Witch Bewitched (COMPLETE)

Chapter 43

Royle jolted awake, his heartbeat accelerating in a moment of panic. His hand searched for something next to him but only found the wrinkles of the bedsheet. The blanket was pulled over him like a cocoon and there was a clear indent on the pillow next to him.

It hadn't been a dream then. Misa had been in his room, and she had been considerate enough to fold the blanket over him before she left.

With a sigh, he turned over on his back. Faint blue light filtered through the windows. The day hadn't even begun, and the trees were still stark black shadows against the slowly brightening sky. He could stay in bed for a little longer. Getting out meant dealing with everything that had happened, everything he still needed to do, and everything that would happen. Even if he couldn't go back to sleep, at least he could just think without actually needing to do anything.

So, he thought back to the previous night, about Tika's death, about the burning he had to do to send her off to her final resting place. He still wasn't sure how to feel about it. It wasn't grief exactly, but he found he missed the old witch even though he barely saw her. More than that, what Tika's death brought to him was despair. Because without her, he had no idea if he could defeat Nisha.

It was time, he supposed, for him to find his way alone without her advice about witches. At least, Tika's death didn't leave him without a ray of hope.

Misa.

He had suspected what had happened when he found her slumped over Tika's bed. There was only one reason Tika would have died the moment they had arrived, and it was only if she had given the magic keeping her alive to Misa. There was still a chance. If she could learn to use Tika's magic, she'd be able to challenge Nisha's power. If he could convince her to keep her magic, if he could somehow convince her that being a witch wasn't so bad, maybe they'd have a chance.

And if she refused...well, he'd have to figure it out from there.

For now, he needed to find a valid excuse to go to Harthem, where Nisha was. He rolled over once more to face the empty space next to him. The application for his transfer would take about two weeks to be approved by headquarters. But he had to take Misa with him. How would he transfer her with him without raising suspicion?

His mind wandered as if to avoid the urgent issue. The thought of Misa led him back to the night before, of telling her about his past, finding her scared at the staircase, and against his better judgement, letting her in his room...in his bed.

Fück!

He wasn't supposed to think like that. The thought had come out of nowhere. Was he so stressed that this was what his mind had resorted to distract him?

Where the hell had she gone, anyway?

Groaning in frustration, he threw the blanket off of him and finally got out of bed. The floor was ice cold beneath his feet, but he didn't really care. Now that he was up, there were things he had to do.

First, he had to get ready for the day. Tika's house had only one bathroom located next to her bedroom. He was on his way there when he saw Misa's room with the door open.

A cool breeze swept by, sending a shiver through him. Misa was inside, sitting by the window and quietly talking to herself.

Royle wasn't sure why he felt relieved to see her. He ignored the feeling and stepped inside, curious about what she was doing. Sidestepping the bed, he came up behind her seat.

Misa let out a light chuckle.

"What are you doing?" Royle asked, peering over her shoulder.

She squealed into her hand as she whirled around, then her brows knitted in anger. "Royle!" she hissed. "Don't do that!"

"Sorry, but again, what are you doing?" He couldn't voice the true questions he had in his mind. When she woke up, why she left him, if she could help him sleep again.

Questions he shouldn't ask.

Instead of giving a sardonic reply, she put a finger on her lips and pointed out the window. "Look."

He followed her finger and saw a large tree branch reaching towards the window. It swayed against the wind, its leaves gently rustling. On the crook of it, where it split into smaller branches, nestled a bird nest. Three speckled eggs rested inside.

"A nest?" Royle said, slightly disappointed, though he noticed one of them moving.

"They're going to hatch," Misa whispered in excitement. She leaned over the windowsill to get a closer look. Her ever present sketchbook was tucked under her arm. "That one's already cracked. Come on, little one. You can do it."

"If that's all, we should get ready to head to the purgehouse. It's a long ride, and we'll need to go soon if we want to arrive before breakfast."

"What?" Misa glared at him. "No! We're about to witness a miracle of life, and you want to leave? What is wrong with you?"

"Miracle of-" Royle pinched the bridge of his nose. "Misa, I don't mean to alarm you, but we don't exactly have the luxury to watch something as mundane as eggs hatching when we have a much larger problem to deal with."

"Mundane?" She scoffed. "Mundane? Tell me, Royle, have you ever even seen a bird hatch from its egg?"

"I..." Royle frowned. "Well, no, but why would I want to? I have more important things to think about."

"And that's your problem. All you ever do is think about your problems. There are moments, Royle, moments you need to enjoy without worrying, without planning, without being scared, and without thinking about anything else. If you keep ignoring these moments for the sake of your problems, you'll never see the world."

She held up her sketchbook, showing him a picture of the nest. It was a detailed drawing, including the speckles, the leaves, and even a few feathers. He had to admit that she was a skilled artist.

"There's so much out there to explore," Misa continued. She lowered her sketchbook and watched the nest with curiosity and awe and...sadness. "How could you choose to miss the opportunity to see something you've never seen before?"

Something about the way she spoke, the emotions quivering in her voice or the yearning in her eyes, planted a seed of doubt in his mind. And for one split second, an intense desire to experience the world through Misa's eyes washed over him. He wanted to know what it was like to let everything go and live, to see the beauty in life, to love living. Part of him envied her for her naivety, for the blissful ignorance that shielded her from the harsh world. Because all he saw in that hatching egg was a tiny, vulnerable creature that would have to fight tooth and nail to survive with all the odds stacked against it. The world was cruel, even to life that had barely begun.

But maybe, just for one moment, he could forget about reality and convince himself that all could be right in the world. So, he dragged a stool from the corner of the room and took a seat next to her.

"Fine," Royle said. "We'll watch the egg hatch, then we'll leave. Just one."

"Okay." Misa beamed at him, and his heart rate spiked. "Thank you, Royle."

Royle's jaw clenched. Not for the first time, guilt pricked at him. Guilt for dragging Misa into his plans to destroy Nisha. Every time she thanked him...as if he had done her any favours when all he did was put her in danger. He had to figure out how to keep her safe in the midst of his vengeance. He had to.

"Look, that's the beak!" Misa cut through his thoughts.

Yellow poked out of white. Royle watched the beak open and close as the chick breathed through a small hole. It chipped away at the shell, slow and steady, and Royle realised that it could take hours before it completely emerged from its egg.

"Misa," he murmured, still watching the little thing struggle to break its barrier against the world. "It's going to take too long."

"Yeah," Misa breathed. "It must take a lot of time to bring life into this world. Of course it does. That's why it's so beautiful."

Royle moved his gaze from the bird to look at Misa. As the sky brightened, so did her skin. She patiently watched, mesmerised, and Royle's urgency faded away. There was a raw, authentic charm in her enjoying the moment that convinced him to forget everything for just a little while. And suddenly the world didn't seem like such a bad place to be.

"Yes. Beautiful."

He wasn't sure how long they sat there, but he snapped out of his trance when Misa let out a small squeal.

"I can see its head. Can you hear it peeping?"

The egg was already halfway cracked. Royle frowned. That was odd. He knew from the rate the chick pecked at its egg that it shouldn't have cracked open so quickly.

But then...

Tika.

Of course. This was a witch's home, and so magic ran rampant here. Magic that was measured in time. Even after the witch's death, the home had memories of her presence that had yet to fade away. Given Tika's affinity for animals, he wouldn't be surprised if these birds had chosen a spot closest to the house to build their nest-to give their offspring the best chance at survival.

It took another half hour for the chick to fully hatch. They had watched in silence, giving it the space to concentrate. It peeped with its beak wide open, feathers still soaked from its time inside the egg. It trembled as it tried to find its balance, its wings flapping open when it nearly fell to its side. Clumsy, but it was adjusting to a whole new world outside the cramped one it had emerged from.

"You did it," Misa said with a prideful smile. "Welcome to the world, little one."

The other two eggs were at different stages of hatching, but there was no time to watch them. The sun was already rising, and Royle knew they wouldn't make it before breakfast. It was another complication, but he supposed he could let it slide this time.

"That's one," he said, getting up from his seat. "Now get ready to leave. We'll have to skip breakfast, unfortunately."

Misa sighed. "Yes sir. Whatever you say, sir. You're such a bore."

"A bore?"

Chuckling to herself, Misa gave all her attention back to the bird. "You don't know the half of it, little bird. His mind is full of nothing but work. He has no idea how to have fun. Can you imagine that? How dull! I could do with someone else to talk to. Do you want to be my new friend?"

The chick peeped, almost as if in reply. Royle couldn't believe what he was witnessing.

"Are you really talking to that bird?" he said incredulously.

Misa shrugged. "What can I say? It holds a much more interesting conversation than you."

Royle wasn't sure why hearing that annoyed him. "It can't even speak."

"Exactly." Misa gave him a pointed look, her eyes gleaming despite the frown on her face. "Imagine how boring you'd have to be for me to enjoy talking to a baby bird over talking to you. Like I mentioned before, you have no idea how to have fun."

"You...I..." Royle rubbed a hand over his face. "I'm not having this argument with you again."

Misa's laughter tickled the air. The first rays of sunshine reached into the room, as though attracted to her levity. She pushed back a strand of hair from her face and stood from her chair.

"Lighten up, Royle," she said with a bright smile that melted his odd irritation. "I was only teasing. I did agree to watch just one hatch, didn't I?" She fondly glanced at the nest before facing him once more. "I've already taken a bath so there should be some warm water left for you to use. All I need to do is change into my uniform, you know."

Royle remained silent, unsure of what to say. A twinge of guilt pricked at him again, though he wasn't sure why. He felt as if he was forcefully taking her away from what she enjoyed, that he was pouring his problems into her life. He wanted to apologise, but he couldn't when he didn't quite know what he was sorry for.

"Um..." Misa hugged her sketchbook. "If you don't mind, I said I needed to get dressed. So maybe you should..." Her eyes flickered to the door, and Royle got the message.

He couldn't apologise, so instead he said, "Thank you, Misa."

She blinked in surprise. "For what?"

Everything. Royle smiled. "For warming the bath water."

He was genuinely grateful that Misa had done so because he had planned to use freezing cold water otherwise, but his true gratitude lay in the world she showed him.

Because as much as he believed the world was a rotten place to live in, for the briefest of moments, he had seen true joy and wonder. It made him think that maybe, one day, the world he lived in could be a better a place and that it would offer more than suffering. And even though it never would, he was grateful that at least for one moment, he could believe it was possible.