Maid in the Mist

Hollow's Eve

Dawn rose over the small village of Farthing Village in the form of pink and violet clouds. And as always, Luna was wide awake and rolling out of the straw bed on the floor. She took her time brushing her sleek raven hair and dawning her grey cloak. 

But Solaria was still buried deep in her grey blanket, snoring as her feathery hair tossed to and fro. Not that Luna cared. She merely rolled her eyes, pulled on her stockings and shoes, grabbed her spell book, and left the room to join her mother busy at work at the cauldron. 

Luna flicked her fingers, causing her bowl of creamed wheat to float to her from the hearth, serving itself spoon and all.

"Eye of toad..." Stellaria muttered, pouring one small eye from a bottle, causing the caudron to bubble and hiss in a green hue.

Luna gulped down her breakfast, "A prosparity potion? It is only the first day of the month..."

Stellaria chuckled as she reached for a dried bunch of lavender, "It's never to early to prepare for Hollow's Eve, Luna...remember that..."

Luna nodded and used her magic to clean her bowl with the rest of the dishes in a water tub, "Right...don't forget the foxglove...you forgot that last time and the wheat turned golden a week early..."

"I won't forget..." Stellaria stirred the potion as it bubbled and writhed, adding the dried flower in pinches, "Where is Solaria?"

"Sleeping..." Luna muttered, burying her nose in her spell book.

"On the first day of the harvest?" Estellaria chuckled to herself, "Sounds a lot like how I used to be..."

Luna rolled her eyes, "She shouldn't be sleeping on the first day of the harvest...our herbs won't harvest themselves."

Estellaria plucked a hair from Rufus, who let out a hiss and added it to the potion, "Oh Luna, be soft for once. It is the first day of harvest, we must take in this day as we will take in the last."

"But mother...do you not think it's...unprofessional not rise on time? I myself find it very immature."

"You used to sleep in..."

"Yes, when I was a child...but I am not a child anymore, am I?"

Estellaria sighed, "Unfortunately...you little poppets grew up so fast, there was no time to comprehend...sometimes I wish you two could be my babies forever...but I dare not mess with the flow of time."

Luna closed her book, "I'm going outback to the garden to study."

"Very well, just bring in some vanilla bean when you are done..."

Luna then stepped out into the golden morning. 

***

It was a normal morning. Farmers harvesting wheat, women washing clothes, children chasing each other. Yes, it was all normal.

But not what Luna was looking for, that being silence.

So she made her way to the back of the hut, with a small garden of many herbs. Basil, Borage, Elderflower, Roses, Rosemary. It was a large space with a fire pit, a perfect place for rituals.

Luna sat on a log before the fire. She snapped her fingers, causing the fire pit to set itself ablaze. Her nose remained in the book, focused on the recent spell.

"Transformation spell...turn into an animal...okay...so..." she read the fine print well, "A mouse is easy? Well...we'll see about that..." she placed her hand on her chest, taking a breath. Her hands shimmered a brilliant lazuli blue."