The dawn had just broken over the land, the night creatures fleeing to their homes and the creatures of the day waking now. One of these was an elegant horse, walking slowly through the woods. Her coat caught the light and reflected like an opal, giving off shimmers of blues, reds, greens, and purples. She was the nearby town's fabled ghost horse. Many young men in the village had tried to capture her and tame her for their own, but she was smart. No matter who it was, she eluded the traps set for her, almost as if she knew what they were. There were times though that the mare would go to a person, one who was lost, and she'd lead them out of the forbidden woods. Today was quiet though, and the mare wandered gracefully out to the edge of a clearing, heading to a babbling brook nearby.

The Count Issachar normally took long walks through the woods to clear his head of the political nonsense and subterfuge that was bound to happen around him on a daily basis, so today was the same as any other. He was dressed in commoners clothing with a tattered black cloak thrown over his garb to further heighten his appearance as a peasant. Though today Issac moved slightly off the beaten path and something caught his eye. In the light of the dawn the ;ghost' horses mane shined through the overgrowth just enough. This was the horse that many a men tried to capture to get a girls heart, and Issac was also the same. This time he would track it though. No traps. With careful scanning of his surroundings, The cloaked man followed the horse till it got to a clearing with a gentle stream flowing nearby. " So your thirsty?" Issac whispered to himself as he crouched and peered through the brush at the horse.

A breeze lifted the horse's mane a little as she bent her elegant neck to the water. Taking large gulps, the horse realized just how thirsty she was this morning. Turning away from the water, the horse kept her head down, sniffing the grass but not eating any. She didn't much care for the taste of grass, she'd tried it before and thought it tasted too much like dirt. Instead she daintily lipped at nuts that had fallen from the trees and went to a bush to try the berries there. Another breeze lifted and she caught a scent of something foreign, lifting her head up the horse looked around the clearing, wondering where the scent was coming from.

The count noticed how the horse refrained from eating the grass, like she didn't like the taste of it or something. Which was odd considering the fact that she was a herbivore .Issachar felt the breeze on his backside of his neck. The count spent many of his early days out hunting with his father he knew that the horse would easily pick up his sent on the wind. Cursing his luck he backed away deeper into the foliage hoping to fool the horse. 'You will be mine by the days end horse, and then her hand will finally be mine.' He thought to himself proudly at the thought of marrying the beautiful countess of the neighboring land. This horse would be the perfect gift.

As the wind died down, so did the scent and the mare lowered her head again but began slowly walking across the clearing. She was ready to go back home, and the scent she had caught was enough warning for her to move on. Unlike a normal wild horse though, this one didn't panic and flee blindly, instead she took her time. People came into the woods, not often, but enough that the mare wasn't worried if the scent was as faint as it had been. Going in amongst the trees, the mare wandered, clearly in no hurry to be anywhere. Turning off to a deer path, the ghost horse started off in the direction of a series of caverns and caves hidden deep in the woods.

The royal breathed out in relief as both the wind and the horses attention died down. " Thank you." He muttered before following the horse once again as it walked along a common hunting path that the hunters used to catch deer. He cursed his luck as the horse turned off the common path heading deeper into the woods. He weighed his options of catching the horse, or getting lost in these uncharted and forbidden dark woods. With a mental slap in the head he started to follow the horse once more as carefully and silently, watching where he stepped to not alert the horse of his presence.

They walked for an hour more until the horse brought them to the cave system in the surrounding mountain side. She immediately set for one that looked more airy than the others and laid down just inside the cave mouth. It was a nice day and she had nothing to do before that evening, so the horse laid out on her side, letting the sun warm her as she lazed.

Issachar was half tempted to just turn back as they moved deeper and deeper into the dark woods, but eventually it ended with a cave system in front of them. The horse trotted along and stopped at a rather advantageous spot that would allow it to run away if the need arose. Cursing his luck once more he glanced up at the sky and deemed that it would be worth dealing with the repercussions of disappearing if he got the horse. So he waited.

The horse didn't move much from that spot the rest of the day. She stayed close to her cave, sometimes going in, but most of the time staying outside in the sun. When the sun passed the afternoon mark in the sky, though, she rose and shook herself. It was time. In a breath where the white horse had been standing, a young woman now stood. Her golden hair shone in the waning light and her tan skin gave testament to the time she spent outside. Her eyes were a vibrant blue, standing out against the darkness of her skin. Her clothing was not what many people would consider "appropriate" for a young woman to wear, bracelets adorned her wrists, anklets on her bare feet, and her dress was lower cut down her chest, the hem only reaching her knees. The young woman stretched her arms above her head and she smiled, time to get to work.

Moving around the outside of the cave, the woman gathered plants, sticks, a pot, and built a fire that she sat next to while she ground the plants, extracting their juices. She hummed while she worked, some sort of old song with an upbeat mood to it.

Issachar nodded off a few times as he sat in the same spot for the entire day, however each time he did he quickly shot back up glancing around to see if the horse was still in the same spot, which sadly it was. As the sun drew across the sky so did the Dukes hopes of catching it and finding his way back to his town. Just as he was about to turn away the horse stood up and turned into a girl. A GIRL. He almost screamed in fright but stopped himself recalling the stories of yore. The voice of his wet nurse echoed through his head

"Witches be a fearsome lot, killing humans for their dark rituals and transforming into animals in order to lead people astray. " His hand clasped the sword at his side and slowly came out of the bush with his hand resting on the hilt glaring at the witch. " How did you do that?" He asked, his voice cracking slightly from his entire day of silence. He cleared his throat and blinked a few times nervously glancing from the girl to the ground certain that he would die.

As the girl dropped some of the plant juice into the pot, a man emerged from the trees, questioning her. Scrambling back in the dirt, trying to keep space between her and the man with the sword, the woman shook her head,
"I don't know what you saw," She said, her high clear voice shaking with fear, her eyes were wide,
"But no one will believe you. Please... I just want to be left alone!" She begged, pulling her legs up.
"I won't tell anyone!'

" I know exactly what I saw." He said between clenched teeth but his gaze quickly softened, as did his grip on the swords hilt when he noticed how scared the girl was. " Hey....Just tell me...are you a witch? I though you were all extinct or hunted out " the Count knelt down in the grass in front of the poor scared girl. " And what won't you tell anyone?" He cocked his head in confusion

She nodded hesitantly, her back pressed against the cold stone of the mountain side. She was close to her cave home, but not close enough to escape this man unless she changed back into her animal form. When she spoke next her voice shook,
"I won't tell anyone that I saw you... Some witches believe that humans who see witches should be hunted down." The girl dropped her gaze from the man, pushing herself tighter to the wall,
"Humans hunt and kill witches... Even when we don't do anything... Please," She said again, her eyes welling up with tears. Finally she couldn't take it anymore. This man was so close and all the stories she had heard as a young child of humans hunting and killing witches like her for no good reason, the girl's nerves shattered and in the next instant she took the form of a horse again. Her pale eyes were wide and wild, her head tossed high and her hooves stomped the ground, ready to spring away if the man moved.

Issachar knelt on the ground and laid the sword in front of him. So they had the same fears as humans did about them. What a fucked up world. With a sigh he stood up and started to walk away. " I'm sorry for disturbing you, young witch. I feared for my life when I saw you to be honest. We have the same stories of witches kidnapping kids and eating them. Leading men astray in animal forms before sacrificing them for their blood and body parts. " He glanced over his shoulder and gave a warm smile. " I thought they were all lies and now...I know so. Please if anything, can we just talk. I would like to clear away some misconceptions between our races. even if they stay between just us." He stopped and sat down on the dirty ground, not really minding if his clothes got dirty." He calmly moved his hand out in a wide arc to kinda say that she could sit if she wanted.
"I am also sorry for sneaking up on you."

The girl horse snorted but changed back to her human form. Sitting slowly, she crossed her legs, her golden hair falling over her shoulders,
"The dark witches do that, and now some believe all humans who see witches should be killed... I'm not like that," She said, her eyes downcast as she played with the hem of her,
"I'm Aurora by the way."