The Witch's Apprentice
This started out with me being bored. I started writing some random crap in Jill's PoV. I didn't know why, but I just felt like writing something for Harvest Moon. Somehow, I got the idea of turning Jill into a witch, and... well... here we are. :3
I'm not sure if I'll actually make this a yuri story. I probably will, though. The Witch Princess is my favorite Harvest Moon bachelorette of all time! I love her so much! Oh, and... there's a possibility I'll change the rating from T to M. There's also a very likely chance that I'll never update this again, so if you like what you see here, you'd better review.
If I get at least 5 reviews, I might consider keeping this story up. Not too hard, right? My Vocaloid story 'The Girl in the Ward' gets around 18 reviews per chapter, my record being about 25. 5 should be easy enough, right?
Anyway... onwards, dear readers!
Chapter 1 - Prologue
Jill sighed.
It was extremely hot for an autumn day, and she'd only made things worse by working. It was so incredibly relaxing to just sit on the cool grass, her bare feet dangling in the water of her pond.
A cool breeze blew through the air, and she sighed once more, enjoying the feeling.
If she were on private property, Jill would simply undress right now, and lie naked in the grass.
Unfortunately, though, Takakura could step out of his house at any moment, plus, Cat was already staring at her funny.
As for Dog... she had no idea where he was.
Yes, yes, she'd named her cat 'Cat', and her dog 'Dog'. Very original. Jill preferred to call her choice of names 'simple'.
Jill pulled her feet out of the cold water, and began putting her socks back on.
Even if it was hot out, she still had things to do.
She'd already fed her chickens (Cluck, and Lunch), along with her duck (Chinese Turkey), and her lonely cow (Burger).
What she really wanted now was a sheep... she could name him Vegetarian, or Fatso.
She smiled to herself. She was just so talented when it came to picking out names for her animals~!
Rock often joked that she'd probably name her first child (if she ever even had one) 'Kid'. As a comeback, she'd always tell him he'd probably name his own offspring 'Rock Jr', which wasn't much better.
But, whatever. Sheep could wait 'til later.
Once she had her boots on properly, Jill set out towards the town.
Or if the place could really be called a town...
Forget-Me-Not Valley wasn't even much of a valley. One minute, you'd be in it, then blink once, and you'd be in Mineral Town.
It was basically just a single stone paved street ranging horizontally, a few houses acting as decorations beside.
Then, continue south, you'd find a few more tiny houses, and a beach.
Go east, and you'd reach the beautiful Villa.
Go west, you'd find a small farm.
Go north, and you'd fine something that was supposed to resemble another farm, but that was really just a pile of sticks, stones, and those darned stubborn weeds. Oh, and the occasional plant here and there.
Jill didn't like farming. In fact, she absolutely detested farming. All she'd wanted was to get away from the city.
No, not because of the beautiful scenery, or the peaceful atmosphere, but rather because she had a huge debt over her head in the city, and should she again ignore the demands for payment, would be arrested.
So, she'd moved to a place far away, in the middle of nowhere, where she'd live on some old rundown farm and sleep her whole life without needing to worry about one rent letter.
WRONG.
Apparently, even a place this shitty came with a cost.
It was 1000 G per season to live in the old shack.
And the villagers were expecting her to actually work.
'Maybe I'll just marry Marlin, or something, and he can do all the work on his own...' A very happy thought, though very unlikely.
She hated planting seeds. She hated watering crops. She hated pulling out weeds. She didn't really like animals. She never remembered to feed them (excluding today). She always seemed to get them angry.
Plus, with all these sprites appearing from nowhere... it was enough to drive her crazy.
Without realizing, she'd walked all the way over to the magnificent Villa.
She walked in (no one ever knocked here).
Lumina sat at the piano (wasn't she with Takakura 10 minutes ago? How had she appeared here so quickly?), with Rock sitting quite closely beside her.
Jill raised a brow, as Lumina giggled, replacing Rock's fingers on the correct notes, and pressing down on his hands to get the keys to emit a sound.
Jill quietly backed out of the room. She wouldn't be the one to ruin Lumina's little romance- no matter how tempting.
Instead, she decided to make her way towards the Goddess Spring.
Jill quite liked the Harvest Goddess. She was a beautiful woman, yes, but very... un-ladylike, at times.
The Harvest Goddess was sarcastic, blunt, and annoying- qualities you wouldn't normally expect from one with a Godly title.
However, she listened when Jill bitched and moaned about farming life, and often did the same about her own divine life.
The Harvest Goddess also knew the best gossip; after all, Gods' eyes see all.
Jill rounded the bend, but stopped short when she saw a figure furiously throwing stones into the pond water.
"Damn- green- lady!" The Witch Princess angrily clipped the words, as another stone was violently thrown into the water's surface. "Why- won't- you- just- come out?!"
"Maybe because she doesn't like you." Jill spoke up. "Ever thought about that?"
The Witch Princess whipped around, and glared at her. "Of course I know that, you stupid human."
"Then why are you here? You're just being a nuisance."
The Witch smirked bitterly. "Watch your mouth, kid. Right now, you're the one being a nuisance. I just want to try out a new spell..."
"It won't work."
"What?"
"I said it won't work."
The Witch Princess narrowed her eyes. "Why not?"
Jill glared at the curly blond. If there was one person she hated in Forget-Me-Not, it was this arrogant, hateful woman.
The Witch.
"There's always something that goes wrong; your spells never work!" Jill said through grit teeth. "It's pathetic! You've spent, like, 200 years studying this stuff, and you can't even get a single spell right!"
One of the main reasons for Jill's hatred was that the Witch Princess was a sadistic bitch. She enjoyed magically growing extra weeds in Jill's field, just so she could laugh while Jill tiredly tried to pull it out.
And if Jill gave up, she'd taunt her with insults, such as, "See? A stupid city girl can't take care of a farm! What are you going to go do now, move back and go on a big shopping spree to release all your inner angst?"
Jill wanted to kill her. She often tried to throw rocks at her, but that damn witch had a reflective spell. Damn stupid bitch.
Jill sneered at her. "I guess it's no wonder you're always here; you're probably trying to somehow steal the Goddess's powers, to replace the ones you don't have."
By now, the Witch was fuming. Jill knew her powers were a sore spot; in the supernatural world, powers gave you… well, power. The more powerful your supernatural abilities are, the higher up your rank is. Which left the Witch Princess at a somewhat low ranking.
She stomped up until the two women were so close, their faces were almost touching.
"What gives you the right to talk to me like that? I am THE Witch Princess! I could turn you to stone if I wanted!"
"Pfft." Jill shrugged. "I'm not scared of you. You apparently turned the Goddess into stone by accident. Key word: ACCIDENT. That was 5 years ago too, wasn't it? I wasn't there then, and you don't have any proof it actually happened."
The Witch roared in frustration. "You have no idea what it's like to be me! You have no clue in the world, because you're not a witch! You're just an annoying little brat, a stupid, useless human!"
"Thank God... I'd HATE to be you!" Jill yelled back.
Suddenly, the Witch Princess's crimson red eyes widened in realization, as an idea came to mind.
She grabbed onto Jill's arm and buried in her fingernails, deep, as Jill tried to slip away.
Then, the Witch began chanting in an ancient language.
Jill couldn't understand a word of what the blonde was saying, but suddenly, there was a flash, blinding Jill. Then, just as fast as it came, it was gone.
The Witch Princess released her grip on the farmer, and Jill jerked away. "What the hell did you-?!"
"Tadaa- oh. You two again."
Jill spun around to see the Harvest Goddess herself standing on her pond.
"Oh, good… it's you." Jill said. "She cast some sort of spell, that stupid witch, and-"
"I'm sure she did." The Goddess snapped.
Jill froze. "Wha-?" The Goddess was glaring at her. Why? What had she…?
She turned at the sound of the Witch Princess's snickering, and it clicked. "What did you do?!" she snarled.
The Witch cocked her head innocently. "What ever do you mean?"
"You did something bad, I know you did! Reverse it now!"
"Did something bad?" The Goddess laughed, the sound of it as melodious as wind chimes. "That has got to be the worse I have ever seen! What is the trick this time, hm? You want to try to trick me into reversing good? I won't, so you may leave now."
"What are you talking about?" Jill asked her, a little more venom in her voice than she'd meant.
"Oh Jill… always the innocent one, aren't you?" The Goddess shook her head. "I know very well you are far from innocent. You, Jill, are nothing but a witch's apprentice; you should know better than to try and trick me."
"… What?"
"Come along, now, Jilly~!" The Witch Princess chirped. "We're going home now~!"
"Wait, I-" She hadn't even had the time to complete the sentence before the Witch finished casting her spell.
"Goodbye my dear friend~!" The Witch waved to the Goddess as the light engulfed them.
When Jill opened her eyes again, she stood in a room.
A large cauldron sat bubbling in the center, and the far walls were lined with bookshelves. A bed was pushed into one corner, it's purple sheets rumpled, and a table littered with papers, thick novels, and all kinds of pens and vials sat at the other end.
At the foot of the bed was a mountain on stuffed teddy bears, and all over the floor, there were books or all colors, all sizes.
Jill knew exactly where she was.
"This is not my home." she snarled.
The Witch Princess simply chuckled. "No, not completely, yet. I'll have to make some renovations..." she began murmuring a spell, swirling her hands in a circular motion. At first, nothing seemed to happen. Then, one of her large bookshelves collapsed, shaking on the ground like it was having a seizure.
The Witch swore. "Damn it... I knew I should have practiced that spell more often..."
Jill backed away from her. "What exactly did you do?" she asked, her threatening tone spoiled by the slight quiver in her voice. "Why doesn't the Harvest Goddess know who I am...?"
"Oh, she knows who you are, alright..." The Witch Princess murmured with a smile, climbing up her step stool to gaze into her bubbling cauldron. "You seem to be the only one in the dark, my poor dear~!"
"Don't you dare call me that again!" Jill yelled. "And tell me more specifically! What did you do?!"
The Witch turned to her, and smiled. She rotated her finger in a circular motion, murmuring a few words in an ancient language Jill couldn't understand. Her eyes lit up in satisfaction. "Turn around, little one."
Jill ignored her nickname, and slowly turned. Before her floated her own reflection, and her jaw dropped in horror. "W-What did you do?!"
She looked nearly the same way she had that morning. Her chestnut brown hair was pulled into her same usual ponytail, her skin was still slightly sunburnt. Her clothes were the same too; a white and orange T-shirt with loose fitting jeans, and a plaid green apron thing tied around her waist to hold any herbs she found in its pockets.
The only thing different about her were her normally amethyst-colored eyes, the bright purple orbs that so many people had complimented her on, but that she'd only shrug off.
Now, they were an evil scarlet red, the color of fresh blood. Her pupils were small, in shock, and with the red nightmare of a background behind them, she looked... She looked evil.
She turned back to The Witch Princess, and stared deeply into The Witch's own pair of scarlet orbs. They glittered sadistically, showing as much amusement as the curved smirk on her lips.
"I'm going to ask you one more time..." Jill asked in a low, threatning tone. "What the hell did you do?"
The Witch hopped off her step stool, and slowly glided towards the other girl. "Those..." she slid her finger down Jill's pale cheek, as Jill jerked away, "are my mark."
"Your what?!"
"My mark." The Witch repeated, that smug smile stretching slightly wider. "I gave you a part of me with that spell. I gave you those beautiful eyes. They are beautiful, aren't they?"
"They're hideous."
The Witch waved the comment off. "I don't care what you think." She turned. "The elders have been bugging me about getting myself a companion." She made a sour face. "They think I've been causing a bit too much trouble, calling too much attention upon myself."
"Companion?"
"Silence!" The Witch raised her hand, glaring at the young farmer. "Don't speak until I'm finished speaking." She turned away again, and began to walk in the opposite direction. "They were considering sending me my bratty niece. Imagine that!" she laughed. "A mere eleven-year-old keeping me in line?! As if!
"I didn't really know what I was going to do! But then, you mentioned how much you would 'hate' to be me, and it gave me a little idea..."
She spun again. "A caster's mark permits one to turn a human into a spellcaster. Naturally, it can only be done once, or else a person would be able to create their very own army!" She laughed, as though it were a joke. "Only a pureblood spellcaster can mark someone, so you, little Jill, can not. Haha!"
"So... you've turned me into... a witch?!" Jill was trembling with rage.
"Nowadays," the Witch ignored her, "spellcasters are using the mark to turn their loved ones into spellcasters. I find that so pathetic... How could they fall for humans?!" She made a face. "Disgusting. I believe in the more traditional ways..." She glanced back at Jill. "From now on, you are my very own slave~!"
"Excuse me?!"
The Witch hopped closer. "You have been marked by me; you are now my personal assistant!"
"Like hell I-"
"Swirl your finger around."
"What?!" Jill frowned.
The Witch took her hand and grabbed onto it so tightly, Jill couldn't let go. She traced a circle in the air with Jill's hand, then let go. "Like that. Try it."
Hesitantly, Jill lifted her hand. With her finger, she repeated the Witch's gestures. Nothing seemed to happen.
"Again!" The Witch snapped.
Jill flashed her the finger, and traced another circle in the air. Then the strangest thing happened.
The inside of the circle went blurry as it floated in that space. Jill gasped, and poked her finger through it. It tickled, and as she poked the rest of her hand through, it turned into a tingly feeling.
"It's energy." The Witch explained. "You create it on your own. It's amazing, really. With just a flick of your hand, you can create thousands of particles in a single second, and store them like that in a simple circle."
Jill was in awe. The way The Witch Princess explained it truly did make it sound like a wonderful thing. "W-What does it do?"
"Nothing, really." The Witch smiled. "It's just a cool magic trick- except it's not just a trick." She leaned in beside Jill's ear. "It's real...!"
Jill shivered, and stepped away, her bubble of amazement burst. "Quit it! I don't care about some stupid magic! Just... take it back!"
"I can't undo a marking." The Witch clucked. "It's a permanent thing; you are now a witch for infinity."
Jill gaped. "U-Uh, wha-"
"Spellcasters can only die by their own hand." The Witch lectured. "A mark brings a human immortality." She smiled. "You and I will live forever!"
Jill backed away. "No... please! Just take it back, please!" she begged. "I don't want powers, I don't want immortality! I'm sorry for everything I said, so just, please...!"
The Witch sneered. "Pathetic. You're so disgusting, I don't even want to look at you."
Jill stopped. "I-It's okay... right? I can live this way... I-I'll just... move to a different place, or something, and tell them I wear contacts... right? Yeah... I-It's not the end of the world. So what if I have red eyes and can... create particles... right? I... I can do this..."
The Witch smirked at her evilly. "Are you sure you want to do that?"
As she snapped her fingers, a feeling like fire began to flame in Jill's heart. It began to spread all over her body, and... it burned!
She screamed as she collapsed to the floor, clutching her chest. It hurt! It felt like her heart would burst, like her veins would burst, like she'd bleed all over the floor, it was unbearable!
"That", The Witch said, snapping her fingers once again, "was level two of pain." She smiled. "It goes up to ten."
Jill panted, lying on the floor, unable to even think straight.
"You are just my pathetic apprentice. Which means that, until you mature into a full witch, I have complete power over you. If you even think of leaving again, I won't hesitate to snap." She pressed her thumb and index together, visualizing her threat.
"I-I..." Jill took in a deep breath, and glared up at her from the floor. "So what do I do?"
"I'll find something." The Witch chirped. "Meanwhile, I'll make room for you here, and you will be expected to turn yourself in at every night before 10 pm. For tonight, you can go sleep in your sad little farm, city girl." She began to walk back to her cauldron.
"... Why me?"
The Witch stopped mid-step, and without even glancing back, answered her question. "I like a challenge."
Jill only stared at her from the floor, not even bothering to get up.
Finally, The Witch grew tired, and scowled at her. "What?! Scram!"
Tears of rage filled Jill's eyes. "I hate you...!" She spat, not daring to voice the words louder than a whisper.
In an equally quiet voice, the Witch murmured, so softly that Jill nearly missed it, "Not for long... slave."
You know... I still can't believe I actually finished this. Can you? O.O
It's a little rushed at some parts, but... *shrug* Whatever.
I kind of like it, actually. I mean, the supernatural themes and rules were fun to come up with. I only have one other supernatural themed story; a Vocaloid fic called 'Enclosure'. It's based off Kelley Armstrong's supernatural world from her 'Women of the Otherworld' series, though. This supernatural shit here is all mine! MY imagination! Although they're pretty basic rules... *shrug*
Surprisingly, I don't have very much to say. Normally, dear first time Naty17 readers, my Author's Notes are nearly as lengthy as the chapters. ... Or, close enough.
So, yeah. You better show me some love, my dear little lambs, or this story may end up a single chapter...! I beg of you, instead of simply adding this to your favorites or following it, could you please drop a review, too? Please? It'd mean a lot...
(P-S: Sorry this is so short...)
Please Review!