-Untitled-
By: Innocent Roses@GO
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“Cecil! Cecil! I’ve picked the herbs you wanted!” A slightly tanned, blonde boy called out as he ran towards a luxurious looking manor on a mountaintop.
The tall boy ran along the pathway which connected the back of the manor to the forest beneath it, passing the perfectly pruned and ever vibrant garden as he did so. As he passed the rose bushes, he noticed the all too familiar glint of a sharp sword. Quickly, he called for his master once more before drawing the sword he was carrying with him. It didn’t take long for a fight to begin and the clink of swords repeatedly hitting each other was heard. Soon, that sound was made more intense due to the large amount of mini daggers that had now joined the fight. It echoed through the forest for what seemed like eternity until suddenly, an eerie silence spread throughout the land. The fight was over and an obvious victor had been declared – the question was, who was it? “Phew, that was another close one Cecil.” The cheerful boy stated as he put his sword back in its scabbard.
“What do you mean that was a close one? The herbs are ruined.” A slim, pale young lady replied, picking up the remnants of the herb from the ground. “Go get some more and this time, don’t attract any attention.”
“But I wanted to go play with Clara and Emily!” The purple eyed youth whinged, making puppy eyes at his master in the hopes that he’d be let out to play with the local girls. “No. Just go get the herb Remus – I need it for my potion…that is unless you’d rather get me some freshly plucked pheasant feather for a different potion I’ve been wanting to brew.” She smiled, not at all hiding the malice in her voice and expression.
Without another word of complaint, the boy was off once more and Cecil was left to clean up the now blood splattered path and the strategically pierced body of the knight who had tried to kill them. It gave her time to think and to reminisce. Why it seemed like it was just yesterday that she spotted him in the forest. He was a slave – a runaway one at that and though she didn’t usually associate with humans, he seemed to call out to her. He wasn’t alone when they met but she had gotten rid of the people who were with him (not that they could be called people due to their incredible greed) and he was grateful for it. If Cecil thought hard about it, she’d realise that was the one human which she didn’t kidnap or kill and did care about. Of course, his tall and somewhat muscular figure and his never-ending cheer weren’t didn’t always mean as much to Cecil as it did now.
Before she had met Remus, Cecil lived a life of solitude – rejected by the local village for her kidnappings and hunted by knights sent by the king; she had found peace and shelter in the mountaintop manor. There weren’t any other witches near her so she never had to worry about territory issues but going down into the forest to collect herbs and other ingredients wasn’t always easy. Of course, her organizational skills meant that she was able to get her potions done faster than most witches but the problem was, there were too many other things to take care of such as the gardening, cooking food, washing and drying clothes. Sure, the slightly busty girl could have used her magic to help with these tasks but it was still incredibly draining. It didn’t help that she had absolutely ridiculously high standards either – in fact, there were times where she would re-make a potion ten times because she had felt that it wasn’t up to par with what she wanted.
At first, her thinking didn’t change one bit when she took Remus in. Sure, he was previously a slave but Cecil had arranged for him to be her servant. There wasn’t much of a difference really except she provided him with food, weapons, clothing and pay. In exchange, he was to do her bidding, keep her safe and have her crown shaped key ring upon his belt at all times (in case another which wanted him for whatever purpose). Cecil would set tasks which she knew no normal human could complete at all let alone do it to her standards but Remus (though he often protested) never failed. It wasn’t long before he became someone who she could depend on and someone who she couldn’t imagine living without. The only problem was how many girls he managed to attract. If Cecil didn’t know better, she would have said that he was toying with them on purpose but then again, who wouldn’t have found his personality magnetic? Perhaps that was why she pouted so much. After all, it made it a lot easier for her to hide just how annoyed she got whenever he went to see a girl or even brought it up – not that she’d ever tell him that.
Meanwhile, Remus had once again found the herb that Cecil specifically asked for and was headed back to the manor. Thankfully for him, there seemed to be no head-hunters so he had managed to return safely though he wasn’t sure at all if Cecil cared if he was injured or dead. Sure, he had tried to find out if Cecil had the slightest interest in him numerous times but it had never worked. All those girls that he visited? She hadn’t said a word of protest. He wasn’t even doing anything with them apart from chat but it wasn’t like he was going to let Cecil know that. It had been four years since he had been rescued by Cecil and every day was interesting for Remus. Having previously been a slave, he hadn’t had much fun but spending time with Cecil amplified the bright and cheery personality he thought he’d lost forever. Of course, she did usually ask for things that were impossibly hard to do or obtain but he liked the challenge. It meant that he was able to explore the forest and that was something he certainly hadn’t done when he was a mere slave.
As Remus walked through the main hallway of the manor, he fixed up the paintings and quickly wiped the tables so that they were free of dust. Then, he put the herbs in the kitchen (the designated place for potion ingredients) and searched for Cecil. It was somewhat like finding a needle in a haystack really. After all, it was such a large mansion with a clear rococo theme (which Cecil seemed to like very much), there were so many rooms and there was just the two of them. The fact that Cecil was a witch also helped complicate matters because she could just use her powers to get her out of one room and into the next. Remus always found her in the end though and though he tries to be silent and sneaky about doing so, Cecil always managed to notice his presence. She would puff up her cheeks before yelling at him – he thought was quite cute (and he always let her know it). In a way, it was funny and despite her seemingly serious face, Remus could tell that she wasn’t angry. Perhaps that was why he felt the need to be extra sneaky that day. After finding her in the library reading up on yet another spell book, Remus silently brought his body as close to hers as possible. It was so close that he could feel her soft, wavy blonde hair against his chest.
“Boo!” Remus shouted as Cecil slammed her book shut in response.
“Remus! What have I told you about making so much noise?” Cecil replied, not the least bit affected by his childish prank.
“Were you scared Cecil? Huh, huh, huh?” He asked, not answering the question she had posed.
“Remus, you need to stop being so silly. You’re a grown man after all and you’re taller than me! Act like it once in a while!” She too avoided the question but her frown remained.
“Oh, so you want me to act seriously do you?” With that, Remus slowly leant forward and gently kissed Cecil on the cheek. “Was that serious enough for you?” Before he received an answer though, Cecil had made herself vanish using her magic leaving Remus feeling dejected and somewhat stupid.
Cecil on the other hand had returned to her own bedroom with a completely flushed face. It was just a kiss on the cheek but it was from Remus and that was why she couldn’t contain her excitement. She just hoped that he hadn’t seen. If she had had more confidence or if her brain hadn’t completely shut down, perhaps she would have said something but even then, it’d probably end up being a criticism. It just wasn’t fair – she had ignored everything but a simple kiss on the cheek changed everything. After what seemed like an eternity, Cecil had finally calmed down enough to make her mind up – she was going to tell Remus her feelings and that was that.
As she walked along the pristinely maintained hallway of the third floor of the manor, Cecil heard a cry for help and it sounded like it was Remus that was calling for it. Panicking internally, she rushed to where the sound had come from and apparently, that was one of the study rooms down on the second floor. Cecil’s heart sank when she saw the state of the room and the state of Remus. It wasn’t good – not good at all. The room had pretty much been slashed to pieces. There were bits of broken furniture scattered all over the floor along with various shards of glass. Remus didn’t look as bad as the room but Cecil knew that it was something not even magic could heal. His bones were broken and he had large gashes all over his body. Remus must have known himself just how bad his wounds were because he hadn’t even mentioned that he wanted Cecil to heal him – he just lay there silently, searching her face for some sort of emotion and it wasn’t long before he got it. For the first time in a long time, Cecil broke down – after all, she loved this boy and yet, he was dying before her eyes.
“Remus. How could you let yourself get into this state?” She asked, choking back tears as she touched his face gently.
It wasn’t gentle enough for Remus winced. “There were four of them Cecil – I called for help but it was too late.” An unbearable silence fell upon the two before Cecil finally muttered something.
“You can’t die Remus. I love you.” She muttered, letting her tears fall onto Remus’s battered and bruised body as she hugged him.
“Really?” By this point, it was clear that Remus would be dead soon and they both knew it. “Cecil, I want you to kiss me – on the lips. Just once is enough…just….once.”
No sooner had Cecil ended the kiss, she felt Remus’s body go limp. It wasn’t fair – when she had finally told him just how much she liked him, those stupid knights that were hunting her took him away. Furious, she summoned the mini daggers once more and set out on a manhunt in the manor. There was always the risk that they would find her first but Cecil was in so much emotional pain that she no longer cared. One by one, she searched the rooms and it wasn’t long before she ran into the knights. All four of them had stuck together and they fought valiantly with their large swords. Cecil however was no longer calm and collected in her movements and fuelled by her loss, she summoned more daggers than she had ever bothered to summon before. Once she had, she sent them out in all directions in the sitting room, piercing anything and everything she could – quite often multiple times.
Needless to say, those knights had stood no chance of staying alive despite their efforts. It was Cecil’s win though it felt like the biggest loss in the world. The blonde with now blood-splattered hair didn’t care at all about cleaning up the bodies of the deceased knights. Instead, she went back to Remus. Whispering, she told him how she’d bury him beneath the rose bushes and how she’d move away – into a little cottage in some village far away. She cried over and over again about how she loved him and how she’d never mind another to replace him and once the preparations had been complete, Cecil packed her bags and got on her broom. She flew in the darkness of night and rested during the day. Day after day, it was a struggle to find some shelter until she had finally spotted an abandoned woodcutter’s cottage in the middle of a lush forest. The blue eyed witch settled there and trained apprentices but not once did she open her heart up again to others – witchling or human.
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“Cecil! Cecil! I’ve picked the herbs you wanted!” A slightly tanned, blonde boy called out as he ran towards a luxurious looking manor on a mountaintop.
The tall boy ran along the pathway which connected the back of the manor to the forest beneath it, passing the perfectly pruned and ever vibrant garden as he did so. As he passed the rose bushes, he noticed the all too familiar glint of a sharp sword. Quickly, he called for his master once more before drawing the sword he was carrying with him. It didn’t take long for a fight to begin and the clink of swords repeatedly hitting each other was heard. Soon, that sound was made more intense due to the large amount of mini daggers that had now joined the fight. It echoed through the forest for what seemed like eternity until suddenly, an eerie silence spread throughout the land. The fight was over and an obvious victor had been declared – the question was, who was it? “Phew, that was another close one Cecil.” The cheerful boy stated as he put his sword back in its scabbard.
“What do you mean that was a close one? The herbs are ruined.” A slim, pale young lady replied, picking up the remnants of the herb from the ground. “Go get some more and this time, don’t attract any attention.”
“But I wanted to go play with Clara and Emily!” The purple eyed youth whinged, making puppy eyes at his master in the hopes that he’d be let out to play with the local girls. “No. Just go get the herb Remus – I need it for my potion…that is unless you’d rather get me some freshly plucked pheasant feather for a different potion I’ve been wanting to brew.” She smiled, not at all hiding the malice in her voice and expression.
Without another word of complaint, the boy was off once more and Cecil was left to clean up the now blood splattered path and the strategically pierced body of the knight who had tried to kill them. It gave her time to think and to reminisce. Why it seemed like it was just yesterday that she spotted him in the forest. He was a slave – a runaway one at that and though she didn’t usually associate with humans, he seemed to call out to her. He wasn’t alone when they met but she had gotten rid of the people who were with him (not that they could be called people due to their incredible greed) and he was grateful for it. If Cecil thought hard about it, she’d realise that was the one human which she didn’t kidnap or kill and did care about. Of course, his tall and somewhat muscular figure and his never-ending cheer weren’t didn’t always mean as much to Cecil as it did now.
Before she had met Remus, Cecil lived a life of solitude – rejected by the local village for her kidnappings and hunted by knights sent by the king; she had found peace and shelter in the mountaintop manor. There weren’t any other witches near her so she never had to worry about territory issues but going down into the forest to collect herbs and other ingredients wasn’t always easy. Of course, her organizational skills meant that she was able to get her potions done faster than most witches but the problem was, there were too many other things to take care of such as the gardening, cooking food, washing and drying clothes. Sure, the slightly busty girl could have used her magic to help with these tasks but it was still incredibly draining. It didn’t help that she had absolutely ridiculously high standards either – in fact, there were times where she would re-make a potion ten times because she had felt that it wasn’t up to par with what she wanted.
At first, her thinking didn’t change one bit when she took Remus in. Sure, he was previously a slave but Cecil had arranged for him to be her servant. There wasn’t much of a difference really except she provided him with food, weapons, clothing and pay. In exchange, he was to do her bidding, keep her safe and have her crown shaped key ring upon his belt at all times (in case another which wanted him for whatever purpose). Cecil would set tasks which she knew no normal human could complete at all let alone do it to her standards but Remus (though he often protested) never failed. It wasn’t long before he became someone who she could depend on and someone who she couldn’t imagine living without. The only problem was how many girls he managed to attract. If Cecil didn’t know better, she would have said that he was toying with them on purpose but then again, who wouldn’t have found his personality magnetic? Perhaps that was why she pouted so much. After all, it made it a lot easier for her to hide just how annoyed she got whenever he went to see a girl or even brought it up – not that she’d ever tell him that.
Meanwhile, Remus had once again found the herb that Cecil specifically asked for and was headed back to the manor. Thankfully for him, there seemed to be no head-hunters so he had managed to return safely though he wasn’t sure at all if Cecil cared if he was injured or dead. Sure, he had tried to find out if Cecil had the slightest interest in him numerous times but it had never worked. All those girls that he visited? She hadn’t said a word of protest. He wasn’t even doing anything with them apart from chat but it wasn’t like he was going to let Cecil know that. It had been four years since he had been rescued by Cecil and every day was interesting for Remus. Having previously been a slave, he hadn’t had much fun but spending time with Cecil amplified the bright and cheery personality he thought he’d lost forever. Of course, she did usually ask for things that were impossibly hard to do or obtain but he liked the challenge. It meant that he was able to explore the forest and that was something he certainly hadn’t done when he was a mere slave.
As Remus walked through the main hallway of the manor, he fixed up the paintings and quickly wiped the tables so that they were free of dust. Then, he put the herbs in the kitchen (the designated place for potion ingredients) and searched for Cecil. It was somewhat like finding a needle in a haystack really. After all, it was such a large mansion with a clear rococo theme (which Cecil seemed to like very much), there were so many rooms and there was just the two of them. The fact that Cecil was a witch also helped complicate matters because she could just use her powers to get her out of one room and into the next. Remus always found her in the end though and though he tries to be silent and sneaky about doing so, Cecil always managed to notice his presence. She would puff up her cheeks before yelling at him – he thought was quite cute (and he always let her know it). In a way, it was funny and despite her seemingly serious face, Remus could tell that she wasn’t angry. Perhaps that was why he felt the need to be extra sneaky that day. After finding her in the library reading up on yet another spell book, Remus silently brought his body as close to hers as possible. It was so close that he could feel her soft, wavy blonde hair against his chest.
“Boo!” Remus shouted as Cecil slammed her book shut in response.
“Remus! What have I told you about making so much noise?” Cecil replied, not the least bit affected by his childish prank.
“Were you scared Cecil? Huh, huh, huh?” He asked, not answering the question she had posed.
“Remus, you need to stop being so silly. You’re a grown man after all and you’re taller than me! Act like it once in a while!” She too avoided the question but her frown remained.
“Oh, so you want me to act seriously do you?” With that, Remus slowly leant forward and gently kissed Cecil on the cheek. “Was that serious enough for you?” Before he received an answer though, Cecil had made herself vanish using her magic leaving Remus feeling dejected and somewhat stupid.
Cecil on the other hand had returned to her own bedroom with a completely flushed face. It was just a kiss on the cheek but it was from Remus and that was why she couldn’t contain her excitement. She just hoped that he hadn’t seen. If she had had more confidence or if her brain hadn’t completely shut down, perhaps she would have said something but even then, it’d probably end up being a criticism. It just wasn’t fair – she had ignored everything but a simple kiss on the cheek changed everything. After what seemed like an eternity, Cecil had finally calmed down enough to make her mind up – she was going to tell Remus her feelings and that was that.
As she walked along the pristinely maintained hallway of the third floor of the manor, Cecil heard a cry for help and it sounded like it was Remus that was calling for it. Panicking internally, she rushed to where the sound had come from and apparently, that was one of the study rooms down on the second floor. Cecil’s heart sank when she saw the state of the room and the state of Remus. It wasn’t good – not good at all. The room had pretty much been slashed to pieces. There were bits of broken furniture scattered all over the floor along with various shards of glass. Remus didn’t look as bad as the room but Cecil knew that it was something not even magic could heal. His bones were broken and he had large gashes all over his body. Remus must have known himself just how bad his wounds were because he hadn’t even mentioned that he wanted Cecil to heal him – he just lay there silently, searching her face for some sort of emotion and it wasn’t long before he got it. For the first time in a long time, Cecil broke down – after all, she loved this boy and yet, he was dying before her eyes.
“Remus. How could you let yourself get into this state?” She asked, choking back tears as she touched his face gently.
It wasn’t gentle enough for Remus winced. “There were four of them Cecil – I called for help but it was too late.” An unbearable silence fell upon the two before Cecil finally muttered something.
“You can’t die Remus. I love you.” She muttered, letting her tears fall onto Remus’s battered and bruised body as she hugged him.
“Really?” By this point, it was clear that Remus would be dead soon and they both knew it. “Cecil, I want you to kiss me – on the lips. Just once is enough…just….once.”
No sooner had Cecil ended the kiss, she felt Remus’s body go limp. It wasn’t fair – when she had finally told him just how much she liked him, those stupid knights that were hunting her took him away. Furious, she summoned the mini daggers once more and set out on a manhunt in the manor. There was always the risk that they would find her first but Cecil was in so much emotional pain that she no longer cared. One by one, she searched the rooms and it wasn’t long before she ran into the knights. All four of them had stuck together and they fought valiantly with their large swords. Cecil however was no longer calm and collected in her movements and fuelled by her loss, she summoned more daggers than she had ever bothered to summon before. Once she had, she sent them out in all directions in the sitting room, piercing anything and everything she could – quite often multiple times.
Needless to say, those knights had stood no chance of staying alive despite their efforts. It was Cecil’s win though it felt like the biggest loss in the world. The blonde with now blood-splattered hair didn’t care at all about cleaning up the bodies of the deceased knights. Instead, she went back to Remus. Whispering, she told him how she’d bury him beneath the rose bushes and how she’d move away – into a little cottage in some village far away. She cried over and over again about how she loved him and how she’d never mind another to replace him and once the preparations had been complete, Cecil packed her bags and got on her broom. She flew in the darkness of night and rested during the day. Day after day, it was a struggle to find some shelter until she had finally spotted an abandoned woodcutter’s cottage in the middle of a lush forest. The blue eyed witch settled there and trained apprentices but not once did she open her heart up again to others – witchling or human.