Asteria and Phoenix managed to get the witches through the dungeons without any trouble. It was only when they got to the end of the passageway there were 30 guards waiting for them with full armour and weapons, like that was going to stop a giant group of witches. They all came to a stop
"What do we do?" A girl who seemed no older than Asta whispered in her ear
"Wait for my signal"she whispered back
"Put your hands where we can see them witches" a man bellowed Asta put her hands up, everyone else slowly followed suit
"You too traitor" he added, pointing to Phoenix; and he raised his arms as far as they could go
"We don't want any trouble, just let us through" Asta called
"Sure you don't, you're coming with us, dead or alive"the man said,smirking. All the group around them stiffened
"Have it your way then" she smiled, not the warm one she had given Phoenix mere hours before, but a taunting one.One that scared him
"Life holders" she called. All the life holders' hands began to glow red
"Drop them" and the guards clutched their hearts before they all dropped to the ground, loud thumps .
Phoenix looked at Asta horrified, those men had trained with him, that commander had taught him everything he knew about combat
"Did they just kill them?"his voice was shaking
One of the life holders came forward, a small blond girl, she reminded Asta of Leanndra
"Don't worry, we only slowed their heartbeats, they will wake up soon"her voice was quiet and calm, but it made her sound insane at this time.
"Come on then" Asta geasured for everyone to follow and they began to walk quicker through the city, trying to stay hidden from people. They took back allies and stuck to the shadows.
The group reached the city gates
"Your just going to leave us" one of the girls said
Asta looked at Phoenix wearily, sleep haunting her face, and he slowly nodded at her, his head was bleeding where he must have been hit earlier
"We have other business to attend to here, you need to learn how to survive on your own or you won't when you split"
Another voice came from the crowd, a male voice
"What if we don't split, what if we work together and travel around Palisea, fight back against the witch hunters"
Asteria eyes scanned the crowd and then called out
"What you do with your future is up to you, but please be careful".
Everyone nodded
"Good luck"Phoenix reassuringly, the crowd of witches all turned and ran for the woods,he looked at Asta
"Shall we go home"
She nodded at him
"We shall"
Asteria and Phoenix both sat on the main rooms couch, Asta's head rested on Phoenix's broad shoulder, her eyelids starting to droop
"You can go lay in bed you know, if your tired" he chuckled
"No i'm comfy now"she huffed
"If you say so"
There was a knock at door, Asta sat up and looked at Phoenix with fear in her tired eyes
"I'll answer it" he stood up, walked slowly over to the door and hesitated on the handle. He swung the door open to reveal a short,stumpy man in a small and gold royal uniform
"Phoenix Crawfield?" His voice was squeaky, Phoenix slowly nodded
The little man unrolled a piece of parchment and began to read
"You have been invited to the king's masquerade ball tomorrow in honour of your excellent service to the country and your ties to the royal family" he then reached behind him and pulled out a small envelope, he then proceeded to hand it to Phoenix
"Thank you" he pocketed the invitation, the small man bowed and Phoenix closed the door.He turned around to look at Asta
"So,do you want to go?"
She stood up and walked over to him
"It's obviously a trap, honestly what ties do you have to the royal family?" she gave him a sceptical look as he looked at the ground. Asta sighed
"You're hiding something from me, aren't you?"
"Tell me Phoenix"she said sternly
He looked up at her and then his eyes darted around the house,almost like he was trying to find an answer or excuse
"I haven't told you the whole story about my parents" Asta stood there looking at him
"I'm listening" she spoke with power in her voice
"My mother as you know,died, but before then she wasn't always with who you believe is my father" they looked into each other's eyes. Asta saw worry and fear but also a twang of pain in those eyes, as blue as the sky
"Who's your father?"she asked, anger bubbling up in her, why would he lie about his father, why would he let her read that letter if it was all a lie, the whole thing, the emotion he showed her when he talked about his family, about his father who he said died in the war. Phoenix looked at her and quietly spoke
"The king"
Asteria looked at him, her frustration and hurt now erupting out of her as she began to yell her thoughts
"Why wouldn't you tell me? Why would you lie to me about him? I would've understood!" He betrayed her, betrayed her trust and lied straight to her face
"I have my reasons" he said so quietly Asta almost didn't here him
"What are they? Tell me Phoenix" she felt her power flowing off of her as she lowered her voice trying to keep her temper down, maybe his reasons and excuses are good
"When my mother told me about who my true father was, she forbade me from speaking a word about it. So I slowly tried to forget, I pretended the other man was my father, and he treated me like a son for the few years I knew him" he paused, seeing the annoyed expression on Asteria's face
"That doesn't explain why you didn't tell me"
"I...I didn't want to lose you, you finally believed I wasn't the enemy and I thought that if I told you that the king, the king that ordered your mother's death, if I said he was my father you would've hated me" his voice had begun to break as he spoke quickly and looked at the ground, Asta couldn't stay mad at him; she loved him
"I don't hate you Phoenix" she whispered as she wrapped her arms around his neck
"So do you still want to go to the ball?"
"Sure, it'll be a bit of fun"
Phoenix smiled as he pulled Asta close and kissed her
"Your going to need a dress to wear"
"And we both need masks"
"I guess someone needs to go shopping" he looked at Asteria and she rolled her eyes
"Only if you're paying for it all, I don't have any money" she smiled and kissed him again.
YOU ARE READING
The Witches Hunt
FantasyAsteria Cliff spent her sixteenth birthday out with her sister and some friends. That morning she had given her mother a warm, loving hug before she left the house, little did she know it would be their last. Asteria will have to travel across the b...
