Chapter 2 Rain

A lonely woman always finds a way to soothe her aching heart.

Amelia couldn't help but sighed. She has been staring at her Grandmother's garden for who knows how many hours now. Her heart was filled with tediousness but she couldn't do anything about it. The person who raised her, her Grandmother to be exact forbids her from leaving their house. Though she could roam around a certain distance, she still couldn't get out of the place and enjoy strolling around the whole village.

Their house was located in the middle of the forest. No one knows the exact location except for her and her Grandmother. It's dangerous if someone learned that there's a house in the middle of the forest. People would start suspecting about something that shouldn't be happening. They would expect that a witch is living in that house and she's sure as hell that they would be parading, holding torches and other tools and barging into their house. That's how the people living here reacted when they heard the word witch.

Amelia Eira Conde, a full blooded witch and the only one who survived the war between humans and witches in the past. Witches were considered a curse being and sometimes they were even called monsters because of how they brought calamity to every single human in the entire village. Despite the jaw dropping beauty witches possess, humans still call them a monster. Though they were bewildered when they saw a beautiful woman, when they saw a crescent moon on the forehead, they would start freaking out.

The only way to know whether that person is a witch or not is to look at her forehead. If there's a crescent moon then it only means one thing, it's definitely a witch. Amelia has that when her Grandmother first saw her in her garden. Despite knowing that she's a witch, she still adopted her and decided to raise her despite the consequences of her actions.

Although she didn't quite understand why she did that, she's still feeling grateful. Because despite being a witch, her Grandmother never treated her badly and is always gentle towards her. She never even laid a hand or yelled at her. Her Grandma, Allison always makes sure to shower her with love and care, and she likes it. She loves her so much that she couldn't even think of living without her.

"Amelia, lunch is ready," Allison, the old woman who raised her muttered in a gentle tone. Amelia couldn't help but feel excited which earned a soft chuckle from the old woman. Amelia swiftly stood up and rushed towards the table. Allison's smile widened as she placed a plate full of food in front of Amelia. She slowly lifted her hand and caressed Amelia's smooth golden hair.

"Eat well," she muttered warmly and continued caressing the hair of the eighteenth year old girl. Amelia smiled widely at her Grandmother and nodded her head. Allison stopped and sat on the chair beside her.

"You won't eat Grandma?" Amelia asked, confused when she didn't see a plate in front of her Grandmother. Allison smiled and just shrugged her shoulders.

"I'm still full, you need to earn a lot of energy. Festival is coming, you want to see new things right?" Amelia's whole body froze because of what her Grandmother had said. Her blue eyes glistened delightfully as exhilaration began conquering her heart. Her gleaming eyes widened.

"R-really? You'll let me go and see the parade?" Amelia's heart was overflowing while waiting for her Grandmother's answer. Allison lets out a chuckle and bobs her head multiple times. Amelia's smile widened as she couldn't help but stood up and jumped excitedly.

"Yay! Thank you so much Grandma!" she uttered happily and kissed Allison's cheek. The old woman smiled and hugged the beautiful lady.

Festival is coming to their place. It's only a week away. During that time, there's a lot of cool things and beautiful places she needs to explore. She wasn't able to attend the last festival due to some unknown reason. She asked Allison why but she won't tell a single thing. Amelia was planning to ask Allison about the festival, good thing the old woman has a plan of letting her look around. It's been many months and she misses looking around like a simple being.

Of course, she needs to be careful when strolling around too. She's the only witch here, and it would be a disaster if people know she's a witch while strolling. It would be the death of her and she doesn't want that. She still wants to live together with her loving Grandmother.

After she got herself ready and wore her red cloak, she immediately went to where her Grandmother is. Allison smiled when she saw Amelia rushing towards her. Her beauty stands out, especially her skin, probably because of the color of her cloak. Amelia was really indeed a beauty. Sometimes, she can't help but feel mesmerized by her beauty.

"Grandma! I'm ready," Amelia mumbled excitedly. Allison smiled and caressed the woman's soft cheek.

"Alright, take care okay? Remember what I told you." Amelia bobs her head and smiles.

"Yes! I'll go now!" after she uttered those words, she immediately made her way towards the exit of the forest. Amelia couldn't stop smiling while she was making her way towards the outside of the forest. Her heart was pounding so loudly that it might leap out from her mouth. She was so happy. Never did she expect that her Grandmother would let her see the festival parade. Despite her happiness, she still couldn't help but feel sad. She wanted to stroll around together with her Grandmother but she knows her Grandmother won't come with her.

Amelia sighed and tightened her grip on her cloak when she saw the road. She needs to be careful since she's going to enter a place where she wouldn't be able to come out alive once they found out she's a witch.

Amelia ignored the nervousness in her heart and smiled. She began walking and looked around. Her heart was beating so happily while looking around the place. She can see a lot of beautiful products and new things she rarely sees. She wanted to buy some for her Grandmother's but before that, she must try the foods on the strands. It was a unique food. The person who was in charge of that small store said that it's chicken skewers. It's her first time hearing it and she definitely loves it!

Amelia let out a soft giggled and spoiled herself on those skewers. Her eyes widened and glistened when she finally tasted it. It tastes so good and addicting! Amelia wasn't able to stop herself and buy another skewer. She stayed in that store for how many more minutes before starting to look around again. While she was busy looking at the products that were above the blanket and were placed on the cold floor, Amelia couldn't help but to listen to the other customers talking about something.

"Really? So it changed?" one of the two customers asked in a surprised tone. She heard the other woman sneered.

"Yes! I didn't know why but something happened in the cathedral."

"Oh dear, what happened? That's why they moved the date of the festival parade?"

"Yes, apparently only the high ranking people know about it. We should go home for now, since there's no." Amelia doesn't know what to feel after hearing those words. She felt like she was betrayed. She's so excited because of the parade, but to think that it won't happen is making her heart ache.

Amelia stood up after buying her Grandmother gifts and began going back with a broken heart. Her excitement goes down drastically. She wanted to cry. Just what the heck happened in the cathedral for them to cancel the parade? She wanted to cry so bad, it's like her dream was being taken away from her.

I should go home for now–

Amelia let out a groan when someone suddenly bumped her. The impact caused her to stumble and almost lost her footing. The people who witnessed it looked at her. Their eyes were spread wide open while looking at the woman who had the face of a goddess. Her forehead was furrowed and her cute lips were pursed up. The people who witnessed her beauty first hand couldn't help but feel mesmerized. This was the first time they saw a woman as beautiful as her. But that amazement turned into fear and hatred when they saw a golden crescent moon on her forehead.

Amelia's whole body froze when she felt an uncanny feeling from her surroundings. She lifted her head and looked around. Her mouth gaped when she realized that everyone was watching her and they were throwing glares at her. Her heart pounded heavily when she noticed that her hood slipped out from what happened earlier. She immediately covered her face again but it was too late. She's already caught.

Amelia's body trembled in fear while feeling their sharp gazes. Her heart was pounding loudly in both fear and nervousness. She wanted to get out of her. Their killing intent is making her dizzy. Amelia slowly raised her trembling hand and covered her mouth. Something is trying to get out of her stomach. She began taking a step back when the people began walking towards her.

"A witch!" someone screamed and before she knew it, they immediately rushed towards her with hatred in their eyes. Amelia couldn't help but close her eyes tightly.

Help!

Amelia waited for the pain but minutes later, nothing happened. She slowly opened her eyes and was surprised to see a different place in front of her eyes. Her heart started to pound undeniably fast because of the unknown emotions starting to build up inside her. She doesn't know where this place is. She was just waiting but she hadn't realized that everyone was gone and that she was teleported into a different face.

Amelia couldn't help but smile and let out a sigh of relief. It seems like she accidentally used her power which she hadn't used for almost a year now. If her Grandmother knew about this, she's sure she's going to get mad. Her Grandmother forbade her from using her magic because of what happened in the past. Where she almost burned their house because she couldn't control her powers. But this time, it's like her powers saved her from those people.

She couldn't help but feel shivers run down her spine when she remembered again what happened. She raised both her hands and hugged herself. It was the first time she experienced something like that and she will never ever let that situation happen again. It was nerve wracking. Her whole body was still trembling. When her Grandmother had told her to not let anyone know she's a witch, she didn't take that seriously. But then, this happened. It makes her want to regret not taking her Grandmother's word seriously. She was lucky because of her powers. What if she wasn't saved? Then she would be dead by now.

Amelia sighed and decided to forget what happened today. She looked around her surroundings and her mouth hung open when she saw a lake. It was majestic and the water was crystal like. Amelia held her breath and couldn't stop herself from approaching the lake. She kneeled down and looked at her reflection from the water. Her eyes widened when a beautiful woman who had golden hair and dark shades of blue welcomed her gaze. She slowly lifted her trembling hand and touched her face.

Is this me?

She hasn't seen her face not even once. But to think that she's this beautiful is making her think that this lake is deceiving her. After how many minutes of adoring her own face, Amelia decided to wash her face and find something she can use as her bed. She decided to stay at this place for the rest of the day and come back tomorrow. She doesn't want to give her Grandmother a hard time and besides she wanted to spend some time for herself. What happened today made her really scared and she kinda felt trauma because of it. She wanted to fix herself before going back.

When she finally found something she could use as her bed, she slowly laid it down and sat on it. She glanced up at the sky and her eyes flickered in confusion when she noticed that it's already dark. It's only the light that was coming from the half moon illuminates the whole area. Amelia's brows snapped together. She's certain that it was still dusk, why is it night already?

She couldn't help but ask herself as she glanced at the peaceful night sky. Amelia let out a sigh and just ignored it. She slowly removed her cloak and made it her blanket. She closes her eyes and lets herself rest. It was indeed a long and tiring day. She really enjoyed strolling around and she didn't expect that she'd get caught. She's wondering if this day was cursed? First, the festival was canceled and now she was caught.

I wonder what will be Grandmother's reaction if she learns that I was caught.

That was her last thought before consciousness finally drove her away.

The deafening silence was broken when suddenly, Allison heard footsteps. She stood up immediately and glanced at the old antique clock. It's already ten in the evening. Her heart pounded heavily and decided to stand up. Amelia was still not home but she's not worried about that. She went towards her window and opened it. She's more worried about what's going to happen in her house. She can hear footsteps coming from several people from far. She can see lights and shadows from afar.

Her throat constricted as her heart throbbed painfully. She hadn't realized that her time was already up. I guess living with Amelia for how many years made her forget her mission. Allison let out a heavy sigh and went towards the secret room of her house. She quickly grabs her ink and pen and writes down a note to Amelia. She needs to make sure that she'll live after this.

Just hearing the footsteps from hundreds of people already gave her the idea that something happened to Amelia while she was strolling around. She has a faint idea of what it is but she's not sure. Allison was contemplating whether she should let Amelia go but seeing the young lad's sad face, she couldn't stop herself but to let her. Amelia has been locked in this place for how many years. She also wanted her to experience living a normal life.

After making sure that everything was ready, she heard a knock on her door. She calmly put her things and note to her secret place and went towards her door. She slowly opened it and a group of people holding torches and weapons welcomed her gaze.

"Where's the witch?" a man, who seems like their leader asked in an aggressive tone.

"What do you mean a witch? I'm alone here," Allison calmly replied, which made the people who rushed her in rage.

"Stop lying! Where's the witch! We'll kill her!" they all shouted and before Allison knew it, they rushed towards her. Allison closed her eyes as she felt a sharp thing stabbed her. She smiled as her eyes started to close.

I already did my part, it's up to you now Amelia.

Amelia yawned when she finally woke up. The sound of the chipping birds made her awake. She glanced up at her surroundings and now that it was daytime, she can see how beautiful and jaw dropping this lake is. She stood up and began stretching her whole body. Her back was aching because of the hard thing she used as bed. When she's finally done stretching, she went towards the lake and washed her face. She's already hungry and she already misses her Grandmother.

After she made herself satisfied by watching the mesmerizing scenario, she decided to go back into their home. Her heart was pounding oddly. She doesn't know why but she's feeling uncomfortable while she's making her way towards their house. While she was silently walking, she couldn't help but feel confused when saw brushes getting burned out. Her heart pounded as her eyes widened when she realized something.

Amelia ran as fast as she could towards their home. When she finally got there, her heart split into two when she saw their house was burned. Her whole body started to tremble as her eyes began to watered when she spotted her Grandmother Allison laying down on the grass. She didn't have any second thoughts and rushed towards where her Grandmother is. Her eyes flooded with tears as she slowly brought her Grandmother's body into her arms. There was blood on her clothes and face.

"G-grandma..." she cried and held her Grandmother's pale and cold face. Her lips parted as she couldn't help but sobbed. She keeps calling her Grandmother's name. Her grip on her cold body tightened. Just as when she loses her hope, she felt a cold hand caress her cheek. Amelia froze and glanced at her Grandmother's face. Her eyes started to grow wide when she saw that Allison was awake.

"A-amelia..." she muttered weakly. Amelia's heart tightened. She burst again into tears and hugged her Grandmother's body.

"G-grandma don't l-leave me please," she begged. Her Grandmother smiled and lifted her hand to caress her cheek.

"A-amelia listen t-to me. Y-you have to l-live okay? L-live happily for G-grandma... I w-want you t-to experience a normal life. C-continue l-living without me. I-I love y–" Amelia's heart shattered into pieces when her Grandmother finally closed her eyes and left her.

"No!" Amelia growled in pain and as she was suffering for the loss of her Grandmother, rain started to pour down as thunder began hitting the whole village.