It had been nearly three months since Calla first entered the forest. So much had happened already that she never would have believed. With time, the group was beginning to give her more freedoms, allowing her to walk around without being checked upon as long as she stayed on their land. It was nice being able to explore more of the forest, or even just being able to go outside without someone following her around. Marick had even started to allow her to gather the resources he needed from the forest for potions. She began to feel what they had told her, Calla was a part of this coven. A coven of four warlocks and one non-magical.

She took in a deep breath of the fresh air around her, gripping her basket as she walked outside. Marick needed mushrooms, a task he would normally give Blaise to do. As she walked around the cottage, she could hear the sounds of training. At least she knew where the others had gone now.

“Morning,” she called, spotting Raven by the fence. The fact that the scene was similar to the first time she had been allowed outside, it made her understand how far she had come since that day. Raven glanced over and gave his typical grin.

“Morning,” he replied before scanning her a little. “Let me guess, Marick needs mushrooms?” The black-haired man chuckled and shook his head. “I’m going to end up getting him a planter for the house.”

Calla just shrugged at that. “He does say a lot of potions take them,” she pointed out, to which Raven nodded.

“Fair enough,” he noted before stretching and turning his eyes back to watch Gwydion and Blaise train. They were using magic that Calla could barely comprehend. All she could tell was the difference in energy the two had, the beautiful magic of Gwydion clashing with the fiery embers of Blaise’s. She shook her head at the scene before glancing at Raven.

“I’ll be back in a little bit,” she called, turning to walk into the forest towards the direction of the mushroom patch.

She took in another huge breath when she got there, smiling as she looked around at the different types. She hummed a little, remembering what kind he said he needed.

“Redcaps…” she muttered to herself, moving to a patch of them and beginning to pick them. The sounds of bird songs filled the air, making her smile as she listened to the sounds of nature. She could understand why they picked this area to live in, resources were everywhere and the land felt so calm.

She had gathered about twenty of them before getting to her feet with a sigh. “That should be enough…” she muttered to herself, moving to pick up the basket. However, as she turned to start walking back, she felt the basket become caught on something before it was removed from her hand. Her eyes widened in confusion, turning around before her blood ran cold.

Standing behind her was a man. He was slightly shorter than Marick, hair golden as the rays of the sun, back in a hair tie, not nearly as long as Marick’s or Gwydion’s but covered in a white top hat. His eyes were orange in color, holding a curious expression as he looked at the basket that rested on the end of an elegant walking cane that had an orange orb at the end of it. He was dressed sharply, fingers having colorful rings on his middle fingers and thumbs but were also pointed into sharp tips, painted black. He wore a white coat with gold trim that was only long enough to reach his waist. She could see the inner lining was a bright red. His vest was a vast rainbow of colors with a white undershirt below it. His pants matched the coat, white with gold trim. He looked like someone who just walked out of a royal court, not someone who stood in the middle of a forest. He was a beautiful man, but every fiber of Calla’s being screamed that she was in the presence of danger.

“Redcaps,” he finally said, curiously looking over the contents in the basket before his orange eyes snapped to hers.

Danger.

Calla quickly broke direct eye contact, keeping her eyes on his face, but not looking him in his eyes. His mouth curled into a smile. “What would a little lamb like yourself want with these? They are poisonous to eat, you know,” he said, his voice ringing out in velvet, charming tone.

Danger.

She tried to control her heart racing, feeling like a lamb before a great wolf. “I-I didn’t know that…” she lied, swallowing hard and looking down. “T-Thank you for letting me know…” She needed to get away from him. She heard him give a hum in thought before watching as he dropped the basket from his cane only for the orange orb of his cane to touch under her chin to force her to look up at him. She continued to keep her eyes focused on anything but his eyes.

“I am curious, however. What is a cute little non-magical doing out here?” he asked, not really to her but more in general. He gave a slight chuckle. “You are either very lost…” he started before he hummed again, his eyes showing a colder look in them. “Or you belong to someone…”

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Run.

Calla shivered, taking a step back away from him. “I-I’m sorry if I’m trespassing! I-I wasn’t aware the forest was occupied. I’ll...I’ll inform my master straight away!” she exclaimed, begging this man believed her lies as she turned to get away, wanting him to believe she was from the non-magical village. Her voice was so shaken that she couldn’t let out a scream as he appeared before her, pushing her against one of the large trees and catching her chin with his fingers. She was terrified as he leaned down to her, his cold look turning to a wicked grin. She had seen the others use a similar smile but his felt off, less mischievous and more sadistic.

“Little lamb, I do not like to be lied to and you have done that twice now,” he said calmly. Calla wanted to whimper as he looked her over curiously. He tilted his head, his smile growing. “Do you want to know how I know you are lying to me?”

Her lips quivered, tears appearing in her eyes as her body trembled. This was different from the fear she felt around Madam Coffer, this man was on a whole different level. He seemed to be enjoying this as he leaned in to whisper in her ear. “I know because you didn’t seem surprised when I called you a non-magical~” he purred before lightly kissing her cheek. “But nice try.”

Calla’s heart felt like it was going to explode, she had to get away from him. Her body shivering in fear, she mustered up every bit of courage she had to push him away from her, seeing him blink slightly in surprise before his amused smile returned, his eyes showing a hint of interest. Calla’s eyes widened but she had no time to hesitate, turning and bolting towards the cottage, tears streaming down her face. She had to reach the others. How were they not aware that this man was here?

She seemed to find her voice again, taking in a deep breath before screaming. “HELP!!” She cried, knowing at least three were outside. She just caught sight of them, the three looking over in a mix of concern and worry before she was stopped, the ringed hand of the man she just met covering her mouth and holding her against him.

The man let out an amused laugh. “Well, now, you should have told me you belonged to this group~” his voice sang out, pulling her face so that she looked up at him, his smile was cold. “I have a history with them.”

Her eyes widened, only looking back as the man easily blocked a dark spell before him with a spin of his cane. The swirl of magic around the three was intense, each having a dark look in their eyes. The air was very tense as they rushed closer towards them, but stopped suddenly as the man laughed.

The man playfully wagged a finger at them with a smirk. “Now, now. We wouldn’t want to hit the little lamb now, do we.” He said with a sadistic tone. He dug Calla’s face a little harder, his nails causing her to bleed, making her cry in pain. The three seemed to have a hint of panic at the sight, glaring on but knowing that if they moved closer, this man would cause more harm to her.

“You son of a bitch!” a voice hissed, surprisingly, it wasn’t from the hot-headed Blaise who looked ready to kill, and actually from a seriously pissed-off-looking Raven. It was clear that Raven seemed to know this man a little better than Blaise. There was a flash of purple that seemed to blind the man holding her as his arm loosened from her face to drape around her.

“Calla, to me.” She heard Marick’s commanding voice ring out, Marick appearing closer to them than the other three. His eyes were dark, focused on the man before him. To Calla’s horror, she didn’t move, the man’s arm keeping her close to him.

“Don’t bother with your commands, dear Marick. I already removed that pesky spell of yours,” the man holding her said almost toying with him.

Calla’s eyes widened at that. “B-But I didn’t look him in the eyes!” She said, not knowing her thoughts had been spoken aloud.

She heard him laugh, the orb of his cane forcing her to look up at him as he gave a wink. “So you do know a little about magic, that explains that question I had,” he sang playfully. “Sadly for you, my magic works differently.”

“Aro,” Marick stated with a dark tone of voice, making the orange-eyed man glance his way with a bored expression. “You are trespassing on land that you are unwelcome on. Remove yourself at once.”

Aro rose a brow, looking around the group before smirking in amusement. “I merely wished to offer a job to you, I am in need of a few things,” he said, not even caring about the tense air around him. He moved his hand back to touch Calla’s face again, smiling wildly down at her. “One would think they would be more accommodating to a client.”

“Aro!” Marick snapped again, once again taking Aro’s eyes off the terrified girl and back towards Marick. This time, he scanned each face longer before tilting his head, pulling Calla so to wrap both his arms around her.

“So hostile,” he replied playfully, dragging a finger over Calla’s neck, making the men around them tense more, and Calla whimpered in fear. He kissed her head softly. “You must be special to someone here. They do not wish to risk hurting you, by getting too close to me. But who would that person be~? Such an important question. Shall we find out who it is, dear?”

Calla’s body trembled, not sure what this Aro guy would do but it was clear from the wild look in his eyes that he was having a wonderful time. She let out a cry of pain as she felt his fingers move to rip her dress, cutting her skin with his sharpened nails as his hands moved down to her chest. She let out a cry, saying the name on her mind and reaching out to them, trying to get out of Aro’s arms.

Call for Marick (Chapter 13)

Call for Raven (Chapter 14)

Call for Gwydion (Chapter 15)

Call for Blaise (Chapter 16)