Witches Don't Burn, Silly

Ouch That Burned

I was holding open the portal. Each family was passing through. They were going directly to my porch. My body was starting to shake as I held it open. I had to make the portal larger and had to keep it open for a long time because a lot of the families had young children and this was new magic. Luckily, the magic swirling around in the air was feeding me, holding the portal up and open for these people. Finally, they all passed through, safely, and I walked through.

I took a deep breath and the shaking stopped, my power restored by the magic around me. "Welcome everyone!" I smiled at the new people. "I will create you all your own houses one family at a time!" Elliot woke up and walked out with Bastian.

"I thought you were only bringing back two witches?" She asked quietly as I made the second house.

"Well, there was a change of plans." I smiled at her. It went by quickly. The houses varied in shapes and sizes because I had to consider the size of the family and what they wanted, specifically.

Finally, I was done and sitting on the couch of my house. "That was a lot of magic you used, are you alright?" Seth sat next to me and I leaned on him. I nod. "So, what would you like to do now?"

"We should spend the rest of the night here." I sigh. "Then we can see the other kids and I can regain my energy. Then we can leave after talking to Tobias."

"Alright." We walk up the stairs in order to go to bed. "Will you share a bed with me again?" He looked at me. "I know we don't have to, you know, but I would like to." I flushed but nodded. I put Iris to bed in her crib. I was going to leave her with Bertha when I went to save Tobias's family. I walked into Seth's room.

"Why do you want to share a bed with me?" I plop onto his bed after my bath. I was drying my hair by pulling the excess water out of it with magic. "Are you having nightmares without me?" I laughed.

"Well, of course not." He finishes buttoning up his shirt and lays down next to me. "I just find you to be a comfort. Plus, this is good practice for when we are married."

"I doubt we would just cuddle when we are wed." I huffed out a laugh. We laid there in silence for a while. He was pressed against my back with his arms around my waist. He was so warm and comforting. I loved the way he made my body relax against him. He was like my safety. A nice warm place that I can occupy forever. I turned around in his arms. "Do you... not want to bed me?"

"Why do you think that?" He looks at me.

"Because, you never make a move to do so." I grumble. "I just find it strange. Especially with this bond, I thought you would have made a move to do so." He raises an eyebrow at me. "Maybe I have been pushing away that kind of intimacy, but if you really want to marry me I would just think that it would be something you would want to try out with me." I glance back up at his face. He was smirking.

"Do you want to bed me?" My face flushed and I looked away. He rolled me back towards him. "Tell me, do you want to bed me? Now?"

"Kind of?" I offer.

"So, no." He looks a little sad but then regains happiness quickly. "We can wait until we are married for that." He grabs my wrist and kisses it softly. "Remember, there isn't any pressure. This is something we can control."

"Can we?" I grab the bond with my magic. He looks at the gold thread as well. "I feel like magic itself is telling us we need to do more. I feel like maybe we won't have another night where we would get the chance."

"I don't care what the universe or gods have to say about all of this." He sighs gracefully and I watch as his dark curls fall to the side. "I will make a way for us to be able to enjoy that intimacy without all this pressure." He looks at me fully now, taking in every detail of my face. "We are moving fast. Maybe too fast. So we should wait for intimacy like that for after we are married."

"I agree." I let go of the bond. "We should start with getting to know each other." He chuckled and I swatted at his arm. "I don't know, Seth." I grumble. "I have never been interested in anyone! I don't know what I am doing."

"At least we are both on the same playing field." He pulls me closer to him and I snuggle up against his warmth. "What's your favorite color?" He starts to play with my hair. "Mine is silver." He says as he runs his hands through my hair.

"I like light purple."

"Like your magic." I nod. He hums and I feel the vibrations from his chest. "What did you think when you first met me?"

"I don't remember. I just remember being so pissed that I wanted to cook you alive." He pushes away from me.

"What?"

"I don't know." I yawned. "You were aggravating and I wasn't used to your powers yet and so I was just mad and afraid. I had met you at a bad time." I sigh sadly. "I was afraid that you would capture me and try to burn me alive at the stake."

"But, burning you alive wouldn't work right? So why was the idea so terrifying, especially since you have already dealt with it?" He looks at me with curiosity and I take a deep breath.

"There's a reason I never tell you about how it felt and why Elliot has her anxiety attacks and starts to hyperventilate." I sit up. "When I burned at the stake, the fire didn't burn but everyone that I had grown up with was watching and praying for me to die. That hurt. Then, there was the smoke." I wrapped my hands around my throat. "I couldn't breathe. It was suffocating me and it burned my eyes and hurt my throat." I take deep breaths to remind myself where I was. "I could smell my clothes burning and I couldn't even cry. It was like my rights for living had been taken away. I wasn't allowed to be human anymore. I was suffocated if I tried to breathe and my tears were burned away like emotions weren't allowed. It was horrible. It was painful. I might not have died in that fire but something did."

"I wish that never happened to you." Seth says as he wraps his arms around me. I wiggle away gently.

"But, Seth, think about all those girls that you did that to."