“It seems the Aniceta have secrets hidden from God”, Father Maurice said to the King, “shall I have my people investigate, my liege?”

“What would it matter?”, the King said in boredom.

“They could be a threat to the kingdom; could even say… overthrow you…”

“Had they wanted to, they’d done so long ago”

“Darkness needs time to grow and fester, my lord”

“Are you suggesting the Aniceta are witches?”, he scoffed.

“She did disarm you quite easily with unseen movements”

“She’s associated with the Elves, I’m sure she learned from them…”

“What will the people think if they know their king was defeated by an ordinary woman?”

“Everyone, who has passed their primary lessons, knows the Aniceta are no mere ordinary women…”

“Still, sire, don’t you feel…uneasy? They have kept valuable secrets from you”

King Kaiat looked at him, his words did touch a nerve.

“I’ll allow you to have a talk with Madame Aniceta, but nothing more. Don’t go stirring up trouble in unnecessary places, especially if you want that new cathedral.”

“Yes, of course, sire”, he bowed and stepped out, a grin spread across his face in pure malice.

He hurriedly departed the palace to find a robed man waiting in the corner of the town square near a secluded alley.

“So, Father, what did the king say?”

“We can have a little talk with the Aniceta”, he grinned, “Call the inspectors. Have them assemble at the Aniceta Estate tonight”

⎓✥⎓

I overheard the priests’ men talking about investigating the house. I dropped what I was doing and raced home.

“Mother! We got problems!”

“Yeah, I sent you for supplies an hour ago”, she grumbled as she tended to the new cuttings sent by the Elves.

“No, bigger problems! The priest is coming to investigate the estate!”

Mother froze. She looked around the house, every crevice was blasphemous and subject to heresy by the priest’s standards; potion bottles, talismans, occult books, and an overabundance of herbs.

“Start packing everything, quickly!”

The spirits immediately began to fly rapidly, lifting what they could carry, hiding them in the ceiling and floor boards. Mother cleaned up the counters and raced to her study to hide her crystals.

“Mother, don’t we have a concealing talisman?”

“Yes, but need to have everything we want to conceal in one confined space, so hop to it”

“Where should we hide the things in the basement?”

I jumped at the voice and looked up to see a towering elder tree spirit holding a few things in his hands.

“Just push everything to the side of the room and we’ll put concealment talismans”, I breathlessly answered.

“What of the garden and the greenhouse?”, he asked.

“I-I think those are okay, there’s only plants out there”

He nodded and went to go hide more incriminating things. I stood there trying to remember, which tree that was; It wasn’t one of the native elder trees on the estate.

“Mother”, I asked with a confused face.

“Are there any red trees or shrubs on the property with spirits?”

“No, those are native to the far northeast, so none would be here. Why?”

“There’s a large red elder spirit with reddish black hair and deep red foliage”

Mother thought for a moment while still moving. Suddenly, she shoved a bunch of things to the corner and ran to the kitchen. She stared at the windowsill.

“Where is the Red King flower that was here?”, she asked the room.

“My pot?”, a booming voice said.

Mother turned to see the spirit I was speaking of. Red foliage hung off him like an exquisite king’s ceremonial robe, his hair flowed down, nearly to the floor. Had he not been slightly translucent, he could have been mistaken as a handsome nobleman. Mother and I looked confused; his size was not that of a flower spirit.

“Y-you are the Red King flower?”

“Yes. I moved my pot to the greenhouse for more sun. Was that alright?”

“Ye-Yes of course, but when did you bloom?”

The Red King thought about it.

“I woke up when no one was home for a long time, but it was a very sunny day”

Right. Plants don’t have the same concept of time as humans do, so he wouldn’t be able to tell us.

“Ah, well welcome”, Mother invited, “When we’re done with today’s crisis, I would love to look at your blossom”

He gave a small bow and gathered up some more occult papers and went to hide them. Mother began to disperse the concealments as I cleaned up the dust that had accumulated around the things that used to be there.

“Go clean up and set yourself up to be having tea for when the time comes”, Mother ordered.

Doing as told, I made tea around the dusk hour and relaxed in the lounge with a human-appropriate book, which was quite dry to be honest, but an act is an act. Within an hour, heavy fists began beating on the door. As instructed, I waited for Mother to open the door before walking into the foyer with my book.

“Father Maurice?”, she acted surprised while looking at the twenty plus men in black standing at her door, “What is the meaning of this so late in the day?”

He laughed as though he had just caught a rat in a trap.

“We have evidence you have been practicing unsavory crafts against our holy God and conspiring against the king. By the king’s order, we have come to investigate.”

“Investigate? If the king has something to say to me, then he can call on me to say it himself”

“And let you poison his mind with your witchery? I think not!”

“Mother, what’s going on?”, I acted, approaching the door, “Ah, Father Maurice. Come to apologize?”

“For what?”, he spat.

“Your rudeness at the council. King Myavin still wants his apology”

“Enough! You think I care what that beast wants? Search this place high and low! Rip out every floorboard if you have to!”

He and his men pushed us aside and marched through the doorway. Like gangsters looking for valuables to steal, they kicked in every door and overturned everything.

“I don’t know what you think you’ll find here, but-”

“Silence! Witch!”, Father Maurice yelled and threw holy water on Mother.

Mother’s face grew stern and cold. I nervously wiped off it, then ran to pick up the objects they were tossing around.

“Move woman!”, one man shoved me hard.

“Why don’t we have a chat”, the priest smiled.

Mother fixed herself and pulled me by the arm to sit in the parlor with the priest.

“As you know, witches work for the dark god, they cannot recite the holy text without burning”

I tried to contain myself from rolling my eyes at the preposterous words he was spewing.

“So, let’s have a little test. Recite the temple hymn to Saint Tarak the Protector without error, and maybe I’ll be convinced you and your unsightly daughter are not witches”

I wanted to laugh so badly. Saint Tarak, was not only a mage, but a vampire. His extraordinary abilities are what allowed him to become a protector and savior. Containing my composure, I hymned in unison with Mother. I could feel that she felt disgusted at this humiliation. After we finished, the priest’s face was blotched and red like a raspberry, angry that his antics didn’t reveal anything.

“Well, I see your powers are quite strong, able to withstand the holy words”, he scoffed, “tell me the truth, witch, why have you hidden secrets from the king?”

“Had you been paying attention, you’d remember I said the late king ordered I keep the occults a secret and cut off all communication, travel, and trade between the human and Elven kingdom…”, she said solemnly.

Ah, that’s why the Elves hadn’t seen Mother return home in such a long time, even she had to stay away. I couldn’t help but look at her with pitiful eyes, knowing that she probably missed the place she once called home.

“Don’t worry, child. You have nothing to fear if you have nothing to hide”, he said to me, mistaking my worry to be because of him.

Controlling my facial expressions, I nodded stiffly, “It’s not like you could do anything anyway”, I thought.

Soon, some of the inspectors returned. They had the audacity to walk in eating our food and covered in filth from destroying our house!

“My fruits!”, I exclaimed as one had arms full of fresh fruit from my garden trees.

Mother quickly pressed me down as I growled at the violation. They laughed as they messily bit into oranges and apples, leaking juices all over the floor. Fruits aren’t rare, but pricier than the average person can afford to have more than a few times a week in the capital. I puffed out a breath to calm my anger, when I saw a glint of gold in one of their hands.

“You!”, I said pointing to a blond man with a scar, “You dare steal from me?”

He had my sapphire necklace I had made from one of the jewels Herongolde gave me. It was hidden in my undergarment drawer. Just that thought infuriated me more.

“Merely evidence, love”, he smiled wickedly.

“Evidence? Since when has jewelry found in a lady’s undergarments, evidence?”, I growled, “I demand you return my things!”

Mother squeezed my hand tightly to stop my advance. She knew I’d cut off their fingers without regret. One taunted me, pulling out my handkerchief from his pocket to sniff.

“For a great house like yours, such a small trinket will not be missed”, the priest intervened, “So, did you find anything?”

“Nothing really, Father, just an old house with a few good things to take for evidence”, one chuckled.

“I see. Well, these witches seem well trained in hiding their true forms”, he said displeased, “You also have a boy, where is he?”

“He’s usually with his friends…”, Mother answered.

“Five of you go fetch the boy”, the priest smiled, “we may be able to get some answers from him, hm?”

A dark look spread across his face as though he had just found his solution for a false confession. I swallowed a chuckle. Sao maybe not as strong, but he’s not one to easily beat into submission. It didn’t take long for the door to open again followed by Sao walking in with bloodied fist.

“Should have known something was up, what’s this all about? Why’s the house a mess?”, he asked.

I shook my head at the thought that this oblivious boy is the future of the Aniceta informants.

“Where are the inspectors sent to fetch you?”, the priest’s voice trembled.

“Oh, those mob-looking guys? They rudely interrupted my fun, so they’re having a bit of a nap”

Mother pressed her forehead in shame and gestured for him to sit down. He shrugged and plopped heavily into a lounging position. His lack of decorum visually irritated the priest.

“So, what’s this all about? Is this an imaginary friend meeting?”, he yawned and looked at the holy books on the table.

I stifled a laugh, but Mother nudged me. I gave her a look of, “he said it I didn’t”. The priest's face was red, but he was quiet.

“Tell me, my son, are your sister and mother witches? Are you perhaps a warlock?”

“Ha!”, Sao laughed, “If they were, I wouldn’t have had to fix the roof in the dead heat of summer!”

The priest coughed at his demeanor. 

Angry, Maurice made a disgusting demand, "Remove your garments, so that I may see you do not bear the mark of a witch"

"What!", Sao exclaimed.

"We will not", Mother refused, "There are eyes of men here and it would be against my daughter's and mine dignity!"

A disgusted growl escaped my person and Mother held me back.

"Dignity?", the priest said, "What dignity do you, unmarried whore with two illegitimate children, could have left?"

Mother was unmoved, "my daughter is still young, so I must refuse. If you insist, I will gladly have a priestess check"

Mother's mention of the priestess and refusal irritated him more. 

"Remo-!", he began to shout.

Suddenly, a loud commotion could be heard outside the gate. Shouts of happiness and fear merged together. Everyone rushed out to see what was happening.

“The Elves! I told you! I told you all! They exist, they are real!”, an old man shouted over the crowd.

We could see a large procession of Elves with building materials towering over them. King Myavin and a few others entered the courtyard.

“Ah, Madame Aniceta, sorry for coming so late in the evening, but we felt it’s best to get to work early in the morning tomorrow after some rest”

“Ye-yes it’s absolutely no problem”, Mother chuckled nervously.

“Am I interrupting something?”, Myavin’s eyes grew dark at the sight of Father Maurice, “Inspectors? I believe they’re known as the witch hunters. Why are so many of them here? Perhaps…”

Maurice shrunk as Myavin’s eyes peered down at him.

“You are not possibly here to try the Aniceta as witches, are you?”, his words emitted a low rumble like thunder.

His fierce eyes passed over the men. Their pockets bulged with stolen items. Myavin locked on the man who held my handkerchief in his hand.

“It seems you still lack remorse for your actions, priest”, he stepped forward ready to unleash an assault, “To insult the Aniceta is to insult me. It seems our agreement cannot be honored”

Mother stepped in front of him, “Ada (father), don’t.”, she pleaded.

Myavin let out a breathy growl and dropped his hand from his sword.

“I’ll let you live, but empty your pockets and return everything that you’ve stolen”

Father Maurice shakenly nodded and signaled his men to do as he said. As they emptied their pockets, they had taken far more than imagined, even some of my clothes! It was perverse! Even so, I did not see my necklace amongst the pile.

“Now leave”, Myavin demanded.

“Wait!”, I yelled, “You! My necklace! Where is it?!”

I usually do not care for such gifts, but it was something precious that Herongolde gave. Before the man could react, he was on the ground with a sword to his throat.

“I meant everything”, Myavin growled.

The man shakenly pulled the necklace from his pocket and handed over.

“Check them all!”, Myavin commanded his men.

In unison, they turned every pocket and piece of clothing inside out. Many more items were found.

“We came here to help you as a sign of goodwill, but what I see before me, makes me believe our kindness has been greatly misplaced”

The priest shivered, “I-I assured you this is just a misunderstanding”

“Threatening women is a misunderstanding?”, he scoffed, “Daughter, is this how you’ve been living in the human world?”

“It’s usually more passive-aggressive, but ignorance turns to violence quickly around here. Nothing to worry about though”, Mother replied plainly

“Why are you still here?”, Myavin growled at the priest and his men.

They shuffled quickly across the courtyard into the stunned crowd standing just beyond the gates. Myavin watched them with eyes full of anger, then instructed his men to pick up the items on the ground.

“Shall we?”, he gestured to go inside.

We nodded and went inside only to stop short in the doorway behind Myavin. Everything was askew and on the floor.

“Seems that priest needs a good talking to”

“Yes, but I have other plans. Care to hear them?”

Myavin’s eyes lit up, “Well, what do you have in mind?”

Mother smiled, “Let us clean this up first. Jylan, handle the garden, Sao, the second floor, I’ll handle the first floor and the basement”

“Oh, no, let us help”, Myavin directed his people to begin cleaning.