Down with the king! 4-1

And so, I'm back at it again with this series! I do think I need to try to free write again in between chapters just so I can get rid of my writer's block

Prologue  Chapter 1-1 Chapter 1-2 Chapter 2-1 Chapter 2-2 Chapter 3-1 Chapter 3-2

Chapter 4

History isn’t always what it seems

The moment Cooper was out of sight, she rushed back to their house. Luckily it wasn’t that late yet so she could still sleep it off and hope that everything that had happened was all just a dream. When she returned home, she just immediately climbed into bed and drifted off to sleep. 

The very next morning, she did whatever she could to go about her day. She tried making new plans but she would just get lost in thought after a while. She tried to build yet she just couldn’t think of what she could build. She even went so far as to come out of her room. She asked her mother if she needed help in the store or for supper. It left her mother, and Tinble dumbfounded for a while. After years of confinement, Audrey was finally out and about, all because she was restless. Even she couldn’t believe it. But she just wanted to keep herself distracted for now. 

“What’s happened to you, Dree?” It was Tinble that spoke as she was headed back to her room.

“Just… needed to distract myself” She heaved a sigh and went back into her room. Tinble just followed after her. 

“Why do you need the distraction? This is unlike you” he leaned in closer to have a better look at her.

“It’s… different this time… “ She pulled him into her room before she locked the door “Remember the witches? They’re really out there and I met one!” She spoke in a hushed tone yet there was still fear in her tone. 

“You-You met a witch?!?” He looked at her with wide eyes “Wait- when?!?! How?! Don’t tell me you went to the walls?! That place is forbidden-”

“I didn’t go alone… The witch I met took me. He was an odd one…” She deflated to her bed at the memory “But their village was so peaceful. He was so kind. I can’t understand how they’re the enemy” 

“Maybe that’s just one side to them” He sat down beside her “So what do you plan to do with this new information?” 

“I don’t know… I just feel like… there’s more to all this” She sat up again and just leaned her frame against Tinble “What would Daddy have done? I bet he would have had so many questions for Cooper, he probably wouldn’t have run away as I did…” 

“Well, dad was weird like that. We don’                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                     t know if he would but think about it. If he seemed to have something to say. Try to listen” His arm draped over her shoulder and he patted her head lightly in hopes to calm her down

“I will. I’ll try to meet him again… eventually” She sighed in relief, happy that Tinble would still listen to her ramblings when she needed it the most

“Don’t make him wait too long though. Now get some sleep” He said in a teasing tone

“I’ll try not to…” She offered a small smile before settling in her bed “Hey Tin! Thank you for listening”

That night, she didn’t get much sleep. She just tossed and turned in her bed. Questions flooded her mind. Like what were the weak witches. Were they different from the witches they’ve been fighting for the past 300 years? How were they even weak witches to begin with? From her standpoint, Cooper seemed powerful enough to freeze the land yet he called himself weak?

For the succeeding days, only those thoughts occupied her mind. It even hindered her day a lot. At times, she would just be in a daze and she knew that she would continue to be restless until her questions were answered. 

2 weeks since she last saw Cooper… It was about time she finally faced him again. She wasn’t scared this time around, if anything, she was determined to hear his side of it all. That very night, she made her way to the riots, where she was welcomed as if it was her own home. People were worried about her, but none of them were as worried as Cooper was. He was the last to approach her. 

“You’re finally back! I’m really sorry for-” Before he could even finish his sentence, she already had her hand over his lips to hush him

“Let’s talk somewhere else. You know people here… and witches” the last part she basically whispered to him as she pulled him to a more secluded area.

He nodded slowly. He fully understood what he would be up against when he started talking here. Audrey wasted no time pulling him out of the arena

“Take me back to the walls, please. I think… I’m ready to know about your kind” she was still quite unsure of what she should call Cooper besides a witch, yet he was something different, or so he said before

“Are you sure…?” He looked shocked. He never expected that she would be the one asking this time “You don’t need to force yourself”

“I want to. Some things just don’t add up with our history. I always thought the battles were strange. Well, my father always did.” 

“Very well. But we should go before dawn approaches” 

As an answer, she nodded firmly, and then they were off. This time around, they needed to go undetected and unseen so as soon as they were far enough from the arena, Cooper performed a small incantation before they headed off to the walls. He didn’t need to mask her scent, they just quickly made their way to the same spot where he first revealed his abilities. 

“So… before anything… Tell me about your history, Audrey” He gestured to sit on the grass so that they could talk more comfortably “What I know might be different from what your people are told” 

She sat beside him and thought of where to start for a moment “Hmm… If I have to sum it up… for the past 300 years, we believed that witches got arrogant and evil and that they started worshipping the devil to gain greater power. That greater power wiped out half the human population. We fought back by the witch hunts but in the end, we still had to flee the land and from there, we just relied on technology and hoped it would kind of… be the way to kill the witches” 

“So the witches did much more than alter history” Cooper reached for his bag and pulled out a rolled-up scroll that contained images that looked like it was drawn ages ago “Your history’s not entirely wrong. But it lacked so many elements” 

As he stretched out the scroll, she could see the humans and the witches, then a dark kingdom at the far end of the scroll. 

“What’s that part? That black thing” She pointed out as she leaned closer to get a better view of the illustration. 

“That’s the king of shadows. I suppose he made sure he and his followers remained hidden from history. He was the one that divided the worlds into what it is now” 

“Didn’t all the witches do that?” She looked at him in disbelief. She wasn't even sure what to believe in but she was getting the answers she so longed for. 

“No, it was only him. He was the purist king and he has been our true enemy in the past 300 years”  

“Then what does that have to do with your race… weak witches, was it?” 

“Perhaps… I should tell you our history first” He grinned sheepishly as he pointed to the sides of the scroll. “You see, the witch hunts were real. The satanic rituals done by the purists, all happened. Humans got involved in it too but the difference is that the remaining family members of the witches tried to continue the satanic rituals that the captured witches failed to do… And one succeeded. That man managed to summon the devil. And what he wished for was the power and immortality that could defeat the humans. So he was granted that power in exchange for all the souls of the people he killed.” 

“But then what about the weak witches?” She asked curiously

“Our kind… we weren’t really weak. But we still wanted to protect you, humans. Some of us had human parents too. We were deemed weak because of our love for humans, and again, because some of us were half-humans” 

“Is that why you tried to mingle with us at the riots?” She asked with a chuckle as if teasing him.

He answered with a nod before he rolled up the scroll ever so carefully “We weren’t that different from your kind. It just so happened that we were taught different things” 

“Is there anything we could do for people to see that…?” For a moment, she just turned her gaze towards the peaceful village that would definitely be a target once the time for the summer solstice came. 

“We could tell them the truth. Of our worlds, of the shadow king… Everything” 

“Do you even know where the shadow king is? All Our lives, we have only seen this wall that divided our walls” Audrey gestured to the wall that has been there for the past 300 years

“He’s out there. At the edge of both walls” He glanced afar and pointed somewhere “I’m not sure if you could see it but there’s a barrier at that end of the wall. Humans would usually enter an illusion when they reach that point while we weak witches avoid it as if our lives depended on it” 

“Are the purists that dangerous...?” The thought seemed to scare her when she thought of the purists

“They are, they’re blessed by the shadow king. They receive a portion of his power when they ask for it… You have no idea how much we struggle to keep two sides at bay…” For the first time that night, Cooper seemed to have lost all his energy. 

“Humans… and the purists? Then why didn’t your kind try to talk to the humans?” 

“We did. But they kept attacking… We’re sure the shadow king played some part in that” He soon lied down on the grass

“So this was all his doing…” She soon followed suit, gazing up at the sky while she tried to piece together all the things she had learned that night. It bothered her that they have been fighting the wrong enemy all that time. Much more so that she was determined to be a hero for the next summer solstice. They simply stayed in silence, both of them lost in thought but they were sure that they needed to formulate a plan that would first put an end to all the useless fighting. 

Chapter 4-2

If you managed to read up to here, thank you! and also, I'd like to ask a favor for my ex. He made a site on this gogetfunding thing since he had a mild stroke sometime last week. I told him that a bch address might be more convenient so I made him make a local bch wallet if you wouldn't mind helping out since I already gave my fair share. I'll just leave the address and site there in case you guys would be willing to help him

bitcoincash:pqdvw8tx4kd9m374c4llk0c9xl647vw7hceq2t7s29

https://gogetfunding.com/fundraising-for-stroke-medicine-and-therapy/