After five years of waiting, Viola made Ellen her own personal witch. Granted, it didn't go exactly the way she thought it would. She would've liked to have toyed with Ellen more before finally sealing the deal, but no matter how much she planned there was no accounting for Ellen's selfishness. Maybe that's why Viola was so content with giving her full attention to Dawn for the rest of the day. They participated in a variety of activities ranging from playing tag to simply looking at the various flowers in the garden. It wasn't long until, the ten year old grew weary and ended up taking a nap on Viola's lap.
All the while Ellen silently watched them as she finished her cake. She wanted to say something, but decided against it to avoid Viola teasing her again which she had quite enough of for one day.
Feeling the blonde's gaze on her, Viola decided to break the silence. "Jealous…?"
Of course, there was always the possibility she could say something to her first. "Why would you think I'm jealous?"
"You mean besides the fact that you've been staring at me so intensely?"
Ellen was a little surprised that she noticed, but it made sense considering their current situation. She was in a contract with Viola where in which she not only received power, but they both could instantly feel each other's emotions and thoughts at any given moment. Though, for the time being Ellen felt the terms of their contract were skewed in Viola's favor. "I'm not jealous. I just don't like how you're paying attention to her more than me."
"That's called jealousy, Ellen."
To think Ellen was so flustered over this that she practically set herself up to be teased even more was embarrassing to say the least. She had to change the subject. "So this brat has been visiting you for three years, huh? She must be really attached to you."
"After I saved her from your pet snake, I brought her here to rest before walking her home. That's probably how she knew how to get here because the following days she started visiting me. I tried to warn her of the dangers of coming here, but you see how that turned out." Viola explained.
Ellen's suspicions were confirmed with that statement. The snake that she summoned all those years ago had somehow managed to escape the house and survived for two years, but it didn't really matter to her at the moment. Not when there were more pressing concerns to attend to like the relationship between her 'best friend' and that brat. "Her parents must be thrilled by how much you're spoiling their child."
"Parent…"
"What do you mean by that?"
Viola looked down at the ten year old and couldn't help admiring how peaceful she looked as she rested on her lap, before giving Ellen her full attention. "A close knit family of two, does that sound familiar?"
"Are you saying she reminds you of how you used to be? Despite how much you've changed on the outside, your personality is more or less the same. If that weren't the case, there's no way you'd have spent so much time with her or indulged her as long as you have." Ellen reasoned.
"What made you think my personality had changed at all?" The super witch asked, not that she didn't know the answer, but more so she was curious where Ellen would go with this.
"I could go through the list of things you did today that convinced me otherwise, but I have a feeling you're somehow going to make fun of me again." The blonde answered doing her best not fall for any of her Viola's verbal traps.
"How did you know that? Was it because you felt my intentions from our contract or was it simply your intuition?"
Knowing what she meant by 'contract' was enough to make Ellen blush and out of habit shift her gaze away from her. "How should I know?"
Satisfied with her response, Viola decided to come clean. "Well either way, the teasing part is true enough. After all, I have to make up for the five years we've been apart."
"Please just give me a break already!" The blonde yelled hoping this wouldn't be an everyday occurrence even if she did deserve it.
"Viola…?"
"Good evening sleepyhead. Did you have a good nap?" Viola asked.
"Yes, but I'm still a little sleepy" Dawn responded as she rubbed her eyes.
"I'm not surprised; we played all day after all. It's starting to get late, so I'm going to take you home now as promised."
The raven-haired girl was a little disappointed that she couldn't stay longer, but it was getting close to her bedtime. "Okay."
"What about you, Ellen? Would you like to stay here and wait for me to return or do you want to come with us?" Viola asked.
Ellen felt like Viola was testing her. On one hand she could stay, but the house was so different from what she was used to that she'd feel uncomfortable being here by herself. Her decision was clear. "I'll come with you."
"I thought you might want to stay and explore the house some more."
"Would it be bothersome if I came along?"
"Not at all. To think that you'd actually feel lonely without me here makes me really happy."
"I didn't say that! Stop twisting my words around!"
The blonde's yelling was like music to Viola's ears as she looked up towards the sky. The sun was starting to go down as evidenced by the mixture of colors ranging from pink, orange, and blue. "We should get going before it gets dark."
"Yes!" The young girl beamed as she latched onto Viola's arm.
Ellen watched them both as they walked off seemingly ignoring her protests. It was annoying, but it wouldn't do any good to get too worked up about it if the previous events were anything to go by. As she let out an exhausted sigh, she wondered if she'd ever be able to get the upper hand in their relationship. It seemed only time will tell. "Wait for me!"
It didn't take long for them to navigate their way to the foyer since Viola rebuilt the house not only to be inviting, but functional as well which included multiple ways to get from floor to floor aside from the main stairway. Opening the doors the front doors, Ellen was treated with another beautiful garden. It was similar to the top floor of the house, but at the same time the design kept being a front yard in mind. There was a clear path between the house and the forest which were lined with colorful rose bushes acting as a natural border between the path and the variety of flowers on either side. It basically reiterated everything Ellen felt about the house up to this point.
"How does it feel to finally get outside the house?" Viola asked.
Ellen was so blown away by the garden that she forgot that this was her first time outside of the 'witch's house' since she was kidnapped. She took a deep breath letting the evening air wash over her. "It feels nice."
Dawn was still wrapped around Viola's right arm, so with her left hand she clasped on to Ellen's right. "Let's go."
Ellen couldn't help blushing as she felt the warmth from Viola's hand in her own. For some reason just Viola's touch alone was able to make her feel happy. Not wanting to draw too much attention to how much she was enjoying holding hands, she simply nodded in confirmation as they took their first steps away from the house.
Being located inside the heart of a thick forest was very ideal since not many people came around except for a few exceptions like Dawn. For that reason, it made the trek back to the village dangerous especially with how dark it got during the later hours hence why Viola was walking her back not that she minded.
As they the trio made their way through the forest, Ellen suddenly stopped in her tracks and took in her surroundings. "This place seems familiar."
"So you noticed too?" Viola responded as she felt the same odd sensation.
Dawn tilted her head to the side bewildered as to why they suddenly stopped. "Is something wrong?"
"It's nothing, just recalling a memory from the past."
Ellen wondered why she didn't realize it sooner. This was the place she basically threw Viola's friendship back in her face by stabbing her already mangled body and having her own father finish her off with his shotgun. It was a little awkward that the same girl who she committed all those atrocities against didn't want revenge, but only wished to be with her despite that. "It's exactly what Viola said."
Just as the young girl was about to let the topic drop, she heard a familiar voice call her name. "Mom…?"
Somewhere in the distance, they could make out the distinct light of torches and oil lamps. Upon closer inspection Ellen could make out some of the figures which looked vaguely familiar. "Why are there so many people from the village here?"
"It makes sense if you think about it. I kidnapped you last night and the next morning Dawn ran away from home. Of course they would start a man hunt to find the missing children." Viola explained.
Dawn was shocked that her mom actually came looking for her after the argument they had when she ran away. "Mom, came looking for me?"
"I told you your mom would be worried about you." Despite the myriad of lights, Viola could clearly see two women, one of which who looked like Dawn and the other who looked like her maid desperately searching the forest. "She's the one with the short black hair next to the maid holding the lamp right?"
"That's my mom and her assistant." The raven-haired girl confirmed after looking where Viola was pointing.
"You can tell that much from this distance?" Ellen asked.
"If you transformed…"
"Never mind, forget I asked."
Viola turned her attention back to the young girl who seemed unsure of what to do. "You should get going. They're waiting for you."
Dawn watched the distant figure of her mother and felt bad for making her worry. She quickly hugged Viola and even Ellen before darting off.
"That brat finally left. Good riddance I say."
"Ellen…"
Before she could even respond, Viola forcibly pushed her to the ground pressing her lips against her own. The blonde was surprised by the sudden turn events, but was able to quickly adapt to the situation by wrapping her arms around Viola and moving her tongue in tandem with hers. Thanks to their first kiss, she had a better idea of how to move and react this time around, but that didn't change how intense the emotions behind it were. Maybe more so now that she was fully reciprocating them so much so it was almost shame it had to end. "Why did you kiss me so suddenly?"
"There are somethings you shouldn't do in front of child. So the moment she left, I couldn't hold myself back any longer." Viola explained.
"Then why did you stop?"
"Is that your way of saying you want more? Don't worry, I'll give you lots of 'special attention' when we return to the 'witch's house.' Maybe I should start calling it our love nest instead."
Ellen couldn't help laughing at the new name. "What kind of lame name is that for a house?"
"Viola, is that you?" A familiar male voice called out.
Distracted with Ellen, Viola didn't notice the human who was closing in on their position until he opened his mouth. To think of all the people in the village who were out searching, that it was her father that found them and in the same area Ellen tricked him into shooting her five years ago no less. "It must be fate."
Viola's father was a tall, muscular middle-aged man with spiky light brown hair and brown eyes. He had thin facial hair around his chin and wore a white sleeveless shirt adorned with a yellow scarf, red trousers, dark-colored wristbands, leather boots and was armed with his trusty hunting shotgun. "There you are. Where have you been and what is that questionably dressed woman doing on top of you?"
"It's not what you think. She was just helping me because I tripped." Ellen explained as she hastily stood up.
Viola figured she was trying to smooth things over so she decided to play along for now. Smiling to herself she stood up as well and faced her father. "Your daughter doesn't seem to be injured."
The hunter gave the mysterious woman before him the once-over and immediately noticed her scantily clad outfit. "Aren't you cold?"
"What I wear is my business and no one else's." She replied.
"I suppose that's fair enough." The hunter turned his attention to his daughter. Just knowing she was safe and sound was good enough for him. "Come on Viola, it's time to go home."
"I'm sorry, but I can't go back with you." Ellen apologized.
"What are you saying, Viola?" The hunter asked understandably confused.
"She can't come with you because she belongs to me now." Viola answered.
"If this is some kind of joke, it isn't funny."
Viola took a few steps forward and crossed her arms as she made her imposing dark aura visible. "I assure you it's no joke. Five years ago, I chased this girl through this forest and you stopped me before I could catch her. Now that her eighteenth birthday has passed, I've returned to reclaim my prize."
"Like hell I'd let that happen!" The hunter yelled as he drew his shotgun.
"Daddy, wait!" The blonde yelled in an attempt to stop the unfolding events, but it was too late. As if repeating the past, he had already fired off two shots.
"So this is what hit me last time. It's no wonder I died instantly."
The hunter couldn't believe his eyes. "That's impossible."
Viola had stopped the bullet sprays mid-flight seemingly mere moments before they made contact. She picked out one of the small metal pellets and looked at it curiously, before crushing it between her fingers while the rest of metal pellets harmlessly fell to the ground. "You must understand how futile it is by now. You're human weaponry won't have any effect on me because I'm the witch of the forest. I'll be taking your daughter now."
"Viola, you need to run away from her! Get as far away from here as possible!"
Ellen genuinely felt bad for the hunter, but now that it came to this there was nothing more she could do for him. "I can't do that."
"What are you talking about? This isn't the time to be playing games!"
A bright light enveloped Ellen's body temporarily blinding everyone in the vicinity except for Viola. In her place stood a purple-haired woman about the same age wearing a black bikini-esque outfit similar to the other witch. "Do you get it now? I can't go with you because I already belong to her. I'm a witch too."
"So you finally decided to transform." The super witch smiled.
"Let's just go, before the rest of the village shows up."
Viola could hear the voices in the distance going on about what they heard 'shotgun blast' or the 'strange light' they saw. Judging from the light sources, they were closing in on their position. "I guess it's time to leave. Here, hold my hand."
Ellen did as instructed and the moment she held her hand, butterfly wing like appendages extended from both of their backs. Ellen's wings were curved and had a smaller frame compared to Viola's wings which were sharper and appeared to be more developed.
"Viola, wait…"
Ellen stayed silent as she didn't know what she could say if anything in this situation.
The 'real' Viola on the other hand knew exactly what to say and for the first time today, she looked sad. "Goodbye, father…"
Just like that they became a twinkle in the night sky leaving the hunter in a state of shock. Yet for some reason, the witch's final words stuck with him in a way he never would've expected. "Father…? Not daddy…?"
Meanwhile, Viola and Ellen flew straight up just above the clouds, so that there was no possible chance the villagers could see them from the forest below.
"Are you sure this is okay?"
"It's fine. I promised I'd give you my full attention after Dawn went home anyway."
"I know that, but…"
"Where did the selfish girl who'd do anything to get there way go?"
"How rude! I'm not that horrible… anymore."
"Let's go home, Ellen."
"Yes."
AN: It's been over eight and a half months since I updated this story, but I finally managed to finish this. This was more or less what I had in mind when I started writing this. After leaving the witch's house they encounter Viola's father again which only seemed fitting. I may or may not write a short epilogue to tie everything up, but till then see you next time.