♪♫❝ ᴬⁿᵈ ᴵ'ᵐ ⁿᵒᵗ ᵗⁱʳᵉᵈ ˡⁱᵏᵉ ᴵ ᵒⁿᶜᵉ ʷᵃˢ
ᴬⁿᵈ ᴵ ˢᵗⁱˡˡ ʷᵃⁿⁿᵃ ˢˡᵉᵉᵖ
ᴮᵘᵗ ⁿᵒʷ ᴵ'ᵈ ˡⁱᵏᵉ ᵗᵒ ʷᵃᵏᵉ ᵘᵖ
ᴵ ʷᵃⁿⁿᵃ ʷᵃᵏᵉ ᵘᵖ ❞♪♫
— 𝚂𝚕𝚎𝚎𝚙 ʙʏ 𝙹𝚘𝚛𝚍𝚊𝚗 𝚂𝚞𝚊𝚜𝚝𝚎
━━━━ •┈••✦ 🖤 ✦••┈• ━━━━
˖⁺‧₊˚⚜️♛⚜️˚₊‧⁺˖
"𝐼'𝑚 𝑔𝑜𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝑜𝑛 a wild witch hunt?" Annika looked up from her dinner at Emperor Belos in surprise.
The girl never thought she would be tasked with assisting in a wild witch hunt.
"Yes, you are, but-"
Of course, there had to be a 'but.'
"-Kikimora will be in charge of the hunt."
Annika sighed internally. Belos putting the little red demon in charge was no surprise. After all, no one was more loyal than her.
"So, am I there to help?" Annika wondered out loud.
"Yes." The Emperor replied and added. "I hope you won't disappoint me again, Annika."
The brunette felt a mocking laughter about to arise, but she tried her best to suppress it. She knew Belos' words were supposed to be a slap to the face, but it didn't hurt since she didn't care anymore.
Annika craving approval from the old man had left her mind long ago. But she also didn't want to be in the same room as him, so she got up from her seat. "I won't," she said, matter of factly.
"Good." He replied and gave the girl a look, a look she knew meant that he was waiting for her to ask permission from him.
"May I be excused?" She asked, trying not to let mockery lace her voice.
"You may."
And with that, Annika left the dining hall to return to her room.
Belos had given her a chance to help with a witch hunt, which he had never done before, so that told her he had some trust in her again. It also meant that Annika had found the perfect opportunity to help out wild witches. The girl had meant it when she swore at age fifteen that she would help wild witches and get rid of the sigils in any way possible.
But the starter proved more challenging than the latter since Annika had many times where she wanted to help wild witches but couldn't because she still feared receiving punishment from Belos, and he wasn't known to give light sentences. So she couldn't help wild witches in need at those times.
But this wild witch hunt could be the perfect chance for her to help others and keep the promise she had promised herself a year ago.
However, Annika knew well enough that if she wanted to help these potentially trapped witches, she would need to devise a clever and calculated plan.
Annika never thought in her life that she would be happy to have Kikimora on the same mission instead of someone like Hunter as her mission leader because the good thing about the red demon was that she would do anything to impress the crown princess.
In other words, she was a doormat for high-class people like Annika to step on-an advantage for the brunette but not for the little red demon.
─── ⋆˖⁺‧₊☽◯☾₊‧⁺˖⋆ ───
Annika wandered around her room that night to think of a plan to make the escape successful. The girl knew that she couldn't go and free the witches herself, or else evidence could lead back to her, and Belos would know for sure that she was the one who released them, so she had to keep her hands clean.
Annika knew the y would most likely be using the cages they had been using recently. Now, they weren't any standard cages; no, they were cages that restricted the use of magic inside the cells. However, Annika knew these cages had a particular glitch.
Luckily for her, telling the wild witches about this glitch would be easy, that is, if she didn't get caught in the act. In other words, timing was key.
─── ⋆˖⁺‧₊☽◯☾₊‧⁺˖⋆ ───
The brunette could feel dread and regret the moment they had entered Bonesborough, but Annika knew she had to wear an unfazed look if she wanted suspicion to drift away from her.
When the rotting buildings of Bonesborough surrounded them, Annika took out the list of all the townsfolk who had reported about the wild witches who wandered the town.
"Francis Marini, Yissi Spoka, and Julia Dickens are the closest addresses to our current location. They had reported wild witches more than once." Annika stated and started to walk over to the closest address on the list.
The coven scouts followed after her, and the small red demon followed with her head hung low as a sign of respect.
When they had reached a small but comfy-looking house, one of the coven scouts walked in front of Annika to knock on the door for her.
The teen girl could hear mumbling behind the door before it opened to reveal a tanned witch with red pixie-cut hair.
When they saw Annika, their annoyed expression changed to a startled one which quickly switched to a respectful one. "Your Highness," they paused. "Is there something I can help you with?"
"Where are they?!" A tall coven scout yelled.
The red-haired witch scrunched her brows. "Who?"
"The-" The tall coven scout started but was cut off by Annika's cold stare.
The teen girl looked at the redhead with an apologetic look. "Excuse her. What she meant was we saw your reports of wild witches in the area."
"Ah, yes. Are you here to get rid of them?" The redhead asked with hope in their eyes.
"Indeed we are." The brunette confirmed with a forced grin.
"Oh, how rude of me." The redhead opened the door wider with an inviting smile. "Come in."
"Oh, no, thank you." Annika politely declined. "We're just here to collect the whereabouts of all the wild witches in Bonesborough."
When the redhead heard this, they gladly pointed and told them all the wild witches they knew about, and when all of that was said and done, Annika bid the witch goodbye and left to visit the next witch on their list with the red demon and coven scouts behind her.
The list may have had a few people on it, but all the witches they turned to had given away many wild witches in their areas.
Annika might've been able to lie to all the witches she had spoken to that she was happy to help her people, but if anyone bothered to pay close attention, you could catch the grief in the girl's eyes every time she heard another wild witch being snitched on.
─── ⋆˖⁺‧₊☽◯☾₊‧⁺˖⋆ ───
Some wild witches were forced into the cell that stood in the Grim Forest after they were tackled down; some were politely asked to enter, and when they refused, the coven scouts cast a stunning spell, but it all depended on the group of coven scouts for Annika to see which way they handled the wild witches.
Others had tried to use magic when they were only put inside the cage, and of course, that didn't work.
The short red demon laughed with pure maniacal joy while Annika grimaced whenever the witches from the Emperor's Coven weren't glancing at her.
Annika knew this had to happen, and she had a plan up her sleeve, but she couldn't help feeling like prickly thorns tickled her face and body each time she saw another wild witch being forced inside the cage.
˖⁺‧₊˚⚜️˚₊‧⁺˖
Luz Noceda heard yells and protests as she ran through the Grim Forest with King in her hoodie. The human girl didn't have to search far and wide to find the source of the following sounds.
There, she saw witches being put into a large cage by coven scouts, a short red demon she recognized instantly, and someone's back she couldn't identify.
A few coven scouts started to walk away from the cage, but the figure, who Luz realized was none other than the crown princess, called out to them. "That's enough hunting for today. This cage is already full, and it's starting to get dark out here."
Hunting? This was a job for the Good Witch Luzura!
Luzura was about to step in with the King of Demons, her loyal companion.
"What are you doing, Luz?" King asked.
"I'm helping those witches out." The tanned girl said with determination as she took out her glyphs.
"But we can't help them right now! Eda needs us to get the elixirs, remember?!" King reminded her.
"But-" She began.
"If we don't go back, there won't be an Owl House!" The small demon tried to convince the human.
Luz was conflicted; she wanted to help the trapped witches, but Eda would lose control of the owl beast if they stalled any longer, and it was getting worse because she still needed more than one elixir to control the owl beast.
"Okay," she finally said. "But we'll be back to help them out." Luz decided and ran toward Morton's shop to get Eda's elixirs.
˖⁺‧₊˚⚜️♛⚜️˚₊‧⁺˖
Annika watched the sunset impatiently; time felt excruciatingly slow for the brunette, but she knew she had to be patient if she wanted her plan to succeed.
So the girl tried distracting herself by wandering around the area to try and get to know her surroundings better as the coven scouts began to put up the tents for the night.
─── ⋆˖⁺‧₊☽◯☾₊‧⁺˖⋆ ───
The crown princess sat at her desk inside her tent as she dipped her quill into her ink container and doodled Hecate from the Good Witch Azura to distract herself from her running thoughts.
She wasn't particularly invested in the series, but she remembered glancing at the books when she was younger and being very curious about the book's contents.
So one day, when she had sneaked out of the castle, she bought and read the first book in the series. Annika found the book way too... mushy for her taste; however, she did have an instant likeness for Hecate.
So whenever she got into paranoid states where she had to wait patiently to commit a scheme of some sort by herself, she would doodle her comfort characters (one of them being Hecate), that was, if a quill, ink container and paper were in the brunette's area.
Tick
Tick
Tick
Annika looked up at the clock at the corner of her desk; she could feel the clock mocking her, so the teenager glared back at it.
"What did I do?" It said with a confused tone.
Annika didn't answer and kept glaring at it.
It was still too early to initiate her plan.
The second the girl realized she could start writing her message to the trapped witches, her face lit up with relief that she could do something involving her plan.
She ensured that her message was short and to the point before blowing on the paper to dry the ink to pass the time.
After Annika had dried the ink, she hid the note in a safe space and lay on her bed. She felt her body tire and thought she should get some sleep since it would take some time to initiate her plan. Unfortunately, the girl's thoughts kept her wide awake.
Therefore, Annika had to deal with her body screaming for rest while her mind was screaming with anxious thoughts. She knew she could walk around her tent to pass the time, but with her current state, she knew her body would respond in pain from drowsiness.
Annika quietly groaned in frustration and exhaustion.
At this point, the brunette wished for time to speed up.
─── ⋆˖⁺‧₊☽◯☾₊‧⁺˖⋆ ───
Sometime later, when the girl could hear the silence of constant footsteps, she quickly got up from her bed, which made her a bit light-headed, so she had to wait for her body to get used to standing up again.
When her light-headedness had subsided, Annika took the note from its hiding place, folded the paper until it perfectly fit in one of her dress shirt's pockets, and stepped out of her tent to scan the area.
Only two coven scouts were guarding the cage; Annika assumed that Kikimora went to slumber in her tent since she couldn't find the tiny demon anywhere, and it wasn't hard to know if she was nearby. If she were, anyone in the area would hear some form of cackling, bragging, or rants by now.
Annika took deep breaths before slipping on her authoritative mask and walking toward the scouts.
"Is everything going well?" The brunette calmly asked the scouts.
"Yes, Your Highness," one of the scouts nodded, and the two moved out of the crown princess's way so she could stare at the trapped witches who were behind the large cage.
Annika soon found herself staring back at a witch with short, blue hair who was intensely glaring at the girl. But he wasn't the only witch glaring at her; plenty of wild witches glared at her with hatred, but many wild witches looked at her with fear. Annika felt guilty and a tad hurt by this but tried her best to push this feeling far away from her heart.
"You may leave now." The brunette spoke to the coven scouts but did not take her eyes off the glaring witch.
Annika stood there with a straight posture and waited for the coven scouts' footsteps to fade out.
"What do you want?" The blue-haired witch murmured his query as the girl slowly took the note from her dress shirt pocket. Annika took notice of the witch's pale face and big dark circles; the brunette almost thought for a second that she was facing a ghost.
The girl didn't reply. Instead, she gracefully and carefully kneeled, put the note on the cage floor, and pushed the note to the glaring witch closest to her. After that, Annika silently stood up and walked away to call the following scouts, who were supposed to keep an eye on the caged witches.
When the girl entered her tent, she let out a breath she didn't know she was holding before she widely beamed. She didn't know if it was from relief or pure joy, but she didn't care because her part was officially over.
˖⁺‧₊˚⚜️˚₊‧⁺˖
The blue-haired witch, who had previously glared at the crown princess, was now suspiciously glaring at the folded paper she had left behind.
An older wild witch with long dirty blonde hair took it with little hesitation.
"What are you doing?" A few witches asked in a panic, acting as if the piece of paper would explode at any moment.
The older witch opened the folded paper and was greeted by writing that read:
The older witch first showed the demons closest to them, and for those in the back, the letter's contents were whispered to them.
"If we're going to escape, we need to do it quietly." One witch said, and the rest nodded.
Soon enough, a witch with a deep scar reached one of her hands out of the bars and aimed to cast a small air spell to see if the message had told them the truth or a lie.
When the witch did this, she soon found herself casting the spell without it backfiring and her energy draining.
Some witches let out a small cheer before thinking of a simple plan to escape that blasted cage.
The blonde witch who first took hold of the note stretched their hand and the piece of paper out of the bars and burned the letter. When the only thing left of the message was its burnt ashes, the witch blew them until there was no trace of it left.
─── ⋆˖⁺‧₊☽◯☾₊‧⁺˖⋆ ───
Luz ran back to the Grim Forest with King to help the trapped witches after the two of them had given Eda her elixirs. However, when the two reached the kidnapped witches' location, Luz saw them quietly escaping from the cage.
"Yes!" Luz quietly cheered. "Go, wild witches!"
But just when things were going well, a coven scout spotted the last of the wild witches escaping and called out for their fellow scouts.
However, Luz and King wouldn't let that happen, so the girl used an ice glyph to block the coven scouts from getting their hands on the escaping witches.
The last witches gave the human girl a thankful look, who gave them a thumbs up.
"What's going on!?" She could hear Kikimora's screeching voice yell out to the guards.
"Eat this, Kiki!" Luz yelled out before sending many plant glyphs toward Kikimora and the coven scouts with the help of a tiny mischievous demon.
The human girl and the tiny demon left the scene with cheeky smiles while Kikimora and the coven scouts struggled to unentangle themselves from the plant glyphs Luz and King had sent out.
˖⁺‧₊˚⚜️♛⚜️˚₊‧⁺˖
Meanwhile, Annika was sneakily watching the chaos unfold from her tent, lips curling to a slight but noticeable smirk. A few seconds later, the girl could hear footsteps.
Annika immediately recognized them as a coven scout's footsteps since Kikimora would've had lighter footsteps with her size, so she walked to her bed to lie down and pretend that she had slept through the whole thing.
But the brunette didn't have enough time to fool the coven scout or who she thought was a coven scout.
"Oh, you are in so much trouble."
Annika's eyes widened; a coven head had found her, and her demons started whispering discouraging thoughts into her ears.
'Why did you think you could make a difference?'
Either from exhaustion or pure fear, Annika couldn't locate her usual cold facade, so she slowly stepped back.
'You'll always get caught; no matter how clever you think you are, you always get caught.'
The brunette seemed to have lost control over her body as if it had a mind of its own-sweat formed wherever it could sweat from, and her body was shaking.
'You'll never be able to outrun it. It will always reappear in night terrors or real-life.'
Annika closed her eyes, embracing for the worst to come.
'The dark will always return to haunt you.'
━━━━ •┈••✦ 🖤 ✦••┈• ━━━━
𝐀/𝐍: oh, don't mind me as sit on my gaming chair and stroke my non-existent cat 😈
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