As Katiya lay chained to the dungeon walls, she could hear the cheers of the city's people through the small barred window that sat above her head.
Burn the witch! Bring her out!
The window was the only thing that offered her a slither of light in the darkness and an inkling of what was going on outside of this cage. She was dehydrated. Her body lacked strength from starvation and torture, but she paid it no concern. Anyone that walked by would think that her focus was on the moldy tiles of the prison, her head bent down and hair masking her face. And while she stared at them with her eyes, she wasn't really. Her mind was far away, trapped in a memory that she did not want to escape from.
It was the image of her mother. She gave her daughter a toothy grin; one only made for her as her hair blew in the breeze. Her mother sheepishly tried to hold her hair back down and tuck it behind her ear. That was a time when it was just the both of them in their small village of Heria. Before she had met him. The person who had sealed both her and her mother's fates.
Her mother was gone now. The reality kicked in for the hundredth time today and Kaitya felt a tear run down her cheek from the agony. She did not wipe it away for it held the love she had for her mother and fueled the rage that was slowly suffocating her heart. This rage was only aimed at one person. Someone she now despised and her heart beat for at the same time.
She played over the last scene with her mother before they sent her to execution.
Katiya gritted her teeth as she fought with the chains that bound her wrist in an attempt to get free. She had been at this for three hours and although everything in her body was telling her to stop, she still persisted. They had to get out. They had to get away before-
A gentle hand landed on hers and Katiya looked up into her mother's soft eyes. She shook her head. "Enough Katiya. You can stop now."
Katiya opened her mouth in an attempt to say something but her mother shook her head again. "It's okay, my darling." Her words were soft and held no blame or anger. But they should have. She was to blame for them getting put in this prison. When she looked at her now, she couldn't see the natural rosy glow that painted her mother's fair complexion. The meat on her bones had all but faded as they had been starved for nearly a week now.
Katiya broke down there and then. She wailed as tears streaked down her face. Her cry was filled with all the sorrow and guilt that she had tried so hard to hide from her. "I'm so sorry, mother. It's all my fault. You warned me, but I didn't listen. I should have listened."
Her mother sat silently, except for her hand that patted hers as she let her cry. She waited for her to stop and dry her tears before she spoke. "Katiya, my precious girl. How could I ever fault you for falling in love? I have always wanted that for you." She looked to have a private thought which she shook away with a shake of her head. "No. I could never blame you. You are not at fault. It is he who has done us wrong."
Her mother's eyes took on a dark intensity. One that Katiya did not see often. "Listen now, my child. I know I have told you to hide what we are, the powers that we hold. This time I will teach you a spell. It is ancient. This is one of danger and there will be some toll that you will pay- " Her voice broke. "But I want you to live. I Need you to live."
She wanted to cry again but something in her knew this wasn't the time. She nodded, her lips drawn in a tight line. Her mother leaned in from where they sat side by side held in place with iron chains, blew in a breath, and then whispered in her ear.
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