[ WP ] The girl that everyone knows but never talks to is a witch . If desperate , people got to her for solutions . She helps , but for a price . One day she comes to you in need of a favor , and in return she promises the memories she took from you nearly a year ago in a deal you no longer remember .

When she arrived at the tavern and approached her company, he rose from his seat and bowed gracefully in a choreographed display. The two stood in stark contrast: she wore worn garments with stains showing signs of labor and he was dressed in a well tailored and ornamental ensemble of fine fabrics. The largest contrast, however, was that she wore her tired face while he wore a porcelain mask that obscured his. All that could be seen was his dark brown eyes peering through the slits in the mask. 
 
 `` Alessio, at your service.'' 
 
 `` None of that was necessary.'' 
 
 `` Of course it was necessary. How else am I to greet you?'' 
 
 `` Did you have to look like this meeting me *here*?'' She looked around the shabby interior of the tavern to give her statement more emphasis. 
 
 `` I did not have time to change.'' 
 
 She was obviously frustrated, but she should have known better. He lived in Seraia. They loved their ostentatious displays there. His garments were choosen purposely to express his rank in the city's social class, his allegiance, and even made reference to a political stance. She could discern all this thanks to the clues that he wore. His elaborate brooch in the shape of a honey bee resting on a flower and his black and gold color palette told what wealthy family he attached himself to. The veiled woman surrounded by flowers on his mask represents the Weeping Widow, a symbol that an anti-war faction in the city had begun using to voice their displeasure with an ongoing conflict. 
 
 He had already ordered their drinks. A spiced wine that the tavern keeper charges exuberant prices for. She had only tasted it once at a festival. Even then she stole that sip and ran before she could be discovered. Now, she almost did n't know what to do with it. 
 
 `` So, mam, why is it that you asked to meet me here when I passed through here with my Patron?'' 
 
 She stopped herself from gulping down the contents of her cup to ready an answer 
 
 `` I need a favor from you.'' 
 
 `` Me? Not to be rude, but why would I help you? I know who you are, Eveline; I've asked around. Meeting you can endanger my prospects and even my Patron's reputation.'' 
 
 `` So why meet me then? Especially if I'm such a detriment.'' She crossed her arms and turned her gaze from him and unto the crowd sitting at the bar in the tavern's center. 
 
 `` Because you asked.'' 
 
 `` That's foolish then.'' 
 
 `` I suppose so, but I'm here now. Explain why I'm here.'' 
 
 `` I need your help. I need to find someone and something in the city, and you're the only person I can turn to take me there and help find them.'' 
 
 `` Why?'' 
 
 `` Because you live there. Because you have connections. Because I need this. Because this village needs this. Maybe even the city.'' Her raised voice garnered the attention of a few onlookers. 
 
 `` Calm down.'' He pleaded. `` You have n't explained why I should help you though.'' 
 
 She composed herself. There was a different look to her eyes now. `` Because I can return that which you lost. That which I have for you.'' 
 
 `` Yeah?'' He chuckled `` What's that?'' 
 
 `` Who you are. Who you were.'' 
 
 She reached into the knapsack that hung at her hip and removed what looked to be a glass bead that fitted on the tip of her finger. The man's eyes traced her movements intently. Whispering something below her breath, she crushed the bead between her finger and thumb and blew the dust toward him. He took in an unconscious deep breath that left him wheezing as the dust filled him. His labored breathes came in quick succession before he dipped his head into one hand and reached out towards her with the other. 
 
 `` What did you do to me? What did you do to me!'' 
 
 `` Darrus...'' 
 
 The name was n't his own but someone else's. Someone familiar that he may have known. He was taken somewhere strange. A small clearing in the hinterland that surrounded the village. It overlooked an orchard of apple and chestnut trees that the villagers managed. The clearing was flat and mostly just empty dirt with a few patches of grass. Had he been here before? A sanctuary? Sounds: muted voices, grunts, muffled screams, and the sound of laughter. The smell of cider in the air. The moon hidden behind the blanket of clouds. Frantic winds whipping the air. A slight chill nipping at his fingers. A figure slumping over something. Forcing it down. Shifting its weight constantly in rhythm. There is the source of distress. One figure is two. The laughing stops. 
 
 `` Hey, Darrus, what are you doing here.'' He took a few more inquisitive steps to take measure of what's going on. The second figure a woman with a bloodied face and scraps of her dress torn revealing her bare skin. 
 
 `` Darrus! Get off her or I swear I will gouge out your eyes!'' He raises his walking stick as he steps towards Darrus. The man does n't respond, he just continues with his detestable task. A sharp pain enters his side. He turns and sees someone else. The source of the laughter. The assailant withdraws the blade from Alessio's side and lunges with a fist encased in brass knuckles. Alessio falls to the ground while his ambusher laughs. 
 
 `` Oh, I think your ass will do just as well.'' 
 
 The sound of a belt being undone. Alessio reaches out for the walking stick and grips it fervently. His attacker staggers over him, too drunk to notice that his victim is armed. With all his might, Alessio twists on the ground and swings the staff, striking his assailant in the head. He struggles to his feet as his opponent loses his footing thanks to the blow. He takes and swings the staff striking the man in his gut causing him to drop. Standing over the drunkard, he heaves the staff one more time before bringing it down on to the man's head. The shattering of bone and sight of blood oozing out. It sickens him. Now to Darrus. 
 
 Darrus, having saw all the commotion, was now struggling to dress himself. The warm blood trickled down his side. It reminds him of his wound as he pressed more of his weight on the staff. Seizing an opportunity, Alessio rushes the unprepared man. He jabs him with the end of the staff and drives him backwards. He then takes the staff and strikes Darrus' legs. This causes the man to topple to the ground. The wounded man tries to gather himself to stand, but is struck again. He drops his knees into Darrus' chest and plunges his thumbs into his eyes. A promise he kept. Darrus howls in pain. He finds Darrus' knife, what the poor man must have been grasping for in his desperate search to save himself. He slips the the blade slowly into the rapist's throat, savoring the pain he's causing him. He rolls off of the corpse clutching his side. He vomits violently and his body starts to shake. The scent of the blood and carnage sends his mind reeling. He killed two people. He reaches for her while he's still conscious. He wakes to see her battered figure looming over him. The same face that sits across him now. 
 
 `` What?... Who are you? How do you know me?'' He grabs a decorated dagger from his side and places the blade on the table for her to see. 
 
 `` Did you see it? You were there that night. I helped you after you helped me. No one else would. You helped me then and I need your help now. I saw how what happened affected you. So, I took it a way. No one needed to know. Not even you.'' 
 
 `` That was me and you? That was my memory? It felt so real.'' He reached for his side and closed his eyes tightly. 
 
 `` It was real.'' 
 
 `` So you have more of them? You have more memories?'' 
 
 `` Yes, I do. Help me and I will give them back.'' She looked down, hesitating before speaking again. `` When I heard your voice, I thought I could turn to you. You were always kind to me in the past.'' 
 
 `` Wait, I... I do n't understand. How familiar were we?'' 
 
 `` Help me and then find out.''
