The Wood's Witch (P.1)

/// chapter 1

The tall gloomy forest outside the countryside had always been a popular source of mystery for the townsfolk. Even the bravest were hesitant to venture too close to it, not even for a quick stroll; This was partly because of the intimidating nature of the forest's flora. Large trees towering over the darkened grass where light no longer shone due to thick leaves covering the forest ceiling, preventing the sun from making itself known in most parts. Fungi growing left and right, poison oak, thorny plants, cobwebs... In addition, there had not been any walkable paths in that forest for decades; It was incredibly easy to get lost.
While the forest's nature itself was already enough to deter most from entering, there was another threat; The Witch. For the past few years, rumors spread far and wide of the existence of a malicious witch who had taken up residence in the forest. First it started as a simple fable to discourage curious pups and kittens from entering the forest; The story spoke of an evil witch who ate poor little lost puppies for breakfast, just a classic scary story that made sure children would keep away. Although, quick enough, curious kids who had stalked the forest from the outside came reporting that they had actually witnessed the witch entering the woods. Then teens confirmed the sight, and then adults too. The townsfolks, at first, were terrified that a child might have found the courage to set foot in the forest; This was a more plausible theory than the witch. A few volunteers entered the forest despite their fear to try to find whoever had entered, but no one replied to their calls. Soon enough, the searches ended, and the citizens thought the reports were just lies to draw up attention, perhaps even a marketing stunt from an artisan with a shop nearby. No matter if it was true or not; the story of the wood's witch only grew from there. no longer was it only a children's story, it was a full-blown local legend.
Everyone knew of the story of the wood's witch, and while the story varied from person to person, it always had one element in common: the witch's evil temper. Some said she had cast a spell upon the forest, making it dark and dangerous to journey into; others blamed her for the mundane disappearances of their household items. No one could agree on exactly what she did, but her mere existence agitated the public. In a way, it was exciting. People were fighting to see who could prove her existence first, it was like a never-ending challenge that some dedicated a large portion of their free time to. What they didn't know was that perhaps the witch was a lot closer than they had thought.

Many had forgot that there was, years ago, a young student who lived near the town's library that seemed to disappear overnight. No one really noticed or paid much attention to her, so her sudden move was barely acknowledged. Her dorm was simply handed over to someone else, and the people who knew her assumed she had dropped out to move to another town in the farlands. She was quickly forgotten; the girl had no friends, lived alone and never bothered to socialize, she was shy, reserved, very scared of causing a fuss to the point she erased herself from every conversation. She was always lost in her books, taking notes on things that seemed meaningless to others. Her name was Blaire (with an E, a fact most overlooked) , though almost no one could remember it. She was invisible.
Her sudden move had actually been planned for months. She had been studying nature, it's diverse flora, it's flaws, it's dangers, and most importantly: how she could use it. Blaire had a passion for old forgotten knowledge; magic and potions and spells, in other words: witchcraft. Her studies had made her very skilled in these activities, though she used it for good unlike the legends say. She had perfected many recipes, all ordinary in their use but incredible nonetheless; fertilizers, medicinal stews, dyes and other suspiciously effective trinkets; none of which were used in evil or malicious ways. She had a kind heart, she helped the animals of the forest when they got hurt, she fed them and made sure every little critter had what they needed to thrive. She knew the ins and outs of the forest, knew exactly where the most beautiful parts of it were; areas where the thick leaves thinned and the sun's warm shine left beautiful patterns of light on the grass, where flowers grew in all shapes and colors, where trees were varied and the grass was a shade of green that felt almost unreal. She had traveled across the entire forest, seen what was at the end of it ( many didn't even know it had an end ) and loved every part of it. Even it's gloomy and cold sections had grown on her, and she often found herself wandering there for the unique plants that grew in the darkness. Blaire's collection of notes was a treasure trove of knowledge that she had acquired while living in these woods, she had her own little library of recipes, notes and journals. Of course, she had a home in these woods: an old wooden cabin she had stumbled upon in the middle of the forest. She believes the cabin had been built decades ago; probably back when the forest was more welcoming and people still ventured in for hunting and foraging. The place was in rough shape when she first found it, with nails sticking out and wooden boards half torn off, but she had turned it into a cozy little cottage she could call home.

Blaire was never trying to disappear, she simply had no one to inform of her new home. She regularly came to the countryside and the main town to purchase herbs, fruits, vegetables, all sorts of ingredients she had not been lucky enough to find herself that week ( no meat; she refused to eat it ) . She was friendly, people enjoyed her company when she came around, but they all assumed she was from another town out in the farlands. She never really spoke of herself to others, she didn't find it relevant, after all she was only here to shop.

/// chapter 2

One day, on a gloomy autumn afternoon, Blaire decided to stop by the countryside to purchase strawberries. The townsfolks were preparing for Halloween celebrations, which was that weekend. Blaire enjoyed the atmosphere of the little town; adults and children were putting up banners, setting up fun activity booths, working on costumes, carving pumpkins, etc.
 
"Maybe I should stop by on Halloween day... This looks fun!" Blaire thought to herself.

Usually, Blaire enjoyed visiting the main town during the holidays to enjoy some lovely pastries that only came around that time of the year, but she had never spent Halloween night in town. She had once seen leftover Halloween decorations and they had frightened her enough to abandon her plans for the day and head right back home (Living in a dark forest was apparently not enough to stop her from being squeamish). This, however, had happened in the main town. The atmosphere of the countryside was a lot less scary, focused more on local produce than anything. Pumpkin carving contest, pumpkin pie taste tests, pumpkin sales, pumpkin candy, pumpkin seeds, caramel apples, apple pies, apple bobbing.... Lots of autumn flavors packed into one big event where everyone was welcome to try out the local farmer's work. There were still classic scary activities of course, but Blaire could overcome her fear if it meant getting a free slice of pumpkin pie afterwards.
Blaire was distracted, thinking about all the fun things she could get up to if she did choose to celebrate with the townspeople. She had been standing in the middle of town, just looking at everyone doing their own thing. After some time of this, she noticed a pup putting up a scarecrow near a booth. The scarecrow was in the shape of a canine, adorned with a large pointy hat and an evil grin on it's frightening face. A witch, perhaps? She came up to the pup and asked:

"What have you got there?"

The puppy looked up at her with a smile. You could tell he was excited to tell her about it.

"THE WITCH!!!! From the woods! Y'know!! Like the legend!!!" he explained excitedly.

Blaire stopped. She was very confused.

"The legend...?"

She had never heard of any legend. Slowly, the child explained it to her; how the woods nearby where guarded by an evil witch who ate little pups for breakfast, how she cast evil spells on poor travelers and terrorized the locals. Blaire's jaw dropped. They were talking about her. 

Her shopping trip was cut short by the realization that locals had unknowingly turned her into an urban legend. Eating children? Terrorizing locals? Where had they gotten these twisted ideas from? Blaire had never been mean to anyone, let alone ate anyone. She didn't understand how people could make up such stories, but she quickly realized the townspeople clearly did not realize she was the one who lived in those woods. She was petrified. The booth the child was decorating with that horrible scarecrow was an informational booth about "The Wood's Witch". She was too afraid to say anything, so she hesitantly took one of the pup's pamphlets and walked away. The pamphlet explained the legend, the sightings (Of course they saw "the evil witch", she was simply trying to purchase local berries for her jams!), and the apparent "witch-hunt event" that would be taking place on Halloween night. A hunt? No no no no, that had to be some sort of joke. Were they planning on hunting her? She read it again and again.

"HALLOWEEN NIGHT WITCH-HUNT! With our trained guide, venture into the forest in groups of 4 and see if you can call out to the Wood's Witch! Participants will be handed polaroid cameras, see who can capture the first image of the Wood's Witch! All ages, children must be accompanied by an adult. Prizes include caramel apples and gift bags for whoever can photograph the witch!"

Trained guide? No one had ever entered these woods further than a few meters! Why were the locals so obsessed with her anyways? She couldn't wrap her head around it, she had simply been living there and had never bothered anyone. Had she not visited before the weekend, she would've never known her and her beloved forest had become a tourist attraction, and that there was a price on her head! Luckily, it didn't seem like the witch-hunt was an actual hunt; It was more so an excuse to enter the scary forest and get a scare from it, but she still wasn't thrilled that a bunch of wannabe witch-hunters would be near her home actively searching for her during the weekend. Maybe it would be better if she came to town on Halloween, hopefully if they don’t end up finding anyone in the woods they’ll finally give up on that stupid legend. Sadly, her interest in the local food and activities had soured now that she knew how they spoke of her behind her back; albeit unaware it was HER specifically.

Her closet didn't help the accusations. Just like the legend, she did walk around the forest with a big pointy hat like classic witches do, but she never thought her choice of whimsical attire would backfire in such a way. If the locals had actually taken a good look at her, they would've noticed her hat is a deep shade of purple, adorned with gems matching her water and a cute cape with lace details, nothing remotely scary! She wasn't some dirty creature with a wrinkled up grin and glowing eyes... She was just Blaire. Short, a little round, poofy hair, mint and purple water, big eyes, curly fluffy tail, floppy ears. Maybe they'd only seen her bad side? Or maybe they were lying about ever seeing her out here in the first place... 

/// chapter 3

It was the night before the Halloween celebrations. Blaire was more anxious than ever. She was preparing stews and jams to distract herself from the upcoming hunt.

"If I go to the village and have fun with the locals...." - Blaire sighed - "Maybe they won't ever suspect me? If no witch is found... They'll give up... Eventually..." She thought.

In the days following her visit to the countryside, she had prepared an exorbitant amount of jam. She did make herself a handful of good luck charms as well, just for good measure. Cooking had always been her escape, her way to cool down or get her mind off of things. Nevertheless, she had dozens of jars of delicious jams - blueberry jam, strawberry jam, blackberry jam, even peach jam with some peaches she had bought - ready to be devoured. Of course, Blaire was only one girl, and she could never finish that many pots of jam no matter how hard she tried. In that moment, she decided she would go hand out some of her jam to the townspeople on Halloween. She knew that giving to the locals would make that generosity eventually come back her way - whether that be in the form of caramel apples or a mysteriously canceled witch hunt. Blaire had always been a very generous person; she never had grand riches or a fortune of gold coins, but she had a cooking pot and lots of love to give. When she still resided near the main town's library, she would leave treats for her classmates to indulge in; always anonymously, since she didn't want them to feel pressured to pay her back in some way. "What goes around comes around!" She always said.

She stopped her cooking spree to take some time to decorate her jars. She put colorful ribbons around the lid, some holding leaves or other charming trinkets she had laying around. She was unsure if everyone who would celebrate at the Halloween festival liked jams, so she also baked a fresh batch of cookies. She spent all day preparing before eventually going to rest quite late in the night.  Although, one question continued to pester her mind. The celebrations to come were a costumed event.

"Should I dress as a witch...?"

If she chose to wear her usual attire, would the townspeople catch on to her secret? Could she pass it off as a simple joke, a reference to the famous legend? What if someone saw her leaving or entering the woods? Are witches considered a taboo subject, or would the locals find it amusing? All these questions floated in her mind, making it a real challenge to get some well needed rest. After what felt like hours of consideration, she finally decided to proudly wear her cape and hat; if the locals caught onto the fact she was the witch from the legend, then so be it! Why would she want the company of people planning to hunt her anyways? And if the locals like her "costume", then great, she would much rather avoid getting into any awkward situation! With her mind now set on her garments for the event, she could finally rest. She had an eventful day to look forward to.