Chapter 10-The Little Witch
It was early morning at the royal palace of Enchancia and for most people (aside from early bird Baileywick) the day was just beginning. But for one little princess, her morning had just begun with a black cat sitting on her chest yelling at her to wake up. Normally having a talking cat yelling in your face early in the morning would make anyone grumpy, but not Sofia. This morning was special for her, because she was going to begin her magic lessons!
Ever since her talk with Dante back in Jera's forest domain, Sofia had been slowly thinking about learning magic. Not just academically like in Royal Prep, but for real, like the spells and everything. She had pleaded with Dante to at least teach her a few basic spells, but he was hesitant. It wasn't that he thought that as a princess she shouldn't learn magic, at that point everyone began to realize that Sofia wasn't one to conform to social norms, but because magic was a big responsibility. A lot of things can go wrong if you aren't paying attention, and this was especially true for beginners. Besides, he didn't want to do this behind Cedric's back.
Sofia respected his decision to think about it, until one evening, about a day after the surprisingly emotional pet contest, that Dante agreed to teach her basic magic. She didn't know what changed his mind, and he coyly kept her in the dark about that. Whatever his reasons, she was learning magic, and that was exciting on its own.
Unfortunately, because of their busy schedules, they had to do their practice sessions early in the morning before they went their separate ways. And so far, most of their time was spent meditating in the castle garden.
"What do you feel, Sofia?" Dante asked softly. Sofia sat across from him, eyes closed, hands clasped in his as she focused her senses inward.
"I feel…something warm." Sofia answered. "A warm feeling in my stomach."
"Yes, that's it. That's your core, your body's source of mana." He said. "Focus on it as hard as you can until you start feeling that warmth grow."
"Okay." Sofia took a deep breath and focused her mind on that little ball of warmth in her body. To her surprise, that warmth grew within her chest, making her feel warm and fuzzy.
"You still feel it, right? Now visualize that energy flowing through your body, down your arm, and out of your hand." He instructed. "Take it slow and don't rush it. We don't want any surprises."
Sofia nodded and followed his instructions. She took deep, slow breaths and felt that warmth in her body slowly spread to her arms, making her skin tingle. The small, electrical tingle that ran down her arms reached her hands, making her fingers tingle as well. She opened her eyes and jumped when pink sparkles burst from her fingertips like fireworks right into Dante's face.
"Dante!" She exclaimed.
"I'm fine!" He sputtered, blinking the stars out of his eyes. "I'm fine. Just caught off guard. That's what I get for sitting right in front of you while doing this exercise."
Sofia looked at her hands. "What was that?"
"That was your power, Sofia. You've just manifested your energy for the first time, so it's bound to be a bit explosive. Nothing harmful though." Dante smiled. He took Sofia's hands in his and moved closer to her. "The flashy sparkles are normal. That's just a sign that your power is new and unused. The more you train, the more control you'll gain."
"Wow, this is more intricate than I realized." Sofia breathed.
"Magic is a complicated practice, Sofia, and mana control is only less so. It's why so many magicians and sorcerers spend their time studying and experimenting. Thankfully, you're just learning basic mana control, which isn't that hard if you keep at it." He closed his eyes and breathed in. "Now let's try that again. Repeat the directions I gave you. I'll give you a helping hand this time."
Sofia nodded and performed the same process once more. She felt that same electric tingle run down her arms to her hands, but this time, instead of exploding outward into sparks, her energy remained in her hands. Sofia looked down in awe as her hands gained a light pink aura around them. Her hands felt warm, like she was wearing gloves.
"Wow." She breathed. She glanced up and saw Dante smiling at her, then she noticed that his hands were glowing dark red.
"A little trick Master Winnifred taught me. I used my mana to help you bring yours out." He said. "See that glow around your hands? That's your aura, a sort of energy field generated by your mana. It's not normally visible like this, but since we're both using our energy at the same time, it's more condensed."
"This is my power." Sofia said softly, marveling at the soft pink glow about her hands. "It feels so warm."
"It's a good way to keep warm in winter, though you'll still need a coat." Dante joked.
"Is this all I have to do to bring my mana out?" She asked.
"No, there's a lot more that you can do, but for now, I want you to focus on these exercises to help acclimate your body to manipulating its energy. Take it slow or you'll end up exhausting yourself, or worse." Dante said. "Next time we'll try to help you focus on maintaining that energy and shaping it."
Sofia was about to say something but she and Dante heard a low rumble. He raised an eyebrow in her direction and she blushed.
"That…that was my stomach." Sofia muttered. "I'm getting hungry."
"I can see that. I'd like to say I've never heard a girl's stomach growl like that, but you should hear Amber's stomach when we have blueberry pancakes for breakfast." Dante grinned at the giggling Sofia. "Sounds like a lioness on the prowl."
"Dante, it's too early for that right now." Sofia laughed and stood up. "I better go eat. I've got a busy day today and I'm going to need all my energy for it."
"Oh? What's the occasion?"
"Today's Jade's birthday!" Sofia exclaimed, throwing her arms up happily. "She's turning thirteen today, and she's throwing a party for all her friends."
"Sweet. Tell her I said congrats!"
"She's also inviting you to the party." Sofia added with a smirk. "You really impressed her at our sleepover, and she wanted to invite you to meet her friends."
"Really?" Dante blinked. This was honestly the first time he's ever been invited to someone's birthday party. Amber and James's parties were more of a formality due to him being the Royal Sorcerer's apprentice. "Oh, that's…that's nice. First time someone's actually invited me to a party that I wasn't obligated to attend."
"Well there's a first time for everything!" Sofia smiled. "Will you be able to make it?"
"I don't know. I have to help Cedric with some things, do some damage control, and practice a few forms, but if I'm lucky, I should be there at the party by noon if I use my magic carpet."
"You have a magic carpet?" Sofia asked.
"Yup. Don't ask me where it is though, because it's probably stashed in our storage room somewhere." He shrugged, as if just saying you own a magic carpet was normal.
Sofia shook her head. Magicians were weird sometimes.
XXXXXX
After washing up and having breakfast, Sofia took the flying coach straight to Rosemary, where she already ran into Ruby over at Jade's house. As fantastic and lively it was being a princess, she was glad to spend some time with her friends in the town. To Sofia, it was a reminder of sorts of where she came from. Princess she may be, but she was a lively town girl at heart.
As soon as Sofia made it to Jade's house, she helped them get started on preparing Jade's front yard for the birthday party they were going to hold later that day. Jade and Ruby worked on the decorations while Sofia worked on the invitations.
"And there! All done!" Jade smiled as she fixed the last of the daisies. She looked around the yard and nodded at the good work she did in beautifying the place. "Ruby how are the signs?"
"They're going well, Jade. Big and sparkly, just the way you like it." Ruby said.
"Sofia, are you done with the invitations?" She asked.
"Yup. This is the last one." Sofia placed the stamp on the envelope and paced it on the stack of letters next to her. "I think we're all set, Jade."
Jade took a look at the invitations and smiled. "Oh, I love it, Sofia! This is going to be the best birthday party ever!"
"It'll be even better when Dante visits us." Ruby said. "Will he be able to make it, Sofia?"
"He will, but not until later today. Don't worry, Dante promised he'll be here for the party." Sofia said. Suddenly the oil lamp next to her lit up as a small flame exploded within before dying out, making her jump. "What was that?"
A bolt of light shot from the bushes and hit Jade's chair, causing it to slide right out from under her and she fell to the ground. Another flash and the quill in Ruby's hand flew right out of her grasp and poked her in the nose, leaving a dot of red ink on the tip of her nose. And then the box of stamps next to Sofia floated above her and dumped its contents onto her head.
"What's going on?" Sofia asked.
Jade heard a giggle coming from the bushes and looked over at them to see a pointy purple hat poking out of the bushes. "It's Lucinda!"
"Who?" Sofia followed Jade's gaze and saw a young girl about her age hiding in the bushes waving a wand in the air. The girl had long dark indigo hair tied into two ponytails and wore a dark maroon dress with golden stars on her skirt and blue striped stockings.
The girl, Lucinda, waved her wand and began turning all the flowers into dancing mushrooms. Then she flicked her wand upwards and shifted the baubles hanging over the garden into bee hives.
"Stop it!" Jade yelled angrily. "Get out of here, Lucinda!"
Lucinda snickered and tipped her hat mockingly before changing into a raven and flying off. Sofia blinked at the advanced use of magic by someone her age. Being around Dante was one thing, but she never expected to see another child using magic too.
"Who was that?" She asked.
"That's Lucinda. She's a witch who moved in about a month ago." Jade growled, staring sadly at the magical madness Lucinda left in her wake. "Since she came here with her mom, she's been an absolute terror!"
"She brought Jade's dolls to life and had them lurking around her house at night scaring her." Ruby said. "Jade didn't sleep for almost three nights until Lucinda stopped the spell."
"And she turned Ruby's bows into mice." Jade said.
"And melted my crayons together." Ruby grumbled. "Those things were expensive!"
"And now she's ruining my party!" Jade exclaimed.
"Hey, it's okay you two. A few mushrooms and beehives aren't enough to stop this party from going on." Sofia said. "It'll all be just fine."
Ruby heard a buzzing near her ear and screamed as she saw a bee zoom past her face. "Bees!"
The three girls hurried into Jade's house as fast as they could and slammed the door behind them. Sofia let out a breath and gave her friends a shaky smile.
"L-Let's have the party indoors." She suggested. "I promise, it'll be just as fun."
Jade frowned and looked out the window at her mushroom and bee filled garden. Explaining this to her parents was not going to be fun.
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Once the girls had Jade's father remove the transfigurated beehives, they went out into town to hand out invitations to the other children. Many of them were Sofia's old classmates at the local schoolhouse, though she only really kept in touch with Jade and Ruby since becoming a princess.
"Hey, Ruby?" Sofia asked as they followed Jade around handing out invitations. "Why does Lucinda play tricks on everybody?"
"Who knows? She's a witch, that's what they do." Ruby shrugged. "I heard that her mother acts the same way, but even worse!"
Sofia imagined an older woman wearing a pointy hat and witches robes, riding around on a broomstick hexing people. She knew from her Magical Studies classes at Royal Prep that witches were usually women who formed communities called covens and often lived apart from the rest of society, and many of their traditions and beliefs went against social norms. According to Dante, witches were basically magic users who connected with nature and liked to dabble in things most magicians steered clear of. Basically, if you considered something to be taboo or forbidden, the witches are probably fooling around with it.
'There has to be a reason Lucinda is doing all this. Mom told me that bullies have a reason for picking on others, even as adults. This has to be true, even for a witch.' Sofia thought.
"I hope you can come to my party, Kate." Jade said as she handed her friend an invitation. "Everyone's going to be there."
"I can't wait, Jade. Thanks a lot!" The girl smiled and ran off with her letter.
Lucinda peeked at them from around the corner and snickered before flicking her wand. A strong gust of wind slammed into Kate, almost knocking her over and blowing her invitation out of her hand. Lucinda muttered another spell and shot a bolt of light that hit the envelope and transformed it into a paper horse, which galloped away on tiny paper thin legs.
"Wait!" Kate cried out and ran after it.
"This is too good!" Lucinda laughed and twirled her wand at another child, a boy. This time she conjured up a small dog tail on his behind, and in his right, the boy's pet dog began chasing the tail, and him, in a circle.
"No, no, no, not again!" Jade growled. "Stop it, Lucinda. What you're doing isn't funny!"
"It is to me." Lucinda grinned and slashed her wand upwards.
Jade screamed as wind blew up into her from underneath, sending her stack of invitations flying everywhere. Lucinda cackled and scurried off, leaving a trail of destruction in her wake. Jade glared after her and stomped her foot angrily.
"I'm so done with that girl!" Jade growled. She angrily snatched a few falling invitations out of the air with Ruby's help. "At this rate, I'll be lucky to even get a piece of cake without her turning it into a beehive or something."
"Or turning everybody in the party into dolls." Ruby muttered. "God, I hate dolls."
Sofia looked at the tired faces of her best friends and frowned. This wasn't going to do on what was supposed to be a wonderful day for Jade. "I'm going to go talk to her."
Jade and Ruby gasped. "What? No, Sofia, she'll hex you!" Jade exclaimed.
"Well she's not going to stop unless someone asks her to. This is supposed to be your special day, Jade, and I'm not going to let anyone ruin it." Sofia said firmly. Her face displayed a confidence she certainly did not have. "I'll be right back. Wish me luck!"
Ruby and Jade watched Sofia walk off with looks of awe and fear on their faces.
"That girl's gotten braver since she became a princess." Jade whispered.
"I know. It's kind of awesome." Ruby said, and called out to Sofia. "Godspeed, Sofia! I promise not to scream at you if you get turned into a doll!"
"Ruby!" Jade hissed.
"What? I'm just saying." Ruby shrugged.
XXXXXX
It wasn't hard to find Lucinda, considering the dark dress she wore, and her pointy hat was hard to miss. Sofia found the girl sitting on a bench in a secluded corner of the street. What caught Sofia's attention was how the little witch didn't look very happy as she was earlier. In fact, she looked kind of sad.
'What could she be sad about?' Sofia wondered. She got her answer when Lucinda pulled something out of her skirt pocket—Jade's party invitation. 'When did she get that?'
"Must be nice having parties with friends." Lucinda muttered to herself.
Sofia decided this was the perfect moment to talk to the witch. She came out of her hiding spot and slowly walked over to the bench. When she was close enough, she cleared her throat and spoke to her. "Lucinda?"
Lucinda froze and looked up, quickly putting the letter back into her pocket as got to her feet. "Who are you?" She asked snidely.
"I'm…Sofia. Sofia Pendragon." Sofia replied, giving her a smile. "Pleased to meet you, Lucinda."
Lucinda didn't return the courtesy, eying Sofia's magenta dress warily. "What's with the dress? You a noble or something?"
"Um, I'm a princess." Sofia answered.
"A princess?" Lucinda repeated skeptically. "You?"
"Yes, a princess. Is something wrong with that?"
"Your aura is too strong for you to be a princess." Lucinda said. "You have to be a mage or something."
"My…aura?" Sofia blinked.
Lucinda frowned. "You don't know what an aura is? It's the energy field generated by a person's mana. Magic users have stronger auras that they can sense when their near each other. This is basic stuff. How do you not know it?"
"Well, I only started practicing magic this morning. My royal sorcerer's apprentice, Dante started teaching me." Sofia said.
"That explains it. A princess being trained by the little bungle of Cedric the Bungler." Lucinda snickered. Sofia frowned at that. "Now what do you want, little princess mage?"
"I would like you to stop hexing my friends…please." Sofia said politely.
"I'm sorry, you want me to what?" Lucinda cocked an eyebrow at her. "Why would I do that?"
"Because it's not nice." Sofia said as if it were common knowledge. Which, to her, it was.
"That's why I do it. I'm a witch. Witches aren't nice." Lucinda shot back. "Trust me, I've got nothing on the witches in Freezenberg. At least I'm not a cannibal."
'Hard to argue that.' Sofia thought. "But you wouldn't hex your own friends, would you?"
"I wouldn't know." Lucinda said. She tried to put on a nonchalant air, but the downturn of her expression told Sofia another story.
"What do you mean you don't know?" Sofia asked. "Don't you have any friends?"
"No." Lucinda answered. "But it's fine. I'm a witch, and we do our best magic when we're alone."
"You don't mean that." Sofia protested. "Everyone needs a friend, even witches."
"Whatever, I'm not arguing with a sorcerer-trained princess." Lucinda got up to walk away.
"Wait, wait! I know you want to go to Jade's birthday party, don't you? That's why you feel sad, because you want to be included." Sofia said. Lucinda spun around, clutching her wand angrily.
"Beat it, princess, or I'll hex you!" She growled.
Sofia crossed her arms. "Lucinda, that's not nice. You don't threaten your friends—ah!"
Sofia screamed as she was sent floating off the ground with a wave of Lucinda's wand. Like a feather in the wind, she was lifted into the air, and she quickly held her dress down so her skirt didn't fly up.
"I told you to beat it." Lucinda grinned.
"Lucinda, put me down." Sofia said sternly.
Lucinda crossed her arms and looked away. Sofia crossed her arms and gave Lucinda a look she had been perfecting with Amber's help. It only took a few seconds before Lucinda caved in and canceled the floating spell.
"Okay, fine!" Lucinda sighed and pouted. It wasn't fun when her victims weren't screaming in panic. Kind of the whole reason witches terrorized people, you know. "It…would be nice to have some real friends. And go to parties."
"So if you want to have friends, why do you play tricks on people?" Sofia asked.
"I don't know how to do anything else. It's just what witches do. My mother, grandmother, and great-grandmother are all witches, and I'm just continuing the family tradition." Lucinda said, plopping herself down on a bench. "I used to live with a larger coven, but my mom had us move here since the people in Enchancia are a bit more…accepting of magic users. Witches aren't as popular like those goody two-shoes sorcerers you hang out with. We had to leave everything behind to live a better life here."
"Oh, I'm sorry to hear that." Sofia said softly. "Where did you use to live?"
"On the outskirts of Rudistan." Lucinda smiled humorlessly at Sofia's wince. "Yeah, now you know why I left."
Rudistan, the kingdom King Magnus hailed from, was one of the few nations in the Tri-Kingdom area that cracked down on magic and those who use it. Magic was strictly regulated, and basic magicians and sorcerers had to adhere to strict guidelines or be forced into exile or imprisonment. Witches were traditionally unconventional magic users who practice more natural and primal methods of spellcasting, weren't accepted in Rudistan's society and were often persecuted.
"If you want friends, then why play tricks on people. That sounds kind of counter-productive." Sofia said.
"It's a family tradition. Some witches sell potions and brews to others, some adopt young girls as apprentices, my family just runs around playing tricks on people. Honestly, I find it easier to do that than talk to regular people." Lucinda said. "When you're raised from birth around witches who are just like you, it's really hard trying to meet other people. Especially mundanes who barely know magic."
Sofia nodded, feeling like she knew where Lucinda was coming from. "I know how you feel, Lucinda."
"Really?" Lucinda said in shock. "You don't get along with regular people either?"
"No, no, it's not that. But I know what it feels like to be someplace new and feel like an outcast." Sofia explained. "You see, I wasn't born a princess, so when I moved into the castle, everything was so strange and alien to me, a girl who spent her entire life as a commoner. I felt like an outcast, but thanks to some good friends of mine, I was able to get used to my new home."
Sofia moved closer to Lucinda. "So, if you want, I can help you make some friends of your own."
"But who would want to be friends with a witch?" Lucinda frowned. Sofia noticed that she didn't outright refuse her help. "I played tricks on literally every single kid in the town."
"Everyone?" Sofia blinked.
Lucinda rubbed the back of her head sheepishly. "I was very thorough."
"Okay, if that's the case, then let's with a simple apology." Sofia told her.
"An apology?"
"Yeah, you know, I'm sorry." Sofia smiled. Lucinda wriggled her nose and crossed her arms.
"So you think a sorry from me is going to make them magically like me just like that?" Lucinda snorted. "Witch please."
"But apologizing first is just the first step, Lucinda. Once you do that, things will start to get better. But only if you take that first step." Sofia pressed.
Lucinda still looked unsure, looking to the side nervously. This was uncharted territory for her. "I guess we can try it out."
"Great!" Sofia smiled and took Lucinda's hand. "Come with me. Ruby and Jade should still be in the town square. I'll be with you to explain everything."
Lucinda bit her lip but followed Sofia anyway. Witches never shied away from anything, and this was no different. Hopefully.
XXXXXX
"So should we get lilacs for Sofia's funeral or something brighter?" Ruby asked.
"Ruby." Jade sent Ruby a look.
"I'm sorry, but as cool Sofia is, she's no match for that wicked witch. I'm already trying to think up an explanation to the King and Queen as to why her daughter was turned into a doll." Ruby said.
"Sofia's not going to be turned into a doll, Ruby. You really need to get over that." Jade admonished.
"Says you. I'll get over it when I'm sure my doll won't come and smother me in my sleep." Ruby huffed. "Just in case I'll have my dollhouse ready in case Sofia needs a place to stay."
"Honestly, Ruby." Jade rolled her eyes.
"Ruby, Jade!" The girls looked down the street and saw Sofia waving at them.
"See? Sofia's fine." Jade said. "She's a tough girl—"
"Oh my god, is that Lucinda?" Ruby gasped.
"What?!" Jade looked back and saw Lucinda behind Sofia. "Sofia, look out!"
"Whoa, whoa, calm down!" Sofia raised her hands to calm her friends down. Lucinda scooched back behind her sheepishly as the other girls got the hell out of dodge as fast as they could. "It's fine, she's with me."
Jade and Ruby looked at her as if she said that the world was flat. Sofia gave them a shaky smile and moved Lucinda forward.
"Girls, Lucinda has something to say to you." She nudged Lucinda forward. "Go ahead Lucinda."
The little witch looked like a deer in a hunter's sights. She stumbled over her words as she tried to think of a way to apologize, which was something she never did to anyone other than her witch friends, which was rare in itself. Jade's glare wasn't helping her either.
"Um, I'm…I'm…" Lucinda cleared her throat and clasped her hands. "I'm sorry! I'm really, really sorry for hexing you."
"Yeah, no, I don't buy it." Jade said coldly and turned away.
"Jade!" Sofia exclaimed. "Lucinda said she's sorry. We've had a talk and I've managed to convince her that hexing people isn't a good way to make friends."
"You managed to talk to her without getting hexed?" Ruby said with a raised brow.
"Well, she sort of made me float a little like a balloon, but it's good now. All in the past." Sofia said quickly. "The point is that she's lonely, and she doesn't know how to make friends outside of her coven. So, I was think that maybe you could…invite her to your party?"
"What? No, Sofia, that's not happening." Jade growled. "Lucinda tried to ruin my party already."
"Yeah, twice." Ruby said. Jade nodded.
"She's probably just using you so she can get into the party and ruin it a third time for kicks." Jade said and walked past Sofia while sending Lucinda a glare. "I'll never invite her to my party!"
Lucinda felt a flash of anger at Jade's scorn and without thinking flicked her wand at the girl. A small raincloud manifested over Jade's head and started to rain on her, making her dress wet. Jade growled and spun around to glare at Lucinda.
"See?" She hissed.
Lucinda snorted but a look from Sofia made her stop. "Right, sorry, sorry. Let me fix that."
Another flick of the wand and the raincloud vanished. "All better?" Lucinda asked smiling."
Jade scowled, still soaking wet. "Not all better!"
Lucinda sucked her teeth and cast another spell that drew all the moisture from Jade's dress and hair and threw it away. Then she cast another spell to make the wind blow on her to dry her off completely.
"All dry!" Lucinda chirped.
"Jade, please, she's honestly trying to make up for hexing you." Sofia pleaded with her.
"I'm still not inviting her Sofia, so stop trying." Jade said firmly and marched away. Ruby ran after her.
"Jade, where are you going?" Ruby asked.
"Back home. That witch may have Sofia fooled, but she's not getting me a third time." Jade said. "Bullies like her will only leave you alone if you stand up to them and chase them off."
"What are you planning?"
"I don't know. Maybe a witch trap that'll make that girl sorry she ever tried to ruin my party." Jade said. "If I'm lucky, I'll be able to salvage the party and celebrate my birthday in peace."
XXXXXX
Lucinda watched Jade stomp away with a frown and gave a frustrated grunt. "See? She still hates me! What was I even thinking that she was going to forgive me after one apology?"
"I'm so sorry, Lucinda. Jade can hold a grudge when she gets mad, but this will take time." Sofia said. "Some people take a little longer to forgive than others."
"No, Sofia, it's not going to work. I tried, I failed and I'm certainly not going to have the rest of the town say the same thing to my face." Lucinda said and mounted her broom. "I'm going home. This was just a waste of time."
"No, Lucinda, stop!" Sofia panicked and impulsively did something that she would later beat herself up for later on when looking back at this moment.
She grabbed onto the tail end of Lucinda's broom just as it took flight.
The speed at which they flew into the air was startling. Witches' brooms were no joke after all. Sofia felt her feet leave the ground and the wind rushing through her hair as Lucinda flew over the entire town. The witch glanced back at Sofia with a look of shock and horror.
"What are you doing? Let go!" Lucinda yelled, looking more worried than Sofia had ever seen her.
"I can't! If I let go, I'll die!" Sofia exclaimed, holding onto the bristles of the broom tightly.
Unfortunately her weight was too much for the broom to handle, and caused it to veer off balance. As the broom tipped back, Sofia lost her grip on the broom and fell with a scream.
"Sofia!" Lucina cried out. She spun around and waved her wand, casting a spell with speed she didn't even know she had. She cushion of air underneath the princess to slow her fall and safely guide her back to solid earth.
Sofia landed on her feet shakily, her heart pounding from that little misadventure. Lucinda flew down to her and jumped off her broom.
"Sofia are you alright?" Lucinda asked worriedly.
"Y-Yeah, I'm fine. That was a close call though." Sofia gulped.
"Yeah, try not grabbing a witch's broom like that next time. I thought princesses were supposed to be daintier than this." Lucinda huffed.
"I'm different from other princesses." Sofia remarked and took a deep breath. "Thank you for saving me, Lucinda. See? You really do have it in your to be good."
"That was only because it's my fault you fell in the first place." Lucinda said, looking away.
That gave Sofia an idea. She snapped her fingers and took Lucinda's hand. "That's it! Why don't you prove you're sincere by fixing all the damage you caused today?"
"Huh?" Lucinda blinked.
"You were right about words not being enough. Actions speak louder. Show the other kids you're really trying to change by fixing everything you've done." Sofia explained to her. "Then maybe they'll warm up to you."
Lucinda thought about it, seeing the logic in that method. "By fix everything, do you mean all of my hexes?"
Sofia nodded. "Yup. Every last one."
"All of them?" She asked again.
Sofia just crossed her arms and raised an eyebrow at the witch. Lucinda sighed.
"Okay, I'll undo all of them. It's a shame to undo such works of art, but as long as it's in the name of friendship." She said shrugging. Lucinda twirled her wand in her hand and smiled. "Well, let's get to work!"
XXXXXX
After seeing Jade off back at her house, Ruby headed back to the town square to find Sofia. Jade was dead set on "witch-proofing" her house to survive another Lucinda attack, and while Ruby could see where she was coming from, she really hoped Jade didn't take it too far. Jade sometimes went overboard when it came to getting even. In their circle of friends, if Sofia was the optimistic and helpful one, and Ruby was the sweet and friendly one, then Jade was the supportive but hard one. She was that friend who acted as a buffer to anyone who tried to mess with them.
"I really hope Sofia wasn't turned into a doll." Ruby prayed. Sofia was a wonderful girl who tried to see the good in everyone, but Ruby was afraid that'll get her in trouble with someone who didn't have a sensitive side. Not everyone could be redeemed…nor did they want to.
She spotted the tell-tale lavender dress Sofia wore in the town square, and she almost called out to her. But then she noticed Lucinda and paled. What was Sofia still doing with that witch? Ruby almost yelled at Lucinda to stay away from her friend, but then she noticed something.
Lucinda was smiling. Actually smiling. It wasn't one of her evil little smirks that she had when she cast her hexes. The little witch actually looked happy. Ruby had to admit, that smile looked good on her.
What was even more amazing was that Lucinda was doing something other than hexing people. She was…fixing things! Looking happier than Ruby had ever seen her, Lucinda fluttered about the street waving her wand and undoing all the hexes she casted upon the houses and children. The other children, while warily observing her, didn't run away at the sight of her.
'What's going on?' Ruby thought. She knew Sofia had to have been behind this change. Who else could've managed this?
Taking a deep breath, Ruby approached the two girls, who soon noticed her presence. "Hey, Sofia…Lucinda."
Lucinda gave a little wave and a sheepish smile. "Hey."
"Ruby, check this out. Lucinda's fixing all the damage she's caused!" Sofia said.
"I can see that." Ruby said. "How did you manage that?"
"We just talked." Sofia shrugged. "Lucinda really wants to change, Ruby, and I helped her figure out that hexing isn't the way to make any friends."
"And you managed to get her to undo all the hexes she cast?"
"Yup." Sofia nodded proudly. Lucinda blushed a bit at the appraisal from Sofia. "The other children are already warming up to her after she fixed the damages."
Ruby looked at Lucinda, who stood next to the princess looking less like a wicked witch and more like a girl who probably had no idea how to interact with people who didn't use magic. Ruby's initial fear of Lucinda began to lessen though she was still wary of the girl.
"Sofia's right, I am trying to change. I haven't really made any attempts to make any friends in Rosemary because I grew up around witches, but I just realized how lonely it's made me. That's not a good feeling to have." Lucinda said and stepped forward to Ruby. "I'm sorry for terrorizing you and Jade. And I'm really sorry about the dolls. I've had some bad experiences with animated dolls myself when I was little and…yeah, let's just say what I did to your dolls was lukewarm at best compared to what some other witches will do to them."
"Good lord, what kind of friends did you have?" Ruby asked in amazement.
"The scary and wicked kind." Lucinda replied.
Ruby crossed her arms and gave Lucinda a cautious look. "On any other day, I wouldn't have believed that you changed, but since you ran into Sofia of all people, I'll give you a chance." She looked around at the town square which looked pristine and untouched, if a little bit shabby as it always had been. "And I can't deny you worked hard to fix everything."
"I did." Lucinda nodded.
"Honestly, if Sofia's willing to put some faith in you, then I'll give you a chance too. But Jade…she holds grudges, and it'll take her some time to come around. You're going to have to work real hard to gain her trust."
Sofia bit her lip. Jade was a prickly girl when she was angered, and wasn't one for fancy words or empty promises.
"I better get going and see who else is coming to the party. Hopefully I'll get a chance to have some cake before the day is over." Ruby sighed and waved at the girls as she walked off. "Honestly, Lucinda, I hope you do find a place here. Rosemary's a wonderful place if you give it a chance."
Lucinda looked around the street and for once she didn't feel anything negative towards the place. Now that she had a friend, Rosemary didn't feel so alien to her. "I can see why."
Ruby walked off and Lucinda turned to Sofia. "So what now? Ruby's right, Jade's probably going to be the hardest girl to apologize to. Is she really that vindictive?"
"She's not that vindictive, but Jade is a very emotional girl who hates bullies and pranksters. It's gotten her into a lot of fights with some of the neighborhood boys." Sofia sighed and rubbed her chin. Looking around at the other children smiling at Lucinda for once, Sofia came up with another idea. "The party!"
"What?" Lucinda asked.
"You can make it up to Jade by fixing her party. Remember you hexed the decorations earlier? She's still mad about that." Sofia explained. "Come with me to Jade's house and you can help fix everything with your magic. Then Jade can have her party outside again! In fact, she'll be so happy she'll definitely invite you."
"That…sounds like a great idea." Lucinda said with a smile. It felt a bit strange, but also surprisingly good to not use her magic to tease other kids. Honestly their reactions to her hexing them didn't feel as good as when she'd play those same pranks on her friends back at her old home.
Lucinda fiddled with her wand a bit before saying, "Hey, Sofia? T-Thank you. It really means a lot that you're helping me with this."
"Anything for a friend." Sofia said, grasping Lucinda's hand.
"A friend?" Lucinda blinked. "I'm your friend?"
"Of course! I'm always happy to have new friends, especially ones as special and talented as you are."
Lucinda looked so happy she could jump up and throw around a few firework spells in celebration. Thankfully she refrained from doing that, but she did give Sofia a quick but tight hug to show how happy she made her.
"Let's hurry before we're too late." Lucinda said, running over to her broom. "We can get there faster on this."
"Oh, no I think I'm good, thanks." Sofia said nervously. Lucinda gave her a cheeky smile.
"Come on, it'll be fun." She said.
"It wasn't so fun when I fell several feet off it." Sofia replied.
Lucinda chuckled and waved her broom, which looked rather ordinary for something that could move as fast as a bald eagle at full speed, and said, "Only because you weren't sitting on it, you were dangling from it. Broom riding is one of the best things about being a witch. It's fun and cool and really, really refreshing! You'll love it!"
"You…think so?" Sofia asked cautiously. She had ridden on Maximillian dozens of times, and even as friends he was still a bit wild to ride at the best of times. A witch's broom shouldn't be that bad.
"Would I lie to my only friend?" Lucinda asked.
"I don't know." Sofia replied wryly.
Lucinda just smiled and mounted her broom, patting the spot behind her. Sofia decided to let the girl have her fun and hopped on behind Lucinda. She gave a little gasp when the broom suddenly took off like a bird, and the ground fell away below her. She clung tight to the broom, but didn't feel too scared this time. Now that she was riding a broom properly, it actually felt kind of good.
"Wow, this feels amazing!" Sofia exclaimed, looking down at the town below them as they flew over the houses and shops.
"I've never given anyone a ride on my broom before." Lucinda said.
"Why not?"
"I grew up in a witch's coven, remember? Everyone else already had their own brooms." Lucinda replied. "And I've never had a friend here to give a ride to."
Sofia hugged Lucinda around the waist. "Well you already have one friend. After you fix Jade's party, you'll have lots more."
Lucinda really hoped that'd happen. Now that she had a real non-witch friend in this town, she definitely wanted more to spend time with her. She never wanted to be lonely every again like that. Even for a hardcore witch like herself, she needed someone to talk to every once in a while.
XXXXXX
Lucinda landed her broom right in front of Lucinda's house, softly floating to the ground and letting Sofia get off. "So how was it?" Lucinda asked grinning.
"That ride was much better when I wasn't dangling off the end like fish bait." Sofia said. "I can't believe you get to do that every day."
"We witches know how to have fun when we're given the chance." Lucinda smiled and walked over to the front gate. She frowned when she saw the front yard where the party was supposed to be held. "Oh no…"
Now that Lucinda really got a good look at the yard, she began to feel guilty. The streamers that she turned into snakes, the lanterns turned into beehives, that one dancing doll that used to be Ruby's that she lost track of a month ago, and the party decorations transfigured into mushrooms (thankfully not poisonous ones, that was a bit much even for her). Before she had done this out of spite at not being invited to Jade's birthday party, but now that she was trying to turn over a new leaf, she realized that what she did was really, really bad.
"By Hecate, I really messed things up didn't I?" Lucinda asked.
"Yeah, you kind of did." Sofia said. "But that's why we're here. To fix it."
Lucinda took a deep breath and opened the gate. "Well, better get to work."
While Lucinda began dispelling all the hexes she cast upon Jade's front yard, the birthday girl herself was inside wit Ruby setting up decorations along the inside of her house. You only turn thirteen once, Jade wasn't going to let some witch ruin this day for her. The next time Lucinda stopped by, she would be ready.
Ruby however was of a different mind. After seeing how much Lucinda changed after meeting Sofia, and seeing the effort she was putting into fixing the mess she made, Ruby started to somewhat warm up to the witch. And after seeing the surprisingly mean spirited piñata of Lucinda that Jade had made, she was starting to worry about her.
Jade was just putting the finishing touches on the piñata when she heard a familiar giggle that she had trained herself to listen out for, for her own protection. She narrowed her eyes and looked to the window.
"Ruby, did you hear that?" She asked.
"Hear what?" Ruby said.
"That laugh. It came from outside." Jade went over to the window and peeked through the curtains. When she saw Lucinda standing in her front yard, she gasped. "I knew it! It's Lucinda!"
"Really?" Ruby looked out the window just in time to see the witch run off to another part of the yard.
"That little witch is here for seconds!" Jade growled.
"Now Jade, maybe she's just here for the party." Ruby said.
"Yeah to wreck it. But I'm prepared this time." Jade smirked and motioned to the overelaborate trap she set up. It consisted of a net placed on the floor by the door, and a long rope tied to the piñata that acted as an anchor. One pull of the rope and the anchor will fall, pulling the net up and wrapping up anything that was inside.
Ruby stared up in shock at the trap. "When did you make this?"
"When you were out giving out the invitations." Jade answered, feeling proud of herself. "It took me a while to make the piñata, but considering how well it turned out, I think it was worth it."
"Jade, I really think that Lucinda's trying to change. I mean, you should've seen her back in town." Ruby said. "I think talking to Sofia helped her change her tune."
"Sofia's a great person, Ruby, but not everyone wants to be changed. Especially a witch like Lucinda." Jade said, spitting out the word "witch". "And I'm not risking her doing something bad to us or her."
"But Jade—" Ruby tried to say but Jade cut her off.
"Do you know that your doll just popped up in my yard? That creepy thing's been doing a river dance without taking its eyes off the house!" Jade exclaimed. "Enough's enough, Ruby. I'm going to teach that witch she messed with the wrong girl!"
Jade and Ruby went quiet when they heard giggling outside the door and Jade yanked her friend to the side to hide. There was a knock on the door and Jade eagerly peeked out to see Lucinda come through the door. But when the door creaked open, it wasn't Lucinda who entered, it was Sofia!
"Jade? Are you here?" Sofia called out. "I've got a surprise for you."
"Sofia, wait!" Jade called out.
Just as Sofia took a couple of steps into the house, she triggered the trap. The net on the floor wrapped her up and the weighted piñata fell from the ceiling, lifting the surprised princess up into the air with enough force to dislodge the banners and decorations that Jade had just got done setting up moments ago.
"Jade, what is this? What's going on?" Sofia demanded. Honestly, did becoming a princess make her a target or something?
"What am I doing?" Jade said, running out to set Sofia back down to the floor. "What are you doing? You weren't supposed to walk through the door. The trap was for Lucinda!"
"That trap…was for me?" Lucinda said in a soft voice, her eyes watering.
"Look at this mess!" Jade yelled angrily. "Everything's ruined. Again!"
"At least the cake's safe." Ruby pointed out.
Only for the dancing doll from earlier to come crashing through the window like a rocket and body slam the cake, knocking it to the floor before resuming its eternal dance atop the spilled frosting like a conquer surveying his defeated enemies.
"I stand corrected." Ruby sighed.
Jade gave an enraged shout, all of her frustration spilling forth in a single outburst. She sent her glare at Lucinda, who took a step back at her anger. "This is all your fault! You've been nothing but trouble since you got here. Just go away before you ruin anything else!"
Lucinda's lip trembled and her eyes grew teary before she ran out the door and down the street. Sofia called out to her but the witch was long gone before she could say anything.
"Jade, you went too far." Sofia said sternly, giving her friend a glare. "It wasn't Lucinda's fault."
"What are you talking about? Look at this place!" Jade replied.
"None of this would have happened if you didn't set that trap." Sofia said calmly. She looked at Jade disappointed at her attitude and for hurting Lucinda's feelings, and it made Jade look away in shame. It didn't feel good to have Sofia of all people disappointed in you.
"But…I…" She stammered. "Lucinda was coming to ruin my party."
"She came over to fix your garden." Sofia brought Jade over to the window and opened the curtains, revealing Jade's front yard and garden.
Jade and Ruby stared in amazement. The yard looked good as new, with all the decorations returned to normal and even sporting an enchanted shine to them to make them sparkle in the sunlight. The toadstools were turned back into chairs and the beehives back into lanterns. Jade was positively speechless.
"Lucinda didn't come here to ruin your party. She just wanted to be invited to it. To spend time with friends." Sofia said softly. She put a hand on Jade's arm. "She reversed her hexes as an apology to you."
Jade held her hands to her mouth, the full weight of what she done fully setting in. "Oh god, what have I done?"
Looking back at the new and improved front yard, Jade steeled herself and ran for the door, flinging it open.
"Jade?" Ruby called out. "Where's she going?"
"I have an idea." Sofia answered and ran after her friend. "Follow me."
XXXXXX
It wasn't hard to find Lucinda, Jade just had to follow the trail of hexed objects she left in her wake. When she finally caught up to Lucinda, the witch was stomping through the park with red sparks flying from her wand.
"Lucinda!" Jade called out. Lucinda spun around and pointed her wand at Jade, making her stop.
"What do you want?" Lucinda spat. Jade felt her heart lurch when she saw the tears in Lucinda's eyes.
"I just want to talk." She said, holding her hands up.
"I've heard all that you've needed to say." Lucinda growled. "You hate witches, I get it. After all, who wants a witch as a friend right?" She gave a choked laugh and shook her head. "I don't even know why I tried. It's the same wherever I go. No one wants a witch around."
"That's not true!" Jade said.
"You set a trap for me!" Lucinda shouted.
"I know, and I'm so, so sorry I did that to you after all the work you did to fix my garden. I was so angry and I didn't believe that you had changed." Jade said honestly. When Lucinda looked away, she cautiously walked over to her and grasped Lucinda's gloved hands. "I'm sorry I hurt your feelings. What I did was unforgiveable, justified or not."
Lucinda looked up at her shyly and Jade reached up to wipe the tears in her eyes. The witch finally lowered her guard when Jade smiled at her and she grasped Jade's hands.
"I'm sorry I ruined your party earlier. Never let it be said that witches aren't vindictive, huh?" Lucinda said.
"But never let it be said that witches can't change." Jade replied smiling. She reached into her skirt pocket and pulled out a card. "Here, I think you should have this."
"Is that…" Lucinda took the card and her eyes widened. "You're…you're really inviting me?"
"It's the least I could do after all the hard work you've done." Jade said. "But, it may not be as fun as it should be after I ruined everything."
"Ruined? Honey, did you forget what I am?" Lucinda smirked, her mood lightening as she took Jade's hand and led her back to her house. "There's nothing a witch like me can't fix!"
XXXXXX
When the girls returned to the house, Lucinda got right to work in fixing the damage and improving the party. She added a few more decorations, some streamers and bows that glowed deep greens and reds, a perfect combination in Jade's book, and even conjured a few floating instruments for music.
The best part was that Lucinda even fixed Jade's birthday cake, reconstructing it and making it bigger for all the guests to enjoy, even lightning the candles herself. It was quite the sight to see the other children gaping at how magnificent everything looked. Sofia loved the big smile on Jade's face when she levitated the cake to her so she could blow out the candles.
"Looks like you had an eventful day." Sofia jumped and looked to the side to see Dante holding two plates with cake on them.
"Dante, you made it!" Sofia said brightly, accepting the cake slice. "How was your day?"
"About the same as you'd imagine when hanging out around Cedric all day. Pyra got into a shouting match with Wormwood, for reasons I cannot fathom. I'm guessing she tried to be his friend by stabbing him with her stinger and he didn't take kindly to it."
"I really need to talk to her about that." The princess sighed. It was like taking care of a child with that manticore.
Dante glanced over at Lucinda, who was performing a few flashy magic tricks for the other children. "I see you've made a new friend. Never thought to see a witch around these parts."
Lucinda was currently sitting next to Jade watching the other children have fun at the party. Jade looked over at her and unclipped the daisy flower hairclip she had on and attached it to one of Lucinda's ponytails. Lucinda smiled and handed Jade a little bracelet made from flower petals from different plants she found back at home. The two girls smiled at each other and held hands, finally at ease with one another.
"That won't be a problem for you, would it?" Sofia asked, knowing about the friction between standard magicians and witches.
"No, any friend of yours is a friend of mine…so long as she stays in her corner." He added with a wink. He used his fork to take a piece of cake to eat, but his fork hit something hard. "Huh?"
After tapping his slice a few times, he realized that it had been turned into a plastic cake slice when he was talking to Sofia. Dante narrowed his eyes at Lucinda. "That little witch."
Sofia giggled and glanced at Lucinda, who sent her a cheeky wink and a grin.
Even though she was no longer a bad witch, nobody said that Lucinda couldn't be naughty!
Sorry this took so long to get out, I've got another job and it's made me pretty tired coming home. Glad I got this out though, Lucinda is going to be a fun
character to write, and I can't wait to go more into her and Jade's relationship later in the series. Also, I have Sofia learning magic from Dante, further owing
to her love of the art that may grow into a future career if she wants it. Next chapter will be a bit darker as Sofia and her family play host to two strangers on
the run from a dangerous creature. Thanks for reading and please leave a review!