《Glass Butterflies》


 Chapter 1: Homecoming

    The forest was as dank and dark as it always was; the damp smell of moss and fungus permeated the air harshly, almost serving as a deterrent for any intruder unwelcome by the ecosystem of the woods.


    But he didn''t consider himself unwelcome as he walked briskly through the thick shrubbery stuck to the soft, mossy pavement of the woods.


    The unseen path was all too familiar to him, and so was the destination at the end of it. The darkness became thicker and thicker the deeper he went; he recalled the way the locals used to call this part of the woods, and the deeper he thought about it, the more it made sense to him.


    "The blind maiden forest" was the name he recalled, that and how the locals always said it was a place of misery and suffering, where the only forces at play were the primal and cruel rules of nature itself.


    A faint snicker escaped his lips as he thought about the words of the locals; for him, this was not a place of darkness and cruelty but instead a path towards the place he used to call home.


    Despite his joy at the prospect of returning, he still felt a pang of anxiety inside his very being, for it had been so long since he left.


    Finally he felt it, the familiar electric feeling in the air and the almost impossible silence of the woods; he felt it all as he knew he was approaching the middle.


    A heavy presence of untold energy wrapped around him almost as if it was judging him and sizing him up to see if he was worthy to even be near the center.


    The forest didn''t consider the boy a stranger; in fact, the boy felt as if the forest was happy that he was finally back, but that could''ve just been his mind trying to calm him down.


    Finally the sun broke through the thick canopy of the woods, pleasantly showering the boy in its warmth as he walked into the clearing.


    He adjusted his large hat ever so slightly to give himself a better sight of what''s ahead, and as he did, his gaze finally fell upon his destination.


    Standing there like a grand obelisk was the place he used to call home all those years ago; his smile widened as he reminisced about the memories of his childhood; the summer days he spent running around in this same clearing felt like they were just about to repeat.


    Suddenly his reminiscing was interrupted by a suffocating presence in the air around him; the birds who were singing their tune a mere minute ago were now as quiet as the depths of the woods were.


    His gaze met the familiar tall figure in front of him, and his smile widened even further, but before he could call out to it or even wave, he felt a familiarly cold hand wrap around his throat and lift him up so suddenly his mind couldn''t even register what was happening.


    There was a crushing pressure around his throat, and he struggled to even draw a single breath; the boy wanted to speak, but all that came out of his mouth was pathetic gasps not too dissimilar from an animal''s death rattle.


    He flailed his legs and firmly gripped the very hand that was crushing his throat, his mind too unfocused to try to even cast a spell or incantation to defend himself.


    The more he struggled, the more the hand increased its grip, the long nails stabbing into his skin slowly.


    Only when the boy''s hat fell off of his head and his long, flowing, pale fuchsia-colored hair came spilling out did the figure loosen its grip, causing the boy to fall down to his feet and lean against the figure as he tried to catch his breath.


    "My... My child..." he heard the familiar voice of his mother call out to him in a shaky and deeply regretful tone of voice.


    He couldn''t finish filling his lungs with air before it was knocked out of them again, this time not by a crushing pressure but by a tight embrace.


    "Rene... It''s... It''s really you." Her embrace was tight, and the boy could feel how she was trembling, no doubt panicked after she realized who she had held in the air.


    Rene breathed in deeply as he regained his composure and straightened himself up, trying to find the right words to say, but as he tried to speak, no words came out.


    For hours before arriving, he had rehearsed over and over the exact words he would say to his mother when he saw her again.


    But now that it was time to say them, he simply couldn''t; instead, he simply reciprocated the familiarly warm embrace.


    She lifted herself up from her kneeling stance and took a step back from him, now taking a moment to look down at her son.


    Rene simply stood there slightly awkward, embarrassed that he failed to speak his mind and tell her what he had repeated to himself so many times. As their gazes met, he could see the joyfully surprised look in her eyes.


    Rene cleared his throat as he finally managed to speak. "I... I knew I shouldn''t have come unannounced." He let out a weak chuckle as he spoke and put his hat back on.


    "My... Rene... I''m so sorry." She spoke with the same regretful tone as when she had let him go; if it were anyone else foolish enough to wander into her domain, let alone unannounced, she wouldn''t have thought twice about simply maiming them.Unauthorized tale usage: if you spot this story on Amazon, report the violation.


    But her own child? The very thought of even accidentally doing that to him sickened her.


    "Ah... Have no worry... I''m alright, really, Mother... I''m alright." Rene smiled softly as he tried to console her; he knew it was a dumb idea to not tell her when he was going to arrive, especially after not seeing her for such a long period of time.


    But another part of Rene felt it would''ve cheapened the surprise of his arrival.


    Smiling softly at him as she took in his appearance with a prideful look in her warmly orange-colored eyes, she cleared her throat once more as she tried to compose herself before speaking.


    "Dear, you''ve grown so much. I... I simply couldn''t recognize you." She said as she slowly inched her hand closer towards his face before she softly caressed it.


    Suddenly she pulled at his cheek. "And yet you are still so tiny," she said with a mocking tone in her voice as she laughed.


    Rene sighed as he didn''t know if she was trying to be endearing or insult his stature; he tried to remain silent and laugh along, but his own wits got the better of him.


    "At least I don''t get confused for a tree." Rene shook his head ever so slightly, chuckling at his own jest.


    His mother stood there unamused, her usual stoic demeanor and expression returning, "Really? Is that the best you could come up with? Oh, Rene... I see you''re still the same rascal you used to be."


    She shook her head as she put her hand to the top of his head, messing up his hair.


    "Come along now, let''s get you inside. No use prancing around in the grass all day." She turned her back to Rene and began walking towards the large pale brick-walled manor in the middle of the large clearing, obviously expecting him to follow.


    Rene gave up on trying to find a way to snap back at her dismissal of his joke, but he couldn''t find the right words; instead, he simply sighed in defeat and started walking towards her.


    She walked through the large lacquered mahogany double door at the front of the manor as Rene was still a few meters behind her.


    He stood there and basked in the familiar aura of the manor as he stood on its front steps looking upwards; it was almost as if the manor was staring back at Rene as if every segmented window had turned into a thousand pairs of eyes.


    The door opened by itself with a low creaking, almost as if the house was inviting Rene to enter.


    He smiled to himself as he stepped inside the familiarly warm entrance hall, a nice change from the cool air outside.


    Slowly taking off his smoky blue infantry coat and ornately decorated coiled pointed hat, Rene took another good look at the inside, reminiscing about all the time he spent in these halls.


    Rene hung up the hat in the same spot that had waited for it for all these years, right next to his mother''s even larger hat.


    His coat seemed out of place on the hanger, an outstanding blue among the sea of black and gray fabrics.


    "Rene? Please come to the solar once you get comfortable." His mother''s voice echoed through the manor''s many halls as she called for him to join her.


    He looked down at his boots, knowing that the shoes he used to wear around the house were now no doubt all but a few sizes too small for him.


    Pulling out a short wooden stool and placing his foot on top of it, he began cleaning off the filth from his heeled boot with a handkerchief, letting the pieces of dirt and moss fall upon the stool.


    Once he was done with the left and the right boot, Rene took the stool in hand and walked back onto the stairs outside, where he put it down.


    Rene focused his mind and, with a practiced speed, made two movements of his hand before pointing at the filth on the stool.


    Instantaneously the moss and dirt lit ablaze with a brilliant flame, disappearing into ash and blackened burned bits.


    He smirked to himself with a slight hint of pride as he threw the filth off of the stool onto the grass.


    Walking back inside and wiping off the ash from the stool before he placed it back into its place, he looked down onto his now spotless boots wondering if this would be acceptable to walk around in.


    But that thought was interrupted as he remembered his mother was waiting for him upstairs; with a slow pace, Rene began his walk towards the large chamber on the second floor.


    The manor kept creaking and making its noises as he walked up the grand stairwell, the only other sound being the soft thud of his footsteps on the hardened wood.


    Rene reached the top of the stairs and once again took a second to look around and bask in the overwhelming feeling of nostalgia.


    He could swear that he could hear the distant echoes of the past itself as he continued his walk, letting his hand trace the smooth railing; with slow and measured glances, he looked fondly at each door, seeing if he could recognize where they led after not opening them for years.


    He felt the stillness of the air shift as he approached the grand chamber in the north end of the second floor; he forgot how pressing of an aura his mother had.


    "Carmen Corbeau is a monster!"


    "Beware the great witch that resides in the blind maiden forest..."


    "Carmen? You mean the witch... Don''t, don''t speak of her. Lest you wish to invoke her."


    The words he had heard from the townsfolk were still ringing heavily in his mind.


    But to him those words meant nothing; to him, Carmen wasn''t a monster or a benevolent witch, nor was she some demon that would be summoned with a mere mention of her name.


    To Rene she had only one title, the highest title he could bestow upon anyone or anything: Carmen was his mother.


    Tracing the intricate engravings on the chamber''s heavy door, Rene''s hand settled on the cold iron handle in the middle.


    With a slow but forceful pull, he opened one of the large doors, instantly feeling the warm, soothing breeze emanating from the lit fireplace on the right side of the room. Carmen was sitting in her large armchair, looking out of the large stained glass window.


    She turned her head to look at Rene, who was in the process of slowly closing the door behind him, with a slight smile now on her face. Carmen put down her glass of wine on the table in front of her.


    "Come, we have so much to discuss, my child." She pointed at the smaller armchair to her right, inviting Rene to join her.

 Chapter 2: Les yeux sans visage

    The chair felt as soft as he remembered, and the leather was as smooth as a freshly shaved face.


    The slight smell of burning wood permeated the air in the grand chamber that they were in; the fireplace was crackling softly as they watched the day turn into night through the large window.


    Carmen brought the glass of wine to her lips once more, taking a sip of the maroon liquid.


    "I''ve missed you greatly, dear," she said as she put the glass down, smiling as she looked over at Rene.


    "I''ve missed you too, Mother..." Rene smiled as he fidgeted with his fingers, turning his gaze from his mother to the window intermittently.


    She cleared her throat before she spoke. "How was your time at the academy?"


    Her question had brought back both fresh and forgotten memories from the past six years of Rene''s life.


    "Oh well... It was, it was..." He let out a drawn-out sigh as he struggled to find the right words; his discomfort didn''t go unnoticed by Carmen, though, and she gave him all the time he needed.


    "It certainly was interesting..." Rene finally spoke up somewhat gingerly; again, his tone wasn''t lost on Carmen.


    She extended her hand and caressed Rene''s cheek. "Dear... Do you need a moment?"


    "I am fine, simply exhausted. I cannot seem to get my thoughts straight." Rene said as he slowly sat up from the armchair, "May I excuse myself to the lavatory?"


    Carmen nodded as she swirled the liquid inside the glass with a practiced movement of the hand. "You may," she said as she took a sip of wine and focused back on the sky outside.


    Rene made his way outside the chamber and focused his eyes towards the master bathroom of the manor.


    Out of habit, Rene knocked on the door of the bathroom, but as expected, no response came.


    He sighed heavily as he locked the door behind him, wasting no time to disrobe.


    First his flare-collared blouse came off, then Rene slid out of his silky black skirt, which hung just above his knees.


    He continued taking off layers till he was down to his undergarments; he folded his clothes neatly and put them on the bathroom''s storage cabinet.


    It wasn''t traditional to find a blouse in a witch''s wardrobe, but the other options were not exactly fitted for a man''s figure; then again, it wasn''t exactly traditional for a man to be a witch either.


    Rene was aware of that; that fact had hung over his head for most of his life. His time at the academy had only made the disconnect between what he was and what he was training to be even larger.


    But he didn''t have time to think about it further; his mother was waiting for him eagerly, and he would hate to keep her waiting.


    Rene walked to the larger mirror, which was mounted above the sink, giving him a clear view of his torso. He traced a hand along his bare chest, wincing slightly as it moved across the freshly scarred sigils he had cut into himself.


    After six years of chasing the power and affinity from the beings and deities he worshipped, his body was left looking more and more like a macabre canvas covered in both common and very obscure sigils.


    He had always known that his studies would have a price; the occult was never something that could be understood and harnessed for free, especially by someone who wasn''t born with so-called talent and power.


    He continued to trace downwards towards his abdomen, trying to make sure that the sigils weren''t healing; he knew that if a sigil healed instead of scarring over, then his efforts would''ve been in vain.


    Besides that, Rene was also checking if any of the wounds were infected; even if they were directly connected to the occult, that didn''t mean that they were exempt from the ills of the natural world.


    Rene looked at his reflection with the same glazed-over stare he always had when seeing himself; he wondered why he felt so strange looking into mirrors.


    Knowing there was another world adjacent to the one he could see always made him feel strange; the reflection he saw always felt like it was staring back at him, as if he was staring into himself but not into his own eyes.


    Hastily brushing his hair and washing his teeth, Rene tried to get freshened up as quickly as he could.


    The conversation that was waiting for him was no doubt going to be drawn out and uncomfortable, and he wanted to at least look somewhat presentable after his long trip back.


    Gripping the ceramic rim of the sink tightly, Rene took one last detailed look at his reflection before walking back to the cabinet on which his folded-up clothes.The genuine version of this novel can be found on another site. Support the author by reading it there.


    With a heavy sigh, Rene started to put his clothes back on, adjusting them to his form layer by layer.


    Carmen poured herself another glass of wine; she was still awaiting Rene''s return.


    She sensed that he was still in the bathroom and only occasionally moving; she figured out he was probably just trying to freshen up.


    If he had warned her about his arrival back home, she would''ve prepared a warmer welcome for him, but the best she could do in such a short period was bring out one of her more expensive wines and light up the fireplace.


    She brought the rim of the glass to her bluish lips and took a sip of the maroon red wine; she felt there was something wrong with Rene, but she couldn''t exactly place her finger on what.


    Maybe he was simply exhausted from his travel, or maybe it was something else entirely; all Carmen knew was that there was something wrong with her son.


    This was far from the boy she had sent off to the academy so he could pursue his wish to follow in the studies of the occult.


    She leaned her head against her hand, which itself was resting against the armrest of the large chair. Carmen wondered if sending that boy to the academy was the right choice.


    From a young age, Rene was enthusiastic about magic and even ecstatic when he actually saw it being practiced.


    But she herself knew that he was far too sheltered to be able to comprehend the true horrors that could happen as a consequence of the occult.


    But what was a mother to do?


    She knew that she couldn''t teach him the basics herself since nearly a century had passed since she herself learned them, but on the other hand, she couldn''t keep him with her in the manor forever; he needed to see the world outside and needed to learn to interact with his peers.


    She gripped the glass tighter as she reminisced about how she tried to convince Rene to join the studies of the warlocks.


    But no, Rene was steadfast and hellbent on studying as a witch.


    And what was a mother to do? She couldn''t deny him the wish to follow in her footsteps; she couldn''t crush his dreams before they even had time to bloom.


    Her grip on the glass reached an apex as she heard the door creak open and Rene step in; she was so focused on her thoughts that she forgot to focus on his aura.


    Startled by his appearance, Carmen accidentally shattered the glass in her hand, the vile mixture of blood, wine, and glass now spilling onto the wooden floor.


    Rene quickened his pace and gripped her arm with his left hand while he, at the same time, whispered an incantation and put his right hand over her now wounded and bleeding hand.


    With a brilliant orchid hue, the open gash on Carmen''s hand was slowly closed; it looked as if the flesh itself fused back together.


    "Are you alright?" he said with concern in his voice, a concern that Carmen never heard before.


    "Yes... Yes, I am." Carmen nodded, inspecting her hand with a keen eye as she opened and closed it a couple of times.


    She was impressed, to say the least; a witch freshly out of the academy being able to pull off a restoration spell so flawlessly was nothing to scoff at.


    She smiled as she turned her gaze towards Rene, noticing how concerned he still looked; his eyes were wide open, and his pupils slightly narrowed.


    "I do say, Rene... I am most impressed. I take it you specialized in vitamancy?" Carmen pointed towards the smaller armchair on the right, inviting him to sit with her once again.


    "No, actually... I never really specialized in anything." Rene sat down on the armchair, looking away from his mother as he felt a deep shame within himself.


    Carmen was at a total loss for words at his statement, "Nothing?"


    The confusion in her tone was palpable; how could one attend the academy for six years and still not have a specialty in any school of magic?


    "Rene, are you being serious?" She tilted her head in even further confusion; she knew from his letters that his studies went well, but if that were true, then how could he have never had a specialty?


    Rene scratched his hand, hiding his palm from her. "No... I never developed a specialty."


    He shook his head in shame as he leaned down and touched the concoction of blood, wine, and shattered glass that was still on the floor.


    With just a light touch, the mixture turned into a swarm of butterflies; they were all brilliantly colored in red and white, and intricate patterns sprawled across their large wings.


    Carmen''s confusion shifted to one of mild amusement as she saw him use the same spell that he had always used when he was younger; she couldn''t recall where he had learned it or how he could use such a transmutative ability at such a young age.


    "Still with the butterflies?" she smirked as they locked eyes once more.


    "Yeah..." he said as he continued scratching his obscured hand more and more; the scratching and the attempt to hide his hand from her wasn''t lost on Carmen, though.


    "Dear, show me your hand," she said with a soft yet commanding tone as she extended her own hand, inviting him to place his into hers.


    Hesitantly he extended his own trembling hand towards her; with a careful movement, she rotated his hand so that his palm faced her.


    Quickly Carmen''s demeanor changed to one of worry, "Rene..."


    She spoke as she ran, taking a closer look at his palm, which was cut open and bleeding, just like hers had been minutes ago.


    It was not a restoration spell he had used but one of transmutation.


    He looked away in shame, not sure if his mother was worried or simply disappointed; from the side of his field of view, he saw a familiar yellow-hued light.


    The same light he had seen dozens of times when he got hurt as a child, "I see... It truly wasn''t vitamancy."


    Carmen spoke with a slight disappointment in her voice, realizing she was wrong.


    "Do tell me, Rene... What did you study then?" Her tone turned more commanding; she was tired of guessing and waiting for him to tell her about his time in the academy; Carmen wanted answers.


    "I... The basics, of course, for the first three years... As is customary, of course." He spoke sheepishly, still not being able to look Carmen in the eyes.


    Carmen stayed silent for a moment; Rene felt as if she was sizing him up and silently judging him. "And for the last three?"


    There was nearly no emotion in her voice, the same stoic and cold tone she had when speaking to people other than Rene.


    "I... transmutation." He finally met her gaze, feeling as if her eyes were peering into his mind or even deeper; he felt like she was staring straight into his soul.


    "Really? Why is that... You do know transmutation is only worth the time it takes to master if you already have a grasp on other schools of magic."


    He felt her gaze intensify even more as she spoke. Rene knew that there was no lying now; there was no way to justify himself but to tell the truth.


    "I... I never could really get the grasp of anything more advanced... except in transmutation." He trembled as he spoke; he knew it wasn''t wise to invoke the wrath of his mother, even if he never saw the full extent of it.


    Carmen''s voice quickly turned accusatory as she spoke, her face still unreadable. "You could not, or did you not try hard enough?"


    He bared his teeth and clenched the armrests tightly. "I couldn''t..."


    Rene said with an unfamiliarly cold and somber tone, if only she knew the things he did to try and become stronger, if only she knew what he looked like under his clothes.


    Silently Carmen got up from her chair and approached the chamber doors. "We will discuss this at a later date."


    And with nothing more said between them, she left the room.


    Rene simply sat there; he looked out the window at the stars that now dotted the sky.


    He put his legs up close to his chest and curled up on the chair, unsure of what Carmen truly thought of him now.


    Rene knew what she said was the truth; transmutation was only useful if it worked together in tandem with other schools of magic. He couldn''t do anything above turning minor things into butterflies and transferring the wounds of others onto himself with no ability to heal them other than waiting.


    No better than any other novice witch, he felt as if he wasn''t deserving of his family name.


    Rene felt as if he wasn''t even worthy to be called a witch.


    He knew that his mother was disappointed, even if she never wanted to admit it; he had always felt she wished he was someone else.


    But those were just thoughts, those were just bad thoughts that wished nothing more than to torment him.


    The same thoughts that haunted him since he could remember, yet even with the amount of time he felt them, he was never fully able to dispel them.


    Taking one last look at the stars with teary eyes, Rene too got up and exited the room, heading towards his personal quarters.


    The only sound in the manor now was his footsteps and gentle weeping that echoed almost silently through the halls.


    With a pull of the handle, he was now in his personal quarters, a large room with walls covered by shelves full of books and various crystals.


    It was as if the room was frozen in time; truly, nothing had changed since he left.


    Nothing was moved, and everything was just as he had left it those six years before; his bed was still made, and not even a new speck of dust appeared in the room.


    He had no time to reminisce or bask in the nostalgia anymore; he knew exhaustion would only make his thoughts even more erratic.


    Disrobing down to his lacy undergarments with a practiced and mindless movement, Rene fell down onto his bed and blankly stared at the ceiling.


    He sluggishly climbed under the blankets and returned to staring into nothingness, waiting for the silver kiss of sleep to come to him.


    Waiting for his mind to wander off into the nocturnal realm of dreams, to be anywhere but here and anyone but him.

 Chapter 3: Birds of a feather

    Carmen didn''t sleep a wink that night; she felt greatly disappointed in Rene, but on the other hand, she wasn''t even expecting him to master any school of magic.


    She had hoped he would realize he can''t be a witch in his first year of studies, but she wasn''t expecting him to be this headstrong.


    Despite the fact he couldn''t master any of the more demanding schools of magic, she still knew he had a clear talent.


    A fire burning inside him that drove him to continue, but what was it worth?


    Transmutation was always simply an add-on of sorts, something to be used in conjunction with other spells.


    Something that couldn''t stand on its own, like a man on crutches or a horse with a broken leg.


    Carmen felt an emotion that wasn''t familiar to her; Carmen felt guilt.


    A feeling of heaviness she hadn''t felt in decades.


    Even when she left him in the solar, she could still feel a great sadness emanating from his aura. A trail of emotion she could feel even now when he was asleep.


    Pacing around her large personal quarters, she wondered to herself about what course of action she should take.


    Should she try to tell him outright that he should switch paths? Should she explain to him that she loves him even if he can''t follow in her steps?


    There was no option that wouldn''t lead to his already fragile heart breaking.


    Carmen needed more time to think; her gaze wandered down to her large vanity table.


    There was a letter she had neglected to read in the days prior; carefully, she opened the envelope and took a peek at the letter.


    It was an invite, like hundreds of invites she had gotten before.


    Asking her to come to the usual aristocratic jubilee, despite the fact she wasn''t a noble or a political figure.


    Although she knew the nobility of the country sure liked having powerful friends.


    She thought to herself carefully; even though Rene had just arrived the day prior, it was clear to her he needed some space and time to reintegrate into their everyday life.


    Spending the past six years in a foreign country while a war was waging no doubt took a toll on him; that much was clear to her.


    But she also felt as if her sudden exit and clear display of disappointment earlier that night affected Rene harshly.


    Only the gods could know how he felt about her now, and for the first time in her long life, Carmen feared and worried that someone hated her.


    Rising to her feet and walking with an uncanny silence into the hallway that divided their quarters like a border''s line, Carmen gently pushed the door to Rene''s quarters open.


    His clothes were thrown messily on the floor, his boots stood at the side of his bed, and his hair was a sprawled-out mess on the pillow.


    She also noticed the fact he wasn''t in his nightgown, clearly a sign he was eager to go to sleep as soon as possible.


    Carmen stood by the side of his bed, watching him as he tossed and turned in his sleep.


    It wasn''t the restless movement that caught her attention; instead, it was the clear outline of a scar peeking out from his chest, which was covered by the blanket.


    Carefully and slowly pulling the blanket down, she felt her blood run cold as she saw the various scarred-over sigils that had been cut into his flesh, some of them still grotesquely fresh.


    She pulled the blanket further down, leaving it just above his hips; she noticed even more scars of the oh-so-familiar sigils.


    Tracing her hands over his chest and abdomen, she felt her heart sink deeper and deeper.


    Her boy did this to himself, did it to himself to appease the gods so that they might lend him even the smallest part of their power.


    Did this to himself to try and make her proud, and there she was just six hours ago accusing him of not trying hard enough.


    Quickly yet carefully folding up his clothes and putting them onto his bedside table, Carmen pulled the blanket over him once more as his tossing eased slightly, as if he was calmed by her presence.


    Before she could leave the room, she looked outside his large mosaic window; day would soon break, and Rene would wake up.


    With silent steps she made her way back to her quarters; a newfound resolve had been awakened in her.


    Rene was even more adamant about mastering witchcraft than she had known, dedicated enough to permanently brand himself simply to get closer to his goal.


    Carmen was convinced now, despite the disconnect between him and the usual witch, Rene was fiercely dedicated.


    Far more dedicated than the common witch, and from what she could tell, he had a good hang on the basics.


    If he could master transmutation without her guidance, then he could no doubt master any other school of magic with her help.


    But she also knew he needed some time for himself first.


    Carmen once more walked over to her vanity table, looking at the invitation and carefully reading it.


    The jubilee was happening later today; no specific time was listed, only the words "After sundown.".


    From a rough estimate, Carmen could tell it would take the entire afternoon to get from her estate to the one that was hosting.


    A perfect chance to unwind and give Rene time to settle back in, but she couldn''t have him moping around in the manor by himself the entire day; that would no doubt simply drive him further into the melancholy he felt.


    She felt tiredness start to overtake her after such a restless day; she knew she needed to be of a rested mind and body to plan carefully, and so she slowly switched from her customary attire into a flowing dark nightgown.


    She blew out the candles that illuminated her quarters as she slowly settled into her large silk-sheeted bed.


    It wasn''t long before Carmen had also fallen asleep, now rendering the manor fully and eerily silent.


    The same dream had been haunting him for weeks now; he would find himself in a long, seemingly endless field, the air being heavy and scented with the foul smell of sulfur.


    A cloudless, ashen sky stretched on into infinity as ash fell from above, showering Rene in a layer of sandy filth.


    As far as he could tell, he was always the only living soul in those dreams; if it weren''t for the thousands of crucifixes that sprouted out from the ground, Rene would be fully alone in that seemingly endless field.


    All he could do was walk forward and/or stand completely still; everything else would simply make him loop back to where he started.


    Either way, the dream would always end the same: a dark figure would appear a good distance away from Rene.


    The air would get even heavier, and a faint drone would appear and begin ringing in his ears, the tone only intensifying as the figure got closer.


    And before he could see the details of the figure''s face, the dream would end, leaving Rene wide awake and covered in a slick, cold layer of sweat upon his skin.


    He jolted up from his bed, clutching the blanket closely to his chest.


    Rene steadied his breath and wiped the sweat from his brow as he remembered it was just a dream.


    But just wiping his brow wasn''t enough to feel clean; he knew he needed to wash the sweat from his body and freshen up.


    And so Rene stumbled towards the master bathroom of the manor, the same bathroom he used to check on his scars the day prior.


    He closed the door behind him and twisted the key, pulling the handle down to make sure it was locked before he took off his undergarments.


    Rene pulled the curtain to the right to reveal the rather large bathtub, and as soon as he saw it, a memory came to him.


    As a boy he used to think how the bathtub was so large that it could count as a pool, which at the time it might as well have been.


    The bathtub was still large now, perhaps as large as two of him.


    He tried to approximate the scale of it as he ran his hand across the smooth white porcelain lining of the bath.


    Plugging the sink and turning on the water, Rene turned his attention to the cabinet that stood next to the mirror; he pulled it open and searched for his old toothbrush.


    And just as he remembered, there it stood.


    He took out the toothbrush and the weathered aluminum toothpaste tube; Rene felt the slick glob of toothpaste make contact with his teeth and gums, mixing with his saliva and dripping onto his tongue.


    He was always repulsed by the cinnamon-flavored paste, but it was better to be clean than to be picky, even if it meant having to bear with the taste of it.


    Rene spat it out and rinsed his mouth with the cold sink water, making his teeth hurt ever so slightly; he then turned his attention back to the bath, which was now sufficiently filled.


    Before he stepped inside the warm water, Rene tied his hair back as to not get it wet.


    The bath was brief and purpose driven; he wasn''t there to soak; he was simply there to clean himself.


    During his time in the academy he learned to be quick and precise when it came to bathing, as he always needed to be fast and be done before anyone else would walk into the showers.


    Being nearly the only boy in an academy full of girls would sound like a dream to most his age, but to Rene it was a nightmare.


    It was rare enough for a boy to class himself as a witch; it was even rarer to see them reach the level of academia he attended.


    Of course, this all made him stand out, stand out way more than he wished to.


    Like a charcoal black swan among a flock of pearly white ones, Rene stood out like a sore thumb among his fellow witches.


    A lot of the witches in his classes looked at him like a novelty; most others never really paid attention to him.


    But there was that one slim group of witches who hated him.


    Even now as he reminisced about it, he couldn''t truly figure out why.


    All Rene knew was that they were hellbent on making his studies and life as hard as possible.


    But his thoughts were interrupted by two measured knocks on the door. "Yes?"


    Rene said as he jolted slightly, making a splash in the water, "Will you be in there long, dear? I need to ask you something."


    Carmen''s voice broke through on the other side of the door.


    Rene instantly tensed up as he heard her, the memory of yesterday''s transgression still all too fresh in his mind.


    But her tone didn''t sound angry or disappointed; instead, she sounded remorseful, a tone of voice that Rene wasn''t familiar hearing.


    He quickly unplugged the sink of the tub and let the water drain out, quickly drying himself off.


    Stepping out of the bathroom, his eyes instantly fell upon Carmen, who was awaiting him, but as soon as she noticed he was only wrapped in a towel, she turned her gaze elsewhere. "It''s alright... I''ll be waiting for you in the study."


    She said as she slowly descended the stairs, giving him time to get properly dressed, Rene quickly made his way into his room and scanned the floor for his clothes; he noticed that his clothes were no longer on the floor, though, and instead were folded up on his bedside table.


    He let down his hair and scratched the back of his head in confusion; he didn''t remember folding his clothes before falling asleep.


    But Rene didn''t have much time to think; he knew he was needed downstairs.


    He quickly put on his undergarments, pulling up his socks and securing them with a garter on both his thighs; he knew he was essentially wearing the same pair of clothes he was wearing yesterday, but to him this was just a sign that he needed to buy new clothes.


    As soon as he put on his boots, he began his walk towards the study; the only thing he could remember about the room on the first floor was that his mother never allowed him to go inside it, especially not alone.


    But from the tiny peeks he got from it before, he figured out it was because it contained an absurd amount of no doubt very expensive and/or dangerous books.


    His guess was confirmed as he walked into the seemingly largest room in the entire manor; he was in awe at what could only be described as a library full of ancient tomes and books alike. "I see you''re finally properly dressed."


    Carmen called out to Rene from a large round table in the middle of the room, inviting him to come near.


    Rene, still in awe, walked closer to the table, carefully looking around at the seemingly infinite amount of books that resided on both the massive bookshelves and stacked in piles on the floor.


    Stolen content warning: this tale belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences elsewhere.Carmen smirked as she noticed his amazement, "Do you now understand why I forbade you entry into the study?"


    Rene nodded slowly before opening his mouth to speak, "Yeah... This... This is most astonishing."


    he said as he sat down across from her.


    "Well... I think you''ve matured enough to be able to enter. Although I would not recommend touching any of the books without my permission. Some of them are most hazardous..." she spoke as she too looked around at the many books in each direction of the room, "Although I didn''t call you down here to admire the books."


    She cleared her throat before speaking, turning her attention fully to Rene, "I think an apology is in order. For walking out on you like that last night."


    She spoke with a soft and remorseful tone as she addressed him; he, on the other hand, was confused, as the last thing he expected was an apology. "It''s alright; I understand why you would be upset."


    Before Rene could continue, Carmen raised her open palm, signaling for him to stop. "Enough of that; don''t excuse it. The other reason I called you down here, though..."


    Rene sheepishly sat in his seat as he waited for her to tell him, "I have an important gathering to attend to today; it would be a great help if you could head into the market later and fetch me the things on this list."


    She spoke calmly and slid him a piece of paper across the table. Rene took the paper into his hands and inspected it carefully.


    The handwriting was sharp and elegant; the cursive was italicized but perfectly readable, stemming from countless hours of practice, no doubt.


    His eyes scanned the paper, and he nodded once he finished, "Yeah, I can manage."


    Rene said as he put the paper in his breast pocket, "Although I''m surprised you''re letting me go into the town... You never let me do it when I was younger."


    Carmen scoffed, and Rene could swear that she rolled her eyes for a split second, "Rene, you''re not a child anymore. I trust that you can manage to finish an errand without error; I hope as much."


    She chuckled as she turned her gaze once more towards him.


    Rene sat up and stretched. "Yeah... I can manage."


    He repeated himself as he prepared himself for the day ahead of him, although it was nothing too exciting. He felt a strange sense of joy at the prospect of actually doing something other than studying or moping around the manor aimlessly as he did when he was younger.


    She cleared her throat once more as she grabbed his attention, "I assume you are familiar with the cruelty people are capable of..."


    Carmen spoke with a sorrowful look on her face, her tone one of both disgust and dejection.


    Rene sighed as he nodded his head, "Yeah... I am... I am all too aware."


    "Just... Please be careful, Rene. I''ll be back at daybreak tomorrow." She was confident that he was capable and well aware of the dangers that awaited in town, especially for witches and even more for people who looked like him.


    It wasn''t long before Rene found himself at the front of the manor with his boots shined and a small sack full of coins tied to his belt.


    The list still in his breast pocket, he melted into the deep foliage and trees; with a slow, leisurely pace, he made his way through the Blind Maiden forest and its familiarly dark and silent paths.


    Near the entrance of the woods now, Rene could hear the sound of playful voices and quiet chatter; at first he was confused as to why anyone would even dare to come near the nearly impenetrable woods.


    But as soon as he got out of the woods into the fields and felt the sun shine down warmly onto him, he understood it was a surprisingly bright and warm day for the season and no doubt a perfect chance for some to enjoy nature.


    He smiled softly as he tried to keep a positive state of mind; anything was better than the misery of his own thoughts, and the joy he felt around him was a nice distraction from them.


    He hummed as he walked towards the city, following the weathered brick road leading into it.


    From time to time he did notice the ravages of war, which were still heavily apparent in the environment around him.


    But Rene knew what the fresh ravages of war looked like and was happy to see that they were slowly fading and letting the community recover.


    As long as he didn''t need to step over the still-fresh bodies of both soldiers and civilians, he was alright.


    The sounds, sights, and aromas coming from the market were slowly making themselves clearer the closer he got; he looked at the list once more, just making sure to not forget anything on it.


    The list was mostly various spices and herbs along with simple groceries, nothing too hard to find and nothing too hard to carry back home.


    Walking from stall to stall, he slowly knocked off the entries on the list, mentally checking boxes in his mind.


    Along the way, Rene also picked up a woven wooden basket for a few francs; it was probably a better idea to put all the things he bought into it rather than carrying them all in hand.


    It only took him an hour to find everything he needed, and he was well aware that he didn''t have anything to do back at the manor; with Carmen gone, he couldn''t go into the study and inspect the books.


    Rene wished to explore the city more, but he knew he would draw too much attention to himself, especially at such a busy hour.


    The next best thing in his mind was exploring the park; a relaxing stroll would no doubt help him calm his nerves, but before he left and headed towards the park, Rene decided to buy himself a small tin of raspberry-flavored candy; his mother wouldn''t mind if he spent a few francs more than he had to.


    As he walked through the gates of the park, he put one of the powdered hard candies into his mouth and swirled it under his tongue; it had been a long time since he had candy on such a random occasion.


    The academy wasn''t exempt from the rationing that went on during the war, and so candy and sweets became a rare delicacy for most of the students.


    Rene sat down on a bench that was under the shade of a young tree, embracing the peace around him.


    The laughter, the playful chatter, and the yelling were all so foreign to him; he got used to the peace of the manor and the silence of the academy. Usually loud sounds would startle and annoy him, but today it was different.


    Today the world seemed so beautiful.


    Sadly, the feeling of serenity would be cut short as he heard the all-too-familiar sound of mocking laughter; he braced himself as he opened his eyes and prepared to see the usual sight of being laughed at.


    But the laughter wasn''t targeted towards him; he turned his head to look towards the sound.


    His eyes fell upon the sight of a group of boys standing around a person; upon a better viewing, Rene saw that the person was in a wheelchair.


    He stopped to think for a second, "Maybe I''m wrong. Maybe they''re laughing at a joke they made?"


    He thought to himself, trying to find a just reason for the laughter and not jump to conclusions.


    But as he focused his mind and tried to feel how the person felt, he noticed a great sadness and a tinge of seething anger in their aura.


    This was confirmation enough for him, and he left the basket on the bench and stood up.


    With a slow and careful step, he made his way towards the group of boys; they all looked no older than twenty, all of them somewhere around Rene''s age, if not a bit older.


    Rene cleared his throat before he spoke, trying to draw their attention away from the girl.


    "Oye, fellas, what''s going on here?"


    He spoke with a guarded tone, keeping his hands crossed and close to his chest.


    "Piss off, gal, we do¡ªwait... You ain''t no girl." The largest boy in the group spoke, his tone switching from hostility to confusion and disgust.


    Rene scoffed as he uncrossed his arms and spoke with a more hostile tone, "Yeah, I''m not."


    "Get the hell out, ya freak; leave us alone." The boy now took a few steps towards Rene, trying to intimidate him.


    He looked closer towards the person in the wheelchair and noticed she is a girl; her skin was slightly tanned, and her hair was black and curly; she no doubt wasn''t from France.


    Her amber eyes shone in the sun as she looked sheepishly at Rene, now concerned about his safety.


    She tried to signal for him to go; she tried to silently tell him that it isn''t worth getting hurt over this.


    But Rene couldn''t hear her inner thoughts, "Really? Picking on a girl nearly twice as small as you? A girl in a wheelchair nonetheless? You all are pathetic."


    he said with a mocking tone of voice, the boy closed the distance between them fully now, "Pathetic? Look at the boy in the skirt calling me pathetic."


    Before Rene could respond, he felt a sudden punch to his gut, causing him to stagger. "So entitled, the disrespect! What are you, boy? Some kind of aristocrat?"


    The leader of the group spoke again as he kicked Rene in the side, causing him to stagger further.


    "What is it, all talk, no bite, aye? The aristocratic p¨¦d¨¦raste, always the high and mighty!"


    The leader continued to beat on Rene with a newfound anger.


    He took hit after hit, unable to find the moment to fight back; eventually, Rene had been left beaten, bruised, and bleeding on the floor.


    His white blouse now stained with his own blood, he looked down at his shaking hand, which had a bleeding gash on it as he had fallen on a loose sharp rock.


    "Pathetic..." the boy spat at Rene, only nearly missing him.


    As the group of boys started to walk away, Rene arose to his feet slowly, faltering slightly.


    He wasn''t going to go down like this, damn it; he wasn''t going to let himself be mocked by such lowly vermin.


    If his mother was in his position, the group would''ve already been dragged to the depths of hell kicking and screaming, but Rene wasn''t that strong, not even a glimmer of her power.


    With all his strength, Rene pointed out his finger at the leader, holding his raised arm steady with the use of his free hand. Focusing his mind to his best ability, he saw, as a brilliant flame appeared at the tip of his finger, a small spark was all he needed, though.


    With the rest of his focus, he flicked the spark at the biggest part of the boy''s body; as soon as the flame made contact, the boy''s shirt lit on fire.


    "What now?" the boy yelled as he noticed his clothes starting to burn up; he struggled to take his shirt off and extinguish the flames on the tips of his hair.


    "What the fuck was that? Do you have a death wish?!" he yelled as soon as he realized Rene did that.


    Rene felt a strange resolve within himself; maybe he wasn''t as powerful as the other witches when it came to offensive magic, but he knew his transmutative abilities were remarkable.


    As the boy rushed towards him, Rene looked down at the blood that was spilled on the floor; his mind was now fully focused on violence.


    Like out of instinct and as if he had practiced this for hundreds of hours, Rene pulled out a small crude dagger from his own pool of blood.


    Before the boy could go in for another kick, Rene jumped out of the way, rising to his feet.


    The boy''s face shifted from one of anger to fear as he saw the shiny crimson red blade Rene had in his hand; their eyes met, and the boy could see the erratic stare in Rene''s eyes. "Hey now... There''s no need for t-"


    But before the boy could finish what he wanted to say, Rene started shouting, "No need!"? You make fun of me, you beat me, and then you come and try to do it again? There is a need! I''ll gut you like a pig!"


    Rene was bluffing; he didn''t have it in him to actually use the dagger on the boy, but he was well aware that only the threat of such raw brutality would get them to back down.


    One of the other boys, frightened by the gruesome sight of a bloodier Rene holding a dagger in hand, tapped the leader on the shoulder and whispered something to him.


    Before he could even say anything more to them, the boys ran off.


    Rene breathed raggedly, looking down at his still bleeding hand, which was gripping the crude dagger''s supposed hilt. Focusing once again, Rene looked on in awe as the dagger melted back into blood, the same blood that was now filling out the gash on his hand.


    After a brief moment, his wound fully closed, the rest of the blood being turned into brilliantly red-hued butterflies.


    Rene heard the scraping of wheels on the brick path. "Are you alright?"


    He looked up to see the girl in the wheelchair who had rolled closer towards him.


    "Yeah... Yeah, I''m fine." Rene composed himself and smiled reassuringly as their eyes met.


    The girl looked at him closer, noticing the lack of blood that was staining his body and clothes mere minutes ago.


    "The blood... How did you..." the girl asked with a puzzled tone as she reached out her hand to Rene''s.


    He chuckled to himself as he fixed up his clothes, "Magic."


    The girl chuckled along with him; she thought he was simply joking, but that still didn''t explain the disappearance of the bloodstains or the sudden appearance of the red swarm of butterflies.


    "Thank you... Those boys, they''re... They''re a real nuisance." The girl spoke with concern still evident in her voice.


    She shook her head as she let go of Rene''s hand. "My name is Marina..."


    "Glad to meet you... I''m Rene." He put a hand over his heart and bowed slightly in a perfectly practiced, fluid movement.


    Rene sat down next to his basket, checking if everything was still there.


    Marina rolled her wheelchair closer towards the bench, a puzzled look on her face. "Why did you do that, though?"


    "Do what?" Rene looked to the side, meeting her gaze. "You know... helping me, why did you do it?"


    Rene''s expression changed to one of mild anger as he heard her speak, "Why wouldn''t it?"


    "You could''ve gotten hurt!" Marina yelled back at him, swatting his arm lightly.


    "Well, I don''t really care. I wouldn''t let some rodents pick on someone in my presence."


    Rene said as he crossed his arms once more, Marina''s face changed to one of mild surprise as she seemed touched by the gesture, though her concern still didn''t subside.


    "Still they... They would''ve left me alone eventually¡ª" before she could finish her sentence, Rene interrupted her, "No! I know how it feels to be mocked and picked on; they needed to be taught a lesson."


    Marina seemed confused and conflicted; she took a second to recollect before she spoke. "So you... you didn''t do this out of pity?"


    Her words confused Rene even further, "Pity? Over what exactly?"


    The confusion between them only grew as Rene was seemingly unaware of what she meant. Marina looked down at her legs and then at the ground; she was just about to speak, but then she noticed Rene''s expression shift from confusion to frustration. "You think I did it out of pity for your condition? Heavens no, I told you already. I simply find people who prey on the weak disgusting."


    Marina seemed touched again; she was happy that there was finally someone who didn''t look down upon her with pity over her circumstances.


    She smiled softly at Rene, as if in silent agreement. Rene smiled too.


    He handed her the tin of raspberry candies. "Want some?"


    Rene said as he opened the metal tin, which was full of red, ruby-like hard candy, powdered in sugar.


    Marina took one of the candies and put it in her mouth, savoring the taste, seemingly content with Rene''s company under the shade of the tree.

 Chapter 4: Under the canopy

    The two sat there in a comfortable silence for what must''ve been at least half an hour as they shared the candy between themselves.


    But eventually, as Rene''s fingers tapped the tin, he noticed it was empty. "Oh damn... Guess we''re all out."


    He was a bit disappointed; he didn''t expect he would be lacking the sweets so soon, but he was glad he didn''t eat them all by himself.


    "Oh? That''s unfortunate... Mind if I keep the tin? I really liked these; I want to ask my sister if she could get some more for me..." Marina said as she extended her palm to Rene.


    Rene put the thin metal tin in her palm and stopped to think for a second, "Why your sister?"


    Marina looked at him, her face displaying a deep suppressed frustration, her tone being no different. "Well... You know, I can''t go into the market alone... Way too many people willing to rob the disadvantaged today."


    She looked down at the dark gray blanket that covered her legs, her gaze seeming dejected.


    "Oh... I see." A sense of shame crept up his spine as he realized how stupid the nature of his question was.


    "I... I can take you to the market; besides... I missed some things I needed to get," Rene said as he shook the woven basket he had used to carry the things he bought from the market. He was lying about forgetting to purchase something, but he didn''t want to sound like he was doing it out of some sense of pity.


    Marina thought the invitation over in her mind; Rene was strange but not off-putting.


    In her eyes he truly did mean well, even if his questions were slightly hurtful at times.


    Marina nodded and reached her hands out. "Well then, shall we go? I''ll carry the basket; you push me."


    He obliged to her request happily and put the basket on her lap. He got behind her and put his hands on the handles of the wheelchair. "So do I just... push?"


    Rene said as he turned his head to look at her, Marina nodded and chuckled to herself, "Yes, yes... Just try to not slam me into anything... or anyone for that matter."


    She covered her mouth as she continued chuckling at her own joke; Rene let out a short chuckle too.


    "Alright, alright. I promise I won''t," he said as he slowly started pushing her forward and away from the bench, along the brick path that led back into the city.


    The journey back into the market was peaceful and uneventful as the morning slowly turned to noon; most of the market stalls were closing up shop for the day.


    A sense of disappointment ran through the both of them as they came to the stall, seeing the sellers were gone now. "Oh... That''s a shame."


    She bowed her head in disappointment and sighed; she should''ve guessed the market would be closing soon and that they couldn''t possibly get there fast enough.


    "Yeah... a shame." Rene sighed too as he looked around; his eyes fell upon a small and unoccupied-looking cafe in the distance.


    Suddenly he started guiding Marina towards it, "Ah, Rene? Where are we going?"


    Marina turned back to look at him as he pushed her towards it. "Well, the idea was finding more sweets; I''m assuming cafes here have them... Right ?"


    Rene slowed down slightly as he awaited her confirmation; Marina nodded slowly and looked back at the shop with a keen eye, "Yeah... They do, most of them at least."


    With her confirmation, he continued pushing at his regular pace. She was surprised to say the least; Marina had fully expected their paths to part as soon as they got out of the market.


    She wasn''t sure about his intentions, but she didn''t mind the company either.


    He paused as they arrived at one of the tables, seemingly in deep contemplation.


    In silence, Rene let go of the wheelchair''s handles and walked over to the table. Pulling one of the chairs out and placing it closer to the other chair, he approached Marina to push her closer, but she put her hand up, "I can do it myself, thanks."


    She said as she rolled closer to the table, putting Rene''s basket under it.


    Rene pulled out a chair for himself and sat down across from her; they both sat there in silence waiting for a waiter to approach. "They sure are taking their time..."


    Marina said as she leaned her head on her hand, and almost like clockwork, she saw a waiter walk up to them.


    "Good evening, madam; good evening, monsieur." The waiter spoke as he looked at them, "What will it be?"


    Marina waited for Rene to order, but Rene was waiting for her to order. She sighed as she picked up on it: "Cafe au lait and two eclairs for me."


    She said as she turned her head towards Rene, he shook his head and stammered as he looked at the menu, "Ah... Caf¨¦ au lait and one pain au chocolat."


    Rene sounded unsure of himself as he ordered; it was clear he didn''t know how to order coffee. "Good choice; it will be ready soon."


    The waiter nodded as he walked back into the cafe; Marina snickered as she shook her head, "Why are you so shy all of a sudden?"


    She asked before tilting her head to the side slightly, "You don''t see this as a date? Right..."


    Marina sounded slightly worried behind her facade of humor.


    At the mention of the word, Rene turned red and started shaking his head, "No, no! Of course not... I simply never ordered coffee before, so I don'' exactly know what to order."


    He started laughing as his blush subsided.


    "I''m sorry I seem so eager. You''re just the first person I''ve met in a long time who seems to be glad with my company. And doesn''t just give me grief."


    Rene scratched the back of his head, unsure of why he was being this honest with someone he had just met; maybe he was simply afraid of pushing her away by making her think he had ulterior motives.


    "Oh, that makes sense..." Marina sighed in relief, but her face slowly shifted from relief to confusion. "How come you''ve never ordered coffee before? I mean, I assume you''ve lived here for some time. Do you just not like coffee or...?"


    She seemed genuinely confused. How can someone live in France for so long and not know how to order coffee? "And here I thought the French were serious about their coffee."


    Marina said before Rene could even think of a response, "Oh, you''re not French?"


    The topic suddenly switched as it finally clicked in Rene''s head that she indeed wasn''t French: "No... I''m Italian."


    Now it all made sense to him; the tan and the hair now seemed fitting as she confirmed his previous guess, "You got a problem with it?"


    Suddenly, Marina''s tone turned angry, but Rene saw right through her and knew she was simply guarded.


    "No, I''ve simply never met someone from Italy before." Rene put his elbow on the table and leaned his head on his hand. "How is it down there? Heard it''s very warm.


    He spoke with a curious tone; this unexpected question surprised Marina, and she took a second to compose herself again, sighing before she spoke, "Sorry... Some people here still hold a grudge because of the war."


    Marina sighed again, this time in relief, "How is it? It''s... It''s nice, very warm, yes. Haven''t been there in a while, though."


    She sounded dejected once more as their drinks and desserts arrived. "Here you go; enjoy," the waiter said as he put their order down on the table from his circular tray.


    The two thanked the man as he walked back into the cafe with a practiced step. Rene looked down at the two small plates and saw the cup of coffee, which had a frothy white foam on top of it, and the brown, flaky pastry, which stood on their respective plates in front of him.


    "As you people would say it, bon app¨¦tit." Marina chuckled as she raised the cup up to her lips and took a measured sip.


    Rene followed suit and took a sip too; he swished the warm liquid in his mouth for a few seconds before swallowing. Despite the milk, the coffee was a bit more bitter than he''d like, but it wasn''t bitter enough to ruin the taste.


    He took another larger sip this time, savoring the taste.


    Marina took a bite of one of the eclairs she ordered; the smooth, buttery sweetness of the dough and cream was nicely contrasted by the bitterness of the chocolate frosting on top. She wiped the deep brown frosting from her lips with the side of her thumb and looked up at Rene, a somewhat pensive look on her face. "Hey, uh... Rene, I want to ask you something... It''s kind of dumb, though."


    Rene tilted his head slightly, preparing himself for the question, "Hm? Feel free to."


    He steeled himself as he looked straight into her eyes.


    Marin breathed in, trying to find the right words. "Why do you... Why do you dress that way?"


    It was a question Rene expected; he even thought it was strange that she didn''t ask it before.


    He sighed deeply as he prepared himself to speak, "Bear with me here..."


    Rene paused again, never breaking eye contact with Marina. "Remember when I said I used magic to make the blood go away?"


    Marina blinked rapidly and nodded as she remembered, "Yeah... I thought you were joking."


    He shook his head from side to side slowly. "Yeah, how do I say this... I''m a witch."


    Marina started to laugh, but as soon as she saw Rene''s deathly serious face and even slightly worried face, she stopped, "Oh... Wait, really?"Unauthorized usage: this tale is on Amazon without the author''s consent. Report any sightings.


    Marina sounded confused yet highly intrigued; she leaned in closer towards him. "I thought witches were supposed to be girls. Unless you are a girl... You are a boy, right?"


    Rene laughed uncontrollably at her last statement; he had been caught off guard hard.


    He took a second to compose himself before he spoke again, "Oh... Yes, I get that one a lot, even from other witches. And yes, I am a boy."


    She chuckled along with him, "You truly are an intriguing one. But that doesn''t answer my question: Why do you dress like that?"


    Marina tilted her head once more; Rene was confused but relieved at the fact Marina simply brushed off the fact he''s a witch.


    There was no fear, disgust, or revulsion in her tone or face; there was only a burning curiosity.


    "Well, witches have a sort of... dress code." He racked his brain trying to find the right words to explain himself, "Which I''m breaking anyways..."


    Rene shook his head before speaking again, "But anyways, to answer your question. It''s just how I dress. Nothing more to it."


    Marina seemed slightly confused as she took another sip of her coffee. "So... dresses? You don''t find wearing such clothes uncomfortable or embarrassing?"


    He sighed deeply, slightly embarrassed as he had to explain his point of view to her, "Well, I grew up around people dressed like this; I was raised by a woman who dressed like this. This is my normal; this is just... how I dress."


    She nodded in understanding and took a short moment to take a bite out of her eclair. "That makes sense. But didn''t you see other men around you and how they dress differently than you and such?


    She wiped her mouth of the dark frosting once more. Rene took another bite of his pastry before speaking. "Well... When I was younger, the only person I knew was my mother."


    His words surprised her; his strange unawareness of the world now made slightly more sense to her. She thought Rene was just naive or maybe even slightly dense. "Really? Speaking of, you really do seem kind of sheltered..."


    Rene chuckled silently; he shook his head and took a sip of coffee before he spoke. "Sheltered? Yeah, I guess I was."


    He closed his eyes and exhaled, reminiscing about his childhood and how he spent most of his life in that single clearing, "But I can''t blame her. The way people treat witches, the way they treat what they can''t understand... It''s all so cruel."


    Rene racked his brain trying to justify his mother''s way of raising him; he turned his gaze towards Marina once again. "I mean... Those boys, they treated you like that because you''re different from them. People fear and mock what they don''t understand."


    He noticed how sorrowful Marina suddenly looked; she lowered her head dejectedly and let out a short breath, not being able to find the words or will to add to it.


    "Can I ask something else?" Marina said as she raised her head up again, "Your hair... Is it dyed?"


    She pointed her finger at his hair, which was flowing over his shoulders. "No, no... This is my natural hair color. Even my mother isn''t exactly sure why it is such an odd color."


    Rene ran his fingers through a strand of his long, pale, fuchsia-tinted hair. "Mind if I ask a question of my own?"


    He pulled his fingers from his hair and turned his eyes towards Marina once more. "Well. I owe you a few.


    She chuckled as a sense of self-awareness washed over her, realizing how many questions she asked, "How does it feel... Your legs, how do they feel?


    Rene tried to ask as carefully as possible as he tried to drink faster before his coffee grew cold, "They don''t."


    Marina said coldly and straight to the point, taking a moment to figure out how she could explain her condition to him, "You see, a part of my spine doesn''t work how it should. And I can only loosely feel anything below my hips. If it isn''t obvious, I can''t use my legs to walk anymore, though."


    The pain in her voice was palpable as she spoke; even if she had to explain it a million times over, it never got easier.


    Rene looked at her compassionately, trying to pick out the right words before he spoke. He took a final bite of his pastry before nodding his head and speaking in a soft tone, "I take it you''ve had to explain this before."


    Marina sighed and simply nodded in confirmation, "You wouldn''t know the extent of it... Everyone is always so damn curious; it''s as if I''m a completely different species. Not just a person with a damn condition."


    She ranted, venting out her inner frustrations to Rene, who was all too eager to listen, "I''m sorry for asking..."


    He took one last sip of his coffee before putting the cup down, looking at the inky black sediment at the bottom.


    "Don''t apologize... At least you don''t look at me with pity; you don''t treat me like a damn child either... Which already puts you ahead of most of the people I''ve met."


    Marina let out a final exasperated sigh before looking at Rene, a weak, almost appreciative smile spreading across her face, "Thanks, Rene... It''s really been long since I''ve been able to spend the day with someone like this."


    Rene looked up from his cup with a wide smile on his face; he was glad too, glad that he could enjoy his time with someone other than himself or his mother. "I greatly enjoyed our time today too."


    Up until today, actually spending the day with a friend was a foreign concept to Rene; between his sheltered childhood and his even stricter studies, he never had the time to try and meet people.


    And even the rare occasions when he attempted it, they would prove futile as he was far too different from them.


    His mere existence seemed so queer to his peers, to the degree they could never properly connect with him.


    Even if Marina didn''t know he felt like that, she related to his unspoken words.


    Her condition had made her feel so alienated from everyone else; being treated like a child constantly didn''t help that feeling.


    But here he sat across from her, a peculiar boy who saw her as what she truly was.


    A person.


    Rene turned his head towards the monolithic clock tower; it was already half past two. "Time does fly."


    He whistled before turning his head towards Marina; she seemed somewhat worried and looked around before speaking, not being able to catch a good view of the clock, "Wait, what time is it?"


    She said as she continued trying to stretch and catch a glimpse of the obscured tower.


    "It''s nearly twenty-five to three; I can''t seem to get a good view... The sun is too strong."


    He said as he squinted, trying to get a better view, he wasn''t able to get a good view of the actual time, but he could approximate it.


    The color seemed to drain slightly from Marina''s face as she realized what time it is. "Oh... Oh gosh, I''ll be late for lunch. My mother will be furious..."


    Rene frowned at her words; he knew it wasn''t wise to invoke the wrath of one''s own mother. He waved the waiter over to their table and handed him the amount they owed.


    Marina looked down at her one remaining eclair and then looked back at Rene; Rene noticed and stuck out his hand, silently telling her to have it for herself.


    But Marina didn''t oblige; she took the dessert and tore it into two halves, raising one up to Rene as she took the other half and bit into it.


    Rene chuckled as he put the eclair into his mouth and quickly ate it, not using the proper time to savor it as he got up from his chair. "It will be faster if I push you, no?"


    Rene pushed his chair forward to the table as he walked over to and behind Marina, offering to help her get home. Marina sighed in relief and picked up the basket of groceries from under the table. "Oh thank God... I thought I''d have to push myself over these bumpy roads... This was designed for horses, not wheels!"


    Marina groaned in frustration, and Rene chuckled as he pulled her from the table and waited for her directions. "Yeah... Quite literally."


    She looked around for the street''s name, trying to orient herself. She squinted her eyes and mumbled to herself in a language Rene couldn''t understand, "Turn left, then forward till... There, then I''ll tell you where to turn, alright?"


    Rene nodded and began pushing her just as she instructed; Marina mumbled again as she once again oriented herself based on the landmarks, shops, and street names. For someone who apparently doesn''t go into the town much, she knew her way around it better than Rene. "Alright, alright... Now turn right and continue forward..."


    He followed her lead, focusing on pushing her while at the same time taking in the many sights of the city; he was mesmerized, as he had never seen so deep into it.


    The most Rene ever saw before today was the area in and around the market, back when Carmen used to take him with her to run errands.


    The memories, although clouded and hazy, still brought him a deep sense of joy; the mere remembrance of his childhood brought the feelings back to him.


    "What are you smiling about?" Marina chuckled as she turned her head to look at him; Rene snapped out of his reminiscing and shook his head. "Oh, nothing... I just remembered something from when I was a little boy."


    Rene looked around the nearly empty streets as he heard Marina giggle, "Well... Where to?"


    "We''re at the destination." Marina said as she turned her head towards a medium-sized house with a black glimmering gated fence, the house was two stories tall, and the brick walls were painted a calming blue color.


    "Oh? Quite a nice home you have." He said as he pushed her closer towards the gate, Marina pulled out a key from somewhere under the blanket that covered her legs and unlocked it with a soft click.


    Rene pushed the gate open before returning to Marina, pushing her into her yard.


    Before she reached in for her other key, she turned to look back at him, "Hey Rene... Would you maybe want to meet again someday?"


    She waited hopefully for his answer, hoping she would see him again in the near future. "Oh yes, of course."


    He nodded as a smile spread across his face; he was glad he finally had someone who wished to spend time with him. "Now you know where to find me. Feel free to come any time."


    Marina smiled as she pushed herself up the ramp that led to the front door. She unlocked the door and pushed it open, but instead of going in instantly, Marina turned her head towards Rene again. "Hey, if you do visit... and my family says anything about your... your appearance... Please just ignore them."


    Rene''s smile faded slightly; his voice tone was one of understanding, if not one of self-consciousness.


    "Yeah... Don''t worry, I''ve heard it all before." He said as the smile returned to his face, the two waved each other goodbye as Marina pushed herself back towards the door, closing it behind her.


    Rene stood at the gate for a moment, looking over at the house again before walking out and closing the gate behind him. He felt someone watching him and promptly snapped his head back towards the feeling.


    Through the window, Rene saw Marina looking at him as he was preparing to walk away; she meekly waved back to him, her face showing her surprise at the fact he noticed her watching.


    Rene smiled and waved back before finally walking away; he tried to orient himself back towards the market and back towards the forest.

 Chapter 5: The stroll back home

    Rene tried to trace his steps back; on almost every turn, he found himself looking around to confirm he''s on the right path lest he get lost.


    Eventually, though, he took a wrong turn and ended up in an unfamiliar square of the city. He leaned against a nearby wall for a second, scratching the back of his head as he tried to figure out where he was and at which turn he got lost.


    The square was way smaller than the one where the cafe and market were; the buildings mostly looked like residential ones with a couple sparsely scattered shops on the ground floors.


    Suddenly Rene was startled by the loud, cacophonous ringing of bells; nearly jumping out of his skin from the sudden sound, Rene turned his head towards the origin.


    Over the large tower from which the bells rung, stood a large golden crucifix; he instantly recognized the building.


    Rene had stumbled upon one of the city''s churches; there was a crowd of people gathered outside the entrance, and as the bells continued to ring, that crowd slowly marched into the inside.


    A flame of curiosity was lit inside him; he knew about Christianity and knew all too much about the church, but Rene also knew that the books and his mother''s words couldn''t teach him everything he wanted to know.


    Rene slowly approached the large entrance of the church, trailing behind the people who were already inside.


    He watched as a man dressed in white walked down the middle aisle of the church and swung a gilded censer back and forth like a pendulum.


    Slowly the smell of the burning incense crept up Rene''s nose as he stood at the entrance; it wasn''t an incense he was familiar with, but it wasn''t too dissimilar from the ones he was used to.


    As the people focused on the man speaking from the altar, Rene got a bold idea.


    He remembered the teachings of his various professors, "Witches are forbidden from certain places of worship..."


    The words repeated in his head; he always thought the statement was obvious, but Rene wanted to know to what extent.


    He extended his hand through the entrance; he steeled himself for the upcoming pain or fire or whatever would happen when his flesh made contact with such a sacred place.


    But Rene''s hand didn''t catch fire, nor did it hurt.


    This surprised him and only emboldened him to push his hand forward, but as soon as his forearm went through the entrance, he felt a sharp stinging pain where one of the sigils he carved into his skin lies.


    Rene let out a yelp of pain, causing some of the people sitting in the pews to turn back and look at him.


    Not wanting to draw attention to himself, Rene quickly walked away from the church and looked around the square.


    Finally Rene remembered which way leads back to the market, so with his basket in hand, he quickly walked back onto the right path.


    The city was still keenly empty, as people were either at work or relaxing at home.


    Rene didn''t mind, though; he preferred for the city to be empty rather than for it to be full.


    Eventually he reached the familiar path that would be the market; he had never seen what happens to it after everyone closes up shop.


    A field of empty stalls and empty spaces stood where the market used to be; it was a peculiar sight to him as he continued walking towards it.


    He sat on one of the stools, swinging his feet slowly as he thought about seeing Marina again. He wondered if his mother would let him go into town regularly from now on or if this was just a one-time thing.


    A feeling of anxiety crept up his spine as a different idea reverberated in his mind: How would his mother even react to finding out he had made a friend with a regular person?


    Rene knew his mother wasn''t too keen on humans, seeing them as a nuisance at best and as vermin at worst.


    She never outright said it to him, but as he grew older it became clearer and clearer to him, and the older he got, the more he understood why she hated them.


    Humans were never kind towards the occult or the things they couldn''t understand; the stories he heard from the older witches at the academy frightened him to the core.


    Even today, Rene saw and felt just how cruel people could be towards others; this only made his anxiety worse as he thought about what to do.


    Not telling his mother about Marina would certainly make it easier to see her, but on the other side he would constantly have to lie to his own mother just to find excuses to go into the town.


    He let out a heavy sigh as he jumped down from the stall and took his basket back into his arms. With a now quickened pace, Rene walked out of the town and back into the outskirts; he knew he must get back to the manor quickly, as walking through the forest during the night would certainly make him get lost.


    The sky slowly started to change color, prompting Rene to start running towards the so-called mouth of the forest.


    As the sky turned to an orangish color, he had finally arrived at the entrance of the woods; hastily he ran through the path he had followed so many times, stepping over the moss and fungus on the damp forest floor. Rene noticed how much more the humidity affected him as he continued to run.


    Usually it wouldn''t even be noticeable to him, but at this moment he felt as if he was drowning from the air.


    He feared he would trip over the roots and fall, which would no doubt lead to everything he had in the basket ending up outside.


    But he knew he couldn''t stop running, for if he did, the night would turn the already dark forest into an inextricable abyss.


    But just as Rene feared, he soon found himself trying to find his way in an abyss-like darkness; the forest tried to guide him the best it could, but despite its help, Rene was still lost.


    There was no use running now; it was too dark to see the floor, and any misstep could lead to him spilling everything from his basket.


    Rene tried to focus as hard as he could; he tried to blindly track down the manor only by its aura; unfortunately, this could only give him a vague idea of where to go.


    His misguided attempts to follow its warm trail only led him deeper and deeper into the wrong side of the forest; unfortunately, Rene only noticed his mistake when he felt the mossy floor shift into a mud-covered mess.


    "Merde..." Rene swore under his breath as he noticed the bottom of the skirt get caught in the mud; he tried to turn back and get out of the foul-smelling patch of the woods.


    But Rene took another wrong step, ending up with his boot plunged even deeper in the mixture of mud and water that made up the floor.


    He knew stumbling in the dark would be idiotic, and that if it was this dark in the twilight, he couldn''t imagine how much darker it would be during the night.


    He hung his basket on a nearby branch and pulled himself up and stepped on the tree''s roots, finally finding stable ground.


    With a few hand signs and practiced hand movements, a small flame sprung up from Rene''s fingertips, combining into a more cohesive flame on his palm.


    He raised the flame in front of him, trying to find his way back onto the right path.


    But the darkness was overpowering the weak light of the flame, a flame that was only intended to kindle bigger fires.


    The squelching sound of footsteps was heard as something waded through the mud of the foul-smelling swamp; the sound was followed by deep croaking and an even more overpowering smell.


    "Who goes there?" Rene said cautiously as he extended his hand towards the noise; a pair of deeply yellow eyes stared back at him, the jaundiced irises and black horizontal slit pupils stared back at him from the dark.


    If it hadn''t been for the size of the eyes, Rene would''ve dismissed it as nothing but a frog.


    But the eyes that stared back at him were far too large, and so was the presence he felt emanating from behind them.


    This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road. If you spot it on Amazon, please report it.The figure lunged at Rene, causing him to panic and nearly lose his focus; the figure made itself clear as it came closer into the light.


    Its hair was dark and matted in mud, its skin was rubbery and tinted in a sickly green hue.


    In the nick of time, Rene moved out of the way of the thing''s lunge, just barely dodging its talon-like nails.


    The creature seemed to stagger for a second before it turned to look at Rene, who was still unsure of how to proceed. "You, you trespassed on my, my home."


    The thing spoke with a croaking voice; its voice was without a shadow of a doubt female, despite its extreme hoarseness.


    Finding steady ground, Rene readied his guard as a wave of uncertainty washed over him; the creature could speak, which meant it was sentient enough to be reasoned with, or so he hoped.


    "I apologize! I mean no harm, I swear it." Rene yelled out as he looked at the figure turn back to him.


    The figure seemed to take its time trying to understand what Rene said; it tilted its head and readied to pounce, "No! No, no, no, no! You trespassed on my home!"


    The frog-like figure spoke again as it jumped at him.


    This time Rene wasn''t able to fully dodge her pounce; he felt the warm, stinging pain of the sloppily slashed wound, which was now drawn across his cheek. If the thing''s hand had been positioned any lower, Rene would''ve been done for.


    A newfound sense of both fear and resolve had awoken deep inside Rene again, the same feeling he got when he was getting attacked by the boys who harassed Marina, but this time it was even stronger.


    The boys simply wanted to beat him; this beast made it clear it wanted to kill him.


    Rene looked around as the figure was trying to find the flame that emanated from his hands; his wandering eyes found a somewhat dry-looking bush. Finding an opportunity, Rene threw the flame from his hand onto the bush, lighting it on fire, in turn making the darkness less oppressive.


    Despite the brightness, Rene was still at a disadvantage; the creature assumedly had ten coarsely sharp claws while he was unarmed.


    Again the creature pounced; its accuracy was greatly damaged by the sudden unfamiliar brightness of the burning bush, and it yelped in pain as its claws dug into the side of a tree.


    Rene felt up the side of his bloodied cheek and winced in pain; the cut was coarse and uneven, and he knew it would be tough to close up, but Rene saw a newfound inspiration in the blood.


    If he managed to create a weapon from his blood when he was being attacked by the boy, there was nothing to prevent him from doing it again.


    Rene dug into his palm using his nails, causing the already bloodied hand to ooze with a freshly warm rush of blood.


    As the woman freed her hand from the trunk of the tree, Rene focused his mind and set his goal on recreating the dagger he made earlier that day.


    The blood slowly coagulated and turned rock solid in his hand as it continued to spew from the fresh wound; Rene felt exhilarated at his newfound ability, but that feeling was short-lived.


    Seemingly having adjusted to the light, the thing started slashing at Rene with a feral pace. Rene now had to focus on dodging the relentless barrage of attacks while also forming the rough outline of a dagger from his bleeding hand.


    "Stay... back!" he yelled out as he kicked the thing in its side. He knew his physical strength wasn''t up to par with the thing''s, but this kick wasn''t intended to cause it to retreat but merely buy him time.


    The thing screamed out in frustration as it feverishly continued to slash at him; finally, the blood stopped, which indicated to Rene that the dagger was ready to use.


    He knew if he tried to attack right now that his hand would get shredded by the thing''s claws; his best bet was to either try and parry one of its attacks or to break her guard somehow.


    Rene lured her into a more densely wooded area on the edge of the swamp; with its uncareful slashes, it was bound to eventually get its hand stuck again in the trees.


    And after a few more minutes of dodging and running in circles around the trees, Rene finally got the opportunity he was hoping for.


    The woman mumbled angrily as it tried to get its claws out of the tree; Rene quickly ran up to her and plunged his dagger into the thing''s shoulder; as the thing screeched, Rene pulled out the dagger and stabbed it again into the thing''s back.


    He was both amazed and afraid; he had managed to outwit the thing in its own territory, but at the same time it looked like he was about to take a life.


    Goats and other cattle were a world behind this thing; its human-like intellect made Rene associate it way more with humans than with animals, making him feel a deep fear for what he had done to it.


    The woman managed to get its hand out of the tree before Rene could stab at it again; instead of trying to attack him, the thing started running away back into the swamp.


    Rene knew he couldn''t let it go so easily; he didn''t know if the thing would stalk after him once he made his way back home, and so he ran after it into the swamp.


    The woman didn''t get far; the wound on her back was too deep to shrug off, and she stumbled and fell onto a patch of dirt on the edge of the swamp.


    Rene stood above her, his hands shaking as he looked down at the pitiful sight; he raised the dagger above his head with uncertainty.


    A part of him was telling him to stab it into the thing and be done with it, but a deeper part of him told him to stop.


    This thing wasn''t an animal, and killing it would make him a murderer, and not a justified one at that.


    Even if it was a mistake, at the end of the day, Rene had stumbled into the thing''s home, and even in this critical moment, his mind drifted back to his childhood.


    He remembered the one time he saw his mother use violence against someone else, not from a tale or worthless gossip, but actually seeing it with his own eyes.


    A man had stumbled into the clearing where the estate stood, something someone couldn''t do on accident.


    He never knew if the man was sent there or came by his own will, but he remembered that the man carried an unfamiliar weapon with him.


    Rene remembered how quickly Carmen responded to the armed man, fast enough for Rene to not even register what was happening; he remembered how the last thing he saw before the manor shut its doors was a split second of Carmen holding the man up high by his neck, the same way she held Rene when he returned to the manor two days ago.


    But by the fact she had blood on her hands when she returned to the manor, Rene figured that the man met a much grizzlier fate.


    As his reminiscing stopped, Rene had seemingly made up his mind and prepared to lower the dagger down on the thing.


    He tried to reason with it; he didn''t want to fight it at first, and most of all, he knew that the thing would''ve killed him if it could.


    The thing seemed to be aware of Rene''s intention, and it closed its eyes, a grimace spreading on its face as it tried to hold back its fear.


    A sharp cry escaped from somewhere deeper in the swamp, causing Rene to stop moving the blade down and turn his head sharply towards the origin of the sound.


    The sight broke Rene; he saw multiple beings that looked just like the woman, but they were seemingly juveniles of the species.


    The aggression, the unrelenting attacks¡ªit all made sense to him now.


    The woman from the swamp was a mother, simply defending her young from a presumed intruder.


    He realized what he had done, and his actions disgusted him. Rene''s hands started to shake and tremble as he saw the worried faces of the woman''s children, who were all huddled up behind their biggest sibling.


    Rene lifted the woman out of the shallow water and put her in a sitting position; she was too wounded to attack but still continued trying to slash at him.


    He turned the dagger back into blood before promptly pouring it on the woman''s wounds before putting his hands over them. With a warm orchid glow, the wounds on the woman''s back and shoulder slowly closed and healed.


    Seemingly she realized that Rene was healing her and slowly stopped struggling and slashing. When the wounds were fully closed, Rene took a step back and let the children come closer to their mother.


    The woman turned back to Rene, its yellow eyes still weary as it looked at him.


    "I''m... I''m sorry..." He said as he backed up from the creatures, even with his remorse, he kept up his guard.


    "Sor¡ªsorry..." the woman repeated to Rene as it croaked to its children to retreat into the swamp; with one final look, the woman followed her children farther into the darkness.


    Rene breathed a sigh of relief; he felt like throwing up at the very idea of what he could''ve done.


    In his mind, the killing of someone''s mother was a sin of the highest order, a sin that would truly make someone a monster.


    The bush slowly stopped burning, and Rene took his basket down from the tree branch to which he hooked it. His clothes were ruined, and his body bloodied and bruised, he felt sick from the sudden blood loss of using the fluid that made up the dagger to mend the woman''s wounds.


    He again focused his mind and made a small fire in his palm before he started walking into the forest once more; the fire was weaker as the forest was somehow more humid than the swamp.


    With a basket one hand and the flame in the other, Rene finally managed to trace the aura of the manor onto a familiar path.


    Finally being on his way to his home, unsure of what time it even was.


    He only hoped to get home before his mother; he would hate for her to see him in such a messy state.

 Chapter 6: Le petit chef

    Rene followed the path for twenty or so more minutes; finally, he saw the pale moonlight break through the canopy as it illuminated the clearing.


    Never in his life was he so glad to be back at the manor; he tried his best to wipe off the mud from his skirt and boots as he approached the manor; a thousand eyes looked at him as the house itself noticed his presence.


    The doors swung open before he even got to the stairs. Rene smiled and broke the silence of the clearing with a relieved laugh, "Oh... I''ve missed you too."


    With an endearing voice, he spoke to the manor itself as he walked inside, the doors quietly closing behind him.


    Rene looked down at his clothes, his white blouse now turned a mixture of grey, red, and brown after the scuffle, his boots were heavily scratched and filthy with both dried mud and fresh moss.


    He sighed in frustration; he knew he didn''t have a proper change of clothes since he had outgrown most of the garments that he used to wear before leaving to attend the academy.


    His choices were either to walk around the house in the nude or to lock himself in his quarters till his clothes were dried; he quickly made his way to the bathroom after taking his boots off.


    Rene made sure the door was locked before he filled the bathtub up with a shallow amount of water. Stripping down into the bare and nude, Rene threw all his clothes into the water before he shredded soap into it.


    There was a proper way to wash clothes, a way he wasn''t familiar with, but he did remember his mother doing it like this on a few rare occasions.


    Once he made sure all the mud and filth was washed off, Rene drained the tub of the water before filling it up again, making sure that none of the filthy water would be absorbed in the clothes.


    He did the same process twice more before he was left with a roughly clean pair of clothes; he brought his blouse close to his nose to do one final check of cleanliness.


    There was only a faint idea of the soap''s scent on the clothes; Rene was well aware this was a horribly botched attempt at replicating how the clothes should be washed, but keeping them covered in mud, sweat, and blood was never an option.


    He wrung out the water from the clothes before he took them in his hands. Rene carried the clothes outside; if it were not for his boots, he would be fully in the nude.


    But Rene didn''t care; there were no prying eyes here in the clearing, and the forest wouldn''t let just anyone walk in.


    The moonlight illuminated the area around him, letting him hang up his clothes on the clothesline with decent visibility of his surroundings. Once the damp garments were left hanging and left to dry, Rene took a look around.


    The clearing was as still and silent as always, not even a bird in sight at this time of night; there was only the manor, the stars, and Rene.


    He looked down at himself; the paleness of his skin was only complimented by the faint light of the moon, the sparse freckles on his skin looked almost like the stars that littered the night sky, and in an ironically cruel but still somehow funny way, the sigils carved into his torso and arms almost formed the rough points of the Gemini constellation.


    Rene chuckled at the last observation he made as he slowly made his way inside, finally feeling the cold air outside take effect on him.


    As he took off his boots once more, a ghastly realization washed over him: while his clothes were drying, he truly had nothing to wear.


    Quickly walking up the stairs with a nearly silent step, Rene made his way to his quarters and made his way to his wardrobe even faster; he nearly flipped the large container upside down searching for a pair of clothes that fit.


    No such luck would come to Rene, though; all he could find was a pair of underwear that was a size too small and a pair of pants that were somehow a size bigger. He scratched his head trying to recall where he even got them.


    There was no reason to dig deeper into his thirteen-year-old self''s wardrobe, since he knew he had long outgrown everything.


    Rene cursed himself for not stopping somewhere along his way back home to buy new clothes, but on the other hand, Rene never knew he would have to leave his school uniforms behind.


    Apparently the lack of resources after the war hit the academy too; there was no use crying over spilt milk now, though, and he knew that.


    Perhaps he could go back into town tomorrow and find somewhere where he could buy a few sets of new garments for himself; maybe he could even use it as an excuse to meet up with Marina again.


    He braced himself as he put on the pair of small underwear and large pants, a truly ghastly combination; the pants were only barely hanging on by his hips, which made him even more frustrated.


    But luckily the only thing that seemed to fit him after these six years was his old black leather belt. Rene breathed a sigh of relief; at least his lower half was now covered, and he wouldn''t be walking around in the nude.


    He made his way back downstairs, picking up the basket he had left at the entrance and carrying it through the dining hall and into the kitchen. He put the basket down onto the preparation table in the middle of the kitchen.


    Rene took a look around; he remembered how he used to watch his mother cook when she was younger and how he tried to replicate it once he had grown a bit older; Rene also remembered how miserably he failed at it.


    "Oh dear, if anything in this home is a fire hazard, it''s you..."


    Carmen''s words reverberated in Rene''s mind, causing him to crack a small smile.


    But tonight he would prove her wrong; he had improved in both the culinary and occult arts, and he was eager to prove himself in both, yet Rene wasn''t sure if Carmen would arrive before he cleaned up everything and finished eating.


    But on the other hand, it wouldn''t hurt him to cook a little more, to leave at least a plate of food for her; this thought bounced to a different and more pressing one,


    He was unsure of what he would even prepare; he emptied the basket onto the table and sorted out everything.


    Spices, herbs, eggs, and various other basic ingredients were sprawled out across the table now; he scratched the back of his head as he was still unsure of what to make.


    He thought sorting everything out first would make him more familiar with the kitchen''s layout.


    After he put everything in its respective place, he once more attempted to think up what he could make.


    As he scratched his head, an idea, or more so a wish, made itself clearer in his mind; his long dormant sweet tooth had awakened after six years. "Wouldn''t hurt to finish the day off with something sweet, no?"


    Rene mumbled to himself as he paced around the kitchen. He started opening nearly every cabinet in the kitchen in search of inspiration; he knew he wanted something sweet, but he wasn''t sure what.


    Eating too much sugar this late couldn''t be good; Rene wanted something light. Finally, the idea of the perfect dish had found its way into Rene''s mind.


    Crepes¡ªthey were not too sweet, not too heavy, and they were the only thing he knew how to make reliably off the top of his head.


    He grabbed a large bowl and a whisk along with the ingredients he needed; he moved everything over to the table as he tried to remember the recipe step by step.


    With a careful touch, Rene started mixing all the wet ingredients together, whisking it to create a pale yellow liquid.


    He poured flour into the bowl, the liquid becoming thicker and thicker as he mixed; he raised the whisk up and let the batter drip down into itself, making sure it was just the right consistency.


    Rene dug around the kitchen some more as he tried to find a pan or anything he could prepare the crepes on; his eyes settled on a darkly glittering cast iron skillet.


    He scratched his head as he wasn''t sure if this was the right pan to use for such a task; Rene shrugged his shoulders and spun the heavy pan in his hand as he made up his mind on using it.


    The flame on the top of the stove sprung to life as Rene put the pan on top of it; he took a flat wooden spoon from the cutlery drawer and walked over to the refrigerator.


    It was rather cramped with the addition of new groceries upon the shelves; he cut off a small amount of butter off the small plate on the top shelf before bringing the piece to the now warmed-up pan.


    After Rene lubricated the surface of the pan, he brought the bowl of batter closer to the stove and poured a small amount of it into the pan.


    He tilted the pan to the sides in a circular manner to spread the batter in a thin, even layer upon the surface; after a while, Rene flipped the crepe over and waited for it to fully finish cooking.


    He took out a plate from one of the cabinets and put the first crepe onto it; somehow it was almost perfectly cooked, thin, yellow, and lightly browned.


    Proud with his first one, Rene repeated the process back and forth until he ran out of batter.


    His efforts yielded fifteen or seventeen or so crepes, which were now sitting upon the plate he had stacked them on.


    The entire process of preparing them, he was tempted to take one and fold it up, but he withstood the temptation and waited till he ran out of batter.


    Only one question was left to be answered as he put the pan on a different part of the stove to let it cool down: What would he spread on the crepes?


    Pondering the question, Rene crossed one of his arms across his chest and held his other arm by the elbow. He leaned his head against the hand of the other arm, but he had forgotten he still had the wound on his cheek.


    Rene winced in pain as he felt up the still open wound on his face. "Blasted pain tolerance..."


    Rene mumbled to himself as he briskly made his way to the bathroom. He opened the door rather forcefully and made his way to the mirror; the wound was just as he remembered.


    Coarsely and sloppily etched into the side of his cheek, the wound would definitely become infected if he didn''t disinfect it soon; Rene cursed himself for not doing it earlier.


    He rummaged around the medicine cabinet; despite it being well organized, he somehow couldn''t find the antiseptic.


    Then it dawned on him; his mother had no use for antiseptics.


    She probably never considered buying a new bottle after Rene started his studies and most likely didn''t think he''d need it when he came back.


    Rene tried to find a different option; he knew water wasn''t enough, and with his amateur vitamancy, he couldn''t fully seal the wound, which in and of itself wouldn''t be smart, as if he sealed it while it was still unclean, that would only cause more problems.


    He also knew he couldn''t use fire to cauterize the wound, as that would no doubt lead to even more problems. Rene knew alcohol could be used to clean his wound, but he had none on hand.If you find this story on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the infringement.


    An idea sparked in his head as he walked out of the bathroom; he knew Carmen had an extensive collection of both wine and spirits alike, but the problem was he would have to go into her quarters. "It''s an emergency; she wouldn''t mind... right?"


    Rene spoke to himself and the house itself as he slowly made his way to her quarters. Slowly he reached for the large, ominous door''s handle; a chill ran down his spine as his hand made contact with the silver handle, and a feeling of uneasiness overtook him.


    Despite the feeling, the door was strangely not locked; perhaps his mother didn''t think he would go into her quarters like this.


    He walked into her own personal hall; he couldn''t remember what most of the doors led to, but he guessed most of them were for book and potion storage.


    At first he thought that maybe he could find a potion to help him, but then he realized he still needed to clean the wound before letting it mend.


    And so Rene walked over to the biggest pair of doors in the hallway, the only pair of doors that were familiar to him, the doors that led to Carmen''s room.


    Steeling himself further, Rene pushed the large doors open and was instantly startled as the house lit every candle in the room ablaze; the sudden brightness frightened him, but he quickly regained his composure.


    The room was familiar to him yet so distant in his memory; his eyes drifted around, taking in the sight of the large bedroom; slowly they gravitated towards the rather large bed.


    He walked over to it and inspected the neatly made purple-tinted silk bedsheets. He had truly forgotten how big the bed itself was; in a rough estimate, Rene calculated that about six of him could fit comfortably on the bed, eight of him if they were bunched up like sardines.


    Rene shook his head; he knew of his mother''s stature and need for a bigger bed, but this felt like overkill even to him.


    Rene shook his head again as he realized he trailed off, and it probably wasn''t wise to stick around this room too long. He looked around in every part of the room trying to find a trace of any spirit he could use to clean his wound.


    But he had no such luck; the bottles were either not there anymore or so well hidden that there would be no chance in hell of him finding them.


    But then, another idea fell over Rene; she probably wouldn''t keep her stash of booze in her room. He made his way back into the hallway of her quarters, and the candles extinguished behind him.


    He tried opening the other doors in the hallway, which were all strangely locked; frustration washed over him as he once again went around the hallway, frantically trying every door again.


    "Please, could you unlock the door? Just this time!" Rene started pleading with the house itself as he was starting to get desperate; he had gotten so sidetracked in his cleaning and cooking that he forgot to treat his wound, and he knew if Carmen saw it, there would be no chance in hell she would let him go into town unaccompanied again.


    The very thought frustrated him; despite the fact he understood why she didn''t let him go alone when he was younger, he felt that if she barred him from going now, it would be ridiculous.


    Even if it was just a mere guess of what could happen, a part of Rene kept telling him that his anxiety wasn''t unguided.


    The house seemingly felt his frustration and unlocked one of the doors. Rene jumped up and quickly ran to the door. "Thank you, thank you so much!"


    He exclaimed as he pulled the handle down; he pushed the door open and walked into the cold room.


    It smelled of lacquered wood and various notes of scented alcohol; the room itself was three degrees colder than the rest of the house, and even if Rene didn''t fully understand how that worked, he was unconcerned as he scanned around trying to find the least expensive-looking spirit.


    Cognac, whiskey, brandy, and various other spirits littered the shelves of the room; everything looked either too spiced or too expensive-looking to be used.


    He felt even more frustrated as he kept walking around the room; his eyes fell upon a shining bottle of clear liquid, and he instantly felt some recognition of it.


    Rene walked closer to it and picked it off the shelf; the bottle wasn''t what he thought, but it looked strong enough to clean his wound.


    He quickly made his way back to the bathroom with the bottle of gin in hand. He cupped his hand and poured out a small amount of the gin in his hand. Rene braced himself as he looked in the mirror and splashed the liquid onto the wound.


    The burning caused him to wince and groan as he let the alcohol do its thing before he washed the wound again.


    Breathing a sigh of relief, he was happy that he managed to clean the wound, but a strange curiosity washed over him as he looked at the bottle.


    It didn''t smell as strong as he was used to spirits smelling. He took the bottle of gin in hand and inspected it closer; he wasn''t sure of what it was made of or how it would taste.


    He remembered the dandelion spirits that were brewed by hunters some distance away from the academy; he remembered how one time this same curiosity came over him as he saw the hunters distill their booze.


    Rene remembered how he waited for them to go away before he snuck closer to the small shack they kept bringing the bottles into; he remembered how strongly it smelled and how it burned both his nose and eyes.


    He also remembered how foul it tasted when he decided to take a swig of the drink; Rene was always aware of the power of herbs and flowers, but that day Rene learned that flowers could be used for far more than potions and ointments.


    But just because of that fact, it didn''t mean he enjoyed the taste, if there even was a taste to it.


    Now he was wondering what the gin would taste like; would it taste just like the numbing burning nothingness of the dandelion spirit, or would it actually have a more complex note to it?


    Rene brought his lips up to the bottle and let the liquid seep into his mouth and onto his tongue.


    It was strange; it still felt numbing just as the spirit he tried those few years ago did, but somehow this one was more pleasant; instead of a rough punch of burning numbness upon his mouth, the gin felt more like a warm suggestion.


    The thing that surprised Rene even more was the fact that there was indeed a more complex taste to it; there were hints and notes of various spices and other tastes he couldn''t quite put his finger on.


    Rene realized his mother might figure out he used the gin for a bit more than simply cleaning a wound, and he started to panic; he quickly wiped the top of the bottle with a towel and closed it before making his way back to the room he took the bottle from.


    He put the bottle back on the shelf and walked out of the room, hearing the door lock behind him as he walked into the hallway and towards the exit of Carmen''s quarters.


    Making his way over to the kitchen again, Rene realized that the crepes he made had gone cold; he groaned in annoyance as he picked one of the crepes off of the plate.


    He brought it onto a different plate, and another realization dawned on him: What would he even spread on them if he even had something to spread on them?


    Rene started searching through the many cabinets and pantries, but he couldn''t find anything to put on the crepes.


    Finally, Rene started digging through the fridge as he remembered jam was one of the things he bought at the market. He pulled out the jar of deep red jam. He was unsure of what it was made of, but hunger was now starting to creep up on him even more, and he knew he would find out the type after he tasted it.


    He spread a thin layer of jam on the surface of the crepe and folded it into a triangular shape. Rene repeated this three more times with three more crepes before deciding four would be just enough to satiate him.


    Rene brought the plate of crepes into the kitchen and sat down at the table; he had forgotten how it feels to eat alone, as he always had some kind of company in the past.


    His eyes wandered to the clock that sat mounted on the wall; it was now very late in the night, or very early in the morning; Rene could never tell how to see it.


    But either way, the clock showed it was three past midnight, and there was still a lot of time before the sun would rise and Carmen would come back.


    Rene sighed as he took a bite of the now-cold crepe; despite the fact they weren''t exactly fresh anymore, Rene had to compliment himself on his work, as he had made a rather good batch of crepes.


    One after another, the crepes he had prepared were eaten by him until they were completely gone. His hunger satisfied, Rene simply sat in his chair and stared into blank space.


    His thoughtless state was interrupted as his eyes wandered towards an unfamiliar addition to the table; there, in the middle of the table, sat a glittering black box with a piece of paper on top of it.


    Rene got up and traced his hand along the smooth surface of the large table as he walked towards the middle of it; he picked up the piece of paper that sat upon the box.


    As he brought it closer to his eyes, he realized the paper was a letter; he took the box in his free hand and walked back to his chair. Rene sat down and let his eyes wander over the letter.


    "My dearest Rene, I am terribly sorry for not doing this earlier. But I am writing this letter to wish you a late happy birthday. Furthermore, I wish to apologize for the rather uncouth way I ended our conversation last night."


    Rene reached the halfway point of the short letter; he felt strange as per the fact he wasn''t used to people feeling remorse after they had done him wrong, and so Rene continued to read.


    "It was unjust of me to treat you as if you''re any lesser simply because you didn''t find your specialty yet, and I am even more regretful for treating your undeniable skill in transmutation as useless."


    If it were a few days earlier, Rene would deny the fact that his skill was in any way useful, but after he used his ability earlier yesterday to possibly save his life twice, he was excited to tell Carmen all about it.


    "Credit where credit is due, I do say you are most determined when it comes to your pursuit of knowledge and skill, and of course, as your mother, I wish to help you to the best of my ability."


    Rene continued to read, seeing how the next part of the letter was written in a more noticeable and bold manner; he prepared himself before moving forward into the letter, as it had already surprised him at nearly every turn.


    "Thus I have decided to allow you access to the manor''s study, and I hope my next statement doesn''t burst your excitement. The list of books and tomes you will be allowed will be curated by me, and you are NOT to touch any books without my permission. I hope you like the small gift I have left for you in the box you will find under this letter. Best of luck with your future studies, dear. - Carmen"


    Rene put down the letter and inspected the glittering black box; it was sealed by a tightly wrapped bow and was surprisingly heavy.


    He pulled at the bow and unwrapped it, leading to the top of the box opening and falling onto the floor. "Merde..."


    He said as he leaned over and picked the top up, noticing there was writing on the inside of it, "Dear, I forgot to say it in the letter. The list of books I made for you will be found on the studies table."


    Rene chuckled to himself as he slowly shook his head and put the top of the box next to the unwrapped bow. He looked inside the box, and his eyes instantly gravitated towards the glowing silver key. He took it in his hand and inspected it closer; it was no doubt the key for the study, and despite its simplicity, it still looked rather elegant.


    Putting the key next to the box, Rene looked into the box''s contents again; the only thing left on the small pillow inside the box was a gilded necklace with an oval-shaped rose quartz crystal in the middle of it.


    Rene took both sides of the chain and inspected the crystal closer; the color went along really well with the glittering chain; furthermore, the polished rose quartz reminded him of his own eyes.


    He put the necklace on and cracked a small smile; even if it was a late gift, it was still more than welcome.


    But Rene wasn''t as excited for the piece of jewelry as he was for the prospect of having access to the monolithic collection of books in the study, even if it was a very limited and no doubt cherry-picked list.


    With a haste in his step, he quickly made his way towards the study, nearly stumbling as he rushed over to the door and put the key into the lock.


    The key twisted itself and opened the door for him before it pushed itself out into Rene''s hand. He pushed the large engraved doors open and walked into the study with a slow step.


    He was as awestruck as he was yesterday; the small glimpses he saw when he was younger were no match compared to actually having access to the room.


    Carmen''s table stood a couple of meters ahead of him; it faced the door that led into the study, its large size, which was populated by books, gave off a feeling of being well used.


    Rene sat down in the large cushioned chair, which was almost calling for him at this point. He felt excited as he pulled himself closer to the table and picked up the list of books that was left for him and started reading the names of the books, along with the position in which they sat on the shelves.