(A/N):
Drop a meme here that you find funny. Or reflects your mood.
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The massive crimson-lit doors creaked open.
Two witches stepped inside first, their expressions stiff with discipline.
Behind them—
The Black Bulls entered the Witch Queen's throne room.
A hush fell instantly.
Ben stood near the center with Charlotte and Dorothy,
In what looked like a deep conversation with the Witch Queen.
Julius-level tension hung in the air.
Charlotte froze mid-sentence.
"...."
Dorothy blinked in disbelief.
Ben turned, eyebrow raised.
"...What are you all doing here?"
Before anyone could answer—
"A-A-ASTA!!! DON'T—"
Too late.
"...."
"...."
"...."
Asta shot forward like a launching cannonball,
Skidding in front of Ben with wild concern burning in his eyes.
"BEN-NII-SAN!!! ARE YOU OKAY!? DID SHE TRY TO CURSE YOU?! ARE YOU BEING HELD HOSTAGE?! BLINK TWICE IF YOU NEED HELP!!"
Ben blinked once.
-Blink
"...."
Asta grabbed his shoulders.
"WHAT DOES THAT MEAN!?"
Charlotte slapped her forehead.
Dorothy stifled a groan.
Ben sighed.
-Sigh
"...."
But the real silence…
Came from the far side of the room.
Where Venessa and the Witch Queen locked eyes.
It was like lightning and wildfire colliding.
Venessa froze mid-step.
"...."
"...."
Her pupils trembled.
Her breath caught.
The Witch Queen's teal eyes narrowed—
Not with rage, but with something more complex… older… deeper.
"...Vanessa."
Her voice was calm.
Too calm.
Venessa felt her knees go weak all over again.
"...Mother."
The air tightened.
The Witch Queen didn't shout.
Didn't move.
Didn't show anger.
But that was worse.
Much worse.
Behind Venessa, Magna whispered,
"Oh crap, she's gonna die."
Finral whispered back,
"If she dies, we're all dying."
Yami only grunted,
"Oi. Shut up and watch."
Ben stepped forward, sensing the tension.
"Witch Queen—"
She raised a single finger.
Ben stopped.
"...."
She did not take her eyes off Venessa.
"After all these years… you walk into my throne room,"
The Witch Queen said softly.
"Not because you missed your home…"
Her eyes flicked briefly toward Ben.
"But because of him."
A wave of cold intent washed through the chamber.
Charlotte instinctively moved closer to Ben.
Dorothy edged slightly behind him.
Asta prepared to scream something heroic (and stupid).
Venessa swallowed hard.
-Gulp
"Mother… I didn't come to cause trouble. I came because… because I was worried. About King. And about—"
"Worried?"
The Witch Queen's tone sharpened like a blade.
"Now you worry? After abandoning your destiny? Abandoning your people?"
Venessa flinched.
"...."
The Bulls stiffened.
"...."
"...."
Ben finally stepped forward,
Placing himself subtly between them.
"Witch Queen… Venessa didn't come to defy you. She came because she thought you were plotting something against me."
A beat of silence.
"...."
Then—
The Witch Queen's eyes slid slowly to Ben.
Her lips twitched upward.
-Twich
"Plotting…? Not quite,"
She murmured.
"I invited you here for my own reasons. Reasons she,"
A glance at Venessa,
"ran away from long ago."
Venessa looked down, fists trembling.
Ben sighed.
-Sigh
"A misunderstanding then."
Charlotte whispered,
"It's never that simple with her…"
The Witch Queen extended her hand.
"We will continue our conversation, King Benjamin."
Her tone was honey-smooth and authoritative.
Charlotte narrowed her eyes.
-Frown
"...."
Dorothy's hat wiggled nervously.
The witches behind them gossiped under their breath.
Asta whispered loudly,
"Why is the Queen talking like she wants Ben for HERSELF?"
Charlotte summoned her briar whip instantly.
"WHO SAID THAT!?"
Asta pointed at a random witch.
"I THINK THAT ONE THOUGHT IT FIRST!!"
The poor witch squeaked and hid behind her broom.
Venessa inhaled shakily and stepped forward.
"Mother… I'm here.If you need to scold me, punish me, anything… do it.But don't drag King into—"
The Witch Queen raised a hand again.
Silence.
"...."
Her expression softened—
Barely perceptible… but real.
"We will talk.But not here.Not now."
Her teal eyes turned to the Bulls.
"For now—stand down.You are guests… for as long as you behave."
Yami snorted.
-Snort
"No promises."
The Queen ignored him.
She turned back to Ben.
"Come. The ritual discussion is not finished."
Charlotte hissed softly.
-Hiss
Dorothy bit her lip.
Venessa looked helpless.
Looking at Charlotte reaction Witch Queen chuckles she is messing with them.
Seeing the mother and daughter pair wanted to Ben along with others left the throne room.
The great crimson doors slammed shut.
-Shut
Charlotte, Dorothy, and the Black Bulls were gently—
But firmly—
Escorted out by two witches.
Their footsteps faded.
Silence swallowed the throne room.
"...."
"...."
"...."
Only two witches remained.
The Witch Queen.
And Venessa.
The Ravens circled ominously overhead, quiet as death.
Venessa swallowed, her hands trembling at her sides.
-Gulp
The Witch Queen's voice sliced through the stillness.
"Sit."
It wasn't a request.
It wasn't a suggestion.
Venessa straightened her back,
Meeting her mother's cold gaze.
"…No."
The Queen's eyelid twitched.
-Twitch
"No?"
Her tone dripped with frost.
"You dare defy me again?"
Venessa's heart pounded—
But she didn't look away this time.
"For once,"
She breathed,
"I want you to listen to me too."
A long, tense silence.
"...."
"...."
"...."
The Witch Queen exhaled slowly.
-Sigh
"Very well."
She lifted her hand—
The ravens flew away.
The doors shimmered shut with a blood-red seal.
"Speak."
Venessa inhaled shakily.
"I don't understand why you wanted me to inherit the title. Why it had to be me. Why you caged me my whole life… why you never let me be free."
Her voice cracked, but she continued.
"There are thousands of witches born every generation.
Any of them could become queen.
So why—WHY—did it have to be me?"
She glared, tears of frustration threatening to spill.
"...."
"I don't want to live in a golden cage! I don't want to spend my entire life trapped! I want to see the world! Travel! Choose my own path!"
The Queen did not shout back.
"...."
She only watched.
That was worse.
Venessa clenched her fists.
-Clench
"For once, tell me the truth, Mother. Not a prophecy. Not an order. Not a threat."
Her voice dropped to a whisper.
"Why… me?"
Silence.
"...."
"...."
"...."
A silence so heavy the air felt suffocating.
Then—
The Witch Queen finally spoke.
"Because your magic is unique."
Venessa blinked, stunned by the softness in her tone.
"...."
"Your magic,"
The Queen continued,
"is the rarest form of Thread Magic ever recorded. It does not simply bind…"
Her eyes glowed faintly.
"It weaves fate."
Venessa's breath caught.
"It can change destiny."
A chill crawled down her spine.
The Queen stepped closer—
Her voice low, almost trembling.
"And according to my visions… the Witch Forest is destined for destruction."
Venessa's heartbeat stopped.
"What…?"
The Queen's jaw tightened.
"A calamity. A great war. A force which razed the forest."
Her eyes flicked toward the direction Ben had gone.
"An enemy who can kill me."
Venessa staggered back, horrified.
"M-Mother… why didn't you tell me…?"
"Because you were not ready."
Venessa shook her head fiercely.
"No. No more secrets. Tell me everything."
The Witch Queen hesitated.
"...."
Then, painfully—
"Your magic… was the only hope I foresaw before I by chance encounter your King."
Venessa froze.
"...."
"You… saw me saving the Witch Forest?"
The Queen shook her head slowly.
"No."
Venessa's stomach twisted.
"…Then why—?"
"I saw you stalling its destruction."
Venessa's blood ran cold.
"Stalling…? Not preventing?"
The Queen's voice dropped to a whisper.
"Fate is too heavy for one witch to stop. Even you."
Venessa stood still, expression emptying.
The Witch Queen placed a trembling hand over her own heart.
"You could delay the end. Give our people time. Give us hope."
She looked away, voice tightening.
"That is why I tried so desperately to keep you close. That is why I wanted you to inherit my throne. Because only the queen can direct the forest's fate."
Venessa's lips parted—
Shaking.
"...."
All her life—
All the pain, the isolation, the suffocating expectations—
They weren't an act of cruelty.
They were born from fear.
Fear of losing everything.
Fear of losing her.
Venessa blinked rapidly, tears spilling.
"M-Mother… I didn't know…"
The Witch Queen's face softened for the first time in perhaps centuries.
"No. You didn't."
Venessa swallowed, her voice trembling.
-Gulp
"So I… I'm not just a pawn to you?"
The Witch Queen's eyes flickered—
Raw emotion hidden beneath icy composure.
"You are my daughter."
The words cracked like an old, forgotten spell.
Venessa choked on a gasp.
"And you are the Witch Forest's last thread of hope."
The weight of it settled on her shoulders.
Venessa wiped her eyes angrily.
"Then… why didn't you trust me enough to tell me sooner?"
The Witch Queen closed her eyes.
"…Because I was afraid you would run."
Venessa laughed weakly through her tears.
"I did run."
"Yes,"
The Queen whispered.
"And now fate has brought you back."
Venessa looked down at her trembling hands.
Her magic… could stall a catastrophe?
Save countless lives?
The Queen stepped forward, gently touching Venessa's cheek.
"My child… You are powerful beyond even my visions."
Venessa's breath caught.
"...."
"But power means nothing if it is spent running from who you are."
The words hung in the air like a spell waiting to be cast.
Venessa finally lifted her head—
Eyes red, but gaze firm.
"Then maybe… It's time we stop fighting each other."
The Witch Queen blinked—
"...."
Surprised, perhaps even moved.
And for the first time in Venessa's life—
Her mother smiled.
A small, broken, fragile smile.
"…Yes."
Venessa exhaled shakily.
"…But I'm still not inheriting the title."
The Witch Queen's eye twitched.
-Twitch
"We will discuss that."
Venessa groaned.
The Queen sighed.
-Sigh
But now—
For the first time in decades—
They understood each other.
And the healing had begun.
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(Author's POV)
(A/N)Thanks for reading the chapter!
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