Aidan was pretty sure he was physically crying right now, even if his dreamworld eyes remained dry. Nina's memories were emotionally draining. Her childhood was downright depressing and considering Aidan knew how things ended between Nina and the vampire prince, he was willing to bet her future memories were going to hurt too. Aidan mentally sighed, psyching himself up for more agony to come.

Darkness, and then a new memory. Twenty year old Nina trudged through the forest on her way to meet Lucius. It was no easy feat, avoiding her eagle eyed Committee approved caretakers, but with another one of her newfound secret Talents, not impossible. To escape the cottage, she placed a shield of invisibility around herself and Midnight and slipped out in the dead of night, keeping it on until they had travelled through the portal to Earth. Only once she stole some clothes and riding gear from a random home in Onirique could the shield be released.

Of course, she had written a note telling her carers she was off honing her Talents, not that they would believe her, not that she cared either. She had also left instructions not to release the little sparrow she kept locked in a large cage in the otherwise empty brick hut on the property. At least, not till she could figure out how to fix what she had done to it without killing it.

The part she hated the most about interworld travel was that the portals prevented her from bringing in money, which was such an inconvenience. Because she could not buy food, Nina was forced to steal and scavenge everything she needed, and all for the sake of seeing Lucius. She had tried leaving spare clothes and money hidden away in the hollow of a large tree once, only to find it gone on her next visit.

Nina snorted derisively while thinking, 'That vampire better realise just how much I suffer for him.' Her grumbling lasted for only a moment before Nina broke into a grin, right after which she thought, 'But I do it again and again, just to see his idiotic face.'

Her travels normally took days, but this time, Nina was feeling adventurous. Instead of following the dirt road that skirted around much of the forested lands, she was going through the middle of it. Midnight seemed confident with the terrain, and Nina's good sense of direction had shaved off hours in travel time already.

Shadows and light danced along the forest floor with the swaying of every tree branch in the gentle breeze. Thankfully, the underbrush was relatively sparse, making it easy for rider and horse to pass through without much effort. Nina passively listened to the variations of birdsong from the treetops, and the occasional rustle of small animals scampering away from her approach. All of a sudden, she heard something unexpected: yelling, and lots of it.

The unexpected undulation of angry voices had Nina and Midnight freezing in place, Midnight with one hoof up in the air. In a heartbeat, Nina's invisibility shield was up while she twisted about in her saddle, eyes darting around in search of the source of the shouting. Midnight pulled at the reins, nodding her head in a northeasterly direction as if indicating the way, which Nina did not hesitate to follow.

The gradual increase in volume told Nina she was headed in the right direction and she continued on until she came upon a small clearing not far ahead. In the middle of the clearing stood an old log cabin, with the two quarrelling individuals standing at the steps leading up to the doorway.

One was a hooded figure in an all black robe, back facing Nina. Although she could not see their face, she could tell the hooded figure was male from his voice. The other was a redhead witch, her hair loosely tied in a messy bun.

*****

Aidan, helpless to do anything other than observe through Nina's eyes, eagerly waited for Nina to move closer as he desperately wanted a closer look at the woman. Judging from the hair color, Aidan had a hunch the redhead was none other than John Miller's ancestor. Was she the one who had cursed all vampires?

Luckily for him, Nina was also burning with curiosity and was now close enough to listen in on the conversation without any shame in eavesdropping whatsoever.

"— get it? I will never join you and your twisted masters!"

"Enough with your theatrics already! They are not my masters! I am not enslaved to them, and neither will you be. The Committee offers honest work–."

"Hah! How can they not be your masters? They have you trained like an obedient hound!"

The man tsked condescendingly, "There is no need for low level name calling just because you are feeling defensive. Stop being in denial. We both know you are wasting your Talents here. And most certainly, your sister deserves better than this."

The woman's voice now carried a threatening edge, "You leave my sister out of this, you hear me?!"

"I am just pointing out the truth. Your family lives in a rundown hut in the middle of a forest when you could be living a carefree, luxurious life back in our homeworld."

"Get this into your thick skull. My family and I would rather live here than have anything to do with the Committee. Now get your arse outta my home before I turn you into a toad."

"Threatening a representative of the Committee is an offence."

"On the count of three. One. Two. Thr—"

The man held up his arms, finally backing down against the angry woman, "Fine, I shall take my leave."

The hooded figure turned on his heels and stomped off, coincidentally heading in the direction of the camouflaged Nina. As he drew nearer the man lifted his head just enough for the oversized hood to slip backwards, unmasking his features from its shadows. Recognition had Nina clasping both hands over her mouth to prevent a squeak of surprise from escaping as Committee representative Boden stomped past, his face contorted in an angry scowl mixed with the faintest traces of fear while his normally pallid skin now burned an ugly shade of red.

Boden was barely out of sight before the woman called out loudly, "Alright, ya bloody eavesdropper, show yourself."

Nina nearly fell off Midnight in fright. How had her shield been seen through?! She stared at the woman in the clearing in disbelief.

'Does she have a Talent that overcomes mine?'

Trepidation filled her heart as she was about to lower the shield and step forward when Nina suddenly stopped, realising something was off. Her eyes remained glued to the woman who stood with hands on hips, but facing away from Nina. A moment later, the bushes ahead of the woman rustled before a familiar face peeked out at the woman with a sheepish smile of apology, the tips of his fangs slightly protruding over his lower lips.

For the second time in an hour, Nina clasped both hands over her mouth. 'Wisten?!'

Wisten comically stood up from the tight crouch he had been forced to endure in order to hide his massively broad upper body from view. He moved closer to the witch and then bowed, "My deepest apologies Madam witch. It was not my intention to eavesdrop. I could not get away before your visitor arrived and the both of you started arguing. Hiding behind a bush seemed like a good idea at that moment."

The witch eyed Wisten, "Apology accepted. But that still does not explain why a baby bloodsucker like you is at my doorstep."

From the look on his face, Wisten was not in the least bit happy to be called a baby or a bloodsucker, universally the crudest form of addressing a vampire, but he held back a comeback remark. Instead, he said, "I heard that your Talent involves cursing others?"

The witch changed poses, crossing her arms in front of her in a show of unspoken authority. She gave him a wicked smile. "You heard right."

"I also heard that for a fee, I could have someone cursed?"

"You have good ears. But I have my terms, and you take 'em or leave," she said, holding up a finger, "I punish, but I do not kill. Never have, never will."

She held up a second finger, "There must be a proper time limit to your curse. Nothing that is permanent, you hear me?"

She waited for the vampire to nod before continuing, " Lastly, I only curse those that deserve to be cursed. I treat my curses as a punishment for those who had it coming, but that also means that the punishment must fit the crime. I will not perform my service even for all the gold in the world if the two do not match. And if I find out you lied to me about anything, and an innocent was cursed? Hah, I will make sure to curse you so bad, you will regret the day you were born. Death would be a mercy. Understood?"

Instead of answering her, Wisten let her be the judge, "I wish to curse the vampire who stole my lover through malicious means. He made it seem like I was having an affair with another vampire, just so he could steal her away from me. It is only fair that his exterior appearance matches his inner ugly deceit, so cover him in warts from head to toe for a full month."

The witch gave him a disapproving look. "A week."

"Two weeks," he countered aggressively.

"Deal," the witch agreed unnervingly fast, rubbing her hands together. "Now let us talk about the fee. I want ten gold coins. You also need to share the memories from the past six months of your life. And I also need ten large livestock, make 'em full-grown cows as a sacrifice for the curse. And make sure they are in the pink of health."

"I will return once the preparations are made." He held out a hand and the witch took it, sealing the deal with a handshake. From her hidden spot behind the shield, Nina observed the negotiation with fascination. 'A curse as a Talent? No wonder the Committee is interested in her,' Nina thought.

Wisten left in the direction of the bushes, leaving the woman alone in the clearing. Without wasting a second, she picked up a broom and began sweeping the porch and steps vigorously, as if unleashing all her pent up frustration on the helpless broom.

The young witch hovered in her hiding spot, torn between hurrying off to meet Lucius and approaching this enigma of a woman who dared to openly defy the Committee. The enigma won, Nina realising that she was ahead of time anyway and Lucius probably would not reach their meeting spot before she did.

Now that the witch was facing her, Nina had a clear view of her face. Her hair was burgundy red, a couple of locks escaping the relaxed bun at her nape to fall down her shoulders. Her round face, with its wide cheekbones, had a ruddy tinge from sun exposure. Coupled with broad shoulders and strong arms, her beauty lay in her strength and sunkissed glow.

The redhead gave a start when Nina walked into the clearing, leaving Midnight behind still hidden from view. The woman was quick to recover, placing her broom aside and walking down the steps.

"My goodness, you are quite the sneak." She eyed Nina suspiciously, "How in the worlds did I not hear or see your approach?"

"I guess I am naturally light footed," Nina replied nonchalantly.

Almost certainly unconvinced, the woman nevertheless let it go, asking instead, "And what bad experience brings you to my doorstep?"

"Actually, none." Nina answered honestly. "I want to see how a curse is performed."

The woman's shoulders tensed before she roughly answered, "You waste my time, little chick."

At first flustered, and then insulted, Nina snapped back, "Did you just call me a chick?"

"Indeed I did!" The redhead seemed amused by her outburst, "Baby witch does not have a nice ring to it. Anyhow, why are children even running around alone in the forest these days? First that heartbroken brat of a vampire, and now you. Maybe this marks the end to our orderly society," she said airily with open sarcasm.

Nina did not like the way she was being talked down to at all. "Just who are you calling a child?!"

Her outburst had no effect on the redhead, earning her more criticism, "Little chick, you cannot be more than a couple of decades old. Let me know when you hit your first century, then you can gloat about going from chick to adolescent."

Nina was a moment away from losing her temper but by some unknown power of will alongside lots of tooth grinding, she somehow managed to rein in her outburst. Jaw muscles still clenched tight, she managed to spit out, "Show it to me."

"Hmm?" The other woman feigned ignorance.

"Your Talent. I want to see how you do it," Nina said in the usual domineering tone she used whenever she wanted something done her way.

Too bad the other witch took orders from no one. "My powers are not for your entertainment, go amuse yourself elsewhere, chicklet."

Nina was readying a retort before the door to the cabin swung open, and out walked another redheaded witch, without a doubt a relative. Unlike the feisty redhead, the newcomer was thinner and paler, with noticeably dark eyebags that gave her an unhealthy look. She wore a loose, long-sleeved gown that draped over her thin frame and ended up enhancing her frailty. She called out softly, "Frida?"

"Just a moment, Merida," the other witch replied in a gentle, almost motherly voice, so unlike her prior loutish talk. Sparing a glance at Nina, the witch named Frida firmly said, "You best be on your way now," putting an end to their conversation. Frida and Merida entered their home and shut the door, leaving Nina no choice but to continue on her way.