Witches Don't Burn, Silly

Men Give Me Headaches Too

"We should just sleep on the floor." Seth says when we reach a good spot in the woods. "If you use your magic you could get worn out by the end of this trip and we have no idea if we will face any problems later on."

"Yeah, but I can make two beds no problem." I huff as I look at Seth. "Why should we sleep on the ground if we don't have to?"

"Because, it's a waste of energy."

"Is that why you won't let me heal you or the horse so we could just keep going straight to the next village?" He nods and I stomp my feet into the ground and turn the other way and storm off. "Can you believe him, Iris?" I talk to the baby in my arms as she sleeps away. "He's acting like I am a new witch! I rescued two kids from a prison and ran away and then fought him and his whole platoon of men without having any rest and then I rode all the way to the coast without any rest no problem! Then I made a whole house without any rest!" I say in an exasperated tone. "He really thinks that I can't stabilize him and the horse for one more day until we reach the next village!? I am a powerful witch! I am not going to sleep on the ground! That does not count as good rest!"

A hand wraps around my mouth. My magic takes hold and the hand is removed from my face. "Mariposa?!" I heard Seth shout so that just nailed the point that whoever was behind me was not Seth. I turned slowly.

"I'm over here, Seth!" I shout back. The man that was now stuck in my magic stared at me in fear. "We have a little guest." Seth hurries over and stops cold in his tracks.

"That's the Witch Hunters' leader!" He shouts and raises his sword.

"Relax, he can't move." I release control over the man's mouth. "What are you doing here?" I ask in a honeyed tone. He didn't respond but instead he started to hyperventilate as he tried to fight against my magic. "Stop trying to fight against me." I pinched the bridge of my nose. "It obviously isn't working, you are wasting your energy."

"What did you do to me?" He finally speaks.

"Your body is sixty percent water and I am now in control of that sixty percent." I smiled at him. "If you don't start talking I will have to get violent." The faces of the children appear in my head. I have people to protect.

"I was just completing a job!" He sobbed.

"You are the one that assigns jobs, though?" Seth stared at him confused. "What are you doing, carrying out your own jobs? I thought that was supposed to be the Witch Hunters' jobs?" Seth was in his own mind now.

"I'm not the one who assigned this job!" He screeched. I covered the baby's ears so that she would continue to sleep in peace.

"Then who did?" I hissed aggressively.

"The king!" He screamed when I raised my hand. "He has ordered for your capture and if we fail he kills us publicly." I glance at Seth to find him already looking at me.

"Why does he want me captured and not killed?" I asked.

The man started to sob. "I don't know!" Snot dripped from his nose and I realized his ragged state. "He has my wife and my daughters held prisoner for if I fail!" I let go of the spell and walked up to him.

"Hey, come sit down." He just nodded. Seth stared at me strangely. I led him to my horse and supplies. I quickly prepared a glass of tea for him. "Drink this, it will make you feel better." He drank the tea and started to calm down. I sat down on the ground next to him. "Let's discuss this calmly, ok?"

"Ok."

"So, you were ordered to capture me and not kill me, right?" He nods with a sniff. "The king ordered you to do this and took away your family as a form of blackmail?" He nods again and I rub his back. I stare at the man. "Sir, were you an orphan?"

"Yes?" His magic was yellow like the sun but it was tiny. "We weren't supposed to get married or have children because we are supposed to devote our lives to the witch hunt but I got special permission from the king after I established a more organized form of a witch hunt." I nod and look at Seth.

"Seth, can I talk to you really quick?" I stood up but the man grabbed my wrist.

"Please, don't leave me here." The man begged. I sighed and sat back down.

"Seth, I think all of the orphans are witch descendants and the king said that they can't have children because that could raise more witches if they were to have any daughters." The man next to me was as still as stone as I rubbed his back. "Sir?"

"My oldest, she's twelve and I knew something was funny about her." He whispers. "Sometimes when she's dancing in the garden the light bends." I inhaled sharply. "He's going to kill my girls." He started becoming hysterical again.

"Hey!" I yelled and he stopped. "Enough! Do you want to save your daughters?" I stood. He nodded. "Then stop your foolishness!" I pulled a wooden ring out of my pocket and enchanted it. I had to turn the blonde man into the opposite. He looked warm like the sun which had given me an idea of what his daughters' powers might include. "Hold onto this." I place the ring into his hands.

"What will it do?"

"When you put it on it will disguise you." I rub my temples. "Do you have a horse?" He nods. "Great, because you will be journeying with us. Sadly, I can't go immediately to your daughters since I have to find someone first and return back home to the kids." I rubbed my temples as a pounding headache took over. So much was happening and I wasn't sure how to handle it. "I will take you back with us, first, and they will help take care of you while I find who I need to find. Then, I will come back and you can tell me everything you know, then I will save your daughters."

"But, they won't be safe now. My wife and I will become witch sympathizers, although I think my wife might be a witch." Allying with her immediate threat was a great idea. "My second daughter looks just like her and I see them both talking to animals when they are gardening." They were careless. "My family will be hunted!"

"Shhh." I hushed the man. "What is your name?"

"Tobias."

"Tobias, I have created a place where they will be safe." He smiles. "All the people there right now are children." His face falls. "The two kids I rescued from your prison are there. Three siblings are there too that I rescued recently. There are two boys among them." I grumble as I rub my head. "Adeline can't use magic but the other two won't hesitate to subdue you if you try to mess with any of them." I paused and turned my piercing eyes to the man. "If you put my kids in danger or any witch in danger ever again you will be begging for the king to kill you instead of going through what I have planned. Do you understand?" He nods vigorously. "You will not be the first man I kill and you will not be the last."

"Yes ma'am."

"Good." The headache was getting worse. "Seth, help him grab his horse. I will heal the creatures and you two and we can head back to the village, no breaks and as fast as we can. This is just another delay in my schedule."

"Alright." He places a hand on my shoulder. "Are you feeling alright?" He whispers in my ear and I nod. He squeezes my shoulder lightly. They bring back a beautiful white stallion. I quickly healed both of our horses and all of us except for the baby who didn't need it. I hopped on my mare and Seth got on behind me.

"Ready?" I asked the men and they nodded. We raced off into the night. I had better eyesight and hearing than the horses and I led them through the dark, hoping to get there by dawn. I wanted it to be done quickly.