Chapter 128 - Willow Creek's Curse

Lady Opaline La Fay sat on the leaning chair in front of the fireplace, all alone by herself, while listening to the faint crackling sound made by the burning of the log of woods and also the soft sound of the rain from outside the house. 

Her hand was placed on her baby bump, gently caressing the child growing inside her belly. She worried for the safety of the child. Worried by thinking that her child wouldn't be able to see the world, which in one way was good because of the filth and gore that surrounded the place. But at the same time, she wished to hold her child in her arms and to love it unconditionally. 

But the world where they lived, especially for the witches, wasn't safe. 

She pushed her body from the chair and made her way out of the living room after watching one of the candles extinguish itself. The servant of the house, Sullivan, had not fallen asleep as he was guarding the house against any possible surprise attack that could take place. 

He watched the witch when she made her way towards her room, and a few minutes later, she came to meet him where he was in the room, near the hall. Opaline said, 

"Take this, Sullivan.. This helps in keeping your memories intact no matter what," and she handed a few glass vials to him. 

"Is everything alright, milady?" asked Sullivan. "You should get some rest, it will also help in the growth of the baby." 

"Sleep is only for the fortunate ones. For people like us, especially for the witches, it is deprived and we can only hope for that," replied Lady Opaline. She opened the latch of the wooden box that she had brought with her. She picked another glass from inside it and offered it to him. "I have drawn out some of my powers and poured them into this. It will help in quick recovery if you ever turn weak. If you ever need it, use it."       

A frown appeared on Sullivan's face, and he asked, "What will I do with this, milady?" 

"I know it will come in use at some point in time, not now. But maybe in the future, when the time is right. There is something I would like to talk to you about," said Opaline with her eyes holding utter seriousness, and the servant nodded his head. She was quick to tell what her plan was to him and when she finished her word, Sullivan's eyes widened in shock. 

"I am sure all of us can escape from here. Why not do it now? It isn't too late for it," suggested Sullivan. 

Lady Opaline shook her head, "That's not how things would work, Sullivan. If we all move from here, it is nothing less to suicide. The better way is to prepare ourselves for the worst, and when it comes we can try our best to face it, but the main problem is some of the vampires want to consume the witches' powers. Not knowing how toxic it is for their bodies. A vampire cannot mix too much magic in one vessel. No one has that kind of capacity. You have heard of the story about a couple who killed a hen for more golden eggs because they were greedy for more. Humans are nothing less, when it comes to greed. You give a finger as help, and they will take more than a hand."

"I am sorry about that, Lady Opaline," Sullivan bowed his head, understanding the witch's worrying words. 

"I don't mean you. You are the hope I have, that I can hold onto for the survival of the witches," stated Lady Opaline. She then pulled another vial which was bigger than the other vials. "Get me the bowl." 

The servant was quick to leave the room; going to the kitchen, he brought a flat bowl in his hand. The witch took the bowl and placed it in front of the large oval mirror. She poured the liquid from inside the vial into the bowl and then started to whisper some incantations. The liquid in the bowl started to vaporize, but the vapour didn't evaporate upwards. It moved towards the mirror that was in front of her. Soon the surface of the mirror started to waver, similar to how it would be when a person touched the surface of still water. 

The candles around the place softly started flickering as if affected by the power that was emitting from the witch. 

Opaline looked at her reflection in the mirror, staring at old self now. Her hair wasn't purely dark anymore, and it was mixed with black and white hair. 

Opaline took a step forward, getting closer to the mirror, and she finally placed her palm on the surface of the mirror before she entered the mirror. Sullivan's eyes subtly widened by seeing the power that the witch held, where she tried to follow the path of non-violence, trying to hide her family and trying to live as humans. 

When the witch submerged herself in the wavering mirror, she opened her eyes to see the other side of the world. The place in front of her looked familiar, and her eyes moved around. She finally saw her daughter. She was beautiful. Opaline's heart warmed at the thought that her daughter was indeed safe. The only thing was her future was subjective to many conditions, and time was the essence of everything. One mistake and this would probably not be the future, Opaline thought to herself. While looking at her daughter, she saw another person approaching her, and her eyes narrowed. 

"A night creature," she murmured under her breath. But this person looked different from the usual ones. Her eyes widened at something, and a deep frown appeared on her face. "Is this how it is going to be..."

After a couple of minutes later, Opaline pulled herself away from the mirror, and she took a step backwards. The mirror made a crackling sound as if it was fixing itself until the surface of it turned hard again. 

"Did you see her, milady?" asked Sullivan, noticing the witch who was in deep thought. 

"I did," replied Opaline, with a soft smile on her lips, and she said, "One can never tell what the future holds. To think there is a possibility," she murmured in the end. Turning to the servant, she said, "I cannot send you from here at the same time as the human girl. It will be different." 

Sullivan agreed to what she said, and he bowed his head, "I am ready, milady."

A few days passed, where Natalie continued to stay under the witch's roof, learning the basic things she needed from the woman so that she could survive. But soon, things got worse, as one of the guards captured Opaline's third daughter and one of her sons. 

"I am a human!" screamed Opaline's daughter while trying to free herself from the two guards, who had caught her in the forest and dragged her and her brother to the centre of the town. 

"Leave her alone!" shouted Opaline's son, gritting his teeth while being held by two other guards. 

"Let go of me!" The young witch tried to pull herself back to free herself, but the more she struggled, the worse the situation turned, and one of the guards slapped her across her face, hard enough, and she fell on the ground. 

The truth was that young witches didn't hold power, and it was only after a certain age that the witches could use magic. They were similar to humans, except for the rare occurance of their scaly skin, which appeared when they were angry, or their emotions were not under control. 

One of the guards harshly gripped the girl's hair and dragged the girl towards the pole. The magistrate stepped out of the building with the vampire, Mr. Enoch. 

"Magistrate Alberto! A dead body had been found in the forest and we found these two witches standing near the body!" informed one of the guards who worked under the magistrate. 

"Who is it?!" questioned the magistrate, making his way towards the scaffold and taking a look at who the witch was. 

"It is one of Opaline's daughters!" said the guard, and the magistrate's face twisted into a sneer. 

The person who came with magistrate Alberto was none other than the same vampire who had come to visit Willow Creek a few days ago. Mr. Enoch watched the girl with his sparkling eyes, and he ordered, "It is good to see that at last someone found the witch and her coven, who have been hiding here for years. Bring them all here!" 

The guards immediately made their way towards La Fay's house, and they started to pull the people in the house. Once they were brought to where the magistrate and the vampires were, Opaline's sons were beaten by the guards with wooden logs. 

"Where is the other woman? The one who was pregnant?" questioned the magistrate, noticing the absence of the woman and her servant.

"She and her servant weren't in the house, Sire," informed the guard. 

The magistrate clicked his tongue in distaste and then ordered his guards, "The good for nothing witches. They will leave their own kind to save themselves. Find them and bring them to me!" 

One of the villagers spoke, "I saw them earlier heading towards the forest!" 

"Bring the witch to the burning pyre!" shouted one of the villagers, and the others started to shout along with him. "We don't want the witches in here! Burn them! Kill them!" 

The magistrate turned to Mr. Enoch and said, "We should inform Mr. Donovan about this. He did say that he wanted to look at the witches before we could burn them." 

"That won't be necessary," said the vampire, who stood next to the magistrate. "You see Donovan is busy with other important things and it would be stupid to keep the witches alive when they can bring unexplainable harm to us. All those deaths that happened in the other villages were caused by them. Why don't you take care of the matter here and I will go to the witch's house to check if the witches have placed any traps in their house." 

The magistrate, being a dimwit, agreed to the vampire's words, and he turned to his guards and ordered, "What are you people waiting for? Bring those escapees back to this place!" The guards quickly left the place, moving in two directions. 

Away from the centre of the town, Opaline, her servant, and her guest stood in the forest amid the trees surrounding them.

Opaline made a sound in her mouth, similar to the sound made by a bird, and soon one of the ravens appeared there. Flying to where she was, and it perched on her extended hand. The witch then said to Natalie, 

"This is a Corvin. You might find one or more of them later, and they usually come to help the witches. Extremely faithful and they will try to protect you." 

"This small bird?" asked Natalie with a frown. 

"Don't judge anything by what you have seen. Appearance can be deceiving and you never know what height a Corvin can reach. It depends on its master," stated Opaline, where they were surrounded by silence. "The potion I gave you to drink this morning will allow you to communicate with the Corvin. It will keep you company and it will guide you."

Natalie was happy to hear that she was returning to the period and place that she belonged to. This wretched place was filled with nothing but narrow-minded people! The only good thing was that she finally started to appreciate people's help after being turned back to her human self. 

"There they are! Catch them!" 

The three of them turned to look to their right and noticed two guards coming running towards them. 

A deep frown appeared on Opaline's face, and she said, "Sullivan, now's the time." 

Sullivan Evans stepped forward, ready to guard the witch and to protect her. He picked up a piece of broken log of wood to stop the guards from trying to attack them, and instead of the guards attacking them, he attacked them back. 

Opaline held Natalie's hand, and she said, "We don't have much time. Give me your other hand." 

The human girl did as she was told, letting the witch hold her hands while hearing incantations of whisper uttering by the witch Opaline. Natalie saw a glowing blue light that started to spread around them, engulfing the three of them and the guards who fell on the ground while staring at the light with baffled expressions on their faces. It gave Sullivan the opportune time to hit their heads. 

Opaline continued the incantation, and she noticed the skin on her hands had shrivelled because of the usage of her ability. Her appearance has turned to her original self, where she looked like a woman in her fifties. On the other hand, Natalie stared at the witch with a gobsmacked expression on her face. It was because not only did the woman's appearance change, even the baby bump of her stomach had disappeared. 

Where did the baby go?! Natalie questioned herself in her mind. 

The wind speed around them increased, and it tried to pick up the dried leaves that had fallen from the nearby trees. As more seconds passed, Natalie felt as if everything around her was turning bigger, and she slightly felt dizzy. 

"W-what's going on?" Natalie asked Opaline in worry. 

"Don't panic, Natalie. I am just saving you from being burnt or beheaded like some of us who are about to go through it. To a much safer place," assured Opaline, who was trying to speed the process of what she was doing. She then turned to her side, raising her hand, she waved it in the air, and it caused something like wavering. Natalie felt like she was going to be dizzy again. "The Corvin will accompany you on your journey. Make sure you remember not to speak about what you know to others apart from the Corvin. If you do, it will only bring in misfortune." 

Natalie looked back and forth between the witch, the guards, where another one had joined. She nodded her head, feeling the knife of death hanging above her head. 

Opaline said, "Go now," while staring at the young girl, who had right now turned into a child. The human finally stepped into the medium of air that Opaline had opened, disappearing in thin air. 

Not too far away from Opaline stood, Sullivan, tried to beat up the guards, pushing them away from them. He came to stand near to where Opaline stood, and he noticed the witch had taken her original form, where she didn't look young anymore. 

"Now it's your turn, Sullivan," said Opaline, where she used her other hand to open the portal. 

Sullivan turned to look at the guards, who had turned weak and lying on the ground. He then turned to look at the witch and asked, "Why don't you come with me? I am sure you can work it out. Please!" He pleaded, his voice holding anxiety in it. 

"Willow Creek has secretly belonged to the witches for a very long time. I cannot abandon it, and even if I wanted to, I don't have that power. I could send only one, and I am sending you to fulfill the purpose," stated Opaline, and when she opened the portal, they heard the screams of people, not knowing what the other side held. "Take utmost care."

Sullivan looked at Opaline with an unwilling expression on his face. He had served Opaline for far too long, and parting away from here ached his heart, knowing what was going to come at the witch. 

"You could have saved yourself. Fixing it by going to the past again," said Sullivan, knowing how great of a witch the woman in front of him was. 

Opaline offered him a kind smile, "I will forever be grateful for your service, Sullivan. For standing next to me when I am alive," and after my death, the witch thought in her head.

Sullivan wanted to stay back, but at the same time, he didn't oppose Opaline's words. 

"You have the box with you?" asked Opaline, and Sullivan placed his hand on the bag. "Go before they catch you. I cannot keep the portal open for too long."

Sullivan offered Opaline a deep bow, "I will not forget your kindness." 

"I know," replied Opaline. 

The medium next to them continued to waver, and Sullivan finally stepped forward, hearing the scream that came from the other side of the medium. Once he stepped inside the medium, the portal closed, and Opaline finally dropped her hand. She felt dizzy, as if someone had sucked her soul.

The guards who had fallen on the ground earlier slowly tried to push themselves up while a few more guards arrived at the spot. Seeing her, one of them shouted,

"Come back to the town, Opaline. Your children have been caught and it is time for you to come with us," and soon they dragged her out of the forest, where the witch didn't show any resistance.

Back in the centre of the town, the magistrate and the others waited, and when they saw Opaline, who had aged, the magistrate started to laugh. 

"Look who we have here," commented the magistrate while looking at the guards who were dragging Opaline. "Here I thought you and your family were one of us, but it seems like you never were. Filthy looking witch who kills us humans, and God knows what else." 

"Let my children go. Neither I nor they did anything to ever harm anyone in here. You don't have to do this," said Opaline, her calm eyes fixed on the magistrate. 

"Tch," the magistrate responded, "It is enough reason knowing you were hiding here in the town while we were looking everywhere for the existence of the witches." He then turned to look at the guards, "Where are the other two?" 

The guards opened their mouths, but they didn't know how to explain it, "They disappeared, Sire." 

"Go fucking search for them. I want them to be burnt here along with these ones!" shouted the magistrate, and the guards quickly left the place. When the man's eyes met Opaline's eyes, she stared back at him as if he was lower than her in status and not the other way round. "Set the witch on fire! Get the others on the platform."

"Stop that right now, unless you want to face the wrath of the witch, Alberto," Opaline warned, but the magistrate was not ready to listen to her. 

Soon one of the guards brought the torch and set the third daughter of Opaline on fire. Screams of the young girl filled in the place, burning and dying in agony. Opaline was dragged near to the scaffold, where she saw her sons' heads were already placed on the slightly raised platform, with the executioner ready to behead them. 

The town folks soon started shouting and cheering the burning of the witches, and Opaline heard the screams and pain of her children. Her youngest daughter had tears running down her face, and she turned to her, calling for help. But the humans set her on fire too. The sight brought in agony and pierced through her heart. 

"Stop it!" shouted Opaline, her eyes starting to burn similar to the fire. 

"Kill them! Kill the witches!" shouted the people. 

Each and every scream that left from her children's mouths increased the rage in the witch's mind and the pity on humans lessened. She caught sight of the vampire, Enoch, coming towards the place with empty hands after he was done searching her house. Smoke moved up, and the smell of the burning bodies of Opaline's family started to spread around the place. Some of her children continued to scream, and it tore her heart, anguish filled in her chest. She noticed the vampire who looked angry as if the things he had come to look for weren't there anymore. He made his way to where she was, and he questioned her, 

"Where are the potions of melted gems?" 

"In a place where you will never be able to find," Opaline calmly replied.

"Do you think I cannot find it? I will find it," the vampire said in a low voice only for her to hear. 

Opaline smiled at him, which confused the vampire. "That is if you are able to leave this place, isn't it? You killed my beloved children who have never hurt even a fly, who have been nothing but kind. Today I will curse this place, for burning a mother's innocent children," said Opaline, her eyes flaring as she whispered. 

But the townspeople didn't give any attention to it, they only mocked her, laughing and jeering at the witch, "Willow Creek will not be the same anymore. May death plague it for the wrongs that have been committed." 

"Behead the witch!" ordered the magistrate.

Soon her head was pushed on the slightly raised platform. The guard who carried the axe raised his hand before bringing it down on the witch's head, severing it away from her body. 

The crowd of people around the scaffold cheered for the witches being killed, while in truth, they didn't know that the dead bodies of the humans they had come across wasn't the witch's work but the vampires. 

Blood leaked out from the beheaded bodies, coating the surface of the scaffold where the members of the La Fay's laid. A minute passed, soon, the air of the Willow Creek started to turn heavy, and the humans suddenly felt like they couldn't breathe anymore, as if they were suffocating. 

"What's going on?!" 

"What happened? I can't breathe! The air!," people started to scream. 

The vampire, Mr. Enoch, who wanted to look for the gems, decided to look for them later. He started to walk from there, making his way towards the carriage. He ordered the coachman, "We are leaving now," after saying that, he got inside the carriage. 

"Yes, Mr. Enoch!" 

The coachman started the carriage, and soon they left the town. But when they reached a certain place, ready to pass through the next trees, the carriage wheel suddenly crashed. The vampire who was sitting inside the carriage fell to the side, and he sneered. He got down from the carriage and saw the horses had fallen on the ground, and so did the coachman. 

"What happened?" demanded Mr. Enoch. 

The coachman stood up, and he shook his head, "I don't know. It was as if there was a wall in the front. The vampire's eyebrows furrowed, and he walked to the front, but when he tried to walk further, he couldn't. He stretched his hand forward and felt an invisible wall. He quickly tried to check how far the wall was blocked, but it was never-ending. 

"Fucking bitch!" Mr. Enoch cursed the witch because he knew she was the one who had trapped him in this dying town. 

The town of Willow Creek closed and disappeared to the sight of the people outside of the Willow Creek, filled with lots of dead bodies that were more than the La Fay's family. 

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In a timeline ahead of the time that Sullivan actually belonged to, he was thrown in one of the forests, his body falling hard on the ground. He quickly pushed himself from the ground, looked around and noticed from a far distance the glowing fire and smoke that moved up in the air under the night sky. 

Sullivan Evans walked to the town, noticing people running and some screaming around the place as the night creatures sucked blood from the humans. 

He didn't know why Lady Opaline had sent him to this place, but he tried to understand the situation. Hearing a sound from behind him, he turned around and was attacked by a vampire, who bit into his neck. The vampire was too strong for him, and it took all of Sullivan's strength to push the creature off of him. He picked up a  nearby stone and hit the vampire's head before picking a wooden log and pushing it through the vampire's chest. He huffed, feeling dizzy as he had lost too much blood from his body, and somewhere, the vampire had pushed his hand into his stomach. 

Sullivan thought he had to keep himself alive for the sake of the job that Lady Opaline had given to him. He pulled out the log of wood from the vampire's body, whose body was slowly turning cold along with the blood. Taking a deep breath, he leaned forward towards the vampire's body, and when he pulled away, his mouth was covered in blood, as he had drank the vampire's blood before he could die. 

As the blood started to mingle in his body, something changed within him. As if someone had flipped the lights, turning the mind into complete darkness. 

Sullivan slowly lost his consciousness, as the human side of him died next to the vampire, while the vampire's blood in his body started to bring him back to life. 

After some time, when the chaos in the town stopped, one of the Elder who was checking the bodies noticed Sullivan's body that had turned into a vampire. 

"This place had turned into a wretched grave," complained Luciano. 

"Throw this vampire into the pyre, I will be taking this one to the mansion," came Elder Remy's dull voice as he dragged Sullivan's body, who was soon one day going to be the counsellor of Veteris. 

"I don't want to touch this filth," stated Luciano, while taking a look around. 

Remy didn't turn back, but he said, "The hunters might come around." Gritting his teeth, Luciano caught hold of the dead vampire's body, who wasn't properly killed and dragged it to throw it in the fire. 

In another timeline, which was way ahead of the place where Sullivan Evans had been thrown into, Natalie fell on the hard ground, and she winced in pain. Hearing the sound of vehicles, she felt relief filled all over her. 

The roads were nearly empty. She stood up, ready to walk back to her home. But when she reached her house, that looked slightly different, and the trees around it were scarce. Walking to the front of the door, she knocked on it. When the door opened, she noticed it was her grandmother, but she looked awfully young. Natalie felt too short right now, and she wondered if it was because of the time travelling she had done. 

"Yes?" 

"Grandmother—" Natalie started, but a little girl came inside the house, interrupting the woman. 

"Is this your friend, Margaret?"  her grandmother asked the little girl, and Natalie's eyebrows furrowed. Margaret? The little girl was her mother? Remembering her mother's old photographs when she was small, she realized it was her. 

"I don't know her, mother," said the little girl, getting close to her grandmother. 

"Who are you looking for dear?" asked Natalie's grandmother.

Natalie stuttered, "M-my house…"

"You must have forgotten where your house is. What is your name? I can ask someone and see if we can take you back to where your parents are," offered her grandmother, but Natalie's head started spinning. She heard a croak, and she turned behind, noticing the raven sitting on the mailbox. 

She shook her head, "No, it is fine," and she quickly left from there. Turning back, she looked at the door that now closed. Reaching where the Corvin was, she asked it in panic, "Why am I in the wrong time period?!" 

'Helping Lady Opaline La Fay,' replied the Corvin, and Natalie didn't make out what she had to do next. 

"What am I supposed to do now? I have no home to go, the home that is mine… I am not even born yet," Natalie panicked, feeling anxious. No wonder she felt everything around her had turned big in her eyes, it was because she was around the same age as her mother right now. 

Days passed, and Natalie had nowhere to go, and she tried to get food for her to survive. The witch wanted her to survive, but she didn't know what to do. Everything had moved too quickly because of the guards' arrival to attack them. 

Natalie roamed around until she met a family, who came to a stop by in front of her.  She was drenched in the rain, where the others had ignored her. The couple came forward, with a young boy next to them. 

"What are you doing here? Where are your parents or family?" asked the man. 

Natalie didn't have an answer to it, and she shook her head. Right now, she looked pitiful while she carried a small bag with her.

The woman stared at her husband, and then she asked, "What's your name, dear?" 

"Na-I… Harriet," replied Natalie, because the life she once had was gone, and this was a new one that was gifted by the witch. To redeem herself while being not burnt alive by the humans.

"Harriet, why don't you come to our home with us. I am sure you are hungry and need a shower too," the woman offered a polite smile, placing a hand on Natalie's shoulder, and Natalie nodded her head. The woman noticed the little girl staring at her son, and she smiled, "Let me introduce my family to you. I am Samantha, and this is my husband, Heath. Heath Winters. And this is my son Thomas." 

On hearing the last name, Natalie's face turned nothing less to a ghost.