Once Upon A Tale (Published Amazon)

Chapter Six

...Talia Vestla's Story...

Saint Emilion, France- 1867

"Talia viens ici vite. (Come here quickly)." Her mother had called urgently. Talia raced over to where her mother and father were hiding deep below in a cave that was also part of the wishing well in the centre of town. She huddled close to her mother as she wrapped a rug over her shoulders and pulled her daughter close to her.

"Que se passe-t-il maman?"(What is going on mummy) Talia asked.

"Shh. Ils sont de retour."(They are back). Was all her mother whispered. For the last couple of years Aria and Stefan Vestla had been on the run. They had done nothing wrong and yet in order to save their little family they kept running.

An organisation called 'Val Camonica', a secret brotherhood of witch hunters that originated in Italy in 1637 had been searching for the Enchantress bloodline that began with Ashlyn Lucas. A young man by the name of Gabriel Verde had initiated the brotherhood after hearing stories about the father he never got to meet. His mother Caterina had told him all his life of their love for one another and how he had disappeared without any trace. It had only been in his teen years when his mother had disclosed the fact that his father had been married to another, that sparked his curiosity. After numerous questions, he had ascertained that his mother did not know anything about the women for his father had kept it secret for her own safety. All his mother had said was that he was leaving his wife and they were going to run away together. So with only a name to go by, Gabriel had begun his search and when her turned nineteen years old, he had gathered so much information by the farfetched stories he managed to attain he knew what he needed to do. His father Tobias, had grown up in a small village called Erice. Upon arrival in the small village, he managed to find the Marcello family who welcomed him in. There they told him about Ashlyn Lucas, who as a child was sweet and loved nothing more than to write her stories. They claimed that just before Tobias married her, some odd things happened. A young girl who was a close friend of Tobias' was struck by lightning and killed. It had been a clear day and the change in weather could only be put down to witchcraft. Tobias had mentioned to his father that Ashlyn was no longer the girl they had watched grow up. He believed his wife to be a witch and that she had cast the spell that brought on the lightning that struck the girl. They also believed she had killed their son as well, for she never showed any remorse for his disappearance. Rumours emanated and Ashlyn had become feared by most in the small village, so when her daughter Tiana had turned five, she had fled with the child and not been seen since.

"There is an old woman in the village you should talk to. She knew Ashlyn well. Her name is Esmeralda." They had led him to Esmeralda's door and backed away, while encouraging him to knock on the door. He knocked and an elderly woman answered. He looked back at his father's parents far behind him and swallowed before turning back to the women at the door. She was smiling at him, her toothless gums looked red and raw.

"Well well, what do we have here?" Before he could answer, the woman raised her hand to stop him talking. "So it would seem Tobias' infidelity did not end with Sabina's death." Gabriel swallowed then raised his chin.

"I need to ask you about my father and Ashlyn Lucas." He told her with more succinctness than what he actually had.

"Yes yes, come on in then." He had entered the cluttered stuffy room with a mixture of cooking smells and something that had died. For a moment, he wondered if there was a decaying body somewhere in the room. A fire roared in the grate generating more heat than what was really needed for the small cottage. She cleared a chair for him and he sat down. The old woman sat in her chair and stared at Gabriel making him feel nervous.