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?

old, wrinkled hand moved over my face to tuck my hair behind my

to go 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

one of the rules. One of the many rules. My parents said it

that I was not allowed to leave the house or be seen by anyone. The only people who knew about me were the people who came to fight the

My mother caught my eye as she stood, silently crying, next to my father as she watched

frantically tried to get to my parents and away from the women

didn't understand why I was

the rules!" I screamed as the stranger dug

a language I didn't understand. My scream echoed into the night for hours, drowning out the women performing their ritual. Until it stopped,

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

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

dear. We are going to get this out of you." The

My parents may have seen my gift as evil, but I loved having it. My

had never come close. But they had

witches... these witches scared me. They hurt me. I didn't understand why

resist, but it felt like they were a part of me now. No matter how hard I

let them

opening a door, 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 free

look at her. My eyes opened, and I gasped as I could see the darkness of her greedy soul in the depths of her eyes. "You ungrateful bitch!

away, but I tightened my hold on the imaginary strings

the tether to get 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

them to me faster as I tried to follow them to the source. I could hear the women screaming, their hands dropping from my body as they let out their displeasure, but I

didn't deserve this punishment. I

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

opened to see the moon had moved further across the sky. The metal chains suddenly went slack

standing there staring in horror. I had expected my mother to

My father whispered, but I ignored him

a mistake as my mother flinched back against my dad's side, and he quickly drew his gun from his waistband. The barrel was pointed

night air hit my wet skin, and I glanced down to

was followed by me taking another step closer and my parents taking two