The White Witch: Setsuna #2 (complete)

I have sort of figured out how to control things in Setsuna’s home. Often times, I just have to think about something I want, then it’s there. Other times, it’s like a suggestion. I see something written down and then it’s there beside me. I’m not sure how the magic works, but I am never really without it.

Setsuna drifts in from time to time, keeping an eye on me. He reminds me often never to leave the observatory without him, or else. Not sure what ‘or else’ means, but I have not wanted to test those waters. My curiosity is piqued however. 

I still don’t know what Setsuna wanted with the golden apple, or why he even gave the seeds to my mother in the first place. He’s never really answered my questions, he’s rather vague and withholding. I was used to my father shouting out his commands and demands, never once budging or giving way. Setsuna, on the other hand, even with his order I never leave, allowed openness. He’s encouraging, in a strange way, that I explore as much as I can about the observatory. I can do as I see fit and roam about wherever I want to go. I can use the telescope to look into the village and check on things.

The apple tree is still kept under a dome but I have not wanted to look much at the palace. I don’t have the stomach for it, but I love seeing the village as it goes about its daily life. I miss the people and I am lonely in this solitary keep. Even if I have more freedom here than at home, Setsuna isn’t exactly the best of company. 

One morning after breakfast, I am feeling rather restless. There’s nothing I want to do, and nothing that seems interesting to me. I wander around, scouring through books, rustling through chests of sewing supplies, and nothing makes me feel any better. I am bored, yet I don’t want to do anything, but I want to do everything. I sit down in a chair, grumbling over my state when I glance towards the door.

Setsuna had been gone for a long time after having gone through that door. He disappears behind it every day after breakfast, only coming out for dinner and then vanishing behind it again. There’s a large keyhole under the doorknob and suddenly my curiosity is tormented. I sit up and stare at the keyhole for a long time. I know I shouldn’t peek, I should try and obey Setsuna as best as possible. 

I stand up from my chair and walk over to the door. I wonder if this is all some sort of test and he’s waiting for me to open the door. Perhaps he’s just been waiting all this time and laughing at me. After all, any normal girl would want to escape this situation. I kneel down and peer through the keyhole. Inside, I see Setsuna sitting at a desk, his long white hair is tied back in a braid that hangs over the arm of the chair. 

Beyond him, there is a bed covered in white lace and laden with dolls and teddy bears that are all covered in a layer of frost. The bed itself is encapsulated by ice, shimmering in the glowing lights coming from Setsuna’s desk. I change my position a little more to see there is a very young girl tucked into the bed and covered by the ice.

I gasp in shock and Setsuna’s head rises. He turns to the door and I duck down, scuttling to behind the door as it opens. I’m squished between the wall and the door and start to crawl away while Setsuna’s back is to me. I am near the bed when he clears his throat.

I freeze and sit up on my knees.

“What on earth are you doing?” He scoffs at me.

“I was, uhm-” I see the sewing kit sitting by the fire place. “I dropped a needle!” I blurt out quickly. “Yes.” I stand up and dust off the front of my skirt. “I was sewing and I dropped a needle and was looking for it. I didn’t want to step on it, or you.”

Setsuna tilts his head and closes the door behind him. “A needle?”

I nod anxiously, feeling sweat start to trickle down the small of my back.

“What were you sewing?” Setsuna crosses his arms against his chest.

My mouth opens and closes like a landed trout. I finally shut it and clear my throat. “I don’t know,” I answer.

“You don’t know?” He laughs.

“I’m uninspired,” I quickly move along with the lie. “I’m having a hard time thinking of things I can do. There is only so much I can do here.”

Setsuna looks around. “I suppose so. But is it much better than where you came from?” He takes a step towards me. “Seems your father kept you on a pretty tight chain so you were never too far from his beloved apple tree.”

“I suppose,” I mutter. The apple tree had been my friend, so had Sir Tobi. I would at least have the voice from the apple tree to talk to, to read to, someone I could talk with.

“I suppose what is lacking here is a friend,” I confess.

“A friend?” Setsuna scoffs. “Are you serious?”

I shake my head slowly. “Back home, I was used to having people around. People I could talk to and share with.” I fidget in place. “Here, I am left to my own devices and it’s getting pretty lonely.”

Setsuna’s shoulders slouch and he tilts his head back. “I’ve been up here alone for far longer than you have been alive,” he tells me. “The Mothdust Mountains aren’t a friendly place. You have no idea how to cope without friends? I have no idea how to cope with them.” He lays his big hand over his chest.

“I just want someone to talk to,” I say with a shrug. “It’s not something so difficult.”

Setsuna wags his finger before the mask and clicks his tongue. “For some people, talking is a very hard thing to do.”

My expression becomes pinched and exasperated. “Then why even bring me here? Just to torture my father? I doubt that wholly the case.”

Setsuna reers back then. “You have everything you want on a whim, it is comfortable here for you. Why question it and not just enjoy it? You don’t have to deal with all the malarkey down there. You can finally just ‘be’ here. Don’t try to poke holes and go along with it.”

“Says the warden to the prisoner!” I snap back at him.

Setsuna balls up his fists then thrusts a finger towards me. “How dare you call me such a name! I keep no chains on you like your father did!”

“Then why can’t I go outside? Why am I trapped in here?”

“Because there is a blizzard outside!” Setsuna snaps his hands towards the door. “You don’t see from the observatory window because it is protected. But you set one foot outside without me and the blizzard would have you broken and bloody over a cliff!” He stomps his foot down hard on the ground. “I keep you in here to protect you until the storm has passed! Once it has, then you can decide where you want to go.”

I stand still for the longest moment. I avert my gaze, feeling ashamed for a moment. “I didn’t realize.” I rub my hand up my arm. “I just assumed there was a reason.”

“There is,” Setsuna growls. “But I do not have the heart to voice it yet. What happens between now and Spring, well, it is a matter of wait and see.”

“Does it have to do with the apple?” I step forward cautiously. 

“Maybe it does and maybe it doesn’t.” Setsuna places his hand on the doorknob. 

“You were willing to destroy an entire Kingdom for it,” I urge. “It must mean something, something important!” I then shake my head. “There was a voice that told me someone would be coming to take the apple, and if we didn’t hand it over-”

Setsuna surges towards me. “A voice?” He bends over me. “What sort of voice? From where?”

“The tree,” I gasp. “It always came from the apple tree.” I look up at him and his eyes are glowing underneath the mask. “The voice always sounded like a little girl.”

“What’d she say?” Setsuna’s voice is suddenly gentle and bewildered. “What else did she tell you?”

I shrug then clear my throat. “Anything personal she was vague about.” I look into the glowing shapes behind the mask, seeing colors of purple and soft pink with tinges of blue. “She told me the apple should be readily given. I suppose she meant you.”

“What else?” Setsuna snaps.

“I always just talked to her.” I squeeze my shoulders up around my neck. “She always sounded young, acted it too, so I just sort of became a big sister to her. She liked stories about animals the most, so I always had books on hand.”

Setsuna stands away and turns his attention elsewhere. His breath comes out slow and with a muted sob.

“Is something wrong?” I step towards him.

Setsuna swings his arm out and blocks me from coming any closer. He goes to the door again and shakes his head at me, “It’s nothing. Find that needle.” He disappears beyond the door again, slamming it shut behind himself.

I sigh and my shoulders slouch. “Well then,” I murmur. I start to walk away when the door thrusts open again. Setsuna stands there, staring down at me.

“A little girl’s voice? You’re sure?” He steps towards me, leaving the door wide open.

“Yes, I’m sure,” I gasp in alarm. “She sounded nice!” I peer behind him inside the door where I can see the young girl sleeping in the bed, covered by ice and snow. I look back up at Setsuna as he stares me down.

“I don’t know what else to tell you. We were probably the same age when she first started talking to me,” I reach out to touch him but he yanks himself away. “I grew up, she didn’t, so I just tried to be there for her. There were some days she just sounded so alone. She never told me her name though, she never told me who she was. She only said she was cursed one time.”

He scoffs and tosses his head. “All these years and yet-” He stops himself. He turns around and looks back into the room. “She never blamed anybody?”

“No,” I stay behind him, afraid to step out of bounds. “The only other person she ever mentioned was the one who was coming to get the apple. She just said they were mad for some reason.” I stretch out my hand and place it on his arm. “Are you ok, Setsuna?”

“It’s my fault,” he whispers.

I take a step forward and stand beside him. I look up at his mask and see there are tears spilling out. 

“I was working and she scared me-” his voice trembles.

I look to the open door and see the little girl in the bed. “Is she your daughter?” I place my hand on his arm again.

Setsuna hangs his head. “I found her when she was a baby. She was left in the snow all alone, just screaming and screaming. I was so angry at whoever left her there. I took her in and warmed her up, fed her, clothed her. I always intended to take her back down to the village but time just-” his voice fades away as he stares at the bed. “It slips away so fast. She called me Dad before I knew it.”

Setsuna steps into the room and kneels down beside the bed. The little girl is small and completely white with tiny horns sticking out from her forehead. She’s a tiefling.

“It was always just us,” Setsuna whimpers, cupping his hands over the mask. “I thought she was napping so I tried to work. But she was faking.”

I place my hands on his shoulders and stand behind him. “Is that what the apple is for?”

Setsuna sniffles. “Your mother offered me what I needed,” he whimpers. “She took the seeds and promised to plant them. I didn’t know the tree would bond to you.”

I look over at the little girl on the bed. So, this is the little girl I had been speaking to all these years. This tiny, white tiefling with fluffy hair and pudgy cheeks. All this time, she was reaching out because she was lonely and trapped.  “What’s her name?”

Setsuna lifts his hands from his palms and looks at her. He reaches out and places his hands over her hand frozen in ice. “Aya.”

On his desk, a vial starts to glow. It brightens into a radiant gold color and Setsuna stands up from the floor. He looks at it in awe then quickly takes it and goes to Aya. He pours the gold elixir over her mouth. The ice melts and the gold slips between her lips.

Once the vial is empty, Setsuna stands back from the bed. He reaches out, taking hold of my hand and squeezing it tight. 

The ice melts away and Aya’s fluffy hair springs up. The frost from her dolls and stuffed animals turns into a fine glitter that makes them sparkle. Aya yawns and stretches, sitting up in bed. She opens her eyes and grumbles.

“Daddy?” She whimpers. Her bright pink eyes stare up at him and fat tears start to slide down her cheeks. “Daddy!”

Setsuna throws himself at her, wrapping her up in his strong arms as she clings to him. Her tiny hands tug at his collar as she tries to hug him harder.

I sigh with relief, clutching my hand over my chest. My heart is beating so fast, so terrified the moment Setsuna grabbed my hand.

“Natsumi!” Aya gasps as Setsuna sits aside. “Is it really you?”

I kneel down as she puts her hands on my face. “It’s nice to finally meet you, Aya.”

“You weren’t talking to me anymore,” Aya whimpers. “I thought something bad had happened to you.” She touches my cheek where my father had slapped me. “He hurt you.”

“I’m fine, Aya. I’ve been here.” I run my fingers through her hair. “Your father brought me here.”

“If the apple worked, I didn’t want her to be so lonely after-” Setsuna sobs and Aya pats the top of his head. 

“It’s ok, Daddy,” Aya coaxes.

“All of this was my fault,” he cries. “I thought you would hate me!”

Aya pouts her bottom lip out. “It was my fault, I thought you would be mad at me.” She tilts her head down. “Why are you wearing that mask? I want to see you.” She grabs hold of the white mask and pulls it away.

Setsuna’s hair and hands cover his face. His skin is all bright red and massive horns jut out from his forehead. As Aya peels his hands away his eyes are a brilliant yellow with small black irises. Two sets of tusk jut from his mouth, one going up while the other goes down. 

“An Oni,” I whisper in awe.

“There you are,” Aya fusses. She cups his face between her hands. “If we both apologize, will it be ok?”

Setsuna’s expression is soft and gentle. “You don’t need to apologize, little one. I’m so sorry I did this. I’m so sorry it took so long.”

“I’m sorry I scared you.” Aya smiles. She hugs him again then steps off the bed. She takes hold of our hands and leads us out into the observatory where a huge banquet table covered in food has appeared.

I look up at Setsuna, admiring him for a long moment before he turns and looks at me. I quickly avert my gaze and feel my face burning red hot. 

“Come on!” Aya urges us. “I want us to eat together!” She sits us down across from one another while she sits at the head of the table between us. 

I try not to look at Setsuna, because when I do, I find myself staring at him. His skin is lovely, and the way his long hair falls over his face makes him all the more pleasant to look at. Aya is adorable at least, excitedly going on about the things she wants to do now that she’s free from the curse. 

“Don’t get too excited now, Aya,” Setsuna warns her. “Spring will be coming soon and with it, Natsumi may wish to return home.”

Aya’s expression sinks and her eyes go big and wide. “But why would she want to go back?”

“That is only for Natsumi to decide,” he growls and pets Aya’s head. “All we can do is allow her the freedom to go.”

Aya pouts. “Then I’ll make her want to never leave!” She announces decidedly. “I will make Natsumi happy here and she will want to stay with us forever.”

Setsuna scoffs and urges her to sit back down. “Aya, what on earth are you going on about?”

Aya looks at me. “I don’t know what it is yet, but by Spring, you will want to stay and stay and stay! I swear it!”

I chuckle and nod. “It’s a challenge then.” I reply. I hold my hand out to her. “I accept it, young lady.”

Aya grabs my hand and tries to shake my entire arm. “I’ll win! You’ll see!”

For the next few days, Aya is heavily in thought. Anytime Setsuna or I ask her what she’s doing, she tells us she’s plotting. It gives us a giggle, but we leave her to do as she pleases. One day, I am going through sewing materials to make Aya a new dress and she notices the big bundle of white fabric at the bottom of the chest.

“What’s this for?” She asks me. 

“That’s wedding fabric,” I explain to her. “A bride would make her wedding gown out of this fabric.”

Aya’s eyes light up. “A bride?” She stares up at me. “What about the groom?”

“He has different clothes,” I chuckle. “Depending on his family, his clothes would be made from their sigil colors, but the bride would have made him a special handkerchief from her gown’s fabric that he would keep.”

Aya furrows her brow as a calculating look comes over her face. “Have you ever made a wedding gown before?”

“Oh, goodness, no!” I gasp. “I’ve never been married.”

Aya sits down and rubs the white fabric between her palms. “What if you did make one? I mean just in case.”

“Oh,” I start to catch on. “Just in case of what?”

“You never know,” Aya replies. “It’s like in the stories you told me, sometimes true love comes without a warning. If that happens, you’d want a dress right away, wouldn’t you?”

I shrug and smile at her “I suppose.”

Aya then thrusts the white fabric at me. “Then you should start! Who knows how long a wedding dress takes! You should start now just in case!”

“Oh, Aya,” I laugh, “I don’t think-”

“For me then?” Aya pouts. “You can make it and if you don’t need it, it’ll be for me! How about that?”

I sigh and smirk at her. “Ok, for you then.”

I start to work on the wedding dress while Aya watches over me and helps me with certain things. One day while we’re stitching together, she gasps. “Oh no! I lost my needle.”

I reach for the tin box beside me. “That’s ok, I have more over-”

“I need to go get Daddy,” she says decidedly. “He has good eyes, he can help me find it!” She scampers off and, a moment later, Setsuna walks into the room. He looks at me then looks back at the door as it shuts.

“What’s she doing?” I ask, setting aside the material and papers.

“I’m not sure, she told me to come out here.” He then turns as a table appears and the lights in the room go dim. Candles flicker on and Aya knocks on the door. “You stay in there and you don’t get to come out until I say so!”

“Aya!” Setsuna bangs his fist on the door.

“She’s playing matchmaker,” I sigh.

“What?” Setsuna glares at me.

I glance down at my hands, trying not to stare again. “She wants me to stay forever, remember? So she’s playing matchmaker. She thinks if we fall in love, then I’ll stay.”

“Oh, that’s a laugh,” Setsuna snarls. “You can’t even look at me. How does she expect us to fall in love when you can’t stand me?”

I gasp and look up at him. “That’s not true!”

Setsuna keeps his back turned to me. “Everytime I glance your way, you avert your eyes. I see it often. You can’t stand to look at me.”

“But that’s not-” I am burning hot with shame and embarrassment. “I look away because I tend to stare.”

Setsuna turns to me as he grabs the wine and pours a glass. “Stare at what?”

I peek up at him. “Because I like looking.” I curl my hair around my finger. “I like looking at you.”

Setsuna doesn’t seem to notice his wine glass is overflowing and the vinter red is pouring over his fingers. He sets the glass and near empty bottle down. “You what?”

“I like looking-” I grumble, “at you and stuff.” I release my hair and gaze back up at him. “You’re very handsome.”

His lip curls up and his brow arches. “Are you joking?”

I shake my head. “Red is my favorite color.”

Setsuna sighs and plops down in his seat. He runs his fingers through his hair and cups his palm around his eyes. “A lovely girl like you likes to look at a creature like me?”

“You’re big and handsome, there’s a lot to look at.” I play with my fingers as I try to keep my silly smile in check. “I’m sorry if it’s embarrassing.”

Setsuna looks up at me. “You’re like a rose,” he murmurs. “So beautiful and delicate, yet you were kept under glass when you deserved to be in the sun.” he then scoffs. “That’s how I saw it anyways,” he grumbles.

“Maybe Aya is smarter than we realized,” I giggle. “Have we both admired one another all this time?”

Setsuna bows his head down. “It appears that way.”

I stand up and walk over to him. As he looks up at me, I place a soft kiss on his lips. I place my hands on his shoulders as his wrap around my waist.

“I knew it!” Aya bursts open through the door.

Setsuna stands up and grabs her. “Your timing is terrible, you heathen child! I’ll curse you again and this time on purpose!”

Aya is cackling and laughing loudly. “I knew it! I knew it!” She cheers.

That evening, Aya asks me to tuck her into bed. She clutches her favorite stuffed tiger and looks up at me with big round eyes as I read her a story.

As I kiss her cheek good night, she tugs on my sleeve. “Natsumi?” She chirps. “Can I ask you a question?”

“Of course, what is it?” I sit back down and hold the book in my lap.

“You’ve always been there for me,” Aya murmurs. “You were what I assumed a mother always was.” She holds onto my hand. “When you and Daddy get married, can I call you Mama?”

I don’t know how I didn’t burst into a puddle of tears then and there. I kiss her hand and smile at her. “Yeah, it’s ok.” I don’t have the heart to say anything else on the matter. Her sleepy grin is everything I ever needed. I tuck her in and as I close the door, I drop the book to cover my face with my palms.

“Natsumi,” Setsuna gasps. “What’s wrong?”

“She’s the sweetest thing in the world!” I blubber. “How could I ever tell her no after that?”

Setsuna wipes my cheeks and smiles down at me. “Ok now, what did she do to you?” He chuckles.

It takes me a moment to talk again. “She asked if she could call me Mama.”

“I see,” Setsuna chuckles softly. “That would be a difficult thing to turn down.” His hand slips around my waist. “Is that ok with you?”

“Of course it is!” I cry. “I love you and Aya, why would I ever-” I cup my hand around my mouth and look back at Setsuna.

His expression is blank and I can’t read it. I am terrified I have spoken a secret too soon. I remove my hand to explain myself and Setsuna quickly replaces it with a kiss. He wraps his arms around me tight, pulling me closer into his body.

“I love you too,” Setsuna breathes into my ear. 

I run my fingers through his hair and smile up at him. “Aya won after all,” I chuckle.

“She did, didn’t she?” His hands rub up and down my back. “So you’ll stay with us then? Through Spring?”

“I want to go home,” I confess quietly. “If only to check on my father and tell him I will be with you.” I pet my hand down his strong chest. “I will tell him I love you and Aya, and if he wants me to return home, he will have to seek help to return to the man he used to be. He will have to get through his madness and cruelty if he ever wants to know his family.” I touch Setsuna’s cheek and smile at him. “Aya and whatever other children come.”

Setsuna snarls and bites my fingertips one by one. “Other children?”

“That’s what happens when you make love,” I whisper to him. “Because I plan on sharing more than just a bed with you.”

Setsuna chuckles darkly and kisses me. “Aya was smart to suggest you started on making your wedding dress,” he whispers. “Because I plan on seeing you in it very soon.”

That Spring, we travel back home to my kingdom. I find my father has fallen very ill and I am able to be with him in his final moments. In those few days we share together, he gets to meet and accept both Aya and Setsuna. He apologizes to me, weeping that my mother would never ever forgive him in heaven. 

When Setsuna and I marry, Sir Tobi places the crowns on both our heads. Aya and I read under the apple tree together often and I teach her how to build doll houses underneath the roots like I used to. 

One day, Setsuna and I are enjoying a late morning. We had woken up early, but we had enjoyed each other heavily. We are kissing and cooing when we hear Aya running up the hallway. 

“Mama! Mama!” Aya bursts into the room just as I get my robe on. “Daddy! You need to come see! Hurry! Hurry!”

“What is it?” Setsuna laughs as she drags us out into the garden.

“You have to see! Hurry!” Aya places us under the tree and points up. There on a branch is a new golden apple.

I gasp, covering my mouth with my hand. “Another apple?” I stare. “But what does it-” I stop when Setsuna places his hand over my belly. “Oh!”

“The tree and you are connected, remember?” Setsuna grins. “The apple means something has blossomed.”