The kids were sleeping by my horse when I entered the town. We had been riding for two days straight. Joseph was fevering and throwing up. The poor thing had been drugged repeatedly.

"Hello, sir." I smiled at the man in the clothing shop. "I'm here to buy some clothing." The man was a thin old man. He looked at me over his spectacles and his eyes lit up.

"You are absolutely stunning!" He gets up and rushes over to me. He circles me like a vulture and I hold perfectly still. "I will give you everything at half the price, dear. Beauty like yours can not be wasted in cheap garbs."

"Thank you, I also need clothing for my kids too." He looks around me and raises a brow. I flush. "They aren't with me right now."

"I see. How old are they?"

"Five. One is a boy and the other is a girl." He nods and rushes around the store. He hands me dresses for myself and then for Josephine. He pulls out clothes for Joseph last.

"Do you believe these will fit them?" I nod. I pay for the clothing. "Miss, aren't you a little young to have two kids?" My face scrunches up. "Oh, I didn't mean to be rude. You just look like you can't be over twenty."

"No, it's fine. I am somewhat young." I smiled. "I married young but my husband passed away last year."

"Oh that's horrible." The old man pats my shoulder and I leave. The made up story will buy me sympathy. I went back to the forest. I woke them up gently.

"Joseph, are you feeling ok?" He shakes his head. I look around us and heal him. The bright light stopped and I glanced at Josephine. Her eyes were wide. "How about now, Joseph?" He pats his face.

"I feel great." He smiles.

"How did you do that?" Josephine asks. I healed all of her injuries that she had sustained and she stared at me in awe. "What else can you do?"

"A lot." I placed them on the horse and packed the clothing neatly into the basket. "Let's go deeper into the forest." I walk the horse by the reins deeper into the woods. When I reached a good spot, I used my magic to raise a tub using the stone in the ground.

"You are so cool Mariposa!" Josephine bounces in the saddle. I lift the two kids out of the saddle. "What is it for though?"

"It's a bath."

"But we don't have any soaps." Joseph chimes in. "Or water."

"Just watch." I summon water in my hands and they gasp. I fill the tub and heat it with fire so it steams. "That fixes the water problem." I smile at them and their mouths hang open. I step to the side and pick some of the plants. I summon a bowl. I turn it into a paste then add water. "Liquid soap." I show them.

"That's so amazing." Josephine smiles up at me. "How long have you known that you've had magic?" She gives me a curious look.

"A little over a month, I think." Her mouth hangs open.

"Really? And you can do so many things! Did someone teach you?" I shake my head. "You figured it all out by yourself?" I nod and start to help the two kids to undress. "That's really amazing. I've only used magic successfully once. I just wanted my dad back." I placed the kids in the bath and started to scrub them clean.

"It's ok, I understand why you did it." I reassure her and she smiles at me. They are too young to struggle this much. I wash all the dirt off of them and scrub and rinse their hair. Their blond hair was almost white it was so pale when washed. I dried them off and handed them new clothes after burning the old ones.

"You bought us new clothes?" Joseph asks. Tears well up in their eyes. I help them put on the clothes as they cry.

"Of course I bought you new clothes." They clung to me and I rubbed their backs in an attempt to soothe them. "I will take care of you two, I promise." They sob and sob. I get rid of the hot water and destroy the tub. "Come on, let's go." I place them on the saddle.

Sally crawls into Josephine's hands and the little girl holds the gecko tightly. I lead the horse into town. We should get a room for the night. I was getting tired. Hazel was probably tired too even with the constant healing magic but I was reaching my limit.

My exhaustion and anger increased. Sadness gripped my heart as it pounded erratically. "Pardon me?" I froze on the road. "Have you seen a young girl with silver hair?" I looked around the corner. Seth.

"Mariposa?" Josephine's eye turns pink and a pop comes from her hand. I put out the small fire quickly. "I'm so scared." Her emotions were stronger now too. Why?

"It's ok." I soothe her. She starts taking deep breaths. "Just clear your mind. Focus on me." I cup her face. "The powers are yours. You are not the powers'." She nods and starts taking slow deep breaths.

"Mariposa?" I freeze. Josephine's breathing becomes erratic. "It's you." Seth grabs my shoulder and spins me to face him. A loud pop sounds and his shirt catches on fire. "What the-!" He roars at the light purple flames.

"Stay away from them!" I hissed. The stones under our feet began to rumble. "I will not allow these children to be thrown back in prison like that again!" The stones form cuffs around his feet. The fire goes out on his shirt but more people dressed like him file in on the road.

"Please, just listen first." He croaks.

"No." The stones become like ropes. "Let me show all of you what it felt like to be tied to a stake!" It wrapped around all of the men. Stone crosses built up from the ground out of stone. "Let me show you the fate that you have been condemning innocent women and children to!"

"You bastard!" One man yelled gruffly. "This is why we burn women like you! You are useless and just want to see men suffer for your own actions!" He spits. My eyes fly to him and he freezes. Fear takes over his face.

"Real witches don't burn, idiot." I hissed. "They tried to burn me." I smiled cruelly at the men. "But, you will not be as lucky as I." I set the man that had just spoken against me on fire. He screamed. Pain that no one can fathom probably ripped through his body as he burned slowly. "See that?" I look at all the men. "See what just happened to him? It upset you didn't it?!" I yelled. "Imagine being the one burning! Imagine suffocating on the smoke as the flames eat you away! That is what you are doing to innocent women!" I shout.

"Mariposa." Joseph grabs my arm. "Josephine needs help." My hatred falls away as I turn and see the little girl sobbing. Her powers create pink flames that circle around her. She was afraid of her own powers.

"Oh baby." I clutch the girl in my arms. "It's ok, baby, it's ok." I rub her back as she sobs. Her power fades as I put her to sleep with my magic. "Hold on to her, Joseph." He nods and clutches to his sister, tears streaming down his own face.

"Are they gonna take us again, Mariposa?" His voice trembles as he looks at the other men, still wrapped in stone ropes.

I smiled cruelly. "Not if they value their lives." I was so angry. I don't think I have ever been so angry. I walk up to Seth and my feelings intensify. "If you ever get near those kids again," I laughed, "you will know what real pain is."

I hopped on my horse, holding the kids close, I had us running off as fast as we could go. Once we were far away my anger fell away. I let go of the magic still in the town and exhaustion hit me even harder.

"Will they find us again?" Joseph asks as he clings to my dress. I increase Hazel's speed.

"I hope not."