“Mhm…” Kafil murmured, moving his tired, aching and sore limb begrudgingly before letting out a long yawn. His eyelids slowly parted as he was met with a quite peculiar sight.
It was midnight. The crescent moon casted its illusory light across the world, onto the inhabitants of the planet it orbited. The light bounced off each individual leaves—each individual grass blades, reflecting from reflective objects and giving a serene, mystical atmosphere to the entire forest as a soft, faint, bluish hue encompassed the entire place—every nook and corner of everything plant, trees and leaves—leaving not even a single spot unattended.
Nocturnal creatures slowly awakened from the morning slumber, adjusting their senses as night came, casting their gaze towards the massive, spherical object that bestowed them this ‘gift’, with a peculiar gaze, as if greeting the small, celestial body. That enormous, massive planet that was far from their reach, a place located way above the clouds, a place located beyond their wildest imagination, a place where they could only dream of ever touching—that mythical, unreachable place that loomed over them, had bestowed them the greatest form of present they could ever ask for.
Darkness, they call it. This ‘darkness’ was unlike any other form of darkness. It gave them the ‘gift’ of the night, the intense, inconceivable darkness that encircled the world—it was utterly, the most perfect form of donation the moon could have handed them, the singlehandedly—undeniably, greatest act of charity they could ask for. The blessing of the moon as the creatures would call it, both the predators and prey alike.
Kafil let out a soft, contented sigh at the shiny, spherical object placed beyond the world's gravitational pull.
‘How blissful.’ He thought as a smile gradually crept onto his tired, aching, bruised cheeks. Then, he redirected his gaze back to the ground—aligning it exactly to be staring at the scene unfolding before him. The smile deepened and widened as none other than his best friend—Takashi—was standing in front of him, butchering a wild deer he had hunted.
Takashi had the most exasperated, convincing look of a man that presumably had gone through hell and back. His eyes were drowsy, his breathing was erratic and his body ached agonisingly. In his right hand, he held a thin, razor sharp stone—cutting through the deer’s hide almost effortlessly. While with his right, he lifted the skin to allow his left hand to reach deeper, cutting through the thick muscles that bonded the pelt to the flesh.
He gritted his teeth, and murmured despairingly at the fact that, even after numerous painstaking hours had passed by—he was just about to finish skinning his prey. Meticulously, he continued his endeavours—hoping and praying with every fibre of his entire body, that this action of his would greatly benefit them both and it was not just for naught—to be revealed that all of his efforts had been futile since the beginning.
“I swear, if that fucking happens, I'm going to lose my damn mind…” He mumbled beneath his breath as, after all that grueling work he had been putting into the deer—it had finally been skinned.
…
Presently, located in the room of a particular young lady—sitting at her grandiose dressing table made out of oak.
Unauthorized duplication: this tale has been taken without consent. Report sightings.
“Mhm…hmm…hmm…” The young maiden hummed softly as she groomed her hair, using a delicate, high-quality brush to ensure her hair remained natural and shining.
As she did so, her eyes occasionally gazed at the beautiful moonlight outside—a smile slowly creeping up onto her lips by the appearance of the hypnotic crescent moon she ever adored. Then, she stopped tending to her hair—setting her brush aside while hopping in a childish manner—towards the window, yearning to see more of the moon’s natural beauty. That soft, iridescent glow emitted and encompassing its unique crescent shape was always a mesmerizing view for her.
As she continued to gaze towards the bewitching, glowing sphere far away from her reach—her ears instantly perked up as she heard footsteps. The footsteps became gradually louder, and then it stopped for a moment, before another sound came to her attention.
Knock! Knock!
The woman redirected her gaze towards the unassuming, harmless wooden door with a suspicious gaze—scrutinizing it in case a threat were to come. A few seconds passed by and nothing seemed out of the ordinary. Believing that it was safe, she finally opened her mouth.
“Come in.”
Slowly, the door creaked open as a tall maid stepped into the room, carrying a tray of tea for the maiden. “Pardon my intrusion, my lady.” She uttered before promptly setting down the tray on a nearby table, and then curtsied at the lady.
The maid looked elegant and mature—with the way she carried herself, one ought to guess that she had served underneath multiple masters and mistresses before. She was a tall individual, roughly measuring up to 178 centimeters tall, with a well-rounded physique, long, lustrous black hair that cascaded down to her knees, and a pair of mystical, rare violet eyes that seemed to belong to an otherworldly creature of forrce of some sort.
“You're a tad bit late than usual tonight, Alice.” The young lady spoke, grabbing the teacup that had already been poured into, bringing the small cup to the edge of her lips, and taking a small sip of the rejuvenating drink.
“Forgive me. It was quite a hurdle for me to gather certain necessary materials…but I can assure you, I won't be late anymore.”
The lady took another sip of her tea before putting it down in a graceful manner, one befitting of a noble of her calibre—the treasured daughter of the current duke of the House of Altifirma. The infamous noble known for her obsession with beautiful ‘jewels’ as people claim, these ‘jewels’ in fact being people, individuals with unique appearance or features that made them stand out from the norm. No one knew just how many rough ‘diamonds’ had been shattered underneath her commands, but one thing was certain—and it was that she would not stop her act of gathering more gemstones anytime soon.
“I see, so you have finished gathering the materials… then, I assume that plan of yours is… well, ready?”
“Almost, my lady. A few adjustments are needed to be done in case things go south…but overall, everything seems fine so far. All that is left to do… is wait for Florin’s arrival.”
A quick silence ensued, the young lady eyeing at her ‘favourite’ maid with skepticism, before parting her lips once more. “How are you so sure this plan of yours will certainly work out? How can it save the house? And why is Florin, the supposed, beloved maid from the House of Lapiz…play such an important factor in all of this…I suppose, plan of yours?
“Because witches are valuable. They might be dangerous, but they are undoubtedly valuable, extremely so, too. Thus, being able to secure the “
‘Guardian’ witch will help save the House of Altifirma tremendously. A witch may cost, for an instance, a precious mine, but a Guardian can buy an entire kingdom. Have faith in me, young lady, for we are partners in crime.”
“Fine, I guess I don't have much of a choice. Hopefully she'll arrive in about a month or so soon…also, you keep saying how Florin is the ‘Guardian’ and all…what makes her a supposed guardian, and why is she one to begin with? What's a ‘Guardian’ in the first place?”
The maid’s eyes wavered for a second, but she quickly composed herself and continued. “That's…a secret even you can't know yet, my lady. But I'll assure you…that a ‘Guardian’ like her is extremely useful in many ways, both to me and you. Once Florin is here, once we have captured her…only then I can officially allow you into the world of witches, the world we live in to hide from these filthy, greedy humans who think themselves as gods and rulers of the world, denying the existence and sacrifice our ancestors had made, just for them, and yet they betrayed us.”
Her violet eyes seemed to glow violently as air cracked and a small, Aurora Borealis encompassed her entire figure in an unearthly manner. This was a witch, a witch that governed the and harnessed light as her main source of power. Gradually, the unnatural Aurora Borealis dissipated, as well as the fierce glow in her eyes.
“Forgive me, young lady…I got a bit too agitated just remembering the past. In any case, my point is, you won't regret anything by the end of our deal. Trust me…the witches shall make you the saviour of the House of Altifirma…and the Saint that purged the great, evil kingdom people mistook as being on the side of good, the Chetiz Empire.