The Red Witch

Kiara, still confused, felt the Captain push at her back.

“Follow.”

Frightened and unsure of where she was going, she clutched his arm even tighter. With a sigh, the Captain asked someone else.

“Anyone will do as long as they have Grandilgale blood, right?”

“The stronger the blood of Grandilgale, the better. You can see it in the color of the eyes. No one in all of Bretnach — no, in the entire continent, will have eyes closer to that red than you, Captain.”

A calm, scholarly voice responded. Though the voice was young, it carried the tone and manner of someone learned. He continued carefully.

“The sun is setting, so we must hurry. The eclipse will happen very soon.”

“Time matters, too?”

“…Before it’s swallowed by darkness, we must witness the first blood with the last…”

“Damn it.”

At this point, Kiara couldn’t tell what was different between noble blood and a street thug.

The Captain swore harshly, then gently pushed Kiara’s back and whispered once more.

“Go. Wait there, and I’ll come to you.”

His voice was soft, in stark contrast to the rough curses. Ultimately, Kiara hesitated, but then took a step forward. As she walked cautiously, her vision obscured, someone grabbed her hand. A scream nearly escaped her again, but she managed to hold it in thanks to the lemon candy still in her mouth.

Feeling the hand that had gently taken hers, she realized the touch was familiar. It was the hand of the noblewoman she had held countless times when first entering the chapel.

“Hold onto me, Lady Kiara.”

Kiara heard the young woman’s trembling voice and gripped her hand tightly. The noblewoman’s hand quivered faintly, and for some reason, Kiara found comfort in that.

‘I’m not the only one who’s scared.’

Silently, Kiara kept hold of the woman’s hand as they exited the chapel. Once they stepped outside, Kiara felt a sense of relief, like she could finally breathe again. The first thing she felt when her veil was removed was the overpowering stench of something rancid. It was suffocating.

‘Is that… the smell of blood?’

Could it be that they were really coming to kill me?

She pursed her parched lips. For a brief moment, the scent of blood seemed to dissipate, thanks to the lingering lemon flavor in her mouth. Rolling the lemon candy around in her mouth for a while, Kiara absently listened to the footsteps of the noblewoman and her own, lost in thought.

‘Would it have been better to just die on those blades?’

As she left the chapel, she should have been Tiona, not Kiara. Not the Red Witch Kiara, but Queen Tiona.

But instead of the long-awaited new name, she still walked out of the chapel as Kiara.

In that moment, it felt as though the whispers that had echoed in her mind for so long were coming back.

– Well, yes. You’re still Kiara, aren’t you? If that’s the case, don’t you think you should have just died back in the chapel?

Why am I trying so desperately to stay alive? Wouldn’t it be easier just to die? It’s been a thought I’ve had every day since I first came to Altnebra.

When she was chased by the villagers and had to hide in the Black Forest, when she wore ragged clothes and was freezing to death in a cave, and when she was captured by the crown and locked away in the northern tower.

But during the preparations for the wedding, for a brief moment, the thoughts had stopped.

Kiara smiled bitterly. It was Raelin’s words that had convinced her to marry him.

‘Once the wedding is done, you’ll no longer be Kiara. You’ll become Tiona. Just as Kiara is the Witch of Darkness, Tiona is the Fairy Queen. No longer the witch of the Dark Forest, but a fairy born from the forest.’

Once the wedding was over, she would no longer be Kiara. That thought had been the only thing keeping her going. She had longed for that wedding, but now she was left wondering what would happen next.

When she thought about it, ever since she first opened her eyes in the Black Forest, there had never been a moment of happiness.

The patch over her eyes began to slowly dampen.

“Excuse me.”

Noticing something strange in Kiara’s demeanor, the noblewoman ahead of her stopped walking. She cautiously turned to speak to Kiara.

“After tonight…”

The sound of the noblewoman’s neat footsteps grew closer, and she placed something into Kiara’s hand.

“You may not become Tiona… but once tonight passes, you’ll be able to come out. You’re the prince’s… so the curse should be lifted.”

In a whisper, the noblewoman had given Kiara back the silk pouch that had been taken earlier — the pouch that contained the candy.

From a step or so away, the noblewoman continued.

“…Tomorrow, you’ll be able to meet the head maid too.”

As Kiara fumbled with the pouch, she found that a couple of candies were still inside. She carefully picked one out and, with a gentle motion, pressed it between her lips, letting the familiar, sweet lemon fragrance fill her mouth once more.

“Then… hold on.”

The noblewoman extended her hand again. Kiara took it, offering a small smile.

Alright. Maybe not everything is lost.