As Far As I’ll Go
Witch!
The sun began to rise behind the trees and the trees began to shine brighter than the sun itself. The orange hues of the sun glistened through the breaks between the trees. Below the trees there laid a man and woman. Both holding hands watching the sun rise behind the trees. The man’s name was Arthur and the woman beside him was Sarah. Arthur was wearing a thickly woven white linen shirt covered with a small black tunic made of sheepskin and various leathers woven inside the sheepskin. His legs were covered in a long pair of white braies that stopped above his ankles. Sarah wore a long-sleeved silk dress given to her by Arthur that looked simple but comfortable. The silk dress was colored with a light blue and white with sleeves that were an aged white and were made with a much stronger material than the rest of her dress. Arthur was the only one that saw Sarah without a long sleeve. Underneath the long sleeve, she hid a mark that held the shape of a star on her left wrist. Every time Arthur saw the star he would ask himself about it since he didn’t want to annoy Sarah about it, but in return, he would get the same answer.
“It’s just a birthmark. But why is it a star? Why is she so embarrassed by it?”
After the sun reached passed the breaks between the trees, Arthur and Sarah left the forest towards home. They lived in a large village that was quite nearly overpopulated and was set near a cliff that led to the ocean. In front of the village was the forest which had a thin and rough trail that led from the village. This trail was hardly ever visited since the forest was so frightening and nobody was allowed to leave the village unless they were ordered by the authorities to do so. It was a very secluded village that Arthur and Sarah loved very much. The seclusion of the village helped them not worry about the darkness in the outside world.
When Arthur and Sarah got home they did their usual routine: clean the house, warm the house with a fire, and leave to see what’s new in the village. For how small the village was, there was a lot of new things to discover. The house was set in the center of the village and was much cleaner than most outside of it and was easily recognizable. It had a yellow door with a red trim and a single window that matched the color of the door. While the door and window were as colorful as the sun, the rest of the house was simple like the homes around it. Since the house was made out of the an old wood, there were cracks in between each wood plank that caused the cold to seep through. This didn’t concern Arthur and Sarah since they had each other to keep themselves warm. Every night they held each other tight before falling asleep.
The next day was a happy day for both Arthur and Sarah. Every anniversary they bought each other a gift after work. Arthur worked as a smith every day making armor and weapons for the army. Sword by sword. Shield by shield. It was all the same to him. He wanted to make something new or learn something new. So during work, he would save the scrap left from the army’s weapons and armor for himself. He had a plan to make a new weapon for himself. A weapon that could slice through the finest piece of armor. While Arthur worked at the Smith, Sarah helped the orphanage. She loved her job dearly and she never had a problem with whatever task she was asked to do. The children gave Sarah hope for the dark world she and everyone else lived in.
After work, Sarah went to the central market of the village to shop for a gift for Arthur. Sarah took her time to find a gift for Arthur since she wanted her present to be special, something that Arthur could use for the future. She circled the market several times until she found a little booth hidden behind a vegetable stand. This stand had no sign and was made out of blankets being held up by two wooden pillars at the entrance. The stand was small and required Sarah to crouch low to see what the merchant was selling. Inside the booth was a small collection of jewelry and knives on top of a small piece of cloth set in front of a man hidden in the shadows. A necklace caught her eye. The necklace was a silver chain with a small unknown jewel at the center end of it. She picked the necklace up and examined it, bringing her eye close to the purple jewel that radiated in the light, until she saw a red shine peeking under the cloth presenting the jewelry and knives. She lifted the cloth and grabbed the item hidden beneath it. It was a knife. The knife was engraved from the hilt to the end with a semi-transparent blood red ruby. The knife looked very used but could be fixed with a simple cleaning mix. She lifted it to the small ray of sunshine peeking through the blankets covering the stand. It glowed even brighter than the purple jewel on the necklace. It was beautiful.
“How much?” Sarah asked with a wide smile revealing her pearl white teeth.
“What’s it you got?” the merchant hidden in the dark of the stand asked. All that could be seen of him was one gold tooth that shined whilst he smiled.
“Here,” Sarah said while sticking her tongue out and reaching into the single pocket in her silk dress.
Sarah took out her month’s pay. She dropped fifteen rusted orens into the merchant’s cupped hands.
The man took the money and said “That’ll work. Pleasure doing business with you pretty lady.” The gold tooth was shining.
“Thank you very much!” Sarah said with an excited expression while walking out of the stand, waving back at the grinning man.
After the short encounter with the merchant, Sarah began making her way home. The sun was beginning to fall but there was a comfortable warmth left in the air. After walking halfway home, Sarah heard a large thud, followed by loud clinks and clanks of metal hitting the brick road. She followed the sound that led to a small alleyway dimly lit by the little sun left in the red sky. Two men blocked the end of the alley, making it hard to see past them. The men were wearing clothing that looked like they were being worn for years. Their white shirts were stained with something that resembled human feces. Both the pants and shirts were ripped everywhere and looked very uncomfortable. Beneath the men’s legs, Sarah could see a little boy laying on the ground surrounded by trash and different trinkets. The boy looked very poor and his face was covered in dirt. He wore a pair of black trousers that matched his white linen shirt. His clothing was much newer than the men surrounding him.
“Give the goddamn money back, kid, before you get hurt even worse. You play dirty tricks and I won’t tolerate it!” the man to the right said grinding his rotten teeth together in anger.
“Yeah, what he said!” the man to the left yelled while nodding and his voice cracking every word that left his mouth.
The man to the right lifted his fist for a punch. Before he could connect, Sarah ran into the alley. Her shoes clacked on the brick road loudly. The men heard her from behind.
“Stop!” Sarah screamed, panting.
The two men turned back quickly. Sarah lifted her left hand. In an instant, fear grew on the men’s faces as they flew through the air. The force was unbearable, but Sarah was holding back. She didn’t want blood on her hands. The men hit the wall with incredible force and fell to the ground with their faces hitting first, knocking them out. The boy was stunned with his mouth wide open, revealing his large bucked teeth.
Sarah bent down to the boy’s level. There were bruises all over his face and his left eyebrow was dripping with blood and his right cheek was starting to turn purple. Sarah put her hand on the boy’s face, covering the large purple bruise on his cheek. She closed her eyes. Once she opened both eyes she removed her hand. The bruise disappeared. The boy reached to hug her. Before he could make any contact with Sarah’s embrace, there was a man watching.
“Witch!” the man screamed, sounding terrified.
While Sarah turned, men, women, and children gathered at the entrance of the alleyway. Sarah had no time to think about what she needed to do to get out of the situation she was in. So, she let her body do it for her. She ran. Her legs moved before she could even think about running. She ran through the crowd and didn’t stop running.