(TW: description of death, description of someone being burnt alive, mentions of child abandonment, mentions of an animal attack, mentions of accidental injury of a child, implied beginnings of religious trauma, description of a corpse. I know I already said that character death happens in the beginning, of the story to get warnings out of the way, but I feel as if I should put warnings of the serious stuff. If you are sensitive to any of the triggers mentioned or some of these things have happened to you, I will give a tldr at the end so you can skip the chapter. Reader discretion is heavily advised for this chapter. Read on if you feel you can manage these things, but discretion is still heavily implied.)

"Life has been treating me fine Ivan, though I do wish Michel would stop pushing for us to wed, we are still young & have dreams of our own. We do not need to tie the knot so soon now." Rose said, picking up a pale of water that was beside her feet. Ivan had decided to grab a pale near him wanting to be of help to his best friend. "You don't need to do that your majesty." Rosa said in futile protest. "I know Rosa, I wish to help though. I spend most of my days within the castle walls, it only seems fit I were to help out around the village." Ivan replied, following Rosa to the barley field. As the pair headed to the fields, small children ran about chasing each other. Some playing Chivy, others playing knight & dragon. Ivan noticed that a small group of children were hiding among the village stalls, some in bushes, with one child searching for them.

By the time Ivan & Rosa had reached the barley field Rosa's dress had been stained with mud & dust, & Ivan's pants & boots were coated in muck & manure. Rosa entered the field & tossed water from the bucket onto the ground, which greedily drank it up. Ivan attempted to mirror Rosa, managing to send the water into the parched fields before falling into the ground. Rosa let out a small chuckle as her friend sat up in the field covered in dirt. Ivan had stared into his hands before letting out a joyous chuckle. Before long, the two friends were engulfed by their own laughter, finding the events that transpired to be humorous.

Once the laughter had settled, Rosa helped Ivan reach his feet before they made their way to Rosa's home to wash off in the dirt & muck off themselves. Rosa's mother, Kate Kline, had brought a fresh set of robes & dress for the two before heading off to wash the old clothes. "I must say, your mother is very compassionate Rosa." Ivan said, climbing out of the basin he sat in & heading to his clothing. "She is indeed." Rosa replied, doing as Ivan had before slipping into the new dress her mother left for her.

Ivan had struggled slightly with getting the clean clothing left for him on, managing to get them on with the help of Rosa. "So, I should have asked your purpose for visiting, should I have?" she said, sounding calm yet regretful for the words she let spill from her mouth. "Oh! Not at all, I'm the one who should have explained. My parents have crowned me the next in line to rule & had told me to talk to those here in the village to restore confidence in my rule. I do apologize for not bringing this to light." Ivan said, remembering he had to converse with others in the village.

While Ivan was catching up with Robert & Kate Kline a bell rang, reminiscent of the bell used to call forth the maids & butlers in the castle. "CAROLINE MESQURA HAS BEEN FOUND GUILTY OF WITCHCRAFT! THE WITCH IS TO BE! BURNED AT THE STAKE!!" a voice called, followed by pleads of mercy & prayers mixing together in a cacophony of voices. "Isn't Caroline the girl that helped rid the fields of parasites?" Kate said, horrified that they trusted a witch. As the family & prince exited the home, Ivan watched as a woman was held back as another was being tied up, both had raven hair & earth brown eyes. "PLEASE! I SWEAR TO THE LORD MY DAUGHTER HAS MENT NO HARM TO ANYONE! SHE ONLY HOLDS THE DESIRE TO HELP! SHE HAS GONE TO CHURCH TO PRAY HER SINS AWAY! PLEASE SPARE HER!" the woman being held back pleaded, trying to stop the execution.

"I'M SORRY I SWEAR! IT WAS ONLY AN ACCIDENT! I SWEAR I CAN UNDO THE DAMAGE I CAUSED I PROMISE! I NEVER MEANT ANY HARM!" Caroline pled, tears streaming down her face. Despite the honest pleas, Caroline's cries fell on mostly deaf ears. Only the Kline's, children, Ivan & her mother heard her. Some children were crying while others were trying to delay the execution. One child stood out to Ivan, an elven child with cream skin & sand hair. Her eyes were a deep purple & she seemed to be covered in burns. "PLEASE LISTEN TO HER! SHE WAS ONLY TRYING TO WARD OFF A VICIOUS WOLF! I ONLY GOT IN THE WAY OF THE LIQUID! PLEASE SHE MEANT NO HARM! LISTEN TO HER!!" the elven child said, trying to hold back a man carrying the torch that was to light the pile of logs below the witch.

Some adults seemed to take pity on the children's attempt to stop the execution, but pulled them aside as Caroline was tied up. "PLEASE! I'M SORRY! I PROMISE I'LL REPENT, I'LL REPENT FOR MY SINS I SWEAR! PLEASE JUST HAVE MERCY! I'M BEGGING YOU PLEASE HAVE MERCY!" Caroline screamed, sending a chill down Ivan's spine. He knew of witch executions that happened every once in a while, yet had never witnessed one. Nor heard of the children or a victim of a witch, giving the events unfolding an eerie atmosphere. Mrs. Mesqura was pulled back from the stake as the man holding the torch placed it near the tinder & hay beneath it. As the flames surrounded Caroline, Ivan could have sworn he had heard her mention him. "NOOO! PLEAS STOP THIS! SHE HAS NO MALICIOUS INTENT WITH WHAT SHE DOSE! PLEAASSEEE!" the mom cried, watching as her baby burned.

Suddenly, everyone that was eager for the witch to burn was rushing for water. The Kline's & Ivan were confused by the sudden change in the crowds behavior, that was until Rosa rushed towards the pyre in a panic. Amongst the chaos, the elven child had rushed to the witch's side trying to untie her. Without thinking, Ivan rushed forwards & pulled both the child & Rosa from the fire. "PLEASE SAVE HER! SHE DID NOTHING WRONG! IT IS MY FAULT FOR MY INJURIES!! SHE WAS ONLY TRYING TO HELP ME PLEASE!!" the child said as townsfolk rushed to the stake. A splash of frigid water snapped Ivan out of his thoughts & extinguished the flames that began to burn away at all their clothes & singed both the child's hair & skin. Ivan looked at Caroline with pity, seeing her pray to the lord as the flames consumed her.

By the peak of the flames only three things could be heard, the sobs of Caroline's mother, the elven child trying to get people to kill the pyre, & the crackles of the fire. The smell of burnt human flesh soon filled the air around the stake. The smell made the prince feel sick, recalling everything that had happened in the span of minutes. By the time the fire had eaten all it could, only a charred body with a rosary around the neck hanging limply against the burnt steak, a charred rope just barely supporting it.

Robert looked at the pope, Father Andrew, & walked over to him in what appeared to be religious anger. Ivan could not make hear what the two men were conversing on, to horrified at the site of a body that had once been full of life now burnt beyond recognition. The witches mother had fallen to her knees & sobbed, children had surrounded her & began to comfort her to the best of their skills. The young elven girl looked at the body & just let tears run down her face. Ivan looked at the girl & gently hugged her. In response to the sudden contact, the child clung to him & sobbed into him. Ivan gently rubbed the child's head as the witch's body was carried out of the village, to which Caroline's mother mouthed a silent prayer. The rest of the day was uneasy, once lively children now talked solemnly of the trial, Mrs. Mesqura silently watching the sky, parents conversing amongst one another about the children's behavior, & the Kline's continued their daily chores with less enthusiasm than usual. The only thing that remained constant from the execution was Ivan comforting the elven child.

"May you tell me your name little one?" Ivan asked her, trying to bring the child's mind away from the execution. "Lorana." She said, looking up at Ivan. "do you know where your parents are Lorana?" he asked. "I do not know, they had told me to wait in the woods two days ago." Lorana answered, looking to the ground. Ivan looked at the child & sighed. 'what kind of people would do such a thing to their own child?' he thought as he pondered what to do with her. "mister.. can.. can I stay with you?" Lorana asked nervously. Aware of the child's situation, Ivan gave her a warm smile & said "you may stay with my family, let me first change into the clothes my parents expect me to return home in." before leading Lorana to the Kline's home to change into the clothing he had arrived in, hoping it was fully dried by now. As he exited the home, Lorana was in awe. "You're departing for home I see your majesty? I do not blame you for it, witch executions are never like that." Kate said, noticing Ivan was leaving. "Indeed, I wish I could have stayed longer, however the witch trial was the first I had seen & Lorana needs a home. I wish you & your family a better day." Ivan said, bowing before Kate before gently taking Lorana down the path to the castle .

The moment Ivan & Lorana reached the castle, two guards stopped them. "who is that & what is her purpose?" one of guards said. "her name is Lorana, & I've brought her here as her parents had left her in the woods for two days." Ivan said in a calm voice. "she may enter. Shall we inform the king & queen of your decision young prince?" the other guard asked. "Please do." He said, leading Lorana into his home.

Tldr for those who skipped to the end: Ivan helped Rosa with some chores & got his clothes dirty, witnessed a witch execution that was nothing like previous ones, saved an elf child who was trying to save the witch from burning to death. Learns the elf child's parents were shitty & abandoned her in the woods, & proceeded to bring her into the castle as she deserved a better family.)

Word count: 1712 (excluding the tldr, author note & trigger warning)

(authors note: this took 3 days to complete, sorry for the wait.)