Indeed, the potions made by witches had a vast array of different effects and benefits. Potions to change one’s hair and eye color. Potions that granted a full stomach. Potions that made your skin silky smooth, and your hair luscious and thick.
And of course, love potions.
The worst, most nefarious of potions, with the ability to alter a person’s very heart. This type of potion was used by wicked people in so many of Cecily’s stories, but she was sure she would never create one herself.
Just as she was about to leave, she glanced at the knife marks carved in her wall. She had made these scratches every day so that she would not forget how long it had been since she’d been forced to leave her home. Emotion welled up in her chest as she stroked the engravings.
“A year and a bit left now...”
Her return home was still a long way off.
✧ ✧ ✧
Cecily began her journey down out of the thick forest where her home was. A fresh breeze was blowing through the early-summer woods. The sunlight filtering through the canopy above was gentle, the temperature perfect.
Rolo skillfully avoided tree roots as he guided the way, occasionally looking back or stopping to scratch himself with his hind paws. Cecily puffed and panted as she followed behind.
Today, Cecily was wearing a black hood over her charming outfit. She often wore a hood to avoid catching anyone’s eye. As many introverts who aren’t so good with people know, making eye contact is a very tall order.
Cecily was unable to easily put her thoughts into words, and when she spoke to someone, her voice often came out as nothing more than a whisper. Her expression was always awkward, and she refrained from smiling much.
As the trees along the path grew sparse, a castle with its high spires came into view. An undeniable jealousy seeped into Cecily’s heart as those distant white walls filled her vision.
“I know that behind those walls a wonderful prince and princess are living happily together.”
Cecily clapped her hands to her cheeks to bring herself out of such idle daydreams. She was only here to do some shopping in the castle town. She would never in her life have a chance to enter the nobles’ residential district, let alone the castle where the royal family lived.
For a witch like Cecily, the world of fairy tales would be forever out of reach.
As the sounds of children playing grew louder, Cecily spoke to Rolo, who was at her feet.
“All right, Rolo. Let’s meet up back here when the noon bell rings, okay?”
Rolo let out a bored meow in response to these words he’d heard countless times before. He clambered up a nearby house’s shed before leaping across rooftops and out of sight.
Cecily presumed he was off to see some of the town’s resident cats and strays. Rolo was a smart cat, so Cecily had no reason to worry about him.
If there’s anyone I ought to worry about, it’s me...
Cecily journeyed down to the castle town once a week in order to restock her food and other daily essentials, but regardless, to her it was a nerve-racking ordeal. She took a few deep breaths before steeling her resolve and walking towards the city—Carza, the royal capital of the Carzenia Kingdom.
This city, enclosed within its high walls, was the trade center of Carzenia. Trade vessels entered the grand port almost every day, the high street buzzed with merchants selling their goods, and the city was full of the laughter of children.
It would have been easy to think that a bustling city like this wasn’t suitable for a loner like Cecily, but she knew what would happen were she to live in a smaller town.
An outsider like me would stand out far more in a small village.
A young woman like Cecily living on her own in a small town somewhere would draw unwanted attention from the other residents, who would no doubt wonder what circumstances had led to her living alone. In the huge royal capital, however, Cecily’s existence was far more insignificant.
With her hood fixed over her face, Cecily stepped through the city gates and into the city proper.
First up was selling the medicinal herbs and vegetables she grew in the allotment behind the house to lighten her load. It would be impossible for her to use all of it by herself, after all. Unfortunately, selling her produce in the city meant having to talk to people. Due to this, Cecily preferred to sell in bulk to popular cafeterias and pharmacists so as to avoid any unnecessary conversation, despite the fact that it would sell for less.
Today, too, Cecily sold her vegetables to a cafeteria that was a regular client of hers, and sold her medicinal herbs to a pharmacy. Among Cecily’s medicinal herbs were those that she had foraged from the forest, which were valuable because they couldn’t be cultivated. Through carefully cleaning the foraged herbs and drying them herself before selling them, she had begun to develop a reputation for delivering high-quality goods.
Putting away the small number of copper coins she’d earned from her sales, Cecily let out a satisfied sigh.
Her meager savings had long since run dry, and the money from these sales was the only thing that kept her going. Rolo was a bit of a greedy cat, but because she lived alone, if she was careful, she could just about get by.
Checking her shopping list, Cecily turned towards the bakery and butcher’s shop afterwards. It was just as she had almost finished that she realized something.
I need to reapply my eye drops.
The efficacy of her magical eye drops differed from day to day, but they usually lasted about three to three-and-a-half hours. It was about time to apply another dose. Greta’s own concoction was powerful enough to require only two applications per day, but Cecily was still a witch in training, so she couldn’t create something that strong yet.
She rifled through her leather bag, then paused in confusion.
“That’s weird...”
As a wave of anxiety passed over her, she headed to the side of the road and practically emptied out her bag, but she couldn’t find it.
“My eye drops aren’t here.”
Cecily couldn’t believe it.