(If you haven’t read part 1, you can find it here)
When our story left off, Chica had turned Virginia into a white doe out of jealousy over her loving Okisko instead of him. Manteo, chief of the Croatoan tribe, had banished Chica to a nearby swamp where he believed Chica would be unable to cause any more trouble.
Everyone was heartsick at what had been done to Virginia. The white doe stayed close to the village and still recognized the people she once loved. That made it even harder to bear, knowing inside the deer Virginia’s mind was still very much human and she was all too aware what had been done to her. Many of the tribe made a trip to the swamp to beg Chica to reverse the spell. Okisko even went so far as to promise to go far away and never return if Chica would just change Virginia back, but Chica was stubborn and refused.
One day, a hunting party from the Roanoke tribe came across the white doe. They were struck by her beauty and not a bow was raised. The thought of shooting such a rare creature never entered their heads.
They returned to their village and told every one about the beautiful snow white deer that roamed Hatteras Island. The chief of the tribe, Wanchese, was a selfish and materialistic man. He longed to possess the skin from the deer. Having that rare snow white skin would give him a certain level of prestige among the other chiefs.
He organized a hunting party to return to Hatteras the next day and find the deer. A recently married young woman overheard. She was originally from the Croatoan tribe and still had family there. She hurried to explain to Wanchese who the deer was and why he couldn’t kill her. Wanchese just laughed. He still hated the colonists and this deer being one of them only made it better. He was more determined than ever to have her skin.
That night when everyone was asleep, the young woman took a canoe and rowed to Hatteras to warn them what Wanchese had planned. The tribe hid Virginia and though Wanchese and his hunters searched high and low, they couldn’t find the white doe. But Wanchese wasn’t one to give up easily. He returned with his hunters several times. Each time, the young woman made the trip the night before to warn the Croatoans.
Wanchese formed a new plan. He offered a reward for the white deer skin so large it was nearly impossible for the hunters to resist. And not just to his own hunters. He sent word to all the mainland tribes as well. Soon word spread and hunters from all over were flocking to Hatteras in search of the deer. It was becoming more and more difficult to hide Virginia.
Some of the tribe wanted to fight off the hunters to protect Virginia but the truth is, the Croatoan tribe was a peaceful one. They were not well versed in the art of war and it was against their very nature to fight.
In a panic, Okisko travelled to the home of a powerful witch. He begged her to find a way to reverse the spell. She knew it would take time for her to find a solution, reversing someone else’s spell is always difficult. She knew Virginia might be dead before she figured it out so she came up with another solution.
She gave Okisko the ability to shift into a large Red Wolf. You see, the Red Wolf was considered sacred to all the area tribes and killing one, even by accident, would cause the killer bad luck that would be passed down for generations.
From that day forward, whenever a hunter came upon the white doe a large Red wolf would be by her side. Standing so close, the hunter was afraid to shoot for fear of hitting the wolf by accident. After a time, the hunters gave up and the white doe was safe. Or so they thought but Chica wasn’t finished yet.
(To be continued)
© 2025 Kimber Krochmal All Rights Reserved
The Witchtree Saga 
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