Some of the petty criminals like her were untied for the time being. They were tasked to collect firewood, to make dinner, and to fetch water. She was tasked to collect fire woods along with three other boys.
Alvina was walking alone, collecting dry fallen branches from the ground. When her hands were full of wood, she turned around to go to the campsite but accidentally she collided with one of the boys.
"Watch out midget." The boy roared out. He was a sort, fat boy.
"Sorry" Alvina muttered and decided to walk away. But her attempt to leave the place in peace was violated when another boy around the same age of that fat boy pushed her hard in the ground.
"Eh, let's have some fun. Shall we?" He said
He raised his foot and kicked it in her stomach hard. Alvina groaned in pain and her eyes teared.
She knew if she will not stand up to face them she would be probably be killed in the woods by the hands of these two boys.
She tried to stand but the fat boy once again kicked her in her back making her fall flat in the dirt. They continued kicking her and Alvina couldn't take anymore.
Suddenly they heard sounds of twigs breaking. It was faint in the start but soon they could hear it clearly. One of the roots of the nearby tree rose from the ground and started circling the fat boy.
Both of the boys were horrified. They started shrieking.
Gradually the root started tightening around the fat boy. He shouted at the thin boy in horror. "Do something."
"W..What can I do? It's her, she is doing it. She is a witch!" He screamed pointing his fingers towards Alvina in horror.
Both of them started screaming in pain and horror. Alvina was frightened too. this was happening to her for the first time. She couldn't believe that it was her doing but there was a foreign sensation flowing in her body and coming out from her hands which were telling her that she is a wilder of something, something unknown and she was doing it.
Alvina was panicking. She wanted this to stop. She wanted the roots to stop twisting the boy's body but all was in vain. The more she panicked the more gruesome the body got twisted.
After some time the weird sensation in her body and a tingling sensation in her ears stopped. So were the noises of two boys. One of them was dead with branches and roots around him and the other one was maybe passed out from the fear.
Besides those three there was also another pair of eyes in the forest, hiding in a deep bush, it was watching them, especially Alvina in concentration. When Alvina left that pair of eyes left too.
With shaking legs and a pale face, Alvina gathered all the sticks and put it near the fire.
"Took you long enough lad." One of the guards questioned.
Alvina didn't trust her voice for answering so she only nodded her head and walked to the farthermost spot and sat there.
Suddenly four-five men wearing black robes came there.
"Respected sirs!" All the guards stood up instantly and bowed before them.
Alvina's heart dropped. She pulled her legs close to her body and hid herself in the tree's shadow.
One of the men got down from their horse and sniffed the air.
"Magic. There is magic in the air." He said with a low gruff voice.
"I am sorry sir but you might be mistaken. We…."
SLASH!!
The guard that came forward to explain their situation had his head rolled down instantly by the man wearing black robes.
The whole atmosphere became tense and everyone rose from their seats.
"Stay." He ordered and went on sniffing the air.
He came to the place where the aura of magic was thick. The place where the fat boy was strangled. He gruffed and searched around for any abnormality. He saw a pair of footprints in the area around the boy. Judging from the footprint it can be said that the person was in a panic and was in a hurry. He searched for more footprints but found none.
He followed the footprints and walked deeper into the woods.
*********
At the campsite, the rest of the Masked Troupe made everybody including the guards to stand in a row. They took out a glass ball from their bag and brought it near every person one by one. The glass ball remained colorless.
Soon, it was Alvina's time. She was scared and her heart was wildly beating in her chest. She could somewhat guess that it was something that can detect magic. She knew they were finding her. she knew she was the reason for her village burning and slaughtering of men, women, and children across the kingdom. She wanted to live but she didn't want more massacre to take place because of her.
"If this is my destiny then I will embrace it." she thought. If she is going to be killed today then she would gladly embrace her fate.
She closed her eyes in defeat as she saw the ball approaching her.
"Found it." The man that had walked inside the forest returned. But he was not alone. He was dragging an unconscious boy with him. He was the same thin boy that has harassed her previously.
"The aura of magic is thick on him." He stated.
The man who was holding the colorless glass ball skipped Alvina and went towards the thin boy. As soon as he approached him, the colorless glass turned red indicating the presence of magic.
"Kill him." He ordered the rest Masked Troupe members and one of them stepped forward and slashed his head in a blink of an eye.
His head rolled down and stopped near Alvina's feet. Seeing this a lone tear escaped from her eyes.
Another life was lost because of her. today she had killed two people.
"Sorry." She whispered in the silent night.
Alvina clutched her pendant which was safely hidden in the layers of her shirt and went back to her place.