The Devil's Cursed Witch

Inside the largest house in the center of Honeyharbor, a graceful lady who looked like a human woman in her late twenties received the scroll presented to him by the messenger from the Wood Elf Clan.

"This elf greets Cornelia Grimm, the Head Witch of the Honeyharbor coven. I present to you a letter of invitation from the High Elder of the Wood Elves."

The Head of the Witches read the message written on the scroll. "Do let Elder Leeora know that I accept this invitation. I will head to Ronan tomorrow morning."

The next day, Leeora warmly welcomed the Head of the Witches at the entrance of the city. "I must thank Lady Cornelia for coming despite such quick notice."

"I believe that the Elder didn't call me here for no reason."

Leeora smiled. "Of course there is a reason, but this city is still glad to have you here."

Cornelia Grimm simply smiled back. "I am sure the reason is related to that human girl."

Leeora nodded and explained everything to her.

"May I know what her name is?" the Head of the Witches asked.

"She is yet to be given a name by the King," answered Leeora as she led her to human's girl's home.

Cornelia Grimm simply nodded while Leeora tapped her staff on the ground. Sturdy vines appeared like living creatures, efficiently bringing them towards the central part of the city.

As usual, Leeora announced her presence to the girl and entered her home despite receiving no reply. The human girl was used to it as well and wasn't particularly concerned since she also liked the kind elf lady.

However, when she looked at who had entered her home, there was one more woman with Leeora.

Leeora might have been a beautiful elf in her youth, but now she was an elegant gray-haired woman with wrinkled skin, looking more like a kind elderly. On the other hand, the woman beside her looked like her granddaughter at the peak of her beauty.

Red hair like flames framed her oval face, giving her the impression like she's someone with a fiery temper. Compared to the tall elves, the woman was short, but she gave off an imposing aura that made the girl feel she's different from everyone else. However, she didn't find the woman scary at all, and in fact, she seemed like a warm person with a similar personality as Leeora.

"Dear, this is my friend, Cornelia. She is here to see you," Leeora explained.

The Head of the Witches observed this frail human girl who looked at her with the most beautiful green eyes she had ever seen. Her unique eyes pulled everyone's attention, making them forget that she had the pitiful appearance of a young girl who lived a hard life.

The human girl did not react at the introduction. She simply looked at her while Leeora sat next to her and held her hand.

"Dear, my friend wishes to check your physical condition. We want you to feel better quickly and she will be able to help you if you allow her. Will you allow her to?"

The human girl trusted Leeora and nodded to what she asked.

Cornelia Grimm entered the house and put a spell on the door and the windows to prevent outsiders from entering and interrupting. "Let me first do some preparations."

She flicked her hand and a strange circular pattern made of runes appeared on one of the empty spaces on the wooden floor. It gave off a soft white glow like that of a firefly at night, and it made the human girl stare at it with wonder.

"I specialize in scrying using fire, but since I wish to respect the tree spirit that lives here, today we will simply use the art of soul gazing," Cornelia explained as she gestured for the human girl to sit on one of the smaller circles within the glowing pattern. "Sit here, child."

Hesitantly, the human girl obeyed her. She put forward her hands and said, "Put your hands in mine."

The human girl did so as she placed her delicate hands in hers and heard another instruction, "Look into my eyes."

She looked at Leeora as if to get assurance from her to which Leeora said, "Look into her eyes, dear."

The human girl stared at the golden eyes of the beautiful red-haired witch, as she heard the woman mumble a few words in an unknown ancient language.

Scrying is an ancient art about revealing the unseen, and soul gazing is the most intimate and rarest form of scrying. Soul gazing involves looking deep within a person's eyes and observing the reflections of her past, present and future using the eyes like a mirror.

Cornelia tried to reach the memories of this girl, but to her surprise, she could not even take a single peep. She didn't even try looking at the memory of a few days back, but just a memory of what the girl did this morning in order to test the waters. Yet it failed.

The Head of the Witches tried again but the only thing she could see was her own reflection inside those beautiful green eyes and nothing else. Something was there that was stopping her powers to read her past. When she was sure she could not get past such a strong power, she gave up.

"Thank you for coordinating. You can close your eyes and let it rest."

Cornelia then looked at Leeora and shook her head, confirming that it didn't work.

"How do you feel?" Cornelia asked the human girl. "Do you feel strange? Does your head hurt?"

She opened her eyes and shook her head.

Cornelia smiled lightly as if nothing had happened and said, "You are weak because your body was not allowed a chance to be healthy in the first place."

Cornelia put forward her palm, and with magic, a tiny porcelain bottle appeared on her hand.

"The elixir of the elves is the best when it comes to healing surface wounds and injuries, but the potions we witches make are the best when it comes to returning vitality to your body. You are still young so drinking a drop a day will be enough for you to grow up as a healthy young lady."

After a short chat, Leeora and Cornelia left the human's tree house and went towards Leeora's abode.

"What happened?" Leeora asked once Cornelia took her seat.

"Are you sure she is human?" Cornelia asked.

"Her constitution is human," Leeora replied, not being so certain about anything. "I have confirmed this with King Draven."

"That I can see as well, but there is a power protecting her mind. Something so powerful that it doesn't allow my powers to go past it."

"Hmm, that I had guessed as well. Even the King is puzzled by the mysteries of this child," Leeora added.

It made Cornelia remember something. "Did His Majesty try?"

"All he said was that his powers cannot sense her presence."

"That's strange. Based on what you shared in your letter, no wonder humans called her a witch."

Leeora shook her head. "A pitiful child, she is. You know how humans like to blame 'witches' for everything bad happening to them."

Cornelia left out a hopeless sigh. "Who else knows that better than my clan?"

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