Phoebe Harrow kicked a rock in frustration. Her stupid brother had disappeared, and she had to track him. Again.

Ever since their father kicked him out, she had had to take care of the family herself, which was pretty hard for a, then, 12-year-old. Now she was 15 and her brother was 17, but he hadn't changed the least.

Not deep inside at least...

There had been some pretty evident changes ever since he left home. No, ever since he got kicked out, she corrected herself. He didn't smile as much anymore. The circles under his eyes were darker. He was paler.

And worst of all? He wasn't there.

Don't get me wrong, Phoebe did pretty good on her own. She had taught herself not to need him, but ever since she ran away... She needed his help more than ever. She and her mother had nowhere to stay and kept moving around.

Not in fear that her father was after them, the guy could barely get out of the house to grab yet another drink.

No. They were on the run in fear that all the guys Phoebe pissed off during her short stays at villages and small towns would follow them and get themselves killed.

She hadn't only taught herself to be independent, she had also taught herself how to fight. Why wait for a hero, when you can save yourself? Hard work paid off. No guy ever said anything to offend her.

No guy who knew her, anyway. The others? Well, she gave them a piece of her mind or, more accurately, her fists.

Her mom wasn't in favour of that, but it kept them safe and that was all that mattered at the time. Her brother had promised them that he had accepted a job that would get them enough money to build a house in the woods, away from danger. They would have a farm and live by a lake, like they had always wanted.

Their father could burn in hell for all they cared. That abusive, alcoholic piece of horse poop, deserved the worst and they might not have deserved the best, but they surely deserved better than him.

Her mom, Diana Harrow, caught up to her.

“Phoebe...”, she smiled weakly.

“Hey, mom... I left you behind again, didn't I?”, she frowned.

“Don't worry about it. Just focus on finding your brother. I've told him a million times to stay out of trouble and keep us posted on his whereabouts, but he's stubborn as ever. Always worrying that he'll get tracked by the wrong people... I think that height have picked up more fights than you.”, Diana laughed. That was Diana... No matter what was going on, she always had a smile on her face.

“Impossible...”, Phoebe scoffed, looking offended. Her mom rolled her eyes.

“You and your petty feuds... You truly are siblings.”, she smiled again. Then she started having a coughing fit.

“Mother!”, Phoebe rushed by her side and helped sit down. Worry and panic were evident all over her face. “Maybe we should go back to the village and stay there for another night...”

Diana waved her hand. “No. I'm fine. Everything will get better once we find your brother.”, she nodded reassuringly. Phoebe wanted to protest, but she knew her mother wouldn't change her mind. Her brother had gotten her stubbornness from her.

“Alright... Let's find that clown.”, she grumbled.

°~*~°

Cheryl Floreline hadn't left the witch village in sixteen years and couldn't wait to pack her bags and be on her way.

But no; Lux the Bright, a creepy-looking and pale witch (who also happened to be the leader of the clan), still wouldn't allow her.

She was so mad that she could kill someone. Figuratively.

Cheryl Floreline was no murderer.

There was a knock on her door.

“Come on in...”, she sighed. Her apprentice, a 17-year-old witch with dark skin, dark hair and purple eyes walked inside smiling widely.

She was like a daughter to her. Not like the daughter she never had, she had a daughter once. And a son. Not anymore... Not the way she wanted. Not the way she had hoped.

She was young, though. Younger than most mothers and already had two kids. And she used to believe in love once... Before love became the cause of all her troubles and the reason why she was trapped in that village.

“What are you gonna teach me today?”, Violet Lou asked. She was always eager to learn new things.

“I don't know, Violet... I haven't been feeling well lately...”, Cheryl muttered worriedly.

“Oh... Anything I can help with? Do you want some milk? I'll add a couple drops of cherry juice in it, the way you like it. That always makes you feel better...”, Violet offered.

“I don't think it will make me feel any better this time, V.”, she sighed. “I'm thinking of running away from here... Is that crazy?”

“You've been here for sixteen years without your consent... You're like a prisoner that wants to escape. It's not crazy at all. Just hard. Like, impossible hard.”, Violet frowned and sat down opposite her.

Cheryl ran her hand through her hair. “I wanna get out of here. I've always hated being trapped. Lux has always known...”, she muttered bitterly.

“How about I go get Cecilia and we all plan an escape together? I've always wanted to get out of here, but I can't without my mom's consent and she's been in a coma for five years, so...”, Violet sighed. It was true. Her mother had been cursed by another witch, one of another clan, and the healers hadn't been able to wake her for the past five years. Cheryl and Cecilia were all Violet had.

Cecilia Dotter was yet another inhabitant of the village. She wasn't a powerful witch, but you still didn't want to get on her bad side. She had connections everywhere and knew everyone. If you were close to her, she could make your life in the village heaven. If not? Well... Good luck. You're going to need it.

She was quite the social butterfly and wouldn't hesitate to use her connections to bring you down if you hurt her. She was vengeful and felt no remorse in ruining your life.

Other than that, she was a pretty sweet and honest person. That made most people forget about her... dark side.

Cheryl didn't mind. Cecilia had been there for her when she first arrived at the village. She helped her get through a really tight spot and had made sure her stay in the village was in the under the best circumstances possible, which was a lot. If it had been up to Lux alone, she would have left Cheryl live on the streets, for all she cared. She just wanted her in the village and away from anywhere else where she could cause her trouble.

Lux couldn't afford trouble. Not at a time like this.

But that didn't mean that Cheryl would stop fighting. God, no. It only made her fight harder, and whatever trouble she couldn't cause outside, she caused on the inside of the village.

She had lost count of all the times she got arrested. It was a miracle she still hadn't had her hair cut as a punishment. Lux was being pretty patient and tolerant with her considering what Cheryl had done to her, and I'm not talking about the trouble she'd caused.

Unusually patient and tolerant.

After a few minutes of negotiation, Violet left to go get Cecilia.

Cheryl heard another knock soon after and Cecilia barged in before she had the opportunity to reply. Violet stood behind her, shaking her head.

“What the hell is wrong with you?”, she hissed. This was bad.

“Absolutely nothing. I want to see my family again and leave this place behind. You're free to come along, but please don't try to stop me.”, Cheryl went straight to the point.

“You're unbelievable. After all we've been through together, you want to go?”, Cecilia glared at her. She looked betrayed, when in reality, Cheryl had done nothing to betray her. Cecilia was good at guiltily people into thinking they're wrong.

“I invited you to come along, I don't understand what you're so mad about. If you want to spend the rest of your life here, be my guest, but I'm sick of being a prisoner here.”, Cheryl replied calmly.

“I've done my best to make your stay here comfortable. You're not like other prisoners around here.”, Cecilia crossed her arms, looking taken aback.

“That's the worst kind of imprisonment, Cecilia...”, Cheryl frowned. “Being in such a comfortable prison, that you forget you're a prisoner in the first place.”, she shook her head.

Violet, who hadn't walked in yet, went inside and joined in the debate. “I think we should go.”, she shrugged. “I mean... It would be nice to get out of the village for a while... I'd love to see more of the world, you know? I've never been outside...”, she looked at Cecilia pleadingly.

“V. Don't do this to me. Please. You know I-”, Cecilia stopped, because Violet intensified her pleading look. She looked like a puppy begging for a treat, which was pretty much the case. “Fine! I- I'll go pack... You two do the same. Tell me if you change your minds. I really hope you do...”, she looked at her feet as she walked out.

“Violet, you're a genius.”, Cheryl cheered. Violet shyly bit her lip and looked down.

“I didn't really do anything...”, she muttered.

“Of course you did. Don't be afraid to receive praise when you deserve it. That's your lesson for today.”, Cheryl smiled and patted her shoulder.

But I really didn't do anything, Violet thought.

“Go pack. We're leaving tomorrow. And inform Cecilia about this when you get the chance... I doubt she'll want to talk to me...”, Cheryl looked away bitterly. Violet nodded and left, leaving her alone.

The next morning, Cheryl woke up abruptly. There was a series of frantic knocks on the door, and before she got the chance to go check who it was, the door burst open and Violet ran inside with her luggage.

She noticed it was still dark outside.

“Violet, what--”

“No time to explain. Get your stuff. Now. I'll tell you on the road.”, Violet rushed anxiously.

Cheryl knew that Violet wouldn't say anything and would only panic even more if they didn't leave, so she went with it and got her stuff as fast as she could.

Just as they were about to leave, they heard marching from outside.

“Violet, what's going on?”, Cheryl asked shakily.

Violet stared at the door as if waiting for it to explode. “Cecilia betrayed us.”, she muttered.

“What? What are you talking about?”, Cheryl asked frantically.

“We have to go. They're coming.”, Violet replied. Cheryl still didn't understand what was going on, but followed Violet's lead as they snuck out the window and ran towards the woods.

Staying hidden was pretty easy at that time of the day, since most witches were already sleeping.

When they managed to get outside the village, the sun had risen.

“When are you going to explain to me what's going on?”, Cheryl panted, but didn't stop running.

“I'll tell you when we stop. We need to hide.”, Violet looked terrified. Her breath was shaky, even for a person who was panting.

Eventually, they stopped and hid in a cave. There were many caves near the witch village, so it would be hard to track them down that way.

Although they were well hidden and pretty far from the village at the time, Violet was still shaking and panting and looking at everything suspiciously.

Cheryl hated repeating herself, but she needed to know the truth, so she asked Violet yet again. “Violet. What happened?”

Her apprentice took a deep breath and started rushing the events of earlier that morning. “I was about to go get Cecilia to help me with some packing... She's a night-owl, so I thought she would still be awake. I arrived at her house and was about to knock on the door, when I heard her talking to none other than Lux.”, she stopped to take a breath and kept going. “She told her everything. She explained everything to the slightest detail. I managed to hide just as Lux got out to go get her elites. They were planning on coming to arrest you. I'm still underage, so they couldn't really do that. They would come warn me later, though... Anyway, I rushed to get you as fast as possible.”

Underage witches couldn't be arrested and couldn't have their hair cut. It was one of the oldest witch laws, don't ask why. The reason had been long forgotten.

“That's why you've been so nervous. You're afraid the elites are on our tracks.”, Cheryl furrowed her eyebrows. Violet nodded anxiously. “Alright... Go to sleep for a while. The elites are only out when the sun is down, so you might as well take a nap and we'll start moving again in the evening, okay? I'll keep watch. Don't worry.”

Violet wanted to protest, but she was to tired for that, so she lied down on the rocky ground and made a pillow out of her luggage. Soon, she was fast asleep.

They kept moving for a while later, and stopped in the middle of the woods when night fell.

They set camp and Violet fell asleep immediately, once again. She was exhausted and not used to this kind of adventure. Cheryl had gone through all this before. She knew what to do. Violet was new to it.

Cheryl walked a little further and started thinking of the past again. Her husband, her kids. She had lost everything in just one night.

Which is exactly what happened once again when she returned to camp.

Violet was gone, and there was a note on the ground, held down by a rock.

"We couldn't find you. Come back to the village if you want to see her alive."