Unnatural sunlight beamed on Kait and Vassee as they ran out from under the tree line and into an open field.

Are they still behind us?

Kait looked back, only to see the faces of a few soldiers armed with bows behind the tree line, quickly approaching.

Through a gasping breath, her friend began to speak, “Kait, we-we need to stop. There.”

Kait looked back to see her friend was pointing to a boulder near the center of the field. “Okay,” she reluctantly agreed.

They took cover behind the rock, each of them exhausted and sweating profusely, hardly able to keep running. If it weren’t for the impending death hanging over their heads, they wouldn’t have even been capable of coming as far as they had.

Her friend glanced toward what they soon realized was an encroaching army, which had begun to surround them from afar. Vassee slowly turned her head back to Kait. “It’s over, Kait…”

Her eyes widened. “Vassee, no! We can’t…we can’t give up now! We’ll outrun them!”

“We can’t, Kait. But there is a spell I know. One that can save one of us.”

“J-just one?”

Vassee nodded. “After you use it, you’ll wake up far, far in the future.”

She took off her necklace and presented it to Kait. It was some sort of spiral-like ceramic, one Kait knew little about. She had noticed it occasionally flashing with a yellow light as they ran for the past two hours, but she didn’t know what it did.

“Take it. When…only when you don’t have any other choice, use it by calling out my name.” Vassee looked back. “I’ll fight back while you run.”

Kait’s eyes widened as she took the necklace into her hands. “Why…why me? Why do I have to leave?! You’re the greatest witch to have–”

“I’m not, Kait. Please. Run away and continue living.” Vassee stood, then walked in front of the rock, facing the hundreds of soldiers with a furious gaze. Kait, used to following orders, didn’t hesitate any longer and made a run for it. “I love you, Kait,” she heard as she closed her eyes and ran with every ounce of strength she had left.

As Kait ran, she could hear the destruction her friend caused in the distance. Screams and rumbles resounded through the forest as Vassee fought to keep Kait alive.

Kait wasn’t that special. She wasn’t that powerful, or skilled. So why did Vassee decide she was the one who needed to keep living?

After a few minutes, that sickly sunlight suddenly disappeared, leaving Kait under the moonlight. She hesitated at the sudden darkness but continued to push forward.

Not long afterward, the sound of the battle—and Vassee—faded away.

Then, the necklace in Kait’s hand shimmered yellow.

She could hear shouting behind her. Some soldiers had sidestepped her friend and ran straight for her. She couldn’t keep going.

Kait reached the apex of a hill, where she could see the brilliant sunset in the distance, as well as the moon above.

She collapsed into the dirt.

This is it.

With all her strength, she pushed up, but she fell again, kneeling before the open sky.

It’s my only choice.

She took the necklace and looped it over her neck. Suddenly, thousands of voices echoed through her mind. Though their voices were discordant, she could pinpoint one, shouting out to her, calling to be heard.

Live, Kait.

A squad of soldiers holding drawn bows reached the top of the hill.

“Witch…” one of them said, panting and out of breath, “…does your order have any last words?”

Kait grasped the necklace on her chest and used all her remaining strength to stand and turn.

Why…why me?! she wondered hopelessly.

More and more soldiers aimed their bows toward her, and the artificial sunlight returned.

Can’t someone else bear it?

She opened her mouth. “Not yet.”

Isn’t this betraying everything they fought for?!

Arrows cut through the air and slammed into Kait.

Do I really want to live?

While she still could, Kait desperately yelled, “Vassee!”

I…want to…to live for them.

Suddenly, the dirt from below began to wrap around her in a current. The soldiers stepped back in fear as the ground turned into a whirlpool of mud, spiraling up to envelop the last witch, swallowing her into a cocoon.

Her next breath wouldn’t come for hundreds of years.

Taylor heard a knock on the front door.

It must be mom bringing back that guest dad was talking about.

He stood from the kitchen table and jogged to the door, curious about what this person was like. She was a girl, apparently, and someone important to his dad’s archeology career. Plus, they said she was some sort of magician.

He had been fortunate enough to have personally met three other magicians in his life, all of whom lived in his hometown, but despite that, meeting yet another was a rare and deeply intriguing opportunity. After all, learning about magics he hadn’t heard of, let alone seen with his own two eyes, was something that didn’t happen often. That, and magic was just cool.

He heard keys click into place so he waited for his mother to open the door herself.

Taylor couldn’t help but be excited; the prospect of living with a mysterious magician left him very curious.

The door swung open.

His mom quickly walked through, holding the door open behind her as she slipped off her shoes.

A woman stepped in from behind her.

She couldn’t have been older than twenty years old, and had short, curly red hair. She wore clothes that Taylor recognized as hand-me-downs from his father, a pair of jeans and a gray and white nylon jacket, with a brown shirt visible underneath, as well as a chain indicating the existence of a tucked-away necklace. She also wore a gold and blue wristband and hauled a large, aged camping backpack over her shoulder.

She shook the snow off her tennis shoes before kneeling to methodically untie each with a few quick motions as Taylor’s mother shut the door.

“Hello,” the girl said once she had set them aside, looking toward Taylor with a smile. “I’m Kait. Nice to meet you!”

He waved, smiling welcomingly as he tried to hide his curiosity. “And you can call me Taylor. Nice to meet you, too.”

His mother stretched, tense from driving. She was dressed very professionally, with a greenish-blue suit and short, light blonde hair that was neatly combed into parting. “Well, this is it; our home.” She said. “That’s Taylor, of course, and Hailey is upstairs. Try not to trouble her too much. She’s…going through some things.” She rubbed her neck as she paused, thinking. “Taylor, I need to get ready for a meeting, can you show Kait around the house?”

He nodded enthusiastically. “Yeah, I can do that.”

“Thanks for driving me, by the way, Clera,” Kait said as his mother began climbing the stairs in front of the door.

“No problem.”

Kait immediately began looking around the living room. She slid a finger across the TV. “This is a…television, right?”

“Yeah?” Taylor squinted as Kait wiped a fingerprint onto the screen.

She turned her head. “And that’s…a ‘coffee’ table. And a couch?”

“Y-yeah?” Taylor raised an eyebrow, unsure how to react as she pointed to different objects and practiced their names.

“I’m trying to remember it all,” she said as she looked out the window behind the TV. “Are all houses this big these days?”

He slowly nodded. “Yeah, I guess so. Most of the houses in our neighborhood are bigger than usual, though.”

“Neighborhood…” she repeated, “like, your town?”

“A subdivision of one. You can see the rest of Conifera off in the distance.” He pointed toward the mass of buildings just a few miles away. His neighborhood was filled with large houses, many of which boasted large, plant-filled lawns. The local culture valued a natural aesthetic.

This story has been stolen from Royal Road. If you read it on Amazon, please report it

Kait nodded as she followed his gaze. “I saw that on the drive. It’s impressive.”

“I…guess so.” It wasn’t a particularly large city, though.

“Is there a castle? Manor? Someone in charge?”

He shook his head, quickly acclimating to the strange questions. “I mean, there’s the Mayor. Also the federal government, if that’s what you mean. Why don’t you know these things?”

She looked away from the window, her lips twisting in thought. “So nobody told you who I am?”

“I was told that you’re important to my dad’s research, and also that you’re a magician, but that’s about it.”

She nodded. “That’s right…” She lowered her eyes in thought. After a short pause, she raised them. “And I guess you’re wondering what kind of magician I am?”

Taylor smiled wryly. “Yeah, I kinda am. It’s not every day you get to meet a mage, you know?”

She slowly nodded again. Kait paused to take one last look at Taylor. He had straight, light blonde hair just like his mother, and was dressed similarly to Kait, with jeans and a tee-shirt. He didn’t hesitate to lock eyes with hers as she glanced at him, raising a quizzical eyebrow as she did. Kait suddenly shrugged. “Not much to be done about it! I’ll tell you, but can you promise to do one thing for me before I do?”

“Sure? Why not.”

“Can you keep it a secret? Your dad said it’s kinda a big deal, so I shouldn’t let it get out who I am.”

He scratched his head. “Yeah, no problem, I guess.”

“Good.” Kait raised an eyebrow, watching Taylor’s reaction closely as she said, “I’m a witch.”

Taylor’s mouth reflexively opened in shock, then he bit his lip, his eyes narrowing. “A…witch?”

She nodded. “Yeah, a witch.”

“You…you’re not joking, are you?” he said with disbelief. “You’re seriously a witch?”

She nodded again, taken aback a little by his reaction. “Yep,” she said for lack of any better response.

“I guess…” he lowered his gaze. “That lines up. My dad studies ancient magic after all…It’s just…how? I thought the ritual to gain witchcraft was lost in the Renaissance era, after they were all killed off the Crusades of Kallaran. Without that…I mean, it shouldn’t be possible.” Though, he thought to himself, as far as I’m concerned, anything is possible when magic’s involved.

Taylor suddenly felt a pang of guilt as he saw something he said had caused Kait to recoil. “Yeah…a-about that…” Kait averted her eyes. So everything I went through…it’s just a footnote in the flow of history. “I…I guess I should just come out and say it, since we’re going to be living together, and…” She shrugged. “…let’s face it, I’m really needy as I am. Uh…you see, I’m actually from the…um…‘Renaissance.’”

Taylor’s eyes widened. “What?” he said with utter disbelief.

Kait opened her mouth before suddenly stepping closer to the stairs, glancing up them suspiciously. “Sorry,” she said as she looked back from whatever distracted her. “Yeah, it’s a bit complicated, and I can’t tell you everything, but basically, I’m a fish out of water. A lot has changed since I fell into stasis…”

Taylor blinked, his eyes widening as he tried to understand what she meant. “So you came from the past…” he said. “Wow,” he added, at a loss for words.

After a moment of silence, Kait crossed her arms uncomfortably.

“W-well, we can talk more about that later. I don’t want to overwhelm you. How about I give you a tour of the house?”

“Yeah, that would be great.”

Taylor first showed her the living room and explained its purpose as the place where his family would watch movies and television shows and sleep on the sofa. Then the kitchen further back, connected to it, with its toaster, oven, digital clock, and table with stools in the center.

He also showed her the basement, which was used mostly for storage, then led her up to their second story.

The first room they came across had a closed door. He motioned to it. “That’s Hailey’s room, my sister. She’s been holed up in there for almost two months now.”

“Months? What is she doing in there?”

He scowled. “Nothing. Don’t bother going out of your way to interact with her. She doesn’t want to talk with anyone.”

Kait nervously glanced at the door. “I’ll-”

A voice suddenly yelled from behind the door, “Oh, shut up, Taylor.”

He turned his head and walked off.

Kait followed, glancing back at the door. “Is something wrong between you two?”

He looked back, then down, pain painted over his face. “I already told you. She doesn’t want to talk to anyone, so there’s no point in talking to her.”

Kait grimaced but remained quiet as he opened the next door.

“This is your room.”

It was an empty room with a dresser and bed. It had a window on the end but otherwise was bare bones. He motioned to Kait’s backpack. “You can set that down in here. We just cleared out this room for you, since we were using it as a storage room.”

“Thanks.” Kait set her backpack on the bed, its heft visible as it squished down the comforter. “Nice bed,” she noted.

Further down the hall and to the right were two more doors. “That’s my room and the bathroom, then down that hall is our parents’ room and Mom’s office. My dad also has his own office downstairs, but you don’t need to worry about that since he’s been on an excavation for a while.”

She nodded. “Well, thanks for the tour.”

“No problem.”

They both turned suddenly when Hailey’s door opened across the hall. A not-so-pleased expression graced the girl’s features. She wore loose, worn pajamas with a colorful tetris-like design, and her brown hair was a frazzled mess. She ignored Taylor as she walked toward them, stopping in front of Kait.

“Uh…hey, I’m Hailey. You can talk to me if you want, I guess,” she said unsteadily, her eyes wandering like she didn’t know where to look.

Her brother bared his teeth, frustrated, but silently looked away. At least she’s willing to talk to someone. His expression melted a little. I can’t…I shouldn’t stay mad at my sister. Especially not after everything she’s been through.

Kait glanced between the two, perceptive of their expressions, but she didn’t hesitate to speak. “Hello! And I’m Kait. You can talk to me if you want, too.”

Hailey stared at Kait for an awkward period of silence, as if she was expecting Kait to say something in particular.

Kait lowered her eyes, speaking with a leveled voice toward Hailey. “It’s rude to eavesdrop, especially before you introduce yourself. I’d rather if you didn’t do that next time I’m talking to someone.”

Hailey frowned, cocking an eyebrow with displeasure. “Didn’t know it was such a problem. Anyway, I’m going to go back to my room. You can tell me if you need anything.”

Their guest smiled as Hailey walked back, her voice regaining its amiability. “Of course!”

Hailey left the two alone again.

Taylor sniffed. “Okay…” he said with a halfhearted frown. “Want some food?”

Kait rubbed her belly. “Oh, yes. I’m famished. That ‘plane’ ride was an exhausting way to fly.”

“Yeah, planes can suck.” Taylor began to walk down the stairs, the witch following behind. He paused, though, then looked back up. “Uhh…Hailey! We’re having lunch if you want some!”

No response.

He shook his head and made his way to the ground floor.

Hailey stood from her bed and rubbed her eye with her knuckle. Moonlight filtered from her window. She’d heard her mother and Taylor walk past her door a while ago, meaning they were asleep, or at least in their rooms, so she opened her door and walked downstairs.

She tried to be quiet as she walked into the kitchen, which was lit by a single light over the sink. She yawned as she stepped past the kitchen counter, then froze, her eyes widening as she looked to her left.

Sitting at the counter, looking up at her with bags under her eyes, was Kait.

Ugh, I forgot about her.

“Oh, hi. I didn’t see you there,” she said, pausing for a moment.

Kait nodded, then set her chin onto her hands, her eyes fluttering drowsily.

Hailey resumed what she was doing without questioning the witch, grabbing a chair and sliding it as far as she could from her before making a bowl of cereal.

“Hey,” Kait said suddenly. “Do you know how late it is?”

Hailey glanced at the clock. “Twelve-thirty.”

“So how late?”

“I don’t know what you want from me, dude,” she said as she poured in the milk.

“Like, how late is ‘twelve-thirty’?”

“Midnight.”

“I see.” Kait sighed. “Why are you up this late?”

Hailey raised an eyebrow questioningly. “Why are you?”

“I don’t know,” Kait admitted, allowing Hailey to deflect her question. “I can’t sleep until I’m about to drop these days.”

“Sucks to suck, I guess.” She took a bite of cereal, completely disinterested in the witch.

The two fell into silence as Hailey ate her bedtime breakfast and Kait shut her eyes.

Hailey’s eyes fluttered, then…

Kait looked up after feeling something strange flutter in her heart, only to see Hailey’s expression, her eyes glazed-over as if she’d left her body.

A moment later, Hailey blinked. “W-what…” she muttered before looking at Kait. “You said you were a witch, right?”

Kait nodded with some confusion. “Uh-huh?”

“But you were joking when you said you were from back then, right? No way you’re–”

“No, I wasn’t,” Kait said innocuously before narrowing her eyebrows. “What made you ask?”

“Wait, you’re actually from hundreds of years ago?”

“Yes, I am.” Kait frowned. “I should’ve made that clear to you, since we’ll be living together for a while. Sorry,” she said with a wry smile. “What made you bring it up?”

“N-nothing.” Hailey quickly finished her cereal before setting it into the sink and rushing upstairs, all under Kait’s observant stare.

What was that? Back in the kitchen, Hailey had suddenly seen a vision of Kait, running with some girl from an army, and then…was that the point where she was sent to the present?

No, that was dumb. It was a fortuitous daydream, that was all. Not that she cared one way or another.