The White Witch

Chapter Four (The Uninvited Guest)

Taking down House Brimsey was a piece of cake. All I had to do was play the part of the naïve niece and they were putty in my hands. Not only did they fill me in on every detail of their plans for the future, they also gave me their entire paper trail for "safe keeping." Idiots. Honestly, if I had known getting rid of Rosalie's aunt and uncle would be so easy, I would have invited them over for a chat much sooner.

After they left the manor, I had met Quinten to see how we should proceed. After spending several days pouring over all the information I had gathered, we settled on a simple solution. I had Quinten send everything we had on House Brimsey to several information guilds. It was the easiest way to spread the truth without bringing too much heat onto myself.

The house fell into ruin over the course of about a month. With the overwhelming evidence against them, Rosalie's aunt and uncle were forced to go into hiding, clutching onto the meager savings they had. This sent out a message to the rest of the greedy relatives; from this point forward, Rosalie was no longer someone they could mess with.

With the major obstacle removed from Rosalie's life, I was free to do as I pleased. I could eat and play to my heart's content, along with pursuing my research into ways to get home. Honestly, life without the threat of death looming over my shoulders was bliss...at least, that's how it should have been.

I had been enjoying a peaceful stroll through the manor when I found myself at the front entrance hall. I had been looking at one of the many illustrious paintings adorning the walls when I heard a rapid fire pounding on the large white oak doors. Oh god, is someone hurt out there!?! I think to myself, nearly jumping out of my skin. I sprint to the double doors and yank them open.

At first, I don't see any immediate danger as I inspect the surrounding front garden, so I shrug it off and shut the doors behind me. I make it a couple of steps away from the door before the pounding starts up again. Confused, I rush back to the doors and throw them open once more. I look around even closer this time, but still nothing jumps out at me. I let out a sigh of annoyance and close the door once more. People ding dong ditch here too? Again, I make it a few paces away from the door before something hammers against it.

I let out a shout of frustration before hurling the doors open. Once again, I see nothing amiss. I barely step out onto the front porch when I'm blinded with a cold wet sensation. A shriek of irritation pours from my mouth as I furiously wipe my eyes. You have got to be kidding me!?! I hear a child laugh and whip around to face the noise. My eye narrow when I lock eyes with a boy no older than eight looking back at me in horror, his hands clutching a wooden bucket like his life depended on it.

I stalk towards the boy, and he yelps in fear, stumbling over himself. The boy hits the ground with a loud thud that makes me flinch. Tears stream down his pale golden eyes and I can't help but feel guilty. There was no need to get upset over some village boy pulling a harmless prank. I crouch down to the boy's level and hold out my hand.

"Are you ok?" The boy's eyes widen and he slides as far away from me as he can get.

"Stay away from me, witch!" He throws his hands up in defense, trembling like a defenseless rabbit staring down the snout of a fox.

"Witch?"

"Oh, my lady, I've been looking- oh my god!" Audrey rushes to my side with handkerchief in hand to wipe some of the water from my face.

"I'm ok Audrey, I was just dealing with an unexpected guest." I gesture to where the boy is, still curled up on the ground. She looks at the boy in surprise and then down to the bucket at his side. Her eyes narrow and it looks like she wants to scold him, but I hold up my hand to stop her. "It's fine Audrey, really. Now let's prepare the sitting room to entertain our guest. A cup of tea should have this misunderstanding cleared up in no time."

"I-I can't have tea with a witch!"

"A witch!?! How dare you call my lady that! If anything, my lady is a saint!" My face heats at the compliments. I didn't know she felt so passionate about Rosalie.

"Nuh uh! Everyone in the village knows about the evil white-haired witch who lives at the top of the hill!" Audrey balks at the boy, nearly ready to explode with rage.

"That's absurd! I can't believe a horrible rumor is spreading like that in the village. I'll have Quinten and Landon thoroughly look into this," Audrey mutters.

"It's not a rumor, it's true! My friend Michael even told me that if I throw water at the witch, she'll disappear forever and peace will be restored to the land." The boy confidently proclaims, and I have to stifle the giggle bubbling up in my throat.

"Um, kid, it's been a while since you threw that bucket of water at me and I'm still here." The boy's face flushes with embarrassment at my statement.

"Well... maybe it takes a minute for it to work."

"You can't be serious!" Audrey glowers at the boy and I have to grab her by the shoulder to prevent her from going any further.

"Audrey, please, he's just a child."

"But-!"

"Please, just escort him to the sitting room so I may change." I cover my arms and shiver exaggeratedly. Audrey's eyes widen in shock as she fully takes me in, still sopping wet.

"I deeply apologize, my lady. I will get everything ready right away."

Without missing a beat, Audrey lifts the boy from the ground in a princess carry and hustles into the mansion. I stare after her for a moment in awe before quickly following her. Today is shaping up to be a lively one.

AN: Hello everyone! Thank you for joining me for another chapter in this story! :D Again I wanna apologize for the slow updates, but thank you for sticking it out if you did. As always, thank you for reading this chapter and I hope to see you all in the next one! Oh, and if you feel like liking or commenting, that is always appreciated! ;3