The witches daughter and the devil's son

"Swords?" I thought the moment I heard those sounds, and the next moment, realization hit me. "War"?

Two groups of soldiers arrayed against each other, one side clad in red while the other group was in blue. I felt like my soul had been teleported into the middle of a cruel slaughter. The soldiers were charging at each other, fighting mercilessly with their swords.

The bright moonlight allowed me to see everything clearly, but before I could get the gist of the situation, a soldier marched towards me as if he intended to kill me.

Can he even see me? I panicked and shut my eyes by reflex.

Far away, standing by the window of my bedchamber, my real body gripped my dress, prepared to feel the pain of the sword slash with my eyes shut tightly. But before that sword could reach me, another blade whizzed by.

Hearing the scream of the soldier, I opened my eyes, only to see one tall man in a perfectly fitted long black robe standing in front of me. As his broad and robust back faced me, all I could see was my savior's sword piercing the soldier's stomach. The blade went all the way through his back.

The tall man retrieved the sword from the soldier's body and was ready to kill more. Pushing the dead soldier aside, he grabbed the soldier's sword and continued his slaughter, swinging both blades with precision.

Observing him from behind, I could guess he was not an ordinary man. His perfectly fitted black robe was embroidered with gold threads in what appeared to be a royal crest, and his long hair was tied in a pony with a gold accessory at the upper back of his head.

My sight followed the left side of his neck, which was visible whenever he turned slightly to one side.

A tattoo... Is that a snake?

I couldn't see it clearly. He was so fast that it was difficult to see even the side of his face.

My vision followed his every movement, the quick footsteps, and skilled swordsmanship as his knotted hair kept dancing in front of my eyes. I felt like he was protecting me by killing the soldiers surrounding me and found myself curious to know more about him.

No, it's impossible. I narrowed my eyes at him. How can he protect me when I'm not present here physically, and he can't even see me?

"I want to see him...

Ahh... why can't he turn around for once? I tried my best, but there was no use. Although I did all I could to get a glimpse of his face, my sight allowed only his back view.

Though he couldn't see me, feeling helpless, I blurted out, Who are you?

As if he heard me, he stopped slaughtering and froze in his place.

It startled me. Did he just hear me?

He was about to turn...

"My lady, it's time to sleep."

The images in front of me dispelled the moment someone spoke, and I couldn't see the man anymore. Feeling disappointed, I turned to look at the middle-aged, grey-haired woman who entered my bedchamber and disturbed my scrying.

I will be right there, Gwen, I replied, and continued sitting by the window.

I focused my inner vision again towards the faraway mountain range as the bright moonlight shone on me. As the night breeze played with my long red-brown hair, my delicate veil, which covered the lower half of my face, waved playfully along with the wind while my long blue dress danced in harmony.

To my dismay, I couldn't see the scene of the war again, and I sighed in disappointment.

I am Seren, the infamous daughter of a witch, the ugliest creature that no one wished to see. Although I am a princess, no one wanted to acknowledge me because I have the blood of an unholy creature flowing through my veins.

I lived in the tower at the farthest end of the Royal Palace of CEREDIGION, away from the main palace and its pomp and pageantry. I was placed up high, away from the crowd, in a place where no one was allowed to enter because a witch's daughter lived there.

As if being a witch's daughter was not enough, I was also cursed. But if one was to look at it in another way, my curses were more like a boon than a bane, as those who try to harm me would have misfortune befall upon them.

"My lady, the bed is ready," Gwen called out as she stepped towards me.

Hmm, I nodded lightly.

She stood beside me at the window of my room. "May I ask what my lady is looking at?"

If I told you, wouldn't you choose to ignore it like always? I countered.

"What is it?" Gwen insisted, trying to follow where my sight was fixed on.

There, I pointed towards the faraway mountain range. Across those mountains, some men are fighting.

She didn't comment on it.

I understand, but it's time to sleep.

I wasn't surprised by her reaction and sighed, Good night, Gwen.

Without saying more, I stepped towards the bed while she kept looking at the mountain range.

She grunted disapprovingly, closed the window, and pulled the curtains.

I knew Gwen was aware I had told the truth, but she chose to ignore me as usual. Whenever I said anything strange, she always advised me to stay away from it.

Having spent seventeen years of my life in this tower, a place where no one comes, not even the servants, only my nanny, Gwen, stays here with me. She was my everything: a sister, a mother, a friend. She is family.

Gwen taught me to control my emotions and protected me from any harm. She never wished me to cry, or scream, or get angry, as it would end in catastrophe because of my cursed life.

"Tomorrow we will be going to the palace," Gwen informed me, before adding more wood to the fireplace.

Is it the King's birthday or the Queen's or someone more annoying? I asked.

As far as my memory serves me, the King's birthday was the last time I went out and mingled amongst the people in the palace. It's the same every year. I was only allowed to go out on special occasions, which was only because I was officially required.

Ooh, I almost forgot, even though it's for the namesake, I was a royal of the Kingdom of ceredigion too, and they had to let me out.

"No, this time it's the Second Princess' engagement,"Gwen replied.

Won't it be ominous for the witch's daughter to be there? I asked sarcastically. What if I burn the bride and groom?

Gwen looked at me. "Instead, I wish my lady would smile, so people would see pretty flowers blooming everywhere."

I can't be the only one who is unfortunate, I said and lay down on the bed.

Since I stopped smiling, it was rare to see flowers blooming within the kingdom, and they had to bring them from other places. Well, there was no reason to smile and feel happy, so it's not my fault.

Moreover, this one was my favorite among all the curses that I had, as I could make them devoid of the beauty of flowers blooming. I knew being cursed was not good as it's the sole reason my life turned into this, but I had long learned to live with it.

There will be no such day as the day I would smile.

After I closed my eyes, I heard Gwen go to her room, which was just beside mine.

Though she was a nanny, she was privileged to be in the room next to me. It was her reward for looking after the witch's daughter.

As I fell asleep, my head was filled with curious thoughts about the man I saw in my earlier scrying, at the same time, not willing to wake up the next day and face all those annoying people in the palace.

"My lady, it's time to wake up". My nanny's nagging voice pulled me out of my sleep.

Can't I sleep for a while? I questioned her in annoyance.

Gwen got closer to my bed. "Princesses must follow royal rules and etiquette...."

I pulled the quilt over my head, completely covering my face to delay starting this dreaded day, and spoke, Etiquette is for those who will marry for the kingdom's sake and make the King and Queen proud. Not like I will marry anyone ever.

Despite my answer, Gwen tried to pull the quilt. Still, my lady needs to be ready. It's an important day in the palace.

Not for me, I resisted.

The pull on the quilt suddenly ceased, so I took a peek, only to see something that I didn't like.

Gwen had stepped back, her fingers twirling, and her eyes focused on them. White fog appeared surrounding her fingers.

What are you doing? I asked, despite knowing what she was up to.

"My last resort is to get my lady out of bed," Gwen replied.

I clearly remember what she did the last time. I was thrown out of bed, and it was humiliating.

Wait, wait! I jumped out of my bed. With a frown, I couldn't help but complain. I can't believe I'm the princess, and you are the servant.

Gwen crossed her arms, and the fog on her fingers disappeared. My lady, your bath is ready.

When I stepped inside the bath, as usual, Gwen stepped in as well to help me.

I removed my sleeping gown and had nothing except for the permanent veil covering the lower part of my face. Despite my reluctance, I gingerly lowered myself into the wooden tub filled with steaming hot water.

Do witches love their children too?

Gwen smiled warmly. All mothers are the same.

She wouldn't have abandoned me if she loved me.

Everyone has their reasons. As always, she didn't sympathize with me and took the side of the person whom no one ever saw.

Leave me alone.

After saying that, I got comfortable inside the hot water tub as I rested my back on the wooden wall and stretched my legs.

Gwen left as instructed, finally giving me time to soak. I closed my eyes and enjoyed the warmth on my skin.

After a few moments of brief relaxation, I felt something pulling me down into the water. I gasped as a strange force pulled me away.

My eyes opened in shock, only to find myself no longer in my wooden tub but deep underwater and a tall figure had held my right hand tightly.

I looked around in panic.

Though mild sunlight touched the water surface, it was not enough to clearly see the tall figure's face.

A man? I concluded after regaining my senses.

My free hand moved to secure the veil on my face in fear that the mysterious stranger would remove it. The veil in itself didn't matter to me, but it was a reflex of the teaching that I got since I was a child. Not to take off the veil and not let anyone else take it off.

However, before I could touch the veil, the stranger caught my other hand as well. He was so close, but I couldn't see his face. The only thing I could notice in the darkness was the glittering tattoo on one side of his neck.

Seeing that tattoo, I screamed inside, my eyes round with pleasant surprise.

"It's him!"

I didn't feel scared. Instead, I was excited about meeting him again.

The curiosity to see his face took over my rational thoughts.

I moved my gaze from his tattooed neck to his face. In the darkness, two red eyes shone.

"Red eyes?"

I could feel those fierce red eyes staring into mine.

This was my chance to see his face clearly, especially since he continued to grasp both of my hands.

Unfortunately, a distant yet familiar female voice called out, "My lady".

The voice pulled me away from his grasp. When I opened my eyes again, I found myself the same as before; I was inside my tower, soaking in my tub as if I had never left.

Was it a dream? I wondered and looked at my wrists.

They had faint red marks, and I could still feel the stranger's touch lingering on my skin. The way he held it so tightly almost pained me.

"If it's not a dream, then what is it?" I thought.

Gwen had come in to add scented herbs to the water, and I cursed her in my mind for her bad timing. Because of her, I couldn't see the man again.

But why was he staring at me like that? Who is he? Does he know me? Countless questions filled my mind.

I got out of the bath after a while, and Gwen helped me into a silk robe.

I sat in front of the dressing table to let her do her work on my appearance. From the large oval mirror, I could see our reflection. She started drying my hair while I stared at my veil-covered face. I yearned to take it off but couldn't.

Am I that ugly to keep my face covered all the time?

Gwen let go of my hair and did something with her fingers. The veil fell from my face to my lap.

She looked at me through the mirror. "My lady can decide for herself."

I looked at my face, not knowing what to think. How can I decide when I don't know what pretty is?

"My lady can compare it to the other princesses."

Gwen referred to the other daughters of my father, my so-called stepsisters.

It's better to be ugly if my looks need to be compared with them, I retorted.

Gwen smiled lightly. "A woman with such beautiful and rare purple eyes, how can she not be pretty?"

Then why do I always have to cover my face? I asked, picking up the veil from my lap.

"To protect you, my lady."

I know, but from whom?

Gwen didn't answer, and there was a silence for a while.

When she finished drying my hair, she started to put makeup on my face.

Do I even need it? What's the use when no one can see my face? I mumbled.

"Half of the face they can," Gwen replied.

I frowned. Then only put makeup on half of it.

Gwen brought out the newly-arrived gown prepared for today's occasion, which the King sent along with lots of jewelry to match.

Though I was an abandoned daughter, my father, King of Ceredigion, made sure to provide everything for me.

Since I was young, I had always wondered if he truly cared for me or if his actions were meant to save his face in front of others by showing that he treats his daughter well even though she was a witch. Perhaps he might not like to embarrass himself if I were to be seen wearing shabby clothes by the rest of the kingdom.

Gwen helped me put the ice-colored silk gown on me. The multi-layered gown was long enough to reach the floor, and it had delicate embroidery made using soft silver and dark blue threads on its hems. It fitted my body perfectly; the round neck, as well as the ribbon at the waist.

Lastly, I wore a long-sleeved floor-length outer robe made with a delicate see-through fabric, which was left open in the front to let the gown inside be visible.

Once Gwen made sure I was ready, she put on the spell again and tied the veil to my face. The white veil changed its color to match with my ice blue gown.

Even though I had seen her cast this spell several times before, it was something I could not do on my own. I wondered if I could do this kind of magic on myself and change my life completely.

I observed my appearance in the mirror, the red-brown hair that Gwen combed and set nicely with some jewelry attached to it, my forehead which had a tiny fire-like birthmark in the center, a pair of rare purple eyes with the rest of my face hidden behind a veil, and the expensive gown...

I studied the veil again. Wearing it all the time made my mind remember my face only with the veil, and I kept forgetting how it looked without it.

I turned, and Gwen was standing in front of me as if she was waiting to do one last thing. I knew what it was and stood still.

She closed her eyes, mumbled something, and flicked her fingers.

I turned to look into the mirror to see small patches of dark blue scales with a golden tinge beginning to appear. First, they appeared on the right corner of my forehead, then the right side of my neck, and lastly, on the back of my right palm.

Now I look like a witch's daughter, I mumbled.

My eyes were devoid of any emotion as I didn't know what I should feel about this transformation.

Gwen instructed, "It's time to leave."

I sighed. Why do I need these?

"It's to protect you, my lady."

I glared at her. "Always the same answer."

Sadly, I could never insist on getting answers from tight-lipped Gwen. I wished I had something to threaten her and get all those answers, but as of the moment, there was nothing to be done.

"We should leave."

Gwen guided my way out.

Stepping out of the tower, the first thing that greeted me was the sight of my garden full of lush greenery and numerous beautiful flowers. The only place in the entire kingdom where flowers bloomed because this witch's daughter looked after them.

The entire tower where I lived and the garden in front of it was meant for me, as per King Gareth's royal decree. Tall walls made of gray stone surrounded the garden so no one could peek in and disturb my privacy.

"Please, allow us. We are only obeying the orders of the Second Princess."

"You can't go in."

I heard a few loud voices from outside. Gwen prevented me from going further and went towards the garden gate, the only way to enter this well-protected place.

By the King's order, assigned guards were always present outside to protect this place against troublesome and curious people. Anyway, no one dared to enter this place after the horrifying incident that happened in the past.

Ten years ago, a servant had sneaked inside, but the very next day, he was found dead. His limbs and head were chopped off from his body, and the severely mutilated body was hung on the garden wall for everyone to see. It was the most gruesome sight.

No one knew what happened, but they believed it was the witch's doing and that witch was me.

I heard Gwen talking to someone, "What's going on here?"

"These are the Second Princess's maids, and they want to get flowers from the garden," I heard one of the guards say.

"I need to ask the Princess," Gwen told him and returned inside.

As I had already heard it, I nodded lightly to her, which meant I allowed them to enter the premises.

Getting permission, two young maids entered the gate, but there was no mistaking the fear and panic in their eyes. It was apparent they were scared of me but had to come here against their wills. If they were to disobey orders, the Second Princess would have killed them for insubordination.

"Third Princess."

Upon seeing me standing in front of them, the young maids hurriedly bowed to me, their eyes rooted to the ground and their bodies shivering as if I would kill them right away.

"Make it faster," Gwen instructed them coldly.

The maids hurried towards the numerous flowers in full bloom. Their eyes shone brightly upon seeing them, as it was not an everyday thing to see the flowers blooming in this cursed land. In the entire Kingdom of ceredigion, mine was the only flower garden that blossomed.

They picked up several roses, daisies, and lilies. I knew that if they could, they would have taken away everything that was there.

"We should leave, my lady," Gwen prodded, and I nodded in response. There was no need for me to wait for these maids to finish their errand.

While going towards the gate, Gwen spoke in a low voice, "They won't be able to keep the flowers if they spoke badly of me."

I sighed. "Only if they could keep their foul mouths shut."

We finally stepped out of the gate and the boundary of that tower and the space under my name. Outside, the two assigned guards bowed but didn't dare to look at me until I crossed a certain distance.

Crossing a winding stone pavement lined with meticulously kept shrubs, Gwen and I finally entered the long corridor that leads towards the main central building of the palace meant only for the royal family.

'Royals? Of course, I'm not considered as one, ' I thought.

Months had passed since I last walked along this corridor, and it had remained the same. A couple of guards in blue-black uniforms with swords hanging down their waists stood at either end of the passage.

The large porcelain vases imported from the eastern kingdoms were placed on either side of the walls, and delicate red banners hung on the ceiling, between the huge pillars, to give the luxurious place a more festive feeling.

Soon, I reached my destination and stood in front of a huge pair of doors. Beyond them was the grand hall where the House of Bennion, the Royal Family of ceredigion, would hold the ritual before the engagement ceremony of its Second Princess.

The door opened as someone announced, "Her Highness, Seren Bennion, the Third Princess of ceredigion, has arrived."

The change in the atmosphere was palpable. As if the most terrible news had been announced, the entire hall filled with countless people of peerage and nobility turned silent, their scared and hateful gazes scanning me the moment I stepped in.

"My Lady..."

"It's fine, Gwen" I said.

I knew Gwen would say something to console me, but I was so used to this reaction that it didn't matter to me anymore.

Ignoring them, I walked ahead on the carpeted path which divided that massive hall into two parts, from the door to where the monarchs of the Kingdom of ceredigion, King Gareth and Queen Millicent, sat regally on their thrones.

The moment I entered the main hall, I heard those expected annoying whispers from the gossiping crowd, which made me wonder how convenient it would have been if I could turn myself deaf at that moment.

The witch is here?.

"How can they allow her to attend?"

"What if something bad happens?"

"Look at those scary marks. So ugly."

"And those purple eyes. Only witches can have such a color of eye."

"I heard her mother was even uglier and scarier."

"Be quiet! What if she hears us and sets us on fire? Don't you know what she did with the First Princess back then?"

"Stay away from windows. What if she screams and hurts us by breaking those glasses with her witch voice?"

I sighed, complaining silently to myself, 'These idiots, should I just burn something here to scare them? Or should I scream a little to break the windows? Ahh... I can even bring fake tears to drown this place in rainwater.