How To Burn A Witch |DISCONTINUED|

Chapter 16

"What did you think hitting her would achieve?" asked Refia, pulling Aether out of earshot as soon as they were out of sight."Did you think that someone so brainwashed, so hell-bent on killing as many witches as she could would forgive you in a heartbeat and accept you with an open mind? Are you that naive, Aether?"

They shrugged, face contorted in anger and disappointment, "I thought maybe if she saw that I was a witch, her opinion of us could change. I thought maybe, we'd have a chance at having a new ally but I guess I was wrong. I guess Nehir𑁋 no, Blaise, is more... like them than I thought."

Refia let out a humorless laugh, "Then you are a fool. Of course Nehir is prejudiced, Aether. She's been in the academy for over ten years, living among them, studying the history they changed so it looked like they were on the right side of it because they knew what they did was inhumane."

She slid her brown hand through her hair and took a deep breath, "It won't just go away, you need to show her, prove to her that witches aren't what the sherrais made them out to be."

Her friend looked even angrier now, "But I shouldn't have to, Refia! That's the problem! I shouldn't have to convince her that I should be allowed to live, even if I'm different from what is considered 'normal' none of us should." the girl nodded in agreement.

"All I'm saying," she started, "Is that after all the indoctrination she went through, and all the things she has been taught about us, it will take time to unlearn all those things." she crossed her arms.

"Even if she has been treated differently for being Amavran, it looks like she has left her heritage behind and sees herself as a huntress without a court. That's what they have all been taught after all. That they are nothing but weapons to be used to destroy us. You'll need to be patient with her. You're her friend."

She smiled devilishly, "I, on the other hand, don't need to be understanding. I'll kick her ass for the both of us, what do you think of that?"

Her friend chuckled and lightly punched Refia's shoulder. "I'm serious, you know? It would help me de-stress too."

Aether let out a small giggle but didn't say anything until a few minutes later.

"I just wish we didn't have to convince others that we deserve to be treated like people, that we deserve to live."

The girl nodded in agreement but stood silent, knowing that at the moment, her friend needed her to listen, not actually give them advice.

For the rest of the day, Refia watched as Aether completely ignored Nehir and tried to dig their way out of the cave.

"Can't you just hocus pocus us out of here?" groaned the huntress as she lifted a rock the size of her head and threw it on the side, narrowly missing Aether's foot.

"Watch it!" exclaimed the blue-haired individual, glaring daggers at Nehir. The girl pretended not to notice and continued throwing large rocks in Aether's way, deliberately this time.

Their bickering went on for days on end even after they left the cave thanks to Alev finally mustering up enough nima to create a spell that would scatter the boulders blocking their exit.

"I wish you wouldn't walk so close to me." declared Aether.

"And I wish you hadn't screamed so loud we got stuck in a cave for several hours but we don't always get what we want, now, do we?" replied the huntress, her irritation visible as she walked faster and caught up with Alev and Refia. The two women snickered as they watched her and Aether argue.

"Come on now, Nehir," started Alev, a smirk growing on her face as she watched the huntress' glare shift from Aether to her.

"It's Blaise to you and any other one of your witch friends, you godless bastards." corrected the girl, putting her wavy brown hair into a bun and walking in front, careful not to trip over Alev's foot.