Witch Hunt Chapter 5 part2

(Part 2)

The square in front of the church was full with a raucous crowd. The people were gathered around a scaffold with a big cross; little by little, the number of onlookers was swelling. Like many of the people gathering there, I straightened my back and tried to peek at the center of the square over the heads of the crowd.

Apparently, in the past the square was used each time a criminal was brought to justice, but nowadays it was only used when the witches caught by the Society’s hunters were punished. The witches were crucified in the enormous cross and burnt at the stake. There were several individuals in white and ashen robes at the foot of the horrid cross; in the middle of them, I saw a familiar face…a very conspicuous figure in red.

“This is the Archwitch lurking in our nation, Meyrin!” One of the members of the Society said to the people watching.
Meyrin, who I hadn’t seen in a while, was as always wearing clothing fit for the beginning of spring. It wasn’t clear to me if she was conscious or not; she just stood in a daze. Her hands seemed restrained behind her back, and even from a distance cuts and abrasions could be seen in her face and arms.

This is terrible…! The words seemed about to escape my lips without my notice, so I covered my mouth with my hands and somehow managed to hold them back. In this country, even words in support of a witch were an offense that might lead into punishment.

“This woman is a witch with great magical power! We believe there’s risk of onlookers coming to harm because of her, so we won’t administer the sentence out here in the open! As the Society Against Witches, we will take responsibility and punish her!” The figure clad in a white hooded cape that stood next to Meyrin proclaimed in a bold voice.

In response, the people around me in the square spoke amongst themselves even louder than before. Some were angry because they wanted to see the execution. Others were happy that yet another witch would meet her end. Their voices and feelings mixed with one another, carrying varied tones and growing extremely loud.

My ears were ringing.

My head hurt.

My chest ached.

Meyrin.

What’s going to happen to Meyrin?

Meyrin the witch, the fashionable woman, my first friend…

Feeling sick, I fell in a heap to the ground, even though I was in the middle of a crowd. The voices of the people echoed in a cacophony of sound and my vision clouded. For a second, I didn’t know where I was or what I was doing.

“Lucca! Hang in there!” From behind, someone softly grasped my shoulders and two big arms cradled my body. Warm hands and a soft perfume… When I looked in the direction of the voice I saw Cougar, who I had just left behind in the park.

“I-I…” As expected, I was unable to speak my mind. I could feel the heat of many tears rolling from my eyes and down my cheeks.

“It’s ok. I’ll take you home. Here, hold on to me.”

“Cougar. I…Wait…My friend will die…”

“Friend?”

He helped me up my feet; while I held on to Cougar’s body, my eyes turned once more towards the scaffold. The members of the Society descended one by one as I watched; the last one that remained alongside Meyrin was the also the shortest in stature, and donned a white hooded robe. Apparently, the hooded individual was holding the chains that kept Meyrin a prisoner, since the links disappeared under the folds of their garments. The figure was concealed from head to toe by the white fabric and yet it looked familiar to me somehow; in any case, I didn’t ponder about it for long.

Maybe it was mere coincidence, but as Cougar and I stared at the scaffold, the figure in the white hood turned their head in our direction. I had the distinct feeling that for whatever reason the one hidden under the hood was examining us.

“That’s- Could that be…?” Cougar narrowed his eyes as he wondered aloud. I had no idea who he was referring to, but soon enough the meaning of his words became clear to me.

After pulling down the hood, the figure shouted, “Tomorrow morning! The execution will be tomorrow morning! That is all!” Once the proclamation was done, my two friends descended from the scaffold.

“Why…?”

I could do nothing but stare at the now deserted place of execution. The person in the white hood that had captured Meyrin was… Michelle.

“She asked me not to tell you, but… Michelle is a witch hunter for the Society.”

“That’s- That’s impossible!” By the time I noticed what I was doing, I was pushing away Cougar’s hands, even though I had been leaning on him until moments ago. “Michelle… Michelle is a nun of the Church… She said that herself!” That was what she told when we first met, and I had seen her go inside the church with my own eyes. There’s no way I could believe that Michelle was a member of the Society that hunted witches.

“That girl…that witch hunter…her origins can’t be made public, so…”

Lies! To say that Michelle could be the enemy of witches. My enemy! It had to be a lie. Michelle was very cute, strong and a little shy; a gentle girl that always helped others in trouble. How could she be in cahoots with the scary people that wanted to kill my friends?

“Did the two of you lie to me?” I asked slowly.

“That’s correct. Please forgive me, I’m really sorry.” Perhaps he was just trying to soothe my agitation. He apologized calmly and politely, as you could expect from a prince of the realm. His words gently enveloped my heart. The way he looked at me, the way he touched me, everything conveyed refinement and was overflowing with courtesy towards me. “Please try to understand. Michelle found it painful to lie to you, her friend.”

That last word spoken by Cougar pierced something I had hidden for a long time inside my chest. “Someone that can’t tell you the truth can’t be called a friend!”

Probably surprised by my yell, the people walking nearby that were in the process of vacating the square looked at us for a moment. But that was no concern of mine at that time. As a prince among a crowd of busybodies, some people pointed at Cougar, but whether they knew of our situation or not, nobody came to speak to us.
Cougar looked at me with a contrite expression. Obviously, he wasn’t at fault. Most likely, it wasn’t Michelle’s fault either. Everyone has their own secrets after all.

Being a prince.

Being a witch hunter.

And… I had been lying to them both all along.  All this time it had bothered me, it suffocated and pained me.
“I’m- I’m sorry…I said a very cruel thing.”

“I understand. It’s something very important to you.”

“Y-Yes.” Enveloped by the warmth of the prince’s embrace, I slowly returned to calm. By then, the onlookers likely had lost interest in us, because they were mostly gone. Throughout it all, Cougar had been rubbing my back in a soothing manner, without saying a thing.

My head had been swamped with confusion and agitation, but gradually it cleared up. Michelle said she would… dispose of the witch Meyrin the next morning, which meant my friend would still be alive that night.

“Cougar, thank you.”

“Have you calmed down?”

“…Yes.”

He gently wiped away the traces of the tears that rolled down my cheeks. His face, seen from that close, was yet another charm of his I didn’t know before. Ah, it was so obvious all along. I…

“Cougar, I love you.” I slowly tore myself away from the arms that were holding me. “But I have to go.”

“Go, where are you going?”

“To save my friend.” If I was the one attempting it, there was a chance I could rescue her. No, there wasn’t anyone else that could do it. Cougar was precious to me, but I wasn’t so heartless as to watch my friend be killed and find happiness by myself. “Good bye.” I placed all my feelings on my words of departure and the smile I used to convey them. I’m clumsy; it’s possible I might fail trying to save her. If that happened, I would never see my prince again. So, I couldn’t say ‘see you soon.’

Without hearing his reply, I quickly left the square behind. If I heard him call my name again, I might lose my courage.

(to be continued)

Chapter end