The harsh clack of Lenesa's boots on the cobblestones was only broken by the snap of bone as a stranger with suspicion in his eyes made to intercept her. The man tried to scream, but it came out as no more than a whisper after her magic had silenced his voice, and so he fell to the ground with a dull thud, clutching his leg in agony.

It was a clean break. It would heal well.

With no more than a glance to the man as she stepped around him, Lenesa continued on her way to the city center.

Evening was fast approaching—it seemed she had been unconscious for some time, covered by the goblin cloak in that house.

Gone with Decliteur.

That was what the note had said. She had read it over and over, trying to make sense of it. Ever since she had sent Theiden back home, everything was going terribly. First she had been almost caught by Decliteur's men and killed those guards at the river gate, and then the explosion at the festival...It felt more and more as though the whole town was against her. They didn't care that she turned the other cheek and tried to help. She didn't want credit. She just wanted to be useful—to prove to herself more than anything that magic wasn't the terrible thing everyone said it was.

She thought of the guards of the river gate, and how she had—had killed.

Or was magic truly a wicked thing after all? Was she really a monster?

Audeste and the other Turned witch certainly seemed to have embraced that way of thinking. Lenesa looked down at her gloved hands. Had she been in denial her whole life? Was this truly her fate – the fate of all witches? It seemed magic corrupted them all at one point or another. Even her all-powerful Aunt Mona hadn't managed to escape being Turned.

Well, she was about find out. If tonight didn't kill her, she would either be able to return to her cottage and resume her life as usual, or emerge from this all as a Turned witch and spend the rest of her days killing anyone who came across her path. Speaking of which—

Another figure was stepping out from a building up ahead, their back still to Lenesa as they locked their door. Before the person could turn around, Lenesa sent out her magic, not bothering to watch as the person clutched their head in a fit of dizziness and collapsed, unconscious, at their doorstep.

But it wasn't that person she should have been concerned about. Lenesa realized too late when she heard the sharp intake of breath up ahead, followed by a rapid slapping of shoes against cobblestones as whoever it was tried to run away.

Lenesa snorted in dark amusement.

Tried.

The swiftness spell took hold in only seconds, and Lenesa was soon around the alley corner and grabbing whoever it was by the back of their cloak. Her hand was already raised in an open claw, magic crackling at her fingertips, when the other person turned, their hood slipping back, and the reality of what Lenesa was about to do finally sunk in.

It was her.

The same dark curly hair, the same strong jawline – and the same wide, frightened eyes staring up at her.

It was Theiden's daughter.

That the girl was too frightened to speak at the moment was probably the one thing saving her after Lenesa had recovered her initial shock. If Em were to scream now, Lenesa's fear of – no, her determination to not get caught would see her instinctively lashing out to muffle the sound.

I'm out of control.

Right hand still raised, Lenesa let go of the girl's cloak as though it were on fire, and took two slow, hesitant steps back.

Em's breath was coming out in rapid pants, whether from her short sprint or from fear, Lenesa wasn't sure, but it was too similar to her own uneven, frantic breathing, and she hated it. She was better than this. When she had first met Em and Theiden, she had scoffed at their fears of her being a desperate, violent monster, and back then she had found almost some kind of strange humor in playing along to a certain extent – no doubt her loneliness had certainly contributed to that rationalization. Yet here she was, nearly that exact nightmare realized, and the situation was far from funny anymore.

Lenesa lowered her hand, the movement jerky with the conflict warring within her.

At the motion, Em shook her head, seemingly to rid herself of her petrified stupor, and straightened up, taking a few steps back as well so that they were now on opposite sides of the alleyway.

The silence stretched between them as they continued to stare at each other, neither one making a move. Should she leave? But there was no guarantee that the girl wouldn't call for help as soon as Lenesa had turned her back. That meant incapacitating her was the only option left, but...Em was just a girl. Aside from the fact that she was Theiden's daughter, she had no part in this drawn out conflict between those who were witches and those who were not.

Guilt only briefly flooded through Lenesa at the thought of the others she had just harmed before she slammed those thoughts aside. Her aunt and her cousins had been innocent too, until the witch hunters had gone after them. This was war. There was no rationalizing what was fair and what wasn't – only what needed to be done for her side to win.

Lenesa refocused on the girl staring across from her.

The only question then, was – did she really need to harm Em?

But the girl spoke before Lenesa could make a decision, drawing in a breath and hugging closer to the wall behind her as though it might somehow provide some protection from the witch across from her.

"My Papa told me he stayed with you," she said, her voice starting out as faintly as the squeak of a mouse before it grew just barely louder. "He said you did what you did back then because you wanted to make sure I went right home, where it was safe."

Lenesa gave a single, hesitant nod.

"And that's why you took Papa with you, too? Because it wasn't safe for him?"

Lenesa cleared her throat. "O-only partly," she admitted, her uncertainty causing her to stumble over her words. "I...well, I live by myself, and I thought that it would be nice to have some company. But I realized it was wrong of me, so I sent him back."

Lenesa noticed warily as Em's lips pressed into a solemn line at the admission. Then, to her surprise, the girl gave a short nod. "You were desperate. My grandma and I were too, when we were living on our own. It helps to have someone else with you." She looked up, gaze suddenly inquisitive. "So you're okay now?"

"I –" Lenesa paused, taken by surprise. "No. No, I'm far from okay," she said, feeling a dark smile tug at her lips as she shook her head. If anything, she was far lonelier and more desperate than before she had crossed paths with Theiden. Perhaps the memory would fade with time, like the memory of living with her aunt and cousins, and she would become used to living alone once more. "But I had to let him go." Unconsciously, she rubbed her thumb over her palm where the scar from the bond she had forged with Theiden had once been. Though that scar had disappeared when she dissolved the bond, the other scar she had made while trying to save her great aunt was still there – for all the good it had done.

"Papa was right then," Em said softly, and Lenesa noticed that she seemed to not be hugging the wall so much anymore. "You aren't bad." She tilted her head, her lips twisting up as she thought. "Maybe just a bit...confused, and lonely."

"Theiden said I wasn't bad?" Lenesa frowned, the memory of him pressing a knife into her neck the night before flooding back in her memory. Though her other recollections of that night were more jumbled, that incident – and the sharp fear with it – stood out clearly.

But Em nodded most emphatically. "Yes, he said some witches are actually trying to protect us from monsters in the forest. But you get misunderstood."

Lenesa ran a hand through her hair, trying to make sense of the conflicting stories. If Theiden didn't think she was a monster herself, why had he threatened her with a knife, and joined sides with Decliteur?

The festival!

"I have to go," Lenesa said, her urgency renewed at the memory of the note she had found. Theiden had said he would be there with Decliteur, which could only mean that something big was about to happen.

And no matter whose side Theiden was on, she would not let him get in her way.

"Oh, okay," Em said, voice faltering at Lenesa's sudden change in tone. "Uh, just –"

"Just what?" Lenesa tried not to snap, but her question still came out harsher than intended, and she didn't miss the way it made Em jump a bit.

"Well, if you're feeling lonely, you could come visit our house, if you want," Em said. I know other people in the city don't like witches, but my Papa thinks you're okay, so I'm sure my grandma wouldn't mind either. We could keep you company."

"Thanks for the offer," Lenesa replied, her tone not sounding very thankful at all. "But I don't think your neighbors would take too kindly to me stopping by for visits. They'd report me, and I'd get – taken away." And killed.

"Oh, that's why you made Mr. Inefvari sleep then," Em replied, and it took a moment for Lenesa to realize the girl was talking about the person Lenesa had just knocked unconscious a few minutes earlier. "You were afraid he was going to tell on you."

Lenesa stepped closer to the girl, stooping to better meet her gaze. "Exactly," she said, her tone as steely as the blade she had used to practice with Theiden in the mountains. "It's dangerous for me to be here. But since I'm not a bad witch, you won't tell anyone, will you?" She made sure to make the question end on a sweet sing-song note, and curled her mouth up in the best smile she could manage at the moment.

It was enough to fool the girl. Em reciprocated the smile, though hers was much more genuine than how Lenesa imagined her own looked.

"Don't worry!" she answered brightly. "Your secret is safe with me!"

Lenesa reached out and, after just a slight hesitation, gave the girl a reassuring pat on the shoulder.

"Good girl. Now, on your way, and don't forget – not a word to anyone."

Em gave a small giggle, nodding eagerly and beginning to turn – then suddenly stopping and whirling back to face Lenesa.

"Oh! And if you see a girl my age – her hair's a little longer though – somewhere out there in the forest, well, her name's Helaine – she's been missing from home for a while now. If Papa returned, then...then maybe...maybe she..."

Her little voice trailed off and she gave a shrug, as if hoping it would somehow bolster her now-shaky smile.

Lenesa thought of the small body she had helped put to rest on Kivirra's land, and whatever pity she had left twisted at her heart painfully. She should tell the girl that her friend was gone – that she would end up the same way if she kept sticking her nose in places it didn't belong. Lenesa hadn't been much older when she had learned just how cruel and heartless the world could be, and yet –

"I'll keep an eye out," she said, nodding once to assure the girl. It would be best to end this encounter on a positive note anyway – Em would be less likely to give her away if she was on her side.

The girl reciprocated the nod, hesitantly, and finally turned to leave, only looking back once before disappearing at the other end of the alley. Lenesa waited until she was out of sight, watching in case she showed any signs of running and telling someone that there was a witch in the city breaking bones and knocking people unconscious – but Em's footsteps were slow and steady even after she had turned out of sight.

Lenesa gritted her teeth. Had she done the right thing, or had she let her emotions cloud her focus already? She had wasted too much time talking to Em, and yet, she still had a hard time imagining herself harming someone so young for the sake of her own agenda.

She turned back in the direction she had been headed before the encounter, checking to see that the coast was clear – and that Mr. What's-His-Name who Em had mentioned earlier was still unconscious – before continuing on her way. At any rate, soon it wouldn't make much difference if Em gave her away, or even if Theiden really did mean her no harm.

Tonight, she would face Decliteur, and end this struggle once and for all.

===============

Wow, two updates in two months.  Am I on a roll, or is this just the fruits of social isolation? (it's the latter, probably)

Speaking of social isolation, hello all you lonely people.  Lenesa understands - she's been socially distancing long before it was a thing.  First it was too lonely by herself, but just add one person and suddenly it's too crowded and she and Theiden got on each other's nerves (well, okay, maybe there was a bit more to it than that).  People: can't live with them, can't live without them.  So what's the solution?  Balance.  Hopefully we will find that after this is all over.  In the meantime, stay safe, and resist the temptation to go out and interact normally until it's all clear.

*packs up my soapbox and leaves*