“I am one of Scarletta’s,” she finally said after a moment. Her voice shook as she spoke. She averted their gaze and stared at her feet. The men and women murmured amongst themselves. I-told-you-so's were exchanged. Maria hushed the angered people.

"Why are ya tellin' us this?" she asked.

"I have nothing to hide," Calliope said. She met Maria's gaze. Her eyes were kind. "I escaped.”

“Escaped?” a voice echoed.

“I couldn't handle her torture. She would attack me and demanded I defend myself as part of my training.” Calliope winced at the memories as she told them her story. The villagers were quiet, so she continued.

“She made me attack her own Nequam and witches. She locked me out of the castle to fend for myself in the forest. And when things didn’t go as planned, she tortured me. She injected me with spells and potions, always saying how her other creations were just practice; that I was her ultimate creation and I could never let her down.” Calliope was quiet for a moment. She looked at the ground, aware of the eyes focused on her. The townsfolk listened intently.

“Poor thing,” a woman muttered.

“Don't pity it,” a man barked.

“I was created to be just like the other witches,” Calliope explained, “who were created not to feel pain or emotion. I was trained to fight and kill and win and to simply do her bidding. But I didn’t turn out that way, and she knew it. I ended up only being weak to her. Her torture didn’t make me strong.” She paused again and cleared her throat. She felt tears sting her eyes.

“It only caused me to hate myself,” she said, lost in her thought. “I saw myself as weak because I couldn’t live up to her expectations and be like the witches before me. I thought there was something wrong with me. I didn’t think that I was supposed to be like that.” She looked back up at the group around her.

“Just a sob story,” a young woman shouted.

Calliope stood tall and held her gaze with the villagers. “Scarletta sent me on a mission to attack the kingdom. I left with the intent to never return and to start a new life for myself, away from her. But I was attacked, and all I knew was to use my powers to defend myself. I know I'm a witch and I know I'm meant to do evil. But being a witch is all I know. My magic is all I have. I did what I had to do to survive.”

“She only wanted to save herself from the Nequam.”

“I know Scarletta sent them after me. I know she won't give up until I'm found. I'll do everything in my power to stay away from her. I can’t go back to her. She will kill me if she knew I betrayed her. But I would never wish death on any of you, especially at the hand of Scarletta.”

The villagers were silent for a moment as they let her story sink in.

"And what makes you think we should believe your sob story?" a plump woman spoke up.

"I don't," Calliope said. "But you asked. Believe what you will."

“Give us any sob story you want, witch, but you’re not escaping from us. We’re bringing you to the kingdom and you will be killed.”

“You can’t kill her! She saved us!”

“She was only saving herself!”

They erupted into another heated argument, shouting accusations and pointing fingers. Mido watched beside Ian. He couldn't wrap his mind around the events that had unfolded. People believed its sob story. They wanted to help it. He was disgusted. He wanted to see justice; to see it killed.

"She saved our lives," Ian said suddenly. "Without her, we would have died. For that, I am in your debt." He gripped his sword and approached Calliope, standing by her side. Mido gawked at his friend's sudden decision.

"Ian, you can't be serious," a larger man said, his facial features set in an angry tone. His copper brows knit together against his bald head. "We're bringing her to the kingdom. What do you think you're going to do about it? Fight us?" The hairs in his mustache fluttered as he huffed through his nose.

“She doesn't deserve to die, Barric.”

Maria joined Ian at Calliope's side.

"I believe ya, Hunnie," she said. "Maria will take care of ya, poor thing. What's ya name?" She let her hand rest on Calliope's shoulder.

Calliope stared at the woman in disbelief. "Calliope," she said quietly.

More men and women joined Calliope. William and Jon exchanged quiet glances at one another. They looked to Mido, to Ian, and to Maria, hoping for an answer. They watched as the villagers took sides while Mido stood off to the side. Finally, they made their move, joining Ian and Maria, but keeping clear, still unsure of the mysterious witch in their company.

"What are we going to do about this, Mido?" a man asked, his arms crossed over his chest. Mido watched the events unfold before him as his friends and neighbors chose their sides. He raised an eyebrow.

"Why is this up to me?"

"You found it."

Mido pinched the bridge of his nose and sighed. He wanted nothing more than to kill it himself, but he could sense Ian's gaze hard on him. "It was our job to bring her to the king," he said.

"You can't send this poor girl to her death," Maria shouted at him.

"His men are out here looking for her,” Mido reminded her. “They won't rest until she is found."

"She's not who they think she is."

"She's a witch!" another man yelled. "She doesn't belong with us."

"She could help us find Scarletta,” the slender woman said. “Calliope is the only one who knows how to get to her. We could end this once and for all."

Mido hesitated, carefully considering both sides. Perhaps she could be an asset. Killing this thing wouldn't stop Scarletta. She would just create another witch. But if the witch was willing to help, they could use it to their advantage. He looked at his friend for assurance. Mido couldn't understand Ian's change of heart, but something told him he needed to trust his friend's decision. He had been the only constant through his life; he never steered him wrong, and he wouldn't hear the end of it if he decided otherwise.

"Will you bring us to Scarletta?" he asked, turning to Calliope.

"Scarletta will kill you all," Calliope said. "You are no match for her. I will not send you to your deaths."

"You could fight her," a man pointed out.

"You can't ask her to go back there," Maria said. "There's a reason she escaped."

Maria and the man argued amongst each other while the others argued around them.

"Stop it," Calliope yelled. They quieted down, their eyes fixed on her. "I can take care of her myself," she mumbled. She didn't stand a chance against her master, especially with her power as weak as they were, but she could not let the people of Librona suffer as she did. She was through ending innocent lives.

"Let us help you," Ian said.

"You cannot help me."

"We are in your debt."

“I will not send you to your deaths.”

"If you won't help us, then we're taking you to the king," Mido said. "And if you don't help him, he will see to it that you are burned at the stake."

Calliope hesitated. Nothing she said would change their minds. Their minds were set on getting to Scarletta, one way or another.

“I will take you to Scarletta,” she said, her voice barely audible. “Only if you let me leave the kingdom afterwards.”

Mido contemplated this for a moment. He was not about to make promises to a witch. “We'll let King Sloan make that decision,” he said. “Take us to Scarletta.”

"Mido, you cannot trust this thing," another woman yelled to him with fury in her voice.

"She could be an asset to the kingdom,” he said. “If she keeps true to her word, then King Sloan will deal with her after.”

The villagers erupted into another shouting match.

"Don't expect any empathy from us," Barric said, his face red with fury. "We're going back to the kingdom and we will tell the king about this."

“Barric, she could lead us to Scarletta. We could be through with this once and for all,” Ian said.

“You're putting the kingdom's fate in the hands of a witch,” another man hissed. His straggly, dirty blond hair fell over his eyes. “You will be hanged for this.”

“Enough, Carsen,” Barric said to his friend. “King Sloan will deal with them as he sees fit.”

Carsen spat at the ground towards Mido as he and Barric turned away, mounting their horses with the rest of their supporters.

“You'll pay for this, Mido,” Carsen threatened. They pushed their horses into a gallop, Barric giving one last leer at Mido, and disappeared into the woods.

"Let's go," Mido said after a moment. He passed Calliope as he walked towards his horse.

"Don't make me regret this," he said to her. He mounted and extended a hand towards Calliope, pulling her up behind him. “Bring us straight to Scarletta.” Mido kicked his horse and led the rest of the fellowship through the forest.