The White Witch, pt1
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| "Gaze" by Dropdeadcoheed |
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Collecting herbs from the nearby forest was one of her favourite activities. She loved the feeling of liberty, walking among the trees, without a single soul interrupting her peace. This was the only time when she felt one with nature. Besides, the herbs, and the potions and natural medicine she was able to concoct was what brought the bacon home.
She was known for her healing skills in the village, healing hunters and the minor injuries they inflicted upon themselves during hunts, assisting with child-births or manufacturing cough medicines.
Although she always helped in every way she could, she was never taken as a rightful part of the community. People were always thankful for the help she was able to offer, however, for them, she came across as scary. She was pretty, no doubt about that, but she was unusual. Among all the red-headed people of her village, her long platinum-white locks were a sight not seen so often. Besides that, her porcelain-white, flawless skin without any trace of a mole or a freckle was something that was envied by many of the village women. Despite the fair shade of her hair, her green, cat-like eyes were decorated by a thick, bushy dark eyebrows. Maybe it was only an envy. Maybe there was a little truth about it, maybe the knowledge of the herbs was her gift… they called her a witch.
Years have gone by like waves in a river. The children to whom she helped to see the light of the day became proud warriors or brave hunters. The mothers’ freckly red faces were marked with wrinkles, the red hair started to turn grey. Illnesses buried many villagers, however, she stood strong and hasn´t aged one bit.
The absence of changes on her flawless face started to raise questions. At first, she was able to excuse her long lasting youth with the right combination of herbs or good genes and for a while, people believed her. The truth was, she couldn´t explain it, either.
Because of the questions her looks raised, her job as a healer started to stagnate. People were scared to approach her when they had problems, or stopped calling her to help with child-births. Suddenly, it was harder to get by until everyone avoided her because they were scared. What was worse, she was horrified even more.
…
Strange noises woke her up one night. It sounded like there was a group of people shouting in front of her cottage on the foot of the woods. One little peek from her window assured her that what she thought was true. They have come for her, this is it. “Davina Fair, come out!” the oldest man from the village shouted. “You have been accused of witchcraft and according to the law, you must be brought to court!” However, she knew too well that being brought to court meant getting killed only too quickly. Of course, she didn´t want to come out and meet the maker. Maybe if I won´t make a noise, they will think no one´s home, she thought. But that didn´t help. The village people started banging on the door and windows, trying to get inside and punish the criminal. The tension was rising and Davina felt more and more tense with every rising moment. The door won’t hold on for much longer, this is it, my end, she thought. She let out a cry. A cry for help, even though there was no-one to help her. Suddenly, a violent wind started to blow and the villagers outside started panicking, because the lit torches which they wanted to use to punish the witch were blown from their hands and started a fire that would burn down the whole village, with all the villagers included. The only one left alive was the one who, according to the mass opinion in the village, was supposed to burn.
Davina Fair was alive…
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