Sisters
Sisters
"Thank you, thank you." Lucia felt her eyes heating up. She breathed in through her nose and held back the tears. Impulsively, she took another drink of ale in one sip. It was not as bitter as she remembered. Rather, it carried a slight sweetness.
After meeting with the Lord, Nightingale had helped her and Ring take a hot shower, and change into clean clothes. When all was arranged for her sister, Lucia followed Nightingale back to the castle hall. Here, the witches threw a welcome party for her.
It was the first time that Lucia had seen so many witches, and the doubt that lay deep in her heart finally dissipated. If the witches had been imprisoned or forced into allegiance, they would not have had such bright and lively smiles.
She remembered what Nightingale had said, "this is the witches' home." Suddenly, she was having this type of pleasant experience, in comparison with that of the witches who had been exposed, hunted and killed by the church. For them, finding a safe and comfortable shelter had always been so difficult. Since Valencia had been attacked by thugs, just over a month ago, she had gone through all sorts of suffering and endless wandering. The Witch Union's warm welcome, made her feel greatly relieved.
Meanwhile, a party thrown by witches was an incredibly amazing thing to behold.
Black flames cooked a piece of meat instantly, without damaging the pot that it was held in.
A little girl with short golden hair flew around in the air, carrying a jug to fill everyone's cup.
An alien-looking witch simulated all sorts of instruments, eventually joining them together to form a beautiful song.
...
She quickly remembered the name of each witch that Nightingale introduced to her. As she assimilated unconsciously into the group, the pain in her heart had grown lighter.
Within the Witch Union there were many unique witches, the reliable Scroll and Wendy, the older-sister-figures, Leaf and Echo, as well as her peers, Anna, Soraya, and others. No matter who it was, nobody treated her like a stranger. For this, Lucia's heart was full of gratitude.
After the banquet, she and the other witches said goodnight to each other and Lucia returned to her new home. His Highness had given her and Ring the last room on the second floor. He did not try to separate them, despite the fact that Ring was not a witch.
"Sister?" Hearing noises, Ring opened her eyes.
"You're awake!" Lucia's heart was filled with joy, she took three steps, then ran the remaining two to the side of the bed. "How are you feeling?"
Ring looked as if she had just woken from a heavy sleep, yet her body bore no traces of suffering the disease. Her eyes were confused, and she muttered, "I'm so hungry."
"Wait a moment..." Lucia quickly took out a bag from her pocket. After she opened it the smell of grilled fish filled the air. It was the dried fish that Nightingale had given to her. "Here, eat this."
Seeing Ring sitting on the bedside and gnawing at the fish, pleased, she patted the little girl on her head. Her sister was only 10 years old and had no parents. She had only Lucia to rely on.
After Ring had swallowed a few bites of fish, she was much more alert. She looked around. "Where are we? The ship didn't seem to have such a large bed."
"Border Town, in the Western Region. We just arrived there."
"Already?" She touched her cheek, saying. "But haven't I... been sick? They would allow a sick person to enter the town?"
"No, they wouldn't," Lucia smiled at her sister's confusion. "But the lord has a witch who healed you." She told Ring what had happened at the pier, in detail. "Now we are staying in his castle."
"A witch?" Ring tilted her head and asked, "just like you, sister?"
"Yes, everyone is very good to me, especially a witch by the name of Nightingale," Lucia gently fiddled with her hair. "She also helped you to bathe."
"But, don't you often say that nobles hate witches? Why is the lord willing to shelter them?"
The question left Lucia slightly stifled, and she coughed twice. "That's... there are occasionally one or two good people among the nobles."
Ring grabbed the last piece of dried fish from the bag. "Then, do you need to work for him? Like a housemaid, sweeping, cooking, or warming his bed?"
"What nonsense are you talking about?" Lucia pulled at her sister's face, "I'm a witch! It's my ability that is useful to the lord! And who told you that a maid should do those things?"
"Mom," Ring replied. "That's why she never let dad hire a beautiful maid."
When it came to her family, her face grew dark. Instead of blaming Ring, Lucia hugged her sister in her arms and let out a sigh.
She was not worried about her sister's statement because she could tell what His Highness’ intentions were when talking to him. Other than asking about her life experiences, everything else he had asked was about her ability. Obviously, his main concern was whether a witch's ability would benefit him.
But thinking about her own ability, Lucia became worried.
She was not ignorant of the world of witches, as she had met many in Valencia. But six months ago, they had begun to gradually withdraw from the city. She had heard that they were heading to the fjords to find new homes. She did not want to leave her parents, so she did not agree to travel with them. But after several dealings with them, Lucia at least knew that witches' abilities were typically divided into two types: combat and non-combat.
Her ability to restore objects could be seen as useless. It was an ability with little effect during peacetime, let alone in battles. Her father was a businessman who'd operated a papermaking workshop, so their living room had often been filled with fresh paper. The day that she became a witch, she had cast her ability subconsciously and had accidentally turned the sheets of paper back into flying blades of grass and broken pieces. Her parents scolded her severely but did not hand her over to the church. Rather, they carefully hid her, making her wear a God's Stone of Retaliation. It was necessary to disguise her as a devout believer.
In the beginning, Lucia was curious about her ability. She would often hide in her room and secretly attempt to restore various items. But soon she found that the ability was extremely difficult to control. Just like with the paper, sometimes it turned into blades of grass, but sometimes it would turn into black particles. If she continued to use her ability on the same object, then it would become smaller and smaller. The final product would be either powder or just fine granules. This meant that her ability could not be used to restore the damaged items. All she was able to do was destroy products that others had finished.
Other witches also thought that Lucia's ability was not so useful. When it came to fighting, her range was too short, and it could not be used on living things. It was difficult to hit a common farmer, let alone well-trained knights. She was not a combat witch and was useless as a non-combat type. She really had the lowest form of ability.
This had depressed her for a long time.
But now... Lucia's greatest worry was that His Highness would deem her useless, and kick her out of the castle.
With an uneasy heart, she blew out her candle. Holding her sister, who was satisfied after finishing the dried fish, Lucia slowly closed her eyes, and waited for a new day to come.