Revenge is not a solution Or is it?

by Tervist

A fan story for the the game The Witch's House. The tragedy so many know transpires, but a person intervenes in the climax of the events to come. Some other mysteries surface, which will all require solution in order for the protagonists to find peace. Will this happen...or will it turn out that revenge is the solution after all?

4. Quatre:Initiation and Departure

REVENGE IS NOT A SOLUTION...OR IS IT?

Chapter 4: Initiation and Departure

At the Ams mountains, Richard's point of view:

The journey back to the hideout from the monks' monastery took two hours. Although the sky was overcast, it was not warm and there was a noticeably strong wind around, the weather was otherwise favorable for Viola and her companions, and even the wildlife was calm and quiet now.

Accompanying her were Richard, Paltor, Lucius and the two pupils who volunteered. Needless to say, they were not keen on risking Viola getting hurt. Since Viola agreed to help them, they now had another reason on the heap of other reasons to assist her.

Richard and Lucius covered the group from the front and the rear, while Paltor and the two pupils were in the center with Viola, who they were carrying on a large wooden chair. Viola was asleep there, and as such, the group was moving with a slow and careful pace.

There was an easily walkable forest path that they could use, though it was hidden in the inner parts of the forest, and they could only use it because they knew where was it. This made them safe from most intruders. Adding to their safety was the fact that it was near to a bare, rocky cliff, and less brave people were afraid to go there in fear of falling rocks.

Viola slept peacefully, and the others did not say a single word, besides Paltor and Lucius. Lucius quietly retold everything Richard had told him before they left. After that however, there was complete silence. They wanted to pay most of their attention to their journey now.

Thankfully, they eventually arrived without even a scratch on them. Richard's hideout was concealed inside a big protrusion of rock that had a large cavern inside. Carefully carving the rock inside and separating different rooms with light wooden walls, Richard made it into a homely, if somewhat crude dwelling with the help of some people from Olveria.

The door was concealed by the lush vegetation which grew around the rock, and it was only marked with small, ambigous mark which only Richard and whoever he trusted with the secret knew about.

Richard got the door open, and the group went in carrying Viola. He went to the middle of the rectangular entry room, and lit the lantern that hung at the center of the ceiling. With the lantern giving light, the group could now see where they should go. The hall had six wooden doors, all leading to a different room, with two at each end of the room, and a seventh door, the entrance at the end where they just came in from.

The walls were decorated with different trinkets Richard had gathered, and a painting which looked quite old. At the northern end of the hall, there was also some sort of glyph-text carved on the wall, but even Richard could not understand it. He even asked Paltor to try and translate it, the elder monk however did not know what it said either.

Richard led the group towards the western side, and to the first door. Opening the door, he led them into the very same room Viola had waken up the first time she was here. He has ever since taken good care of the room, and he readied some more furniture to make the room serve as sort of a bedroom. Paltor saw this, and he quetioned Richard:

"A bedroom? Do you want Viola to stay here for a long time?"

"Strange as it sounds, -responded Richard- I do. I have a feeling that we should not return her to Alvielia yet. After you have taken care of her I will explain why."

Deciding to accept the answer as enough, Paltor and his two pupils carefully placed Viola on a bed which Richard freshly made during the ten day period Viola was being healed at the monastery. After this, they adjusted her clothes and checked for further wounds or any other ailments, then Paltor told the two other monks and Lucius to return to the monastery and be on guard.

Richard went to the entrance, and he closed it after the three have left. Going back to Viola's room, he began to explain his intentions to Paltor:

"Now, you must curious as to why I want Viola to stay here. The problem is you see, is that the one who stole her body is probably acting out Viola right now. At least...can the thief actually do this?"

"Unfortunately she can. -responded the elder monk- The stealing of a body also provides access to the experiences and memories in it; however, this also counts for Viola. Whatever knowledge or experience Ellen has is now usable to Viola. At least, depending on how much does she actually understand. Oh and now that we are here, I will tell you the full story behind what happened to her."

Since Viola told Paltor the entire thing, he could now retell the terrible tale to his young friend. And thus he told Richard everything Viola had told him back in the monastery, and Richard listened carefully. After they were finished, Richard was visibly appalled.

He could not say a single word for minutes, and he had an expression on his face which was a mix of fear and disgust. Viola did not hear her tale again fortunately, as she was asleep, and both of her newfound friends were thankful for this. Richard broke the silence after a time.

"Such treason. Such pain, how could Viola endure all this and remain brave, or let alone reasonable?"

"What we were thinking may be true. -answered Paltor- Viola seems to indeed have an exceptionally durable spirit. And now this might sound cold, but she is like this so far. Being tormented opens a gateway inside one's soul for the darkness to trespass; she might later become a villain if something goes wrong."

"Like being overwhelmed by what has happened? -questioned Richard- Being unable to let go of Ellen's betrayal when she should?"

"Yes. You just guessed the best example. In fact, a large amount of people with wicked personalities become what they are for this reason."

"Then I guess we should sincerely hope that this does not happen to her. Well, I did not explain why do I want her to stay here. What you told me just nailed it further in. I suspect that Ellen, who has Viola's body now, is now pulling an act to convince the people around her that she is in fact Viola."

Paltor nodded, but at the same time, he frowned and lowered his head a bit.

"This would make going there with Viola a bad idea. -continued Richard- Such a person has no problems about lying, and after the villagepeople hearing about and seeing what has happened to who they think is Viola, they might be paranoid. I doubt they would trust us. Or if nothing else, Ellen will pull an act to convince them about this."

"That is what I was thinking about just now. -replied Paltor- Pulling an act. Yes, I do know that Ellen has deceived countless people with it, but nothing earthly is everlasting, especially those of wicked nature. And with having to pretend being someone else, it just became harder for her."

"Do you think so? Well that is just good; we could wait until she makes too many mistakes to be convincing, and then present Viola at the right time...or?"

Richard did not finish the sentence, seeing his old friend's face. Paltor frowned even more, and looked at Richard with the kind of expression that made Richard realized that he just said something that is out of its place.

"I do not know. -replied Paltor- We cannot know when will that happen and how. IF it will happen at all. A problem is that what you proposed would probably need surveillance. Brother William cannot do that, as his duties require him to be monitoring different things. As for somebody being sent in, the villagepeople would get suspicious."

"Right. -answered Richard- so the waiting plan is off the list. But then I guess our task currently is nothing more or different than caring about Viola right?"

"Yes. Stabilizing her and telling her about everything is what we must do now. Well...what you must do."

"Me? Paltor are you telling me you will not help?"

The elder monk seemed to be sad about this, but he continued with honesty in his words and voice.

"Sad as it is, not for that long. We will help you with Viola, cure her and restore her body, but after that we will have other tasks to do. This is our fate as monks; always strictly directed to the greatest threat. Viola's bad state will soon be resolved. After that, the care and training you can offer her will be enough."

"I see. -replied Richard- But if I am not intruding, what kind of tasks do you have now?"

"With Ellen's disappearance as a major threat, our opportunities have become wider. This means bigger responsibilities however, and we must ensure that Menidien's balance is restored once. I know that it is unusual for us normally enclosed monks to act like this, but with nobody else willing to take up the task, it falls to us."

"So you are going to act like missionaries? Spreading your faith throughout the country?"

"Yes, but that is not the only thing we do. Our research and upkeeping of the scriptures guarded here bind us in ways, and our time is limited. We safekeep writing both holy and unholy, for the usage of what we believe in, and the understanding of that which we fight against to be prepared against and to prepare others. We also watch over our territory to see if evil forces act."

Richard understood. Although they have known each other for quite a time, this was one of the rare occasions when the elder monk discussed more secret information with him. Richard could not guess why did Paltor suddenly open up, but he was satisfied with the notion that he probably has a good reason. After a minute or so, they continued to talk:

"Speaking of the country's balance, do you think it will be safe for us to stay here in the long run? I mean, me and Viola."

Paltor narrowed his eyes at the question.

"I do not know. -answered Paltor- Even with the Mervines' influence gone for a long time and Ellen disappearing, the many misfortunes here do not cease. Something is on the move here. Something powerful. And although we monks are wise, our limited range in tasks sets a threshold to our knowledge. But, where did your question exactly come from?"

"From what I heard. Lucius told me that William overheard government personnel discussing mass murders and kidnappings. I know that for a country like this such events are not novelty, but still, what do you think? Is it possible that the Mervines are returning?"

Paltor shook his head.

"Why are you asking me? I thought you know a lot about the Mervines thanks to your great-grandfather and the village guard."

"I do, -replied Richard- and based on what I know, I too say it is unlikely. But I wanted to know your opinion. Still, if not the Mervines, maybe someone else? Maybe someone they secretly trained? You know how shady those folks were."

"Secretly trained…-murmured Paltor- Mmm. I don't think so. I know you talked with Lucius about this somewhat, and he told me in turn whatever you had to say. Yes they were shady, but they did not trust others easily. Their downfall though. Do you really not know what exactly happened to them? Maybe that could give as clue."

"I have no idea. All we know is that the fire in Molvysta was just suddenly there, and the Mervines were caught by surprise. One of the family's servants, being released from the grip of his masters' wrath, told the Olverians back then all this. Unfortunately, he a died a few days afterwards. Poor man! I bet he barely had any idea about who he served."

Richard checked on Viola to see if anything has happened. Luckily, the girl was sleeping peacefully and she seemed to be undisturbed by any dream or such. Richard then sat back on his chair and continued his conversation:

"Think about it a bit. Could it be possible that even if the Mervine bloodline is dead, they have left behind sort of a 'nominal' heir? Or at least somebody who is to continue their legacy?"

"I don't think so. -responded Paltor- We have a found tome that was formerly Edward Mervine's, and the circumstances it was found in indicate otherwise. Inside our territory, which is quite surprising, one of our patrols found a ramshackle hut where two novice witches were hiding. It was burned down, and the book was just lying there randomly."

"True, true. -said Richard- I could say that they could be laying a trap though. Maybe it is a falsified document with fake writing on it. It really is not hard for a fellow like Old Edward to make a counterfeit."

"I myself thought about that, but we cannot know. To assume it is real could be unnecessary worry, while assuming it is fake could be a possible problem, a huge one at that, that we might overlook; that is something we cannot offer to slip in unnoticed. I asked Viola to try and open it, but it stayed shut."

"Viola? -asked Richard in a surprised voice- I don't get it. Monks like you, even the elders could not open it, so why her?"

"Exactly because of who she is. You know too that the Mervines always underestimated common folks. And because of this, they were unprepared against those they considered to be meaningless. I thought that maybe Old Edward's enchantment would ignore Viola, or that her strong soul might force it open, but it did not work."

Viola groaned in her sleep. Both men quickly turned their attention towards her, and she seemed to be having trouble in her sleep now. Richard walked there, and started checking on her status. He noticed that her forehead was alarmingly hot.

"She has a fever. -said Richard- I guess the physical trauma is starting to catch up for real. Not surprising at all."

"Now you know why are we giving her a pause. -said Paltor- We monks are tired and need rest as well after this ceremony, and combined with her fatigue, results could be disastrous if we attempted to restore her legs now. I say that me and my brothers should rest and study, while she will be resting here at your place in the while."

Richard tended to Viola's pain by moving her around gently to be in a more comfortable position on her bed, and putting an additional blanket on her. After some time Viola calmed down, though she still visibly had her fever. Richard sat back down on his chair, and resumed the conversation:

"How long do you think will we need to wait? For you to catch your breath and for Viola to catch hers."

"Two or three weeks. -answered Paltor- Maybe that is even more than needed, but being sure is never a bad thing. Note, after her legs are back, she will need some training to get used to them again. Especially...remembering that her host was the under the effect of a death curse. It did look disease-like, so we should get the help of Dr. Eugene. Did you hear about him recently?"

Richard's face went ashen at this point, and he also tilted his head down a bit.

"Oh yes...Eugene. Lucius told me we will need him but you see, we will not be getting his help. He was assasinated en route towards here. We suspect it was either a Veldine or an Amtine agent."

"An agent from Veldurn or Amtier? Come now Richard, where do you get these ideas? Yes, Amtier was in war against Menidien once, but that was because of the Mervines. And Veldurn? That country is noted for its neutrality."

"Exactly! -retorted Richard- And this image of neutrality would give it an opportunity and a 'cloak' of sorts to easily capture Menidien, viewing the local conflict-torn status. As for Amtier, I imagine there might be some avengers spiteful over their losses in the war, or some extremists claiming that Menidien is full of witches even now."

What made this sad and frightening at the same time is that extremists with claim would be partially telling the truth. Even with the Mervines and Ellen gone, Menidien was still the most occultist-ridden country around here.

"Still, -spoke Paltor- poor Eugene is a great loss. Me and the brothers will be praying for his poor soul. Alas, this will make it a bit more difficult. You will have to take care of Viola without medical assistance, unless you know someone else."

"Sadly no. -said Richard- He was Olveria's officially licensed doctor, and with the chaos going on around the country, the officials will not care much about the remote areas and send another. Medran is a region known for a very low rate of occultism, they will just shrug and say 'they dealt with it so far, and so it won't be a problem'.

"What? -asked Paltor- They really reply like this to you?"

"In fact! -said Richard- Even when it was a relatively peaceful period for us, they refused to send another doctor, even though Eugene had tons of work because he was alone. And I did not even mention smaller villages around like Multystre and Eltiesme. People from there came to us as well before, and now there will be huge disease problems."

Richard covered his face with his hands for a few seconds, then continued:

"You see Paltor, the officials are just worried about spending resources on the rural regions. With the chaos going on DESPITE the fact that the greatest dark magicians known so far are gone, they are just more and more worried. I've talked to mayor Monty back in Olveria while you were healing Viola, that is how I know all this. Despite his young age, he is steadfast and reliable as mayor."

The elder monk now seemed to be annoyed somewhat.

"Nonsense! -he said, his voice being louder than usual- They know that the folks here are formidable...I swear they have the same problem as the Church of One Truth in Dvedar; they are confident in their own established ways so much that they do not trust the simpler, yet sometimes smarter folks that much."

"Indeed. -answered Richard- The civilian guard are the only people who listen to us, but you know what they are like. If the official police says no, then no. This applies to everything! Otherwise they might be punished. This is one other reason why I asked you about that we being here is safe or not."

"For a time you will be forced to stay here. -replied Paltor- As long as Viola is like this you cannot move anywhere. And after that, it would be safe if you train her in known grounds. I myself have only basic knowledge of the surrounding lands, and I take it you are not that experienced concerning them either."

"I was once taken to Veldurn when I was a child, but that is it. I never extensively studied other countries, viewing how my business was primarily here. However, we might be forced to move later on, so I will get to it and study about the surrounding countries in the Olverian Archives. It's a meager library, but I think it will do the job."

Richard thoroughly thought this over. The region was viable for moving housed five countries. One of them was Menidien where he was right now. The four other countries around were Veldurn, Amtier, Ttettarim and Hondime. He only knew the names of the countries for sure, everything else he had in his mind about them was speculation or not completely accurate.

The library he mentioned back in Olveria was his bet for researching about the countries. It will take a lot of time to read up all the needed info. What reassured Richard is that Menidien will be good for a time even after Viola's repairing is done.

Eugene's death was a shocking blow however, and Paltor, along with his brothers will be occupied with a myriad of other tasks after they are finished with Viola. Richard immediately realized that the task he invited Viola to might be harder even than he thought.

But what ultimately made Richard worry was the country itself. Menidien was in an increasing state of chaos, and Ellen's fall as a witch seemed to do little for positive aspects to surface. Even with the Mervines gone and Ellen becoming mundane, there is still something messing up this place. He could not even begin to imagine what might be causing this.

He did love Menidien, and he wanted Viola to happily, or at least calmly return to Alvielia, to her normal life. But it seems this was going to be the distant reward of a lengthy and harsh quest. Paltor interrupted his thinking suddenly:

"On the other hand Richard, now that I heard you say these things, I do encourage you to leave after we are done with Viola here. I am worried about not only your safety, but our enemies as well."

"Our enemies? -asked Richard- Is there someone who is an open threat to you around here? Some sort of powerful dark magician?"

"Something just does not add up. Lucius told me that you had a comparably easy time chasing away Ellen's former familiar. One burning cross was enough. You might be thinking it is good relief, but it is not entirely that."

Richard just widened his eyes. He was completely surprised by what he heard.

"What I am saying is, -continued Paltor- it was too easy. Demons usually require more effort to chase away. In fact, it might have easily killed you there. Though, I can imagine that it might not had to face real opponents for a long time, and he became overconfident or just lazy and inattentive. Whatever the case, stay vigilant and immediately alert the Olverian clergy if it or any other demon appears."

The elder monk then stood up, and placed his hood back on.

"Alas, I will take my leave now. Richard, you are taking grand risks. But if Viola is able to resolve all this with our help, things will be better than ever."

"Viola...I was asking myself a question. -said Richard- What must she exactly do? And how?"

"The position she is in allows her to do things others might not be capable of or permitted to. I do not exactly understand this myself, I admit. This will something that the future will reveal."

Richard guided Paltor out of his home, and then shut the great stone door after his old friend left. He then went back to watching over and tending to Viola.

8 hours later at the same place, Viola's point of view:

Viola woke up from a dreamless sleep rather peacefully. Right after waking up however, she felt bad. She felt somewhat cold, and the sensation of fatigue struck her, as if somebody had made her work all day. She however was in a comfortable lying position, which eased her state somewhat.

Deciding to size up her situation, Viola opened her eyes and began to inspect her surroundings. She was in a stone chamber which was carved out to be in the shape of a standard room. Two small windows let air and some light in at one of the room, and an open door was at the other. The room was furnished to be sort of a spare bedroom, for a visitor or friend.

There was a wooden table with two chairs for it, a shelf with tools and books on it, a green carpet on the floor, and the bed Viola was lying on. The green carpet was made in a way to make one think of grass, and this was soothing for Viola. She was very fond of nature, even if her likeness towards hunting might imply the opposite.

Checking herself while sitting up, Viola saw that she was covered by a multitude of thick blankets. Richard must have put them on her. As for her body, it was mostly fine. She was dressed in simple gray clothing, a long-sleeved shirt, and a gray skirt that covered the stumps of her legs. She checked her hands and her stomach under her shirt, and there were no bruises or wounds anywhere, besides one spot.

Though it was partially obscured by her undergarments, she could see a nasty black scar that looked like a wound a sword would leave on the left side of her bust, stretching from where she presumed her heart is to just barely below the point where her shirt's collar covered it.

Viola was frightened by the sight. She did not know what to make of it. She touched it carefully, and then a bit harder, but it did not hurt. So it was the kind of scar that is just ugly but does nothing otherwise. Nevertheless, Viola decided that she will ask somebody about it.

Besides this, the fever and the missing legs, everything was alright physically. Viola lay back on the bed and placed the blankets further up to cover her more. She lay her head down and delved into her thoughts.

Viola wondered what was next. First, Richard, a man she never met, rescues her from Ellen. Then he introduces her to monks, who happen to possess powers of many kinds. She then gets healed, accepted into some sort of group who want to fix things up, and treated like a long-lost friend.

This all happened so quickly that the things Viola were happy for were now starting to catch up, and now Viola was overwhelmed. One day she was betrayed and Ellen and doomed to die, and now she was here all of a sudden. It felt like sudden at least, Viola knew from the others that much time has passed ever since.

Viola did not exactly know what to make of her situation now. She agreed to help Richard and the others, and they seem eager to heal and care for her. Viola however was doubtful at this moment. Even though Gadavithe, that strange being from the light city, told her that her encounter with Ellen puts her in this position, but she did not exactly get it how.

She survived pain and damage that would have broken some other comrades of his yes...but what does this give her that make her such an important person here? A notable durable soul? Now that sounds good. But how will she use that to help out?

Viola was somewhat confused. These memories she 'inherited' from Ellen are the keys? Or perhaps her survival?

A little headache struck. Viola was already weary of thinking this much. She guessed that her brain wanted to rest now as well, seeing the fever and the massive trauma her whole body needed to endure. Besides, she remembered Paltor telling her that her body needs vast amounts of rest now.

A few moments later, Viola realized there was one part of her body which she did not check out thouroughly yet. Her head. For observing her face she will need a mirror though. And without legs, getting it would be complicated. She decided to call for aid instead:

"Umm...is anybody here?" -she asked-

Footsteps could be heard, and Richard appeared in the room's door just seconds later.

"Viola, you are awake! -he said- Careful now, you caught a nasty fever. That's why I put all those blankets on you."

"A fever."-thought Viola. That indeed explains the many thick blankets, and the fact that she felt tired.

Richard went to her, and adjusted the blankets a bit more upwards, so that only Viola's head was exposed.

"There you go. Now you will not feel cold at all hopefully. Do you need anything?"

"Mm, no no. I'm fine like this. For now I would prefer just lying here and doing nothing. I feel very tired. Where am I? What happened?"

"We brought you back to my home. I made you a proper bed ever since, the cloth covered table would not have been good again I'm afraid."

"Ohh, thank you. -said Viola with a smile- And, how are you?"

"I am fine thank you. -answered Richard- You were brought here around eight hours ago. I talked a bit with Paltor back then about some things, just for you to know. Ever since, I was doing all sorts of things around my little dwelling."

"That's good. -said Viola- What things where you talking about with the sir?"

"Sir! -Richard laughed a bit- My Viola you are a very polite and respectful person aren't you? Believe me he won't be offended if you would just called him by the name. I do that too. But to answer your question, we were talking about Menidien, the Mervines and our situation in general."

"Right. -Viola sighed a bit- Now that I think about it, I am a bit hungry. Could you bring me something? Oh! And I also need a mirror. I want to see my face."

Richard nodded, and then bought a simple meal for Viola, along with a little mirror. Viola sat up carefully to be able to eat, and Richard put down the meal before her on the top blanket. He then brought a bit larger one for himself, as it happened to be dinner time. Before eating, Viola checked her face out in the mirror.

Her face was actually quite fine. No wounds, no scars, and her face was complete. A little girl's face adorned with a pair of gold eyes. Oh those gold eyes...this made Viola stir a bit. But it was over quickly. Viola has now accepted that what has happened has happened, and she decided to not lot herself being bogged down by the memories.

Next, she checked her hair. The long, flowing and at the ends mildly curly purple hair was mostly fine too, with the exception of being uncombed.

"Hmm. I don't know what should I thank the monks with. -said Viola- They did so much for me and, with such accuracy and detail."

"I think your participation in our quest is already enough, if they wanted compensation in the first place. -answered Richard- You see, they sort of view helping those in need as a sacred duty of sorts. It's just...not many people seek them out besides those they know already."

"But why?" -questioned Viola, being surprised-

"You see Viola, the best things usually require the most effort. This is true for the monks too. Most people are impatient for letting them help, and for some reason their faith exerts mistrust from people. This is a long story. For now, let us eat."

And with that, the two of them began to eat their respective meals, all without saying a word to each other while eating.

Richard was watching Viola closely. She was fine however, and careful enough to avoid accidents. Viola was also given a glass of water, which she slowly drank; and then she put it down next to her bed, which was fortunately low enough for her to comfortably reach down. Soon, she and her newfound friend began to talk:

"So Viola. -began Richard- Here you are. We had our meals and you are rested I hope. Do you feel like you could talk or should I give you some rest?"

"We can talk if you want. -responded Viola- I wanted to talk to you about many things either way, and I don't really want my sickness to hold me back. Now, we do not really know each other as I noticed. We should introduce ourselves to each other! -Viola had a bright smile at this point- You start."

Richard's face was brightened too, he liked telling stories and details about himself and the things he knew, and he was happy that Viola was in a good enough mood to talk.

Viola felt very tired, but she really did not want her state to limit her. Learning at least a few things would help them out both, and she was determined to at least catch a few things. Richard seemed to agree, as he began talking:

"Alright. -he said- My name is simply Richard, no surname as I am not from a rich family. I am from Olveria, a small village in Medran county some miles beyond these mountains. My parents were Helga and Hugo, both from Olveria. Interesting how they have names that match initial letters isn't it?"

"It is. -said Viola- in fact, me and my mother are like this too. Her name was Vivian. She died when I was very young though. She was the hairdresser of our village Alvielia, and she was also good in fashion and other such things. Many ladies often came for her advice. Ever since her death, I have been living alone with my daddy Travis, who is a hunter, and the best daddy ever."

Richard smile at her last few words. Viola coughed a few times, and then continued:

"Anyway, my name is simply Viola, you know my village and my parents now. As for my occupation, I am a student at the Shield-and-Book School at Dinmysten City. What do your parents do?"

"My parents, -said Richard- are old people now, and both are retired. My mother Helga is, well, a simple housewife, but a very clever one! Before retiring he sometimes assisted my father with his work. As for my father Hugo, he was a member of the village guard, the same one my great-grandfather, and a witness of the Mervines' doings, belonged to."

"Oh, the Mervines. -said Viola- Paltor told me about them."

And with that, Viola retold everything the elder monk said to her about the Mervines. Richard put on a sour smile:

"He did good by mentioning that you have to turn to me if you want to hear more about them. I know much because my great-granddad, Roland, told stories to me when he was still alive. He lived for one hundred and thirty-three years, long enough to have witnessed their last years of power. He died when I was younger though, possibly as young as you."

"That was the first time I ever heard of them. -said Viola- Back in Alvielia, the witch in the forest, who I know now to be Ellen, was our worry always. She did lots of damage around her house, and the forest was considered to be a place that you had to avoid to be safe. Daddy never told me about any other bad people like her."

"At least you were not burdened with their wicked acts and ways. -answered Richard- I myself know only a few, the Mervines, the Vampire of Gahaln, though some people say he is just a piece of fiction, a silly invention of people wanting to scare each other; and others are The Red Witch and The Blue Witch."

"Wow! -responded Viola- Mind if you ask you some more things about yourself and then about them? I mean the bad folks."

"Of course. And along with these, I will also teach you some terms, names and things to know. You do remember agreeing to help us? There will be some basics to know then. But only the very basics for now, nothing complex. I will tell you the more complicated things when you are alright. So then! Ask your questions."

"Ok. First, what are you, I mean, what do you do for a living?"

"I am a protector of my village. -answered Richard- I scout the woods and a certain vicinity of these mountains to watch over things which happen here. The monks I took you to happen to be old friends of my village. In fact, the first founder of their order was an Olverian. They maintain contact with us as a memorial to this."

Richard took a cushion that was within arm's range from the shelf next to him, put it on his chair, and sat back down. He continued:

"I took the role up because of Roland. The stories he told me frequently inspired me to take up arms against evil and defend those I love. Ellen, though not a primary concern, was known to us too. We just called her The Death in the Forest. In fact, tales about her were frequent too. Roland's wife died to her you see."

"How? -asked Viola- Did Ellen set her up as she did me?"

"No. One day she just simply disappeared. The monks from back then told the people that they detected Ellen's activity. Mind you, I am the first of my village to know her name, and only because of you. Back then, they used the name I told you...just to avoid confusion."

"The Death in the Forest…-Viola gave a long sigh- It certainly fits her. Now that I have her memories, they sometimes flash in my head and show me whatever she did. These are terrible things to see. I just hope her memories won't drive me mad! What was the name of Roland's wife by the way?"

"Lily. She had the name because lilies were her favorite flowers. Roland even continued to care for lilies in their garden after she died."

"That makes this so ironic. -said Viola- In Ellen's witch house, there were lots of lilies in some of the rooms. Maybe Lily inspired Ellen to keep lilies around?"

"I don't know if I could call that inspiration…"-grumbled Richard.

"Well, Ellen is a witch. -continued Viola- And after going through what happened between me and her, you could expect her to be like this. It could have been an inspiration for her, in a sick way. Just as Ellen thinks in a sick way."

"Perhaps. -answered Richard- This is something we should rather not go guessing about I say. As for Ellen's memories driving you mad, I suggest that you do not delve in them too much or too deeply just yet. When you have recovered from your shock more, it will be safer to do so. But let's keep ourselves on the main topic shall we?"

"Alright. You told me you will tell me some basic names and terms to know if I wanna help you all. So, mind telling me about the basics, as you said?"

"Of course! Now, let me start with who is involved. First, I want to make one thing clear. We in Olveria are not witch hunters. It's just that us and the rest of Medran did not let itself be subjugated by the Mervines so easily as the rest of the country did. Second, there is no 'organization' among us in that sense. We are just close friends who help each other to the best of their abilities."

"Right. So you are not...a team who are focused in dealing with bad folks, oh I need a word for them, but you are just people who happen to be involved against them together?"

"Yes. And, if you want to name the 'bad folks' collectively, there are several terms. Occultists, witches, contrary to popular belief the term is not solely feminine, it applies to men to, and warlocks. Those are the worst of the 'lower caste' of such people."

"Lower caste?" -asked Viola while raising an eyebrow.

"Yes, a lower caste one could say. You see, such people hold within themselves sort of a caste system. The lower end includes the ones I listed, while the upper caste includes black magicians, dark wizards, dark mages, you name them. The difference is that the lower caste people are always dependent on a demon to have powers, while those in the upper caste are people born with powers who turned to evil ways."

"People born with powers? There are people out there who have powers ever since they are born?"

Viola was now astonished. Out of all the things she heard now, even when counting what Paltor said, this was the weirdest thing she heard so far from her new allies.

"Yes. -said Richard- There are very few of them, but they do exist. In fact, some of the monks are like this too. I think… William and Paltor. Thankfully Menidien has the least of this people, as you might have guessed already that not all of them are good."

"Hehe, yes. Daddy always told me that power corrupts. You did mention some of these occultists a while ago. Who are they again?"

"Ah, of course. You already know the Mervines. There are also The Vampire of Gahaln, The Red Witch and The Blue Witch. Despire their similar names, the latter two have no correlation to each other. Just to clear this up in advance."

"Vampire of Gahaln? -asked Viola with a fearful expression- In my county?"

"Don't worry. -answered Richard- Most people agree that he is just a fabrication, some fool probably came up with him to scare and exploit others. Even among the mundane folks, there were people out there who were malicious. Such scammers are fine examples."

"Good to know. -and indeed, Viola was calmed down- And what about the two others?"

"First, The Red Witch. She is a witch who was given this name because she loves fire very much, and is her main tool for terrorizing people. She was notably active around the Gors mountains; herb gatherers feared her wrath, and she was a frequent reason of poor or even lost harvests for the people living in the surrounding regions."

"So those were those nasty rumors I once heard. -said Viola- When I was little, I heard daddy sometimes complaining about how some supplies are not coming to Alvielia; he always mentioned some sort of mountains. Now I know why did those happen"

"Her influence extended to your village too it seems. Well, I think you can imagine what was it like for those who lived or inside her main territory then. This was years ago though; for some reason, she is not heard of nowadays. We do not know what might have happened to her, though I doubt that she has been driven off."

"Driven off? You mean killed or just chased away?"

"Either. -answered Richard- She was known to be extremely violent, and she had a nasty temper. And unlike Ellen, she was active in a large territory. She even approached Medran once, but the folks at Atrystre chased her away. I told you that we are not afraid of them. Occultists are strong yes, but not unbeatable."

"How did they drive her off? -questioned Viola- I remember from Ellen's memories that whenever she was wounded or otherwise endangered, her demon would just save her."

"Demons don't do that always. Maybe that one was desperate for some reason to keep her intact. Demons' powers are limited too, they are not all-powerful by any means. Just usually much stronger than the regular human. That's all I can tell you about The Red Witch."

"What about the blue one?"

"Now she, -began Richard- is not a local witch. She lives in the country Amtier to the north. She has the name because allegedly she always wears blue clothing. Her name is actually a misnomer, as she is a dark mage and not a witch; but the name is stuck on her for some reason."

"What does she do? -asked Viola- I mean...I do not know about Amtier too much, or the other countries."

"According to the tales we sometimes heard, she has the ability to manipulate most things related to cold, and also some sort of short-distance control of objects without having to touch them. Note that the power of such people are not strictly limited to one field, it's just that the one they are mostly skilled in is what they use the most."

"That is kind of obvious. -said Viola- Everyone does what he or she is the best in. Is The Blue Witch still active today?"

"No. Like the red one, she stopped messing around with the people a long time ago. She is a much older example of occultism though, the last attack recorded of her happened eighty-five years ago."

"I wonder… -said Viola with a sigh- why did these people turn evil in the first place?"

"Interesting question. -answered Richard- I don't know the reasons of The Red Witch, but I know some rumors about the blue one. They say that she was the daughter of the royal family of Amtier, and that something happened there in the country which drove her mad. The royals suffered much during a war between Amtier and Menidien long ago."

"War? Was there a war here before?"

"Yes. You see Viola, the Mervines were big troublemakers. Because of their actions, Amtier, and another country to the west, Hondime declared war on Menidien together. Many people died as you might imagine, and many people are still bitter over what happened. Maybe this is what made The Blue Witch become who she is. That's all I know about them for sure."

"Wow. -said Viola- I never head of these people before, and now that I do, I am thankful that we did not have trouble with them so far. Ellen was already enough of a problem. Any other things?"

"Let me think. -said Richard- Well, now that I think about, you have pretty much met everyone important already. The countries around, I need to do research on those. Terms...maybe some of those. I explained the different villains already. Anything else you want to know?"

"Actually yes. What did you use to save me from Ellen and her demon?"

"A moment." As he said that, Richard left the room, and came back a minute later with his submachine gun in his left hand, and a dark green bag in his right hand. He put the objects down next to Viola's bed, and sat down on the carpet. He showed Viola his gun first.

"This is called a submachine gun. It's like your father's rifle, but it fires small bullets rapidly instead of large ones one-at-a-time. Don't worry, I took the bullets out so it is safe. You could even try to hold it, it is not heavy at all."

Viola did that. And surprisingly, the weapon was light. The simple wooden design with the only the needed parts made of metal made the weapon into a simple, but reliable tool. She gave it back to Richard, and after putting his gun away, Richard showed in his hands other things:

"And these are what I loaded into the gun and shot the demon with."

Viola looked there, and saw bullets which were unlike anything Travis had ever shown her. The bullets appeared to be made out of a bluish, crystalline material. Their design was weird. Instead of being pointed centrally, two smaller points were made at their ends.

"These are generic copper bullets coated with some sort of crystal. -said Richard- Neither I, nor the monks know what exactly is it, but it seems to be somewhat effective against anything that is supernatural in nature. A few of them were able to force Ellen's familiar out of its host."

"What do they do? What is special about them?" -asked Viola.

"Maybe the matter they are made out of has some effect related to magic, maybe they are enchanted. I do not know. And viewing how they are for more modern weaponry, I don't think Paltor and the other monks know what they are. What I know is, no shop I know of has these. Maybe the black market, but decent folks do not buy stuff there if you ask me."

Richard put them away as well, and got a wooden cross out of his bag.

"And this is a cross made out of cedar wood. For some reason, demons are terrified of these crosses when you ignite them on fire. One cross was enough to chase away Ellen's demon; though Paltor has told me that this was too easy. And to be fair, I agree with him somewhat. Who knows what that fiend had on his mind?"

"Perhaps he is not such a strong demon after all." -retorted Viola.

"What?" -questioned Richard, with a very surprised face.

"You know, -continued Viola- I have been thinking back to Ellen's memories, and I found their relationship strange. Ellen allied with him in the first place to get rid of the curse the monks took out from me. But there are a few things which I do not understand."

"Such as what?"

"Instead of doing this, the demon gave her the spell which she used to take away my body. Also, why did he limit Ellen's influence to the house? Why did he not extend the range of the enchantment holding Ellen together?"

"Interesting questions. -answered Richard- Viola, what you say is actually very clever. Though, demons are quite subtle and crafty. For now, let's keep our discussion on a basic level. We should talk about complex questions when your fever is gone and your mind will be clearer."

Suddenly, a very loud gust of wind could be heard outside. Troubled by it, Richard went to one of the small windows to look outside, and he frowned upon looking out.

"What is it?" -asked Viola from behind him

"Something is not right. -answered Richard- I see something weird in the distance. Mind if I go outside?"

Viola shook her head. Richard went outside, and Viola saw for a moment through the door that he did so with a pair of binoculars in his hands. A few minutes passed, but he was still not back. Viola was starting to get worried. Maybe someone found them? Some enemy? She hoped not.

Outside the hideout, Richard's point of view:

Leaving Viola behind for a bit, Richard went outside to inspect the strange sight he saw, leaving the entrance to the hideout open. He took his binoculars up to his eyes, and began to look around.

The forest around was mostly calm, except for one spot. And as he looked there, he recognized what was it. A small clearing a few miles away emitted a sickly crimson light, something was being done there. Listening more closely, Richard could hear that the wind he heard carried with itself a strange noise.

Sounds of unintelligible whispers, many voices speaking at once. He could only hear them for brief moments, but that was frightening enough on its own. Suddenly, the crimson light turned into a flash, and after it faded the light disappeared as well.

Richard could not guess what could have been that. Some spell? But how? Ellen was disarmed and bereaved of her powers, so the house should be nothing more than a powerless wreck now. Or maybe it was losing its last fragments power now? That might be the best case out of all of these.

Deciding to look around more, Richard saw something equally disturbing farther away. He only guessed, but far from Alvielia, he saw with his binoculars something which resembled a multitude of small lights. And they were moving. Moving indeed, and they seemed to be sticking together.

Sticking together, and in a formation. They were not just gathered together randomly. Richard was alarmed a bit. Either some sort of supernatural phenomenon, spirits, or in worst case, an army.

Richard looked around more with his binoculars. A bit right from the group of lights, he noticed large clouds clumped into each other. They were moving away into the distance, and he could see a few lightnings flashing here and there. So the horrible weather was going away. Richard found it strange however.

He never heard of such an occurrence before, such meteorological events happening right after each other in an order like this. He did tackle the idea of it being unnatural, but he found it brave to assume that anyone with powers could control the weather. Yes The Blue Witch had control over cold, but she certainly can't cause snowstorms to just pop out of nowhere can she?

Richard decided that he had enough, and he went back. He went into his home, shut the entrance and went back to Viola.

Back in the hideout, Viola's point of view:

Richard came in to Viola's room and sat back next to the bed. Viola already questioned him:

"What did you see outside?" -she asked.

"Lots of things. Some bad, and one good. The good one is, the terrible weather that covered the plains regions not far from here has departed. No more storms and hails for now. But I saw some other nasty things as well. A strange gathering of lights in the distance, and a weird crimson light and flash at Ellen's house."

Viola was scared. Ellen's house, due to her contract expiring with the cat demon, was supposed to be powerless by now. Did the demon get another witch there ever since? Did some dark magician do something to it?

"Ellen's house? Light? But how? -asked Viola- Ellen's memories told me that because her contract with the demon was over the house was going to lose its power. Oww...I have a headache Richard..."

The man did not even say a word. Instead, he quickly went away, and then he came back with some painkillers and a glass of water.

"Here. Take these. -he said- Don't worry, they are just simple painkillers. They will need some time to take effect though. See? I told you we should keep it simple. Thinking hard puts burden on your brain, and with this fever of yours, we should take it easy."

Viola took the pills and water, and carefully drank them. She then lay back down on her bed, and Richard adjusted her blankets again to cover her almost entirely. He then asked her:

"Anything else you would like to know about? Or are you very tired now?"

"There are still a few things. You said that you and the other Olverians know so much because 'you were not afraid to defend yourselves. How did this give you so much information about occultism."

"You know Viola, -anwered Richard- when you have to protect yourself from somebody for a long time, you just have to figure out how the person works, even if only at a basic level. To protect ourselves, we started doing some research after them, and we tried scouting after them. The latter did cost Olveria many lives back then."

This was a good explanation, and Viola was now impressed. Here they are, an entire village, in fact, an entire county of people who could defend themselves against the Mervines and other such folks. But how did they do so?

"I am still confused a bit. -said Viola- If you could defend yourself from the witches and others, how come the others could not?"

"The Mervines did not always use raw force. And even if they did, they did it with strategy behind it. Intimidation and fear were primary weapons of theirs, and they usually did shocking moves to terrify the population into being helpless. I could talk about this for a long time. Let us leave this for later."

"You are right. -said Viola- Then I will ask something simpler and nicer. What is Olveria like?"

"Oh, good of you to ask. -said Richard with a smile- Olveria is a simple rural village mostly, but we do keep the lore passed down to us from our ancestors. Olveria is in fact among the oldest settlements in Menidien, and is an important agricultural location in Medran."

"Wow! -responded Viola, being impressed- Well, I do not know what to say about Alvielia. A simple village with nothing that special about it, but we are a loving and familial community. The people take care of each other, and we often help people from other places when they need it."

"Interesting. Mind telling me about some people you know from there?"

"Of course. Well, you know my late mommy Vivian already. My daddy, Travis, is a hunter, but also a close friend with many of the local civilian guardsmen, and he and Mayor Reginald know each other. Good old Reginald is a very strict man, I am even a bit scared of him I admit. He is overall nice though, if a bit overprotective sometimes."

"Do you have any people with powers or such?"

"Well, we have an old lady called Martha. She knows some lesser magical herbs...though I might have told you about her already. Don't you think?"

Richard raised one of his eyebrows and looked upwards for a moment.

"Hmm. You might have. -he said- But, a reminder can be useful. Now, some folks I could tell you about from Olveria; you know my parents already, so there is no need to explain them. First, there is Mayor Monty, possibly the youngest man in such a position I have ever known about. He is only twenty-two years old!."

Viola giggled a bit.

"I wonder what would happen if he and Mayor Reginald ever met. It would be weird, but I bet Monty could learn a lot from him. What is he like?"

"A staunch promoter of peace and trust. -responded Richard- He is devoted in pacifying people, in fact, his dream is to somehow bring peace to Menidien or at least help in bringing peace here."

"I hope he can do it. -said Viola- It would be very nice for me and daddy, and all of us. I wonder… will our 'quest' get somehow involved in such things? I mean, countries and such."

"Good thing that you mention this! -said Richard loudly- I know this might be much, but after Paltor and the others fix you up, and I train you to be healthy, we might have to get away from Menidien. Nasty things are happening all around, this is why I wanted to do some research about the countries as I said earlier."

Viola's mood dropped down significiantly. Leaving Alvielia and her daddy behind was already painful, and this immediately made her feel even more tired than before.

Leaving the country...Viola had hoped that after this is done, she could return to her daddy. But no. Richard noticed Viola's disappointment, and he tried to comfort her.

"Don't worry. It must be scary and painful for you to leave your homeland behind. But returning to your daddy now would be a bad idea. He is probably convinced that Ellen is you, and presenting you to the Alvielians after what happened will just make them paranoid. Believe me...I know it must be hard, but I promise I will help you fix this situation up. No matter what it takes."

"Thank you…" -said Viola.

With a charming and reassured smile, Viola fell to sleep slowly.

Richard decided not to bother her, and he was sleepy too. He sealed the windows to Viola's room, and then went to his bed himself.

This was turning out to be a bit more difficult than he expected. But now that Viola is in this, by her own will in fact, he felt it was his duty to help her to the best of his abilities. But what Paltor said comforted Richard. This quest he will take Viola on will have grand risks, but if they are successful, good times will come, and hopefully remain for long.

A long journey was ahead of them. He could feel it. And to give space for further thoughts and regain his strength, Richard eventually went to sleep as well. And in his stone-concealed home, he and Viola were both safe. However...someone else was also busy doing her own things in the while.

In the village of Alvielia, Ellen's point of view:

Ever since Richard and Viola returned to the hideout, Ellen did most of the preparations she thought she will need for her departure. She gathered clothes, tools and food together, and she put them in a large backpack that she had found in her room earlier.

Gathering the supplies was not hard, as Travis happened to be out of the way. Ellen checked on him, and he seemed to be in for some trouble because of what happened at the forest.

When Ellen found him, he was lying on his bed with a bare torso, and seemingly with a fever. His torso is worth a mention, as Ellen saw a lightning-shaped redding running throughout it. Ellen did read before in a book that thunderstruck people get such 'wounds' but seeing it in real life was terrifying even with knowing about it.

Her friend cat Stuart thankfully remained calm and silent, and he stood in Ellen's room, so nobody was alerted to what was going on. However, things were still not going smoothly for Ellen. Despite the good plan she had, something did not leave her alone. A line of thoughts which she tried to conceal from herself, but she could not do so after a time.

The fact is, this all shocked her. She just gained Viola's body recently, but already things are not going well. The recent weather and the possibility of Viola coming for revenge were the lesser problems in her mind now. She could not help being haunted by the feeling that something was terribly out of its place.

Her mind was soon preoccupied with this, and unlike Viola, she made the mistake of delving into the memories and experiences normally alien to her too soon. If this was for the better or the worse, that is up to one's judgement.

She started to browse in the memories from Viola's life. She saw the little Viola play happily with Travis and Vivian. The little blonde girl was so happy. So carefree. And the two adults loved her so much. How? What did Viola do to be so happy? And what did she, Ellen do to NOT be so happy? Why Viola but not her?

One could say Ellen was envious, and indeed she was. But this was the really dangerous kind of envy mixed with disappointment and depression. Just what could have happened that put her in this position with the miserable childhood of hers, and her turn to witchdom?

Ellen browsed Viola's memories some more. She saw her making good friends at school. She saw her being nice to the other villagers, and the villagers being nice to her. She saw Viola talking with them, discussing things with them, and learning from them.

Ellen then saw Viola's memories from school. So many young children, all of Viola's age. School was something Ellen dreamed of back then as a mundane child, and an old, but not entirely forgotten part of her true heart was stirred by this.

She saw Viola and the children talking. Little children, discussing school, games, toys, grades, subjects and their teachers, and getting to know each other. Forming a class, a group of children who actively help each other through troubles and all such things.

Ellen saw them engaging in school life. Lunch, exams, being happy about being able to miss out some lessons, getting to know their new teachers upon reaching 5th grade in school...

So many things which did pique Ellen's interest. Now that she saw these, she did start to feel shame about what she did. It MUST be noted that before all this, Ellen was cut off from pretty much the rest of the world because of her disease. She did not know what it was like to have true friendships. She did not know what it was like to have a loving family, or to just generally share interests with other people before this.

She had no idea what chances and things was she bereaving people of by committing all those horrible murders. And with this line of thoughts reaching this points, something snapped.

A terrible headache got over Ellen, much worse than the one Richard's attack. She fell on the ground, and she started breathing heavily.

An onslaught of memories flew through her head. Different memories from Viola's life. And then various images from her own life. But they did so in a sequence that was suspicious to Ellen.

At each give time, two memories following each other seemed to...match. It was almost as if something was forcing her to watch as the two lives are compared with each pair of points being assorted. This thing happened all over during the shocking experience, and Ellen could not resist or send the thoughts away.

She was like this for several minutes, and then the memories suddenly stopped flowing like this. The headache however disappeared slowly, but it did so after a time along with the memories.

Ellen had no idea what to make of that. Was somebody trying to chide or judge her for the things she had done? Was somebody, or something trying to make her feel regretful? Ellen hated admitting it, but deep inside, a spark of regret and guilt did appear. She now had a basic comprehension as to why the things she did was terrible.

Now that she was shown such a perspective, her views began changing. And her personality began to bend in some points too. Along with the similar experiences she had before, these changes were starting to be more than just small sparks in her spirit.

But her fear of Viola and losing her newly gained body and life were still strong unfortunately. And a bit of time later, she went back to her plans. But, the experience haunted her from this time on. She could never forget it, and it etched itself deeply into her mind, even if its effects were only minor now.

Coping with it, Ellen stood up, and ignoring her pain, she started thinking if she had anything else to do before leaving. She had the supplies to leave, Travis was not a problem, and the rest of the village was probably busy with damage control or some such business.

What else was there...oh right. Ellen realized that Viola might have friends or acquaintances outside Alvielia, they might recognize her. Not wanting to have another 'memory-seizure', Ellen refused to start searching Viola's memories about them. But, some other memories about Viola's clothing helped.

Ellen knew that one thing she could do to be subtle was to change her appearance around a bit. And there were many tools around here for that. First off, there were clothes that Viola had but did not like wearing them. Second, she could change her haircut into something greatly differing from Viola's current one.

Both easy to do, but helpful. Ellen decided to change her haircut first, as she did not want hair getting on whatever clothes she was going to wear. She went out of her room, into the bathroom and she looked into the mirror. Viola's double-braids were quite unique, and she was happy about this. Changing this into something different will surely help much.

Not having too much knowledge about haircuts, Ellen grabbed a scissor and got working. After a long time of difficult cuts, stubborn strings of hair, and aiming around in the mirror, Ellen ended up with a relatively decent bob-cut. She liked it, as it gave her sort of a 'tough girl' image, which she thought was going to be useful.

She combed it a bit, and it was easy to do, viewing how short her hair was now.

After finishing, Ellen went back to her room and started planning about how will she dress. She started searching in her bag, trying to find the clothes she knew Viola did not like. Ellen guessed that wearing pieces of clothing Viola rarely did would act as sort of a disguise.

She eventually found them. Bulky grayish shoes, somewhat dirty, presumably from using them to walk in dirt. Although practical and strong, it had a robust design, and Ellen agreed in with Viola in terms of disliking it.

Next, brownish pants. They were bland and simple in design, but Ellen did not understand why Viola did not like them. They were bland yes, but they were comfortable and Ellen presumed it will warm her legs nicely when if she ended up someplace cold.

And finally, a gray shirt with a single red, vertical stripe on it. Ellen like this one very much, especially the red stripe. Not wasting any time, she put it and the shoes on too after taking off her previous clothes.

She went to the bathroom again quietly to not make noise with her big shoes and checked herself again. With this clothing on and the haircut she made, she really did have a tomboyish image. Though Ellen would have preferred to have long hair with beautiful clothes, she knew that something unusual for Viola was the way to go now.

Satisfied with her setup, Ellen went back to her room and gathered her supplies together. There was now only one thing left. Where will she go? This is something she wanted to do research on, but too much time being spent on this was something that was not worth it for her.

Being prepared with everything else, Ellen instead wanted to leave quickly. She took a compass out of her bag, and decided that she will just go north all the way. She guessed she will eventually end up somewhere anyway. She did not really care where, just out of the country, or at least far away from here.

As she was thinking, Ellen felt Stuart at her legs again. Picking up the feline, she began to talk to him:

"Are you coming with me too? -she said- It will be a long way. And I don't even know where I will end up. I don't want to waste time poking around in books you know."

Stuart purred softly as an answer. He seemed to really like Ellen, and Ellen too enjoyed his company, which was enhanced by Ellen's love for cats she always had. Stuart was another stir in her heart, and one she did not even try to deny.

"You're the best cat I ever met. -said Ellen- And the smartest one too. Do you really, really want to come with me?"

Stuart just continued to purr and he rubbed his head against Ellen's face. The two shared a few moments like this, but Ellen then turned her attention back to her journey ahead.

"Fine, then come with me. But I warn you, it will be tough. You really, still want to come with me? Well then, let's go!"

Before going, Ellen turned around one last time to inspect the room. Now that she was about to do it, leaving seemed like a difficulty. She was scared a bit to leave behind a safe home. However, she remembered the dangers abound, and her fear of Viola was stronger than her attachment to this place.

Ellen took up her bag, and began her journey. With Stuart behind her, she carefully went downstairs, not wanting to wake Travis up by any chance. Sneaking through the corridor and the entry hall, and the the pair went out the door.

Ellen was careful to take a peek around. The sky was relatively clear, but to the northwest, the big clouds that bombarded the region with all their nasty stuff were still visible. Some stray lightnings could still be seen over there. Their sound did not reach this far, so Ellen guessed they were very far away now, and that she will not have to deal with them.

She also checked the streets. No people could be seen outside, she guessed that they were busy with all the things in their houses the recent negative events might have messed up. If that was the case, it would be the best. Ellen knew however that she still needed to be subtle. Someone could still see her from a distance and stop her for some reason.

Instead of taking the streets, Ellen decided to sneak by the backyard of the house. Checking her compass, she noticed that it was pointing to the west while she was going towards that direction. Not a problem though, as Ellen had an idea.

She decided to make some distance between herself and Alvielia and THEN go straight north. The backyard was easy to go through, Travis did not keep any larger plants, and the back fence did not have a padlock on its gate. No dogs or other such animals were around, so there was no house pet to alert anybody around.

Ellen looked back and listened carefully several times, but nobody was following her and Stuart. Stuart kept quiet too, he seemed to understand the situation, something which made Ellen happy. She had a companion who, even if only to a limited extent, understood her. If nothing else, being not alone made Ellen feel a bit safer.

Walking for an hour or so, Ellen soon started to approach a forest west of Alvielia. It was far away from it, so she decided to target it. She go to the edge of the woods, and she noticed a large hill on the edge of them. She scaled it, and decided to look around.

Luckily for her, she did indeed make a good distance between herself and Alvielia, and looking into the distance, she saw that no other villages were in the direction she wanted to go, at least not as far as she could see. Ellen only worried about the villages close by though, as the farther ones had less chances of having people who know Viola; and with her little disguise, this might just be enough for her to pass by safely.

Also, Ellen was astonished by what she saw. The tall elevation allowed her to observe the distance, and a sight to behold was it! The many rolling hills, the meadows, the other hills and forests, all making up a beautiful countryside. Ellen tried not looking towards Alvielia, not wanting the place to spoil the beauty of these moments.

Paying much attention, Ellen could see a few animals moving around in the distance. She could not exactly discern what they were, but seeing this bloom of life around was already something of a novelty to her. Back around The Witch's House, she did not get to see things like this, as animals were afraid to come near the bewitched mansion.

She was ensnared by the amazing sights for a bit. Staring at the many beautiful sights nature had to offer here, Ellen was sort of inspired to go on. Somehow, she got the feeling the place was...inviting her to journey through there. A certain call of adventuring and exploration took root in Ellen, together with a newfound feeling of freedom.

After staring around for a few minutes, Ellen decided to continue along the edge of the woods. Descending down the hill, she followed the outermost line of trees. She did not meet any larger animals along the way, though she did hear noises that were of animals. Through Viola's experiences, she recognized some of them.

She mostly heard deers calling out to each other, but mostly it was many kinds of birds chirping around loudly. Their many, diverse sounds made a beautiful song of nature, something which Ellen found to be weird in grim times like this, but still, charming and calming.

In the while however, something else started to work in Ellen. The emotion of being free. The notion of going wherever she wanted. Now that she was out of Alvielia, this got all over her. She was actually free to go anywhere, on her own! And this real!

Not made up with enchantments and illusion by the cat demon or some such drivel, but very real! She could smell the many scents nature offered to smell, she could smell the clear air out here, and she could feast her eyes on the many sights before her.

Just like her thing with cats and her dreams of school, this was a part of her true heart. And she was doing it; she was in it. No sickness or demon or witch house holding her in. This experience was only hers now; and she had Stuart with her.

As she walked around, her escape was not her only subject in her mind any longer. She inspected the plants and the environment around her in amazement, it was entrancing to her. The many flowers, plants, trees and other environmental elements all around.

The beatiful formations of rocks covered with moss and grass, the different groups of variations of trees, many things that were new to her. She did have Viola's memories of nature, but to her soul and spirit, these things were new and exciting.

The many little valleys, bent trees on a cliff she saw deep in the forest while looking in there between two tree she stood in front of, and all sorts of foliage. On one spot, the foliage of the trees took on a sparkling, silverish color due to it reflecting the sunlight from itself.

It, and a mossy, big branch looking like some sort of wand made Ellen feel she was looking at a place straight out of some fairy tale. Except this was in real, living life. This was getting better and better.

And , she was now getting to experience all this for herself. And there was no one to limit her. Not her father, not the cat demon, and not Viola or any affiliate she might have met ever since. For once, she was on her own in peace, even if in possible pursuit.

She walked for another hour, and she eventually got to the northern edge of the woods. Conveniently, there was a small clearing there, with a hill covering it from the south. Scaling the hill and looking around with her compass and eyes, she could confirm that she could go straight north from here later.

Looking around further, she saw that Alvielia was now quite far away, there was now not much of a chance that someone will find here. She decided to look for a place where she could hide away from prying eyes. The clearing below was in sort of a pit, so it exactly fit this requirement.

Night was coming however, and the disk of the sun was barely visible on the sky. Ellen decided that she will camp here for the night. Truth be told, Ellen was quite excited. This was her first time out in nature on herself, and the night started to descend soon.

Viola's memories, though she was now very careful with them, served her well this time as well. Putting down her bag, she got a box of matches out. She brought many of those, as she had the feeling that she will need fire often. Remembering campfire, she went to gather branches scattered on the ground and put them together on a small heap.

Ellen then lit a match, and ignited the branches with it. The campfire was soon lit, and now she had some light in the darkness. Stuart did not seem to be that scared of the fire, though he did keep a noticeable distance. He lay down next to Ellen, who was now sitting in range of the fire's light. There was no wind around, so Ellen did not have to worry about the cinder from the fire being blown around.

Ellen did not notice Stuart, as she was contemplating her thoughts. She thought back to all the things she saw today. The many amazing things in nature...as much as she was concerned about Viola, these were amazing to her. She started feeling like she entered a larger world, one with much more things than the books at her witch house taught her.

She guessed that no matter who writes what text about the world, experiencing the many things it has within itself is still another thing. It was an amazing thing to come out here. Much to Ellen's pleasure, things seemed to be calm around. No animal came here to bother her and Stuart, only the crickets could be heard doing their thing.

Ellen remembered that she frequently heard crickets back in The Witch's House too, but that would only serve as another painful reminder of how she was locked in. Now, they served as reassurance that she wasn't just making things up in her mind. Their noise in fact was a pretty background noise for Ellen, she enjoyed their little commotion.

For once, Ellen felt a little bit of happiness, despite all the things happening around. And for once, she was calm and satisfied with what she had. She found it ironic. She has very few things compared to what she had to the Witch's House, but she was happier than she was back then.

She sat a bit closer to Stuart, and began petting the cat. Stuart purred, and he moved on to Ellen's lap and lay down there, and his mistress kept petting him. This made Ellen feel even more safe. The two of them were now two runaways, they were in this together.

They were doing this for a few minutes, until Ellen started feeling fatigue. Stuart got off her lap, and Ellen could stand up. She went to her large bag and started searching inside it. She found a sleeping bag which she could use. She set it up on the grounds, and lay down there to take her rest.

As soon as she lay down however, she saw something new again, which she never go to see to its full glory before. The starry sky, unobscured by window glass or anything else like that. Only the tree canopies obscured it a bit, but only towards the bottom of Ellen's line of sight.

This amazed Ellen once again. Back in The Witch's House, there was a garden section, but the sky at night was always a flat black or dark blue, with the stars or the moon never being visible. She guessed that the demon was either lazy or not strong enough to replicate the complex patterns of the starry sky.

Whatever the case, this sight not only soothed Ellen's mind, but it also made her think. She started her journey yes, and she even had a direction, but what will she do after reaching her destination? How will she earn her living? What will she do in terms of hobby and work? Brainstorming took place.

Ellen started daydreaming about her future, and looking at the stars seemed to enhance her flow of thoughts. She tried to think of things she liked, as in, things she herself liked and not Viola.

Cats, books, clothes, pastries, nature...she was surprised to notice this, but Ellen really started liking nature in general. Her sense of freedom which she finally had was a long time desire of hers. And nature finally allowed her to experience this fully.

"This is more like it!" -thought Ellen.

After the initial disappointments in Alvielia, something positive was finally showing up. Even if something small like this, but it was something. For a little time, she forgot about the cat demon and Viola and the others for a while.

Staring at the starry sky and being alone out here with a loyal, if non-human friend made her feel somewhat safe. The little clearing felt like sort of a sanctuary to her now. As the campfire slowly faded, the lighting conditions around made the sky an even better sight.

Ellen observed the stars, and she wondered about what will happen. She remembered Viola and the others suddenly, but strangely, fear and other such emotions eluded her now. She was now much more confident.

"Finally. -she thought- The first part of my plan actually went fine. I am out of the village, and I got to see things which I always wanted to see. Finally something good, and finally, I do this because I want to do it."

Ellen started thinking about tomorrow. What will she do next? She wakes up ready to go. She must pack her stuff, eat to get ready, and go north. Yes, up north. She wondered what it is like though...

She always read in her books that the more north you go, the colder it would get. This however made Ellen even more exited. She always wanted to see and play with snow, and these were things even Viola's memories barely had. Menidien's warm climate made local winters relatively short and most of the time, snowless.

She also read that in the north, big and tough people lived, so she was now thankful for herself for taking up the 'tough girl' image she did back home. Even though it was just a blind guess, it already promised to serve goodly.

Ellen liked this more and more at the moment, as new things to see were now coming in multitudes. And with all those places of nature she had seen already, Ellen's curiosity sparked up. She was quite sad about how she will be only able to spend limited time observing Menidien's beautiful countrysides though, as she imagined that the rest of the country was like this as well.

After thinking for some time, Ellen got more and more tired. She was still daydreaming about her future when she fell asleep. Her campfire went out in the while. Now both her and Stuart were obscured by the night from eyes that might come around the spy.

And with that, Ellen has escaped from Alvielia, and she was relatively safe in the hands of nature, at least for the time being. This was fortunate for her.

As in the distance, the small gathering of lights that Richard saw earlier was on the move again. It seemed to be moving towards the west, close enough so that Ellen could have seen it clearly. But since she was sleeping, she could blissfully forget about things for once in her life. However...she had no idea what was coming for her.

The world does not really forget events, and Ellen was not aware that her actions as a witch has unleashed many things that she might come to catch up with her in time. This was just a matter of time and decisions. Maybe Viola, maybe someone else.

This is something that the future will surely reveal later. For now, Ellen was asleep, and so was Richard and Viola.

-END OF CHAPTER 4-

-Whoooh, this was difficult to write.

-Sorry for this taking so long, I really wanted to avoid making the story rushed, cheesy or forced.

-School time is coming, so I do not know when will I make Ch. 5, but I will work on it I promise.