The Witchness (English version)

Chapter 9

Sarah sits alone in her room on the edge of the bed and looks sadly at the door that Ewan had just stormed out of. She's actually hoping he'll come back, but he didn't. She sighs. After much deliberation, however, she gets up and sits back at her desk and continues studying. Later in the afternoon, the girl decides to go down to the living room and sit down on the couch in front of the fireplace. She takes one of the thin blankets lying on the sofa, wraps herself in it, and stares into the fire. It wasn't cold but the warmth of the blanket and the fire give her a feeling of wellbeing. Sarah closes her eyes. After a few minutes she seems to doze off slightly until she hears footsteps behind her. She opens her eyes and hopes it is Ewan, but it was Midory. "Oh, I'm sorry, I thought there was no one here," she says quickly, apologetically. '' No problem, please just stay here. I could use some company, '' says Sarah. Midory gives her a smile and sits down next to her, knees bent and her chin resting on them. ''You look sad. Is it because of Ewan? '' Sarah widens her eyes. This girl hit the nail on the head. "How did you come up with that?" Asks the blonde girl. '' Well, we all noticed that you both get on very well. '' Sarah looks at the blue-haired girl. 'Did he say something?' '' I tried to speak to him, but he quickly distracts from the subject. He looked a bit sad today and I wanted to talk to him about it, but then he somehow talked about which spice he likes to use for cooking because it has a great taste or something, '' Midory stares into the fire. '' You should talk to Luca, '' she says.

In the evening at mealtime, everyone gathers in the dining room around the large table to have dinner. Sarah hoped to see the blond boy again and to be able to talk to him, but when she got downstairs everything was already set up and he was nowhere to be seen. "Someone was really busy there," says Elizabeth with a wry smile. This time too, Sarah doesn't eat anything. She turns around immediately and goes through almost the whole building. She looks in the large bathroom, in the classrooms, outside in the garden and also in his room but he was nowhere to be found. The young witch sits down on the stairs that lead down to the dining room. She remembers the time in her old castle. Whenever she was sad, she sat in various rooms to think. Then it occurs to her that there is a door that is almost across from her room. She gets up and goes down to this one. She stands in front of a large double door, which is beautifully adorned with a variety of flourishes and gold decorations. She opens it carefully and quietly and stands in a huge ballroom. The tables are spread out in a corner of the room, all of them have white sheets over them to protect them from dust and dirt. Exactly opposite the door, about two bedrooms apart, is a glass door to a balcony. It is already dark, which is why the moon shines in the hall and you have a direct view of the starry sky. Sarah takes a few steps to the balcony and stops a few meters before. She perceives a person in the corner of her eye. She steps closer and the silhouette slowly becomes clear. Slowly she opens the glass door and stands directly next to the blond boy, who is staring lost in the rose bushes under the railing. He seems to have already noticed the girl, but is silent for the first few seconds. Sarah doesn't say a word either. At that moment, she's just enjoying his presence on a starry night. After a few minutes, she hears a low whisper next to her. '' I'm sorry I just stormed out and just wasn't in sight anymore ''. Sarah feels a relief within. She knows how he reacted last time, but tries anyway. The girl comes closer to the boy and leans her head back on his shoulder. She feels how he tenses up at first, but after a few seconds he relaxes a bit. "Why are you doing this?" He asks her. '' I always did that to my mother when I felt like it, and since you're the only one here with whom I get along well and feel close to you, I just want to lean against you. '' Ewan can't help but smile at her words. He, too, slowly feels a warm feeling of well-being. '' No matter what used to be that holds you so tight, if you need someone to talk to, I'll be there. And I accept it too if you don't want to talk about it. I just want to show you that you are not alone. You made that clear to me, too, '' Sarah says quietly and hangs herself under his with one arm. The young man has to smile even more at her words. He turns to her, kisses her forehead and whispers a soft 'thank you'. Then he leans his head against hers. She feels his even breath on her skin and becomes even calmer and more relaxed. She feels him place an arm on her back and hold her by her hip. He carefully places his other hand on her face and strokes her cheek with his thumb. She still perceives a faint 'I'm sorry' and then was completely gone mentally. Her body collapses in his arms, but he catches her easily. Ewan is a demon. Of course he has the power to do that, but he would never want to hurt her. The boy picks up the young witch's limp sleeping body and transports her to her room. He gently lays her in her bed and covers her. The young blond demon sits on the edge of her bed for a while and watches her sleep dreamily. After an hour or two, he leans over her. The sight reminds him of Fiona. He shakes his head slightly to get back to reality and leans his forehead against hers. Ewan closes his eyes and kisses the corner of her mouth. Then he gets up slowly and quietly leaves her room.

The next day, Sarah wakes up feeling strange. She puts the blanket aside and looks down at herself. She was just still wearing the clothes from the day before. Even with her shoes on, she was asleep. Since it was too late to put on pajamas anyway, she decides to wash herself quickly and then change. After freshening up, she goes downstairs to the dining room. Everyone else is already at the table and having breakfast, like every morning. She sits down in her seat and begins to eat. '' Wow, someone will eat something, '' says Luca. 'Right, why didn't you eat yesterday? Weren't you hungry or didn't have time? '' Asks Lizz. "A mixture of both," Sarah replies. Lizz and Luca give her a warm, friendly smile and then turn back to their food. Shortly afterwards, the students get ready for class. The topic today is: '' Knowledge ''. In class the count stands in front of them and reports on the subject of the lesson. With one arm propped on the table and her head in her hand, Sarah tries to follow the Count's talk. Beside her she hears Midory who has inconspicuously pushed a small piece of paper towards her. Sarah looks at the little letter and reads: 'Have you heard from Ewan?' She replies: '' Let's talk about it later ''.

After class, Sarah and Midory sit down in Midory's room to have a chat. '' I saw Ewan leave your room last night. Is something going on? '' Midory gets straight to the point and looks at Sarah with a smile and a raised eyebrow. The blonde girl blushes slightly. '' To be honest, I have little memory of last night. I only know that we were standing on the balcony and talking. After that everything is black. Only today I woke up in my bed with all my clothes and even my shoes on ''. '' Did you guys talk about something he doesn't like to talk about? He does this now and then with people he likes but doesn't want to talk about his past. He hypnotizes them and then they fall into a deep sleep. He's already done that with almost everyone of us, '' says the little girl. Sarah feels a slight sense of disappointment. Why is he doing this? Why with her of all people? Doesn't he trust her? She should be more careful now. After all, he's still a demon and she is a witch. This combination never turns out well.

Sarah is now lying in her bed and staring at the ceiling. She tries to remember what happened last night. Then she thinks of the kiss on the forehead again. A hot feeling spreads over her body and face. She closes her eyes and re-enacts the scene in her head. When she opens her eyes again she has to smile. At the same moment there is a knock on the door and Ewan comes in with a tray. "Hey princess, this is your morning tea," says the boy with a smile. Every day about an hour and a half before lunch he goes around and puts tea in each room. This is there so that the residents feel comfortable here and not only have to think about the lessons. Sarah watches his every move. The blond boy looks at her, pauses briefly and then sits down on her bed with her. The girl makes a little space and then stares at him with expectant eyes. The boy leans back with one hand on the mattress and leans forward so that both faces are at the correct eye level. The girl becomes very warm and she widens her eyes. Secretly she hopes that he will get closer. She looks alternately into his eyes and his lips. She has no idea what would happen now. The demon is getting closer and closer to her. It moves past her lips and towards her ear. In a delicate, quiet but clear voice, he whispers: '' Just because I'm a demon, I am far from dangerous ''. Sarah feels the goosebumps on her neck and widens her eyes more. She feels his breath on her skin and suddenly something warm and soft on her neck. She freezes. Her heart is beating so fast and hard that she thought it was going to jump out of her chest at any moment. She then feels how he slowly feels down her neck. She realized that he wouldn't hurt her and that it's his lips that he pressed against her neck. Sarah is unable to move much, nor does she want to. She secretly wishes that this moment would never end.

The boy has felt his way up to her collarbone with his lips and is beginning to move up again. In the next moment she feels something damp on her neck and a slightly stabbing but at the same time relaxing pain. After a few seconds he lets go of her throat and the sound of lips on damp skin echoed briefly in the room. At first the young witch could look into the boy's big amber eyes and the next moment she was left alone in a large empty room. When the girl comes to she has to breathe out loud. She felt a sense of panic. Sarah became very short of breath and was afraid to move. She feels something wet running down her neck. 'Is it blood?' she thought to herself. She slowly guides her hand to the spot and carefully feels her throat with her fingers. She can't find any puncture sites but feels a damp patch on her neck. She quickly gets up and runs into her bathroom, which is connected to the room. She looks in the mirror and cannot find anything for the time being. On closer inspection, however, she sees a blue-red-purple spot. Saliva runs down her throat. "That bastard gave me a hickey," she curses with her reflection in the mirror. She wipes the area dry and pulls a black scarf over it. Thank goodness it matches her outfit in color.