Edit before read: The story that follows is sort of a sequel to my other story, Witch's Folly. However, I have brought the whole thing back on the Discworld as inspiration struck me one day. It does, however, follow where the other left off, and I recommend you read the other one first. Bear in mind that the other one was made for school, for a semestrial project about clichés and I had to adapt:P

Enjoy and possibly review:D

Tea is good, it invigorates the body. And Granny's body was not what it used to be any more. Although she would never admit it to anyone-it was a surprise that she admitted it to herself- Granny was growing old. She sipped her cup of black tea while staring blankly at the ticking clock above the fireplace. Her mind, however, was not standing still. It was like an atom in void; once you make it move, it will tend to go on forever unless something sturdy enough blocks its path. And nothing good enough had ever appeared to stop Granny's thoughts. She always seemed to have the upper hand. She had always been stronger than anything that tried to place itself between her and her goals. And they have never been bad goals. Looking back, her actions, although admittedly unconventional, had always been for the betterment-the tea tasted nutty just for a second there- of the people around her. She could not be blamed of abusing her power, and boy, she had had a lot of it! And she couldn't say she was powerless now, but some things weren't as they used to be. Her eyesight, for instance was getting worse; she was having trouble seeing the top peak towering the village. And that is something, coming from someone who could spot an eagle soaring high above the clouds on a stormy night. She was getting worried. And to add to that, her Borrowing abilities-not skills, mind you, she was the best, after all, knew every last secret of the trade- were diminishing. She came back to her senses harder than usual and it took longer to blend with the targeted creature. It was also more tiresome; everything becomes more tiresome after a certain age, she knew that, but somehow she had always thought it applied only to other people.

And there was this business with the growing power of the Covenant of Eight. It wasn't even as if they had chosen a nice, proper number. Three, now that she could understand, it always meant that whenever two were fighting the third tried to calm them down, but eight? That was a wizarding number, and it always meant that fights could break off any time there was some kind of disagreement. There was something missing in this whole story. Witches are not well known for getting along very well. There was meant to be someone else in there guiding them from the shadow.

She began pacing around. The sun had set entirely, now. The only source of light came from the small fire burning dismally in the hearth. It made everything throw flickering shadows on the walls. They were quivering, mocking shadows; had they had a face it would have been smug. Granny shot a quick meaningful glance in their direction and they calmed down, like bashful children. Yes, something was amiss. Allice might have been the head of the Covenant, but she surely was not dictating things. And the rabbit; that Letice was a pathetic excuse for a witch. She was not at all the right person to do a job such as taking Granny's license-whose reason she had never been able to understand; it was, after all, merely a piece of paper. It was a suicidal mission for her. But Granny expected that there would be something more to it than that. Sending Letice was surely their idea of punishment for the poor woman. And Allice was the woman to do it. But it was not the right thinking even for someone as cocky and self- sufficient as her. Someone else should have been sent if their real intention was to take Granny's license.

She trotted to the fireplace. The clock had stopped ticking. She tapped it with a finger. It rang dull. Nothing more could be expected of it. But it had been working fine until then. A flicker of light across the glass, a trick of the eye; it couldn't be! She turned the clock face-side down, and hurried with still surprising speed for a woman of her age to the mirror on the wall and covered it.

"AH, I SEE YOU FIGURED IT OUT."

"I had a hunch…" answered a startled Granny. How had Death entered? Well, he never made any sound, that is true, but so far she had sensed him coming-not for her, mind you. Her senses were certainly beginning to dull. "You stopped time, didn't you?" she added on much more Granny-like tones giving him one of her looks.

"YES. A CERTAIN AMOUNT OF PRIVACY IS REQUIRED IN THIS SITUATION…" replied Death and hesitated. After a second he seemed to have made up his mind about something. "I MUST ADMIT I DID HAVE SOME TROUBLE DECIDING WHOM TO TURN TO FOR THIS MATTER. HOWEVER, SEEING THERE IS NO ONE ELSE QUITE AS CAPABLE AND INFORMED AS YOU ARE I HAVE COME TO YOU ASKING FOR AID IN A DELICATE BUSINESS I CANNOT ATTEND TO MYSELF…" he stopped again, looking somewhere else, apparently thinking. He leaned the scythe against the wall where a faint blue glow could be seen in the shadow. He turned to look expectantly at Granny. Feeling some courtesy was in order under these circumstances, she briefly gestured Death to the other chair at the table.

"And why, pray, am I supposed to be the only one able to fulfill this… task, hm? If you haven't noticed yet, I am not as young as I used to be." It was solely a statement. It did not imply any kind of complaint and it did not ask for pity. She sat heavily at the table. For the first time in her life she felt old. A quest… Ye, gods! How much more did she have to do?

"I BELIEVE SOME EXPLANATION IS, INDEED, IN ORDER, BUT YOU HAVE TO UNDERSTAND THAT I CANNOT REVEAL CERTAIN ASPECTS OF IT BECAUSE… WELL…"

"It might bring the world crashing down?"

"THAT IS ONE WAY OF PUTTING IT, YES," answered a relieved Death. For some reason this woman always seemed to make him feel uncomfortable. "YOU REMEMBER, I PRESUME, YOUR SISTER, LILY?"

"Yes…" she gave Death a suspicious one-eyed glare. "What about her?"

"SHE HAS THUS FAR BEEN CAPTURED BY HER OWN MIRRORS. SHE WAS NEITHER DEAD NOR ALIVE, JUST LIVING… AS NO OTHER HUMAN WORD BEFITS IT BETTER… HER OWN HELL."

"She escaped?" Granny's tone was level, but held a warning. She had hoped, and for good reason, that she was to remain wherever she had disappeared for ever. She knew that might have sounded a bit, well, unsound, since they were, after all, sisters, but what of it? You go tinkering with spells and deep magic and you are bound to fall to your own meddling. "How?"

"HAVE YOU EVER HEARD OF THE AUDITORS?" Her look elucidated that mystery. "THE AUDITORS OF REALITY ARE… ENTITIES, IN CHARGE OF MENTAINING UNIVERSAL ORDER. HOWEVER, LATELY THEY SEEM TO HAVE GONE A BIT TOO FAR." He stopped, looking expectantly at Granny.

"Lately means for some time now, if I'm to judge your perception of time, but a bit too far… they broke some laws?" It was a wild guess, since she had never heard of the Odditers before, but she was quite capable of assuming. Being a witch was assuming half the time, but always guessing based on hard evidence. And she did have a clue to what those people were. If Death was worried, then this was dead* serious.

*Not that Granny saw the joke behind this; she was far too literal for that.

"YOU ARE CORRECT. THEY TRY TO KEEP THE UNIVERSE TIDY, PREDICTABLE, DULL, IF I MAY SAY SO MYSELF. HUMANS, AS YOU VERY WELL KNOW, ARE HIGHLY UNSTABLE PARTS OF THE BIG MACHINE THAT IS THE UNIVERSE. THEY HAVE TRIED TO DESTROY MANKIND BEFORE, BUT NEVER WITH SUCH GREAT INVOLVEMENT. THERE ARE CERTAIN… RULES THEY MUST ABIDE BY. THEY ARE, AFTER ALL, PARTS OF THIS UNIVERSE THEMSELVES. HOWEVER, THEY ALWAYS STRETCH THEM ONE STEP FURTHER. AND NOW, I AM AFRAID THEIR ENDEVOURS MIGHT VERY WELL SUCCEED."

"These rules you're talking about… one of 'em things you can't mention?"

"YES."

"They freed her I espect…" she sighed. "If I agree to do this, will I get a nice, quiet place afterwards?" She did sound old; and frail.

"THAT, I CANNOT SAY. YOU ARE THE ONLY ONE WHO CAN DECIDE." She was tired, she was actually tired! Death had seen countless such people while waiting for them to see him. But he had never expected Her to back down. Something had to be done. "HOWEVER, I BELIEVE SOME ARRANGEMENTS CAN BE MADE."

Granny gave him a look. It is hard to outstare empty eye sockets, but that had never deterred Granny. She ruddy well knew Death was not to interfere in one's afterlife. What was He playing at?...

"Fine." It would be an understatement to say that this was a cool reply; it was downright freezing. She might have grown old but she wasn't dead yet! "I'll go. But I'll let you know this: When you come and take me, I'll make your life… death… existance… Hell, before you take me." She said it as level as an abstract mathematical bidimensional plane.

"I DO NOT DOUBT YOU WILL. IF WE ARE UNDERSTOOD, THEN THERE IS ONLY THE MATTER OF THE PLACE. UBERWALD COULD BE A STARTING POINT…" the look He received made him say"…ALTHOUGH YOU WILL DECIDE AS YOU THINK BEST. WELL, I MUST BE GOING." He stood up and went to the door. He turned around. "YOU WOULD NOT HAPPEN TO KNOW A REMEDY FOR RASHES, WOULD YOU?"

"It can be done. Afterwards."

"AH, YES, OF COURSE. WELL THEN, SEE YOU LATER," and he went through the door. The ticking resumed. Granny stared at the spot where He had vanished.

Death was next to Binky when he pulled out a lifetimer from inside his cloak. He gave it a closer look. The sand in the top half was nearing depletion. The black frame with a stunningly live-like rose motif was glistening in the moonlight. He tapped the bottom half and a grain rose through the tumbling others back into the first half. He kept watching. Another one rose again. And another one. If they were breaking the rules, so was he.

Granny got up. She trotted towards the mirror and took a peak behind the cloth she had thrown to cover it; nothing. She was suspicious, very suspicious. Well, she was usually like that, but now more than ever. Death could not meddle. So this went beyond ordinary witchcraft. Well, she was no ordinary witch. And she felt smug inside for knowing that. But an idea was nagging at the back of her mind. What if she died? Oh, she knew she had to die sometime, but she had always pictured herself dying with her consent. Well, she could leave that aside for the moment. She had to do the Right thing again.

What follows will become clear to me as soon as the exams are finished:P. Until then, Ta-ta!