A tan grime-covered woman was dragged into a courtroom, her bruised wrists tied behind her back, hidden by her long messy black hair. The men who were dragging the woman threw her to the ground and yanked her by her hair, forcing her to look up.
The woman was faced with the court, who glared and laughed at the woman, sneering in return. "Camilla Lucius, you are charged with the following crimes: witchcraft, hiding among humans, and the murder of a human. How do you plead?" The judge stated, raising his brow in amusement.
Lucius stood firm and defiant. "I plead not guilty," she said, her voice strong and unbroken. Lucius looked down, a readless look on her face before she said, "I won't lie. . . I am a witch, I did hide amongst you. . . But I never harmed a human! For that, I plead innocent! It is you who are guilty, your 'honor'"
A man gasped at this, and the women looked upon them with pure hatred and spite, "do not lie in the house of God witch! You are guilty! We found your unholy books! A woman of your beauty should not even know how to read!"
"A woman who reads is a woman who can provide more for her village" Lucius stated, angered at the men's stupidity. Another man who had been silent until now, scoffed and stood, addressing the court.
"Gentlemen, I think we can all agree, a woman who reads, can only provide poor fortune to her offspring" The man stated, the other men nodding along with him. "Your God has no meaning to me, nor to the magical creatures you force off our own land" Lucius snarked, amber eyes flashing red.
"ENOUGH OF THIS!!!"
The judge slammed his fist to the court table, "CAMILLA LUCIUS, FOR YOUR CRIMES AGAINST HUMANS, YOU ARE TO BE EXECUTED BY BURNING ON THE PYRE!!!" the men from before grabbed Lucius by the arms, dragging her out of the room as she thrashed.
"I AM INNOCENT! I DID NOT COMMIT ANY CRIME AGAINST YOUR KIND! YOU ARE THE MONSTERS WHO ARE TRYING TO WIPE US OUT! I WILL NOT STAND FOR THIS! SIT AUTUMNUS ET ENDOR MALEDICENT TE INFERIS!"
*CRASH*
A dark skinned witch gasped awake, breathing heavily as he looked out the dark window of the castle library, seeing it was storming and thundering. The witch's pinkish eyes gazed at the window dazedly as he ran his hand through his messy shoulder length hair, which was a dark red.
He rubbed the sleep out of his eyes, recalling the strange dream he had about a woman in what seemed to be the dark ages. The dream was so vivid, like the witch was really there, witnessing the awful scene first hand.
'What. . . Was that. . .?'
"Have a nice nap?"
The small witch jumped at the sudden voice behind him, causing him to get out of his seat. He then looked behind him to see a tall albino wolfshifter, dressed in a black silked robe, his bare chest visible underneath, his white hair was slicked back and long, flowing down his waist, and his violet eyes shined brightly with the candle light in the man's hand.
Recognizing the wolfshifter, the witch quickly bowed and stuttered, "your highness! I'm sorry, I hope I wasn't disturbing you-" the witch stopped talking when the taller man held up his hand to quiet him, "it's quite alright, and I apologize for scaring you. . .?" the man stopped, not knowing what to call the young witch.
The witch tensed before bowing and saying, "my name's Leo Gale, King Lupin" the taller man nodded and smiled at this, slightly amused at Leo's tension, "ah yes, you're Cova's apprentice correct?" King Lupin asked, wanting to make sure, "yes, I started just yesterday" Leo replied, calming himself.
Lupin smiled before bringing his attention to the old book Leo was reading before falling asleep. The book was large, the pages were tattered and slightly torn at the edges, the cover was a velvet color with a gold brim, and the title was 'The Midnight Pyre' written in gold cursive letters.
"Strange, it's rare I find anyone reading about the history of Krystal, especially at this hour." King Lupin said, intrigued. Leo nervously laughed and replied, "yeah, I like older books, and Cova said the castle had a vast library so I had to come up here."
Leo played with a strand of his curly hair as he picked up the book and placed it in a satchel that laid on the desk. "Well it's true, Krystal does have a vast library, but, as much as that book you were reading is good, it tends to sugar coat and dramatize matters." Lupin explained, sharp eyes wandering.
"If you want the true history of Krystal, I recommend this book." Lupin then pulled out a book from behind his back. It had a worn out black cover, a silver brim, and stained writing. There were silver cursive letters written on it that said, 'Krystal, kingdom of magic and pyres'.
As Leo looked over the cover, he grabbed the book gently, not wanting to damage it. "It explains the history from both sides, not just of humans or magic" Lupin explained, moving a strand of hair out of Leo's face, making him blush.
"O-okay, I'll give it a read, thank you, King Lupin" Leo said, smiling at the King, who gently grabbed and kissed the witch's hand, and while speaking with a sweet tone, "then I wish you goodnight, dear Leo Gale~"