Chronicles of Aneariia

Chapter-1

The soft tones of the piano sonata echoed throughout the hall. Ladies in dresses decorated with pearls and embroidered with shining silver threads and men in ironed suits or decent military uniforms.

Among them, servants were milling about with wine and trays of canapés or sweets, so that they could refill every empty glass with the best wine and fill every empty plate with the most distinctive delicacy.

Everyone present recognized that the earl certainly spared no expense in celebrating the tenth birthday and the engagement of his only daughter.

Ewellerei tapped her foot to the rhythm of the music that was composed especially for her. Bored, she watched the dancing couples, young and old, and the other guests enjoying themselves without paying any attention to her, the main girl of the evening.

They only saw her as a spoiled brat, who was lucky enough to be born into a rich family. But they didn’t say anything out loud.

In the middle of a group of young nobles, she suddenly noticed Meron, her betrothed. Their eyes met for a moment. However, Ewell immediately looked away and walked over to the communion table to eat a fruitcake.

There was so much good and expensive food, yet most of it ends up being thrown away or thrown up. The strict diet that noblewomen underwent at a young age did not allow more than a light meal a day.

Ewell sometimes wondered if they could give the leftover food to the hungry plebeians. However, whenever she brought this idea up to the adults, she was only met with cold rejection.

The aristocracy was not allowed to mix with the poor.

She took one piece of strawberry cake. The soft dough melted on her tongue. She loved the taste and would love to have another one, it wasn’t very often that she got her hands on the sweet.

But as soon as she ate the last crumb, the food got stuck in her stomach. She wrapped her arms around her belly and silently begged not to throw up. Although she new, that was the purpose of the ingredients. You must never get fat, that was written allover the sweets and deserts.

“Would you like some tea?” Ewell turned to see Meron offering her a glass of dark green liquid. She nodded, took the proffered glass and slowly drank its contents.

The herbs made the nausea go away immediately.

“Thank you very much,” she said with exaggerated politeness typical of the time.

“Anything for my beautiful fiancée,” he replied with a slight bow. “Would you indulge me and dance with me lady” Ewell nodded and accepted Meron’s hand.

They danced hand in hand to the rhythm of the waltz and had a casual conversation. As long as they were in public, they had to maintain a stone mask of perfection with a beautiful icy smile, although they were still children.

They lived in an age of tight elegance and excessive politeness. Ewell knew everyone was watching her and looking for her slightest flaw, but she didn’t show anything.

The orchestra was about to change the piece when a noise came from the street, completely drowning out the music. The citizens of the dowry town chanted a single word uproariously. Witch.

Ewell’s heart skipped a beat at that moment. All the blood drained from her face and the terror rang in her head like an alarm bell.

Nevertheless, with learned, mechanical movements, she pushed her way through the other guests to the balcony, with Meron at her heels.

An impassioned crowd had gathered in a nearby square, calling for the death of a woman tied to a stake.

Ewell watched her with a mixture of horror and admiration. Dressed in a simple white dress, with disheveled black hair, she still managed to look more elegant than many noblewoman. She was beautiful. Inhumanly beautiful. As a goddess or as a demon. Whether the woman had magic or not, this was enough to make ordinary people suspicious of her.

Even though she was subjected to public humiliation, she looked down proudly, like a queen from her castle, not a witch on a wooden border.

Unlike other convicts who begged for mercy and pretended they were innocent, she remained calm, even giving the blood hungry crowd a smile of disgust. She was not subdued by the pile of firewood under her feet, nor by the stake to which she was tied.

Soon the executioner approached with a burning torch. He threw it on the pyre and the wood, probably soaked in oil, caught almost immediately and the red flames formed a high wall around the woman.

Even then, she did not show the slightest sign of fear. As the fire slowly consumed her body, the words of a song, perhaps in one of the ancient languages, drifted through the night. Every note exuded determination and reprehensible courage.

Ewell watched in horror as the woman turned to ash. Her voice was gone forever, nothing more than a fleeting memory.

Ewell was sick again. Her heart was racing in panic. She was about to turn away and run to her room when she felt Meron’s firm yet soothing grip as he grabbed her arm. Her fiance gave her an understanding smile, as if to say: ‘Don’t worry, it’s over now.’

The guests slowly dispersed. After what had happened down in the square, no one wanted to stay out too long after dark, because where there was one wizard or witch in town, there were usually more.

Meron led Ewell to her room. They sat on the girl’s bed and talked by the light of one small candle. For the first time in the time they had known each other, Ewellerei felt like she was seeing Meron without his cold mask.

He cared about how she was, how she really felt and constantly tried to keep a smile on her face. For once in her life, Ewell had the feeling that someone was really interested in her. That night, Meron became her first true friend.

A/n's note:
As the following chapter came out longer than expected, I split it into two parts, which mean i had one more chapter to update, so i did it earlier than planned . Hope u enjoyed.
Hasta otro día~

Word count: 1013
Date: 18/3/2023
Status: Unedited