“During my homeless and miserable years, I had seen too much death. I saw witches being treated like cattle, hanged, burned, or tortured to death just for the entertainment of the nobility. The only way for a witch to survive was to live far away from other humans, living a cloistered life. I do not know where the Holy Mountain is located, but in our hearts it is an unattainable paradise.” Nightingale’s voice became softer than it had ever been in the past. “but Anna is different. In addition to the help we sisters can give her, I have never seen someone else being so concerned about a witch as you. She is needed by people, she is valued and treated like a normal person … Your Highness, Anna has not even made it through her adulthood yet, but she has already found her Holy Mountain.”
However, this was not the outcome Roland had hoped for. He closed his eyes, and recalled the scene when he had meet her.
She was barefoot, and was only wearing tattered clothes. She had been living in a cage, but there was not the slightest hint of fear in her face. Her eyes resembled an unpolluted lake surface, clear and calm.
She was the flame, but she wasn’t flickering like a flame.
Memories began to appear like the pictures on a film reel.
“I have satisfied your curiosity, Sir, so can you kill me now?”
“I have never used my power to hurt someone else.”
“I just want to stay near you, Your Highness, nothing more.”
“The Demon’s Bite will never kill me, I will beat it.”
“Are you dreaming? I’m not going anywhere.”
……
Roland had to restrain his surging thoughts and whispered, “I will stay here and accompany her until the last moment.”
“I will also stay … thank you.”
After dinner, when Nana heard that Anna would go through her day of adulthood, she insisted on staying. Roland set aside a room for her and her father who would accompany her during the night.
Like this, Roland and the two witches were sitting besides the bed, quietly waiting for the approaching midnight hour.
Regarding Nightingale and Nana, they would also have to face the Demon’s Bite this winter, but fortunately their magic awakened on different days. Otherwise, the three witches would have to suffer their test of life and death at the same time. Roland estimated that if that was the case he wouldn’t be able to stay calm in the room.
The town had no clock tower, so with only the light of the candles, the passage of time became blurred. Cold wind blew against the window, so from time to time they could hear the screeching wind. When Roland felt a trace of weariness attack his heart, Nightingale suddenly said, “It has begun.”
Only she could see the magic flow within Anna’s body. She saw that it became restless, and the cluster of green flame became unusually rich, but the white incandescence in her center turned dark, while all of the irritable magic converged inward. It seemed to be pulled towards the center while struggling and rolling wildly, but it was of no use.
Roland couldn’t see these changes, but he was also aware that something was wrong.
The candle flames began to shake, even though no wind was blowing inside the room. The light emitted by the flames got darker, it seemed like all the shadows were swallowed by the flame as it changed its color – the orange-red glow turned into a jade-like green flame.
He looked at the woman lying on the bed, but she was still sleeping, without even the slightest changes on her face, as if all this had nothing to do with her.
At this point the flame of the candles almost disappeared – but the flame was not extinguished. The green flames were just like phagocytic cells eating up the orange flames, plunging everything into darkness.
But soon, the fire was lit up again. However, this time the flame of the candles had turn into a pure green. The three people sitting around the bed were submerged in green light, looking quizzically into each other’s eyes, but in the end no one could understand what was happening.
However, at this moment, everyone’s eyes turned towards the bed, they had heard Anna groaning.
Anna slowly opened her eyes.
“Anna …” Roland was shocked, she woke up?
Anna blinked a few times to clear her eyes, but then she smiled at him, stretching out with the open palm of her right hand, reaching for the Prince.
A mass of green fire was leaping up from her palm, quietly burning.
Roland didn’t know why, but he could understand what Anna wanted. He hesitated for only a moment, but then he slowly inserted a finger into the flame. The anticipated burning sensation didn’t come. Instead, it was just like being wrapped up in lukewarm water, it felt soft and warm.