She awoke, at first oblivious to her current surroundings and believing she was within her own bed, comfortable and safe. Yet upon opening her eyes remembrance and recently departed horror swept in, and, now that she was refreshed, she felt terror stronger than she ever had. She looked wildly around, and became aware of the boy, the boy who had ruined her previous life in five minutes, standing some distance away, stroking his Kneazle and watching her. As she approached him angrily, he said, "Look, I'm sorry."
"Sorry isn't enough!" Guinevere said furiously. "Don't you realise what you've done?"
"Yes," the boy replied softly. "I do. And I regret it. But you should understand that you couldn't have stayed how you were forever. Witches and wizards can't keep hidden away, keeping their magic inside. It's impossible. One day something would happen, you see. Their magic would have been stored up for so long without their realising it that one day it would just all be expressed, despite their probable efforts to prevent it."
"I'm not a witch!" Guinevere said irritably. "Haven't I told you that enough times?"
The boy smiled ruefully. "Prove it, then," he said. "You're a witch, no matter how much you deny it. And I'm a wizard."
Guinevere stared at him.
"And this is my wand," he pulled out his wand, tossed it into the air, and caught it again. "I'm Darwin Star, and -" he stopped, and his grin faded. "Well, my - my parents - erm - met the same fate as yours." There was a pause, as he looked down, his face full of sorrow. "They were killed - just for being who they were! It's not fair!" He hesitated after this angry ejaculation, and then said, "That happened to your - to yours as well, I'm guessing."
"That's - that's a lie!" Guinevere said, though she knew she was wrong and Darwin was right. Tears filled in her eyes yet she wiped them away. She would not cry. "And - And I don't care what you say, I'm going back."
"I don't want you to die, okay?" Darwin said. "Come with me. You're perfectly welcome. I wouldn't want to be responsible for your death." Guinevere turned away, and he continued with more persistence. "We can go somewhere safe, where we won't have to worry anymore. I know that you've known you were a witch your whole life, and now's the time to confess."
Guinevere shook her head defensively, yet considered.
Then there was a rustle in the leaves behind her. She whirled around, and Darwin was suddenly rapt and attentive. Then he seized her arm.
"Run!"
Guinevere obeyed without a second thought. She tore off, winding her way around the trees following Darwin hastening on ahead of her. She glanced over her shoulder and noticed a hooded figure pursuing them - she quickened her pace. How long they ran she was not aware of, though by the relentlessly aching stitch in her side and by her gasping breaths she knew it had been for a long time. Then she felt herself tripping and watched Darwin do the same beside her as his foot caught in the same patch of knotgrass too - then she collided with the hard ground.
Inhaling and exhaling rapidly she scrambled up yet crouched down again at a sharp, objectionable spasm of pain in her side. She clutched the stitch, breathless, before the hooded figure burst out of the brush and confronted them.
The person was tall and wore a long, dark cloak. Their face was not visible under the hood, yet somehow Guinevere knew they were sneering at them. She backed away, and bumped into Darwin. She heard him hiss in her ear, "Witch and Wizard catcher."
For once, Guinevere did not deny being a witch. After all, she had been about to confess to being one a moment ago, but that time suddenly seemed far away, for some reason. Guinevere had a strange feeling that it was because she was facing her fate - to be burnt at the stake or executed.
The man stood watching them a moment. And in this moment Darwin's Kneazle, Blaze, dashed forward and leapt toward his waist, and snatched something out of his pocket. The man cursed and made to grab Blaze but the Kneazle was gone, hidden amongst the thick underbrush. The man, after swearing angrily, turned back to his victims and stepped closer, a menacing and intimidating advance. Guinevere felt herself stumbling backwards, her brain whirling for a solution but locating none. She gulped, and suddenly noticed Darwin slowly moving his hand toward his pocket.
She didn't realise the Witch/Wizard catcher had noticed too. He moved forwards with sudden speed and knocked away Darwin's hand, seizing the wand as he did so. Darwin lunged forward and tried to snatch it back but the man had jerked the wand, and suddenly sparks shot out of the tip, red sparks that fluttered into the air and then died. The man stared at it and Guinevere watched his hand tremble slightly. But the trembling vanished as suddenly as it had come. The man threw back his hood and laughed triumphantly.
An ugly scar ran diagonally across his face, passing by a prominent nose and a pair of cold blue eyes, one of which was blinded. His laugh was a horrible cackle, something that caused a shiver to run down Guinevere's spine as she stood there, helpless. Darwin attempted to grab his wand again but the man jerked the wand again and he was thrown backwards by some invisible force. Darwin hit a tree and slid down, unconscious.
"Darwin!" Guinevere screamed. How on earth could the man use a wand so well?
The Witch/Wizard catcher turned to her, his eyes glinting maliciously. "Now the second one," he said sleekly.
Then suddenly Guinevere was hit with realisation. This Witch/Wizard catcher before her was a wizard himself. Furiously, she moved forwards, so caught up with rage and anger...
There was a blinding flash of light and the man before her crumpled. Guinevere's vision went fuzzy and she staggered... Her opponent stirred feebly, then suddenly he was up, yet he made no move to attack. He snapped his fingers, and vanished.
Guinevere stared at the place where he had been a second ago. Then she felt herself swaying and fainted.