A little girl wearing a black dress, long stockings, and a winter coat, went outside to fetch water from the snow. She had a brown bucket in her hands and dipped the snow up.
She made a couple of laps to and from her house. When inside, she placed the snow into a cauldron that had a fire underneath it melting the snow and ice.
The door opened, a gust of wind made its way inside. Just a little though as a man closed the door behind him. He shivered and laughed while his young daughter jumped into his arms. Together they swirled around.
Coming down stairs of the home was a woman carrying a baby in her hand. She walked to the cauldron and smiled, thinking of the tea that she would make shortly.
Pound, pound!
Their heads turned to the door. The wife and husband exchanged looks with the young girl hiding behind her father for safety.
The husband reached into his robe and took out his wand. He hid it behind his back and walked to the door. Just when he was about to open it, he nodded his head to his wife. She took the daughter and ran up the stairs.
"Hello," a man stood before them, a priest.
"We're not giving up our land," said the wizard.
The priest had been coming to their home almost monthly then he changed, and started to come weekly. Humans were beginning to move to the area and they were demanding the magae move from the land.
It was stated this land was richer than the land further south. That was not true. The magae simply knew how to cultivate and work the land.
The priest placed his hands behind his back. He noticed the wizard had one hand behind his back as well. He shook his head.
"We would rather we not fight for this land. Just hand it over."
"What does the royal family say of this?" The wizard asked.
"The royal family are human. Of course, they're going to side with us."
The wizard stepped outside into the cold. He closed his door, protecting his partner and offspring. His shoes sunk into the snow, making his socks wet.
The priest smirked and pulled out a pistol from his back pocket.
Click, BANG!
The wizard fell into the snow. He didn't even have time to cast a single spell.
The priest stepped into the house. The scream from the woman were thick and hallowed. She grabbed her children even as she herself were being dragged out.
The priest had shot her in the back of the head, along with the child. Their blood staining the snow they laid on, but the baby...he took the baby.
All around the priest, smoke began to rise, the sound of pain and death filled the air. Witches and wizards were being dragged to the wood, dragged to the stakes. Some were being tied up to the stakes even while alive and set to burn while others were shot, and burned later.
The priest walked toward the chaos, covering the baby, trying to shield it from the everlasting cold.
He cooed at it and smiled at the baby with the bright blue eyes. The baby can be saved, its soul salvage. It would never know it was a witch. But...
The baby grew and at the age of ten, she knew she was different. When she played games with the human kids, she could predict their movements easily. When she had test, she could see the answers right before her without even studying.
When she was hurt, she could heal herself with just water. When hungry, she could conjure up food from the environment itself.
She knew about the history of Grim. She knew the history because the humans bragged about the history. They bragged about killing the witches, the wizards. One priest, her father, bragged about stealing a baby in the darkness of his church.
Her dark blue eyes piercing through the night, hiding from the humans after learning of their darkness. She was no human but a witch.
Those same dark blue eyes stared into Faye's dark eyes. Faye held the witch against a pillar at an ancient sight. A sight with man made fountains of warm water that steamed. Statues where the figures were aligned with robes. A water bearer who held a pot that poured water. Greenery such as trees and other foliage that allowed the birds to chirp and the insects to buzz.
"Why are you helping them?" The witch asked, old, decades, maybe a hundred. "You know what they did to us."
Faye let go of the witch, unsure of what direction to take. She set out to help the humans but now she was starting to think she was causing too much chaos. Maybe it had been better if she had left it alone, minded her business.
"Faye..."
Faye looked back to see Makala looking at her, her arms held together near her breast. Faye walked to her and hugged her. They sat down on one of the benches as Makala took hold of Faye's hand, acknowledging the priestess was distraught and in a labyrinth within her own mind.
The witch walked to the two girls, sensing, knowing the love they had for one another. She smiled. "You two are lovers?"
The girls instantly blushed. "What does that have to do with anything?" Faye said standing up, offended. "And we're not lovers...we're....we're..."
"Will you leave the grim?" The witch asked.
Faye instantly shook her head. "The grim is my comrade. I will fight along side it. The grim is to assist spirits into the after life upon death. These churches house many spirits. The grim can't do its job if the vampires keep attacking it while it surveys the primeter."
The witch directed her next question to Makala. "Do you want children?"
Makala became wide eyed but she knew her answer, so she nodded her head.
"With her," the witch continued.
"If only," Makala said. "There are spells though-"
"The night you two make love, a child will be born of your womb," she said to Makala. "A child of you both if you leave this conflict be."
What woman would deny the opportunity to be a mother with the one she loved, to give birth to a child with the one she loved?
She grabbed Faye's arm and shook her, wanting her to leave and go back with her, to leave this conflict.
Faye took her arm from Makala's grip. The vampire had tears coming down her face at this point. The witch could see this vampire absolutely loved this priestess but the priestess was stubborn, and her duty to want to cross over spirits didn't allow her to see past the present.
"Faye..." Makala grabbed at Faye, tried to get the girl to turn and look at her. She stepped in front of Faye so it was her who she was seeing. "She's giving us a future!" Faye didn't want to see Makala cry so she attempted to turn her head, but Makala grabbed it and made Faye look at her. "She's promising us a future...for us." Makala took one of Faye's hand and had her touch her stomach. Makala covered Faye's hand with her own, thinking Faye could feel one day life growing in Makala's belly. A child of theirs.
"I'm not leaving the grim," Faye said, looking past Makala to the witch.
"So be it," the witch said.
With a flash of light, the two girls fell into the snow. It was gone. Their hopes, their dreams...Makala's hopes and Makala's dream. She got up and ran to Faye who stood up, the blizzard just as strong.
Slap!
Faye's glasses laid in the snow. She placed a hand to the side of her cheek where Makala slapped her.
"How could you give that all up! For what! For humans that would have you dead on sight!" Makala screamed out, she dispersed into tiny bats and flew off.
Faye attempted to find her glasses in the snow but couldn't. The blizzard made it extremely difficult to find them and it made her eye sight more disgruntled. For this moment, she was blind.