The Good Bad Witch

By: xStarletx

Chapter 1

I own none of these characters, except for the Witch. This is the beginning of what I hope will be a fun series. Tell me what you think :)

Hansel's POV

I had been hunting witches all my life. I knew the signs, rotten teeth, dirty hair, wrinkles and scars that made them terrifyingly unappealing. I knew that Grand Witches had the ability to change their face, it may only last for a brief amount of time but their signs I was so accustomed to weren't present when they were in that state. I also knew there were good witches in the world Mina had taught me that. Good witches were those that used their powers for good, and therefore lacked any signs like their evil sisters.

Still my sister and I travelled the land with our new companions Ben, a hyperactive kid with a strange obsession with us, and a Troll named Edward my sister had befriended. We searched for evil witches, and worked to save good witches from unlawful burnings. It was how we ended up in the middle of the English countryside searching for the Vixen Witch.

This witch was formidable, said to be able to change her appearance, to shift into a beastly creature. She preyed upon live stock and, of course, the old stand-by of children. They had tried to hang her, shoot her and even burn her and she seemed unaffected by any mortal way weapon. If this was true, this Witch would be a formidable foe indeed.

Our search had led us to a small cottage made of small grey stones, and a grey thatched roof. It was in the middle of a gully, surrounded by a field of wild purple flowers and flanked by a crystal clear pool that a waterfall emptied into. The house itself didn't seem to be cemented together so I automatically assumed magic was involved. Either a witch lived there or had at least built the house.

We crouched on a high embankment, staring at the hut. "Alright," I said. "Gretel and I will go in through the front, you two flank the sides, there seems to be no escape out the back so we should be covered. If she's as formidable as they say we'll have to be careful."

Gretel pulled out her crossbow and loaded a few bolts into the shaft that had been hollowed out for this purpose. "Let's kill the fucking bitch," she snarled.

Together we headed down the hill, a brisk jog towards the cabin, Gretel and I skidded to a stop at the door. She pressed herself to the side, and nodded to me. With one kick the door flew off its hinges, vanishing into the darkness of the home. I entered, revolver drawn, ready to be faced with the sheer horrors that accompanied witch's lairs. I expected wax covered counters, victims in cages, or their internal organs dumped in clay pots. I expected horrible smells and a dark gloomy interior, instead I was met with a surprising lavender like smell, the cottage cozy and warm, dappled with the light of the spring sunshine. In the middle was a small table, covered in lacy doilies, upon which sat a dull china tea set.

Four teacups were set, the fifth was in the hand of the woman who stared at me, her unwavering eyes a color of purple I had never seen on a human before. She had long black hair, pulled back in one thick plait, her dress was a simple black frock. Her blood red lips had a small smile on them.

"Judging by the gun in your hand you're not here for a cup of tea or a healing potion," she said raising the teacup to her lips.

Gretel jumped into the room. She took in the scene and lowered her crossbow. "Most witches fight us, not invite us for tea."

The woman smiled. "Do I look like a witch to you?" she asked, her smile widened and instead of rotten teeth I caught a glimpse of sharp canines, almost like fangs.

I lifted my gun again and pointed the barrel at her head. "You're definitely not human." She went to stand up and I pulled back the hammer. "Don't! Stay where you are."

The woman lowered her teacup to the table, placing it carefully on its saucer. "I would like to at least be away from my precious china set when the fight breaks out. It is the only one I have after all, and you wouldn't imagine the trouble I went through to procure it in the first place."

Gretel and I exchanged glances, the woman was a chatter box, but she didn't sound like any witch we had ever encountered before. "You knew we were coming for you, why didn't you run?"

The woman laughed as she stood up, her dress went down to her feet, the simple fabric swishing against the wooden floor as she move away from the table. "I knew company was coming, I knew not what they wanted with me. Once you had my house surrounded I guessed that this was not a simple social call. The door was unlocked by the way; there was no need to kick it in."

Gretel fired a warning shot into the ceiling, silencing the woman. "Enough of this. God I'm going to fucking shoot you just to shut you up!" she cried. The woman's eyes had darkened as the debris from the arrow in her roof fell to the floor, it was only just a few strands of dusty straw. "Hansel, she's clearly a witch, we need to figure out if she's a black witch or a white witch."

"Let me answer that question for you," she said with a growl. When she looked back up to us, her face had changed, the lovely fair skin was now cracked like a porcelain doll that had been smashed, her eyes still a vivid purple, but the lips were now a dark black. She hissed at us, and we immediately shot all our loaded ammunition. The witch didn't run to the sides like expected, in a combination of a sweeping arm motion and big leap, she jumped through the roof.

Both Gretel and I ran back outside, and were quickly joined by Edward and Ben who had no doubt heard the commotion. The witch was flying, without a broom, hovering in the air, dancing on the wind like leaf. She landed daintily on the high cliff beside the waterfall, and looked down at us with pure venom on her face.

She lifted her hands and the wind picked up, the beginning of a powerful spell. "You're more stupid then you look bitch!" Gretel called. "Your spells won't work on us!"

"I know who you are," the witch called back. "And I never said I was enspelling you!" The wind grew steadily strong, and in a few moments it was like a tornado around us sending the purple petals of the carpet of flowers that had been the witch's lawn up into the air.

The world disappeared to us, nothing but a purple blur as we were trapped in the wind tunnel. I immediately grabbed onto my sister, crushing her to my chest as I took in a smell I couldn't believe I didn't recognize before. Trifolium Dormientes, better known as Sleeping Clovers, we had walked right into the witches trap. As we steadily lost consciousness, I caught one last look of the Vixen Witch, her purple eyes locked with mine, her face once again that alabaster mask of innocence he had been mesmerized by before. It was such a pretty face to die to that he wasn't even that upset about it.

Gretel's POV

When we awoke again we were back at the witch's table, each of us had a steaming cup of tea and a plate of pastries and finger sandwiches. The witch was a few feet away from me, sweeping up the mess that my arrow had caused, beside me Hansel was still asleep. I tried to nudge him but my arms were tied to the surprisingly sturdy wicker chair. "Hansel," I hissed, trying to nudge him with my elbow but he was too far away.

Suddenly the watch on his wrist began to click, and I grew frantic. The witch was suddenly behind me staring down at my brother perplexed. "Is he supposed to be making this noise?" she wondered.

I shook my head. "He needs his medicine, please, he'll die if I don't help me. Let me go," I begged.

The witch rolled her eyes and walked away from me. I felt the hot tears of worry and frustration stinging my eyes. I looked to his thigh and saw that the case that held his medicine was gone. I turned to yell at the witch and found her behind me with the needle, she slammed it into his thigh, startling a grunt of pain from Hansel and waking him up at the same time. Hansel's eyes found mine, they were bleary and drowsy looking, but I could tell that he needed to know that she was alright. "You human's and your fragile constitutions." The witch sighed.

She walked past Ben to get to her seat, she ruffled his hair as she went, I noticed that Edward didn't have a chair, and was chained to the floor instead. "What do you want with us?" Ben asked groggily. He was no doubt surprised that she hadn't just killed him. Even I was curious, I couldn't help but feel like this was some sort of trap.

The woman sipped her tea. "I merely wish to discuss an agreement," she said. "The binds are just to ensure the safety of my cottage. I take great pride in it and I don't want stray bullets in my wall or anymore arrow in my roof."

Hansel glared at her. "What sort of agreement?" I watched my brother carefully. He hadn't struggle against his binds, he had been acting strange since he clapped eyes upon this woman. If I didn't know that black spells didn't work on us, I would have thought that he was under some sort of curse.

"I know who you two are, Hansel and Gretel, the halfbreed offspring of the Great White Witch Arianna and her mortal Husband," she began, "But you know not who I am."

"You're the Vixen witch. You take the form of a fox and have been terrorizing the village children." I snarled, I expected her to frown at me, but her smile stayed the same. I wanted to smack it off of her.

"That is only one name, the newest of the names I have made for myself over the years," she said. "I've been the Cotton Hill Witch, the Shadow Stalker, and the Plague Witch. You will most likely know me as the Grey Witch."

The witch was met with silence from Hansel and I, as we had never heard the name before. Ben, on the other hand, was suddenly bouncing in the seat. "OH! I've heard about you. You're an Elder witch, older then the Grand Witches. You have no allegiance to anyone, that's why they call you the Grey Witch. You're not a white witch or a black witch, from what I understand you don't get along with either clan."

She smiled and nodded. "So, you're both a good witch and a bad witch? How is that possible?" Hansel asked. I turned to him and found a small smile on his lips, his eyes were on the chest of the woman. I rolled my eyes, this was not the time for my brother to be wooing anyone, especially a witch.

The Grey Witch shrugged. "After a certain while I grew bored of being evil, and started using my power for good. Of course I wasn't giving up the stronger power to become a pansy little white healer, but there were certain things about the black craft I did not like so I gave it up."

"Like what?" I challenged.

"Well for one, I really don't like children. I can't stand their constant whining and crying and their need for attention at all times. Also my stomach can't handle them, I get really gas when I eat a child, quite discomforting." she responded so nonchalantly that I had no choice but to believe her. I turned and nearly giggled at my brother's face, this woman was quickly losing her charm in his eyes, I could tell. The woman waved it away. "The point is, I am not of any danger to anyone. I rarely leave my cottage as is. I hardly believe that warrants a lethal finding."

"And what of the villagers you've been scaring witless?" Ben asked. "They told horrible stories."

"I scratched one mouthy little brat that tried to skin me, and I may have curse the man who broke my window last week but it's pure self defense. I don't like people, if they leave me alone I leave them alone, simple as that." She had slouched back, crossing her arms over her chest. She pouted like a scolded child.

"So what do we get if we spare you?" Hansel asked. I was shocked he was even entertaining the idea. I scarcely believe that it was the revelation that came with the knowledge that Mina had been a good witch that had change my brother's attitude so drastically.

"This here is a safe haven. None of my sisters want to fight me head on and tend to avoid me. I am willing to give you sanctuary when needed and knowledge on my sister's doings if I can," she offered. "All you have to do is spare me and I can be the best asset you have."

Hansel looked to me for the first time since awaking. I answered his silent question with my eyes, and usually he understood what I meant. Instead he turned to the witch and said: "We have a deal, but if you betray us I will personally blow your brains out," he growled.

The woman snapped her fingers and our binds came loose. She offered Hansel a hand to shake with a devious smile on her face. He paused before taking it, I held my breath waiting for some sort of trap, a knife to shoot out of her hand, an attempt to throw some sort of magic against him. Instead she pulled her hand away and returned to her tea. She smiled to the now freed witch hunters. "I think this is the beginning of a great partnership," she said. I frowned. I still didn't trust her and I didn't think I ever would.