CONTENT WARNING: a mild sexual reference, references to murder as usual. There's mention of suicide, but it's in a metaphorical context.
AUTHOR'S NOTE: There seems to be a strange glitch that a lot of people have reported that I've only just noticed - and that is strange, speckly / glittery artifacts that appear during the winter season after a certain update. I'm sorry if it spoils the pictures a bit, but there's no fix mod-wise or otherwise for the bug yet.
Áine
Winter seems to get earlier every year. It's absolutely freezing here in the settlement. I've never been more glad to move into a more typically-built house.
We've all been huddled around the fireplace most evenings. I can't believe it - I have to move yet again, but it will be an amazing opportunity to teach the students in an actual building. Sadly, my dear Reynold doesn't seem to share my enthusiasm.
"Are
you sure about this, Áine? You've made a home for yourself here, and
you can always travel back from the village. It's not that far from here
to there."
"Yes, but think about it! A better home, a proper village, new people, and we don't have to worry about the others hearing us, if you get what I'm saying..."
Reynold makes an awkward noise in his throat. "I mean, I don't really have a problem with moving to another place. I'm not terribly close with anyone here, and Tsuna has barely spoken to me since you saved my life. I'm more thinking about you. Don't you get fed up of moving around? Remember when we were young, and we just wanted to stay in one place?"
"This
time, it's my choice, Reynold. I'm going somewhere because I want to.
I'm not fleeing for my life. I just can't stand this feeling of stagnation. I could be doing so much more than just hiding out here. The
others are comfortable here, but since our little rose left, I can't
say I have much of a desire to stay."
"I
understand, Áine, but there's nothing wrong with just living a quiet
life. Honestly, leaving the Peteran mansion and living out in the middle
of nowhere is probably the best decision I ever made...and quite
possibly the only decision I ever made for myself."
"Exactly,
so you know where I'm coming from," I explain to him. "I came here
because I had to, and I'm going to the village because I want to, and of course, I would love for you to come with me."
Reynold
stands tapping his toes for a while. He barely talks to anyone out here,
and he's only been living in the settlement itself not too long ago,
originally choosing to live further out for the safety of others more or less out in the wild. He's
caused no issues, and he isolates himself on full moon days. The most he apparently does in werewolf form is stare and dart off somewhere.
"I know what you're thinking, Reynold. They won't be bothered that you're a werewolf. They all seem like such lovely people, and if you were dangerous, you'd have attacked that village by now. So, what do you think?"
Reynold spends a little time pondering on the matter, and that little smile says it all. "I suppose it would be nice to have a place to call home again - especially in this weather."
* * *
To the surprise of no-one, Tsuna isn't particularly happy about what I've told her. I expected her to take it personally, and that is exactly what she is doing.
"You as well, Áine? I thought you'd have stayed here much longer."
"I appreciate all you've done for me and my family, Tsuna, but I have to go and live my life. I feel like I'm-"
"Stagnating?" She interrupts, her tone rather vicious. She must have heard what I've been saying to Reynold not too long ago...
I try to look down at the floor, not wanting to say yes. I know how she feels, but that doesn't mean the rest of us should give up every chance of a life we get because of it.
"I have a chance to teach magic to the next generation, Tsuna. I know so many people who have suffered in adulthood because they weren't taught properly in their younger years. It'll make all the difference for them, and they'll grow up happier than we did because of it."
Tsuna leans
over, staring at the wooden floor. Emerald slithers around her, flicking
her tongue at her and back at me.
"I have to admit to you, Áine, that I hate to see
people leave this place. I have wanted to leave this world for nearly
half a century, and I know I never will. Where I am from, cohesion of a
group is far more important. People do what benefits everyone, not just
themselves. In this corner of the world, it seems all people think about is themselves." Her tense expression softens.
Is it really that different this side of the world? Is she implying that I'm making a selfish decision?
"Tsuna, this isn't personal, and I'm not doing this solely for myself. I'm doing as my mother did - helping the young witches to find themselves, protect themselves, and thrive. I understand why you feel this way, but you need to understand that other people aren't going to give up their entire futures for it."
She lets out a disgusted noise. Emerald holds herself in a stiff position hissing at me until Tsuna softly pushes her head away.
"Pardon me, Áine. I suppose can't say anything on the matter of selfishness. All those years ago, they treated me as if I were a deity, and I have to admit that I sometimes long for those days again. People would do anything and everything for me. I used to wake up to so many offerings at the deer monument for me.
Now people come and go as they please from here without a second thought - but I shouldn't stop you. Those days are no longer. You have your whole life ahead of you - even more so than others do."
I keep forgetting about the spell I performed on my father, having tried to push it all the way back into my subconscious.
Tsuna has outlived so many people, and if she doesn't somehow find the secret to eternal rest, then she will outlive many more. I don't know how much time the extra life force has given me, but I find myself wallowing in a murky future in my mind. I could outlive anyone that I love. After all I did to save his life, I will have to watch my Reynold die. Oskar outlived his own daughter, Ilse...The more I think about it, the more the blurred thoughts of the future begin to take shape in my mind. I can't let them.
"So where are you headed?"
"Not far. I'm going to teach magic in Xander Burnham's village not too far away. It means I don't have to teach out of a cave. It'll do wonders in this weather, that's for certain."
Tsuna nods. "I've met Xander a few
times out and about. He used to build houses and carve stone statues
before he came here. He seems a wonderful gentleman."
I feel terribly for Tsuna. She had the perfect life and not only did the witchfinders take it from her, they left her in a state of unrest for over five-hundred years...then she watches Reynold come back from near-death.
I can't imagine the sheer pain of it. When you believe something is
impossible, it makes it much more bearable when you realise it's out of
your reach. To see it is in fact possible, and yet still so far out of your reach...
She holds out her hand to me, and I give it a gentle shake. I see what appears to be a genuine smile on her face.
"Whatever happens, Áine, I wish all the best for you. Thank you for all you've done for us."
"No, thank you, Tsuna. You saved my daughter's life, and I will never forget all that you've done. I just hope that, one day, you too can find peace."
Tsuna gives me a slow nod. "You and I both, Áine."
Volpe
I was not at all prepared for what happened during Juniper's trial.
So many well-known figures in this corner of Henford are standing their ground all of a sudden, even those who do not wish to do so with violence. As Clementia has now learned, it does nothing. It did nothing for Juniper, and it won't do anything for her if she tests my patience again. Perhaps Katlego will learn from this, also - she will learn that practical jokes and humiliation are no match for a whetted blade. Juniper's was not completely unexpected, but this is not the first time an Eye of Jacob has had a sudden change of heart. I have been wondering if it is bewitchment at play, but a part of me believes that my grasp on the masses is slipping.
People's perceptions of me have not changed as much as they have done since Katlego and Owen opened their mouths like they did. Two of the nation's favourite healers and two religious leaders' influential voices against my own could cause all sorts of issues.
People are starting to realise the benefits of magic, and are beginning to lose interest in the many risks. Katlego outfoxed Samuel Annorin, and now she's doing the same to me. As for Owen, I cannot help but feel betrayed, in a sense. Everything he does and has done...it has to come to a point where I stop letting him get away with it.
"We've been killing witches left, right and center for you, only for you to cosy up to them behind closed doors? I don't care how humiliated you feel - how do you think we feel? Is this about all witches, or just the ones you don't like?"
I'm sure it won't just be Madilyn who thinks that way.
Fortunately, in trying to make a mockery out of me, Owen has only committed social suicide. Regulations of medicine and medical practitioners were only getting tougher on people who did not act with their patients' best interests at heart. How are his patients going to feel when they realised they've been unknowingly subjected to magic? How is the world going to react when one of its most renowned physicians is not who they thought he was?
How are they going to feel when they find out he is partially responsible for his own father's murder?
The problem is that a voice so powerful as an Annorin's might turn events in his favour instead of mine. The battlefield has been evened, and I have to do something about it...something that fills me with an unfamiliar dread.
"I have never said this before, but I am going to ask and each and every one of you to not go anywhere near the Annorin family. Leave them out of this mess."
John laughs. "Why? Are you scared Owen will come back and burn you to a crisp?"
"Of course not! I would rather you left them be, is all."
"What about all those other families with magic we killed? What was different about them?" John leans forward, the fire glistening on his eyes. "I do not care how rich they are, how poor they are, where they're from or who their mother and father are - a witch is a witch, and the only good witch is a dead witch. That is what you have taught us, yes?"
"If you continue to question me, John, then I'll have you back on the streets sleeping in filth."
"No, I'm intrigued," Madilyn says. "Why are we sparing a witch for the first time in years?"
To have my own workforce questioning me like this... I am losing my grasp on people that have followed me without question for many years. I suppose I ought to have some level of honesty with them.
I told myself some time ago that I had to stop letting Owen - and the Annorins in general - get away with everything, and yet this overarching familial tendency I find myself having for him keeps returning to me. I never thought I'd find myself having second thoughts on this matter, but no matter how much I try to justify it, I cannot imagine myself killing Samuel Annorin's own son. I recall how proud he was of him.
"I suppose you could say the Annorins and I have something of a history. I got along fairly well with Samuel, the former patriarch. I'm as deeply let down by Owen's actions as everyone else will be - furious, even - but I cannot bring it upon myself to kill his family."
I'm not proud of it, not at all, but I cannot do it. My fury towards the Annorins was entirely on Owen Annorin's shoulders.
"And why is that? We've killed plenty of other families because one was found to have magic. Besides, how many children have died because of that family and their ridiculously-expensive treatments?"
"Owen is one of the only people with magic in their blood to ever tell me that my children did not deserve to die in that fire," I explain. "He may have the manners of a rat, but I clearly remember what he said to me when I visited him, that the loss of my children was a tragedy and that there was no denying it. Whatever happens with him, be sure to leave his family out of this. The blame for his reckless behaviour solely falls on his shoulders."
"You know that people will still question why you are doing this, don't you? Those children will only grow up to be-"
"Then let those children grow up first. Let them grow up the way mine didn't. When they're adults who start to misuse their power, then we do what is necessary."
"You didn't let me finish, Lord Volpe. If you do nothing about the Annorin family, then your entire cause will collapse.
You have to at least put Owen Annorin on trial. He admitted it in front of everyone, after all. If Owen is the one that has wronged you so much, then Owen will be the one to die. Let the children grow up, yes - let them grow up without their father to mislead them."
I hate to admit it, but John is right. This cause will fall apart if I am to show too much mercy, and if this cause does fall apart, then the recklessness of magic will only become worse. People will question everything I've taught them. They will question why the rich get away with magic and the poor do not. The poor make up the majority of my workforce; I cannot lose their confidence.
I am not proud to admit this, and I know Samuel is looking down upon me with an unimaginable fury...
...but Owen Annorin has to stand trial for witchcraft.
Revered physician or not, he has to die.