While the twins were trying to paint Lucky, Catherine sat in the cozy living room at a small round table inside Aunt Albedo's hut.
A tea set made of pure white porcelain stood on the table, and fragrant tea steamed gently in the delicate cups.
The beautiful lady dressed in a white gown held her cup with both hands as if trying to warm herself, even though the heat outside still lingered. Her gaze was fixed on the window, beyond which an impenetrable forest stretched into the distance. It seemed as though she was trying to see something hidden behind the dense violet foliage.
The tall witch in a conical hat and a mask that completely covered her face leaned back in her chair. Unlike Catherine, she behaved with far greater composure, slowly stirring her tea with a silver spoon.
"What is troubling you, little Catty?" the witch asked, even though she already knew the answer.
Catherine tightened her grip on the porcelain slightly, but still spoke. "I visited the capital of the vampires, Valahia. I hoped to meet King Dracula Tepes and ask him for a drop of blood for Grey, but it was all in vain. Neither the nobles nor his royal guard know when he will awaken from his slumber."
"We told you to abandon that idea," Albedo replied, not the least bit surprised. "He might sleep for the next century, and no one would dare disturb him, including the gods. Even Constantine and Constancia, who were among his very first followers, cannot reach him. What chance does a young girl like you have?
It is fortunate your presence was not discovered by the count houses. Otherwise, you would have provoked another war. If not for the married couple accompanying you from the shadows, you would already have been captured and locked away in some cellar.
Do not grow arrogant just because you are a Sky-Dweller. Vampires are the longest-living race, and believe me, that title is far from empty. Every one of them is missing a few screws in the head. They are perverts. Very powerful perverts.
To them, a human Sky-Dweller is not particularly strong. A powerful beauty like you appearing in their territory is nothing more than a piece of cake served right at the table," Albedo scolded her harshly, as if reprimanding a disobedient child.
"I know, Aunt Albedo. But what else can I do? Becoming a vampire is the most reasonable way for Grey to continue developing. I do not want him to turn into a lesser vampire, and for that I need the help of their progenitor."
"That may not be the case at all. Do not forget that the child still carries a remnant of the power of light. A force that is the NEMESIS of all creatures of the night. If we try to turn him into a vampire or a werewolf, he may simply explode from the clash of two powerful opposites."
"Then what am I supposed to do?" Catherine cried out in despair. She paid no attention to manners, knowing that Aunt Albedo would not judge her. By her behavior she showed just how deeply this problem troubled her. "He has no magic core. The power of light burns away every rune we tried to carve onto his body. Even becoming a specialist turned out to be impossible, since a weapon aura cannot form."
"I do have an idea, but you may not like it," Grandmother Albedo suggested. "I want to make him a witcher, like Roberta. I improved the potion formula, and the probability of death is significantly lower now. I am sure Grey will be able to endure the pain of the mutation."
"What?! No, absolutely not! Aunt Albedo, you of all people know that the witcher mutation process ends in a painful death in ninety percent of cases. Even after modifying the potions, the chance of success cannot exceed twenty percent. How could I allow my child to go through something like that? Once before I already watched his life slip through my hands. I am not ready to experience that again." Catherine objected sharply.
The old witch remained silent for a long minute, as she could not refute Catherine's arguments.
Witchers were the closest allies of witches. While the witches themselves specialized in trade, research, and magic, witchers served as their combat units.
They were responsible for exploring uncharted territories, capturing and eliminating monsters and other supernatural entities.
A witcher's development focused on acquiring certain mutations through potions and grueling training. However, due to the instability of the mutation process, witchers often did not survive, or they ended up turning into helpless cripples.
Grandfather Robert, whom the children met later, was also a representative of this profession. Although he now lived peacefully in the village of the "Abandoned" and taught children how to survive in the wilderness, track, and hunt monsters, Robert's life had been anything but a fairy tale.
When he was still a child, a noble boy from the Magic Empire, he had been kidnapped by witches and trained under them as a candidate for becoming a witcher. He grew up under their supervision, and from an early age they instilled in him a hatred for his own homeland. Out of the dozen children in his group, he was the only one who successfully completed the mutation process and became a witcher.
After transforming from a weak child into one of the full-fledged members of witch society, Robert faced the same ostracism from all the citizens of the Magic Empire.
When he became famous, his former family severed all ties with him and recognized him as their enemy. Confronted with such treatment, Robert harbored the same hatred toward the Magic Empire as all the inhabitants of the continent of Velnor.
"You are right, little Katya. I do not wish to expose Grey to such a risk either. But do we truly have any alternative methods? You said it yourself, we are running out of options. If we do not take decisive action, you will still have to watch his life slowly fade away," Albedo said, choosing her words with care.
Although the words were cruel, they reflected the very essence of the situation they found themselves in.
Just as Catherine had said, they had already tried almost everything they could. Runic knights, mages, artificial restoration of the magic core, specialists, even the possibility of changing his race. Every solution they attempted had proven ineffective. Did they still have a choice?
"I heard that Grandfather Joseph has gone to Yggdrasil. Who knows, perhaps fate will take pity on us, and he will find a way there to heal Grey? After all, the elves specialize in life magic."
"I support you, Katya. Just remember, we still have six years before my method loses its effectiveness. Only a child under twelve has a chance to survive the Witcher mutation process. Go and think about my proposal. Perhaps it will become our last hope," Grandmother Albedo replied, rising from her seat and walking Catherine to the door of the hut as their conversation came to an end.
After stepping outside, the worried and slightly helpless mother returned to her home to wait for the children and prepare their dinner. Her mood was utterly miserable.
When the twins burst through the door of the house, Catherine was utterly shocked by their filthy appearance.
Their backs were covered with bits of dirt and leaves. Clear traces of blue paint could be seen on their faces, hands, and clothes.
Casting a sharp glance over them, Cassia could not hold back a fit of uncontrollable laughter. They looked like stray street dogs that had just returned from a fight over a bone. Although Catherine's own lips kept twitching nonstop, she managed to restrain herself and calmly asked what had happened.
The girl, who instinctively sensed the approach of her mother's sandal, quickly got her bearings and dashed upstairs with a shout, "Little brother, I'm going to wash up. Explain to Mom what we were doing."
Grey, realizing he had been abandoned, stayed behind to explain the entire sequence of today's events.
When Catherine heard what the twins had done to Lucky, her face, frozen behind an impenetrable mask, could not help but twitch. She sincerely could not understand how the blind grandfather's lecture about the importance of maintaining an elegant appearance had led to such a result.
The final verdict, delivered by the collective decision of the judge, prosecutor, jury, and defense attorney all embodied in a single person, their mother, was an order sending the culprit to soap-and-cleaning duty for a period of one week.
Caught red-handed and sentenced with the full severity of the law, the criminal followed upstairs after the accomplice who had already fled the scene.
"Little big sister… you set me up," Grey said in a vengeful tone, sneaking up behind the completely unsuspecting Grace. "Prepare yourself for severe punishment."
He attacked her suddenly. His fingers, quick as two slender snakes, seized her waist, slipping under her shirt with such deftness as if they had trained for centuries to hunt precisely her.
Grace squealed, her whole body jerking as she jumped, but that only exposed all her weak spots completely.
Grey had no intention of settling for a small victory.
He knew exactly where to press. He knew every hollow, every muscle of hers that trembled at the lightest touch.
Grandfather Jack had taught him how to kill, but Grey had long realized that the same movements were far more effective for tickling. And he used them with frightening precision.
His fingers slid along her sides, ran across her stomach, struck precisely under her ribs. Grace bent over, trying to shield herself with her arms, but that only opened new areas, and Grey immediately took advantage of them.
"Ahahahahaha! Brother, mercy! Mercy!" Grace choked with laughter, trying to press herself into the floor and curl up.
"For fleeing the battlefield, soldiers are subjected to the harshest punishment!" Grey declared solemnly, shifting upward to her armpits, which were her absolute Achilles' heel. He touched them with one short movement, and Grace exploded into another fit of hysterical laughter. "Did you not know that abandoning your brother to be torn apart is a grave crime, my dear little big sister?"
His nimble fingers slid over her delicate skin like across the keys of a musical instrument.
"Ahahaha, I'm guilty! Guilty!" Grace wheezed, trying to crawl away, but Grey caught her by the waist and confidently pulled her back into place. "But I have nothing to offer! Ahahaha!"
"Think harder," Grey warned, slowly shifting his hands toward her thighs. "I have not even tickled your little heels yet…"
In horror, Grace jerked her legs up under herself to hide them, but it was useless.
"Y-you can't! I'll complain! I'll file an appeal!"
"You can try…" the boy said with a faint smile. In that smile there was a slight trace of sadism and anticipation that undermined Grace's confidence.
"Alright, alright, alright! I… ahahaha… can do your rhetoric homework! Okay?!"
"Not enough…" Grey stretched out thoughtfully, as if examining goods at a market, and continued moving ever closer to her feet. He was still threatening.
"Ahahaha— NO! Not there! Fine! And the herbology notes! Please!" Grace cried out in desperation.
"Deal."
When the unfair yet fully legally formalized deal was sealed with locked pinkies, both of them were breathing heavily, Grey from the delight of victory, Grace from the torments she had endured.
"You're so evil, little brother!"
"You completely deserved it," he replied with a carefree shrug.
After washing up and changing their clothes, the twins went down to the kitchen.
They sat at the table and breathed in the thick, cozy smell of fresh food drifting from the stove. After such skirmishes, they had more than once returned to peace just as easily as breathing, ordinary brother and sister who constantly argued and teased each other, yet always remained inseparable.
Catherine softly hummed some melody as she finished preparing dinner. Although she had scolded the children, their antics had still lifted her mood.
Nearby, Cassia calmly arranged the plates and cutlery, just as a perfect servant and maid should.
"Fufufu, dinner is ready, dig in. So, how was your day, my little ones? What did you do, aside from tormenting Lucky?" Catherine asked, even though she already knew the answer, since she was the one who had created their schedule and made sure they followed it.
But that did not stop her in the slightest from listening as the twins excitedly told her about their day, catching every word and watching their shining faces.
The children eagerly began sharing their impressions all at once.
They recalled every difficulty, funny moment, and small adventure that had happened to them throughout the day. No light could shine brighter than their smiles at that moment.
Watching them, Catherine felt as if their carefree laughter turned into heavenly music pouring straight into her heart. Quiet evenings spent together like this were a true treasure to her, a rare, pure happiness that could neither be bought nor replaced.
And every time she watched them like this, laughing, arguing, alive, she once again became certain that bringing them to the village had been the best decision of her life. Only here could she truly exhale and focus on what mattered most: them.
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Dear readers, I have to inform you that this work was rejected when applying for a contract without the possibility of revision. Therefore, I was forced to create a second version of the book, where I will publish the latest updates.
I will not give up on this version, but some chapters will be posted a little later than in the main one.
The book is called "The Mad Immortal"
https://www.webnovel.com/book/the-mad-immortal_34969618200258905###
Many thanks for your support, active comments and reviews.
This will help more readers to get acquainted with my book, which means my chances of getting a contract will increase and you will receive content more often. (The author also needs to eat and provide for his family)