"That twisted old hermit! One of these days…one of these days I'll serve him a fish full of bones and leave him to choke on them!" Sae often said things like this after Annie came down with a bruise or some other mark from her encounters with Sorcerer Snow. The air around her turned blue-red-black and the bread smell shifted to something ashy, as if a loaf had burned.

"Youu shoul'nt shay such fings," Mags garbled, her sea-green-kind eyes dim as she looked at the red-red-red-pain sore on Annie's hand, which Sae's salve – green-cool-fresh-blue-relief – was now healing, "He'll heer ou wun o' theese days."

"And then he'll be left to starve, so it'll serve him right." Sae's voice was harsh, but her fingers gently pulled a bandage around Annie's hand, "Now try not to get that wet for the rest of the day and it should heal up a bit better by tonight." Annie nodded, although she knew this already, she'd spilled enough coffee to know how the medicine worked by now, but Sae always reminded her, as if the madness in her head might drive her to forget.

After she served Sorcerer Snow his breakfast she was to help Mags with the housework – the cleaning, sweeping and dusting and sometimes, if they were lucky, she and Mags got to go outside and clean out the horses – until lunch and then later dinner. She felt privileged to see Sorcerer Snow so often, as he rarely descended from his tower room, unless he was dealing with the cruel people from the land outside the gates.

Sorcerer Snow had told Annie that the people outside the gates were mean and harsh, and that they would hurt her very badly if she went near them. That's why he had hand-chosen Mags and Sae and Annie to be his household staff, he had known that they were good and kind and would care for him. Annie had beamed with pride for the entire day after being told this. Oddly enough, Sae and Mags never seemed to see this side of the story. Sae was upset more often than not when Annie came back from seeing Sorcerer Snow, and Mags did her best to stay out of his way. Only Annie seemed to truly appreciate Sorcerer Snow's intervention in what could have been a terrible life. Sae and Mags just shook their heads at her when she mentioned this, as if she was being silly.

But there was no time to think about that now, Annie and Mags had work to do. Mags got a bucket of hot water and a bright red scrubbing brush from the cupboard. Annie stood and went to retrieve some dry rags. Since she wouldn't be able to help Mags clean the stairs, she would dry up after Mags. Sae had told her before that it was a foolish thing to do, after all the stairs would dry up themselves. But Annie hated to see Mags' old body hunched over, doing work that should rightfully be hers, and so she attempted to help in any way she could. Even if it was silly. But she was mad, and therefore allowed to get away with it.

And so she and Mags washed the stairs and helped Sae clean the dishes, all three women chatting and smiling and enjoying each other's company. When the small clock that the Sorcerer allowed in the kitchen struck midday, Annie ascended the stairs again, this time bearing a tray of fresh hot bread (cut neatly into slices) and a strong cheese (smells nasty, but he seems to like it) with another small kettle, this time full of tea. When she knocked on the door, she heard a sharp sound white-black-crash and what sounded like a rude word blue-red-yellow-bruise before a strained voice called,

"Enter."

Annie walked into the room to find the Sorcerer standing over the desk with the many glass tubes, holding his hand slightly out from his body. Looking at the floor she found the remains of one of the tubes, with a blue liquid leaking over the floor and smoking a little. She looked first at the glass, then at the tray in her hands, then at the Sorcerer's hand and saw red-red-red-red blood and made to walk towards him, but remembered the tray and set it down beside the one she had brought up with breakfast, now holding the empty dishes. As she turned towards him, about to offer her services, Sorcerer Snow's ice-cold-blue-snake eyes looked up at her and his lip sneered.

"Well, don't stand around all day, you idiotic girl, go down and get a healing salve from one of the women downstairs." He turned away from her, looking at the shattered glass on the floor. Annie nodded, heading towards the door, "And…oh you stupid girl, don't forget the old tray." Annie cursed herself in her head, turned around and walked quickly over to pick up the other tray, and then hurried from the room before the Sorcerer could say any more horrible things. He was hurt, she reminded herself, nobody was kind when they were hurting.

She ran into the kitchen and explained everything to Sae and Mags. Sae didn't look too pleased about handing over one of her healing salves, but at the desperate look on Annie's face she handed it over without much of a fuss. Mags likewise handed her a small brush and pan and garbled that she would be along soon with a bucket of water. Annie hurriedly nodded and almost ran back up the stairs, the quicker to heal her love.

He was standing by the table where his lunch was waiting, holding his bleeding hand aloft. She quickly set the salve down on the table, and then stood, waiting for instructions.

"Clean up the glass, girl. I can manage the salve." His hand was already moving towards it, his voice cold and dismissive. Annie turned away, her head bowed and knelt carefully down to begin sweeping up the glass, carefully avoiding the little trail of blue liquid, which had made a black mark on the floor. The glass made a loud shrill sound against her brush and she heard red-black-blue words behind her and the Sorcerer's harsh voice saying, "Did I say you could use a brush, girl? Use your hands! I need to think without all this noise." Shrinking from his anger, Annie put down the brush and carefully reached for the bigger pieces of glass and placed them in the pan.

As she was picking up the smallest pieces as carefully as she could, she heard a wooden thunk coming from the stairs. Mags must be coming up, stopping every few steps to give her back a rest. Annie carefully placed the little splinters of glass in her palm into the pan and walked to the door to let Mags in. The old woman was still several steps below the door, so Annie reached down to take the water bucket from her. Mags gave her a gummy smile and muttered a 'thank you'. Together the two women finished the walk up the stairs, Mags leaning on Annie for support, a blue-green-calm emanating from the other woman that calmed Annie's own nerves. Her love would be alright soon. Sae's salve would see to that.

The Sorcerer demanded they clean the floor while he finished smearing Sae's salve over his wound. His voice crackled black-thunder as he finished with the salve and then reached for an old piece of cloth to wrap it in. Annie and Mags scrubbed as much of the floor as they could, thankfully the spilled liquid had stopped smoking, and when they were finished he sent them on their way.

The rest of the afternoon was spent cleaning and dusting the various rooms around the tower. Annie found that more half-remembered memories kept trying to rise from the depths of her mind – a small figure pink-white-sweet had once lain on this small couch she was cleaning, hadn't they? Another brown-blue-spice had once hidden in the back of an old oak cabinet she dusted later and when she walked into the room with the blue walls she could have sworn she heard somebody laugh yellow-green-happiness. She knew better than to try poking at these memories. Sorcerer Snow had told her it was just her madness, making her see and hear things that weren't there.

She served his evening meal at seven o'clock promptly. A warm stew of pig and mushrooms in cream with doughy potatoes on the side. It smelled lovely and her beloved's colours were yellow-brown-content, although his yellow was always sickly and his brown full of dark shades. She turned without prompting and made to leave.

"Annie, dearest," her face flushed slightly at the tenderness in his voice, "I require your assistance tonight. You will be here at nine o'clock, do you understand?"

"Yes, Sorcerer Snow," she nodded her head and then skipped down the stairs to the kitchen. Her love needed her, needed her help. She was so happy she was able to aid him in his work.