"I have no idea, either," I mutter, shaking my head.
Nora sighs and glares back at the witch.
"Well, cursed or not, we don't care. Mara is Silver City's witch, and we don't need a replacement at the moment, so you're welcome to leave and never come back."
The witch seems shocked. What? Is this because Nora is a bit too polite despite their current situation? Yet, the witch turns her head to me, looking stunned. She stays silent and stares at me for a long time. It’s really weird, until Nora and I exchange another look. The King suddenly steps forward, growling loudly, and it wakes the witch from her slumber.
"...What did you just call that girl?" she asks.
Nora frowns, unsure how to respond. Is it bad if she says my name? Yet, before she can decide, the witch brings her wave closer, looking like she wants to take a better look at me.
"Mara? You said... You're being called Mara?"
I slowly nod, a hint of hope appearing. Does this witch know about Mara? No one has been able to tell me anything about that name so far, not even the slightest clue! Yet, that witch is shocked. She ought to know something.
She suddenly starts laughing hysterically. ...Seriously? Her laugh goes on and on... Crazy as hell, until she has to hold her flank, almost falling off the wave she’s standing on. Then, her eyes return to me, and this time, she's clearly glaring. Not just a glare... I can feel her murderous intent.
"Mara! How dare you use that name... How dare you use that power, you Cursed One?! You monster!"
"What the... What do you know about me?" I ask, completely lost at her sudden change of attitude.
"Oh, I know enough! Cursed Ones like you are always preying on others’ power! How dare you take the powers of that child?! You should rot in hell! I hope that flame burns you down and kills you!"
I'm the shocked one now. What the hell is she talking about...? They are all staring at me now, but I feel like the child in the middle of a class accused of something she didn't do. I have no idea what's going on and what the hell caused her to suddenly freak out...
"What about Mara? What child? I am Mara!" I protest.
"You're Mara? How dare you use that name?!" she yells. "I should have known! A Fire Witch, in Silver City, a Cursed One? How dare you steal those powers?!"
"What the fuck are you rambling about, I didn't steal anything! I don't even know why my name would be Mara, who am I?!"
"You're not Mara!" yells the witch. "You're not Mara, Mara is dead! She died in her mother's womb, she died because of the damn werewolves you stand next to, she died because of vampires!"
"Holy shit..." suddenly mutters Nathaniel Black.
I turn to him, but I realize he's not the only one making that face. They all know what she is talking about, but I don't. Even Liam looks like he's about to throw up. I turn to Nora.
"What is she talking about?" I ask, desperately.
"That's right, you know... don't you?" hisses the witch. "You caused all of this. Of all people, you dare steal Nephera's daughter's powers!"
What the... Nephera?
It takes me a little while until I take the full measure of what she just said. Nephera's daughter? Mara was the name of... Nephera's unborn baby? Everything Liam and I found comes back to me, like dozens of flashes in my mind. The Witches’ Ancestral Tree. That burn mark next to Nephera, that strange feeling I had every time I saw that erased name. No, even before that. Why did I feel such unfairness toward Nephera, to begin with? When they told me her story, I was... angry, and sad for her. To the werewolves, that woman was a defeated enemy, an evil witch that caused more harm than good, and yet, I was the only one who possibly felt pity for her.
...Was it all because of Mara?
"You're saying... Mara was the name of Nephera's daughter?" mutters Nora, as shocked as I am.
"That child was never even born," protests Nathaniel Black next to her. "This makes no sense."
"Oh, we don't need to wait for our physical envelopes!" roared the Water Witch, still furious. "You werewolves think you know anything about witches? There's incredible potential in a witch's womb, from the moment her child is conceived, magic is gathered! Mara's name appeared on the Witches’ Ancestral Tree like all of her ancestors before her!"
So I was… right, and wrong at the same time. So much of this finally makes sense. This feeling I have toward Silver City, is it because... Mara was conceived here? It's her birthplace, in a way. However, there are still a lot of questions. What about Clarissa, and what is this Cursed One thing? Because Clarissa was born powerless?
"You're the scum of witches..."
I wish I had more time to wonder and could ask more questions, but that witch definitely has me at the top of her kill list right now. She's glaring right at me, as if the werewolves had suddenly become a secondary matter. I light up another fire in my hands, but I'm almost out of fuel, it's a dim flame. I'm literally exhausted too. The memory trip from earlier drained all of my energy, and although my burns have subsided a bit by now, I'm not in any condition to face a witch, a water one at that.
