Chapter 47

**Merianna**

I was right… It did turn out to be a long day.

After a lot of poking fun at me and Councilor Ferina trying to get Junnie to behave, we all managed to fill them in on what had been happening as well as our theories.

Councilor Ferina didn’t seem very enthused about the fact that a previous Council member could be working with the hunters. We also agreed with the possibility of other talented witches that could possibly be behind this chaos too. It was hard to keep track of witches that weren’t part of any of the Covens. Anything could be possible at that stage.

The thought itself of any strong witch working on the side of the Hunters, was frightening. I couldn't wrap my head around the possibility. I couldn't comprehend why any kind of witch would want to side with the Hunters to begin with.

With an irritated huff I fell backwards into my bed's pillows. I didn't like the way my thoughts were turning about in my head. It was tiring.

“What seems to be the matter My Lady?” Asked Hezerial as he appeared in the middle of my room. I probably should have thrown a fit and kicked him out of my room like I usually did, but I had given up. He could be surprisingly stubborn when he wanted to be.

“I don't like it.” I scowled.

“Don't like what My Lady?”

“Everything that seems to be going on lately.” I said while sitting up. “I don't like that there are witches who are either siding or being forced to comply with the Hunters. I don't like that we have to suspect people who might need us, of being in league with the Hunters. I don't like that the Council isn't taking action faster to stop all of this. They are supposed to be the ones with the answers and procedures to help in situations like these, yet it seems like we keep doing their work for them.”

Hezerial's face pulled into concern as I told him all my worries. “But my Lady, this is not something new that had only recently started happening. There have been small things changing in the ether since long ago. Maybe it is only now that it has become more obvious.”

My heart practically stopped beating when Hezerial uttered those words. It felt like my theories had just been flipped upside down and tossed out of the tower's window to splatter apart when it smashed into the ground. “What do you mean?”

“I mean that things have been changing little by little for centuries now, just like they always do. Creatures and People change over time My Lady, it's a fact of life. This is no different from normal mortal's squabbles. For the sake of survival people always make choices, whether they be good or bad, whether it's for themselves only or for the morals they stand for.” He said simply.

“I don't know whether I should envy you your world view or disregard it.” I muttered unhappily.

“Meaning that you feel much more attached to the situations at hand than you would like to My Lady?”

“Unfortunately.” I sighed, but then a thought struck me. It was something that had been on my mind for a while now, but I couldn't bring myself to share it with any of the members here, and especially not Nelia.

“Zerial, is it possible for Hunters to break off from their organization?” I asked hesitantly.

He seemed to give it a bit of thought before he lifted his eyes back to me. “I think there might have been some that tried in the past, but none that I know of ever succeeded, of what I noticed over the years in any case. I was mostly jumping from one Realm to another while I awaited your return My Lady.”

“I need to ask a favor of you Zerial.”

“Anything My Lady.” He said as he quickly bent down on his knee.

“Can you take me into the woods towards the west side of the Order?” I asked while I stood up and walked around my room gathering my weapon's belt and cloak. I was still wearing my dress from earlier but figured that it should be fine for where I was planning to go.

“Certainly, My Lady, that would be no trouble at all.” He said eagerly as he jumped back to his feet.

“Good.” I spied the glamour charm Raska gave me previously and quickly grabbed it. “No one must know that we are leaving. There is something that I need to go have a look at.”

“May I ask what that something might be my lady?”

I hedged for a second, not sure if I really wanted Hezerial to know or not, but I figured that there would be no harm in telling him. “I need to go confirm something in my old home. The one I lived in before I came here to the Order.”

He tilted his head to the side like he couldn’t understand my reluctance. “Certainly My Lady, I would be happy to accompany you. Should we fly?”

I eyed him sideways and saw him smiling smugly as he unfurled his wings. I smiled back and nodded.

“Flying would definitely be best.” I said as I moved over to the door. “Lets move to the balcony down the hall and fly off from there.”

As soon as he was next to me, I grabbed his hand and cloaked the both of us with the charm. We moved swiftly until we finally opened the door that led to the open air of the balcony that looked out over the west side of the forest. Without a word, Hezerial drew me into his arms and gracefully lifted us into the crisp air with his strong wings.

“That way.” I said over the wind while pointing off into the distance.

It didn’t take us long before we felt Fog’s barrier ripple over us, indicating that we had moved past the borders the Order called home. I was pleasantly surprised by the speed that we were traveling at. It almost felt like I was flying with Hixo, that Hippogryph was a force to be reckoned with at times.

The moment my eyes landed on a familiar looking clearing I pointed to the left, and Hezerial followed the direction without any hesitation. We were close, so very close. For some reason, my heart started thumping in my chest. I couldn’t shake the feeling of unease that was crawling over me. I didn’t know what I was looking for exactly, but my gut told me I would know once I found it.

“Is that it My Lady?” Hezerial asked over the wind, indicating a small space between the trees that seemed to be slightly more open than the rest of the forest.

“I think so, let’s go down and see.”

 He gracefully swooped us down and landed effortlessly between the trees. Once he set me down on my feet, my heart nearly stopped at the sight that laid before me.

I slowly put the charm into my pocket and moved forward as I took in the dilapidated heap of rotted wood and weed choked rocks that was once my family’s home. The beautiful little home of stone, wood and thatch that my father had once built, was now nothing but a memory. All that could still point it out as having been a structure at some point, was the sturdy stone walls that were still standing, even though they were practically choked by vines and moss.

With a shaky breath I stepped into the empty doorway, and looked around what was left. The emptiness and quiet that drifted on the dead air made my throat close up and caused my eyes to burn. I was thankful to Fog and Noch when they told us that they had given our parents a proper burial while we were still recovering. I didn’t know how I would have been able to cope with the thought of having to come back after what happened.

But now… I was here.

And it was surprisingly hard to stay rooted and not run away. Even though there was no sign left of what had taken place, I still expected a Wraith to come jumping out from a shadow to attack me. I took a deep ragged breath and shakily walked deeper into the dilapidated space. My eyes scanned every dark corner and shady looking shadow they caught as I moved through the rooms.

My feet froze just when I was about to walk out of what used to be my parent’s room. Something in the far corner to the right caught my eye. With a frown I moved closer and noticed that the flat stone slabs were slightly raised in that area.

I quickly bent down and noticed that something wooden was poking out from beneath one of the stones. My fingers pried the stones apart and revealed a box that was slightly rotted and swolen on the outside due to the damp earth around it.

My heart beat wildly in my chest as my fingers gently ran over the cold surface. I remembered a time when I wandered into my parent’s room while my mother was bending over a box in the corner, my innocent four or five year old self had thought nothing of it back then. Especially after she had swooped me up and blown kisses all over my tummy at my curious question of “What is that moma?”.

After that, I had never thought of it again. After Nelia and I were taken in by the Order, I never had any desire to go back to the house we grew up in. Yet here I was, sitting in front of a wooden box that was clearly hidden for some reason.

Running my fingers along the sides, I felt the seam of a lid running all the way around. Without giving it another thought, I wiggled the lid from side to side while pulling upwards. I was surprised at how stuck the box was in the hole, I was able to wiggle the lid enough for me to get the tips of my fingers securely under the seam. With a tug I pulled the lid off and slowly looked inside.

Metal ginted back at me from the depths of the box. A pair of daggers were nestled amidst a nest of discoloured rags that smelled of mould. This was not too surprising to find, my mother lover her weapons. She made sure to teach Nelia and me how to use them from a young age, though these must have been special, the leather holsters obviously had beautiful designs at some point, the hilts were intricately carved as well.

After taking out the daggers, I gently unfolded the cloth underneath and noticed that it was actually one big piece of cloth. After unfolding it and holding it out in front of me, I noticed that it was a cloak once upon a time. While peering at the inside I froze as my breath left me. On the inside of the ratty cloak, there was a design of an insignia in red… it was a witchbane insignia. It was the insignia used by the Hunters. By all hunters.

*Why would a hunter’s cloak be buried in my parent’s room?* *Did my mother hide it away? Did my father know about it?* I gently laid the garment on the ground next to me and looked back inside the box, nothing much was left, everything else seemed to have decayed so much that any designs or lacework was gone.

I could make out stiff leather gloves, a belt, and a few other small trinkets that have all mostly withered away. While pulling out the belt, I noticed that it’s silver buckle also had the Hunter’s insignia stamped on the front. As I turned it around, it felt like my whole world came grinding to a halt. On the back was a name. The name read *Morina Jurik*, my mother’s name...