Alcingeria Chapter Forty Six: Edwin's Choice

The group decides to rescue the witch at the expense of letting the mafia member get away. They send her back to Queen Yuka's castle for protection and set out on their search once more.

Chapter Forty Six Edwin’s Choice:

Friday July 2^nd 1690

Edwin ran through the crowd, pushing and shoving people out of the way. We were all right behind him. When we broke to the front of the crowd, we saw that one of the men held a flintlock and had it aimed at the puddle of alcohol that now covered the foot of the cross and the surrounding area.

            “Stop! Vulrock Law Enforcement! Who authorized this execution!?” Edwin shouted in rage.

I couldn’t tell if he was angry at the fact that he was forced to rescue the witch by his code of honor, or at the fact that he was actually doing it.

            “We don’t need authorization! This is a witch! An abomination of nature!” A man shouted.

            “Who said you don’t need authorization? On second thought, I don’t care. If anything like this ever happens again in the future, anyone responsible for the execution will be executed themselves! Understand?” Edwin seethed.

That thought hit home. All the spectators and the man with the flintlock broke into a run and scattered. The witch was the only one in sight.

The witch looked to be fifteen and was wearing witch clothes that were blue with white trim. She carried no wand or staff. Her hair was Dark, rich orange. Her eyes were sapphire blue. She was a little taller than me and her skin tone was pale, like Tabatha’s.

She was hyperventilating. She had her hands tied to the cross behind her back and she looked around frantically. She began sobbing, her shoulders heaving as she did so.

            “Thank y-you so m-much!” She stuttered through sobs.

Edwin and Gerald walked over and untied her. She collapsed into Edwin’s arms, still sobbing.

            “You take her.” He said to Gerald, barely keeping the disgust out of his voice.

He passed the witch to Gerald and he took her without complaint. They both walked back to us and Gerald put the witch on her feet.

            “Are you alright?” Edward asked with concern.

The only reply we received her sobs. Stella came forward and kneeled down in front of the girl.

            “Hey, it’s okay. You’re safe now, alright?” She said soothingly, gently embracing the witch.

The witch nodded, but continued sobbing.

            “Do you want to tell me your name?” Stella asked kindly.

The witch looked up, tears soaked her eyes and spilled down her cheeks.

            “M-my name is Alice.” The witch said, starting to calm down.

            “Alice, that’s a good name.” Stella said soothingly, rubbing Alice’s back and pushing her dark orange hair out of her face.

            “We don’t have time for this!” Edwin spat.

Edward turned to him and looked him in the eye. He spoke in an even, level voice.

            “Edwin, we can’t just leave her here. What if those people come back?” Edward asked.

Edwin shook his head and rubbed his temples.

            “Alright, I get it.” He said.

He turned to Alice. He was working not to allow venom into his gaze.

            “Why were those people trying to kill you?” Edwin asked.

            “Because I’m a witch.” Came Alice’s flat answer.

            “Really? You didn’t commit any crimes?” Edwin challenged.

            “Edwin…” Gerald said warningly.

            “No! What? Just because I’m a witch, you think I’m guilty of a crime? You’re no better than those people!” Alice shot back.

I saw Alice move towards Edwin threateningly. Thankfully, Gerald got between them.

            “Okay, that’s enough. Darwin, Edward, escort Alice back to the castle. Make sure she’s treated well. We’ll wait for you here. When you come back we’ll see if we can pick up on the mafia’s trail.” Gerald said.

            “It’s about time…” Edwin muttered.

            “Yes sir!” Edward and Darwin said in unison.

They both saluted and took Alice back up the road to the castle.

            “Thank you all for making the right choice.” Stella said.

            “It was the humane choice. How could we not?” Robert asked.

            “It’s too bad the mafia man got away.” Macalister fretted.

            “We only had two choices there. We made the right one.” Don reassured Macalister.

Macalister nodded, but kept his eyes cast downward.

            “We’ll get everyone back, Macalister. Don’t worry.” Gerald said.

            “I know.” Macalister said.

            “I wonder what type of magic she can use.” Don said.

I shrugged, thinking of the possibilities.

            “She could be any combination of all the magic types.” I said.

            “I don’t see how anyone can marvel over a witch.” Edwin spat.

            “Why do you hate witches so much?” Macalister asked.

He must not have heard the bit about his parents. Edwin’s face grew dark. His eyes became sunken and dead looking.

            “One night when I was a boy, my parents were playing with me outside. We lived in the country, so we had lots of room. It was dusk, just before sunset. A woman came up to our house. I can’t remember her face, but she was young, in her early teens. She claimed that she needed help. My parents and I took her in, gave her some food, medicine and water for her travels. She thanked us and turned away. She then turned back and attacked us. I don’t remember what spells she used exactly, but there was black light and dark swirls of magic everywhere. She killed my parents. I managed to escape. I ran as fast as I could, as far as I could. I made it all the way to the gates of Riverguard, which is where I collapsed from exhaustion. I was taken in by some relatives who lived in town. I’ve hated witches ever since.” Edwin explained.

We all stood in silence, stricken by his tale.

            “I’m sorry Edwin.” Stella said, her blue eyes glistening with the hint of tears.

            “What kind of witch has that kind of power?” Macalister asked.

            “A dark magic witch. Remember? Tabatha explained how dark magic users can kill people easily.” Don said.

Edwin growled, snarling his lip.

            “I don’t care what kind of witch it was. They’re all the same.” He said with fiery anger.

Just then, Edward and Darwin came walking back down the road. They made good time, too. They walked over to us.

            “Hey everyone, Alice is safe. We made sure Queen Yuka will take good care of her. Are we ready to head out?” Edward asked.

            “I want to get on the mafia’s trail as soon as possible.” Darwin added.

            “Yes, good work men. Let’s go, we have a mafia base to find.” Gerald said with a grin.

Author's Note

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