Witches

Chapter 1

Birth was meant to be a wonderful time, a happy time- not a nervous time.

And yet when the moment the newest member of the Kimber family was born, both Mrs and Mr Kimber were very uneasy.

Mr Kimber was looking at the floor, not at his new-born daughter, trying to think of the easiest way to confess his secret to his wife.

If he had looked up, he would have seen that Mrs Kimber was looking at her daughter wistfully, a guilty weight bearing down on her.

"Honey," she began, trying to think of the easiest way to break the information. "I have something to confess."

Mr Kimber looked up at her, the tension almost unbearable. "Yes?"

"After we first found out I was pregnant- and I went for that stroll in the woods- I came across some wolves, and I kept getting lost, and I was being chased-"

"Why are you only just telling me this now?" He asked.

"Because I was ashamed of how I found my way back, unscathed." She took a deep breath.

 "Honey, I sold our first-born to a witch!"

He paused, cold shivers running down his spine.

"Wait-"

The door burst open, and a wave of sand rolled in, golden and warm. Atop the glittering gold pile of sand stood a woman, tall and proud. She wore a dress as radiant as the sun, with a sash as orange as a sunset. She had sun-worn skin that still glowed with youth, and piercing eyes the colour of sand. There was something unnatural about her, something terrifying. She seemed so tall and vast, yet she was the size of a normal human.

"I am here for your first-born, Kimber."

Mrs Kimber froze. "Are you a messenger for that other witch?"

She glared at her, making herself seem taller by the minute. "No. I am Lesedi, witch of the desert, and I was promised your child by-"

"I'm sorry, okay?"

It was Mr Kimber that spoke up.

"It was during my travels- I got stranded in the desert, and she appeared to me, and I asked for water and shelter. I didn't know that you'd promised the child to someone else!"

A clap of thunder echoed through the room. The lights dimmed, flickering, and a black wind, like a shadow, wafted in through the window. More booming followed, until the sound wasn't as much like thunder as it was like a stampede.

Two horses, obsidian black, broke through the wall, pulling a carriage twinkling like a star. There was a lady riding this carriage, skin as pale as light itself, dressed in a gown that sparkled when she moved, pale pricks of light dancing across the black silk fabric.

"I am here for- what's she doing here?" The lady asked.

"I'm taking the baby. What are you doing here?" Lesedi asked.

"No, I'm taking the baby. Kimber promised me the child when I banished the wolves and gave her a guiding light."

"Kimber promised me the child when I gave him shelter and water!" Lesedi said, appearing taller than ever.

"Obviously, there has been a mistake here." The second witch said, scowling at the couple and their child. "Unfortunately, due to the magic involved in such a promise, there is no possible way of either of you recalling what you said, and we cannot take any measures to determine the child's fate."

"So what will you do?" Mrs Kimber asked, her voice as thin as water. She clutched the child to her chest, suddenly afraid of letting her go.

"I do not know. Perhaps we can work out a schedule where we alternate-" Lesedi waved away the thought with a bejeweled hand. "The important thing here is that you hand over the child to us."