A/N: Hello, hello. Long time no see, huh? Life has been hell for me lately, I won't lie. But after a bit of pushing, I managed to come back to this fic and give you another update. This chapter turned out a little shorter and uneventful than I'd hoped, but it's been a while since I've written in the first person and I needed to get back into the swing of things, so... yeah. Doesn't mean there won't be any surprise twists here and whatnot, but just don't expect much to happen following last chapter. The focus here is for Emilia to do a bit of soul searching and then some... I don't know when I'll get back to updating this again, as things in RL are busy and other fics have me occupied. You can keep an eye on my profile for future updates though. I will be making notes there when applicable. Also, formatting in this fic has changed yet again. I didn't like how the last chapter turned out and I've finally managed to figure out how to insert an em dash, so... expect things to look a little different again. And yes, this time it will stay this way for future updates. Thank you to everyone who has been favouriting, following, reviewing and reading this story despite the odds, though. Your continued support is greatly appreciated. Without further ado, here is the next chapter for Her Deadly Thorns. Hope you enjoy it.

Chapter 21: Acceptance

As I'd predicted, sleep eluded me the entire time I spent in the bedroom on the fourth floor. Between the anxiety-ridden thoughts, my pounding heart, and the annoying chatter of those stupid flowers, I spent more time staring at the ceiling in the dark than at the darkness underneath my own eyelids. Having been used to slumbering in the master bedroom, it was strange not seeing any remnants of moonlight streaking into the room, let alone being surrounded by useless noise. I thought sleeping in the bed furthest away in the row of three would have helped to ease my discomfort, but apparently it was never meant to be.

Admitting everything to Viola and Peter was a weight I'd needed lifting from my shoulders since the moment I'd arrived here. It was the first time in a while that I found my head clear enough to actually think about everything. My eyes were open for the first time in three months, and yet… it didn't make it any easier to process my situation. My mind kept flitting back to the conversations that had occurred today, first between myself and the demon, and then between myself, Viola and Peter. One had been the demon giving me a reality check while the other had been me giving two children a reality check, and yet some of the last things he'd said and I'd said refused to leave me alone.

"You need to get your priorities straight and decide what you really want," he'd said.

"I have to decide if I'm going to finish what I've started," I'd said.

But what did I want? What had I started exactly? I didn't know anymore. Since the day I'd lost my mother, my head was clouded and overloaded with so many thoughts it was a wonder it hadn't exploded. I couldn't think clearly, I was always indecisive, and I spent the majority of my time hiding away, acting like I didn't exist to the world. I felt detached, much like the Ekimmu who continued to wander and haunt the land until a helping hand guided them to the afterlife.

I quietly snorted at my ironic analogy.

There was no denying now that what I had gone through as a child had shaped my view of life, with my mother's death being the final nail in the coffin where my innocence was concerned. She'd been my rock and protector through the abuse thrown my way, the only person who had stuck by me when it seemed like the whole world was against me. But now she was gone, her life having been snuffed out by manipulated, self-righteous people and the lone puppeteer who had pulled their strings, leaving me alone to fend for myself.

My journey to the Witch's House had started because of the emotional conflict raging within. He was to blame for my misery, and I couldn't deny that losing everyone I loved had given me the desire to take away everything he loved in return, along with inflicting the same suffering that had been inflicted upon my mother and father. But…

'…that's the grief and his blood talking, isn't it? I don't want to acknowledge him as part of me. That's why I couldn't bring myself to burn the church down that day. I didn't want to accept him as my family, which in turn meant I didn't want to accept him as part of myself.'

The demon had asked me many times over what my wish was, and while each time I'd lied and claimed I didn't have one, I knew that was far from the truth. I did want revenge, but deep down my former self continues to battle on against that notion, reminding me that this wasn't who I was, that what I was doing was pointless. Yet was that even true?

I huffed into the darkness; the demon had done a good job at messing with my head, it seems.

'Mother, how would you react if you saw me now? Would you be disappointed? Would you pity me? Would you still look at me as the same innocent and selfless girl you tried so hard to raise? Because honestly, I don't know who I am anymore…'

I didn't know how much time had passed when I found my eyes closing for yet another time, my last recollection at that point being the hope that those gossipy flowers would shut up. However, the next time I opened them was to the sound of loud scraping and bonging coming from the far end of the room. I sat up with a start and leapt off the bed when the noises stopped, along with the yellow flowers' chatter, only to be quickly replaced by loud crunching and munching. Bending my right finger inward towards my palm, I brought forth a burst of flame to help illuminate the room, daring to step round the row of beds with quick strides.

By the time silence had enveloped the room again, I came to an immediate halt at sighting yellow petals and green stalks scattered across the large table where the yellow flowers were usually situated, all of which were highlighted under the faint glow of the flame I held. I raised my arm higher to follow the yellow trail of petals leading back towards the grandfather clock, which was standing in its usual spot, unmoving. My eyes drooped at the lone petal I could see wedged between the hands of the clock face, immediately understanding what had just occurred under the cover of the darkness the room offered.

'I still can't get used to the fact I control this place with my thoughts…'

After that spectacle, I decided I needed to get a change of scenery, which normally involved me going to another room in the house that wasn't filled with a trap or demonic being or ghost looking for fresh blood. This time, however, I chose to do something I considered uncharacteristic of myself: leave the house.

Yes, leave the house. Alone. For a walk. Not that I planned to go very far. I just wanted to go somewhere I knew I could be alone with my thoughts. No cat, no house inhabitants, not even the voice of the house itself. Just me.

Under the warm, amber glow of the dawn shining through the corridor windows, I quietly made my way to the top floor, taking note on the way that, for once, the house held a deathly silence in the air, as if someone had just died. That was obviously far from the truth, as I expected to encounter such a feeling only when an intruder triggered a trap. Still, even I had to admit it was a tad unnerving.

Upon reaching the top floor, I tiptoed down the corridor to the master bedroom, taking care to move slowly to avoid creaking the floorboards under the carpet. Peter and Viola were still in there as far as I knew, and the last thing I needed was to disturb either of them. I wasn't quite ready to show my face to them considering our last conversation.

At approaching the door, I gently gripped the doorknob and turned it until I heard the faint click, slowly pushing the door open inch by inch. I succeeded in getting a quarter of the way before the door's hinges decided to creak, prompting me to flinch and dare to poke my head round to see if either of the two blondes had heard me. A quick scan of the bedroom bathed in the rising sun's light led me to the sight of Peter sprawled on his front under the covers of the bed in the middle of the room, his face partially buried into the pillow and his eyes closed. The wooden chair usually in front of the dresser had been moved to the right side of the bed, and on it sat Viola, her body slumped forward against the bedside with her head hidden in the quilt and her arms. The two blondes seemed to be sleeping, which I deduced from their faint and heavy breathing as well as Peter's eyes clearly being closed.

I let out a quiet sigh of relief and straightened out to stop leaning against the door, taking the opportunity to quietly slink my way inside and shuffle my way over to the far end of the room to collect my clothes. Occasionally, I would glance over at them to make sure they stayed put while I opened and closed drawers and rummaged through them, but otherwise I made no attempt to get their attention or approach them. However, at least I could take comfort in the fact that despite everything that had gone on or been said, the two of them had gotten some rest. Peter especially needed it, both to recuperate and as a convenient distraction from the horrors he experienced yesterday.

With my clothes collected, I quickly left the bedroom, found another room to get changed in, I grabbed my cloak and then stepped out of the Witch's House into the outside world, after a brief glance over my shoulder to make sure no one was following me, of course.

The second I stepped outside, I was met with a small, chilly gust of wind right in my face, causing me to squint a bit until it died down. The air was colder than I had anticipated, but that didn't stop me from closing the door and heading off down the path away from the house, using a hand to wrap my cloak further round my body for extra protection. Adam's men were probably still patrolling through the forest to find me after yesterday's stunt, so I didn't plan on going too far away with the threat of exposing my current hideaway lingering. The last thing I needed was to endanger myself or Peter.

The further from the house I walked, the sooner I started to notice the changes in the foliage. They weren't too obvious to regular people, yet those with sharp eyes could see the colouring of some of the leaves in the bushes and trees had shifted, while others laid on the ground amongst the grass.

'Summer's ending already, is it? I suppose I never noticed due to being inside all the time…'

I continued to follow the path until it started to wind in a zigzag-like pattern, indicating I'd arrived at my destination a small distance from the forest's entrance. A wooden signpost stood to the right side of the path, with the one wooden arrow at the top pointing towards the direction the house was in, while the one wooden arrow at the bottom pointed towards the path as it continued in the opposite direction. Close by was a tree stump, which was my intended target.

As I approached the stump, I dared to glance at the signpost once I'd plopped myself down on the former, being reminded that the top arrow had what was formerly scribbled on it removed and that the bottom arrow read 'Out of the Forest'. I recalled seeing it the first time the demon brought me here, remarking how stupid it was for a house that was supposed to be hidden by magic to have a signpost. He'd claimed it was to give any victims the house lured in a false sense of hope, but even I knew that any dimwit would have just followed the path and didn't need a sign to tell them to do it.

'Looks like that furball didn't listen to me.' I huffed and rested my elbows on my knees, cupping my cheeks in both of my hands. 'But then again, he never does…'

A new day had begun, and yet the stillness of the nature surrounding me was a reminder of the cruel reality that stood just ahead. There was no movement and no noise. Just empty silence. It was… strange, really. I couldn't recall the last time I'd been left alone with my thoughts. Despite my attempts to be alone in the house, I'd never truly been alone at all. If I wasn't surrounded by the lost souls of those who had fallen victim to the house, my mind was at the mercy of the house itself and the demonic being who owned it. For the first time since that day, I was actually alone.

And it made my stomach churn.

I hunched forward some more and brought my arms to my belly, closing my eyes tight with loud and deep breaths through my nose.

'Tch. Look at me. Am I really that pathetic that I'm afraid of being alone? And yet I wonder why that man is succeeding in controlling my life…' I tightened my grip round my stomach until my knuckles flushed white, squinting hard to suppress the tears I felt well to my eyes. 'I don't know what I want anymore! I don't know who I am anymore! I don't know what I need to do anymore! I can't hide in this house forever! I'll lose my humanity and be trapped in the same scam the other witches were! And yet I can't just leave… That monster of a man won't stop chasing me. I have nowhere safe to run to. My only other option is to face him, but… how? I'd have to stoop to his level, and I can't do that. I don't want to be like him! I don't want to sacrifice anything or anybody. I don't want to intentionally kill another soul.'

My lips quivered when I dared to raise my head to the sky, finally opening my eyes to release the stream of tears building up behind my eyelids. The sun had risen a little more than before, exposing the puffy clouds scattered about. 'Mother, I need you! Tell me what to do!'

Two loud and sudden bangs rang out in succession from the distance somewhere behind me, forcing me to tumble to the ground with a wide blink and breathless cry.

"Ah!"

Landing on my knees and shuddering at the brief tingle that stretched down my spine, I whipped my head towards the path away from the house with a hand to my chest, feeling my heart thumping erratically underneath my flesh and bone.

'What was that? It sounded like gunshots.'

It was too far away to have been intentionally aimed at me, so my initial suspicion was that a hunter was within the vicinity of the house and had shot at a wild animal. But when I heard laughter that sounded familiar, I raised a brow, especially when two familiar male voices followed.

"All right! I got one!"

"Nice shot! Pops wasn't kidding when he said you were getting better!"

'Wait a minute…'

I squinted and slowly brought myself to stand, my curiosity piqued. I swore I knew those voices from somewhere, and that thought is what prompted me to move towards them. As I got closer, I heard the crunching of feet against grass, followed by further chatter from the two voices, one of whom sounded annoyed and disappointed, his voice strident.

"Aw! Did that other one get away?!"

"Who cares?! You shot one on the first try! That's better than me!"

With my hands gripping at the sides of my hood to keep my face covered, I ventured on until I found myself approaching where the path to the house was supposed to be hidden by dense forest. However, instead, there was a narrow gap that had formed where the end of the path was, prompting my eyes to droop as I stepped into the shade shrouding its entrance, taking note of the footsteps having stopped.

'I really need to figure out how to stop accidentally opening pathways to the house. One of these days it's going to come back to bite me…'

There was further rustling by the time I reached the edge of the clearing leading to the deep part of the woods. It sounded very close, so I took the initiative to crouch behind a particular tree positioned by the edge of the shade, doing my best to conceal myself from view. My eyes went wide at spying two boys with brunette hair standing in the clearing ahead, immediately recognising the clothing they wore.

'Hey! It's the boys who bullied Peter!'

The last time I'd seen them, I'd been too high up to get a good look at their appearances, so until now I'd assumed they were around Peter's age, based on how their voices had sounded. However, now that we were on ground level, it was easier for me to tell how alike these two boys looked, minus the differences in clothing. In the least, my guess had been correct: they looked around Peter's age. One of the boys (who was holding a hunting rifle over his shoulder) was dressed in a white shirt, black shorts and matching boots, possessing blue eyes, messy hair and a fringe that swept to the left of his forehead. The other boy (who was shoving something inside a small brown sack) also had blue eyes, but his hair was neater and his fringe was swept towards the right of his forehead. In comparison to the other boy, his shirt was black while his shorts were white, yet he also wore black boots on his feet.

Despite my shock at recognising them, I continued to listen to the boys' conversation, with the one holding a hunting rifle grumbling away while the other one with the sack closed the latter up and held it away from himself, the bottom of which quickly became drenched in a red substance I immediately presumed was blood.

"I care, you dimwit! I wanted both of 'em!"

"Yeah, well, you can't. It's gone and we shouldn't be this deep in the woods anyway. We need to go. C'mon."

I scowled and clenched my hands into fists as I watched the one boy throw the bloodied sack over his shoulders and start to walk off, with the other one huffing loudly and staring at the side of the clearing for a moment. After what they'd done to Peter, I couldn't deny the temptation to mess with them was there. But I swallowed back the thought as the second boy turned to follow the first…

…until I saw the bushes on the opposite side of the clearing move.

The rustling bush caused the boy to stop and whip his head towards it sharply, the pair of small but long brown ears poking out of the foliage being enough for him to raise his rifle and adjust its position so the barrel pointed at it.

"Aha…" He mumbled under his breath, gripping the front of the rifle with one hand while the fingers of his other hand wrapped round the trigger. "Got you."

My heart skipped a beat as I focused back on the bush, catching sight of black beady eyes peeking at me through a small gap in its leaves. The animal's ears had twitched at picking up the boy's mumbles, yet it didn't look like it was going to move.

'What are you doing?! Run!'

It was only when the animal suddenly darted out into the clearing that I'd realised I'd unintentionally used the house's magic. I flinched and closed an eye when the gunshot was fired seconds after, naturally missing its target and causing the sack carrier to halt and look behind him with raised brows.

"Ugh!" The shooter growled and whirled round to follow the brown blur fleeing towards my direction, which I could now see was a wild rabbit. "Stay still!"

The rabbit zigzagged as the shooter tried to move the barrel of the gun to follow it, firing three more reckless rounds that ultimately missed and disappeared into the grass.

"Hey, stop that!" The sack carrier stomped towards the shooter as he went to aim again, the latter's finger already pressing down the trigger.

"Don't tell me what to do!" He shouted back, firing another round and missing the rabbit again by a couple of inches behind its hind legs.

I dropped to my bottom and shuffled backwards behind the tree I was using to hide when the poor creature dived into the undergrowth in my direction, startled by its actions while being mindful that I needed to stay hidden and avoid getting injured. I watched with a wide blink as the rabbit squirmed its way and darted off in the direction of the house, briefly making eye contact with me as it passed by.

Meanwhile, the shooter didn't sound happy about his prey's escape, based on the loud shriek he emitted, followed by the sound of his boot kicking at the ground.

"Argh! I almost had it!"

"Why'd you do that, Aiden?!" The sack carrier responded in kind, addressing the shooter, 'Aiden', by name. "Pops told you not to fire like that! You're gonna injure someone!"

"Injure who, Anthony? We're in the middle of the woods for pete's sake!" 'Aiden' bit back through gritted teeth. Footsteps stomped towards the pathway, the sound of the trigger being pulled following suit. "I'm getting that damn critter if it's the last thing I do! It ain't making a fool of me!"

"Would you just let it go?!" 'Anthony's' footsteps hurried after Aiden's, prompting both sets to suddenly stop.

"Get your hands off—"

Bang.

Deathly silence followed the gunshot that cut Aiden off. Time seemed to freeze around us, or maybe it was more accurate to say I had frozen. For a moment I felt like the white flower back in the house, permanently rooted into the ground with the chance of death being a quick plucking away. I hadn't seen what had just happened, but it didn't take a genius to guess from the little context there was. Eventually the silence was broken by a shaky and pained gasp, finally breaking me from my trance and prompting me to peek round the side of the tree trunk at the sound of the hunting rifle dropping to the ground with a muffled clatter, along with a small thump from what I assumed was the sack following suit.

Both boys stared at each other with wide eyes and dropped jaws. Aiden appeared to be as still as a statue, but Anthony was visibly trembling, his eyes welling up with tears. He started breathing heavily and stumbled backwards a couple of steps, only to cry out in pain and fall onto his bottom. Tears streamed down his face as both hands shot to his right shin, where blood trickled in between his fingers.

"Ah! I-It hurts! It hurts!"

"A-Anthony…" Aiden said with a brittle tone, his hands flying to his mouth to cover it. He slowly shook his head and took a step back, his breathing loud and erratic. "I-I didn't mean it-! I-I…"

"A-Aiden!" Anthony pleaded between gasps for breath, staring up at the other boy with a slight squint. "Y-You n-need to get help! I-It hurts-! It r-really hurts!"

Aiden's wide eyes darted between the injured boy, the forest ahead of them, and then the hunting rifle lying on the ground. His brows furrowed as his gaze lingered on the latter, his hands slowly dropping from his face when he spoke in a quiet voice.

"But if I do… then Pops won't let me use the rifle anymore…"

My lips curled at this response, while Anthony stared at the boy with a creased brow, swallowing thickly before responding in a pained voice.

"T-This isn't the time for that, A-Aiden! G-Go get help! Please!"

Anthony began to breathe sharply through his nostrils and rock backwards and forwards as the pain seemed to become too much for him. Yet Aiden's demeanour seemed to shift rather quickly. With a deep breath, the other brunette's shoulders slumped, his formerly panicked expression relaxing. His gaze remained fixed on the hunting rifle, not once even acknowledging the injured boy in front of him.

'Don't tell me this kid is actually considering letting this boy bleed to death over a gun…'

It sounded ludicrous, but I had been witness to the levels humans tended to stoop to when they wanted something, many of which broke morals and revealed just how selfish and crazy our species could get when limits were pushed. It wouldn't have surprised me if Aiden chose his own selfish desires over Anthony's wellbeing, and sure enough, I turned out to be right.

"… You'll get me in trouble if the adults find out," Aiden mumbled, causing Anthony to stop moving and watch with a wide blink as the boy turned away from him, his body shaking slightly. His tone was uneven and shaky, yet he still managed to speak his words with clear conviction. "Pops'll believe me if I tell 'im the witch took you."

Anthony smiled weakly and forced out a chuckle, wiping at his watery eyes with his sleeve. "H-Ha. T-That's not funny, Aiden! Y-You shouldn't be joking around—" Anthony's smile fell when Aiden slowly started to walk away, his body twisting to follow the boy as he made his leave. "A-Aiden, w-where are you going?!"

But Aiden didn't respond or look back. My eyes narrowed at the brunette's retreating back as he lowered his head and gripped at his elbow with a hand, heading away from the clearing without another word.

"A-Aiden!" Anthony called out to the boy and went to push himself to his feet with his hands, panic flooding into his tone as he tried to follow him. "D-Don't leave me here-! Ah!"

Anthony screamed in pain when he put pressure on his injured leg and collapsed onto his front, his right hand still reaching out for Aiden as the boy gradually disappeared into the shade. The injured brunette raised his head and began to sob uncontrollably, helplessly watching his only companion leaving him to his intended demise.

"Aiden!"

I sighed heavily and closed my eyes when Aiden was no longer in my sight, the betrayed sobs of Anthony still ringing in my ears. The naïve part of me wanted to think that Aiden was going to turn around and come back for Anthony, but the realistic side of me knew better.

'I should be shocked. But these are the same boys who tied up a malnourished twelve-year-old and tried to sacrifice him to a rumoured witch. Even children can be cruel when they want to. I should know…'

Eventually I opened my eyes and went to stand, with Anthony having since muffled his agonised sobs by hiding his face in the dirt. I wasn't sure how fatal his wound was, but it seemed like he couldn't walk, so he was bound to die of blood loss soon enough.

'Well, it's karma well deserved, isn't it? He tried to hurt Peter and now his friend has abandoned him and left him for dead. I should go back.'

And yet I didn't move. I silently stood there and kept my gaze locked onto the injured and wailing child in the clearing, feeling like the tree I was standing beside, rooted into the ground. My face twitched with the urge to look away, but I couldn't bring myself to do it. Maybe because the sight I'd witnessed was pitiful. Maybe because despite how awful this boy had probably been to Peter in the past, I could empathise with the betrayal he'd endured. Maybe it was because deep down… I was still soft.

I clenched my jaw and violently shook my head once.

'No, Emilia. You are not obligated to show this little brat any ounce of kindness. He's a cruel bully. You've seen the lengths he and his friends have gone to. This is what he deserves!' My head lowered a little as the cries went on ahead of me. 'But if I walk away now… there's no guarantee anyone else will find him. You heard that other kid just now. He's gonna tell the village he was taken by the witch. They'll eat that up like ravenous beasts. They won't come.' My hands balled into shaking fists. 'Worse still… the Demon Triad might. If they catch on to the rumours, they'll come looking for him. And if this kid hasn't died from his current injury, he'll probably die at the hands of the members who'll torture and kill him when they discover he doesn't know anything—'

"The house has medicine if you want it."

I fell still at the young-sounding voice who'd spoken up behind me, my eyes drooping as I raised my head back to Anthony. I didn't need to look back to know who it was. I knew its voice well by now.

"… Back to stalking me, are we?" I replied in a sarcastic whisper, listening to the small pitter-patter of paws against the grass as the demon moved to my side.

"Can ya blame me? You never go on morning walks outside. I thought you'd lost your head."

I rolled my eyes and glanced down at the black furred feline now sitting next to my feet, his gaze fixed on the injured boy who had since stopped wailing. He was still releasing muffled sniffles and was visibly shaking though, so at least we knew he was still alive and kicking.

"Yeah, well, you'd like that, wouldn't you?"

The demon let out a low whistle. "That was brutal, huh? I forget how cruel humans can be."

"Well, it serves him right. He should have left when he had the chance."

I shuddered at the foul taste those words left on the tip of my tongue, as if I actually regretted speaking that thought aloud.

"You gonna help him?" Cat asked, keeping his gaze fixed ahead.

"No. Why would I do that?"

"Dunno." His ears twitched a little. "Just thought you might. You have been taking in strays lately."

I folded my arms and clicked my tongue. "Don't lump me in with you."

The demon said nothing in response, allowing the silence to be filled by the sobs of Anthony instead. Yet my gaze never left the feline once as he slowly swayed his tail back and forth, feeling my stomach sink.

I'd known the demon long enough now to recognise when it wanted something from me, and this time was no exception. It had made many attempts to manipulate me and get me to cave into giving it souls ever since I'd arrived, having failed each and every time because I'd stood my ground and refused to budge. One way or the other, the cat always had his eyes on me, and his confirmation that he'd witnessed everything that had occurred until now proved that he'd seen me at my low point again. I was currently in a vulnerable mindset, so it'd make sense that he'd try to get to me again, just like he did the first time we met. And that was why I couldn't shake the feeling that he was up to something now. He wouldn't have shown himself otherwise.

That suspicion was soon confirmed by the next words that left his deceitful mouth.

"You know, I saw some of those cloaked humans wandering round near here a moment ago..." My eyes widened as he raised his head and tilted it at me, his own yellow eyes possessing a playful glint to them. "If they're still nearby, they probably heard what happened just now."

I scowled, swallowing back the lump slowly forming in my throat so I could hiss my next response. "What are you trying to say, Cat?"

"It's time to make your choice, kid." I followed the cat's gaze back to Anthony, who had now fallen quiet and still in the clearing. "You can walk away now and save your own skin, or you can stick your neck out for him." He shrugged and swished his tail back and forth, closing his eyes and straightening out his posture. "I don't care either way. I'll get a meal no matter what you do."

My brows raised. "What? Are you saying it's already too late?"

"Not yet." He turned his head to me slightly and opened an eye. "But if you don't act now, it will be. But it's not like you care…" His mouth twisted into a sly smile, exposing white fangs glistening in the sunlight. "… right?"

I quietly snarled and inhaled sharply through my nostrils, trying to remain calm and ignore my twitching foot's urge to kick the demon as far as I could.

'Of course he'd used this opportunity to goad me. He's basically asking if I'm going to stay and fight my past or run and hide from it.' My eyes dared to glance in the direction of the fallen boy once more, my lips pressing tightly together as I did so. 'Yet as much as I know leaving that boy there is the right decision… it's not the type of thing I'd do.'

After staring at Anthony for a while longer, I allowed my shoulders to slump and started slowly walking towards him. I caught the cat opening both eyes and watching me go with a wide blink out of the corner of my eyes, but I didn't pay him any heed. I didn't have a lot of time.

'I still don't know what I want. But I'm starting to think it's because I'm struggling to understand who I am. I've wanted to think that I'm completely like my mother, yet I've known for a long time that in some ways… I resemble him. Everyone around me have always known. They've always compared me to both. And I think that's why it's been so hard for me to accept.'

On the way, I paused to collect the hunting rifle and bloodied sack, shoving the former into the latter before swinging the sack backwards and then tossing it in the direction of the house. Cat loudly yelped and darted to the right to avoid the sack whizzing into him, observing with a recoiled paw when it clattered onto the path in the shade provided by the trees.

'I've always assumed sharing qualities with my paternal birth parent was a bad thing. It doesn't have to be, though.'

I stopped beside Anthony when I reached his side, immediately crouching down to place two fingers to the side of his neck at noting his eyes were closed (his face was lying on its side, allowing me to see him clearly). His skin still felt warm and his pulse was still thudding away underneath my fingertips, albeit slowly. But his breathing sounded loud and shallow, like he was struggling to take in the air he needed.

'I share his perception, his cunning, his wittiness, and through my grief I may have adopted his mannerisms as part of my act. But that doesn't mean I use his 'gifts' in the same way he does. I control how I use them. And it's about time I took that control back.'

Taking the now unconscious Anthony under his arms, I slowly stood up and turned my body round to lift the young boy onto my back, positioning him so his upper body slumped over my left shoulder. I supported him under his knees with my hands and hunched over a little when I started walking back towards the path away from the clearing, my brow furrowing as I went.

'If I want to figure everything out, I need to start by accepting myself. That's the first step.'

Upon leaving the clearing and entering the shade again, I saw the branches and leaves above me beginning to flicker and fade, overlapping with an additional tree seeming to be appearing behind me. The tingle that slithered down my spine indicated the house was already working to cover my tracks, aligning with my current thoughts exactly.

As I approached the cat, I saw him lowering his head and shaking it with a small sigh, his eyes drooping.

"And I thought the last witch was naïve. You just can't help yourself, can you?"

"I can't, so get used to it." The cat blinked widely and lifted his head as I passed him by after responding abruptly. "I might share his brains, but I'm not like him or you. I don't treat every person as objects and tools. Regardless of what I eventually decide to do, it's going to be done my way."

Saying those words out loud caused a faint smile to briefly grace my face, my chin raising slightly to hold my head high. I couldn't explain why, but I swore a sense of pride was swelling in my chest.

I didn't see Cat's reaction, but I did eventually hear the pitter-patter of his paws as he made to catch up to me, his tone sounding fed up. "Do whatever you want. As long as I get a meal at the end of this."

"We'll have to see."

My eyes briefly locked with the sack as I went to step around it, prompting Cat to continue our conversation, much to my chagrin.

"Why'd you pick up those?"

"It's evidence of where I am," was my quiet response, trying not to disturb the boy I was currently carrying. "Can't have his hounds sniffing where their noses don't belong. Plus,"—a faint smile of amusement slipped onto my face—"I like the thought of causing Aiden distress at discovering his father's hunting rifle was left with the witch…"

I couldn't deny the image of that boy discovering Anthony, the sack and the gun were gone was a funny one. I suspected he was going to come back to make sure Anthony had perished somehow. He seemed like the paranoid type. Plus, I did want to collect the sack for another reason, but I wasn't about to tell the cat what it was.

"So… you're just gonna leave the stuff there?"

I shook my head. "Oh, no. I'll come back for them in a bit. In the meantime…" I finally glanced at the demon to see him walking at my side. "…you mentioned the house had medicine, didn't you?"

He nodded. "Oh, yeah. But not the kind of medicine you're probably looking for."

I narrowed my eyes at this. "Then why did you bring it up?"

"I wanted to trick you into giving it to the kid so I could get a free meal." Cat turned to me right as I scrunched my face up. "What? At least I was honest!"

"Well, what am I supposed to do now? Surely you must have something I can use to clean this kid's wound."

Cat shook his head as we gained upon the stump and the signpost. "Nope. But I can call in a favour from an old acquaintance to get you what you need."

I slowed to a stop beside the stump and carefully lowered the injured boy from my shoulders, raising a brow towards the demon while he continued walking. "You have an acquaintance?"

"Don't act so surprised." He tilted his head back to morph his mouth into a small smirk. "You didn't think you were the only witch employed under a demon, did you?" I gaped slightly at this, causing the black cat to chuckle lowly and look away, not breaking his stride once.

I shouted after him once the shock had worn off. "Wait, what's the catch?!"

"You already know!"

My eyes drooped at this, but I didn't argue back. There was no point.

'Of course it's souls. But I suppose he knows that even if I don't repay him now, it'll probably happen later. Maybe he's finally giving me the benefit of the doubt. But yeesh. I was really off the mark, huh? Who would have thought there'd be other witches like me out there not associated with the cat…?'

I eventually allowed my shoulders to slump and resumed removing Anthony from my back, carefully taking him into my arms before lowering his body to the ground on his back. I didn't like the idea of treating his wounds outside, but I thought taking him into the house after our last encounter would probably freak him out. Plus, he was Peter's bully, and I didn't know how Peter was going to react to seeing him.

Anthony was still unconscious and gasping for air with heavy breaths like a fish being yanked out of the water, but one quick check for his pulse indicated he was still stable for the moment.

'Okay. Since I can't do anything about his wound just yet, the first thing I should do is prevent this boy from losing any more blood.' I looked down at my clothes and patted at the sides of my cardigan. 'Although I don't think I have anything on me that can—'

My train of thought and movements halted when my eyes caught the tree stump in front of me, where I noticed something white had been placed atop it, supported underneath by a white cloth. I leaned forward and squinted a little to get a closer look, eventually blinking widely when I recognised the item to be a roll of…

'Bandages?!' My eyes widened as I shot a quick look in the direction of the house, immediately doubting the cat had anything to do with this. He wasn't one to be kind without benefits for himself, after all. 'But who…?'

I trailed off when a glimpse of a golden braid caught my eye as it disappeared beyond the trees close to the house, followed by faint footsteps fleeing up the path. A wide smile stretched across my face at the warmth that instantly swelled in my chest, especially since it didn't take much for me to figure out who it was.

'Viola…'

I didn't know when she'd seen me leave or how long she'd been watching the spectacle that had unfolded back there. But I at least knew one thing: what I'd told her last night hadn't changed anything between us.