What would it take for you to forgive the person who signed your death wish?
Years after escaping execution in the Salem Witch Trials, nineteen-year-old Aurora returns to her village with her sights set on revenge. Determined to dismantle the oppres...
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☆━━━━━ Salem's Witch ━━━━━━☆
As Aurora's eyes flutter open she's met with an alluring, yet intimidating sight. Joltingupright, panic courses through her veins. She throws herself across the room, gasping for breath as the events of last night quickly ravage her mind. Blushing intensely, she internally scolds herself. She couldn't believe she allowed herself to be so vulnerable and have a panic attack in front of Salem. The cruel, uncaring nobles are her enemies! And allowing one of them to view her in such a defenseless state is unforgivable.
Gritting her teeth, Aurora reminds herself to always stay vigilant and to push down her emotions are far as humanly possible, because revealing them is akin to exposing her greatest weakness. She must stay focused on her goal, no matter the cost.
Salem finally awakes from her sleep with a yawn and a stretch, while Aurora, curled up in a ball beside the inn wall, cradles her head in shame. Noticing that Salem is awake, Aurora smacks a pillow against her head.
"Earth to Salem! Get off your lazy ass— we have important things to do today," she yells, earning a groan from her partner in crime.
"Aurora, you're worse than Mother! Ugh, it's like six in the morning, can't I get a little more sleep," She repositions herself on the bed, turning herself farther away from Aurora. "We literally walked a bajillion miles yesterday and my feet hurt."
Aurora playfully hits her again with the pillow, this time a little harder. "Don't care, didn't ask. We're on time limit so get up now!"
Salem reluctantly pushes herself up out of bed, rubbing her crusty eyes. "We wouldn't be on such a time crunch if someone just let me hold the map..."
"Whatever you say, Your Highness," she mocks Salem, her tone dripping with sarcasm. "While you're getting ready, I'm gonna go check us out. And I expect you to be done by the time I get back." Aurora narrows her eyes at Salem, emphasizing the seriousness of her words.
Before Salem could respond with a clever retort, Aurora impatiently slams the door on her, leaving her alone with her thoughts.
Despite the long time they have spent apart, Aurora notes to herself how surprisingly easy it has been to fall into an adult form of their previous dynamic. For the past eight years, her social life has been severely limited due to the banishment. She yearned for the connections that were stolen from her, leaving Aurora with an unwavering pit deep in her stomach. In the cottage, she had to learn to farm, create her own clothing and medicine, catalog the various monsters, and much, much more— and yet, what she struggled most with was the all-encompassing loneliness that followed her every step.
While she certainly doesn't trust Salem in the slightest, she feels comfortable around her. Safe. Secure. She lets her guard down around her. Which, of course, in this world is just asking for a death sentence.
