Chapter Text
Every child in Hage grows up listening to one nursery rhyme unique to the area. It has existed for a decade, coming from nowhere when a mysterious woman first moved to the edges of the town.
“Here in this village with rolling farms and hills
Live one figure alone who kills.
Not for food. Not for fun.
But because her power is a passive one.
So the villagers stay away
From the hateful witch.
Lest they wind up
Alone in a ditch.”
But if you ask them, not one person from Hage can tell you where this woman came from
Licita very much knew of the rhyme. Some of the older kids who considered themselves ‘too old for such childish tales’ dared each other to approach her house. After a couple of weeks of her hiding behind blinds. At least it gave her time to decorate her new house.
She was hoping for a clean break. With a child growing in her belly, she couldn’t afford to stay in a town that hated her. Everyone there knew to stay away, but if they saw her child…. She hadn’t expected to be automatically targeted as a mysterious, threatening figure. Well, it wasn’t like the rhyme was that far off. She wasn’t a witch.
It seemed she would never break the cycle of hate.
During the night, when there were no kids, she drew out a shovel and got to work. Copying a rune from an old book she had found in a library, she dug out a circle around her house.
By sunrise, her arms were screaming in pain, and she smelled like rotting garbage, but the rune was done. Laughter came from down the road, and she hid behind her loom. An unfinished project hung from the spindle, brushing her head as she crouched down. This is so dumb. I’m hiding from kids like some kind of coward. She thought to herself.
“Hey, Blodel, where’s the witches’ house?” A kid asked in the distance.
“I-I don’t know. It was here yesterday. I saw it.” A boy replied.
“Yeah. I saw it, too. It’s like it disappeared.” A girl’s voice approached but never got close.
“No.” The first boy said. “I bet you too were just messing with me.”
“We weren’t! I swear it was here!” the second boy whined. She could hear his footsteps circling, never getting close to the house. Her heart beat in her chest as she held her breath. “Where is it!”
“Come on! Let’s just leave!” The girl said, sounding annoyed.
“Yeah, this is a bust.”
“Come on, Addie! You saw it.”
“I did, but it’s not here now. I bet we just got pranked by someone with illusion magic.”
The sounds of footsteps got quieter as the kids argued about her existence. Licita breathed a sigh of relief as she peeked out of her house, no one in sight. Maybe life in Hage will have a chance of being normal.
🍀 ☘ 🍀 ☘ 🍀 ☘ 🍀
The rhyme about her changed quickly once Asta was born. Even with the barrier around her house, it seemed that someone had noticed the baby in her arms when she walked home that night. It had only been a few hours since the birth of her son, and already she could hear the children singing.
“Here in this village with rolling farms and hills
Live one figure alone who kills.
Not for food. Not for fun.
But because her power is a passive one.
So the villagers stay away
From the hateful witch.
But she was lonely
Against her every wish
So she brought a child unto the land
The human alone who could withstand
Her power with none of his own
A child whose existence was very much alone.”
Licita sat on her bed of assorted feathers holding a little bundle in her eyes. As her son squirmed in her arms, she thought of names that could fit him. What kind of name could she choose for such a bundle of joy that lit up her otherwise lonely life?
She had always been taught that names had a special meaning. Even if she wasn’t too sure of that, she had still looked for names that her child could be proud of. But for all the names she had loved, none of them seemed special enough for her newborn son.
She looked through the books at her side, flipping through different names from her mother’s country. After an hour, she came across Asta. It had three meanings. Divine strength. Love. Star-like.
The name fit perfectly. Licita chuckled. “Asta. My little starlight.”
Asta giggled and gripped her finger with his little hand. He burbles, his little eyes lighting up as he kicked around. He couldn’t even crawl, yet he seemed so excited to get moving.
“I promise to protect you. Even if I have to protect you from myself.” Licita’s bittersweet smile prompted Asta to cry. “No, don’t cry. Mommy’s okay. She’s okay.” She rocked Asta who kept crying like he could sense her sadness.
“Don’t you worry my little starlight. I’ll do what it takes to make sure you never have to worry. And I’ll have you here with me until you’ve become a man. I’ll always be here for you.” Licita tried to convince herself as she comforted her son. But these weren’t just empty promises. She would perfect the runes that would protect Asta from herself. She was so close.
She would solve the puzzle before he inherited his magic. It was her promise, to herself and her son. And she didn’t break promises.