The Witch of Vera Wood: Chapter 5

Note: I figured people's pronunciation of the names might be a little off, so heres what you need to know.

The Witch of Vera Wood

Chapter 5

            “Johanna!!”

“Tarja!!”

            The red haired woman and Tarja ran at each other and found themselves in a tight hug, jumping up and down with excitement.

            “Oh my god, what are you doing here?” asked Tarja, grinning.

            “Oh, just making sure you’re doing your job,” said the woman named Johanna, returning the smile

            “Why y…” started Tarja. Her eyes grew wide at a sudden realization. “No, you haven’t…”

            “Been promoted? Yes, in fact, I have. You’re looking at the new Head Witch,” said Johanna, her smile growing even wider.

            “Oh my god. That means…”

            “The old hag is finally dead!”

            The two women squealed with excitement like school girls.

            “Should we really be happy about this?” asked Tarja when the two finally calmed down. “I mean, she was the one who taught us everything we know. Shouldn’t we be more sensitive?”

            “She did teach us well, I suppose,” said Johanna. “But remember, she was a colossal bitch. She even exiled your sister, along with many other witches. And for minor infractions too! She cost us more witches than we gained during her rule.”

            “I guess you’re right. How’d she die? Forget to take her potion or something?” asked Tarja

            “Oh, well a brother of one the recently exiled witches finally had enough of her. We all have. He gathered followers and overthrew her and the council.”

            “And they made you the Head Witch?”

            “Well, you know the ancient law? The one that says you must fulfill the last wish of a dying Witch? Well, her last wish was to make me her successor, so they had to, under penalty of being cursed for the rest of their lives. Nobody seemed to mind either. They all seemed happy about it.”

            “So, they let you form the new council?” asked Tarja

            “Yes, they did. And our first course of action was to pardon all the exiled witches and bring them back. We freed about seventy or so witches.” Johanna stopped after seeing the look on Tarja’s face. Her smile faded. “I know what you’re thinking. And no, nobody could have survived three hundred years on that island. I’m sorry, but Luna’s dead.”

            “I know,” said Tarja, shaking her head. “It was foolish to hope.”

            Sensing the need to change the subject, Johanna turned to Lina and smiled.

            “And who’s this?” she asked. Tarja looked around the room at Lina, wiping a single tear off her cheek. She gave a weak smile.

            “This is Lina, my new student,” said Tarja. “She’s going to begin her training today.” Lina looked up at Johanna. She was about her height, with long, wavy, fire-red hair and a pretty face. Like Tarja, she was dressed in all black, but also sporting a stereotypical witch’s hat on her head. She held out a hand and Lina took it and shook it.

            “Don’t worry, child,” said Johanna reassuringly. “Tarja’s a great witch, and probably the best on this side of the world. You’ll learn a lot from her.”

            “I’ll make some tea. We have a lot of catching up to do Johanna. Three hundred years worth. By the way, you haven’t changed a bit,” said Tarja, filling a tea kettle full of water.

            “Thank you,” said Johanna. “And neither have you.” She took a seat and spotted Peter standing next to Lina with his tongue out. “Peter!”

            Peter bounded toward Johanna and began licking her face as well.

            “Oh come on, change into your human form! I haven’t seen you in three hundred years either! I might as well talk to you too.” As she said this, Peter bounded behind the armchair near the fire. Lina sat down next to Johanna and almost fell off her chair when she saw Peter transform from a dog into a tall, slender, black haired, teenage boy. He couldn’t be any older than nineteen or so, and he was completely naked, his private parts hidden behind the back of the armchair. Peter turned clockwise a few times, looking down over his shoulder.

            “I’ve done this countless times, and I still find it weird to not have a tail after my transformation,” he said. He then turned forward to face Lina and Johanna and looked down. “Oh wait, there it is.” Peter chuckled while Lina and Johanna burst into giggles. Tarja merely looked at Peter and rolled her eyes. She walked into her room and came out a few seconds later with a black T-shirt and a pair of jeans.

            “Put these on, you mutt,” she said, throwing the clothes at Peter. She sat down on Johanna’s other side. “Don’t you have any decency?”

            “No, I think three hundred years of doing your bidding might have knocked it out of me,” Peter said, sarcastically. “What do you think?” He put on the clothes and walked over to a large mirror on the wall, his back to everyone else in the room. “Lookin’ good, as usual.” Lina and Johanna continued to giggle. “How’s the view from back there, ladies?”

            “Peter!” exclaimed Tarja, “You realize that everyone here but Lina is your superior, right? And I forbid you to flirt with my students!”

            “I was just kidding. Get that needle out of your butt, will you?”

            “Oh I’ll…” started Tarja threateningly, getting up out of her chair. Johanna, still laughing, pulled back on her robes and Tarja sat back down.

            “I missed you Peter!” said Johanna through a chuckle. “And I see driving Tarja mad still doesn’t get old, even after so long.”

            “Nope,” said Peter, grinning widely. The tea kettle began to whistle and Tarja got up to take it off the fire.

            “I think it’s time we decided how we’re going to divide up Lina’s lessons,” said Tarja, glaring at Peter.

            “D-d-divide?” Peter stuttered, his smile fading. “You mean I have to…” Tarja nodded.

            “You bet your ‘tail’ on it,” she said, with a look of satisfaction. Finally, revenge!

            “What can I possibly teach her?” he asked.

            “I don’t know,” Tarja said, sarcastically. “Maybe the history of witchcraft? About familiars? Or maybe about the Witches’ Laws?”

            “Isn’t that your job?” asked Peter.

            “It’s my job to teach her about magic, and how to use it. I don’t have to teach her anything else. That’s where you come in.”

            “Ugh, all right. I’ll do it.” said Peter, muttering something that sounded suspiciously like “old hag” under his breath.

            “I can teach her about magical laws,” said Johanna, to Peter’s obvious relief. “It is my job to enforce them, you know?”

            “Are you sure? You’re Head Witch! Do you have the time for that?” asked Tarja.

            “The council gave me a month to go around North America, informing the other witches of what happened. It won’t take nearly that long! I can spend a week here, if you want me to.”

            “Of course! I’d love that! But are you sure you want to teach?”

            “What else will I do? You and I can teach her, and then when Peter is teaching, we can catch up on everything!”

            “Well that sounds great!” exclaimed Tarja. “Then everyone’s happy.”

            “I’m not happy!” said Peter, pouting.

            “As if I care about that,” said Tarja. “You can go first.” At hearing this, Peter gave another pout and sat down at the table with Lina.

            “Have fun teaching,” said Johanna, chuckling.

            “Revenge is sweet,” said Tarja, as she closed the door.