The marketplace was always bustling with people during the day, and there was a big park in the northern part of town. Lapis was an old town with a long history, and its people lived in harmony with the nature that surrounded it.
A part of that nature was the Witch’s Forest, which was where my teacher and I lived in our manor far away from the town. There were many witches who lived in the larger cities throughout England, but my teacher and I were all Lapis had.
“If it ain’t the disciple. Are ye runnin’ errands fer Lady Faust today?”
“Heh-heh, I guess you could say that.”
“You’re that girl who works under Lady Faust. You here for work?”
“Sure am…”
“Oh? If it isn’t Lady Faust’s youngin’. Funny seeing you here this time of day. Would you like some chips?”
“Yes, thank you, Granny. Do you have enough for my friend, too?”
“I sure do.”
Lapis was full of friendly people. They accepted me for who I was, even though I was a witch. We were sharing the chips as we continued down the road, when I realized Anna was staring at me while she petted Carbuncle.
“What’s up?”
“You’re famous.”
“Well, yeah. I am the disciple of one of the Seven Sages, Lady Faust, after all.”
“Seven Say-jez?”
“Think of them as the world’s seven smartest mages.”
In this world, there were witches and wizards called mages who could harness special power beyond human intelligence. Of all the mages in the world, the Seven Sages were recognized by the Council of Magic—an international association that oversaw the use of magic—as highly skilled in their witchcraft or wizardry.
My teacher, the Eternal Witch, Faust, was one of the Seven Sages and a powerful witch who embodied the teachings of ancient witchcraft. For as long as magic had existed, witches had used their power to help people, and people had repaid them with gifts of thanks. To this day, my teacher still maintained this relationship with the people. This was why the townspeople were so fond of her, and that made me the beloved disciple of a powerful witch.
“So are you gonna be like Lady Faust someday?”
“Yeah, I sure—” Doubts flooded my mind.
—will…or I wanted to. If I weren’t destined to die, maybe I could’ve been like her someday. A great witch, loved by all. I mean, that’s been my goal up until now. What I’ve strived so hard for, in my own way. But if all my striving is going to take me to a lonely death as an old lady, then what’s it all for? Isn’t that a bit too cruel? So all my effort was all for naught? Why me?
“To heck with it!”
“Ack! You scared me!”
“That’s enough doom and gloom, Anna. Let’s get a move on!”
“Did I say something gloomy?”
“No, not really! But that’s neither here nor there!”
“You’re kind of weird.”
“I was born this way!”
I’d never been good at thinking about complicated things and minutiae. Some people have gone as far as saying that positivity was my main personality trait.
Anna’s house was located in the center of town. It doubled as her father’s practice, as they had a doctor’s office built into the house.
“This is my home!”
“That’s one big home you’ve got there.”
It was a three-story house made of bricks, which at a glance looked like a regular old home, despite the built-in office. As it was clearly larger than any of the surrounding houses, it was easy to imagine that Anna’s family was on the wealthier side.
“Is there something wrong?”
“Hmm? Oh, no. I just remember coming here before. But wow, Anna. I’m jealous.”
“Of what?”
“I mean, look at your house. It’s beautiful. You guys must be loaded. You should see our house. It’s a shabby old manor.”
“Do you want money?”
“Yup. You gonna give me some?”
“Ha-ha. No.”
“Dang it.”
We exchanged shameless banter as we entered the home. As soon as we stepped through the door, Anna called out, “Daddy, we have a guest,” before running down the hall into another room. I trailed slowly behind her. She let go of Carbuncle as soon as we were inside, and he came to my feet. I bent down and extended a hand so he could climb onto my shoulder, which was when I noticed the dust collecting at the creases where the wall met the floor.
I looked around, and there was dust and other small blotches of dirt and stains here and there around the house. It was clear that it was being cleaned, but not enough for the more intricate spots to be spotless; whoever was doing the cleaning wasn’t used to it.
“You think a doctor would be more concerned about germs, am I right?”
“Squeak.”
A short walk down the hallway brought me to a door with light peeking through the cracks. It looked like the living quarters and doctor’s office were connected from the inside. I poked my head through the doorway and found Anna with a man who was presumably her father.
“Anna, I told you not to come in here without asking first.”
“Daddy! We have a guest!”
“A guest? Are they feeling ill?”
“Nope, I’m as healthy as a horse.”
I couldn’t help butting in, and my eyes met his. He was a gentle-looking man with short blond hair and glasses. As soon as we saw each other, we both said, “Ah.”
“Oh, it’s Dr. Hendy.”
“And you’re Lady Faust’s…”
“It’s Meg. Meg Raspberry.”
“Ah yes. Meg.”
“Do you know my daddy, Miss Meg?”
Anna looked a bit confused. I nodded to her.
“Know him? He’s one of our best customers. Come to think of it, I’ve been here a few times before.”
“Really?”
“Really. Your dad buys medicine from us, and I deliver it. I knew this house looked familiar.”
“That makes sense, seeing as you always make your deliveries on the doctor’s office side. You never met Anna before?”
“Nope. This was our first meeting.”
Medicine used to be made by witches. The witches made the medicine, and the doctors used it to heal people. This symbiotic relationship continued throughout history. But in modern times, businesses took over producing medicine, and the number of witches who made it decreased significantly. Instead, witches went on television, became scholars, and were treated more like celebrities. How witches were perceived and how they used their magic had changed over the years.