CHAPTER 2 A Beginning...

SOFIA

The months passed and my pregnancy thrived. I was about five months along, and without realizing it, my baby was kicking like a little warrior.

As I watched the sun peek over the mountains, its light brushing the village houses without hurry, without worry.

"Good morning, sweetheart. Now let's get to work." I felt a kick — as if my baby understood what I was telling it, and somehow I knew that was exactly the case.

I got out of bed with some discomfort in my back. I picked up the pendant I wore every day as a reminder that it would be the only keepsake my child would have of their unknown father. And I put it on.

From my small wardrobe, I took a flowing cream-colored tunic dress with long, wide sleeves and a draped neckline. The fabric was soft and light, linen, with subtle pleats that highlighted my pregnancy.

I tied my hair in a braid over my shoulder. I slipped on a pair of light brown leather shoes. I looked at myself in the mirror and saw someone different — more serene, more resolute.

I went downstairs to the apothecary. Slowly, listening to the creak of the steps beneath my feet. The place was already saturated with its usual aroma: lavender, resin, crushed leaves. Ida wasn't there yet, but everything was in its place, as if the shop breathed on its own.

The herbs kept piling up, the orders never stopped, but now there were pauses. Mandatory breaks. Infusions specially prepared by me.

I made a list of what was missing. A special order had arrived at the apothecary the night before. The army of the Silver Moon Kingdom needed healing preparations, and in large quantities.

And that meant I had to go out.

......

The forest greeted me with its dense silence. I walked along the familiar paths, gathering each herb, each root with precision. Time passed without me noticing — I was focused on my task when I felt the air change. It was subtle, but I felt it. An invisible pressure, as if someone were watching me from the shadows.

The baby moved hard inside me. A kick. Then another. More intense.

"Easy..." I whispered, instinctively, though my pulse was starting to quicken. And then I looked up. I saw no one. But I knew I wasn't alone out here.

I put a hand on my belly, feeling the baby's kicks. They were strong, constant — like the flutter of a butterfly, soft but persistent.

In that instant, the silence stopped being natural, simple. It grew denser, heavier...

I didn't need to know that someone was watching. My instinct, sharpened by magic and by something deeper that had taken root the moment I learned there was a life growing inside me, screamed at me to leave.

"Let's go..." I whispered, my hand still on my belly.

I didn't run. That would've been worse. Instead, I adjusted the basket against my hip and began walking at a steady pace back along the path. Every crunch beneath my feet was a reminder not to run — just walk. Every shadow seemed to stretch longer than usual. But I didn't look back. I mustn't.

My breathing was barely controlled, though my pulse was quickening little by little. I felt that presence keeping pace with me... Not overhead, not attacking... just watching.

Waiting. When I finally spotted the apothecary through the trees, an invisible tension eased just slightly in my chest. I pushed the door open harder than necessary. The jingle of the bell announced my arrival. The interior of the apothecary enveloped me at once: the warmth, the scent of herbs, the quiet murmur of jars, and the faint bubbling of the alembic. A refuge. A protected circle.

I closed the door behind me.

And then... I did look. Nothing. But the feeling hadn't entirely disappeared. I set the basket on the counter, releasing a breath I didn't know I'd been holding.

"Did something happen?" Ida's voice came from the back, though she hadn't appeared yet. I hesitated, just for a moment.

I hesitated for a second.

"The forest... was strange."

A brief silence. Then slow footsteps approaching. The great witch Ida appeared, her eyes sweeping me from head to toe... lingering briefly on my belly.

"Don't go out tomorrow," she said finally, with a calm that was anything but reassuring. "And today... close up earlier than usual."

I nodded. But just as I turned to organize the herbs, I felt it again. Closer. Much closer. As if whatever had been watching me knew exactly where I was, and that terrified me.

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