Bewitched

In my world, there are illusions that the normal eye cannot catch, and if you are so lucky as to guess accurately through these illusions, you would gain no profit. See, in my world, there are real witch trials, that burn and hang real people, but there is no benefit in them. All the hunters in Salem believe they are cleansing their earth, but us real witches are clever. What is the point of magic when you cannot use it to your advantage? A simple cool flame spell and the fire tickles. A mirage curse and you have an illusion of yourself to hang. Then I can go to the local fairy circle and talk all about the experience, with the elders nodding and shaking their heads and the little pixies who were bouncing on the toadstools would stop and listen. The goblins would grunt as they stirred a stew made of a stag's antler. And the mermaids would sit on the shore of the lake and whistle. In fact, being caught was quite a delightful thing.

Then, of course, there were the factors that made it rather unpleasant, such as waiting for hours until the humans left, or helping innocent victims. It was always a risky sort of thing to do, helping humans out of their own creation. A witch would reveal oneself doing so, which could lead to a sliver of chaos. I, Meredith, had never done it before. I had heard stories told by creaking Aunt Willow of how she had saved the little peasant girl in a little Massachusetts village. Afterward, the little girl told on Aunt Willow and at that point in the story, Aunt Willow would just chuckle dryly.

I did not like the idea of revealing myself to a stranger for that very reason. I was not scared of the trial, but rather, the act of betrayal. Humans are such unpredictable creatures at times. They always seem to believe they are doing the right thing.

I was snapped out of my own thoughts by the sound of the rusty wolf howling. I had forgotten the harvest moon was tonight. I grabbed my satchel and bid Aunt Willow goodbye, as I made my way to my little hut, just east of the fairy circle. It was in the perfect location, hidden from most of the human settlements, and the overgrowth of flowering vines that creep along the stone exterior kept it disguised. The rusty wolf howled again, this time a long and smooth one, harmonized shortly after with the great bellow of the silver wolf. Minutes later the shrill of the golden pup joined, and I knew that it was almost midnight. That in mind, I almost raced home. It would be a pain to run into a blood ogre at this time.

Alas, I made it to my humble abode. The small wooden door was unlocked with a hex and I made my way inside the one-room home. I flopped on the bed, and I was greeted by my familiar, Edelweiss, a milk snake. He slithered from the bedpost and told me of the mouse he had caught today, and how fat it was. "Sss-stealing the sss-sage and the leftover gouda from last night," he hissed, nodding his head towards the counter I usually did my potion work on. "Caught him by the tail and sss-swallowed him whole." "And did he taste exceptionally well, Edel?" I asked, removing my hat and setting it on the bedside table. "Sss-superb," he grinned. "How excellent," I yawned. "You know, I got myself caught again today, by the Puritans. This time, however, the trial was dreadfully boring. I could not wait to practice my illusion spells," I sighed. They were some of my favorite. "Do you not think they will recognize you by now?" asked Edelweiss, slithering over to his bed. "You do have quite sss-striking features." "Perhaps I could create an illusion of a whole other person! That would be fun. Plus, they will absolutely go crazy when they find this so-called witch has disappeared from their prison, never to be seen again! Oh, how fun!" I chirped. It sounded like a plan to me. Of course, I did have to practice some more to keep the illusion going long enough. "Sss-sounds good. Goodnight, Meredith," yawned Edelweiss. "Sweet dreams Edel." And with that, I fell asleep.