The Frog and The Beast

The Witch Chapter 2

She began by assigning all the chores to my sisters and me—cooking, cleaning, organizing her spellbooks, potions, and charms, and gathering ingredients like toad's breast and bat's seed. Ugh! She refused to teach us magic right away, claiming it was a privilege we had to earn. In other words, she wanted to brainwash us so that when we did learn magic, we wouldn't turn against her. She was a smart old hag, I'll give her that.

She worked us like slaves—well at that point, we were slaves. From dawn to dusk, we toiled, never allowed to leave her dwelling except to fetch ingredients. And she always sent her pet hawk to follow us, making sure we wouldn't try to escape or get help. Not that we would have dared.

We couldn't. Not as long as Simon remained her prisoner. He spent every day and night locked in that cage like a sick animal, force-fed every hour. He tried to eat sparingly, avoiding weight gain. When Kyoka came to check on him, he would stick out a stick or a chicken bone for her to feel, just as I had told him to do so. It worked; Kyoka was as blind as a bat and couldn't tell the difference between a stick and an arm, or a bone and a finger.

Poor Kagura cried all the time. She was so scared and confused about what was happening. Asking me and Simon if we would be here forever. Simon and I did our best to assure her that somehow, someway, we would escape.

Minerva grew more and more impatient. Wanting to leave as soon as possible, she was even willing to leave Simon behind. Which is why each time we went outside to gather ingredients, I had to drag her by her hair so she wouldn't run.

"Why do I have to stay? He's not my brother." She complained.

"But he is Kagura's, and blood or not, he's my family too." I told her. "I won't leave him and I won't let you do anything to provoke her into eating him."

"He's a lost cause Erza. That stick and bone trick won't work forever. Eventually she's going to get tired of waiting and eat him. And after she's eaten him, who do you think is going to be next? Let's just take Kagura and go, while we have the chance."

"We will escape. All four of us. We just need to wait for the opportunity."

"And what if the opportunity doesn't come?"

"It will. We're all that we have left now Minerva, we need to stay together."

But I can't say that I blamed her. What that horrible woman put us through, anyone would want to run without hesitation. I myself even thought about calling it quits and just leaving. That there was no point in staying behind for Simon's sake because it was probably just a matter of time before he was eaten. But I just couldn't leave him.

Then one night, Kyoka got tired of waiting. and over heard her plan.

"I'm tired of waiting! Fat or thin, I'll slaughter and boil him tomorrow night! And then I'll put the littlest girl in the cage to keep the other two from feeling!"

She was going to put drugs in our food, so we couldn't stop her killing him. But I knew her plan, so I only pretended to eat my meal and to pass out, and before supper and I sneaked over to Simon's cage and told him to do the same. The drugs kept in a can and were a powdery substances, easily mistaken for flour or powder sugar, and when I had the opportunity, I switched the drugs with her can of baking powder in the cupboard. She always ate bread rolls with her meals so I knew she would use it, and also knew that she would eat the bread before cooking Simon because she hated waiting.

She ate about six of them as she waited for the water in her cauldron to boil and soon she was out cold. First thing I did was search the entire place for the key to Simon's cage. It took a lot longer than I would have hoped. I looked under, over, inside, and outside of everything in sight. Damn it! Where did she keep that key?

Finally, I stumbled upon a small drawer hidden under the floor boards. I tugged it open and, found a set of keys jangling together. With the keys clinking softly in my hand, I rushed back to Simon's cage, my heart racing with the urgency of the moment. I slid to my knees in front of the lock, the metal cold and obstinate beneath my fingers. The first key I tried was too big, the second too small; frustration bubbled up inside me as I pressed each key into the lock, praying one would fit.

"Come on, come on," I muttered under my breath, glancing back toward the staircase to the kitchen where Kyoka had fallen asleep. I could hear her intermittent mumblings, and each noise sent a chill down my spine.

Finally, I felt a key click into place. With a careful twist, the lock gave way, and the door to Simon's cage swung open.

"Erza!" Simon exclaimed, his eyes wide with disbelief. "You did it!"

I quickly pulled him out, relief flooding my veins as I embraced him tightly for just a moment. But before I could take a breath, the sound of footsteps echoed from the basement above.

"Simon, take Kagura and run! I'll hold her off!" I urged, shoving him toward the room where me and my sisters were kept. 

"What? No! I won't leave you!" he protested, his brows furrowing in worry.

"Listen!" I said, grabbing his shoulders to emphasize my point. "You have to! I'll hold Kyoka off. I'll be fine; she won't eat me or Minerva. But she's going to eat you and Kagura needs you! You two need to get out of here now while you can!"

"But Erza-"

"Kagura can't survive without you! If you can't do it for yourself than do it for her!"

I knew he would go if I brought Kagura into it. He loved her more than anything in the world. Maybe more than me. I counted on that.

"Okay... Okay," he finally relented, his voice barely above a whisper. "But, I'll come back for you. I promise."

"Go!"

As Simon dashed toward the room where Kagura was, Kyoka stepped in, her eyes narrowing as she spotted him.

"Stop!" she shrieked, lunging forward with a predatory grace.

In a split second, I knew I had to act. I threw myself at Kyoka, my body colliding with hers as I bit down on her arm,  She howled in anger, her hands clawing at me, but I was relentless. I scratched at her face, pulling her hair with all my might, desperate to buy Simon time.

"You little brat!" she spat, fury igniting in her eyes.

With a ferocious shove, Kyoka threw me off her, and I crashed onto the floor, scrambling to regain my footing as she turned her attention to Simon, who was desperately making his way toward the door with a terrified Kagura clutched tightly in his arms.

Just as Simon reached for the door handle, Kyoka snapped her fingers, and to my horror, thick, twisting vines erupted from her back, stretching toward him with menacing intent. They lunged forward like serpents, aiming to ensnare him and drag him back into her grasp.

"No!" I screamed, my instincts igniting a fire within me. Without thinking, I thrust my hands forward, feeling the magic surge through me. A bolt of red energy shot from my fingertips, striking Kyoka square in the chest.

She staggered back, a surprised expression flickering across her features as the vines recoiled, momentarily halting. I watched with wide eyes as Simon broke free from her grasp, dashing through the door with Kagura still cradled in his arms.

"Run! Simon! Run!" I cried, "Faster! Don't look back! Keep running! Keep running!"

I watched them slip away into the night. They had gotten away. They were going to be okay. But the same couldn't be said for me. I was going to pay a terrible price for saving them.