Witch Bewitched (New)

Chapter 29 (Pt. 2)

"Wake up."

Someone shook Misa's shoulder.

"Wake up, Miss Carpenter."

Misa groaned and rolled over, swatting at the hand on her shoulder.

"Get up!"

"Oh, leave me alone," Misa snapped. She shivered. Her hand searched for anything that could warm her and grazed the corner of her cloak. She pulled it over her head.

"Do you have any idea how stupid it was to spend the night in the shed?"

The cloak flew off her, sending a cold chill to assault her skin. Misa rubbed her arms, shuddering. "You're so cruel to me. It's cold!"

"Get up!" Hands grabbed her shoulders and pulled her up. "Find your bearings, Miss Carpenter. This is no time to be snoozing!"

Misa forced her eyelids to open. She squinted at the early morning light peeking through the hessian curtain. The captain was a shadow against it.

"Miss Carpenter, if you don't—" Something had cut him off.

Misa rubbed the sleep out of her eyes. When her hand brushed against her cheek, she winced. A dull throb began to register in Misa's head, and she recalled the painful slaps Rithian had gifted her the night before. The captain ran a thumb over her cheek, and Misa hissed.

She slapped his hand away. "It's tender!" she snapped. She cupped the side of her face, taking care not to press down on it.

"What happened?" he asked. He recoiled from her. "Was it...Did I...?"

Misa snorted. "What? You think you did it?"

His face softened in relief, then he scowled. "Then who was it? Who hit you?"

"No one." Misa turned away, unwilling to meet his eyes. She hated lying to him, but she knew what Rithian was capable of. No, she didn't. Who knew how deep the witch's pleasure in inflicting pain ran? She shuddered. If the captain had found out, he would insist on keeping watch on Misa in case something happened. He would see the way Rithian treated her, the way Misa left with her confidence shattered. And if Rithian found out...the captain wasn't the only one who would face her wrath.

"Miss Carpenter."

"I said it was no one." Misa shook her head, blinking back tears. Her cheek throbbed, her temples throbbed. Overall, Misa's head was not having a good day. "Just leave it, okay? It was an accident." Far from it. "And I probably deserved it." In Rithian's eyes. "It'll heal quickly with my magic anyway. So drop it." She didn't mention that her magic was still recovering from the previous night's lesson.

The captain sat back, once again falling into an observer. Misa could feel his calculated gaze on her. He knew she was lying. He was just waiting for the moment he could pry the truth from her.

"I'm not changing my answer, all right?" Misa drew her knees to her chest, the cold forgotten. "No matter how many times you ask. So, please. Just let it go."

"You've been different since the night you found the market." There was something soft in the way he spoke. "They did something to you, didn't they? Did they threaten you?"

"I—" Misa sighed. What was the point in coming up with excuses? The captain wouldn't stop prodding until he knew why she was off. "You want me to tell you what happened that night?" Misa gritted her teeth, her fists clenching on the material of her dress. "I didn't want to tell you, but you're just not going to give up, are you? Fine, then. I'll tell you."

Misa glared at a piece of straw on the ground, imagining it to be the captain, Rithian, her parents, Tika, herself. "That night, when I met Rithian... Do you know what she did to me? She humiliated me, degraded me, treated me as if I was nothing but dirt. With her, I'm less than human. I'm just a piece of garbage that happens to have magic in my veins. I'm nothing." Misa rubbed the tears from her eyes. "She tore me down. She made me hate who I am. I can't be myself when I'm with her. I can't even find it in myself to enjoy art anymore." She paused to swallow, to clear her throat before her voice cracked like the pathetic brat she was. "I'm weak, worthless, stupid. I—"

"Enough." Misa somehow found the strength to look at him. His eyes were burning, his lips set in a thin line.

"You asked," she said, almost accusing. "You wanted to know what was wrong with me. Why? Is it too much to hear?"

Captain Bentham shook his head. "Did she hit you?"

Misa bit her lip to stop herself from answering. She had already said too much. She averted her gaze from him, unable to take the sympathy in his eyes, the way he looked at her like she was so...weak. Misa had wanted to spare herself from the captain's judgement, from the humiliation, but she had lost even that bit of pride.

Her heart ached. A friendly face flashed before her eyes. Torren's. How she missed him after the past weeks of exhaustion. She wanted his levity, his kindness, his strength. She just needed his shoulder, where she could pour everything out.

"Hey." The captain took Misa's hand, and she blinked in surprise. She met his eyes. "You're not weak. You're not worthless. And you're not stupid."

"That's not what you thought when you first met me. Do you know how many times you've called me foolish or stupid?"

"You proved me wrong, haven't you?" He cracked a lopsided smile. "Think about it. You found Bernt and the hint that led us to the answer, you figured out the riddle was about Bell's fountain, you found the secret door to the passageway, and you got us into the witch market. Granted, you could have gone about it without getting caught or being so reckless, but you're the one who got us the results that we wanted."

Misa didn't realise she was crying until hot tears stung her cheek. Here was someone she could turn to. She wasn't alone. She hadn't been since the moment the captain comforted her at the fountain. He wasn't an enemy. He was a friend. She refused to think about his motivations or the possibility that he was only kind in hopes that she could give him what he wanted, because in that moment, she saw genuine concern in his eyes. He cared. Even if he wasn't willing to open up his past to her, he was still here for her in the present. He still cared.

"Do you mean that?" she asked, wiping the tears away.

The captain nodded. "Of course, I do. You're a strong, capable young woman, and you'd be a fool if you couldn't see that."

Misa let out a small laugh despite herself. "You called me a fool again."

"I said 'if', Miss Carpenter. 'If'."

"Misa," she said, sniffling. "The formalities convince me otherwise."

He chuckled, and at that moment, he was not the captain. He was just Royle. An equal. "Very well...Misa. Do you believe me now?"

She squeezed his hand and nodded. A weight lifted from her chest. "Then, would it be appropriate if I called you by your name, Captain?"

"I suppose it's only fair."

She let out a long breath that cleared her lungs, and she felt like she could breathe again. She had proven her worth to the captain, and she could do it again. Her resolve thickened; her determination steeled. She would show Rithian that she was not just a tool. She would learn magic, and when she found out how to control bewitchment, she would leave and never return. She would cut her ties with Rithian, even if it meant chopping her wrist off. She didn't belong to anyone, and she wasn't going to let Rithian use her for anything.

"Now," Royle hardened his gaze. "Care to explain why we were sleeping in the shed instead of Vortham's manor?"

Misa laughed, even though he had taken that authoritative tone that she'd hated to hear. For some reason, it didn't bother her as much, especially when there was still a mischievous twinkle in his eye. "You're a lousy drunk. What can I say? I'm just not strong enough to carry you all the way to the manor bridal style."

"So, you decided to sleep with me?"

Misa's cheeks blossomed. It sounded so, so wrong. "Oh, shut up. I had a few drinks, too, remember? Why should I walk all the way back when you had the privilege of sleep? And before you ask, no. I didn't do anything to you while you were drunk." She recalled his sweet words, calling her beautiful, claiming he'd been bewitched. Did he really have no memory of it? Misa was too afraid to bring it up, and she didn't know which answer scared her more.

"Whatever you say." Royle slipped his hand from Misa's fingers and stood. "Get dressed now. We'll stop by Vortham's residence to freshen up before we head to the purgehouse. We've got some work to do."

Misa nodded. She dug through the sack and pulled out her uniform. It was wrinkled and dusty, and it still planted a seed of discomfort in her. Her shoulders slumped. Would Royle be Royle or the captain when he put on his uniform?

"I'll be right outside," Royle said. "Give a shout when you're finished."

His shadow fell over her as he approached the doorway. Misa didn't want to know if he would change in his uniform, so she decided she would make the most of him when he was still Royle.

"Royle?" He paused at the doorway. Misa beamed at him. "Thank you."

Without turning around, he gave her a brief nod and slipped outside. Misa watched the fluttering curtain, the stream of sunlight, and the dancing dust before stripping her dress. Royle might return to being the cold captain, but Misa wasn't going to let him forget that he was a friend. Not when he was one of the few people in the world she could trust. And while these thoughts ran in her mind, Misa wondered if she would be as ecstatic as she used to be to leave Plathea when it was all over. Somehow, she doubted it.