The Witches #13

In a village full of autumn leaves and paths through meandering forests, a village you never want to leave, there is a witch.

A little younger than Daphne, she knows the witches from the next village only by proxy (this proxy being entirely to do with Queen Sap, who often came to this witch with all her woes about our beloved girls; where they are magnificent and full of spirit to us, they are often a teeny little bit tiring to their Queen, who has to put up with an awful lot, it must be said). This witch has heard countless stories about Daphne’s lack of reason, Lilac’s broom making skills and Tulip’s unintentional seaside adventure. She’s met Foxglove just once, but was too shy to introduce herself or do anything more than admire Garry, who hissed at her quite charmingly.

This witch, Daisy, ran an apothecary with her mother and baby sister, spending most of her time brewing up specialised formulas for small magical creatures.

She liked her life, enjoyed teaching her sister about what it meant to be a witch and learning the same from her mother. Every night the three ate together amongst the sweet flowers in their garden, Daisy and her mother watching Begonia totter around, discovering bugs and beetles and the world. They were an inseparable unit and loved nothing more than spending their days together, brewing up magic and laughter.

The day Sap strode through the apothecary doors, smiling at the sight of Daisy behind the counter teaching baby Begonia how to handle an injured butterfly, Daisy didn’t know the ways in which her world would change, how the creature in Sap’s arms would introduce her to a story she could never have imagined, the four witches trailing into the shop after their Queen soon to change more than Daisy could well conceive.

‘Sappy!’ Begonia yelled, gently placing the butterfly back onto its perch and letting Daisy lift her down so she could run to the Queen and hug her about the knees.

‘Girls,’ Queen Sap said, beaming.

‘Hello aunt,’ Daisy said, rummaging under the counter for some herbs Sap had ordered.

‘…aunt? Is this your niece?!’ a voice exploded and Daisy, startled, peeked over the counter to catch sight of the four witches she hadn’t at first noticed, Foxglove whom she recognised but the others…

‘Hello,’ Daisy whispered, feeling herself start to flush. ‘I’m Daisy. This is Begonia, my sister.’

Begonia shook hands grandly, still clutching Sap around the legs fiercely. Before further introductions could take place, Daisy was given the creature in her aunt’s arms.

‘Oh…’ she breathed, stroking the little creature. It looked up at her and while it didn’t exactly smile, it did look content. ‘But - aunt, this is a chimera.’

One of the witches suddenly looked very embarrassed.

‘Yes, Daisy. That,’ her aunt said pointedly, ‘is a chimera.’

 The Witches is a serial story, published every week on Thursday/Friday. See you then!