24. Misunderstood

"Cassandra, please wait!", Lily shouted after her. She just stormed off before Lily even started speaking. Cassandra probably knew what was coming. But she wouldn´t give up until she was free. "You can´t always run away!"

After two minutes of chasing after her Lily could grab her shoulder to spin her around. She tried to ignore the sight of Cassandra´s thin body.

"Why can´t you listen to me? Did I do anything to you that might have caused you pain?", she questioned. She truly was fed up of her behaviour.

Cassandra raised her eyebrows. "Didn´t your father tell you?" And now she was also confused. This woman drived her crazy! "What should he have told me? Of your pregnancy?" Lily couldn´t help but scream right at her face.

The other witch faked a laugh. "Oh, you´re so naive, Lily, do you know that?"

Lily rolled her eyes. "Couldn´t you just tell me what´s wrong?"

The thin woman turned her look towards the ground, probably in shame. Very slowly she lifted her hands to her stomach and placed them on it, as if she was still believing the child was alive.

Cassandra finally opened her mouth and started to tell her story: "It´s now more than one year ago as your father wanted you to marry, right? But he saw how much it pained you and changed his mind. This man was on of the inquisition but I didn´t know it first.

"I fell in love with him like you might have done with Dracula. And he always told me that he would never leave my sight and so on. You know."

Lily nodded carefully. She felt so nervous. Now everything was going to be declared.

"After a few months I got pregnant. I didn´t know what was wrong at that time", Cassandra continued.

"Even by now I don´t know how it happened but the child died", she whispered as a tear rolled over her cheek. "And then the truth came out. I didn´t tell the father first but as I did he made everyone believe I was a witch. He sold me to Dracula and... the end you know."

Lily touched her arm gently. "Don´t get me wrong. I really want to help you. But why did you tell me that now and not earlier?"

Cassandra turned away from her once more. "Do you believe that I´m proud?", she asked back, "I know that I was rude to you the whole time but I gave you the fault for everything. And that was wrong." She then paused for a moment, letting her words do their effect on Lily. "I´m so sorry", she added.

Lily walked around her so that she could face Cassandra. Almost slower than time, it seemed, she put her arms around her in a comforting hug.

"No. I must apologize. The whole time I didn´t even try to find out what wrong was. It wasn´t important to me that you and the others were starving while Dracula was taking care of my wounds from the shots."

"And that was the best thing to do", Cassandra said hastily, "You feel so much for others that it would have destroyed you from the inside. I tried to warn you as I saw you in the sky but it was useless.

There are not many of us witches left. And the few that remained will be burned in a week."

Lily looked at her in confusion. "You know that I´m an angel?"

Cassandra nodded and replied: "Yes. Your father told me but told me not to tell you. His fear that he might have lost you to the inquisition was too big. Now his darkest nightmare became reality. My baby´s father broke any contact to me and only does his work... Yet I heard him laugh together with another man about the... death of... your father yesterday."

After this long speech Lily was the one who needed comfort.

"You´re my friend Cassandra. And I´m going to help you escape. Tonight. I promise", Lily sobbed into her new-won friend´s shoulder.