Primrose wearily roused from her deep sleep as the pounding on her door kept raising her ire. She slowly got out of bed, lifting her white nightgown as her two feet hit the wooden floors. The witch narrowed her eyes at the door, her two feet moving with purpose towards the door. Her fingers kept twitching, conjuring green magical sparks, as her mind prepared for battle. Her hut was perfectly warded and hidden from villagers so it can only mean an intruder breached her wards.

“Anastasia,” Primrose called out to her familiar icily.

The butterfly familiar fluttered her wings before flying out of her enclave. Anastasia moved through the air elegantly before landing on her master’s shoulder. The familiar flapped her blue wings - that glowed - releasing magical waves that sunk into Primrose’s body.

Primrose absorbed the energy and the green magical energy her hands emitted surrounded her hand in a green aura. The fae witch raised her left hand, her palm facing towards the door. “Tangling Faerie Vines!” She said, her voice forceful. Green bioluminescent vines shot out of her palm, ripping the door open viciously and capturing the intruder.

“How dare you trespass here?!” Primrose shouted, greatly incensed, her green eyes cold as she glared at the figure.

“STOP PLEASE!” A docile voice squeaked.

Primrose stepped out of her hut, glaring at the creature she captured. “Why would you, a Dryad, seek me out?” Primrose asked scathingly.

She carefully observed the Dryad that was tightly bound in her vines. This was her first time seeing the Dryad of this woodland forest she resided in and felt world-weary.

The Dryad appeared as a beautiful woman with delicate features seemingly made of soft oak wood. Her hair made of leaves and foliage fell down her back. Her eyes that were currently filled with fear were glowing yellow.

Primrose tilted her head to the side in thought.

“I’m s-sorry to have intruded miss!” The Dryad stammered, “My name is Alura and I heard about you from Anastasia.”

Primrose glanced at the butterfly on her shoulder with trepidation before fixing her cold eyes back onto Alura. “Speak.”

“That man, Theolas has ordered another execution in the village just this morning,” Alura told her, before flinching from the horrible aura Primrose gave off.

“You’re telling me this because?” Primrose questioned, “I have little thought for magical creatures who cannot protect themselves from humans.”

“B-But Miss! It’s not a magical creature but a human!” Alura cried out.

“What?” Primrose raised her brows in surprise.

“Yes, it's human alright because I sensed no magic from them.” Alura continued.

Primrose looked at Alura skeptically. “Why are you hovering so close to humans?”

“B-Because of the inevitable war,” Alura said grimly.

Primrose sucked in a breath. “What are you talking about?" She said forcefully. "Answer me!”

Alura looked at Primrose with disbelieving eyes. “I’ve been told you’re recluse but I didn’t know it was this bad.” Alura bluntly said, earning a glare from Primrose.

“There has been word that the King is gathering forces to attack places that are densely populated with magical creatures. Us Dryads have been spying on human settlements to gather more information so we can prepare preventive measures,” Alura told Primrose before looking down sadly, “But with the massive divide in the magical communities it’s unlikely that magical creatures will join forces against the humans.”

Primrose cursed and released Alura from her spell. “Get out,” Primrose told her derisively before turning around.

“What about that human?!” Alura implored.

Primrose stopped and looked over her shoulder. “Why are you so worried about that human? Weren't you spying on them?

Alura flinched at Primrose’s cold tone before speaking. “I-I j-just don’t want to see innocent people die...” she whispered sadly.

Primrose turned around, fully looking at the dryad. “What about the magical creatures that died yesterday? Weren’t they innocent as well?”

“I-I...yes.” Alura glared at the forest floor before looking up at Primrose with eyes filled with determination. “But I wish that humans and magical creatures can live peacefully together. I don’t want war. I-”

“How naive.” Primrose mocked, cutting Alura off. “Humans and magical creatures can never live together peacefully. Humans have too much hate and greed in their hearts to accept us. While magical creatures can be inherently vicious, some strive to live together with humans and paid the price for it.”

“DO YOU WANT TO SEE A WAR?!” Alura screamed, outraged.

“No, I do not wish for war and if I could completely avoid the war I would.” Primrose turned away, not wishing to converse any longer with the dryad, and walked back into the hut.

She waved her hand and the door magically fixed itself, putting all of the broken pieces back together. Closing the door behind her, she glared at Anastasia who was strangely quiet on her shoulder. “Don’t go telling magical creatures about me again.” She scolded.

Anastasia weakly fluttered her wings before flying towards the windowsill and landing on it. Her wings drooped in sadness as her master ignored her.

Primrose dug into her dresser and pulled out a deep forest green dress before changing into it. She slipped her delicate feet into her brown traveling boots and fastened the laces. She threw on her black hooded coat before she crossed the room and snatched her magical bag from the wall.

“What do I need?” Primrose pondered, tapping her chin with her index finger. The brown-haired witch raised her hand and summoned the important things she would need for her journey.

Every book she owned, several potions that held different shades of colors, dried and fresh herbs, clothes, cookware, non-perishable foods, and clothes all flew into her bag in a matter of minutes.

Primrose stood by the front door with her bag fastened across her body. She turned to her familiar that was already flying towards her. “Come, Anastasia,” Primrose said as the butterfly landed on her shoulder. She walked out of the hut and crossed over the mushroom circle.

She looked back at the hut longingly.

She had grown fond of this little woodland paradise that she shared with Anastasia. She would be hurt to come back after her journey to a burnt down hut. Primrose raised her hand, her palm facing upwards, and released dazzling green sparks.

“O tree spirits heareth my plea,” Primrose whispered, calling upon the tree spirits.

Several tree spirits burst from the foliage at her call like she was their absolute master. Primrose watched the tree spirits spiral around her palm that dazzled with magical energy.

“Please protect my home,” Primrose said, revealing a tender expression, “That’s all I ask of you and in return, you can inhabit my herb garden as long as you like.”

The tree spirits grew excited, their round glowing bodies getting brighter and brighter. They circled around her several times, brushing up against her skin happily before flying off behind her wooden hut where the garden was.

Primrose chuckled and disappeared into the woodland.

A few minutes later Primrose exited the woodland and briskly walked on the muddy path that led into the village. She reached the heart of the village and found the entire village population there.

“People of Callesta.” Theolas began solemnly, “God, has given us another boon.”

Primrose stared at the middle-aged man intently and silently appraised him. She had seen many men like Theolas in her life but none of them came close to him. His way of talking to the people, his words carried power.

She was itching once more to kill the man right here, right now, but she couldn’t raise her hand to harm him and didn’t know why. She sensed a faint familiarity towards the man and wondered if she met him somewhere.

“This woman was found by her husband just last night burning herbs saying unintelligible words.” Theolas glanced at the woman tied up on the stake before looking at the crowd. “Her husband immediately fell ill afterward.”

“I didn’t do it.” The woman on the stake whimpered. “PLEASE BELIEVE ME!”

“SHUT YOUR MOUTH BEAST!” Theolas shouted, his nostrils flaring in anger.

“Please-”

PAH!

A guard on standby slapped the woman viscously, her head snapping to the side from the force. The woman started sobbing, her face red and throbbing from the strong slap.

“That is not all,” Theolas told them, “The Muller Brothers have gone missing and it seems to be the work of a Warlock. Those brothers are upstanding and morally righteous carpenters that have helped us all. These acts, these beasts, are still among us. It seems that yesterday wasn’t enough to warn these beasts of our might!”

“THEOLAS!” The villagers roared, chanting his name.

“Burn her,” Theolas said passionately, “show the beasts what we humans are capable of and are not to be messed with.”

The guards set the woman alight.

The woman writhed and thrashed about underneath the tightly wound steel wire that bounded her to the stake. Her screams and pleas echoed throughout the village as the flames ate away at her skin, scorching her flesh and bones.

Primrose stood silently, watching the burning woman with unbothered eyes. She had seen so much in her life that such scenes desensitized her. Her heart was worn down from years of damage and thus she cared little for humans or any other race.

The woman’s screams eventually quieted, leaving nothing but a charred corpse. Theolas turned away from the corpse and addressed the people. “We have done a great thing today for humanity,” Theolas told the villagers.

Primrose narrowed her eyes – tuning out Theolas’ speech – and carefully look around at the crowd. She sensed a magical spike from somewhere in the village. Her green eyes wandered over the faces of the people in the village before looking at the local buildings.

She sucked in a breath.

There on top of the local tavern was someone dressed in a black cloak with a blood-red crossbow in their hands. She followed their line of sight and her eyes landed on Theolas. She cursed before pushing through the crowd.

“Get out of the way!” Primrose yelled, pushing villagers aside without a care. Her body was moving on its own to get to where Theolas was.

The cloaked figure fired the arrow, aiming for Theolas' heart.

“Anastasia!”