Clear blue sky, not a trace of any clouds. The scorching heat of the sun burning the ground, birds relaxing in the shade of the trees. But the heat doesn't stop people from Kukuru village from going on with their daily activities.

A small village with not more than 30 houses, lying on the outskirts of a dense forest. Hunting animals being a common sport for the men of the village, serving as their source of enjoyment and food for their families. Women tending to the corps, barns and household work, their children helping with the work of both sides.

The smell of earth and fire coming out of the carpenter's house and a few women gathered around the general store of the village.

"I want to go hunting too!!"

A loud sound, coming out from one of the houses made of sandstone. Catching the attention of the ladies having their daily gossip in front of the general store.

"I feel sorry for Binya"

"mhmm, having such a rebellious daughter"

"Binya is just too soft, you need to be strict with your children when they act spoiled like this"

"mhmm, my daughter would never dare to raise her voice against me"

While the women were having their normal conversation, the heat inside the culprit house was starting to rise

"Margaret,  how many times do I have to say the same words?!" a heavy and stern voice, coming from a web built man in his forties, having his eyes locked with his daughter

"Until you take me along with you!"  a little high pitched voice coming from the girl having anger written all over her face, not batting an eye away from her father

"Margaret, please listen to your father" soft voice of a mother clenching her hand above her chest, trying to cool down the argument between her loved ones

"Margaret, you are already 19! does it fit for you to keep acting like a spoiled brat!?"

"and I'm telling the father to take me along so that I won't act like this!"

sparks started flying between their eyes, but none backing down

"It's dangerous in the woods! and you haven't even raised a wooden sword yet!"

"Don't care! I can start learning from today, why don't you just say the real reason!!"

"huhhh?!! what did you say!"

"Margaret calm down, dear you too" but mother's voice reached deaf ears

"You are just embarrassed!! It's embarrassing for you to bring me along, your hunting friends and their children would make fun of you otherwise! ain't that right!!"

*THUNK*

a powerful fist to the table beside him, breaking the innocent wooden table into two. Margaret flinched and gulped down her saliva but still didn't look away from her father's eyes despite the cold sweat on her forehead.

"Margaret, I really hope you don't believe what you said. I have never, ever thought about something that petty" his voice low but the traces of anger could be clearly heard.

"T-then why not bring me along" but Margaret still didn't back down, sticking to her stubbornness

"I just didn't want you to get hurt. People of the village can make fun of me for bringing a girl to the hunt, I don't care...but I can't stand idly by if they bully you for it...but I think I just have been overprotective"

"..."

"Ghhh! BAH!! Alright, but just this once!"

"Really!?" a surprised smile forming on her face

"If it's just once"

"but..dear" mother in a concerned tone

"It's just curiosity, once she goes, all the vivid imagination inside her head will fade away"

"Yeah! You are the best Father!!"

The father just hanging his head, having fallen for her daughter's stubbornness once again

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Today's hunt was a bit special, they were going hunting to gather food for the festival three days after. Near the entrance to the forest, a group of 10 men were gathered, having a bow or sword as their weapon, no trace of any kind of armour, just normal work clothes. Joining them were their children, boys of various ages wanting to go hunting together with their father and some just to spend some fun time with their friends.

Away from them stood Margaret and her father, yet to join in with the rest

"Margaret, the boys will most likely try to harass you or look down on you. Don't start crying when that happens and stick with me all the way through"

"understood" a bright shine in Margaret's eyes

"Hahhh, let's go then"

They joined with the group, though there were many questionable eyes the group quickly started their hunt and entered the forest

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Margaret stuck behind her father, watching the men of the village fearlessly hunt for these wild animals. Her imagination went into full throttle and she started imagining herself doing all this cool stuff with a bow that her father did.

But imagination is not reality. Margaret doesn't want to think of reality where she can't do anything, can't cook like her mother and can't even fight like her father, she wants to be in her imaginative world where she can do everything and in her own words is not so lame.

Being locked up inside her own imagination, time passed and now the group was resting with the campfire set up beside the river which flowed through the forest. They have so far killed several bunnies, a few deer and some wild animals that came out looking for prey but ended up being hunted.

They were skinning the animals for their pelts and butchering the remaining flesh into small pieces for the women of the village to cook during the festival. It was time for them to gather herbs now, an activity lot less fun than the hunting but their wives would murder them if they didn't, so they decided to finish the task after some rest.

Some fathers had the help of their son while skinning the animals and some were sent to already gather some herbs before them. Margaret was with this group.

Though her father insisted otherwise, he's weak against the daughter's stubbornness.

"Spike, what are you thinking? bringing your daughter for such a thing?" a burly looking man spoke and sat beside Spike

"It's just a one-time thing, she will give after today" a complicated smile on Spike's face

"hmph! you have just gone soft after having a child. Letting your daughter play you around like this"

"I know... but there's this weird happiness in it, it's strange Smith. Who would have thought I would actually feel satisfied being wrapped around her fingers like this"

"Well, I wouldn't or nobody would have. It's actually sad seeing you go so soft, the others didn't say anything but they also don't like you looking like this"

"But I like it, you should try it too smith. There's this special warmth in it and a certain satisfaction no amount of hunting can give"

"You really have turned strange Spike. As the man of the house, the wife and children shouldn't dare to speak to you in the same tone, just look at mine! won't even dare to speak a word against me! that's what being a true man is called"

"Hahaha...I also used to think that. I wonder when it changed"

"As I told you, It's after the birth of that daughter of yours. The seeds were planted by that witch you married"

"Smith...Elaine is my wife, I won't stand still even if it's you who throws dirt at her" Spike's pupils dilating, a subtle deadliness inside them.

"Whatever, do as you wish. It was my job to guide you onto the right path after you strayed away from it"

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Margaret was walking along with some boys, looking around for herbs to gather.

"Margaret, you should have stayed home. It's the job of men like us to go hunting. We are all already over 18, you should just leave things like to your future husband, in words me! ain't that right, boys?" a blonde boy with a smug on his face, a sword hanging from her waist

"""Yeah!!!""" all three spoke in unison on the order of their leader

"..." Margaret simply ignored them and collected the herb, putting it inside the sachet.

"what? too scared to speak now? Hahahaa"

"huh? Ahhhhh!!! There's a tarantula on your shoulder!!" suddenly shouted Margaret

"Kyaaa!!! WHERE!! WHERE!! GET IT OFF!! GET IT OFF!! NOOO!!"

"Pft"

"Hehaha..."

"huh?"

"Yeah hunting is a 'MAN' job indeed"

"You...you...you will pay for this!! and what are you three laughing for!?" embarrassment written all over the boy's face

"Nothing"

"It's a disease"

"I just laugh randomly"

gave the three their explanation

"..." but Margaret just ignored and continued collecting the herbs

Walking a bit further, a strange smell entered Margaret's nose

"hmm? do you smell something?" asked Margaret

"huh? no. Are you drunk?"

"No...."

But I definitely smell something, it's a bit pungent...

Ignoring the confused faces of the boys, Margaret slowly walked towards the source of the smell. The closer she got, the more pungent it became.

It's coming from behind that tree

"Margaret, where are you going?!"

"Steve! just shut the fuck up for a second!"

"Wha-!! h-how dare you say that, woman!! Also, what is this bad smell? did you shower today?"

The loud sound of insects was constantly going inside Margaret's ears, making her unable to hear most of what Steve said. She got near the tree and covered her nose with the palm of her hand. Cold sweat running down her spine thinking of what it could be. She gathered all of her courage and immediately looked behind the tree, the source of the smell

"..."

It was a woman's body covered in mud. Scratches all over her arms with the blood still oozing out of it, the body hasn't been here for long, just recently got here and became unconscious. Her face not clearly seen because of mud and an arrow sticking to her left calf.

The woman was still breathing but for how long? hard to say.

Their campsite wasn't far away, the boys quickly ran as fast as possible to the campsite and notified the adults about the unconscious woman and she was taken to Margaret's house for treatment. Her mother was a witch after all.

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A day passed and Margaret and her mother did everything they could to save the woman. They cleaned her body and found her to be a young woman probably the same age as Margaret. She patched the numerous wounds on her body with the paste of various medicinal herbs. Elaine was shocked to see so many wounds on the body of such a young woman, she didn't want to think what this young lad may have gone through.

The arrow was poisonous but shockingly the poison had no effect on the lad's body. This was not an ordinary young woman.

Margaret was sitting beside the woman and looking intently at her face

"What a pretty face...but this scratch over lips looks a bit...off-putting..."

How did she end up like that...I think she was fighting something...then where's her weapon? I didn't find it near the spot

"Also...strange hair"

the woman had raven black hair, nothing strange about that but there was a tinge of pink near the ends.

"Uuggghhh...."

"huh!!??"

suddenly Margaret noticed a movement, the woman was slowly opening her eyes. Her mother's treatment worked.

"Hello! Are you feeli—KYAAAAAA!!!"

The woman opened her eyes, the first thing she saw was Margaret's face and she immediately stood up, unsheathing her dagger and pointing it toward's Margaret's throat

but fortunately, the woman was not wearing her early clothes. There was no sheath on the dress she was wearing, the woman just acted upon her instincts without taking her current position into consideration

Elaine heard her daughter's scream and immediately entered the room and saw the woman she was treating holding something imaginary against her daughter's throat

Elaine understood what it was and loosened her expression, showing a friendly smile to the woman

"We are not here to hurt. My daughter found you in the forest badly injured, so we just treated you"

"Yes! Yes! Yes!" Margaret agreeing like her life depended on it.

The woman calmed down and loosened up a bit. Sat back on the bed and stared at her saviours

Elaine also walked forward and sat beside the woman

"What is your name, young lady?"

"Isabelle...Isabelle Raven" a deep voice with a little trace of femininity in it