Understanding destruction

The wachters at my feet.

I was walking through the market, back straight and eyes never leaving the path forming in front of me. Men and women split like the Red Sea. Kids are being shoved out of sight hidden behind their parents, shielded from the witch in front of them. Magic is not the problem, in this world magic surrounds them. They call me a witch for my past, believing I am the cause of my parents' death. I walk past all of them with my head held high. I'm headed for the blacksmith shop at the center of the market. People stare and make snide comments, knowing full well I can hear every word. The blacksmith is the only reason I come anymore. The butcher and all the other shops have stopped serving me, refusing to take my coin.

When I finally make it to the blacksmith he is whispering with two men. Wachters, you can tell from the gold armor and expensive weapons. One as black as night too tall for the small shop door covered from head to toe in gold and black armor only his face is bare. He stands on guard in the doorway with his left hand set on the hilt of his sword. Gold was placed on his helmet framing his sharp features. His armor glittered in the sunlight. The shorter one looked angry his cheekbones hard and his tan face wrinkled with frustration. He was whispering back with fire in his eyes making the blacksmith look scared. He was handsome and he wore a cloak instead of a helmet, the hood lay like delicate lace across his back and shoulders.

I walk slowly to the edge of the stalls wall hoping to catch what their conversation is about. If the stories are true then they are looking for someone. Someone like me, I push my face closer to the knots in the wall. The blacksmith is talking.

"They live in the woods, an hour past crescent lake."

Reality hits as the words come out. Crescent lake is dangerous, the plants and animals have overtaken the ancient ruins. One wrong step and you'll anger the spirits living there, another and you might end up in a goblins trap.

They're looking for me and Nana. No one but us live past crescent lake.

Leaning forward both hands now on the wall I reach up to peak over the stall, not quite tall enough I brace my feet against the wall and try to hoist myself further up. I feel my toe slipping and the next second I'm falling. My whole body drops and for a second I feel heavy, but I don't hit the ground. Instead hard arms wrap around my waist forcing my movement to halt. Turning around I come face to face with the battle ready wachter our eyes meet and sparks run over my skin, shock crosses his face yet his face gives nothing away. Tearing my body away from his eyes I turn and take off.

I run as fast as I can taking sharp turns and dark alleyways. I'm almost to the woods, I can hear their feet fall behind me but I know better than to look. Turning would take time that I desperately need to escape. They are fast, train for this exact moment but I have the advantage I know these woods better than anyone. I jump over fallen trees and race to the river. Pleading for the roots to help me. And a split second the trees create a bridge over the river. When I'm safely on the other side they flick back to protect me. Forcing my pursuers further back I make it to the greenhouse and duck behind a tree waiting for any sound or sign of movement. Nothing comes so I turn and walked the next half mile home.

I gather the ingredients for our late dinner. Mixing the herbs with the rabbit I caught on the path from the greenhouse. Nana walks in placing some raspberries from the bushes behind the house on the table. Our evening goes smoothly as we eat in silence. This is our daily routine ever since Nana refused to teach me about my powers we haven't said much more than is required. I opened my mouth to tell her about the market today but nothing comes out. Before long she dismisses herself mumbling a silent good night.

After cleaning up from dinner I head for a walk. The Air is fresh but the breeze is cold. I take deep breaths and walk to the edge of our little pond. My reflection is clear my green eyes shine back at me. My dark hair is a mess with the events of today. I run my fingers through it and try to unknot it. With no success, I look up to the stars. I sigh, my birthday could have gone a lot smoother. I'm 18 now and an adult, finally, I can leave and go anywhere other than the forest. Experience the world.

I'm deep in thought when a wrestling in the bushes catches my attention. I'm on high alert, I wait for what feels like a lifetime before the sound comes again. I reach for my knife and hold it at the ready. Out walks The wachters from the market. My knife goes flying before I can control myself. A branch snaps out and grabs it before it hits the tall one.

It takes me a second to see that the tall one is hunched over. He groans a
In pain as the shorter man stumbles to the ground causing them both to fall with a loud thud.

I rush over and push them apart. The taller man is bloodied and part of an arrow is sticking out of his shoulder. I inspect it and then turn on the smaller man.

"What happened?"I asked with the sharp tone.

"Orcs, past the river."

Orcs, of course, they don't possess any magic so they steal it from others by poisoning them and draining it out. The victim is always awake and in an immense amount of pain for the whole process.

I get straight to work pushing the arrow through his arm. He screams in pain and I shove a hand against his mouth and wait for any sound of a threat nearby. If they shot him then they will come find him. As his face relaxes I remove my hand. He looks up at me with wide eyes filled with pain. I turned to the other man.

"Fast, find me yarrow, it has white flowers."

When he returns the second later he has four different white flowers. He sets them down next to me and I grabbed the one I need. I shove it in my mouth and chew until it is mostly mush. I then spit it into my hand and squish it into the hole in the man's shoulder. He grabs onto my forearm as his body tenses in pain.

"Let's get him to the house Nana will know what to do."

I say and try to get the taller man up. The smaller man grabs the other side of his partner balancing his weight as we haul him to the house.