The White Witch: Setsuna #1 (special preview)

“You’ll catch your death out here! You need to come inside, it is starting to storm!” I grab hold of his arm but he yanks it back and I stumble. 

“Leave me be! Let me admire this,” he snarls at me.

“Father, it is starting to ice! If it hails, you could get hurt!” I try to argue with him, but he is as rooted as the tree is. The wind grows harsher and I stumble to stay grounded. Sir Tobi rushes me inside and, despite my pleas, he goes outside to stay with my father and his new precious apple. 

The weather grows worse and worse over the course of the next few days. My father continues to obsess over the apple and even has a globe constructed around the tree to protect it from the worsening weather. I am no longer allowed to get close to the tree, it is part of my father’s vault now, like everything else.

A snow storm strikes the village, bringing down ice and snow by heaps and piles. While my father worries about the apple tree, I start bringing villagers into the castle. The snow and ice has driven them from their homes and those who couldn’t escape have been frozen inside. I send out knights to go and rescue those who are trapped. I have turned the ballroom into a shelter and have provided the people with beds, blankets, and three hot meals every day. I sit and read with the children, hoping to calm them during the worst of this horrible blizzard. It’s sad to say my father hasn’t even noticed this, but I know it’s all for the best.

One day, as I am helping the kitchen staff set up for a dinner, I see a man in the crowd I hadn’t before. He’s so very tall, standing head and shoulders above even the burliest of Orcs and farmers in the room. He stands with his back to me, staring out the boarded up windows with his hands braced against the wall. No one seems to notice him there, they all walk by and ignore him when someone of his stature would be a remarkable sight to see. 

He turns and looks back at me, his face covered by some sort of strange mask. He lifts his hand, placing a finger over the lips, as if asking me to keep quiet. 

“Natsumi,” the chef grabs my attention and I look at her in shock. Her smile fades and she tilts her head. “Are you ok? What’s wrong?”

I turn back to where the man was standing, and already he’s gone. “I just thought-” I murmur. “It’s nothing,” I try to brush it off. “What’s the matter?”

“Tobi is asking for you.” The chef points to the door where I see Sir Tobi waiting. As I approach him, he grabs me and pulls me aside. His expression is anxious and frightened while his face is red and chapped from the cold.

“What’s the matter?” I gasp.

Tobi clutches my arms. “There’s someone with your father! You need to go now! It’s getting violent!”

I shudder and my jaw drops. “Is it one of the villagers?”

Tobi shakes his head rapidly. “I’ve never seen him before! He says that the apple is his. Your father is trying to kill him, but I don’t think he can.”

I follow Tobi outside, wrapping myself up as I step into the storm. I can hear my father shouting and then I hear glass shatter and a horrible scream. I rush out with Tobi, entering the apple tree’s dome, and I see my father kneeling on the ground while his hand is bleeding. 

“Father!” I sit beside him and put my arms around him. “Are you ok, what is going on?” I follow his rabid dog gaze up and see the man who had been standing in the ballroom.

“You,” he points at me. “Pick the apple for me and hand it over.”

My father grabs me and forces my arms behind my back. “If you touch that tree, I’ll cut your hands off! Don’t you do it! I’ll beat you if you do!”

I scream from the shock of it. My father is hurting me and saying the most awful things. “It’s just an apple!” I cry. “Why does it matter so much?”

“Shut up! It is mine! He can’t have it! It’s mine!” My father shakes me and pushes me down onto the ground.

“Let her go, you old fool,” the man snarls. “Let her go, let her do her job.” He steps closer to us and my father drags me back.

“Stay away from us, you fiend! You monster!” My father spits and foams. “This tree is mine! It’s mine, you hear me! That apple belongs to nobody but me!”