The Witch in the Woods: The Transmigration of Hazel-Anne Davis Chapter 13: Not The Babysitter

The village looked different when I walked through it early the next morning.

It seed like a long ti had passed since I was last here, when in reality, it was only a single night.

It wasn’t fear that made the difference. Not anymore. People no longer flinched when they saw . They moved aside, yes. They kept their voices down, yes. But there was a steadiness to it now. A recognition.

I was a stranger, but I wasn’t strange. They knew I wouldn’t hurt them unless they gave reason to.

I dropped my head, trying to hide my smile. They hadn’t even seen at my worst, and they were still nervous around .

I humd a song under my breath as I swung my basket back and forth. It was already half-full—coarse salt, dried beans, three fresh duck eggs wrapped in straw, and a small spool of good cloth that would be the start of my next outfit. I really needed sothing that wasn’t previously worn by the dead, but beggars couldn’t be choosers.

I had traded a pair of rabbits that Shadow killed for the stuff so far, but I was running out of things to trade, and I still had a lot to buy. Maybe I could convince Shadow to bring two rabbits, still alive, and I could raise them for food and furs.

It was killing not to be more self-sufficient, but everyone had to start prepping from the bottom. I was just used to always having access to Papa’s pantry when I needed sothing I didn’t have.

I could feel the eyes of the butcher stabbing into my back. I had a very pleasant conversation with him as he weighed out the pig’s fat, and we had co to an agreent. Let’s just say that he wasn’t going to shortchange again.

The chickens would have to wait until I left. They’d follow ho on their own now. Dumb creatures. Loyal, though, I had to respect that.

I stepped into the blacksmith’s shadow just as he ca out of his forge, a towel slung around his neck and sweat beading on his brow. The hiss of iron cooling drifted from the open doors behind him.

"Zhao Xiuying," he grunted, his voice a pleasant growl. I looked up at the man before realizing that the Village Chief, Zhou Cunzhang, had a second job as a blacksmith. "What can I make you?"

"Nothing," I said with a soft smile. Glancing past him to the racks of raw tal, I couldn’t help by vibrate with excitent. "I just need scrap tal," I started, my eyes going wide as the tal sang to , demanding my attention. "Anything will do...steel if you have it, copper if you don’t."

He grunted, motioned toward a box near the forge. "It’s yours."

"I’ll leave you sothing in trade."

He waved off. "No need. You keep us safer than steel. If you need help making it into sothing, I’d be happy to help you."

I tilted my head. "Still," I said, my brows furrowing in confusion. The man reminded of Papa a lot, and I was having a hard ti not putting the two of them together. "I don’t want to take advantage."

He paused, then chuckled low. "There is no way you are taking advantage of . That boy you saved last night was my nephew. The family can’t thank you enough for what you did. We are in your debt. Forget the scraps, you could have forge anything. A blade. A horseshoe. Even armor. Just say the word."

I t his eyes, knowing that my own were sparking. "So can I," I chuckled, holding out my hand. The scraps of tal flew over to like an overly excited puppy, dropping into my hand and turning to a liquid state without even asking.

Zhou Cunzhang’s smile faltered as his eyes went wide. He continued to stare at as I listened to the tal, forging it into what it wanted to be more than anything.

Arrowheads.

There were over 150 of them, designed to a more modern standard than the traditional triangle shape.

"I assu you can handle the shafts?" I smiled up at him. "The hunters will probably find it easier with these heads than the ones that they are used to."

"You created these for us?" he gasped, his trembling hand reaching out to the arrowhead. He barely touched it when his finger split open and blood ca pouring out.

A flick of my wrist, and the wound was closed up without even a single mark to show where it had been.

"We can’t accept it," said Zhou Cunzhang. "They are too precious."

"They were made from your scraps," I countered. "Besides, we are neighbours, after a sort. I help you, and you help when I need it. Deal?" I smiled, holding out my small hand. He looked at it like he had no idea what to do with it.

Ever so tentatively, he stuck out his own hand, and I shook it. "Just keep in mind if you have any more scraps."

-----

Zhou Cunzhang took around his smithery, and when I was crouched beside a different box of scraps, I heard a set of footsteps.

They were soft, slow, hesitant.

I turned without rising, studying the woman approaching from behind.

"ilin," said Zhou Cunzhang softly, like he was scared to speak too loud in case he sent her running. "Is everything okay? Is there anything that I can do?"

The woman was younger than she looked. Her skin was too pale under the bruises, her lips cracked from chewing them, but the split at the corner of her mouth wasn’t from chewing. Her hands trembled as she clutched a wrapped bundle to her chest. Inside, a child’s head poked out from the top of the bundle, her eyes closed as she seed to struggle to breathe.

She didn’t et my eyes.

"Please," she whispered, the single word seeming to take a lot out of her. "I—I’m sure that you don’t take requests. But I saw you."

My fingers stilled in the pile of tal, but I didn’t move. She looked helpless, but I’ve seen killers putting on the sa act.

Sucking in a shaky breath, she continued. "I saw you save that child. The one burned in the fire. I saw the mist. I saw him healed. I need you to save mine."

Zhou Cunzhang froze from his spot beside , but I could feel him tensing up like he was ready to throw down.

Ever so slowly, I rose to my feet.

"What’s wrong with him?" I asked, my head cocked to the side. Even with how tiny the woman was, I only ca up to her chest.

"His leg." Her voice broke as she looked down at him. "My husband—he... he kicked her. I tried to stop him. I did. But he was angry and he doesn’t like the fact that she was born a girl and—"

"Where’s your husband now?"

"Gone to the woods. Hunting." Her voice cracked. "He’ll be back tonight."

I nodded once.

She looked up then. Her face was a ss—eyes swollen, lip split, a bruise shaped like a hand blooming down her neck.

"I can fix the child," I said calmly. "That’s easy."

She swallowed and shook her head. "That’s not what I’m asking."

I remained silent, forcing her to co to a decision. I wasn’t going to make this easy on her.

She crouched down, the child still in her arms, as she looked in the eyes. Desperation bled through every word. "I can’t do it anymore," she announced, completely resigned to what was coming next. "I can’t protect her. If I try, he’ll kill us both. But if I die, my sweet, sweet girl will be next. Please. Just take her. Hide her. Make sure she grows up safe."

I said nothing, simply looked at her.

Her fingers whitened as she clenched the blanket. "I’m not asking for . Just her."

I stared down at the child, wrapped in a patchy old blanket. Her breathing was shallow, but steady. The leg was clearly broken, the bone causing an open wound that allowed blood to soak into the cloth.

I rested my hand on the girl’s shin and let a thin wisp of white mist slip from my fingers. The woman gasped as it sank into the cloth, and the girl stirred, her eyelids fluttering.

"She’ll sleep until morning," I murmured. "When she wakes, the pain will be gone."

She fell to her knees. "Thank you."

"I didn’t say yes," I reminded her, my face impassive.

Her head shot up.

"I’m not taking her," I continued. "Tough it out for one more day. If tomorrow isn’t better, then we can try another alternative."

Tears welled in her eyes as all hope fled from her body.

"Is one day really going to be the end of the world?" I sneered, spinning around. Picking up my basket, I left the arrowheads on Zhou Cunzhang’s work counter before leaving the village.

Hattie warned that when you help soone just one ti, everyone else will expect the sa treatnt.

But I was no one’s babysitter.