'I'm afraid of the dark!' I mumbled.

'I know it, Aaron.' she replied, disinterested as always. 'I've known you for five years.'

Obviously, she knows me. She knows everything about my fear and my insecurities.

A memory came back to me of the day my mother died.

There was some fault in the electric supply and the power was turning on and off.

Once her breathing became rapid, I knew it was time. Just then she had grabbed my hand and whispered those last words.

'Poppy... P-o-p-p-y'

When the power returned after a minute, she was gone. Since that day, my subconscious has always learnt to identify the darkness with death.

I had faced enough ridicule for this. Men are supposed to be strong and composed, but I was so soft, vulnerable, just the opposite. I tried to hide that side from the world, with the effect that I had sunk into depression and was close to the brink of insanity.

Claramay came into my life at that moment and made me find my hope in life again.

'It's not far, come on. Only a little bit more,' Claramay's voice startled me as I hurried to follow her and the small blue fire which was fed by her magic.

I stumbled on some stones and she reached out to steady me.

Just as our arms touched, she drew back with a jolt. I became aware of the proximity of our bodies and my hungry body craved more for her touch.

'You idiot, can't even find your way around here. Shame on you,' she scolded, just like old times. 'Wait for a second!'

She muttered something gibberish and little dots of light began appearing out of nowhere in the cave. They were like little fireflies, scattered in all directions, lighting up our way.

They reminded me of the thousand stars scattered in the galaxy. It was as if we were traversing the milky way.

'It's breathtaking. How do you do this?' I gasped.

She laughed, the sound ringing like the peals of church bells in my ear.

'Aaron, I'm a Vešterka, a witch. I  have magic.'

'But these people hate witches. How do they trust you?'

I prepared myself for another silence, but surprisingly she turned towards me, her face deathly pale from the eerie lights.

'I won their trust. Grey Meadow, the land of the wizards, is a really dark place to be. Fights and killings, dirty politics, infidelity and harrowing games...' she shuddered.

Involuntarily I reached out to touch her hand. This time she didn't draw back!

I ran my hands up and down her arms. Her breathing became shallow.

In the little blue light that strayed from somewhere, caught the silver undertones to her skin and she looked otherworldly. I was so caught up in the magic of her beauty that I instinctively moved closer.

She rested her head on my chest, just like old times and I kissed the top of her head. We were like two lost souls finding solace in each other.

I gently tipped her chin up, the supple lips, torturing my self-control and before I knew it, my lips were on hers, hungry for love. She melted into my mouth, her soft, inviting lips in mine.

The time came to a standstill as the world spun around me.

'No!' strong hands pushed me away ferociously and I stood their baffled, too dazed in love.

'You don't get to take advantage of me!' she whispered menacingly, advancing towards me. There was fury in her eyes.

'I didn't mean to —' I snapped out of my dizziness. 'Claramay, I swear.'

'I can't love anyone. Do you hear that?' she hissed through her teeth.'

'But we loved each other!' I protested. 'We were —'

'Kids!' she completed my sentence. 'We were kids and all that snogging was just a surge of teenage hormones.'

'So adults don't love?' I retorted, the anger seeping in my vice.

'I am a danger to humans. Why don't you understand? I knew I had powers once I was eighteen. I discovered horrifying truths about things I can do. I can kill and curse. These flowers,' she pointed to the train of blue petals, 'Are deadly and poisonous. They look innocent, but these petals if dried and ground and mixed with food or drink can kill. In the same way, I'm more dangerous than I look.'

'Whatever you are doesn't matter to me. Do you get that?' I hold her hands again, looking into her eyes.

Those soft globes had their own story to tell.

'I love you for what you from the inside. What you did and what you are with your powers are secondary. You're the most beautiful thing. You were always the one for me — and then you left us when you turned.' my voice was barely a whisper.

She tore her hands from mine and moved away, facing the wall, unshed tears making her voice heavy.

'Yea, I didn't know then that I'd get Poppy in trouble with the necklace. I gave it to her as a keepsake. But the necklace didn't reject her, so I believe, someone from your ancestry was a Vešterka.'

'Reject? How can that trinket reject someone?' I was alert again.

The little moment was forgotten between us. Lost like a thousand other things from our childhood.

'Do you have those necklaces still?' she ignored my question.

'Yes,' I reached into my pocket to pull out the carefully preserved necklaces, but they weren't there.

I tried the other pocket.

No.

She laughed again and waved her hands in the air. The necklaces appeared in her palm, gleaming dangerously.

'These didn't stay with you. They will get lost either way with a person it doesn't belong to. You're not the rightful owner, so these came to the nearest magic force they could find on the radar and obviously, it's me.'

Whatever she said went above my head but there was one satisfaction. I'm not one of them.

' So,' I lowered my voice further.' Didn't you like it there?'

' I hated it there.' her eyes were glass again.' I'm not a killer. I'm not a vindictive person and the person's nature doesn't change however her magic may transform. So I started to rebel. And... '

She stopped midway, her gaze lost in the lights.

' And?'

' And they tortured me. They hurt me... ' her voice trailed off.

' So you ran?'

' The sprites found me bruised and battered one day and somehow they took pity on me and didn't kill me. I was, kept in the dungeon and taken to the Tribunal of Magic. The guardians there gave me another lease of life if I agreed to spy on their world and bring back news to Violet Hollow. I agreed for the fear of my life. But now I know, the sprites are way better. Violet Hollow is the place where I was meant to be. '

'But then you lied to them. You're helping their prisoner escape! ' I pointed to myself.

'Yes.' she turned toward me, her eyes, two balls of blue flames.

'Yes,' she repeated,' I'm giving up my years of hard-earned trust and endangering my position at this place to help you out of here.'

'But why? Why did you save me?'

'You're an imbecile, that's why. You couldn't stay back there when I told. I knew Poppy was here and I came back to save her. But you, you fool, you ruined everything. '

I knew I wouldn't get the answer to that question so easily.

She was putting everything she achieved here, and everything she is, at stake to save me. I couldn't be more grateful.

But why though? Does it mean she feels the same?

'I'm sorry. ' I whispered into the dark.