The Beast And The Blessed

The Warrior and The Witch - One: Joselin

Joselin's P.O.V. 11 years old

Everything hurt.

The throbbing in my head forced a whimper from my lips, and the cold night air made me shiver as it grazed over my body.

I had never fallen asleep with my window open before. My parents would have killed me if they knew I had managed to pry the nails free of the wood for fresh air. I had always been vigilant in ensuring I only left it open for a few minutes at a time so they would never catch me. Yet, the smell of fresh pine on the breeze told me I had failed tonight.

My body fought against me, wanting to return to my deep slumber where there was no cold or pain. Only my blanket was gone, and my mattress was hard and freezing. My eyes shot open with panic as I felt someone pulling on my leg.

My vision was blurry, and my head spun as I grimaced from the blinding agony that crippled me when I tried to move. The pain only worsened when I attempted to look down, unable to see who was touching me. Very few ever did.

Their rough hands gripped my calf tightly, and I kicked in an attempt to free myself from their hold. Their hands were too large to be my mother's, and my father hadn't ever touched me. I was their cursed child.

He called me the devil.

I was their curse to carry and their secret to bury.

’Stop moving!" A voice snapped, and my head shot back painfully against the solid surface beneath me, hitting an already sensitive spot that I hadn't remembered injuring.

I had an idea of what was happening. My parents used to call in men dressed in black who told me they were there to purge me of the demon in my body. They would tie me to my bed frame, chant and yell while splashing me with water.

But this was different.

The cold metal dug into my skin as the woman clasped the object around my ankle, pulling my leg until it was straight. I blinked several times as the world around me started to become clear. The dark night sky was illuminated by the bright glow of the moon above us, and I froze in a moment of panic when I realized I was outside and not in my bed as I had assumed.

I wasn't allowed outside.

I remembered my mother walking in to tell me it was lights out like she always did, and then there was nothing. No memory of getting ready for bed or lying down under my blanket.

Had I been sleepwalking? Was this to be my punishment for disobeying the rules?

and I flinched when the old, wrinkled hand moved over my face to tuck my hair behind my ear, prying the strand away that had been

as she used her thumb to lift my eyelid as far up as she could, exposing the pure white underneath. It was the reason my parents had been seeking help. The lack of color in my eyes was not

It was one of the rules. One of the many rules. My parents said it was the most important one.

leave the house or be seen by anyone. The only people who knew about me were the people who came to fight the demon. They had been in a long losing

they cut my clothes from my body. My mother caught my eye as she stood, silently crying, next to my father as she watched another woman grab my head and force me to face the full moon

their restraints as I frantically tried to get to my parents and away from the women surrounding me.

understand why I

Mommy, I followed the rules!" I screamed as the stranger dug the tip of

as the woman dragged the metal across my skin, chanting loudly in a language I didn't understand. My scream echoed into the night for hours, drowning

freedom and forgiveness was ignored as the women placed both hands on my body. I could feel them burrowing and moving

pain that covered almost every inch of my flesh. The only thing I could feel were the string-like tethers stemming from the witches

going to get this out of you." The old woman croaked, sounding giddy yet strained as she gripped my arm

to get it out of me. My parents may have seen my gift as evil, but I loved having it.

demon out of me had never come close. But they had also never done anything like this. They

hurt me. I didn't understand why they needed

My eyes stayed shut tight as I tried to resist, but it felt like

I let them

one I unknowingly could never close again. The bright and strong feeling of magic washed over me, and I focused on it, pulling from it to get the strength to break

woman snapped, grabbing my jaw and forcing me to look at her. My eyes opened, and

to pull her hand away, but I tightened my hold

to the hypnotizing, swirling light filled with magic. There wasn't a doubt in my mind that if I could get to that ball of light, I would be freed from darkness and

in my mind, and I pulled them to me faster as I tried to follow them to the source. I could hear the

deserve this punishment. I had

I reached the end of the strings. The light grew brighter than anything I had ever seen before. Then, it faded to black. I didn't move for several minutes, enjoying the warmth traveling through my body. But it washed away, leaving me cold, wet,

the moon had moved further across the sky. The metal chains suddenly went slack with the

still standing there staring in horror. I had expected my mother to run to me, happy that I was okay. But she just stood there

ignored him

quickly drew his gun from his waistband. The barrel was pointed at

skin, and I glanced down to see my pale body

was followed by