A girl in black dress, barefoot, running as fast as she could into the restricted side of forest. Petrified, She looked back and saw the shadow kept following her!! Tangling up in her long dress, she fall down on her face and hit her head which made her wince. Pushing her hands on the ground, she slowly turned her head. Still on the ground, she watched the shadow approaching her. Frightened to death, she shouted as loud as she could, "Help Help..... Please! Somebody Help...!". Before she could cry out more, the shadow bend down, pushed his hands in her chest and pulled her heart out before throwing it on the forest land. Standing up, the shadow watched the girl's body taking its original form and her skin turned grey before her black veins popped out." The girl was a dark witch!
"Ann...Ann.... wake up! it's a dream Ann! wake up....!" Anneliese heard a voice coming from afar.
Soaked in sweat, she opened her eyes with a gasp!! She gazed at her sister before sitting upright on the bed and whispered, "It was a dream!". And she heard her sister, "Yes, It was a dream Ann" .
"Then why did it felt so real?" Ann muttered under her breath.
Giving her a glass of water before wiping her face with a towel, Adlina slowly asked, "Are you feeling better now?"
Ann nodded and softly hummed.
Seeing her sister, staring at nothing with an unreadable face, Adlina said, "Go back to sleep Ann, I will hold your hand".
Ann took a deep breath and laid down on the bed with her sister.
Staring at the ceiling, Ann questioned in her mind, "Was it the same shadow who helped me! Was he a murderer??"
Shooking her head, she reminded herself, "It was just a nightmare Ann!! Stop overthinking." and closed her eyes.
Next day, Ann wore a long dull white dress and a loose green shrug over it, some of her wavey brown hairs were loosely pulled back and clipped with a hair stick. On her left shoulder, hung a brown bag while her right hand holding an umbrella.
Walking hurriedly, Ann cursed herself, "Can't believe, it's my second day at work and I'm late!" .
Finally, reaching at the store, she quickly went inside only to be greeted by Mr. Herondale, "Oh you're here, Anneliese!"
With an apologetic look, Ann said, "Good Morning Mr. Herondale! I'm terribly sorry for being late on my second day here!"
Mr. Herondale who was very fond of Ann since she was a little girl, stated, "No need to apologize! You're right on time Anneliese."
Putting her umbrella and bag at the side, Ann got started with her duties.
At one o'clock, Ann was having her lunch which was brought by her sister, when she heard Adlina from the other side of the rack, telling Mr. Herondale about her being lost in the forest while returning home yesterday! Ann, put her left hand on her forehead before shooking her head and sighed as did not wanted to make a fuss about yesterday's incident at her workplace.
It was past four thirty in the noon, Ann and Mr. Herondale was working on a parchment related to the land in the outskirts of Hazelburg which he has bought recently. Mr. Herondale was telling his plan regarding the land when they saw, "Matthew, Panting heavily, enter the store with a terrified look on his face!
Coming to Matthew, Mr. Herondale put his left hand on his arm and asked his son in a worried tone, "What happened Matthew? Why are you looking so pale like you saw a ghost?
Taking a long deep breath, Matthew exclaimed, "There was a dead Dark witch found in the restricted forest!! The heads of High Conclave has arrived at the crime site as the Conclave has decided to take the matter under it's jurisdiction from the Administrative Board. The order of one week curfew in the town has been released by the Conclave! Nobody is allowed to walk out of their houses and the necessary needs of town folks will be fulfilled by the Administrative Board."
"Ann heard Mr. Herondale telling her to leave for home instantly! He turned to Matthew and asked him to accompany Anneliese.
Ann was too shocked to reply or to say anything at all! She couldn't believe what she heard right now! She thought in her mind, "It can't be true! It's not possible Ann! It must be a coincident, a very strange one! It can't be the same witch or can it?" She needed to go to the forest and see for herself that it's not the same witch!!
While trying to hide her inner panic, Ann insisted, "Thankyou Mr. Herondale but there is no need to trouble Mr. Matthew.... I will take the towns route and reach home safely!"
Quickly Bowing at Mr. Herondale and his son, Ann Picked up her umbrella and bag before hurriedly walked out of the door!
Following the route from her dream last night, Ann walked as fast as she could! Entering the restricted side of forest, in an attempt to reach as quickly as possible, She began to run on the slippery muddy ground of forest. When she reached near the site, tripping on something, she tumbled down on her face on the swampland in a way that her hands touched the ground!
Slowly, Anneliese pushed her body up a little before looking ahead. Air escaped her lungs at the sight in front of her eyes! Managing to stand up on the forest ground, with a dreadful expression, Ann stared at the cold body which belonged to the same dark witch from her dream!
As the realization of the horror crept in her mind, unknowingly her frozen body moved backward before her back hit something hard!
Turning around, her crystal blue eyes fell on a man who wore black shoe, black trouser, black vest above his white shirt with a long black overcoat on his shoulders.
Tilting up her head, she looked at his face, only to find his blood red eyes staring back at her with a curious expression! And she heard the red eyed man, "Care to enlighten, what are you trying to do, trespassing the crime scene?" Making her step out of her zone.
She looked around and found some people in elite attire looking at her with piercing eyes!
When she was running to see the dead witch, she was too engrossed in her thoughts that not only she failed to notice the no entry sign but also the members of Conclave who were there to inspect the crime!
Returning her gaze at the man in front of her, she felt her throat went dry while she tried to form of a lie. With a troubled expression on her face, she pursed her lips before parting them and said, "Ahh I.... I was...here".
Seeing his eyes narrowing at her, Ann quickly blabbered, "I was here to look for something I lost in the forest!"
"Sure, In the restricted forest!!" the red eyed man said sarcastically and Ann quickly cursed herself for not coming up with a better lie.
Continuing with the lie, she said, "Yes! I strayed in the forest while my way back home yesterday evening and lost something very precious to me."
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Author's Note:- This note is to give the readers an idea about The High Conclave and other important facts which the readers should be aware of for the better understanding of the coming chapters.
-The High Conclave is the highest regulatory body which was established centuries ago due to continuous clashes and bloodshed between different kinds.
Soon after the Conclave was formed, An Accord was signed to maintain tranquility.
As per the Accord, the land was divided into five parts each assigned to one kind: Fairyland for fairies, Witchland for witches, Demonsland for demons, Sicilian Empire for humans and Versimoil Kingdom for vampires.
The High Conclave have five heads:
Regal Fairy Luciana from Fairyland,
Head Witch Bellatrix from Witchland,
Envoy Egnatius Lightwood from Sicilian Empire,
King Archimedes from Demonsland and
Lord Vincenzo Thornburn from the Kingdom of Versimoil.
-There are two types of witches:
-"The Dark witches are considered to be the most cunning and evil kind who deals with forbidden dark magic which can lead to destruction of the World."
-"The Light witches are not exactly saints but they do not touch the forbidden magic because the use of forbidden magic can cause immense destruction."
-"Administrative Board is a local executive body of Sicilian Empire which deals with the law and order of Sicilian Empire".