Chapter 10: Enchanting Relationships
Few Days Later
The following couple of days ensued under a well-lit sunny afternoon. Ellen was enjoying her day, laying down without a care in the world as her back leaned on the greenery. Apathetic to how dirty her dress would get, she looked towards the sky. She savored the fresh outdoor breeze that was rampant through the air.
She felt the wind touching her, kissing her smooth flawless skin. It carried a pleasant aura enough to make her think that it was derived from the sun as she likened the smell to how the sun's radiance felt against her. It could all only be described in one word to her: warmth.
Obviously enjoying herself, Ellen cherished the outside atmosphere. She always found herself making the most of it by sitting outside alone, regardless of how much or how often she leaves the house. Whenever she went outdoors, the sensation was all the same to her as she felt deprived for eternity between the last time she went outside. The confinement of four walled structures was a little much for her.
The girl inhaled the pleasant aroma that encompassed her surroundings, contemplating how she would miss it come winter. Such aroma she would subconsciously akin to the Secret Garden, a mystical place described in the holy scriptures among certain regions' cultures.
Ellen caught herself as she made that thought come to the forefront her mind. While she smiled outward, she was gritting her teeth somewhat while maintaining an innocent grin on her face. She eventually let out a long sigh before she eventually asked herself, "Why do I find this idea just so pleasant and beautiful?"
She sat up, extending a peaceful sigh, catching some flowers in the corner of her eye. The flowers sat to her left and bloomed healthily. While they weren't roses, they were the same shade but that wasn't the only thing that intrigued her. They matched the color of her red sundress as well as one other additional reason.
The flower was a viola.
Ellen turned her attention away from the flower upon remembering that little detail. She simply wanted to cast aside the part that made her think she was not Viola, the daughter of former hunter Travis Fletcher. However, it didn't prevent her from entering a state of deep thought.
Looking at that flower made her look back to her past. While it was true she looked down on the idea of a so-called 'God, thinking of it as nonexistent or cruel, she found the concept of an afterlife simply endearing. A place where nobody must suffer anymore, especially herself. Even if she found it fabricated, it just amazed her how such a 'false' ideal brought her of all people peace.
She was never one to be of religious faith during her long life, never attending any sermons growing up. She was hidden from the world for eternity, only to be seen when people accidently crossed her. It was easy to see herself as detached from the rest of the world, her old age and vile experiences twisting her perception of the world.
"Such a petulant way to keep themselves sane, it is." She thought, "The only good it does is a weak sense of right and wrong and how that is the reason for all the misfortune in their lives. Good and evil, please. That silly duality is subjective."
Irritated, Ellen laid down immediately afterwards, closing her eyes as she blanketed the sun's beams to keep herself warm. She didn't like contemplating about these things too much as she hated thinking about a plethora of things when she was alone. She thought she would adopt Viola's personality without much effort, overestimating herself.
She couldn't help but think about regardless. While it was possible for her to trick others under the façade that she was a sick little girl who received love for centuries on end; when it really came down to it, Ellen was still, to an extent, herself. It didn't matter if it was a fabrication if she was still herself even then.
While Ellen did have Viola's memories and experiences, just peering into those didn't mean she could adapt the girl's intricacies and nuances as her own because there was a lot about the girl than met he eye. She could pretend to imitate Viola on the surface, but some things she couldn't pretend to be okay with since she had her own subjective opinion on them.
As Viola would describe it, the body yearns and sometimes these yearnings really bothered Ellen to the point where she felt a disconnect from the body. Unlike the Witch's House and her own body, Viola's body was separate from Ellen's soul. It was as if the body isolated her like the same way a cave ostracized someone from their family.
It is said the body is where someone can be themselves, but that couldn't be any less true for Ellen. She denied it with all her will, but at the end, she knew she was Ellen, not Viola.
It didn't help that Ellen was experiencing dormant memories of Viola as well since falling asleep the night before. These memories concerned Viola's late mother and one other boy; a boy who was violent, impulsive and distant. Viola's body remembered the amount of care those two had for her and such memories of that love taunted Ellen.
This angered her somewhat because she couldn't help but make the connection between one of her visitors and Viola's so-called "brother". She knew she'd seen that boy before, but can't ever remember his name for the life of her. While these memories were foggy at best, the message got across to Ellen. Viola was a girl loved and received that love in the form of a sister, a brother, a father and a mother. However, her memory of the brother and the mother had been blank until now.
She grew tired, she didn't want to ponder on these thoughts any longer. In her weariness from the backlash, she entered a nap. She closed her eyelids as the wind blew parallel to the way she was sleeping. She crossed her legs and placed her hands behind her head as the darkness of slumber took hold of her.
Little did she know though, that by sleeping, she allowed one peculiar dormant memory to make its presence known to her. Ellen couldn't help but paying close attention to the detail within this memory in particular as it was easily the most discernable of the memories that had been plaguing her.
The memory dates back about three years ago. It was a winter's eve.
Viola was sitting on a cold wooden bench in the park she always visited, having arrived there after she ran outside after she had another tantrum between her father and herself. While she was well-prepared for the cold with the proper clothing, she was aware she wasn't supposed to be outside at this time. She didn't care though, she didn't want to care because her father's overly protective nature of her prevented her from having the kind of luxury other children did.
After getting into another fit against her father, Viola became frustrated. She didn't like listening to him because he's always hesitant with her taking risks. His rules really aggravated her to the point where she felt isolated and trapped because of them.
Viola remembered looking at all the other kids with their parents: a mother and a father. That is what made her the saddest; she had no mother and she envied those who had both of their parents.
The protection of the father, and the warmth and assurance of the mother. The latter luxury is the very thing she lacked. While she had a sister of sorts, she only visits every so often. She didn't have a female to confide in her situation.
The worst part is not even her father could make heads or tails of what happened with her mother. This was the very thing she didn't feel like returning home to. She continued to sob and brood over her home life only to find something in the corner of her eye.
Viola turned to face whatever crossed her sight, and needless to say, she regretted it. It seemed as though some other person was present during the park at this time. Viola clearly didn't see the person as the benevolent kind because his appearance was just so menacing.
The figure just stood there in an almost taunting way, looking at the girl without mercy. His black tattered reaper-esque cloth shrouded the man's figure from his entire upper body to his upper legs. His face remained hooded.
Already as distressed as she was, his appearance alone was enough to send her in a state of panic. She tried wiping her eyes and her tear-stained face in an effort to assure herself it was just a figment of her imagination.
She looked in the same direction after doing so. Much to her surprise, the individual was no longer in that same spot, allowing Viola to let of a sigh of relief.
However, her re-assurance was but short-lived because when she turned around directly behind her as she sat up, she had come to learn that he was now less than ten feet away from her.
Uneasy to the point of near-petrified, Viola scampered off the bench in a rather careless manner. Such an action had caused her to lose her balance and fall over, landing on the grass, knees first. It didn't help that it was getting increasingly difficult to see outside as the sun was beginning to set too.
Finding herself on the ground, she instinctively turned her head around to see the supposed malefactor. He looked at her as his hood flew off from the wind revealing a mane of black hair that reached his mid back. There were a handful of strands in his hair, especially across the bangs that frame down the right side of his, that were white as well.
Even without his hair, his face was concealed with an odd mask of sorts. Removing the hood did little good in the end as he donned a facemask that covered from his chin to his nose and a sharp dark military marque goggles that acted as a one-way window. With this, he could effectively see people without them seeing his eyes. The man started to walk.
Viola found herself sitting flat on the ground, backing up as she noticed the creature advancing towards her. She crawled backwards with he hands, her bottom rubbing against the ground as she looked at him
Eventually finding her back against a tree trunk, Viola found herself paralyzed in fear. She couldn't move because she was too scared to. She wanted to scream but since she hiccups whenever stressed or scared, it didn't help her. The man soon cornered her, prepared to land the whatever killing blow was up his sleeve.
Viola began crying, "Please…please…don't…hurt… me". Her face was tear-stained, her snot was coming down her nose and her hiccups impaired her speech even further.
The man put his hand out. While Viola thought he was going to reach for her neck, he instead placed his hand on her cheek. She felt his black glove touch her cheek. Viola was taken aback by such a gesture but couldn't help but think he was comforting her before he was going to kill her.
He made her look at him by opening her eyes and placed his hands on both of her cheeks as he looked at her.
What happened next was weird because when Viola opened her eyes, she quickly found herself to be still sitting at the bench and having no memory of the individual or why she was here at all.
Worried, she sprinted home, where she'd apologize to her dad for going out against his wishes.
It was right here where the memory ends and Ellen woke up.
Ellen found herself snapping back to the present, internally sweating from what she experienced. The memory of that masked man burnt into her retinas. The way he held Viola's face in that memory, the way he took he seemingly glowered at the girl. She could only imagine the intensity in his gaze hidden behind his mask and hair.
In that memory alone, she felt fear for the first time. She felt Viola's fear from being strangled or killed in that one instance. It made her stare deep into the distance for a while. She felt the same level of paralysis Viola felt when he cornered her at that tree, with the phantom touch of that very same bark against her back.
After several minutes of ruminating this memory, Ellen found herself being drawn back to reality. The commotion from the guests in the distance was enough to amass her attention. She remembered that there was a gathering event between her father's friends and their children as well as a few of her own friends and their parents.
The event itself was a combination of a barbecue and a picnic, dubbed a 'picuenic' by Viola and Travis.
That's right, a 'picuenic'.
Ellen couldn't help but smile coyly at the what she referred to as "an absurd amalgamation of words to establish affection between father and daughter."
Thinking that the overall terminology between Father and daughter to be completely asinine, she smiled regardless. Deep down, some part of her thought otherwise. Reminiscing the moment where the word was coined by Viola and her father. The girl's obstinate nature was troublesome at times, much like her father. Her insistence of the word stemmed from her unwillingness to call the event a 'barbecue and picnic' and she chose the name 'picuenic' because it was more convenient for her.
"A 'picuenic'", Ellen said, repeating the words again in again by vocalizing it in whispers. She wanted to commit it to memory because she found this level of attachment with Travis adorable.
She couldn't help herself when it came to peering through her host's body's memories because the memories that elated Ellen were the ones Viola shared with her father.
However, there were memories that made her annoyed admittedly as, like the one she experienced moments ago, elicited a degree of mental pain and stress on Viola's brain; the aftereffects that Ellen would be experiencing. These horrible memories that had long been dormant within Viola were burnt into Ellen's eyes, feasting on her heart. It became flesh and blood that Ellen couldn't dig out and it prevented her from sleeping at all in the past few days.
She thought that by hijacking someone else's body, she thought her pain etched into her being would easily be alleviated. It was much more complicated than donning the alias of 'Viola' and pretending to be her. She had to now recollect Viola's pain that mysteriously resurfaced as well as her own because it reminded her old life and such a thing disgusted Ellen. However, the real problem was while she knew this deep down for the past few days, she denied them with the same degree of stubbornness Viola herself exhibits.
In short, her mind and body were in direct conflict with one another because of these memories and it didn't help she was trying to deny the pain of the body not only because of her own foolhardiness to run away from her own pain but also due to of the body's own stubbornness that it inherited it inherited from Viola's soul.
She hated her former friend at her very core because she reminded her so much of her late mother, a fact that disheartened her deep down. Not only that, she found the action of creating new words out of affection, such as Viola and Travis did, went to show how loved Viola was, not Ellen.
"No, even if it wouldn't be her, I would be free regardless." Ellen thought, begrudgingly even thinking about her 'friend', "Even in death, she may have believed that she'd be last to suffer by my hands, if it meant nobody else would get hurt by me. Such stupid girls, always casting aside the love they receive from the men in their lives. Foolish, pathetic women like those disgust me beyond words."
"If that is the case, then what would be the difference between them and yourself?", said a disembodied, monotonous voice.
Ellen was taken aback. She heard the voice as it was loud enough such that everyone should have noticed it. She quickly yet carefully reassessed the situation at hand. The reason nobody heard the voice except her was because it was speaking to her within her own mind, as if invading her own privacy.
Such a reason was why she despised demons. It didn't take her long to confirm it was indeed one but not the same one she's known throughout her own life. She had no desire to respond to it, knowing full well what they're capable of.
However, the question itself was enough to let words escaped her. She replied back, "Excuse me?", in a rather annoyed tone.
"Allow me to repeat myself", the voice replied back, maintaining its lifeless undertone, "Why would you say they are different from yourself because as far as I'm concerned you're guilty of the very same actions you accuse them of. Hypocritical as my analysis claims."
Ellen couldn't maintain her composure through her thoughts, "What the hell do you know about me?" It was the last thing for her to expect a demon of all things to come out in this time of day to give her a scolding. She gritted her teeth subsequently as hearing those words only amplified her mental stress further. They were words she didn't wish to hear.
Desperately trying to ignore his words but to no avail. She couldn't even channel his voice out of her head or mute him if she really wanted to. She was normally very even-tempered but when it came to demons, her hear tears at the seams. It didn't help he wasn't even done.
Paying no mind, the voice continued, "You baffle me. Your mother, this 'Viola' and you all have that in common. You all can't accept that you're loved and throw it away carelessly. Surely you, given your life experience know this unless you're senile, witch Ellen."
"That's not who I am, don't call me that." She responded, trying to refrain from screaming out loud as it would only garner attention of those in the distance. She didn't like that her mind was being read, nor the fact that she anticipated a form of bad news, "Just state your business. I have no quarrel with you and like to keep it that way. It's unlike your kind to act like this without a reason."
The voice sighed anticlimactically, already annoyed by her childish behavior, "If you must know: I'm only a wanderer. I peer into the souls of the children that dwell her and look at their memories. Normally I can't be heard by people but since you have exposure to my realm and others don't, you are the only one who can hear me. It didn't take long for me to figure out who you really are, 'Viola'."
"I choose my own identity, otherworldly swine." Ellen spat back unkindly, caring little of what was talking to her, "I'll ask one more time. State your business." She reached into her bag and armed herself with a bottle of water.
"You humans are a rather petulant species." It said, exhausted at the girl's words, "I don't have an agenda. But I will tell you that staying by your father's side is the most optimal route for your survival."
"Why?" she responded, showcasing a first semblance of surprise after a long time.
"Because they'll be coming for you." it said cautiously.
"Whose they?" she retorted.
"Oh now you want to split your attention." It said, not even attempting to hide the fact that he's a rational demon, "Let's just say there are heretic hunters you should look out for."
"And why are you telling me this?" she asked, exasperated.
"Because if they find you, they won't take you quietly; they'll kidnap you and kill everyone in this town indiscriminately. Needless to say if they kill you, you're no use to me dead."It replied calmly.
She looked in the direction of the forest with bewilderment.
"Come again?" she said.
"Stay out of trouble. That includes messing with other demons. If you were wise you'd believe me.", it said in a rather concerned way.
Ellen contemplated at his words.
"Just a food for thought I have left to share with you: do you ever think Viola's father will ever love you should he ever happen to find out you're not truly Viola?"
As the entity let his last words be known, Ellen sat up, wondering what he meant. Surely there could be no plausible way for her Travis to know of this, unless the demon told him directly. Before she could respond to him, he was long gone.
Ellen rubbed her eyes, gathering her thoughts as she did her best to avoid paranoia. Demons are not the kind to get directly involved with the human world or the people that inhabited it unless there's an endgame. She was certain that who she spoke to had no intention of exposing her but she couldn't help but ponder his endgame.
She was certain that she wouldn't be reminded of her former identity or life any further; that she's be free from all that. However, her exposure to otherworldly demons would forever be her curse as they, while she didn't like to admit it, were her closest friends. She felt disdainful of that sad truth and it was another reason that prevented her from easing in as 'Viola'.
She could see them and know what they're capable of. Likewise, they know her as well.
Ellen stood up, staggering in pain upon standing from the mental backlash of Viola's memories. The vision that plagued her most was of Viola's late mother pampering her.
These new memories that suddenly came to Ellen regarding Viola took her surprise. She trembled at the foreign memories; being in the girl's body for this long, she had long been accustomed to the memories Viola's body had on hand.
She saw her mother, Viola's mother. What she saw was a sickly woman who was not loved by her own family yet, despite that, was able to establish a loving family of her own and was, in turn, loved.
Knowing this made Ellen her feel overwrought because she quickly noticed the comparisons and contrasts between her and this broad. That didn't compare to what made her feel disgusted to the point of contempt when it came to her.
Unlike herself, this ailing woman who spent majority of her life nearly bedridden had managed to find the means to keep herself healthy and cure her infirmity. She knew somebody gave her the cure to her sickness. Such a fact bothered her because not only did she not remember who the person was at all in these flashbacks due to Viola's altered memories. It was also because she knew she met them before, but his name eluded her; not to mention, it didn't help how forgetful she became as the years went by.
Whenever the person's face ever popped in her head, it was always obscured as she recalled the events. Ellen wanted this to stop, having no desire to experience this new mental pain inflicted on Viola long after they traded bodies. On top of all that, somebody's voice spoke in her thoughts as she recalled those events bit by bit.
Ellen placed her hands on her head, trying to shut the voices off. But they just echoed through the chambers of her mind.
"I miss her too. She'll come home. I can promise you that much."
"Viola, don't worry about mommy. She'll come home soon. Now please drink some water; you're going to get sick."
Then an infant Viola's voice was heard.
"Bwotheh, don't go."
Finally, she heard Viola's mother. She was talking to the aforementioned person.
Then she heard Viola's mother. She was talking to the mysterious figure.
"I love you, XX."
Even the name eluded her. Ellen grasped her forehead, "So many questions. How is he? Why does he sound very familiar?" She knew the name was at the top of her tongue, but she couldn't articulate her thoughts into words without having clouded thoughts.
The voice of a girl Viola's age tethered her back to reality, causing the voices in her head to peter out before her obsessive thinking of the matter could consume whatever was left of her sanity.
Overjoyed at the thought of hearing a familiar voice only Viola would know, she turned around to face them. She needed something, anything to help her slip away from the thoughts and voices spiraling in her head. It seemed some things just don't change about her as she retained this bad habit for years. She valued company for this reason and its company she has right now.
She heard the voice call out, "Viola! Viola!" The girl yelled at the top of her lungs. The girl's nervous tone was enough to make Ellen cringe as her voice entered her ears. She was running as she ran towards her, waving her hand in a greeting gesture as she approached her.
Ellen tittered as she watched the girl come towards her.
After a few minutes, the girl, out of breath spoke weakly, "Viola, you okay." She panted as she looked at what appeared to be her best friend. Ellen smiled innocently as she heard those words. She stared into the girl's blue-rimmed glasses before looking down at the girl's long blue dress.
She finally spoke back, "Yes, why wouldn't I be Heather?". Ellen then chortled at how cute she thought the girl was being.
Stammering on her next words, Heather spoke back, "It-it's just…I n-n-n-notice you b-by yourself and t-thinking to yourself and that s-scares me. It appears that you aren't h-h-having fun at the party and you look just bored. Is so-so-something on your mind?" It was very clear that Ellen's teasing was getting to her.
Ellen expressed her concern for the shy girl and desisted on laughing at her any further. She then responded in turn, "Oh, I was just thinking about my mother. The thing is I barely remember her and, yet I can't help but feel we had a close connection, you know?"
Heather calmed down eventually, removing any traces of her prior fluster. She said calmly, "I see. I'm so sorry to hear that."
The green-haired girl removed her glasses off her eyes and proceeded to clean them. Suddenly, Ellen grabbed Heather's glasses, removing a handkerchief from her bag and wiped them profusely yet precisely. She eventually gave them back to the owner, of which she spoke out of concern, "Are you sure you're okay?"
"I don't follow", said Ellen in confusion.
"Nothing", Heather said, looking through her frames, admiring how clean her view was, "I'm probably worrying too much."
"I promise I'm alright. Now what's up?" Ellen said, standing her ground.
"Oh", Heather said, remembering why she was here, "Your dad asked me to fetch you. The food is ready."
The duo went over to where all the commotion was. They moved past the guests, where Ellen met and greeted them as she went past them. Few of the guests teased Ellen by remarking how much Viola has grown and one of the guests pinched her on the cheeks affectionately.
She paid it not mind as they were all Travis's friends, so they were, more-or-less, with Viola's relatives. It made her smile that she felt this level of attention. She eventually found the table where all the food was.
While they weren't elegant cuisines by any stretch of the imagination, they were delectable and fresh off the fire. The best kind of food many would argue.
Ellen grabbed what suited her and sat in a remote area with Heather. She looked at her plate and realized, the meat was excavated from the water and was not the sweet deer she always ate. Initially disappointed, such feelings quickly vanished when she took a bite. It was enough for her to get seconds.
Upon finishing their second dose of food, the two girls sat down and talked.
Seeing a smile on her friend's face made Heather feel at ease. So she proceeded to start the discussion, "Can I ask you something, Viola?"
Ellen nodded with affirmation.
"I've wanted to ask you this for a while but never got the chance." Heather began, putting her green hair into a single braid as she continued, "I've noticed that you've changed somehow. You're noticeably more withdrawn, almost emotionless at times. Not to mention you're blunt when you talk sometimes."
Ellen just looked at her, throwing away her smile, "What's your point?"
"You've changed", Heather said, trying to keep on a brave face, "But I don't know if it's for the better or worse because you hardly talk to me anymore."
Heather let a tear escape her eye, wiping it as quickly as it dripped down.
Ellen took a minute to think about what she was talking about and then it hit her.
"Your dad told me you were visiting someone else, another friend in need." Heather pressed on, "I didn't want to be a third wheel or anything, so I decided to let you have your privacy. But nowadays it seems you're not even going anywhere anymore, and it feels that you don't want to talk to anyone anymore. Did something happen?"
Ellen let out a sigh before answering, "Yes, you're right. She moved away, and I just learned to accept my dad's words. I needed time to myself before I could come to terms with any of this."
"You're just gonna be a prisoner to his words now?" Heather asked, confused.
"Nothing that extreme. "Ellen let out a nervous smile, "All I'm saying was my dad was right the whole time; I was hesitant to avoid the forest anyway because she lived near it but now that she's gone, it feels as though I have no reason to go."
"But don't you remember; we promised to see the outside world?" Heather asked, worried by the Viola's change in attitude.
"I think it's best we forget we even had those dreams, Heather." She replied.
"But why? You haven't seriously decided to give up on our dream, have you?" Heather asked, heart by this revelation.
"It's just not possible anymore." Ellen said, looking back at what happened earlier "Truth be told is, I'm scared now."
"Why?" Heather angrily pressed on.
"Because I've come to learn that the we can't go there from the forest because death would be there, waiting for us." The girl replied with a cold tone.
"Are you believing that the witch exists now?" Heather replied, looking at her friend with disbelief.
"That is one reason. Truth be told is, I've been so broken inside that I don't know what I want to do anymore." Ellen said in a surprisingly tearful tone. There was shakiness in her voice.
Heather hugged her best friend. This gesture was enough to make Ellen feel a little warmth inside despite all the cold she felt.
"I missed you." Said Heather.
"Same, truth be told. I was hoping you'd find me, since I didn't have the courage to face you for after I've avoided you and my friend had moved." Viola said.
"What was her name?", Heather asked, growing curious.
"Ellen", Ellen responded, shivering at the sound of speaking her own name.
"What was she like?" Heather continued.
"Listen, I'd rather not talk about it." Ellen replied, letting it know she didn't want to discuss this any further.
"You're still grieving. I'm sorry" Heather said back, regretting even thinking about the subject.
"Thank you for understanding." Ellen said with a slight smile. She then gently caressed her friend's hair with affectionate strokes. An action that filled Heather to the brim with happiness.
Ellen thought about Heather as she saw her smile. She recalled that she was the one friend Viola had; she wasn't her best friend so to speak due to both their respective shyness. They both bonded over the same dream, the only difference was Heather wasn't as openly defiant about leaving the town as Viola was.
Due to growing up without her mother, Viola developed a bit of a persistent streak, especially when it came to carelessly traversing the forest. Her wish was to see beyond her town, so she always defied her father's warnings. A mistake that cost her everything. This was the reason Heather was surprised.
"Anyway, let's not say embarrassing things to each other." Ellen said, breaking the long silence finally.
"Agreed", said Heather in agreement, "It's too sappy, isn't it?"
"No, not really. It's still nice that I have you to think about when it comes to my wellbeing." Said Ellen.
"So what's new with you?" Heather said, noticing how nothing has come up aside from the two friends reconnecting.
"Well after this, my dad is preparing the house for my sister and her daughter." Ellen said, thinking to herself, "The churchgirl."
Heather's face flared with delight upon hearing that, "Martha is coming over?!" She couldn't contain her excitement as she enjoyed Martha's company.
"Yeah, she's coming over for the winter. Dad asked her to for a family reunion before it gets too cold."
"The anticipation is killing me", Heather said, just thinking about the woman was enough to send a chill down her spine, "She's bringing Agatha too. The cutie!"
"Yeah, my niece. Agatha is a quiet child." Ellen said, thinking about her. It was a touching experience for her to have an extended family despite not being related to Viola by blood. Her parents adopted Martha after the church burned down mysteriously.
"Martha used to travel overseas for a pilgrimage, right?" Heather asked, thinking her devotion was something else.
"Yes, she was found by the church, so it was only natural she would be a devote worshipper of God." Ellen replied in kind, "Even after it was destroyed, she remained that way though not without some changes."
"Does her pilgrimages make you the least bit curious about what world lies beyond that body of water?", Heather asked, eager of meeting people from other cultures. She looked at the food they ate s such topic of discourse was brought about from that alone.
"Yeah, it does. I always read about food, among other things, from other places that are just like our town beyond the sea. But I honestly never experienced it", Ellen replied, pondering about how much she had missed in her centuries of confinement. She couldn't help that much considering the only place she knew was in doors and it didn't help that reality hit her when it came to the outside world.
She was torn because now that she could go outside, she was suggested not to. Knowing demons most definitely don't lie, though they do tend to hide things, it upset her.
"You've read about it from some of the books your mom used to read, right?" Heather asked, noting the rather dull expression on her friend's face. She couldn't help but wonder thinking about her
"Yeah, she was always fond of history and geography as well as other cultures. Dad could never understand how she could be so fond of reading. I mean he reads too just found it annoying from her. He loved her regardless." Ellen said, smiling somewhat as that similarity between her and Viola's mom was one she was proud of because it seemed genuine to her.
"Sounds like a woman who loved the outside world." Heather said, wishing she could meet her, "She would've made a great teacher."
"She was an interesting woman." Ellen remarked, "She loved the outside world, just like me."
Those words made Heather remember something she came across recently. This triggered her to ask Ellen, "Speaking of the outside world, did you hear about the rumor?"
"Which one?", Ellen asked.
"From time to time, men in black suits and coats patrolled the streets of our town on rare occasions. They usually came around late noon." Heather said with a shimmer in her irises, "Some people claim they check the forest and leave unscathed. After their visit, they return on the boat they arrive on."
The words 'black suits and coats' raised an alarm for Ellen, immediately reminding her of the individual in Viola's memory from earlier. Ellen responded meticulously, "Is that so? Tell me more?"
"I'm sure you've seen them strolling around town at some point.", Heather inquired, adjusting her glasses from their formerly lopsided position.
"Yeah, those black coats that everyone is ironically more afraid of than the witch in the forest." Ellen responded in affirmation.
"I've bumped into one of them yesterday, and thought he was cute." Heather said somewhat shamelessly.
"You and your obsession with boys", Ellen said in playful annoyance, "There is more to think about when it comes to them besides their looks."
"I can't help it", Heather said, "That's partially why I find them more interesting now. Their faces hide mystery. That and I've heard they hunt heretics."
"Come again?" Ellen said, shaken by the words.
"You know", Heather responded casually, "Mom told me that these men in black coats are hired guns that deal with supernatural and magical things."
Ellen found herself laughing uncontrollably then promptly stopping, "That's bogus, there is no such thing as magic Heather." She found herself contemplating on the body's reaction to hearing the word 'magic'. Viola herself didn't believe in such things
"How do you even know that?" Heather challenged, blushing as she spoke, "It just sounds so dreamy; actual heroes hiding in the shadows fighting crime and corruption, protecting the good and innocent."
Ellen couldn't help but simply nod as she recalled Viola reacting to her friend's rose-tinted perspective. She then replied, "Eh, I don't think they're heroes. Last, I heard, people like that wouldn't do something like that unless they knew it affected them or if there is money involved. I doubt they'd go out their way to save every sad soul and this is considering what you said was true."
"Why do you say that, Viola?" Heather said, visibly hurt by her response, "The way you make it sound, you make them as bad as the witch in the woods."
"It's because they aren't according to what my dad said. Think about it. If somebody is good at something, you'd think they'd do it for free." Ellen said, "Besides, we don't even know whether the witch exists or if she doesn't and the town is just paranoid."
Heather noticed the notable grim tone of her response and asked out of concern for her best friend, "What happened to you? Why are you so negative? Viola, it's like I don't know you anymore."
"Nothing is wrong with me Heather. It's just…" Ellen said, feeling regret, "I'm sorry… it's just I'm tired of believing in something that might as well be a fairy tale. I guess the sudden contemplation of my mother and-"
Before she could say another word, Heather suddenly gave her a hug. Ellen found herself taken aback by such action, feeling shamefaced to the point of her cheeks turning apple red. Despite knowing that Ellen couldn't feel love as herself, she felt there was some degree of honesty in what she said. The subdued memories of her own mother were enough to make it genuine.
"It's okay Vi…", Heather said, "I understand you."
"Thank you", Ellen said, burying her face into the girl's naked shoulder.
Heather removed her from there. Placing her hands on Ellen's shoulders before speaking, "You gotta admit one thing. Whether this is fact or fiction, this is interesting." She smiled assuring the girl that things are alright.
It was at this moment where Ellen found herself taken by Viola's lingering tendencies dominated Ellen's rational thinking. Fighting her body wasn't the best course of action. So, she just casually laughed, responding how Viola would, "Yeah, that's true. At least it's not as ridiculous as the tale of Thomas William and the gospel of the ice sculpture."
Heather found herself laughing as well, "Or Bradley Benedick Constantine's descent into madness."
"How on earth did that guy think he was good at what he claimed he was, despite so much evidence to the opposite?" Ellen chuckled, overwhelmed by the good feelings the body thrusted at her.
"At least he got his comeuppance. He's remembered as history's biggest idiot. He always blamed Merlin Schwertgeist for his own downfall." Heather snickered, glad that she had her friend back.
"Yeah, and the spacers delivered the killing blow." Ellen said, calming down with a smile. She felt great inside as if all her old worries were no longer there. They were gone for the time being. Whatever sparked inside to make her feel like this, she wished she could feel forever. It made her uncomfortable somewhat but allowing these feelings to carry her was perhaps the best course of action.
Heather likewise smiled. This was the Viola she knew.
"Stupid body" Ellen thought.
The rest of the day went by smoothly. After everyone packed up their items and headed home. Heather and Ellen decided to walk home as well, Travis allowing them to talk to each other.
Their friendship rekindled, Heather decided to buy some bread with Ellen on the way home to talk some more.
After all the packing was done, the guests went back to their daily lives in their homes. Some of them made sure their children were with them, paranoid of what could happen at these darkening hours.
Just as Travis and Ellen packed their share of things, Travis looked at his daughter with content. He was pleased with how today turned out with her and Heather. In that moment he spoke up, "Viola, it's okay if I take this alone. You could walk with Heather home, I'll see you there."
While obviously unsettled on the inside by that statement, Ellen couldn't help but feel visible joy to his words. She questioned what the body did, but rolled with it. In response, Ellen did something she didn't think she'd ever do.
Walking up Viola's father, Ellen kissed his cheek and then ran off.
"This is so embarrassing", she thought as she ran. The frigid feeling from the window was contrasted to the intensity and heat she felt in her chest.
She caught up with her the girl with a blue dress. Heather turned around, surprised she was being approached just now.
"Viola", Heather said, shaken by her best friend's arrival.
"My dad said I could spend more time with you." Ellen said panting in exhilaration as she locked eyes with her, "Want to want me home?"
Heather laughed and began talking in a silly voice, "Sure Miss Fletcher, I'll be your knight in shining armor today."
"You're too much", Ellen said, mortified by the immaturity of the girl. "Stupid child."
As they began to take their stroll, Ellen grew contemplative. Inside, she knew was on the brink of despair, but such feelings were short as they became shrouded in what the body remembered. The body only inherited what once belonged to Viola, right down to her lingering quirks.
With the decision set in stone, the two friends spent the rest of early evening walking past the simple archaic houses and crude bazaars.
As they made several roundabouts discussing various things about their times together, Ellen brought forth a question, "So where did you go this summer?"
Such a question was brought about due to her recalling Viola stating she talked to nobody else but her. However, such a thing was only situationally true as Viola's one friend was simply absent.
Hesitating with her response, Heather answered, "We went to XX." She couldn't help but sweat from her nervousness.
"XX?", Ellen reiterated, thinking about the name long and hard. The word interested her, "What was XX like?"
Heather's eyes lit up with excitement, "Well it's oddly still cold despite it being summer over there. Even crazier were these huge waterfalls and the amount of fog created from them."
Just thinking of it made the girl electrified from the feelings of the cold vapors against her bare skin.
"I see", Ellen said, looking down in despondency. It was almost as if she was regretful she didn't get to see it.
Heather suddenly became worried, "I'm sorry Vi." She looked at her friend with concern.
But Ellen didn't respond.
Without a second of thought, the bespectacled girl impulsively grabbed Ellen's warm hand with both of her own.
Ellen felt goosebumps go down her spine. Her heart skipped a beat with this act of friendly assurance. She just looked into the naïve girl's eyes feeling shaken that she never had a friend like her.
"I promise to take with you me next time." Said Heather, wiping the tears on her own face. It pained her to see her friend upset, "That's if your dad is okay with it."
"Okay", Ellen said, unable to process how truly kind a person was being to her. It was to be expected, but inside she felt that by embracing Viola's lingering thoughts, she could adapt these feelings as her own. She could feel Heather was truly her own friend if she did, so she thought.
The two continued walking and eventually came across a bakery.
Heather spoke up as they walked in from of the simple building that had the word covered in a banner, "Let's get you something before we go."
Ellen knew she had to approach this with modesty, given Viola was modest, but she didn't care. All that mattered to her was the girl was going out of her way for her, which is what she thought friends should be doing for them.
The girls went inside, rushing to the counter where the owner of stood, preparing to eventually close.
"Give us a full fresh basket please", Heather said, tossing the money on the counter carelessly out of happiness, "Make sure they all vary in flavor."
The baker nodded in affirmation, too tired to give a verbal answer. He moaned going inside, making sure to close the shop from the outside so nobody else could come.
After some time, the man returned with the freshly baked confectionery. The aroma of the varying sweet bread filled the air, not taking long for it to reach the girls noses. It was a delightful smell. In front of them was a basket of bread, each with different flavors depending on the additives used.
Both of the girls took a different flavor of bread before heading on their merry way.
The two sat down at a nearby bench. It was getting darker, but still bright enough where they could see the sun. The sunset was just near the horizon as the girls ate their basket, talking about various things.
"So, Heather." Ellen suddenly asked, "How are things with your parents?"
"They're fine." She responded, "Dad has gone on another trip while mom is her usual worrisome self."
"Sounds like things are holding well." Ellen responded, finishing her treat.
"Yeah but you know my mom." Heather said, reaching for piece in the basket, "She's always looking out for me. She's too much a shut-in sometimes due to the rumors."
After grabbing the sweet bread, she clumsily dropped the item. It landed on the middle of the route where the bench was.
Aiming to retrieve it, Heather got off the bench and did just that. Pacing to the fallen item, Heather said to herself, "Five second rule."
As soon as the girl bent down to grab the bread, it was snatched. Heather turned her attention to the man that grabbed the item from the ground.
"Here you dropped this", said one of them, holding the item in his black glove. He wiped it before giving it back to her.
"T-tthank you, mister." Heather said, somewhat blushing at the man's cordial demeanor that only was matched by his soft countenance.
The man was of average height and wore black clothing with an elaborate design, "You're welcome. You two might want to go home now. It's not safe outside."
The man's courtesy was offsetting, almost forced. Ellen was obviously creeped out by this, so she grabbed Heather in return.
"Thanks, have a nice night", Heather said, swoon by how knightly the man seemed.
"Have a nice night", he said, opening his eyes revealing a pair of mismatching eyes. One was blood red while the other was grass green. He still smiled as the girls walked away.
The two girls sprinted away. Enough to make sure they were out of sight from the man's line of sight. After several minutes, the man was alone.
His demeanor shifted with his once pleasant smile turning to that of a stone-cold expression. The man sighed in annoyance then cracked his head in to make sure he wasn't feeling stiff.
He walked towards the opposite direction, as if someone was waiting for him there. As soon as he got there, he stroked his messy brown hair to hide his nervousness. However, his visage suggested otherwise as it was still an icy calm.
He sighed, looking at his stopwatch before tapping his foot. He leaned on a nearby concrete wall, spinning the pocket watch from its chain.
After some time, he walked towards the middle of the street. He glared at his stopwatch, opening it revealing a picture of a younger girl who had the same eyes as his own with golden-blond hair as well as a woman with the same color but with olive eyes. He caressed the picture of the girl and woman affectionately before closing the timepiece and placing it within his pocket.
He closed his eyes in anticipation. Behind him a portal of darkness emerged and from it stepped forth a behemoth. The behemoth raised his broadsword high into the air and slammed it into the ground half a centimeter near the man's body.
The broadsword was of an antique make and the man could sense suffering through it. He didn't budge from where he was standing, instead coldly stating, "You done with your games, R-435? If so can we get down to business?"
An irksome snicker escaped the figure's mouth as he dismissed his sword, "Oh, you mean collecting more girls to your doll collection? I'm game if you are. I call dibs on the blond one."
"Firstly, you will abstain otherwise you will receive immediate termination.", the brown-haired man spoke up, without changing his expression much but it was clear he spoke out of annoyance, "Secondly, it just so happens most witches are female, young females at that. Thirdly, this town and everything that happens in it isn't in my jurisdiction, it belongs to W-472."
"You're no fun. And who?", said the bulky man, feigning ignorance on who that was. His features were obscured by the darkness surrounding him as well as the setting sun. It was enough to make clear that the man was of above average height
"W-472, the Azazel's current reincarnation.", spoke the brown-haired man, turning around, "Am I going to have to be more specific?"
"Oh, the frosty-haired geezer's current reincarnation. You mean Aid-" said the goliath. It was evident he was playing with the dichromic eyed man at this point.
Trying his hardest to not react, he simply stated, "Any nickname on the field of work is misleading and simply unprofessional. In either case, he will get this done. I don't need to dirty my own hands."
"Why are you trying to convert Curtains into your weird fetish, Cronan?", spoke the giant, clearly not taking orders seriously.
Obviously losing his patience, Cronan just spoke out, "W-472 will apprehend this witch, like it or not. Otherwise he'll be terminated, do I make myself clear, Maddock?"
"Yeah, yeah he either develops your strange fixation or dies. I get it." Spoke Maddock, vanishing into the void soon afterwards.
Sighing in disbelief, Cronan continued towards walking into the sunset.
Ellen and Heather eventually made it back to the Fletcher residence. They opened the door and quickly headed upstairs, running past Viola's dad who simply watched in awe.
Having avoided any potential danger, the girls eventually made their way back to the Fletcher residence. Underneath their racing breath was amusement. It was moments like this that brought life in Viola and Heather's relationship.
Ellen felt a magical feeling of sorts when it came to be involved with friends. The adrenaline she got from the thrill of the moment made her feel against her cold thinking.
The two girls took a moment to catch their breathes, leaning against each other's shoulders affectionately in a effort to prevent either of them falling from fatigue.
Ellen spoke out, "Was that one of them?", surprised.
Heather nodded her head before responding, "Yes, I told you they patrol our town and I told you, he was rather nice. Such a handsome guy as well."
"I can't believe we ran into them. It's crazy." Ellen said crying, taken away by the experience as she thought,"Why am I enjoying this?"
After the two finished crying from joy, the girls continued talking with Heather speaking first, "You know I missed moments like these."
"Yeah, me too", Ellen said, confessing it in a surprisingly genuine way, "Why? Why do I feel this?"
"Would you say that the guy was cute?" Heather asked, seemingly smitten by what she saw.
Ellen clenched her fists tightly. She obviously couldn't tell her that she knew the man could be a potential threat to her safety, but she didn't want to make her friend feel concerned after all her jaded cynicism earlier.
"This is so embarrassing." She thought before speaking up nervously, "He…was…cute…"
Heather took a moment to tickle Ellen to tease her more. "Told you so", she repeated for a while.
"Pl-please stop", Ellen spoke up, "You know I don't like that. Hahahahaha" Ellen laughed uncontrollably, she couldn't help but be subjected to this. Viola's body was ticklish and given she had never been tickled before, she didn't know how to handle the situation.
Hearing the noise from outside, the door opened revealing disheveled Travis in his nightwear consisting of a pair of loose pants and a white half-sleeved undergarment.
"Take it you both had fun today?" the man said, arms crossed.
The girls nodded their head in affirmation.
"Guess I'll just go for the night then", Heather said, waving as she walked away slowly.
This prompted Travis to ask her, "Why don't you stay for the night? It's been a long time since you came over."
"I'd love to Uncle Travis", Heather said, biting her finger lightly, "But my mom is alone with dad gone off another trip so I gotta make sure she doesn't go completely lonely."
Travis chuckled at the remark, "Fair enough, take it easy."
And with that the girl walked away, vanishing into the night. Heather's home was just two houses to the left, so the man didn't need to pry when it came to walking her home for the most part. Ellen crossed her arms, looking grim at the day being cut short. Travis just ruffled through his daughter's hair before she went upstairs to change.
Few Nights Earlier
Drifting through the night, Aiden made his way to a lone town, carrying Viola on his back as she slept heavily. He could feel the girl's drool on her shoulder, a feeling that brought back precious memories from way back.
It was memories like those he lived for, he longed to protect and, in the end, damned himself for. He felt undeserving of love due to his being a transmigration of his ancestor. He had been through so much this night alone, losing his wife and walking into those moments he walked away from.
He recalled the moments leading up to his wife's death. The very same wife who loved him to death, but he couldn't love back due to her status as a demon. It was only until her last moments that the love he once had for her resurfaced at all. Yet when her body vanished, so did his death wish.
He knew what he had to deal with once this was over. He knew the consequences of his actions well enough, that's why he needed to act with however much of his perceived time he had left. He was in great peril from the netherworld for what he'd done.
Aiden continued walking, carrying a shoeless Viola as he made his way through the neighborhood of the town. The town was no different than Viola's and, comparatively, it was much quieter. He examined the house numbers, finding the correct one within the span of an hour from arriving in said area.
After four hours and upon arriving at around midnight, the duo made it to a town on the western hemisphere relative to the Witch's House.
Finding the idea of even approaching the house made him feel uneasy. He sighed deeply, swallowing his pride as he knocked the door.
Clack clack
He held his breath, closing his eyes as if he were facing death itself yet at the same time felt relieved jumping over the hurdle to begin with. He returned to his calm and stoic disposition; willing to confront who rested behind that door.
Yet there was no answer.
He knocked it again, feeling a stronger shiver down his spine doing so.
There was still no answer.
In his dread, he continued to knock the door heedlessly. However, that fear got replaced with neediness as he continued to knock without hesitation.
A voice was heard on the other side of the door, a woman's voice. It sounded peaceful and overtly kind but with a taste of roughness to it which gave the impression this that this woman, while kind, is a no-nonsense person. The woman said, "I'll be right there", in a rather aggravated tone.
After a few minutes of waiting, the door was seen opening a miniscule amount only for it to close again abruptly.
He grew impatient at such an action. He could tolerate this if it were any other day of his life, but this wasn't one of those days.
"I know you're home", he spoke out, loud enough for them to hear, "I know you're awake. This is a plea, a request. You can't pretend that you're either not home or simple asleep; Agatha still has insomnia and sleep walks and it's not the night of sermon recital either."
There was no response at the door.
This made Aiden grow desperate, "I know what happened to ten years ago and I finally found the witch. I wouldn't bother you unless I know it would be important. So I beg you, let us in."
Aiden waited a while. He turned to take a glance at Viola. Thankfully, the girl was a heavy sleeper and was still asleep.
Ultimately, the door opened as the person behind it finally relented.
Standing behind the door was a woman. She uttered, "How can I say no if you ask that way? It's rare to see you this broken." She glared at him with a stern look on her face, yet her compassion emanated from her.
"Thank you…Martha.", he said, looking down at the woman. He did not realize it, but his face let out a silent tear as he looked at her.
He had endured so much in the past four hours and it was shown visibly that it no doubt taken an effect on psyche. Though he rarely shows much emotion anymore, he feels. He doesn't shake from his feelings openly, but the paleness in his skin made it evident that he was not his usual calm self.
Martha walked inside, warily looking behind her as Aiden did the same. He was led to the living room, where he placed Viola on a nearby couch. His longcoat being wrapped around her like a blanket.
He followed Martha, who impatiently led him to the dining room, intending to discuss the matters at hand.
Martha sat down across from the man, her yellowish green eyes stabbing Aiden's soul intensely. Her look hurt him just to look out her, but it did not let him stop himself. He could tell that her hatred for him was seething; it was searing as despite her best efforts to hide it, it was very evident to him by her sweat.
She couldn't bear to look at the man who had once been her foster brother, the man she used to have feelings for.
Aiden understood why, realizing that she had every right and intent to feel how she does about him. From being a reincarnation of the same dark lord that caused the Witch's House and many other mysterious events exist to, in Martha's perspective, ruining the girl's life.
The red-head brought a cup full of water with her. He noticed that she always had one nearby when they began talking. It wasn't for thirst though, but for something else entirely Aiden suspected.
Seeing no point to this endless staring and rumination of such thoughts, "I found the culprit, the source, the one responsible for the vanishing and suffering of thousands of people in this region over the years."
"Is that so?", Martha said, looking at him with disgust as she twirled a lock of her long, elegant orange hair with her right index finger. A look of indifference swooped over her face when the subject arose. She didn't care for memories or her past suffering. She became cold towards them, avoiding them rather than facing them.
"I realize that you don't want to confront this and the fact you don't trust what I say," Aiden spoke, contemplating, "You don't want to believe me that's fine but…"
Martha cut him off, "What are you dawdling about? Why should I care about this fairy tale? I want to move on."
"Because it directly concerns you and me.", Aiden responded.
Martha twitched her eyebrow in annoyance, "Then go on, tell me why the damned had decided to visit me and MY family tonight?"
"Because family is the concern.", Aiden contended, "Family, the very thing you value is in peril."
"What do you mean?" the woman said, shifting her attention.
"You see, I thought leaving her with you would be the correct decision. That she'd be safe." Aiden said, his thoughts all jumbled.
"Bring whom", Martha said, irate at this perplex situation, "Save what? Stop playing the pronoun game and spare me your riddles."
"The witch of the forest is responsible for ruining Viola and Travis's life", Aiden said, calmly yet hesitantly. He twiddled his thumbs in nervousness.
"What happened?" Martha said, snapping out of her indifferent trance and started paying her full attention to him, while still maintaining her cautious distance.
"Each of them are victims of the witch, knowledgeable and not knowledgeable, respectively." Aiden rolled on, "That girl I brought with me, is the witch."
Martha stood up in worry, knowing full well Aiden was serious.
"Or she would be had it not been for a concentrated use of ill-intentioned magic", Aiden added on.
"What happened?" Martha said, snapping out of her indifferent trance and started paying her full attention to him, while still maintaining her cautious distance. She grabbed him by the arms and shook him without a care in the world.
"Due to a series of unfortunate events…." Aiden couldn't speak on, "that is not really the witch, it's her…" he didn't want to make it any more painful from discussing it, considering his mental state.
"So how does this concern-", Martha asked, immediately cutting herself off as she analyzed his words.
Suddenly memories of the young girl playing with her came to the forefront of her mind. She remembered when she used to take care of the girl and her mother.
His choice of words attacked her heart, "No, no, no, no, no, no..!" She went through a panic attack, pulling at Aiden harder looking at him with disdain.
The woman backed off soon afterwards, scratching her head and panting heavily at the information she garnered. She couldn't stomach the idea of that she could see Viola, to a small extent, as the witch that ruined her life. She knew she wasn't the witch, but her hatred ate away at her, filling her with disgust and contempt. Her love for the girl collided with the image she hated, though unlike Aiden, it ate away at her.
Martha was on the verge of weeping as she walked to a sleeping Viola. Though hesitant, the woman embraced the little girl. If what Aiden said was true, and Aiden never lies, the girl was Viola, the girl who she helped raised with Travis, basically her sister.
"Viola…", wept the woman profusely as put her head on her, "Viola…, my baby, I'm so sorry." She laid there, sobbing silently. Part of her wanted to strangle the girl because it was the witch's body but at the same time, her love prevailed in the end.
Aiden walked in directly behind the woman and spoke up, "The witch took her body and left her to die. She now lives with Travis; my concern is his safety."
The words struck her ears. Martha steadily put her head up and turned it around, intercepting Aiden's blank grey eyes with her piercing stare. She stood up, walked up towards him with anger. She slapped the man, causing his face to turn red. He could feel the sting from her hand but didn't act in response.
"You should've taken her our sooner, bastard." She said, tears continuously pouring down her face, "No, no that's not it; this is all your fault to begin with anyway, dark one…" She let herself fall into insanity, remembering her periods of misery in her life; periods she blamed Azazel for.
She let out a crazed smile, uttering "It is your fault." With no sense of direction or sanity, she continued slapping the man. Aiden just accepted her punishment, waiting until her rage quelled. This slapping continued for fifteen minutes before Martha showed any signs of fatigue.
While he was nothing short of accepting her abuse, he grabbed her hand after an uncountable number of slaps across the face. He understood her frustration but just felt morally obligated to intervene before she could give into her insanity any further. He worried for her that much.
She looked at him viciously as she spoke, "Why? Why are you so insistent on ruining my life and taking my family away from me? Why Azazel? Why?"
Aiden gritted his teeth silently, he hated being called that. He was too guilt ridden to get ticked about that though. She wasn't necessarily right, she wasn't far off either.
He just firmly stated, "My name is Aiden. I won't accept that name onto myself ever again."
"The one known as Aiden was a lie." Martha said angrily; she was almost screaming, "You're a monster, you've ruined many lives. My life."
"I'd argue the contrary." Aiden said, clenching his fists. Some faint yet noticeable dark vapors covered him.
"You burned down the original church I grew up in, the one that raised me. You killed everyone in cold blood.", she declared, speaking at the top of her lungs. Her heart raced as well.
"Because they were partially responsible for Madame's death and kidnapped many young girls before you. They deserved to die. Had I not done it, you'd be next." He countered, his calmness contrasted the woman's disturbed nature.
Martha just scoffed, "As if. You're one to talk by robbing someone of their chastity, you hypocrite. I went insane because of you."
"Correction, you went insane after the church you knew was gone. You ran away from Travis, from Viola, declaring the church more your family than them. You could barely protect yourself and you confided in me of all people." He asserted.
Martha tried to punch him, but Aiden grabbed her arm, "When people, savages mind you, wanted to sacrifice you to a pagan ritual. You were so lost in your insanity, you could barely speak. Had events not go in that way, you wouldn't even be criticizing me for it." He swallowed her hatred, embraced it, but didn't have the patience of her accusations at the moment. She blamed him for everything and rather than solve the problem, she was focusing on the option that was convenient for her.
"I've had enough of your self-righteous and entitled lies", she said, unyielding.
"They aren't lies.", he said.
"You cannot deny it is your doing that, so many people die. It's because of you, Azazel that the witch like her sacrificed everyone for centuries because darkness entered this world to begin with. Had there been none, everybody would be still alive. Hell, I argue even happy." She said with such conviction.
"You're being delusional. A world without conflict doesn't exist." Aiden remarked.
"That still doesn't explain. Why me? Why be unfaithful with me, when you were married to that creature." She finally countered.
Such a remark had left Aiden in a state of complete shock. It was enough to catch him off guard. Martha took advantage of this by kneeing him to the stomach, causing him to stagger backwards. Martha was noticeably stronger than the average housewife due to her independence.
It was enough for Martha to grab the water and come back, standing over Aiden proud, "You weren't happy weren't you.", Martha said coldly. She held the glass over his head.
Aiden's suspicions rang true, "Holy water."
Holy water, the very substance demons and dark entities couldn't touch. It hurt them, more than hellfire, they would argue. While hellfire would send them back to the inky, infinite dark abyss they belonged, holy water would vanish them entirely.
Martha poured the water down on Aiden without hesitation. Before the water dropped on him, he thought to himself. On one hand it was a form of punish he accepted, on the other he saw it as a failure. Within the span of a second, Aiden chose to step out of its vicinity. Only but a drop made it's way to Aiden's hand.
As soon as the liquid struck him, Aiden's body raveled in pain.
"You see, this is why we aren't the same. We can't ever stand on equal fitting, Azazel." Martha said, without care or consideration of his feelings.
Aiden felt his skin eroding. It was as if somebody burned his hand and them abruptly placed it into rubbing alcohol. He refrained from screaming even though he really wanted to. He recalled all the tortures he went through that made him so numb inside.
Still, the pain didn't stop; while the actual burn itself stopped at the back of his hand, the phantom pain traveled through his body. It caused him to collapse. He placed his back at the nearby wall as Martha looked down on him. Darkness escaped from that patch of his hand alone, it's smell was enough to wakeup Viola, who was horrified with what she was experiencing.
Instead of a standard burn, dark blobs and blood came out of his hand. It was stable now, but it goes to show what Martha meant. Aiden had black blood whenever he used his powers. It was part of a genetic defect stemming from Azazel's bloodline.
Azazel's clan was that of a group of talented darkness wielders. The clan was ostracized because of their natural gifts, they can wield dark forces, and by extension, dark magic without any negative repercussions. Due to this very reason, while being just as human as everyone else, they were never considered such by everyone else. They're entire exists fades away into darkness upon death and, in turn,
Witches and occultism stemmed from these teachings, with people wanting to use the powers for themselves. Because they weren't blood-related to the man, using his powers leaves a negative side effect on the victim, insanity and disease.
Martha turned to walk away, saying, "Get out of my house."
Aiden, tearful and full of regret, "You were right about me, Martha.."
The woman turned around, curious at what he meant.
"I was unhappy, miserable at the burden of still living despite what I was. I didn't think I was worthy of love." He said weakly.
This was a part of Aiden that neither Martha nor Viola experienced.
"I always look back to the moments the three of us shared back in the day. "he stood up, covering his arm. It took him a lot of effort to even do so as all other injuries he sustained were child's play compared to this, "There were moments were I thought loving you was possible too."
Martha looked at him in astonishment. Her anger subsiding somewhat.
"Madame told me what you felt about me, before everything happened." Aiden said, tears escaping his eye as he looked the woman he thought was perfect for him. I'm sorry, Martha."
Martha couldn't help but trembled at these words. He wanted him to stop talking.
"I'm so sorry, Martha. I'd explain but I cannot describe how I felt about you because of the wretched relationship I was in. I became cold, indifferent, numb to everyone else's needs but my own. "
Martha almost found herself stepping forward, only to not do so.
"I often contemplate what life with you would be like but I'm always terrified of where my soul goes in the end. It doesn't matter how many good deeds I do, I can never achieve redemption unlike everyone else. I'm faded to return back to darkness.", he screamed, letting his words echo.
These words attacked Martha's heart. The part of her that wanted to help people find redemption was the part of her that became compelled by this. Yet she didn't move.
"Unlike most human beings, I cannot go to the great above. Hell, even that damned witch can achieve redemption." Aiden said calmly, letting his tears pour. She thought about Ellen, feeling angry at what she'd done, what she continues to do, and that she could be forgiven.
Martha made the following decision though, "Just please leave, my family has suffered enough because of you." She felt guilty, but couldn't bring herself to look at him. She turned away.
"Martha?" Viola said, tense about what was going in. She thought about Ellen, feeling angry at what she'd done, what she continues to do, and that she could be forgiven.
In agreement, Aiden turned to face towards the door. He limped his way there, unable to look back as he accepted his fate. He grabbed his jacket, putting it on as he planned to make his final goodbye to Viola.
Thinking about the kindness Cheryl gifted him, the emptiness the family fulfilled and the ties he broke off to be with them. He opened the door, ready to embrace the darkness of the night.
"This is all I am." He said lowly, he could feel the cold wind blowing parallel to his coat tails. His injury not healed, and his heart broken. Death was imminent as the ones in the demon world would soon come for him for what he had done.
Convinced that he wasn't deserving of love, he stepped out of the door. However, he felt something cling to his leg.
"Don't go…" Viola said, sobbing into his pants, "I remember everything…know everything about you…so please brother, don't go…don't leave again.."
"Viola!", Martha said, scolding the girl. She was standing back, "Stay away from him."
"I won't stand another word against him any further!" Viola roared, "I won't stand any fights between the two of you."
Martha looked at the girl in surprise. She approached her slowly, "Vi, it's-"
"Enough!", Viola said, "Look at you two, mom would've gone into depression if she saw this."
Martha looked down, feeling the words impacting her heart. She recalled the woman she looked up to, the woman who was not only her patient but was like a surrogate mother to her. She knew it was her daughter speaking to her, not the witch, based off that alone. She teared up herself, "Viola, my precious…"
"My father aimed to shoot me in the face, Martha; pretty much abandoned me. He thought I was a monster." Viola continued, "Aiden was the one who saved me from death. Aiden was the one who shouldered all the sorrows I should've felt during her absence, so nothing would happen to me."
Martha gasped, placing her hands on her mouth. She fell to her knees, hurt of what the girl had to go through.
Viola walked to her, "Him and his wife nursed me back to life. But the spirit of the house possessed his her and Aiden had to kill her. He was widowed tonight and while he never returned her love, he still cared for her deep down."
Martha turned her direction to Aiden, who had closed the door and face Martha as well before Martha turned her attention to the purple haired girl in front of her face.
"You might not be my actual sister, but mom loved you. She loved Aiden too." Viola said, not caring how silly she sounded, "It would be render her heartbroken if she saw us like this." She placed her hand on Martha's wet cheek, wiping it with the white dress she wore.
Martha grabbed the girl's tiny hand, holding it in assurance as she continued to weep.
"You two are the only family I have left. I have nobody else to turn to; nobody I can count on to save my father other than you two." Her voice was cracking, she couldn't stomach the thought of losing either of them at this point.
Martha embraced the girl, apologizing endlessly to her. The two sisters had their moment together, contemplating the loss of Cheryl. While Martha always knew, she couldn't tell Viola because of what Aiden did.
Aiden let them have their moment, opting to just watch. He smiled as he noticed the phenomenon. He closed his eyes and sighed in relief.
He was approached by Martha, who broke her stern demeanor from earlier and held him by the hand. She let out a pleasant smile, carrying Viola with one hand and forced him into the hug.
Aiden blushed. He was an adult now but moments like this still got to him. He was glad amends to the family were made but what concerned him was what Ellen was thinking. Still it was a night moment that he didn't try to fight.
A wind of relief rifted past them, the nightmare was over. For now…
"Mother? Do we have guests?"
A voice spoke from the end of the hallway they all stood in.
The trio turned towards the source of the voice. It was clear the voice belonged to that of a small child, a girl more specifically.
"Whose there, mother?" the voice spoke out of curiosity. It was evident uncertainty was in the girl's voice.
At the end of the lit hallway stood a girl no older than Ellen. The girl's amethyst eyes looked exhausted as she could barely make out their target.
Viola was shocked, looking towards Aiden and looking back at her. Her mouth gaped open. The girl had his hair only hers was split down the middle and was wavier.
The girl wiped her eyes and noticed Aiden was there, "Is father here too?"
Martha cut the girl off affectionately, "Agatha, you can great him in the morning. Catch up on your sleep."
"Okay", Agatha said obediently, she walked off. Martha escorted her child upstairs, leaving Viola with Aiden while she did so.
Viola looked at the man and spoke up, "When this is over, you have a lot of explaining to do?"
Aiden spoke nothing, instead letting out a silent nod.
It's been over a year since I last updated this. Due to some difficulty in my personal life and such, I've been MIA. With the release of the manga, I got back into the swing of things.
I apologize if the chapter isn't of my usual quality as my writing has suffered while I was away. I hope the wait was worth it. I thank you all for putting up with me regardless. Have a merry christmas. Please ask any questions below.