"What is a child doing all alone in the forest?"

It was a white December night. Cold to the point of losing a limb, and yet a child no older than 9 was by himself with clothes unsuitable for the weather.

A woman, who's appearance was more bizarre than the child, blocked the moonlight from his view. Her red hair shimmered light starlight and her eyes twinkled with confusion, but amusement. She slipped off her cloak and wrapped it around the child. He could smell herbs on her. Which was odd due to there being no signs of plants around them. However, wrapped around her neck was an amulet. An amulet he recalled through a passing of the adults. It had a crooked hat with a broom in the front, but in the background of the emblem was the sun.

A witch.

"What's your name?" She asked.

There was no hostility in her voice. She was gentle and patient. No mockery or trickery. Unlike what he heard, but he had to remain cautious. No matter how kind she looks.

"...Shade."

Her smile made the moon dim in comparison, and it looked like she was glowing more. "Shade. What a lovely name. Would you like to go somewhere warm?" The offer was tempting. "Don't worry. I swear under the name of my Sun Ancestors, I won't let anything happen to you."

This was how Shade, an orphan left to die in the cold, became the apprentice of a witch named Fine.

Shade is an orphan. He had lost his mother when she gave birth, and his sister was taken from him because she needed different care from him. He was sent to live with relatives, but they basically gave him away once they realized they had to take care of him.

It didn't matter anyways. Shade had always been independent. His mother was always sick, and his father worked long hours to provide for them, so Shade had to learn how to take care of everything. Instead of playing with other children, he cleaned and did all the chores. He ran to the nearest pharmacy to get his mother's medication and sometimes accompanied his father to work. During the second trimester of his mother's pregnancy, his father died in an accident at work. Shade had to pick up odd tasks to be able to afford food and medicine for his mother, but the money he earned was never enough. The only relatives they had didn't bother reaching out. They only reached out for money. The people who were kind to them before were suddenly distant and treated them worse than a pebble in the passing.

Eventually it was hard to come by money and they lost their home. They couldn't afford the medicine anymore and were living off scraps. The condition they were in was terrible and it made his mother sicker. Once she had given birth, she died shortly after.

Shade only had his sister for a week until they were snatched up by the church and separated. They didn't even bother give his mother a proper burial and Shade was forced to live with his smooching relatives. They only agreed to take him in because the church was funding them, but they didn't want to take care of Shade, so they dumped him at the furthest orphanage while running away from church.

Life at the orphanage was tough. Shade hated every minute of it. He fought with the older kids almost daily and no adult would listen to him. It was frustrating.

Eventually he had enough and packed with whatever he owned and ran away in the night. Little did he know it was going to snow heavily that night.

So, as he curled up by a tree accepting his fate, he wished that he could have at least seen his sister again.

That's when he met the witch.

Witches are a taboo because they didn't follow the path of God. Shade didn't believe in God anyways, but that wasn't the reason Witches were feared across the nation.

They were able to create potions, cast spells, and perform taboos. They didn't follow the path of a normal human being and follow their own code. Not to mention they kidnapped naughty kids and boil them in a pot of boiling stew.

"Your fever is terribly high..." The witch, Fine, muttered.

Fine had taken him to a cabin deep in the woods. Once they reached the cabin he collapsed, and his body began to burn. Shade concluded he got the fever due to malnutrition and the cold.

The smell of herbs was strong in the cabin. He could smell what he could imagine to be soup and it was hot. He wanted to push the heavy blanket on his chest, but the witch insisted and is currently nursing him.

That doesn't mean Shade isn't wary. He would never let his guard down. Especially since it's rumored witches picked up naughty children and boiled them if they missed behave. Shade hopes if he behaves maybe the witch would let him go and he can find his sister.

Suddenly the touch of a cold cloth was pressed on his forehead. His vision was blurred, but he could see concern on the witch's face.

Concern? Why? Does she pity him?

"Hang in there, okay? I'll help you feel better soon."

Why? So, you could eat him?

"Go to sleep." The witch strokes his hair softly.

The warm, the strokes, and the smell of soup reminded him of his mother. He didn't know what happened afterwards, but he left sleep take over and he was able to sleep comfortably for the first time in a long time.

When Shade woke up, his throat was dried, but he felt refreshed. It was cozy and he wanted to sleep more, but it was odd. Shade knew it was too good to be true. He bolted up.

The first thing he saw was the room he was in. Plants hanging from the ceiling, planters on the windowsill, and a few pushed against the wall. Usually, one would be overwhelmed by the smell of plants, but it was…nice. The fireplace was across from him, and the caldron was steaming. It was likely the fire going weak and not producing enough fire, but it wasn't cold. It felt like spring in here.

WAIT!

Immediately Shade pulls off the sheets and tumbles out of bed- What the? He wasn't the clothes he wore that night. Instead, it was a gown with an expensive quality Shade would never imagine wearing his entire life. Did…did she-

"I used magic." Shade twirls around and sees the witch leaning against the doorway. The clothes she wore were different from that night. Instead of the knee-high dress, it was a slim long black dress with a slit on her right leg. "The dress I wore that night was for appearance's sake. I didn't expect to be staying here, so I picked out whatever clothes I had stored in here. This place is my greenhouse, but it also serves as a storage place for me."

"…"

Fine grins. "Are you hungry? Unfortunately, I'm not the best cook, but I can make a decent soup. After you eat, I'm going to give you more medicine."

"…are you planning on fattening me up and eating me afterwards?"

Fine froze. "Huh?"

"I heard witches pick up naughty kids and eat them because they miss behave." Shade lowers his gaze and grips the gown. "I promise I won't run away again! I'll go back and I won't talk back to the older kids!"

"Pfft!"

Shade raises his gaze in confusion and sees the witch covering her mouth. "Wh-what?"

"Is that what the adults have been saying? Incredible! Humans sure are curious creatures." She wiped her tears. "I'll tell you the hard truth about witches. We aren't like that. We're more reserved and have better things to do."

"Then…what were you doing in the woods?"

"Oh! I'm in the human realm for some work. I had reached my greenhouse when I felt a presence in my land. That's how I came across you. Which is strange."

"Strange?"

"Yes." Suddenly there was no humor in her face. She smiled, but it was more…forced. "How can a normal child enter my domain when it's guarded by magic?"

"I-I don't know. I was tired and cold, so I curled up to a tree that was my size."

"Hm." Fine slightly shakes her head and this time, there was humor in her expression again. Almost as if she wasn't serious to begin with. "I guess I'll have to investigate that another time! You hungry?"

Shade nods stiffly.

"Follow me."

And he did.

Fine wasn't lying when she said the soup was only decent. There was barely any flavor, and the vegetables were poorly chopped. Nonetheless, he still ate it because he hadn't eaten a decent meal in a while. Fine also found a pair of boy clothes that fit. She explained her sister would sometimes bring her apprentice and the child would occasionally forget his clothes here. It didn't matter either way because he was outgrowing most of his clothes. She even let him explore the cabin as she worked on potions. She explained what each herb worked good against and gave him medicine to help his dry throat. Oddly it was delicious. More delicious than the food he eaten.

Shade basically spent the day following Fine and reading books on Herbology. There was one thing that bothered Shade. It was the fact she never asked what he was doing in the woods or where his family were. Isn't that usually the case when you see a lost child?

It eventually got late, but Fine made no movement to stop working. Mixing potions, carefully twirling the glass, and writing down information in her journal.

"What are you doing?" Shade finally asks.

"Working." Fine answered. It took another minute for Fine to continue her answer. "My client is sick. Potions are a temporary solution, but recently their condition got worse so I'm making a stronger one."

"Why ask a witch to make medicine? Why not go to the priest?"

Fine giggled at that question. "Believe it or not, witches are second sought out for when it comes to recovery, medicine, and…other things. Just because we're a taboo on one region, doesn't mean we're completely illegal."

"I see."

"There's also a limit to what a priest can do for most conditions. Not to mention they are pricy. As I mentioned before, witches are more accommodating and cheaper."

"Then…if I sought out a witch sooner, would you have been able to save my mother?"

Fine lowers the glass in her hands and glances over to Shade. "Depends. We make medicine, but we can't cure illnesses. As I said, it's temporary."

"Mm."

"Why don't you go to sleep?"

"…okay." Shade didn't move though. Fine raised her brow. "Why aren't you asking me anything?"

"Pardon?"

"Aren't you curious about me? Where I came from or why I was alone?"

"You're an orphan." Shade flinches. "You're abused and neglected."

"H-how-"

"During my walk, I heard about an orphan missing, but the church didn't do anything, and no one was taking the case seriously. I connected the dots quickly."

"Walk?"

"Yes. I went to town to buy ingredients for the soup."

"How did you have the time to do that?"

"Magic!"

"Riight." Shade tugs his sleeve. "So, you aren't going to turn me in?"

"Why? You're clearly going to run away again, and I get the feeling you don't want to be there."

"Then what do you plan on doing with me?"

"Nothing. It's up to you what you want to do, but right now I think you should go to sleep."

"Okay… Good night."

"Good night, Shade."

Fine resumes her work. Shade watches her a little longer before leaving the room.