The Witch of Vera Wood: Chapter 3

Note: I decided to change Kathy's name, since, frankly, every time I hear the name "Kathy", I think of Kathy Griffin, not exactly who I imagined would be my character. So, the name's changed to the much better fitting "Lina". Enjoy!

The Witch of Vera Wood

Chapter 3

Lina let out a small yelp. She tried to back away, but only found the tree blocking her way.

“Don’t be afraid,” said Tarja. “You seem down. What’s wrong?”

Lina just stared at the witch, paralyzed with fright. She didn’t want a giant scar across her face like her father had gotten from her. Tarja sighed.

“Why is everyone so afraid of me?” she asked, speaking to nobody in particular. “The only people brave enough to come near me now are horny teenage boys.”

Lina remained speechless. Her eyes still wide, she managed to let out a soft, unintelligible grunt, but Tarja didn’t hear.

“Ok, come on, get up,” said Tarja. “Come on, I wont hurt you, I promise. Come, let’s go back to my cabin and have a cup of tea, shall we?” Tarja held out her hand to help Lina up.

Lina made another unintelligible grunt, but accepted Tarja’s hand and got up. Still wide eyed, she followed Tarja as she started walking in the direction of the small cabin. Neither on said a word until they got there.

Lina followed Tarja inside. The cabin was small by cozy. There was a fireplace with a roaring fire in it, but strangely it didn’t seem to be giving off any heat. There was a rectangular table a few feet from the wall on the right with four wooden chairs around it. There was also a small armchair by the fire. One wall was completely covered with shelves that were completely stocked with bottles of powder, dried herbs, and jars of god know what. A few even seemed to give off an eerie glow. A few feet away from the shelf-wall was a medium sized cauldron with a strange green liquid bubbling inside.

“Come sit,” Tarja beckoned, pulling out a chair. “I’ll make some tea.”

Lina obeyed, not taking her eyes off the cauldron. It was giving off a strange yet light and pleasant odor. Pulling her gaze away from the bubbling green liquid, she made a point of watching Tarja make the tea, just to make sure she didn’t spike it with anything. Tarja filled a small kettle with water from a tap and hung it on a rod over the fire in the fireplace. She brought out some small china cups, some tea leaves, and a container of sugar and set them on the table.  Waiting for the water to boil, she sat down in the chair opposite of Lina.

“So, is everything alright? You were crying pretty hard. I could hear you from quite a distance.”

“Yes, everything’s fine,” said Lina nervously. She was being quite obvious.

“I doubt it,” said Tarja. “Now come on. What’s wrong? It’s good to talk about these things. It really does help you know.”

“Well…” started Lina, but at this moment, the kettle started to whistle, and Tarja got up to take it off the fire. At the same time, Lina noticed a shaggy, black dog that was holding a small, glowing bottle come through the door and bound toward Tarja. Tarja looked at the dog as he put set the glowing bottle at her feet.

“Well?” Tarja said to the dog.

Guess what?! I got…oh, who’s this? You’ve already found a student? communicated the dog to Tarja in his usual way, looking at the blonde girl sitting at the table. Lina continued to stare at the dog, obviously not hearing what Tarja heard. Tarja knelt down and whispered to the dog so that Lina could not hear.

“No she’s not! I found her crying in the woods and though I’d invite her over for some tea. I have a heart you know.”

Right…anywho, I got some more for you! It didn’t take too long either! Think of it as my apology for leaving the bones in your room, and also as a replacement for last night’s…loss…if you will.

“Well thank you Peter,” whispered Tarja, obviously flattered. “You know, this is probably the first nice thing you’ve done for me in what? 100 years?”

Ha! Don’t expect anything else for at least another century! Well, are you just going to stand there or are you gonna take the tea kettle off the fire before it melts?

Tarja began to busy herself with the tea while Peter, in his playful mood, bounded over to Lina and began to lick her face.

“Aww! What a cute dog!” said Lina, her mood suddenly cheerful. She always loved dogs, but they could never have one at home because both her dad and sister were allergic. “What’s his name?”

“Peter,” said Tarja as she brought the brewed tea over in a separate tea pot. She poured the tea in both cups. “And he’s only cute for you. He’s quite a pain in the backside for me,” she added, smiling. At hearing this, Peter glared at her and let out a growl.

“Looks like he understands you!” Lina said through giggles as she continued playing with the dog, ruffling his fur.

“Of course he does,” Tarja thought. “Stupid mortals.”

            “You seem cheered up,” Tarja said. “Sugar?”

            “Yes please,” said Lina, her paranoia gone. “And yes, I love dogs, they always cheer me up.”

            “So, we haven’t really properly introduced ourselves,” said Tarja, spooning sugar into both her and Lina’s cup. “My name is Tarja, and I’m assuming you guessed that I’m the Witch that you townsfolk are all so afraid of.”

            Hmm...I wonder why they’re so afraid? said Peter sarcastically. Tarja cast him a glare and he went back to playing with Lina.

            “I’m Lina,” said Lina. “And you do have quite a reputation around town. They say you cause all those disappearances. You don’t, do you? You seem so nice! And the scar you gave my father…”

            “Your father? He’s not one of those Wiccans that practices in the woods is he?”

            “He’s the leader,” said Lina.

            “I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to give him that scar, but I tend to have a temper, and when people annoy me and constantly beg me to teach them the secrets of real magic, well, I get violent,” said Tarja.

            “So, what they do, it isn’t real magic?” Lina asked, curious. Tarja let out a laugh.

            “Ha! Of course not! Dancing naked in the moonlight? Burning incense and lighting candles all over the place? It’s a fire hazard that’s what it is! No, dear, it’s quite far from real magic.”

            “Well, how do I know what you do is real magic?” asked Lina

            “Have you been wondering why that fire isn’t giving off any heat?” Tarja asked.

            “Yes actually. It doesn’t seem to be giving off any heat, but yet you boiled the water on it!”

            “I conjured a heat barrier in front of the fire. Penetrate it and you’ll feel the heat. Go on, give it a try,” Tarja said, pointing to the fire. Lina got up and walked over to the fireplace. Cautiously, she put her hand out.

            “I don’t feel anything!”

            “A little farther and you’ll feel it,” Tarja said, sipping her tea. Lina stuck her hand out farther and suddenly felt the full heat of the flames. She drew her hand back quickly, her eyes wide.

            “Wow,” she said.

            “Need more proof?” said Tarja. Lina nodded, wanting to see more magic. Tarja pointed her finger at Peter, who was now curled up at Lina’s feet, apparently asleep. Suddenly, a beam of blue light, like a lightning bolt, shot out of Tarja’s finger at Peter and hit him in the backside. Peter jumped a foot in the air and let out a yelp. Turning around to face Tarja, he let out a growl and then bounded away, out the door. In her mind, Tarja heard him grumble something about not being able to take a quiet nap and that he always had to be disturbed every time he got comfortable. Chuckling, Tarja took another sip of tea. Lina watched the dog run out with a look of worry mixed with amazement on her face.

            “Don’t worry, he’ll be fine,” Tarja said, still chuckling.

            Lina turned back around and also had a sip of her tea. This definitely beat anything her dad ever told her about or showed her that had to do with what he called “magic”. This was real magic.

            “So,” said Tarja calmly, “D’ya want to be a witch?”