Tales From The Beginning And End

The Judge

Warning: fire and death

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There lived, in a small old town, a young orphan child.

She wondered the streets dressed in rags and with feet that were bare. Her coal hair was tangled and grubby, her pale skin was brown with dirt and grime.

Almost always, she was hungry. With a stomach ever empty of food, her body became frail. Still, the nameless child was happy. With the critters as friends and an elderly lady in the woods that would occasionally fuss over her health, there was nothing more that she desired.

The stares and pity and sympathy did not bother her, nor did the sneers and comments of disgust. Why would she care about the opinions of those that had nothing to do with her?

"Your eyes.." the elderly woman had said once. "They are like gold, the purest of them all. How is it that the world could be so cruel to one such as you?"

The girl had simply smiled and gave the older a hug. "What do you mean, gran? The world has not been mean, or cruel. After all, I have you!"

Neither of them spoke of the way the elderly had started sobbing after that.

As years passed, and the girl grew, the town only became more skeptical.

The young were going missing, and no one knew how it was happening. Parents cried in grief when they found their child's room empty and the neighbors spread the word of loss. Soon, no one could tread the streets without earning accusing glares.

The child was weary, but the elder was running out of food. So, she took some of the bronze coins from a box in the room and left to go purchase the ingredients.

"Theif!" the lady at the stall had screamed, "the child is a thief! Those coins are not hers, for she does not have a family, job, or even a home!"

"Theif!?" A nearby man yelled, gaining more attention. "Theif!"

"I am no thief!" the child had argued, "these coins belong to the elderly woman living in the woods, I am simply here on an errand for her!"

"The elder by the woods?" a boy with platinum hair whispered curiously. "The elder by the woods! The witch of the woods!"

"You work for the witch?!" the father of the boy had screamed, face red in anger as he spat at the girl. More and more gathered around the market. The hostility spread like a disease. The mob infected with fear and grief screamed and theorised, quickly coming to a senseless conclusion.

The witch was the cause. The only one who was willing to take care of the parentless child was the one taking the other children. Why else would someone let in a homeless kid?

Before the group of angry villagers could do anything else, the girl fled. She escaped with tears running down her pale face, the vegetables she had bought held tightly in her arms.

Entering and slamming the door, she gasped and sobbed. The house was silent, showing that the elder had left, possibly taking a long stroll in the dark forest. She could no longer hear the angry cries, but they echoed in her mind as her breathing became troubled and short.

'Breath'

And so she did. The child looked around to see the speaker that had helped her and saw a tiny figure at the back. It sat on the desk, features covered by shadows and only its pearly, sharp smile showing clearly. She blinked and it was gone.

With a shake of her head, she pushed herself into a corner and closed her eyes. Sleep came quickly, like a sea of comforting darkness washing over her and drowning her in a safe but cold silence.

She woke to heat, her body sweating and eyesight blurry. She inhaled deeply for air, but all she inhaled was ashy smoke. The child coughed, standing up as the situation finally became clear to her. "Hello?" She called, "help-" she rasped, "please, help!"

The fire around her roared and laughed at her misery, slowly eating at the wood that had kept her warm for so long. She could hear them, chanting outside of the forest.

"Kill the witch!"

"Burn her!"

"For justice!"

"No, I'm not a witch!" The child screamed, how could these adults possibly think that she was a witch?! She was a child, one without parents, how could she possibly be the one creating the misfortunes the village had been cursed with? Her words fell to deaf ears as her world turned to flames of vibrant red. She looked around frantically, looking for an exit that didn't exist. Finally, her eyes spotted something out of place. It was the figure from before, standing in front of her now visible.

It was a small plush, with button eyes of coal and a stitched smile that seemed too big and eerie. It was completely white, but after another blink, it had taken the form of a plush version of the elder. Its eyes stared into hers, asking, wondering.

"Save me!" She pleaded, falling to her knees as the air thinned.

'What are you planning to give?'

"Anything, anything at all!" She did not wish to die, not yet. Why could she simply not live happily with the person she saw as family?

'Anything?' The doll mocked, its head falling to the side.

"Anything!" She begged, her skin starting to burn. Its smile seemed to become sharper, and wider.

'Very well' its voice echoed in her head, 'you shall live and the price shall be paid. We shall meet again, Mizeria. May you play your role well.'

The child burned.