly to face her mother. She almost immediately wished she hadn't; her mother's face didn't have shock or astonishment on it as she had expected. It had a thick aura of repulsion and fear, the woman's face pulled into a confused, forced smile.
"Arme, sweetie, what did you just do?" The violet haired girl looked away for a moment, knowing there was no way to turn back.
"It's... Magic..." She murmured quietly.
"Arme... What have you done...?" She questioned hoarsely, pulling her hands to her chest. Arme looked back nervously.
"I... Surprise? I know it's not normal... But it's really not bad! We'd never have to buy matches again, or- or pay for heating or-"
"Silence!" She flinched at the loud, hysterical tone her mother used, "No more from you! You... You... Witch! Wait right here, and don't do anything! Your father and I need to decide what to do. There will be no witches in my household!" Arme fell to the ground mutely as her mother left the room, feeling hollow. Was I just... Abandoned? What did I do? Her heart was beating uncomfortably; it felt painful. They wouldn't abandon me, right? It's just... Magic... They wouldn't alienate me just because of that... Arme felt less than certain. Something in the back of her mind was reminding her of what had happened several years previous, when someone else had been accused of being a witch. That... That wouldn't happen to me. My parents wouldn't let them do that. There was the quiet ring of a phone several minutes later, and Arme forced herself to her feet when she heard a commotion begin to boil outside. Looking at the window, she knew then that she had to get out before it was too late. After climbing onto the counter and sliding open the window quietly, she slipped out and closed it behind herself.
Once outside, she promptly sat down and pressed her back against the wall. Am I overreacting? She's been... More... Mad... Thinking back, Arme honestly couldn't say she had seen her mother more angry. This wasn't comforting, even less so when moments later her neighbour stormed past her, a torch held in his hand and an angry expression on his face. Once he passed Arme knew she had to hide; that or get out of the village. The girl looked around, and an open window to a nearby house caught her eye.
Arme breathed heavily, the crowd seeming to bog her down, and her tears began falling more rapidly. All of these years... And they just gave me up like that. Arme knew she shouldn't have been surprised; The near zero tolerance for anything out of the ordinary on her village was a bit of a giveaway. But still... They're my parents... I trusted them. Another part of her felt as though maybe her parents had taken the right action, but she refused to allow herself to give in to it. Looking up, Arme's breath hitched in her throat.
In the centre of the village where the fire pit was a large, wooden pole had been erected. Several angry people stood nearby with long lengths of rope, looking at her with contempt. She couldn't place their faces, though she knew without a doubt she had seen them before. She had hardly though that the next time she would see them she would be about to die, though.
Die. The word frightened her, and she pushed away the part of her that said it was for the best again. Come on... Magic got me into this, isn't there any way for it to save me? It would have been ideal, had she actually known enough magic to save her... I don't know enough... I hardly know enough to be in trouble for it. She was, she knew, in much more than just trouble. As her arms were hefted up and the length of rope was spiralled around her wrists, she realized most of her had given up. What is one expected to do in this situation? Her heart racing and her tears still falling, Arme tried to come to terms with the world crashing around her. When she was firmly secured to the pole with no way of escape a torch carrier began pushing his way through the crowd, and Arme felt herself begin to panic. Fear billowed up in her stomach as he got closer, and she felt the need to voice one last protest. If my own parents wouldn't listen to me... Why would they? Sighing, the girl let her head fall down to her chest. She then heard something she hadn't expected to- A last grace.
"Have anything to say before you die, witch?" Arme's eyes widened, and her mouth dropped open.
"I..." She swallowed hard, keeping her eyes trained on the flame bearer as though watching him would prevent him from lighting the logs that were being steadily piled at her feet. Taking a breath, she started again, trying to stop herself from sounding hysterical.
"I didn't do anything..." She murmured weakly, "I..." The leader looked at her and let out a ridiculing snort.
"Is that all, witch? Protests to save your meagre life?" Arme looked back at him, and her panic began building.
"No! I didn't do anything! I don't deserve to die! Mom, Dad, where are you?" She burst, choking on a sob, "I don't want to die!" The man looked back unsympathetically.
"I see that's all. We'll cleanse you in the flames, so that your parents can have back their child in death. The child they had before she was possessed by witchery." Arme shook her head, her short violet strands of hair swaying and hitting her eyes uncomfortably.
"I'm not dead! I don't want to die!" The person speaking to her closed his eyes.
"To us, you are already dead." With this last statement he gestured forth the torch bearer, who seemed all to eager to do his job. Within seconds the logs underneath her had been lit, and Arme could feel her feet warm up. This can't be so bad...
Then, something exploded. It was in that instant that the blazing hot embers on the log jumped up and danced across her skin, the fire blazing up so suddenly she had no chance to adjust to the sudden, agonizing pain. A scream ripped out of her throat, nearly lost in the loud chanting of the villagers. This was followed by another scream, and another. The villagers paid no heed, and Arme had no control over her voice. Stop! Please! Stop! I can't- Her mind had all but exploded in terror- Screaming at her to find a way out. Raw instinct had taken over her, but even her thrashing and pulling did nothing to the rope. She remained trapped against the pole, flames licking at her flesh, as they would until there was nothing left to sear into.
Arme wasn't certain what exactly happened in the moment. Though she had been in the fire mere seconds she could have sworn she had been trapped forever, and pain was searing through her limbs. The rope holding her loosened quite suddenly, and she couldn't quite comprehend why she was falling. Her arms waved around wildly as she remembered the fire and scorching logs below her, but her body never made contact with them. Instead she felt an arm around her waist, and her body was soon supported by what felt to be someone else. She didn't dare open her eyes for some fear that she was still in the fire, but her hands, with the severed rope around them, held tightly to the body of whatever had taken her from the flames.
"Wh- Who are you?" A voice of a villager screamed fearfully. There was no response.
"I-It must be a demon! The witch summoned a demon!" Another yelled. The wrist around Arme tightened, and for just a moment she felt secure enough to open her eyes. Violet eyes flitted upwards, and she did indeed find herself held against a person much taller than her. A dark brown cloak concealed him, half covering her due to the arm wrapped around her. This allowed her a small glimpse of the dark blue outfit he wore underneath, with gold trimming it. Though a hood shaded his face she could see a few strands of hair, dyed red with the glow of the fire.
Sapphire eyes flickering with hues of yellow and red from the flame glance down at her for a second before her saviour looked back up, and she stumbled forward as he took a step back.
"What do you think you're doing?" The boy ignored the voice once again, and he used his other arm to lift Arme's feet up from the ground before muttering something inaudible under his breath. A gasp of surprise came from the crowd, and Arme looked out at them. They were searching the area frantically, eyes wide.
"Where did they go? We can't let them escape!" A voice cried desperately, much to Arme's confusion.
"W... Wha..."
"Don't speak." A hushed voice commanded. It was much less harsh than the voices of the yelling crowd, and it brought her attention back up to the face of the hooded person. She stared for a moment, hoping he would give some sort of confirmation that he had in fact issued the order. No such confirmation was given, however, and Arme was left in the dark as the person turned around and began to run. Something hit her side lightly, and the violet haired girl was surprised to see a sword held in the figure's other hand. He seemed to have no intent of using it on her, and at the moment Arme couldn't bring herself to feel afraid of the person. Her legs and arms were screaming out in protest to the cloak as it brushed against her skin, making her wince.
The next time she could remember being aware of her surroundings they had made it out of the village, near the outskirts Arme could remember playing in as a child. The person carrying her seemed to recognize the safety of the area; he had finally slowed his pace, and he soon stopped. Kneeling down, he set her on the damp grass and stood up to glance back at the village. Arme's eyes stayed on him, and she stared in almost awe as he glanced back at her.
"You... Can I speak now?" She asked uncertainly. The boy nodded, and Arme took several deep breaths. Her body hadn't adjusted to her situation, though she could feel herself shaking badly. After another moment of looking at her the boy undid the tie at the front of his cloak, and the thick woollen piece of cloth soon found its way around her shoulders. This allowed her to see his hair, and she blinked at the silvery white colouring. Having placed a back pack on the ground, he sifted through it while looking at her through the corner of his eyes. His sword had been sheathed, and it lay on the ground next to his bag.
"Th... Thank you." She finally stuttered shakily. She looked down at the ground after she let the words out, feeling stupid. He saved my life, I owe him a bit more than a thank you. She couldn't tell what the sapphire eyed boy though of her response; he simply nodded and continued searching through the contents of the bag. When she realized she could think of nothing else to say to him Arme looked down at her legs and arms, biting her lip to hold back a gasp of shock.
The skin had been burnt to a ugly red hue, the colour darker in some areas than others. This even led to a yellow in some areas, where she noticed nauseously that the skin had been burnt entirely through. She didn't know whether to feel grateful for the areas or not; in them she had gone completely numb. Her arms had gotten the least of the flame; they had simply been licked by the heat to a tender pink. My parents... They let this happen to me. That thought alone was enough to make her feel like crying, but she instead bottled up the emotion and looked back up at the boy. He seemed to be her own age, if not slightly older. He was holding a small white pack in his hands and two large glass vials in the other, and looking down at her quietly.
"I'm going to look at your injuries, all right?" He stated upon the realization that Arme herself wasn't going to speak. The female nodded numbly, watching as he knelt down next to her with the medical supplies. After opening the white pack she soon recognized as a first aid kit, he handed her the first of the beakers. It appeared to be filled with a bloody red liquid, and it made Arme's stomach churn. She simply held it while observing the boy until he looked back at her, glancing at the bottle in her hand.
"Drink that." Arme nodded, but didn't actually make a move towards the bottle until the boy redirected his focus to her wounds.
"... What's your name?" She questioned after a moment. The silver haired boy didn't answer immediately, and Arme gasped as a cool cream was rubbed against her leg. He was watching her again, an unreadable expression on his face.
"What's your—" Arme stopped mid-sentence as a deeper part of her injury was touched, and she let out a quiet whimper. The boy looked away, glancing at the village.
"I'm Lass." He finally responded, so quietly Arme almost missed it. Though he didn't give anything away in his voice Arme had a feeling her pain was making him more upset than he was showing, and she tried to pull a weak smile onto her face.
"I'm Arme." She replied, trying to keep her voice from hitching. "And... Thank you for saving me." She repeated. The silver haired boy nodded again, removing a coil of gauze from the pack and staring at her.
"It's a potion, it'll help." After a moment she realized he was talking about the vial, and she looked at it once more before deciding to trust the liquid inside. After several unsuccessful attempts at opening the bottle lithe hands snatched it from her, pulling out the cork with ease and passing it back to her shaking ones. There was another silence between the two as Arme tipped the container to her lips, coughing as the liquid entered her mouth.
"It tastes a bit foul." He added a moment later. Arme sighed and nodded, letting out a sigh. She would have stopped drinking the liquid at that moment had she not immediately began feeling the effects, but as it was the magician was beginning to feel the burning in her legs fade to an ache. Pausing as she looked at the rest of the vial, Arme looked back at Lass. He was putting away the medical kit and looking at the town with a blank expression on his face.
"... Why did you save me?" The amethyst eyed girl asked when they had lapsed into silence for several minutes, "I was in the middle of a live fire, and you don't know me, Unless... Am I just forgetting something here?" She asked concernedly. The boy shook his head, picking up the other vial and walking over to place it next to her. Speaking didn't seem to be something he was all that fond of; Arme could almost see him trying to think of a way to summarize his reasoning in the fewest words possible.
"You're not forgetting anything, but you would have died if I hadn't stepped in." Arme winced, pulling her knees up to her chest.
"I... I know. And I'm grateful that you did, I really am, but... Why?" The silver haired boy didn't meet her gaze.
"Because they were going to kill you for something that wasn't your fault." His voice faded off as he spoke, and Arme almost got the feeling he wanted to say more. She decided not to ask, taking another sip of the large red potion. For the first time since she had left the village Arme dared a glance back, and for a moment she felt sick. The lights of the centre village fire was still burning brightly, and one was listening for them yells were prominent in the quiet night air. She idly wondered if her parents were also a part of the screaming crowd, or if they were perhaps at home, regretting what they'd done. Deep inside, she doubted they did. The lights made her feel uncomfortable, and she wished silently that Lass was sitting slightly closer.
Tearing her eyes away from the town, her eyes once again fell on the silver haired boy. He was observing her closely, his gaze not wavering even when it caught hers.
"Lass?" His name sounded odd. Not bad, She decided, but different. The silver haired boy inclined his head ever so slightly to show he was listening.
"Is... Is being able to use magic a bad thing?" She asked after a moment, almost afraid of his answer. The boy seemed shocked that she had asked, and he blinked slowly.
"No, most are good. There's one magician, though-" His face clouded into another expression- The most Arme could make out was that it was negative, "You don't need to know her. You didn't do anything wrong... From the looks of it, you aren't even a very enhanced magician yet." Arme looked at the empty potion bottle in her hands, and sighed as he replaced it with the full one.
"It will help." He uncorked the second bottle for her as well upon abruptly remembering her previous failure, and the girl smiled back gratefully. I almost died, and my parents don't care. They probably wanted me to die. This realization took it's toll on her nearly immediately, and Arme's shaking fingers found themselves unable to grasp the smooth sides of the glass container. Before it could fall to the ground a pale hand snatched it from the air, and Lass looked at the beaker for a moment before glancing back at her.
"Here." With that he held the potion up to her lips, tilting it ever so slightly. When she appeared to have had enough he pulled it away, giving her time to swallow the terrible tasting liquid. Arme's vision had begun clouding up, and she knew without checking that her tears were beginning to build.
"Why... Why did they do that?" She asked ever so quietly. She made no further attempts to clarify herself, and Lass didn't ask.
"It was... So painful. I was scared... And I was going to die... And they didn't do anything." Her hands fell to her sides, and she was surprised to feel one land on Lass'. The boy jolted at the contact, and she was almost certain if she hadn't seemed so distressed at the moment he would have pulled away immediately. She realized their touching must have made the silver haired boy uncomfortable, but at that point she couldn't find it in her to pull away. Instead her grip tightened, and Arme found herself curling against him. His body warmth was comforting, and only served to fuel her tears.
"F-Fifteen years..." She whimpered, "Fifteen years of living together... I loved them... But they just... Why did I have to show them?" She wasn't certain who she was mad at by that time; herself, her parents, the villagers... She even found a small portion of herself wanting to blame Lass for caring for her more over all of the five minutes he had known her than her parents had done overall in fifteen years. Understanding how ridiculous it was made her want to cry even more, and her grip on Lass' hand tightened. Her other hand had managed to furl against the fabric of Lass' shirt, and she made no attempts to remove it.
"I'm sorry..." The magician's head was spinning, and she tried to hold onto the silver haired boy to stabilize herself. Only when he set down the potion and pressed a hand lightly on her back could Arme feel any form of balance, and she could feel her eyes getting heavy. This isn't happening... This morning I woke up in my bed and now I'm falling asleep on some stranger who saved me from the people who raised me trying to set me on fire. This'll... All... Be gone... In the morning. It had to be. As she thought this, though, her eyes cracked open slightly. To look up at the hazy outline of Lass.
But... Even if I am asleep... Thank you. She pressed her head against him closely as her tears died out, letting out a sleepy, exhausted sigh. Looking at her situation Arme would have thought she would feel safe again, but she couldn't deny that at that moment, hiding from the rest of the world with someone she felt would protect her, she felt as though nothing could hurt her. The last thing she heard before the world turned black brought the slightest hint of a smile to her cheeks; a single word, spoken almost experimentally.
"Arme."
Her name sounded odd when he spoke it. But...
The lilac haired girl decided ever so hazily that she liked how it sounded.
A/N: This story has no plot or anything, but I hope you enjoyed it! This is also sort of to tell you guys that the poll for my next chaptered story is up, please check my profile and vote!
-Utsuro