This is a long chapter, just fyi. It is mostly from Keegan's POV but I still hope you'll like it!

-Keegan-

"Are you sure?" He asked Cara as they arrived at the old teacher's house the next day. He dreaded it more today than he had done as a child when he had lost a bet to Jared and the loser had to knock on the old grouch's door.

Cara nodded at his question.

This is ridiculous. If I had not listened to mother, or asked Cara if she was a witch, we would not be here... He thought and inhaled deeply.

His gut was telling him that this was a bad idea, and deep down he knew that once Cara found out what a witch was, she would be offended. Very offended.

He had tried his best to sway her into not going, but she had insisted, and his mother had lost that battle with her already so there was no escaping it.

"We do not have to do this, Cara." He sighed, giving it another try to get her to change her mind. "We can just leave." He added and gave her an almost pleading look.

"No, I want to know what it means." She said quietly and avoided his gaze, like there was a chance she would cave if she met it.

I would say suit yourself... but it will most likely be me you will be cross with and not yourself... He thought and sighed once more.

He was not looking forward to whatever reaction he knew she would have after finding out what 'witch' truly meant, and all it meant to be one.

There was no chance in hell she would find some positive aspects of it when she found out that a witch were a woman who supposedly did their dark Lord's evil bidding, potions and were shunned by others.

The fact that witches were very ugly women would probably not impress her either... but that was far from the truth since she was the most beautiful girl he had ever laid his eyes on.

"Fine..." He muttered with a knot growing in his stomach and walked with her to the door.

He knocked thrice, impatiently because he did not want to be here.

From the inside he could hear the old man knocking things over and onto the floor without caring as he made his way over to the door. Seconds later it flew up, scaring Cara in the process. She took shelter behind Keegan. It was quite funny, she knew who lived here, and still she flinched.

How can she be this timid and scared when she literally took me without blinking earlier? He wondered to himself. Was it because she felt safe with him? Was it because of something else? What would the other thing possibly be? He wondered and decided, even though he felt a bit full of himself thinking it, that she must feel safe enough with him that she did not have to be as afraid as she usually was.

"What are you doing here?" The old teacher asked with a scowl on his face as soon as he saw who had been knocking.

"I need you to explain or teach her a word... Whichever." Keegan said and crossed his arms over his chest. He nodded towards Cara who now appeared on his left side.

"That will-" The old man began, but Keegan cut him short.

"It will be free, because it is one God damned word and you have already taken enough coin from my parents." Keegan growled. "They barely have any left."

The old man's eyes narrowed, but Keegan could see that he knew he had over charged them from start. He owed them this, at the very least. He threw his hands up and then nodded in defeat.

"Fine then, but you are staying outside, you forsaken brute." He growled back at Keegan and pointed at him, then his finger pointed at Cara and did a sweeping motion towards the inside of his house. "Get in, you."

"Fine by me." Keegan rolled his eyes as Cara made her way into the house. "I'll be right outside, Cara." He told her.

"What word can be so important that you came all the way to my house?" The teacher muttered to her simultaneously as Keegan spoke. Just before the door was completely shut, Keegan heard Cara's answer.

"Witch."

A dark chuckle left the old man. Keegan felt his stomach churn as the door was completely closed.

I should not have brought her here... He groaned internally and tried to think of something else. It proved impossible. Between the memory of what they had just done in the woods, and now, he had a very hard time staying calm.The old fart will ruin it all... He thought as he walked away from the house a couple of meters.

About fifteen minutes later, he heard Cara exclaim something in her own language. It was one simple word and he could hear on her tone that she was immensely offended.

She suddenly came bolting out through the door. There was a blank expression in her face. The door nearly came off its hinges from the force of her push. Keegan turned around, swallowed and prepared for something he did not know what it would be. Cara stormed towards him and her blue eyes were hard and cold. The dark long hair was caught in the wind as soon as it could reach it when she stepped out from the shelter of the old man's house. It made her look even more menacing.

I need to fix this. She looks furious. He swallowed again and felt his fingers turn a little numb from nervousness. How was he going to fix it? He had never had to apologized to a girl... mostly because he did not socialize with them like Jared did... but this was different. Cara was not cross with him because they had spent a night together and then seen him with someone else... She was cross because he had asked her if she was a witch, and evil at that, and now she knew what it meant...

"Cara-" He began when she was three steps away from him.

"You are an idiot." She hissed as she walked past him and towards home.

He taught her more than the word 'witch' apparently... He thought and looked after her.

"I knew that already." He sighed after her and sighed heavily. "Cara."

"You are an arsehole!" She yelled without turning around as she stomped onward. "Fucking unbelievable!" She gasped to herself in words he did not comprehend.

Old turd taught her enough to curse me to my bones. Keegan growled internally. He looked back at the teacher's house, the old man stood in the doorway.

"Thank you for that." Keegan growled at him. "Did you really have to teach her the curse words as well?"

"Suit yourself." The old arse chuckled darkly. "Judging from her reaction she probably isn't a witch. The girl laughed in my face when she understood it. Then she got angry." He continued and his brows furrowed and Keegan could see that he was picturing it. "And! She asked me to teach her those words." He added with a finger pointing at Keegan.

"Why would she ask you to teach her-"

"So she could yell at you for thinking she is a witch." The old man interrupted him.

"I know she isn't one." Keegan muttered and started walking after Cara. "Unlike you who thought she was one from the start."

"I have been proven wrong." The old teacher snapped back with a disgustingly pleased smirk on his lips. Then he closed the door with a decisive slam. "Now you can reap what you have sown!" He shouted through the door.

"This." Keegan pointed to the ground. "This is why you are alone and why people don't like you." He growled to the old man who could not hear him. Then he set off after Cara.

She had made it a quarter of the way home when he finally saw her. He quickened his pace until he was behind her.

"Cara, hear me out." He begged and reached for her hand, but she slapped his away and crossed her arms so there was no chance for him to touch either of them.

"Leave me alone, Keegan." She snarled in a low tone. "Do not speak to me and leave me be." The words were a slap in his face. An ice cold bucket of water. He stopped in his tracks and could not believe that this was how the day would end. He had planned on taking her for a walk, to spend some time with her without his annoying family looking over his shoulder, or Jared interrupting.

How stupid are you? He berated himself. Of course she was not going to be happy after learning that word. What the fuck did you expect?

I don't know. He answered himself. I just want to be with her, alone. With no one interrupting, scaring or angering her.

"This is not even going back a few steps with her... This is completely new territory. Far behind whatever line we started on." He muttered and walked home. He wasn't going to chase her. It would do him no good, and she had explicitly told him to leave her alone. With his mood quickly worsening, he watched her walk home alone. To give her some space, he waited until she disappeared before he started walking.

-Cara-

"A fucking witch!" She hissed and walked faster. She did not want Keegan to catch up with her. That idiot actually asked her if she was a witch?! What made it even worse was that it was Miriam who had put the idea in his head, and it hurt so much that he believed her enough to actually ask her if it was true. Could he not think for himself? "Why would he ask me that?" She breathed and her voice shivered at the end when she was about to start crying.

It was not so much that they asked her if she was a witch. What really hurt her was the fact that they were afraid that she was one. This meant that they did not trust her, despite the fact that she hadn't done anything to deserve it. She hadn't lied or done a single thing to deserve their mistrust and suspicion!

When Cara arrived at the house, Miriam saw her through the kitchen window and made her way out to her. She was drying her hands on a rag and had a guilty look on her face.

"Cara-"

"Do not speak to me, Miriam." She sniffled and walked past her, heading towards the stream behind the house.

"Cara, you have to-"

"No, Miriam!" Cara yelled and wiped away the tears that made their way down her face as she rounded the corner of the house. In front of her she met Flynn and Orla. Their faces were complete blanks but she did not care to stop and find out if it was because she had yelled at their mother or if it was something else.

They parted so she could walk past them, their mouths gaping as she did it.

-Keegan-

Keegan didn't get close to her at all for the rest of the day. In fact, Cara kept a distance from the whole family. It should be added that it was not in lack of trying from his family. His siblings told him that their mother had tried to apologize. What almost made him fall over was when they also told him that Cara had yelled at her to leave her alone and then walked away.

"She must be very upset..." Orla mumbled to Keegan. "She does not even want to speak to me, and I haven't done a thing to her." She continued.

Orla was washing clothes in the wooden tub while Keegan got to make sure all of the water was squeezed out of the garments before Flynn hung it to dry on a string, secured between the house and one of the birches close to the house. From where they stood, they could see Cara sitting by the stream all alone, like she wanted, but he had this strange urge to walk down to her. However, he knew better.

"She doesn't want to speak to me either." Flynn chimed in with their sister, only causing Keegan more pain and guilt than he was already experiencing.

"I cannot believe she yelled and turned her back to mother." Orla whispered and looked after their mother, who was in the house. So they were safe to talk about her, as long as they kept their voices down."That. Is. Brave." She uttered every word in complete awe of Cara.

"Mother deserves it, and she knows it." Keegan replied shortly.

"She looks sad." Flynn remarked with sadness in his voice as he studied Cara. She had her arms around her legs and her chin resting on her knees. She did indeed look very sad.

"She is. She is probably very upset." Keegan answered, hiding his guilt by clearing his throat. "Offended as well."

"What is wrong?" Orla asked curiously while she soaked their father's dirtiest shirt into the water. The dirt swirled in the water as she started washing it. "I only heard her yell at mother to leave her alone, I never heard why whatever for."

"Mother told me to be careful..." Keegan began explaining in a long sigh. He did not get far with his explanation before his little brother came with a follow-up question.

"Careful? Of what?"

Keegan nodded towards Cara, answering the question without uttering a word. Guilt struck him in his chest again and he felt so bad for having asked Cara if she was a witch. He knew she wasn't one, so why did he ask? To ease mother's concern...

"Her?" Orla laughed in disbelief at his answer. "The sad girl sitting by the stream? The one we have never seen raising her voice or giving someone the evil eye? Before today that is." Orla shrugged her shoulders.

She has done both to me. Keegan muttered in his thoughts. However, it has always been justified. She have never done it when I haven't deserved it. So... yes, that girl.

"Yes." He answered Orla instead of letting her know what he was thinking, or that Cara had done both of those things to him.

"And?" Flynn urged him. "Why would you have to be careful of her? She is as harmless and innocent as a lamb."

Not true. Keegan thought as the memory of their time in the woods flashed before his eyes.

"I asked her, on mother's behalf, if she was a witch..." He confessed quietly. His siblings grew dead silent and Orla let out an angry huff. He turned to look at her and her green eyes had darkened.

"You asked her what?" She spat the words out aggressively. "You are so unbelievably dumb! Keegan!" Orla groaned out loud and he was sure Cara heard it.

"Keep it down!" He snapped quietly. "You don't have to let her know that we are talking about her. She'll assume that we are-"

"Mother could have asked Cara herself if she thought she was a witch!! Why did you have to ask her that?" Orla interrupted him and ignored his instruction about not speaking so loudly.

"Because... What? Why am I stupid? It was mother's question." He defended himself, forgetting to hush his sister. "I tried telling her that I don't think she is a witch. I know she isn't one."

Orla rolled her eyes at him, signaling just how much of an idiot she thought he was; an enormous idiot.

"The point is that mother could have asked Cara that herself if she suspected that she was a witch." Orla said harshly. "Why would you ask her that? She will think you don't trust her, or even worse; that the rest of us sent you to ask her because none of us trust her."

"This definitely bumps you down from the place as her favorite as well..." Flynn added to their sister's rant but with a amused smirk on his on his lips "I reckon you are at the bottom now." He pumped his eyebrows at his older brother.

Orla is right... it might be mother's question... but I am facing the consequences. As for Flynn... I really hope he is wrong.

"Fuck..." Keegan groaned and wished he had just kept his mouth shut. He had ruined whatever progress he had made with Cara because he wanted to make his mother feel more at ease.

"What now?" He asked them quietly and studied Cara.

"You get to sit in your mess." Orla told him curtly and slammed their father's newly washed shirt against his chest, in doing so she soaked his shirt and water splashed in his face. He could feel on the motion and speed of her action that it had been deliberately. Orla was pissed.

"And if I don't want to sit in it?" He grunted, wiping the water from his face.

"You still get to sit in it." She countered and started washing the next piece of clothing with rough movements. "Just like mother; you deserve it."

Keegan sighed and kept doing his part. Orla was right, he should not have asked Cara if she was a witch. He should've kept his mouth shut.

When they were almost done with washing the clothes, Blackie walked past them. Keegan ignored the dog until he noticed that his fur ball was heading towards Cara.

"Blackie." He said darkly and quietly. The dog turned his head when he obviously heard his owner very clearly. "Come here." Keegan told him and clicked his tongue while nodding to his left side. Do not disturb her. He said with his eyes when he looked into Blackie's. The dog panted twice, howled once in protest and started walked down to Cara even though he had been forbidden to do it.

"You disobedient mutt." Keegan exhaled and watched his dog march calmly down towards Cara.

When Blackie reached Cara his tail was wagging from side to side. He sniffed her cheek gently. To his huge disappointment, she gently pushed him away when he surprised her with a sloppy kiss on her cheek when she did not give him the attention he wanted. The black beast parked his hairy arse next to her, a bit shocked, displeased and very confused. Probably because Cara never ignored him and now that she were, it bothered him immensely.

Keegan heard his dog whine at her from where he was standing. He looked up when both of his siblings were busy with their part of what they were doing. Blackie nugded his snout against her shoulder in an attempt to gain her attention again. However, Cara withdrew from him as soon as she felt it and shied away from him.

"That is just painful to watch." Flynn suddenly said. Keegan flinched at his brother's comment. He hadn't noticed that Flynn had stopped working, solely because Keegan had stopped and wasn't handing him new things to hang. "How can she turn that hug ball down?"

Keegan sighed, looked at Orla, who had just finished with the last piece of clothing. She flung it at Keegan and then walked inside. Not missing a chance to hiss at him what idiot he was.

"Take this." Keegan growled and gave Flynn the dripping wet pair of trousers in his hands.

. . .

When Keegan stepped inside the house, with Flynn following him closely behind.

Mother looks awfully disappointed. He thought as he noticed the sadness in her eyes as she noticed that one person was missing.

"Is she not coming in for dinner?" She asked quietly as she stirred tonight's stew in the cauldron. It smelled of rabbit meat, vegetables and potatoes. Divine to be exact. Still it did not cheer Keegan up, no matter how much he loved his mother's stew.

"No." Keegan muttered without looking at her. He walked over to his seat and sat down. "She wants to be left alone." He continued.

"What is the matter with the girl?" His father asked with his brows furrowed and a quickly darkening look in his eyes. He had taken a liking to Cara, and from what it seemed, he was not the least happy about her not joining them for dinner.

"She is mad at Keegan." Orla answered sharply with her light green eyes shooting lightning at her oldest brother. Then she turned her gaze to their mother. "Mother too." She added. Flynn averted his gaze to the floor with big eyes, wanting to avoid any part of the confrontation that would soon explode in the small room.

"What?" Their father exclaimed in disbelief at his daughter's statement. "What for?" He asked confused. "Because of what your mother apologized for last night?"

"Yes." Keegan's mother answered her husband quietly. The shame was easy to detect in her tone. It caused her husband's frown to deepen and he turned to look at her.

"What did you do?" He asked her accusingly when he heard that she had indeed done something shameful.

"I did not do anything." She said and put her hands on her hips. "Your son-"

"Excuse me?" Keegan huffed, stopping her from blaming it all on him. Everyone's eyes fell on him now. "You were the one who told me to stay away from her! I only asked her to prove to you that you were worrying for nothing! AND that you were being ridiculous for not trusting her!"

"Hold on the both of you!" His father shouted and put his hands up, one facing Keegan and the other his wife. "What did you ask her?" He began with Keegan.

"I asked Cara... if she is a witch." Keegan answered and scratched his neck. His father's eyes turned black immediately, just like Orla's had when he had told her.

"You-"

"I only asked her because mother told me to be careful of her." He defended himself. "Mother is the one who does not trust her."

His father turned to his wife and narrowed his eyes at her.

"What is this? Since when do you judge people like that? A girl who has done nothing wrong?" He asked her.

"Keegan told me that she was asking about what year it was, and she came out of nowhere Georg!" Keegan's mother began. "And then she disappeared for days and now-"

"That wasn't her fault!" Keegan interrupted them. "She was kidnapped." He left out the part about her kidnappers being from her own... time. It would not help her cause if he added that fact.

"I only told Keegan to be careful." His mother continued. "I did not mean for Cara to get upset or for your son to ask her if she was a witch. He did that all on his own."

"Do not blame the boy for what you made him do!" Keegan's father raised his voice at her. "And, if you had had any faith in the girl, you should have asked her yourself. No, you know what? You shouldn't have asked her at all, because she haven't done anything to us. Just because she does not speak the common tongue, does not mean she is a witch."

"But look at your son, Georg!" Keegan's mother was shouting now. Both of her hands were pointing at Keegan and he flinched away a bit. "He has become a completely different person ever since she came here!"

"Yes! You know why?" His father asked back. "Because he is a normal young man and is obviously smitten by this beautiful girl in his own age! The Gods have mercy on his poor soul for finally showing some interest in something else than hunting and drinking with his friends!" His father continued shouting. "Did you seriously believe she was a witch because she managed to make Keegan fall head over heels for her?"

All the while Keegan's father spoke, his mother's eyes softened and then they turned sad when she realized her mistake. Keegan was more bothered by the fact that his father had figured out about his feelings towards Cara without any help whatsoever, and that he was now letting everyone within earshot hear about it.

"I never told our son to ask Cara if she is a witch." Mother defended herself one last time, her last attempt to save face.

"Oh, shut that trap of yours, Miriam." Their father growled and slammed his fist onto the table. He had had enough. "Why would you even put the idea in his head in the first place? Because that is something you did." He waved his finger at his wife when she was about to object. "Don't deny it, Miriam. The Gods, whom you love so dearly, will punish you if you lie. Yes, Keegan was dumb enough to ask, but you planted the seed in him."

"Enjoy your death." Flynn whispered so only Keegan and Orla could hear him.

Neither of them could believe that their father had spoken to their mother in the way they had just witnessed. It was the first time ever they had seen it happen, and they all seemed to know that this was their father's way of letting all of them know that a line had been crossed. This was the first time they got to experience their father's hot tempered side, and they learned that it was not something they wanted to see again anytime soon.

"I should go and talk to her..." Keegan's mother sighed. "I hope she does not think we do not trust her..."

"Can you blame her if she does? You two are as dumb as the sky is blue." His father muttered and pointed at them both again. Keegan and his siblings turned their frightened eyes towards their father. He had just called their mother dumb. "And no, you are not going out there to talk to her. I am. The rest of you can start eating, and when I get back in here, I want you all to be done and gone."

With those words, Keegan's father walked to the door and slammed it behind him. It caused all of them to flinch, even his mother.

-----------------------------------

My oh, my. We have angered Papa Bear... What will happen next? ;)

Hope you liked this chapter!

Much love,

Jenny