"Any word yet?" Theiden asked. It was two days since Lenesa's suggestion of using one of the teacup goblins to see his family, but there was still no news from Kivirra on whether she would allow it.

The witch kept her eyes on her sewing and shook her head, and Theiden gave a sigh.

"Perhaps after our sparring session," she suggested.

But Theiden's training came and went, and by the end of the afternoon, there was still no sign of the scrying witch or any of her goblins.

"It might still take a few days," Lenesa assured him as she prepared dinner.

"How did you ask her?" Theiden grumbled. "Did you attach a letter to a tortoise?"

"I gave it to a raven, actually," Lenesa replied.

"You can't be serious."

"I am, very much so."

"How is it supposed to know where she lives?"

Lenesa gave a small laugh. "Ravens are quite intelligent creatures. And before you ask—I've sent letters by raven before. It will work." Her lightheartedness pushed against the tension he felt, tempting him to burst and lash out at her. Didn't she care at all?

"But when?" This time, he couldn't keep the impatience from his voice.

She looked up from the bowl of salad she was preparing and set a hand on his arm. It was cold, as usual, but Theiden felt a small shock at her touch this time. Her gaze had turned serious now, and he realized that she had only been trying to put him at ease with her earlier carefree demeanor.

"Soon."

Unsettled, Theiden moved away and stepped into the main part of the cottage, careful to avoid Shwei in cat form on the armchair again. Ever since Lenesa had suggested it, he hadn't been able to stop thinking about seeing his family again. How was Em doing? Was his mother in good health? How were they surviving without his income from hunting? Had they been forced to sell all their belongings? Did they have enough food? The worries never ended.

And when would he be able to return home? He couldn't afford to wait much longer.

"Dinner's ready," Lenesa announced. Theiden turned away from the fireplace to see her setting out their places at the table. It was such a normal, harmless thing to do—she could have been just another citizen of Patachal City in that moment, and the realization turned Theiden's stomach in something akin to guilt. If the situation were different, perhaps he would have enjoyed Lenesa's company. Aside from the fact that she was a witch, she had really not been so terrible as he had expected.

He mulled over that last thought for a while. In fact, Lenesa had been more friendly and hospitable than some of his neighbors. From what she had told him earlier, she even went to help those who lived in the city. Aside from the fact that she had cursed his daughter, she had never been unnecessarily cruel to him or anyone else. So then why would she have done such a thing in the first place, if it wasn't in her character to do so?

The image of Helaine's prone form in the forest sprung to his mind, then, and suddenly it made sense. Of course. How could he have not realized it until now?

Lenesa looked up and caught him staring.

"Well, what are you waiting for?" she asked, a frail smile on her face as Theiden slowly approached her.

"I'll help you re-tile the roof," he said. "And paint the door as well—if it weren't for me, the faun never would have left those scratches in it.

Lenesa took a step back. "It was only a suggestion," she said, the smile wavering on her lips. Theiden could tell she was wary of his sudden amenability. "You don't really need to do that."

He stopped a few feet away from her. "I want to help."

Lenesa stared at him. "But...why? Why would you help me? I took away your freedom. I cursed your daughter. You resent me, and just about everyone from the city would rejoice in seeing me dead."

Theiden nodded. "I did hate you for what you did to Em, but I've been thinking about it lately," he said. "During the entire time I've been here, you've never done anything like that since. You're not the person to curse someone just for fun."

Lenesa frowned. "Theiden, I—"

He held up a hand. "I can only imagine the terror you put Em through. I have no way of knowing if you carried through on your promise to lift her curse, and I hate not being able to be there for her and comfort her. You acted just like the villain the city believes you to be that evening when you turned her skin green. But in doing so, you ensured that she ran straight home, out of the forest and away from the danger that later ended up killing her best friend."

Lenesa shook her head. "It was still a cruel thing to do. I do not expect your forgiveness for it. I am holding you captive here, after all."

"Yes, you are," Theiden agreed. "Then again, I did try to kill you. If anyone ever attacked me, I wouldn't hesitate to return the gesture. But you didn't. Even though I hate being stuck here..." He ran a hand through his hair, pulling at the strands. "I think I'm starting to accept that I was a bit thoughtless in rushing off to kill you, and that I'm fortunate to have run in to only you and not some deranged faun or something. I at least still have a life, even if it's a restricted one." His declaration ended on a bitter note as he again thought of his family.  "You saved Em.  You saved us both."

"It was still selfish of me to do such a thing," Lenesa said, and her reply was heavy with regret. "I should have just lifted Em's spell and let you return home. But instead I used your love for your daughter and forced you to come with me."

"Well," Theiden gave a grim smile. "No one's perfect."

The corner of Lenesa's mouth twitched upwards, but she quickly turned away, and the expression vanished. "Still, you don't need to help me," she said.

Theiden placed a hand on her shoulder and gently turned her back to face him. "I want to," he said softly.

Lenesa stilled for a moment, processing his words, and finally nodded.

"Well, thank you, then," she said, stepping away. Theiden let his hand drop. "We...we should eat."

She hurriedly gestured to the large salads on the table and sat down to dig into hers. Theiden sat down as well, but ate more slowly. He still needed a moment for the revelation to sink in that Lenesa's spells had actually been protecting him and his daughter.

"I don't understand why you think that you might turn into something like that faun," he finally said, looking up. "I admit that I was wrong in my original views of you being nothing but a heartless monster. Even Kivirra, though she's strange, is nothing like those other witches who attacked our city."

Lenesa paused for a moment, staring at her plate. Then, coming to a decision, she looked up. "During our first sparring lesson, you asked about my great aunt—do you remember?" she asked.

Theiden nodded. "You said she taught you how to fight, before she died."

"She was killed, because of me," Lenesa said softly, and Theiden didn't miss the way her hand went to the place where her horrible scar started beneath her sleeve. "But before she died, she became a Turned witch. Do you know how that happens?"

Hesitantly, Theiden shook his head. Her voice was flat and her gaze dull, and it worried him.

Lenesa looked back down and speared a tomato with her fork.  "Murder," she said, staring down at the red liquid and seeds that spilled out from the puncture wounds in the fruit before her. "It's the utmost act of desperation that corrupts the magic within us."

"Who did she kill?" Theiden asked hesitantly.

She shrugged, continuing to avoid his gaze. "A few witch hunters from the city."

"And then someone killed her?"  Theiden leaned forward over his plate, barely daring to breathe.

Lenesa hesitated, then raised her wine-colored eyes to meet his inquisitive gaze, "I did."

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Apparently murdering a tomato doesn't count for witches.  Poor tomato.  RIP.

Also, I'd prefer they be classified as a vegetable, but...they're a fruit.  Doesn't mean they should be put on a fruit bingsu though, even if they're called cherry tomatoes. (I'm looking at you, Korea.)

As always, thank you for reading, and don't forget to vote!