Release That Witch

The moonlight was coming in from the corridor's window, shining on half of the girl's face. Her eyes reflected a faint blue light, looking like two stars in the dark. Anna's body was leaning against the door, with most of her body hidden in the dark, but her silhouette was still visible—good nutrition had completely changed her previous thin and skinny body, and as a woman who recently became adult, her body was just perfect, containing the right curves of her age and the unique charm of youth.     

Roland put on a calm face and walked slowly towards her until he was spotted by her. She stood straight and they looked each other right into the eyes.     

"It was just an accident, and I didn't know she would..." Roland said.     

"I understand."     

"She's still a child, so I didn't take it serious..."     

"I got it too"     

Anna reacted completely differently than Roland had expected. It did not seem like Anna wanted to argue, and he could not detect any trace of displeasure on her face but only a serious look. There was no motion within her lake-like blue eyes. Roland realized that she was a straightforward woman, and she neither liked to hide nor she had to hide anything. As expected, she took the initiative and said, "I dare not do such a bold thing... in front of so many people, like what Lightning had done, so I have to wait for you here."     

Upon finishing, her cheeks clearly showed a sign of blush, but even so, she did not shrink back and her eyes remained focused on Roland's. Her expression could not be more serious.     

Roland's heartbeat gradually slowed down, wanting to say something, but he felt that saying anything right now would be meaningless. Maybe she did mind Lightning's behavior, but complaining was not her style, and she would simply express her own feelings.     

Honest and hard-working children should not be rejected, he thought. Roland bent down, leant towards Anna's cheek. He could even feel her breath on his face, like a spring breath fiddling his heartstrings. It was so quiet that they could clearly hear each other's nervous breathing in the quiet corridor, and then, a pair of soft lips slightly touched Roland's cheeks.     

"Good night, Your Highness," Anna whispered.     

*******************     

Wendy was sitting on the bed and reading some books.     

For her, times like this were very rare. During her time in the Witch Cooperation Association, she would have never dared to think of having such a life.     

Not long after she came to town, she developed such a habit: Before going to sleep, she would clean her body, put on a silk gown, which was not fastened around the waist or was it buttoned up, sit cross-legged in the bed, with a soft pillow between her back and the wall, and read the books she had borrowed from His Highness.     

It had taken her a lot of time until she got Lightning to rest, so she did not plan to return to the castle backyard, and instead, she washed up and went straight to bed.     

She was now reading a history book about the origin of the church.     

Although she grew up in a cloister, yet she did not know much about this subject. The nuns had always warned them to obey the teaching of God, but they never mentioned God's name—during her childhood this discrepancy had always puzzled her. Everyone had a name, so why the highest deities did not have one?     

What was recorded in the history book was mostly the same with the rumors she had heard. At the beginning, there were three major churches, which thought of each other as heretics and believed that their own God was the true one. This battle of faiths lasted for nearly a hundred years, and in the end, the church nowadays claimed the final victory. They declared that the heretics had been destroyed, and God has only one name that was the word of God itself.     

The following pages described the glory and immortality of the church, including the construction of Old Holy City and New Holy City and their victory over the evil witches. This left Wendy very puzzled. She had previously borrowed the books, "The History of the Kingdom of Graycastle" and "A Brief History of the Mainland" from His Highness. The first one almost unequivocally recorded the kingdom's establishment, development, and major events. For example, names of each king, their marital status, and information about their children. The family with all their branches were described in such detail that it almost represented a detailed genealogy.     

"The Brief History of the Mainland" focused more on the evolution of the Four Kingdoms, their alternations in handling their powers, and their political struggles. However, the content still focused a lot on the ruling families.     

Yet within the history book of the church, there was no mention of any of the popes' names, or could it be that it was the same case with God's name. They just replaced their former names with the title pope. By the first look, it seemed like there was only one pope during all of the hundreds of years of history. This was not logical, and instead of calling it a record, it would be better to call it deliberate delusion.     

At this moment, Nightingale suddenly appeared within the room. Wendy put down her book and looked at her with interest. "It's been late. You still have time to come here?"     

Nightingale rubbed her neck and sat beside the bed. "I just finished escorting Nana home. How is Lightning?"     

"She immediately fell asleep once I put her in bed, and she wouldn't stop murmuring about her father." Wendy shrugged. "She always acts like she is already a brave big girl, but in truth, she's still a little child."     

"In your eyes, everyone is still a child," Nightingale replied and took the book from Wendy's hand. "His Highness had said that you shouldn't read at night, especially while sitting in bed. You'll hurt your eyes if the lighting isn't strong enough."     

"Yes, His Highness did say that."     

The two of them chatted for a while. They talked about their travel from Silver City to the Impassable Mountain Range, about the time they heard the news that a witch was soon to be killed in town and how the prince fought off the Months of Demons. Nightingale had a lot to say and Wendy would also occasionally throw in one or two sentences. During the past five years, these two had developed such a great chemistry and understanding between each other. The time passed slowly until finally, the candles were about to extinguish. At that time Wendy began to smile and asked, "So? You can't sleep because of Lightning's actions today?"     

"What're you talking about..."     

"What else can it be." Wendy smiled and shook her head. "Veronica, we're witches. You should know better."     

"..." Nightingale remained silent, and after a long time she replied, "Well."     

This was fate that no witch could escape from it. Wendy sighed and then said, "Roland Wimbledon is the kingdom's fourth Prince, and we have to do everything necessary to ensure that he'll take over the throne of Kingdom of Graycastle. He'll rule the kingdom well and he'll be able to create a place for us sisters to live in."     

"But at that time, he must do what a king needed to do, and when the time comes, he'll have to marry a duke's daughter or the princess of another kingdom in order to give birth to one or many heirs. If it's a boy, he'll inherit the throne, and if it's a girl she'll be married to another noble family."     

Here, Wendy paused for a moment, and then spoke aloud what Nightingale, or actually what all witches did not want to hear. "Veronica, we're witches, who can't give birth to children."     

"Even by thinking most optimistically, after His Highness has ruled for many years, and our sisters can finally walk in the streets of the kingdom freely. On some occasions, outstanding witches would be able to join the upper ranks of society, and maybe even get canonized as nobles. But the fact that witches can't give birth will never change. And without the ability to bear any descendants, we'll be unable to continue the family's glory. Thus, the nobles would never consider marrying a witch. We have been given a gift, but at the same time, something was also been taken from us. This is our fate." Then she whispered, "May God be merciful."     

"I see," she whispered.     

...     

After Nightingale had finally left, Wendy felt upset. But she was confident that Nightingale would be able to overcome this, after all, she had already overcome so many hardships, and she surely would not stumble on this one.     

She was sure about it.