The sun was just kissing the edge of the world when Theiden Guster set off to run a last errand before heading home. As the night crept in, the last few rays of sun shot vibrant streaks of color through the sky in arcs of red, gold, and purple.

Relishing in the feel of a light breeze brushing through his dark hair, Theiden stopped for a moment to look up and take in the beauty that nature had painted above him. His mother tended to refer to this time of day as the magic hour, but no one else would dare utter such a phrase, lest they be driven out of the city. But magic or not, Theiden wanted to enjoy this brief moment of beauty while it lasted.

A sharp staccato of heeled boots striking stone drew his attention from the sky, just in time to see a tall, cloaked figure come striding around the corner. The person moved so quickly that Theiden wasn't able to move out of the way fast enough, and his shoulder painfully collided with the stranger's.

"Beg your pardon," Theiden said, turning back while adjusting the strap of the hunting pack that had slipped off his shoulder. To his surprise, he realized that the other person was a woman—she had run into him with so much force that he had been expecting another man instead.

Rather than reply to Theiden's apology, or even turn to face him, the woman merely tugged the hood of her black cloak lower over her face and gave a single nod of acknowledgement over her shoulder. Then, gripping the covered wicker basket in her hand more tightly, she strode off down the street without a single glance back.

After a brief moment, Theiden shook his head and continued along the uneven cobblestone road. Above him, hinges creaked as people leaned out the windows of their apartments to close their shutters for the day.

Despite the lengthening shadows, Theiden and the woman he had nearly collided with were not the only ones still out at this time of the evening. Those who still had yet to reach their homes passed by with disinterested glances, always giving Theiden and any other pedestrians a wide berth.

The woman's reaction earlier had not been unusual—everyone was wary these days. Theiden could see it in the way parents clutched their children to their sides as they hurried through the streets, and in the shifty gazes of lone passerby who drew their cloaks tighter around themselves when another stranger brushed too close. Trust was a hard thing to come by now—the desperation of the poor bred by the never-ending greed of the upper classes, combined with the threat of the creatures in the mountains, made sure of that.

Theiden crossed an empty intersection and headed down the hill to the tannery at the end of the street. When he shouldered the heavy door open, the groaning of the rusted hinges echoed to the darkest corners of the foul-smelling building, announcing his presence.

"What've you got for me today?" a voice called out from the back of the tannery. "More rabbits?" The soft shuffle of leather-clad soles against the worn wooden floor gradually grew louder until Theiden could make out the lean figure of the woman who had spoken.

"I'm afraid so, Evaly," Theiden replied, a smile tugging at the corner of his lips.

"Oh!" Evaly exclaimed in mock surprise, tossing her dark hair over her shoulder. "Well, then, how ever could I refuse such an offer?" Her carefree laugh lightened Theiden's spirits, and he stepped up to set his hunting pack on the counter as Evaly approached.

The young woman loosened the drawstring of the bag and peered inside, giving the contents a sniff. Theiden couldn't help but admire how her softly curling hair fell over one shoulder, and how her nose crinkled slightly in surprise once she got a whiff of the strong scent.

"Whew! A few days old then, eh?" Evaly said, taking a step back from the counter. She and Theiden had known each other since childhood, and her tone was teasing. Still, the truth of the matter made him grimace.

"There haven't been many buyers in the plaza lately, and the meat is starting to spoil more quickly now that the weather is turning warm again."

Evaly hosted a rather scrawny specimen out of the bag and held it up for inspection. "You're brave, to still go out in the forest. Most folk have chosen livestock over game, and after the last witch attacks..." Her dark eyes moved from the rabbit carcass to the large hunting dagger at Theiden's belt, and from there traveled slowly up his torso before meeting his gaze. "Have you ever thought of joining Decliteur's gang?"

"The witch hunters? I finally applied, just last week," Theiden said, forcing his tone to remain even. Still, he couldn't help but clench his fists at the reminder. "You know I'd love to see those creatures dead, just as much as anyone else."

Evaly gave a small smile, and Theiden felt himself relax only slightly at the warmth in her expression. "Well, I think you'd be very good at it," she said shyly. "And with the support of the nobles, you'd make much more than what I can pay you now. These skins..." she trailed off with a troubled sigh. "Well, they aren't in the best shape, and rabbit pelts aren't exactly rare in these parts. I can't offer much for them."

Theiden forced an unconcerned expression onto his face. "I understand," he said. "Thank you." When she realized he wasn't upset, Evaly's smile widened into a relieved grin.

"Great! Just a minute, I think my father left the coins in the back."

Theiden hesitated only a moment after her words. It was now or never.

"Evaly?" He interrupted before she could leave. The young woman half-turned back to face him.

"Yes?"

Theiden took a breath. "I've been thinking for a while now—what would you say to doing something together, away from the tannery? Say, going for drinks at the Panpipe Pub?" He replayed the question in his head, and mentally berated himself. He was definitely out-of-practice with this sort of thing.

Evaly's eyes widened in surprise. "Oh! I thought you'd never ask!" she exclaimed after a moment. "Yes—yes, I'd be delighted!"

Her smile wavered, however, and despite the ever-weakening light, Theiden didn't miss the way her brows knitted together.

"Will Emmaline be okay with it, though?" Evaly asked hesitantly. "I mean, I know it must be difficult, for her to have lost her mother at such a young age—"

"Em won't mind," Theiden assured her firmly. "In fact, she'd probably be delighted to have someone else to talk to." His seven year-old daughter had never really known her mother, and already looked up to Evaly as 'that pretty lady from down the street.'

Evaly's eyes lit up with excitement.

"Oh, yes then!" she replied, a bit breathlessly. "I'll ask my father for a day off—somehow." She rolled her eyes, then. "I'm sure I can convince him that my absence for a few hours won't bring about the downfall of the family business."

Her excitement was palpable, and Theiden couldn't help but smile at her reaction. Evaly was flustered the entire time she counted out the coins, and when Theiden finally turned to leave, she breathlessly bade him farewell with a nervous excitement brimming behind her eyes.

The smile remained on Theiden's face for his entire walk home. It was dark now, and the only lights to guide him came from the torches mounted in black metal brackets on the walls of the shops and houses.

A woman was standing outside the row of houses on Theiden's street when he turned the corner. She was silhouetted in the dim light, and though Theiden recognized the figure, it was only when he was within speaking distance that he could make out his mother's worried expression.

"Mother? What's wrong?" Theiden lowered the mostly-empty pack from his shoulder and set it on the ground. "Is Em inside?"

"Theiden, thank goodness you've returned." His mother reached out and took his hand firmly, as if needing tangible proof that Theiden was standing before her. "I-I don't know where she is." She bit her lip and nervously looked up and down the street, as if hoping that the young girl would suddenly appear. "She left with her friend, that Helaine Marksby girl—do you know her?"

"I do," Theiden replied crisply. The Marksbys were not the most upstanding family, but Em and Helaine had grown close at school together, and Theiden did not want to add to Em's loneliness by forbidding their friendship. Still, he couldn't help but worry about the influence that the mischievous girl might have on his daughter. Already, the two had been caught trying to filch sweet rolls from the bakery without paying.

Theiden's mother continued. "They should be back by now—I have no idea where they might be! I knew it was a bad idea to let them go so close to dinnertime, but they said they would only play for an hour at most, and I made them promise not to go outside the city walls..."

Theiden tensed at the possibility that Em and Helaine had left the city. Knowing the Marksby girl, she might well have taken the warning as a challenge and convinced Em to go with her.

"If something's happened to her, I'll never forgive myself," his mother continued fretfully. "It's bad enough that you go into the forest to hunt, but at least you go during the day, and have your knife..."

"It's not your fault," Theiden said gently, tucking his mother's arm into the crook of his elbow. "Let's go inside—there's not much good waiting out here in the chill. She's probably just having sweets at the Marksbys' before coming home."

Reluctantly, his mother allowed him to guide her through the pale blue door of their townhouse and into the sitting room, although she refused the offer for tea and began pacing back and forth in front of the fireplace. Theiden, meanwhile, went back out to bring his hunting pack inside. There was still no sign of Em when he looked down the street, however, only the first swirling tendrils of a settling fog.

Uncertainty writhed and coiled in his gut like a viper about to strike. Em had never been this late before—he had to go look for her.

"What are you doing?" his mother asked when Theiden returned inside, dropping the pack by the doorway and clattering upstairs. She was waiting by the foot of the staircase when he returned, and her eyes widened at seeing the bow and quiver slung over his shoulder and the extra skinning knife strapped to his belt.

"If there's a possibility that they've gone into the forest, I don't want to take any chances," Theiden replied grimly. "They might be able to avoid the wild boars, but there's no telling what will happen if a magical creature finds them." He had seen the gruesome aftermath of magical encounters before—bodies mauled beyond recognition, the terrible stench of burned flesh, hunters mysteriously impaled or found face-down in the stream with strange marks on their skin. Of the handful of survivors, only one had ever escaped without losing her mind.

His mother lunged forward, gripping his wrist fearfully. "It's not safe. You said so yourself—she might just be at the Marksbys'."

"Then I'll check there first before I search the forest," Theiden said, gently prying her fingers off.

"Theiden!"

"Papa?" a fragile voice interrupted from the doorway. "Grandma?"

Both Theiden and his mother whirled to face the front of the house.

"Emmaline! Darling, where have you been?" Theiden's mother took a step forward, but he grabbed her shoulder to stop her. Something was wrong. It was the unusually soft tone of Em's voice, and the way his daughter clung to the shadows in the doorframe, hiding her face underneath the hood of her cloak.

"Is everything all right, Em?" he asked carefully.

The air stilled after his question, heavy with a foreboding silence that settled in the hallway like a heavy blanket. Outside, the evening chill crept through the open door to join with the quiet, slithering like ice down Theiden's spine.

Sudden movement finally broke through the stillness as Em launched herself from the doorway and came barreling down on them. Theiden jumped and instinctively reached for the knife at his belt, but stayed his hand at the last second. This was his daughter, after all, not some magical creature from the mountains...

Em threw her arms around her grandmother, sobbing uncontrollably.

"Em? Em, dearie, what's wrong?" Theiden's mother said after recovering from her surprise. "Em, darling, look at me."

Theiden relaxed, but only for a moment before his eyes landed on his daughter's hands.

"Mother," he said softly. "Her skin is green."

His statement drew another loud wail from Em.

"Em—Emmaline, dear," Theiden's mother said, surprisingly calm compared to her earlier panicked behavior. "What happened?"

"It's not fair," Em finally blurted after a few more moments of crying. "Helaine and I only wanted to play hide-and-seek. But then she appeared out of nowhere!"

"Who did, dear?" Theiden's mother pressed, and Theiden's hands clenched into fists.

Em gave a loud sniffle. "The witch! Lenesa Evergreen! I only asked who she was, and then she made me look like a frog!" She hiccupped loudly before continuing to wail against her grandmother's chest.

"You are not a frog, dear," her grandmother reassured her, patting Em's hair soothingly.

Theiden felt a snarl building in his chest. "That bi—" His mother's eyes widened in warning, and he remembered his language. "—witch," he finished lamely. He looked down at his daughter, but Em was too distraught to have noticed his slip of tongue. Now was not the best time for her to start picking up on swear words.

Theiden crouched down to Em's eye level. "What does this Lenesa Evergreen look like?" he asked softly.

Em pulled her face away from her grandmother's dress and turned to look at him with tears rolling down her emerald-hued cheeks. Theiden brushed the tears away with his thumb before tucking a strand of Em's black hair behind her ear.

"Papa, she was so scary," Em whispered, and her little green hands clenched her grandmother's skirts more tightly at the memory. "Her cloak was midnight black, but her hair was like starlight—all silvery and blue-ish. Her eyes were the worst though. They were really cold and angry. I thought I was going to die!"

Her bottom lip trembled, then, and Theiden brought her to his chest as her eyes filled with new tears, making soothing sounds to quiet her sobs.

"It's okay now, you're safe," he murmured, kissing the top of her head and stroking her hair. "Shh, it's all right." He looked up to share a look with his mother, and the anxiety that he had been feeling earlier slowly began to morph into something more aggressive. He would make the witch pay for cursing his daughter.

"You said you were playing hide-and-seek?" Theiden's mother recalled, frowning. "Did you go outside the city?"

"Helaine said I was a scaredy-cat if I didn't go with her," Em's muffled voice replied from against Theiden's shoulder. "It was my turn to seek, and then I met the witch. At first I thought she was Lady Clacy because she was so tall, and she had kind of expensive-looking boots like what the nobles wear."

Theiden froze at the comment. He had also seen a tall, cloaked woman heading towards the city gates that evening...

Slowly, he pulled Em back and met her tear-streaked gaze. His heart tugged painfully at the fear in her expression, and if it hadn't been such an important matter, he would have gladly dropped the subject and focused on assuaging his daughter's fears. But a terrible suspicion was beginning to grow in his mind now, and he had to know.

"Was she carrying anything, Em?" he asked softly.

A brief frown passed over Em's face at the odd question, but she answered after a shuddering breath. "A basket, I think."

Theiden clenched his jaw. So it had been the witch he had run into earlier. The wicked creature had been walking around freely in the city! How many others had she cursed that evening? And what if she decided to come back? The thought made him instinctively pull Em closer.

"D-do you know if Helaine got home okay?" Em asked in a tiny voice. Both Theiden and his mother looked at the girl in alarm.

"She didn't come back with you?" Theiden asked, only for his question to be met with a shake of the head.

"I thought—I thought she got tired of waiting for me to find her," Em said, and she began to cry again. Theiden's mother reached down to wrap the girl in a hug, and Em turned away from her father to sob into her grandmother's shoulder.

Theiden slowly stood, feeling his gaze harden as he looked towards the front door. He took a single step towards it, but was stopped by a wrist on his hand.

Theiden looked down to find his mother cradling Em against her chest, looking up at him with worry in her eyes.

"What will you do?" she asked quietly. Theiden took a step back, and she reluctantly let go of him.

"She can't live with green skin for her entire life," he replied. "Keep her safe until I get back."

Then he was out the door,making his way to the city gates.    

~*~

Hi everyone!  Okay, I didn't want to post two in-progress stories at once, but I've been neglecting the other one so much lately, I figured I might as well.  In contrast to my other first-draft stories, I've been working on this one for almost two years now, and this is around my 4th draft--except I only ever get halfway through the story before rewriting again, so I've never actually written the entire thing out before.  So there might be a sudden dip in quality after we hit chapter 20 or so.

Another thing different about this story from my previous ones is that I feel I really went overboard on descriptions here.  Feel free to call me out on any purple prose or other unnecessarily frilly/convoluted writing.

Dedicated to Sirrah_Alinn for coming up with the Boring Book Title thread--without it, I wouldn't have come up with this story!  Check out her book "Along Came Reid"  for some fun vampire-zombie adventure!

Thanks for reading!