Evelyn~
"Throw her into the ocean!"
"Kill that evil witch!" A woman scread in grief, cradling her husband’s lifeless body in her arms.
"That filthy whore needs to pay for what she did!" she cried, her bloodshot eyes locking onto . "How dare you curse my husband to death!"
A few n roughly dragged out of the ship’s cabin. My wrists were chained, and soone shoved a dirty, stinking rag into my mouth to keep quiet.
I didn’t fight back, not because I couldn’t, but because I didn’t care anymore.
I was tired. Tired of defending myself. Tired of being blad.
What was the use anyway?
No one ever listened to , and no one cared about how I felt.
Besides, I was already sick of this rotting ship. I’d been trapped in it for over two miserable weeks.
More than that, I had no chance of winning against the fifty or so n on board.
"I told you we shouldn’t have brought this witch with us!" an old man spat, his yellow-stained teeth clearly visible every ti he opened his mouth. "She brings nothing but bad luck wherever she goes!"
"So what now? Should we just toss her into the ocean?" one man asked.
Another scoffed. "Haven’t you heard the rumors? They say this witch can’t die. What if she swims to our destination and cos back for revenge?"
"Then let’s stuff her inside a barrel instead!" soone suggested.
I only let out a tired sigh as they shoved into a cramped barrel, one so small they could barely fit my whole body inside.
I looked up and caught the eye of one of the n about to close the lid. He froze for a second, clearly shaken by the sight of my crimson eyes.
"I ... I don’t think locking her in this barrel is enough," he muttered nervously, turning to the man beside him. "Give a dagger."
I spat the dirty cloth out of my mouth, then said sothing in such a calm tone. "That’s going to hurt. Why don’t you just toss so raw at in here? Maybe the blood will attract sharks and they’ll finish the job for you."
Killing wasn’t easy, but that didn’t an getting stabbed wouldn’t hurt like hell.
The ocean was wide and endless. The chance of hungry sharks finding was small anyway.
But lucky , these people weren’t that smart.
They threw so spoiled at into the barrel, then slamd the lid shut.
Well then, here we go again.
Another attempt to kill .
This wasn’t the first ti soone tried to kill . By now, I should’ve died at least fifty tis.
Once, when I was six and fell through a frozen lake.
Twice, in the fire that burned down our village ho.
And more tis at the hands of people who tried to kill , believing I was so kind of evil witch.
But whether it was luck or a curse, I always survived those horrific monts.
My wounds heal without scars.
My broken bones nd like they were never fractured.
Even when I was burned alive, my body slowly regenerated, piece by piece, until it was like nothing ever happened.
Because of that blessing or curse, people called a dark witch, soone who could curse others with re words or kill with a single sentence.
But here’s the truth, I can’t do that.
Even if I wanted to curse soone to death, I couldn’t hurt soone with just my words.
Until today.
A man touched in a way he shouldn’t have, so I fought back.
I punched him in the gut and said, "You’ll die today."
It was just a bad jinx I said in anger.
But then ... he actually died.
An anchor rope snapped loose and struck him, killing him instantly.
Soone who witnessed the whole thing told everyone I was the reason he died.
Funny, isn’t it?
When he tried to harass , no one stepped in to help.
But the mont he died because of a stupid jinx, suddenly everyone turned their attention to .
"Throw her away!" they scread.
I closed my eyes as they rolled the barrel off the ship and into the ocean.
At least it was sealed tight, so no water got in.
Still, the ocean was freezing. The cold seeped through the wood and wrapped around until my teeth clattered from the chill.
The stench of raw at and salt made my stomach turn, but I forced myself to hold it in.
Maybe the waves would carry sowhere else.
Sowhere far away.
Sowhere I could start over.
Sowhere people wouldn’t try to kill just because they thought I was an evil witch.
But to be honest, I was hoping for death more than so false hope.
If this had been the end of my story, I would’ve welcod it with open arms, because I was tired of fighting for a life that no one ever believed I deserved.
• • •
I had no idea how long I floated in that damn barrel.
My body had gone completely numb after being curled up so tightly that I couldn’t even feel my legs anymore.
The waves tossed around like a rag doll, slamming into the water over and over, dragging under just to throw back up again.
That rotten at sloshing around beside only made things worse. The stench was unbearable, and every tilt of the barrel made my stomach twist.
I would’ve rather starved than touch that disgusting at.
It seed like I passed out more than once.
Maybe it was the cold. Maybe hunger. Or maybe my body was just tired of fighting and trying to shut down for good.
But, of course, I didn’t die.
Because death never wants .
If I had, maybe I’d be celebrating my death in heaven, or more likely, roasting in hell. But honestly, who even cares anymore?
Eventually, the violent rocking began to ease.
In the distance, I could hear the sound of seagulls. The air felt warr than before, just enough to stop my teeth from chattering.
Then suddenly, the barrel hit sothing solid.
A rock? Land?
I wasn’t sure.
Not long after, I heard muffled voices that sounded like n’s voices.
"What the hell is that thing?!"
"Ugh, the sll! Is there a dead body in there?!"
"Wait ... I think sothing’s alive. Do you hear that?"
I didn’t have the strength to call out.
My lips were cracked and dry, my limbs completely numb.
I forced my eyes open in the pitch dark, but all I could see was the curve of wooden walls and red stains from the long-rotten at.
"Open it! Hurry!"
As the lid was lifted, a burst of light poured in, blinding for a few seconds.
I squinted, barely making out the blurry shapes of the people standing above .
Oh no.
Soldiers.
They looked like they were soldiers from a kingdom.
They were tall and broad, their bodies almost completely covered in heavy iron armor.
"Oh, shit! It’s a girl!" one of them shouted. "She’s still alive!"
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