"Tell no one your name."

The night I became a wizard, I was given this one rule by my master. My name and powers were forever linked the night I gave my soul to the ancient magic I'd studied so hard to commune with. My hair turned silver-blonde and my eyes changed color. I received the tattoo under my eye that marked my new status. The night I became a wizard was the beginning of an immortal life, a lonely life as I came to discover.

I didn't heed my master, though. I thought I could still live normally. I wanted what other men had: a wife, a family. But I soon realized my powers were nothing to humans but tools. In times of crisis, they would come to me, seek my aid, and then dismiss me as soon as the trouble passed. This I could live with. What I could not bear was the betrayal of the woman I loved. She wanted to use me for her own gain and tricked me into telling her my name. I was hopelessly devoted and thought sharing my name was the ultimate sign of my love. So I gladly gave her my name in exchange for her acceptance of my proposal. However, I realized her intentions too late, but hope was not lost. Her will wasn't strong enough to completely bind me; I retained enough of myself and my powers to brew a potion that would wipe her memories of me. Slipped into her morning tea, the potion took effect and I was free within the hour. I then erased myself from the minds of the entire town and fled, seeking refuge elsewhere.

I wiped the minds of at least five towns in my first two hundred years.

I grew wise eventually and only needed to erase myself every hundred years or so. Maybe not as wise as I'd like to believe... If I could, I'd live in a secluded mountain cabin, but my magic draws me to where people congregate. And so the cycle went for close to seven hundred years, though I haven't had to disappear in the last hundred. I came to rest five years ago in a small coastal town called Harmonica. I managed to keep my distance from the people, only really interacting with those who came to get their fortunes told. I kept these meetings brief, not allowing myself or the customer to believe we were forming any kind of relationship. The townspeople, in time, came to understand that this was the way things were, but someone forgot to tell the new rancher who lived just outside of town.

And so here she stood, in my house, trying to think of a way to draw my attention from my telescope. I wished she would figure something out soon. With my thoughts divided between the stars I was charting and the annoying shuffling of her boots on my carpet, I was no good to anyone. After another uneasy minute where I had to rewrite the position of one star three times, I sighed quietly before raising my voice. "Who's there?"

This seemed to startle the girl into speaking. "I'm Hikari. I run a ranch just outside of town..."

She trailed off, so I coaxed her on, giving her a way out. "I'm busy at the moment... I... don't want to be bothered." When I only received more silence for my efforts, I said the words that would seal my fate. "What do you want?" I set aside my charts and rose from my chair, descending the staircase slowly, letting the farm girl gather her wits. If I was lucky, there would be plenty to gather.

The first thing I noticed as I came face to face with her was the little orange-clad Harvest Sprite on her shoulder. So, this was the girl that would save Castanet, the girl chosen by the Goddess. My eyes shifted to Hikari and I could hear her breath catch as she took in my appearance. I was unimpressed by hers. Messy brunette hair and dark eyes accompanied an innocent face. A blue shirt, jean skirt, and boots rounded out the person I had no doubt would cause me no end of grief. That was if she was as bull-headed and simple-minded as she seemed. Though, to be fair, I considered most people to be simple-minded, if only because they believed that the only magic I could do was give them the answers they wanted.

"Your eyes are different colors, like the dog I had when I was little."

"Your powers of observation...are astounding," I said dryly, feeling her eyes slip from mine to the tattoo below my eye. Oh, if only she could see the others that marked my mastery of my craft. How her mouth would gape. I cleared my throat. "I assume you...came here...to ask me something?" I wanted this conversation over with; talking wasn't something I enjoyed. Centuries of near-isolation had robbed it of the joys it once held for me. Sometimes, as now, each word was a struggle.

"Oh, yeah! Do you know the Witch?" she asked, her eyes bright with hope.

"Near Flute Field lies Fugue Forest... Deep inside is her house."

"But she wasn't there!" cried the orange Sprite in frustration.

That made me pause. Like myself, Vivi, the Witch "Princess", wasn't really a people person. She rarely left her home. Then I remembered a conversation I'd had with her a few months back. She was going to try and use a spell to revive the Goddess Tree. Potions, not actual magic, were her forte, yet she insisted despite my warnings. Vivi's spells often backfired and this time must have been no exception. "...Was there a frog?"

"Yes…," came Hikari's hesitant answer. Could she truly not see where this was going?

"That was her." By the shocked looks on the farmer's and the Sprite's faces, they hadn't. How that was possible was beyond me. Surely the bow tied around the frog's neck had to have been a clue. I mean, how many frogs wearing bows did this girl see every day? I shook my head at both Hikari and Vivi. "... I told her not to."

"Then we have to help her! She tried to help the Goddess Tree, so we have to help her now." I could tell Hikari was adamant, which spoiled my plans for leaving Vivi as a frog. Well, maybe I could drag it out a bit longer. The Witch had filled my bathtub with squid once; this seemed a fitting punishment for that and for her foolishness. "I cannot... turn her back. I need hibiscus, good cornmeal, and perfect butter... for a potion." She would have to wait until summer for the corn, so I had a week or so reprieve. If I was unlucky, the only ingredient the farmer lacked was the corn, which meant I would see her far sooner than I would've liked.

"Ok. I can do that." Her eyes shone with a determination that both impressed and fatigued me. I couldn't wait until she left. I was going to lock the door and take a nap. As she left, she paused at the door before heading out. "See you, Wizard."

She called me Wizard... My opinion of her rose slightly. The townspeople incorrectly referred to me as Fortune Teller. Not that I corrected them, but the sign above my door did say "Wizard". Maybe there was more to her than I gave her credit for.

I crossed the short distance to my door and slid the lock into place, hearing the satisfying click that told me I wouldn't be bothered anymore. Crawling into bed, not bothering to remove my coat, I banished thoughts of the farm girl from my mind and slipped into a deep sleep. People were exhausting.