For Sam, who made this all possible with one simple word: Hello.

Chapter 1

Candace Ernst had a secret, a secret that most people were not aware of. One she dreaded about anyone finding out. She did not kill anyone or rob a bank, but she still thought it was just as bad. Candace, you see, was a witch.

Her mother was a witch. Her mother's mother was a witch. Her three sisters, too, were witches. For over two hundred years, Candace's family had witches in them. But the most evil witch to ever exist in her family was her aunt, Eva Ernst, more commonly referred to as the Grand High Witch. Candace's aunt had raised her ever since she lost her mother to a witch hunter many years ago. She never even knew who her father was. All Candace knew was that she not like other witches and wanted to have a child of her own someday, but her aunt forbid it.

Most witches hate children, especially the Grand High Witch, but Candace loved them. She never wanted to be a witch and always yearned to live a more normal life, just like other people. One day, she packed her suitcase and left her evil aunt's house, setting off into the world to make a better future for herself. She took a bus and then a train, and came to a small desolate town far away from her child-hating aunt.

She had very little money in her pocket, maybe enough to rent a room for one night, but Candace couldn't care any less. She was now a free woman to live her own life the way she wanted and vowed to make an impact on people's life. Candace went in a restaurant to have something to eat and bought a newspaper to search for a room that was cheap. She found one that wasn't too far and decided to look into it, then look into getting a job.

Candace found the address and came to a two story house that belonged to a kindly old widow named Mrs. McAllister. Inspecting the room, she found it had very few furnishings, but at least there was a bed and a bathroom she could freshen up in. Candace paid Mrs. McAllister enough money to rent the room out for a month and asked for a moment alone so she could make herself comfortable. When Mrs. McAllister left, Candace emptied her suitcase and hung up her clothes in the closet. She also took out a book of spells. Most witches used these books to practice dark magic and cast evils spells, but Candace intended on using the one she had only for good.

Candace changed out of her clothes and put on a beautiful plum-colored dress and a pair of pearly-gray gloves before heading downstairs. She found Mrs. McAllister in the kitchen and asked her if there were any local businesses in need of employment. The old woman tapped her chin and thought for a moment, then gave the young lady an address to a new candy store that opened about a week ago and was still seeking workers.

Mr. Walter Wonka owned the candy store on the corner of Fleming Street. The shop was ten blocks away, but Candace didn't mind walking. The blond-haired witch went down to the candy store and walked in to the delicious, enticing smell of chocolates and lollipops, caramels and bubble gum. All different kinds of candy and sweets were stocked up on shelves and behind glass counters. The store was painted in white and pink with hints of gold.

A young man with curly light brown hair and sparkling blue eyes in a pink and white striped uniform went up to greet Candace and asked her, "How do you do, miss?"

"Oh!" Candace exclaimed, turning around and jumping a bit in surprise. Then she laughed and said, "Oh, excuse me, sir. You gave me a fright."

"I'm sorry. I didn't mean to."

"Oh, that's quite all right. Actually, I just heard about your little candy shop and thought I'd come take a look."

"That's fine. Would you like to try our new coconut candies? They're really quite excellent."

"Actually, I came here to see about acquiring a job. Are you still hiring?"

"Yes, I am. Are you interested in working here?"

"Oh, yes, I'd love to work here. My name is Candace. Candace Smith." Candace hated to lie to him, but she didn't want anybody knowing her real last name.

"Pleased to meet you, Miss Smith." He shook hands with her and said, "Call me Mr. Wonka. Everybody does."

Mr. Wonka heard a noise coming from the back of the store and excused himself for a minute. The minute he left, Candace reached through her blond wig and scratched her head. The wig she wore wasn't terribly uncomfortable, but it still itched every now and then. Every witch is known to have no hair on their heads and have to resort to wearing wigs in public so they can blend in like normal everyday people.

Candace stood in the middle of the shop, looking around at all the happy customers buying and eating all the candies in the store. Most of them were children, and although Candace loved them, the scent of a child to a witch was something most foul, like a pile of fresh dog droppings. Luckily for Candace, she had taken a potion that allowed her to smell a child just as they were. Nobody, not even her aunt knew about it. Candace invented this special potion just for herself and took it every morning, so that when she walked past a child in the street, she wouldn't have to put up with their horrible smell. It wasn't the children's fault. It was just the way of witches.

The kindly witch felt a hand tugging on her dress and saw a young boy about seven-years-old, who asked her, "Excuse me, ma'am, can you please reach me one of those chocolate bars on the top shelf up there?"

Candace looked to her right and saw several boxes of different candies bars in shiny wrapping paper. She grabbed a bar of milk chocolate and handed it to the small child with a friendly smile.

"Here you are", said Candace.

"Thank you", said the boy. "I would have gotten it myself, but I'm too short."

"Maybe you should wear a hat", Candace suggested. "That would make you look taller, wouldn't it?"

"My name's Billy", said the boy. "What's your name?"

"I'm Candace Smith. It's very nice to meet you, Billy."

The little boy stared at Candace, his smile slipping when he looked more closely into her bright blue eyes. He thought he had imagined it at first, but then he leaned in a bit more closer and saw a strange purple glow in her eyes. Billy blinked and let out a short gasp, confusing Candace. He backed away slowly and went over to his mother, who was buying a box of candy for herself.

Candace didn't understand what scared him off. She opened her purse and took out a small compact mirror to look at herself. Her wig looked all right. There was nothing wrong with her makeup, and she was wearing her gloves just like she always did. Then Candace noticed her eyes had that dreaded purple color in them, like two glowing irises of unnatural violet light.

Candace closed her compact mirror and stuffed it back into her purse. She looked over at Billy and watched him take a bite of his chocolate bar as he left the candy store with his mother.

"There's a room in the back", said the voice of Walter.

Candace turned and looked at him, confused. "I beg your pardon?"

"There's a room in the back you can change in and try on a uniform."

Walter told Candace she was required to wear a uniform while she was working in the candy store and to put on a pair of transparent gloves when handling sweets. This wasn't a problem for her at all. A witch's hands are not very attractive to look at and have to be hidden in public, anyway, along with their bald heads, which they hide by wearing wigs that cause nasty, cancerous-looking sores that cause irritation on their naked scalps.

Candace obeyed Mr. Wonka and changed into a white and pink striped uniform. There were two other workers besides her, a man and an older woman, both wearing the same uniform and selling candies to customers.

From gumballs to licorice, boxes of truffles and bags of jelly beans, Candace was busy on her feet all day selling different kinds of candy to customers. Groups of children and adults alike came in almost every five minutes, but everyone always went out with at least one item of a certain candy, from a jawbreaker to a piece of fudge. For twenty dollars, you could buy four different kinds of fudge and get a fifth one free with each purchase.

At the end of the day, Walter sent to flip the sign to close up the candy store for the night. "Thank you, and come again", he said to the last customer leaving the store.

The other employees left, except for Candace, who went up to Mr. Wonka with a bar of chocolate and offered him some money to pay for it. "I think I'll take one home for later", she said.

"Take it", said Mr. Wonka. "It's on the house."

"Thank you."

"You were very good today, Miss Smith."

"Please, Mr. Wonka. Call me Candace."

"All right. Call me Walter."

"Thank you again, Walter", said Candace, shaking his hand. "Have a good night."

"You, too."

Candace walked home just as the sun was going down. When she got to Mrs. McAllister's house, Candace retreated to her room and locked the door. She removed her shoes, then went into the bathroom to have a nice relaxing bath after a long day. Now, it is rumored that witches have a very low tolerance for water, but this is all just a falsity. Witches do not melt when you throw water on them. They can drink water and even bath in it, but it does not kill them.

Later that night, Candace opened her book of spells. It was an old, white-leathered hardback with ancient writing on the cover. She flipped through the pages until she came across one that had a map, one that led to a strange and far-off land nobody had ever seen or heard of. It was supposed to be inhabited by miniature creatures of mysterious origin.

A knocking interrupted her daydreaming. Candace closed the book and went to the door to open it. Mrs. McAllister was there, holding a tray of sandwiches and some coffee.

"I'm sorry for disturbing you, but I wasn't sure it you had eaten yet", said Mrs. McAllister. "I forgot to mention, but food is included with the room, too."

"Thank you." Candace took the tray and asked her, "Would you like to come in and talk for a while, Mrs. McAllister?"

"Oh, no, thank you. I usually turn in around this time of night. Will you be needing anything else before I retire?"

"No, thank you. I'll be all right."

"Very well. I'm going to bed now. I'll bring you some breakfast in the morning. Good night, Miss Smith."

"Good night."