“You can do it, Miyani!” Rose cheered.

    “I can do it… I can do it!” Miyani repeated.

    Ramona chuckled. “Please hurry up your motivational speeches. We do not want to be late for our appointment,” she said.

    Rose gave Miyani and Whiskers one last hug before she waved them goodbye and left the store to go back home. This was actually the first time the two had split up again after an entire weekend spent together. On saturday, Rose had dressed Miyani into the girliest dress she owned together with high heels and lots of make-up. Miyani had expected to hate it since it was so different from what she’d usually wear but she actually thought it was pretty funny in the end. On sunday, the two just lounged and watched a movie or two while Miyani practiced her magic on the pebble some more. She had actually gotten a little better at it now, able to morph it into some simple shapes like cubes and pyramids. Even throughout today they had been together since they were both off. They had taken a stroll through the park to remember the memories of how they met.

    “Let’s go out the back,” Ramona said as she locked up her store.

    “Is that where the council is?” Miyani asked, raising an eyebrow.

    “Good heavens, no,” Ramona laughed. “That is where my broom is.”

    Miyani gasped. “Wait… witches really do fly on brooms?!” she asked.

    “Yes, of course. Where do you think the stories come from?” Ramona said.

    This gave Miyani cause to ponder as Ramona opened the backdoor and picked up her broom. “Have witches been around for long?” she asked.

    Ramona nodded. “We actually don’t know how long we’ve been around for. The earliest known mentions of witches date back to the medieval era but we believe that we’ve been around for much longer than that,” she explained. She held her broom horizontally and then mounted it as if it was a horse.

    “Can… it carry the two of us?” Miyani asked.

    “You sure are in a questioning mood, aren’t you,” Ramona laughed. “Of course it can.”

    Miyani eyed the old broom. It certainly looked like the classical, straw broom that witches often used in stories but to actually fly one herself… this was going to be a strange experience alright. On her shoulders, Whiskers looked equally hesitant. However, in the end, Miyani mounted up on the broom behind Ramona and wrapped her arms tightly around her teacher.

    From around Ramona’s arm, Ferdinand slid down as she cast a wordless spell. “Alright, here we go. Hold on tight,” she said before jumping up.

    And sure enough, there was no landing. They actually floated up above the ground! “Whoah!” Miyani gasped. On her shoulders, Whiskers yowled and dug her claws into Miyani’s shoulders, desperately holding on.

    Ramona chuckled. “The first time is always special. Wait until you learn to fly one yourself,” she said.

    For sure, Miyani was already looking forward to when that time would come! “Wait… won’t people see us?”

    “No worries. I cast an invisibility spell on us. So long as we are silent when around other people, nobody will notice us,” Ramona said.

    Judging by the scared noises of Whiskers… that might actually be a bit of a problem.

After several minutes of flying, they left the city behind and now flew over some farmlands where the only ones that could hear them were the cows and sheep. Whiskers had calmed down again and she was now actually quite enjoying the wind blowing through her fur.

    “The medieval era is often dubbed ‘the dark ages’ by non-magicals,” Ramona spoke up suddenly. It seemed she was intending on continuing their earlier conversation. “For us, however, it was the golden age of witchcraft, often dubbed ‘the age of fairy tales’.”

    “Huh? You mean that the fairy tales we all ready about… actually happened?” Miyani asked.

    “Yes and no. I have no doubt that those stories happened but some of the details must have been exaggerated and altered, as happens with almost every story,” Ramona said.

    “Huh… so what caused this era to end?” Miyani asked.

    Ramona sighed. “Witchcraft was often met with fear and hatred by non-magicals. Witches were often hunted down and, well, you can guess the rest.”

    Miyani frowned. “How terrible…” she muttered.

    Ramona nodded. “One day, a witch named Rinoa came across a non-magical trapped underneath a fallen tree. She used magic to free him and cure his wounds. He thanked her by capturing and imprisoning her, intending to burn her alive. However, she was saved by another witch named Ophelia. From that day on, the two decided to work together and safe witches everywhere from the injustices they faced. They formed the first ever witch council. However, rather than fighting the non-magicals, they instead helped witches everywhere to retreat into secrecy. Hence, the end of the age of fairy tales.”

    “That must have taken a lot of bravery,” Miyani said.

    “It did, yes,” Ramona nodded. “I’ve always admired them for standing up for what is right.” She then sighed and lowered her head a little. “Retreating into secrecy is getting harder and harder as time goes by. There are villages and cities dotted around every map and there are cameras everywhere. We… are losing ground.”

    Miyani hadn’t even really considered any of this. So there really was a downside to the progress in technology… “What if… witches come forward now? I mean, back in the middle ages, people were superstitious about everything but things are different now… right?” she proposed. After all, Rose didn’t freak out or back away from her witchcraft, opting to embrace it instead.

    Ramona chuckled. “I appreciate your optimism, Miyani, but not everyone is going to react the way Rose does. There are too many people that don’t even trust their own neighbours.”

    “I… I guess…” Miyani muttered. She had always hidden away, not wanting to draw attention to herself. She preferred to not be in the spotlight at all. However, this story… this injustice… it actually made her feel a little stupid for having to hide away.

    “We’re here!” Ramona said.

    Miyani was shaken out of her thoughts and looked down to the ground but she didn’t really see anything that indicated there was anything there. Just some more grassy fields. “Are you sure…?” she asked.

    Ramona looked behind her with a devious grin as they descended. That’s when Miyani suddenly felt a little disoriented, as if something passed through her. Well, maybe it was more applicable to say that she passed through something. When the sensation passed again, Miyani gasped as she now saw a large cottage sitting in the middle of this large field of grass. It looked like something straight out of a fairy tale with its straw roof and elaborate garden.

    “You didn’t think we’d house our councils out in the open, did you?” Ramona said.

    Miyani felt a little stupid now. “I guess not…” she muttered.

“Ramona, it’s good to see you again,” said a woman who was standing by the entrance of the garden. She was dressed in black robes and wore a typical witch’s hat. She couldn’t have been much older than Miyani herself. She had long blonde hair that was shaved off down one side and a metal ring was pierced in her ear. The way she looked, Miyani could actually feel some form of kinship with her. Next to her, perched on the fence, sat a hawk looking around proudly.

    “Good evening, Nathalie,” Ramona said as she dismounted from her broom. Miyani guessed that their invisibility spell must have ended as they entered the secret dome this cottage was in.

    “How’s the shop been going?” Nathalie asked.

    “Been going really well as always,” Ramona said. “And how are things here? I hope your mother hasn’t been giving you a hard time?”

    Nathalie chuckled. “Of course she has. I’m just old enough now to stand up to her,” she said.

    As the two witches engaged in small-talk, Miyani took the opportunity to start taking in her new surroundings. Now that she was able to look at the garden properly, she could see that it was filled with all sorts of exotic flowers. Were they grown here for their magical properties or simply to look pretty? The cottage was quite big, sporting two stories and an attic. Was this built with magic as well? Or did they wipe the memories of the people that built it? There were so many questions Miyani had about all of this. The world of witchcraft was a vast one and she was only just beginning to explore it.

    In the meantime, Whiskers eyed the hawk perched on the fence. “It’s okay, Whisk. It’s another familiar,” Miyani said softly. She only assumed that but it was a safe bet given the circumstances.

    “So this is Miyani, hmm?” Nathalie asked.

    “Yes, that’s correct,” Ramona nodded.

    Nathalie moved over and extended her hand. “Nice to meet you, Miyani. I’m Nathalie Young,” she said.

    “Ah… nice to meet you too. I’m Miyani… and this is Whiskers,” Miyani said while shaking the witch’s hand.

    Nathalie reached forwards to try and pet Whiskers but the cat backed away. She didn’t trust strangers that easily. “Ramona told us your story. I’m sorry you’re only now learning about all of this,” she said.

    Miyani sighed and looked to the ground. “Better late than never, I guess,” she muttered.

    Nathalie smiled. “Indeed. Well, let’s go inside. You’re expected upstairs in five minutes,” she said.

    “Let’s not keep them waiting then,” Ramona nodded.

    The hawk flew up and came to sit on Nathalie’s shoulder as she led them through the garden and into the cottage. The interior was just as old-fashioned as the exterior suggested, complete with oaken furniture and rustic paintings. The floorboards creaked as they stepped on them, as did the steps of the stairs that they ascended. “You’re going to have to excuse that. I’ve been wanting to do something about that, but the council thinks it adds character to the building…” Nathalie explained.

    “I have to admit, I can see where they’re coming from,” Ramona laughed.

    Miyani, however, was beginning to feel a pit in her stomach. This had all gone so fast. Just last week, she had been a total amateur, struggling to cast spells. Now she had a teacher and she was about to meet the council of witches. Did she even have the right to do any of this? To be here? Yes, she had magical power, but still… It was only thanks to Whiskers’ soft purring that she was able to calm herself down enough to keep her moving.

    Nathalie led them to a closed door where she turned around. “The previous appointment should be over soon. Please wait here for a moment. Good luck,” she said. With that, she left Ramona and Miyani alone again.

    Miyani gulped. It was almost time…

    “Don’t be nervous. As Nathalie said, they are all aware of your situation already,” Ramona said.

    “But… I did use magic on Rose…” Miyani stammered.

    “On accident, yes,” Ramona nodded. “Do you think you’re the first witch to have such an accident?”

    “... huh?” Miyani gasped.

    “I once accidentally gave my classmate cat ears back in school. She didn’t even notice all day until after schooltime, when a friend asked her what she was cosplaying as,” Ramona said. She chuckled at the memory.

    “What… happened then?” Miyani asked.

    “The council had to step in and adjust some memories here and there,” Ramona said. “That’s what our council is for. They are not going to judge you. They are here to protect you.”

    “I see…” Miyani said. That made her feel a little bit more at ease at least. “But… I also knowingly used magic on Jennifer…”

    “In defense of your friend, right? I am certain the council will grant leniency because of that,” Ramona said.

    That’s when the door opened, revealing a woman that must have been somewhere between Ramona and Miyani in age. She was accompanied by a young girl that must have just started her puberty. They both looked pretty happy and excited. From what Ramona had told her, Miyani guessed that this girl must have just started showing signs of witchcraft. Miyani couldn’t spot their familiars but perhaps they were simply hidden on them the way Ferdinand was always wrapped around Ramona’s arm.

    “Let’s go, Miyani,” Ramona said and she entered the council hall.

    Miyani gulped again. Even Whiskers seemed on edge and jumped off her shoulders. Carefully, she stepped into the council hall. It was a very large room. Even though it was on the second floor, it reached all the way to the roof. There were four raised platforms in a crescent shape around the entrance. On it stood four desks with witches sitting behind each of them. All of them were dressed in similar garbs to Nathalie.

    As Ramona, Whiskers, and Miyani took their place on the azure carpet in the middle of the room, Miyani couldn’t help but nervously look at the ground.

    “You must be Miyani and your familiar Whiskers,” spoke one of the witches. She appeared to be the youngest of these witches. The most striking feature about her was a rather unique-looking, fan-like hair ornament just behind her right ear which she wore instead of a witch’s hat. She had a permanent smile plastered on her face which suggested that she probably enjoyed her position of power. Miyani wasn’t able to spot a familiar anywhere near this woman. Perhaps it was hidden somewhere just like Ferdinand?

    Miyani nodded wordlessly.

    “Welcome to our humble abode,” spoke a second witch. Contrary to the first witch, she must have been the oldest. She actually looked a little wicked and ready to turn you into a mouse if you weren’t careful. She had this intense stare that seemed to pierce right into Miyani’s soul. On top of her hat sat a small owl.

    “Try to relax a little. We are not here to bite you,” a third witch spoke. The posh way she spoke seemed to suggest that she was someone of high stature. Miyani guessed she must enjoy looking down on people. On her desk sat a raven, looking just as smugly as its master.

    “That remains to be seen,” spoke the fourth and final witch. She looked to be about Ramona’s age. There was something familiar about her, but Miyani couldn’t quite tell why just yet. She looked as sternly as Miyani’s teacher back in the orphanage she grew up in. Nervously fluttering around her head was a hummingbird that never seemed to be landing anywhere. Did all of these council women have birds as their familiars?

    The first witch chuckled. “Come now. No need to be rude,” she said. Her giggling sounded innocent but there seemed to be something almost maniacal about it. Miyani couldn’t quite pinpoint it. “Allow us to introduce ourselves. My name is Viola Minuette.”

    “Margaret Blakely, deary,” the eldest witch said.

    “I am Barbara Winston,” the posh witch said.

    “And I’m Soraya Young,” the stern witch said. Young? Miyani realized that this must have been Nathalie’s mother. Now she understood why she looked so familiar to Miyani. And also why Ramona asked how much trouble she was given…

    “And we are your local council of witches,” Viola finished.

    “Now then, Miyani. We’ve been given a synopsis of your story but we would like to get to know you a little better and hear it from your own mouth,” Barbara said.

    “Hmph. Spare no details,” Soraya huffed.

    Once again, Miyani gulped. She felt herself sweating and she was pretty sure that only gibberish would come out of her mouth if she tried talking now. However, she had to. “R-right… I… I’m Miyani and… and I discovered that I was a witch when… when I accidentally gave a bully a pig’s snout…”

    Viola chuckled again. “A classic,” she mused.

    “It… it was only temporary! And… well nobody knew it was me… I think,” Miyani stammered. She figured that she was definitely making a fool out of herself here. Luckily, Whiskers was there to calm her down with her soft purring and mewling.

    “And this was when?” Barbara asked.

    “Uhm… I was 14 years old I think,” Miyani said, prompting the councilmembers to write it down. It appeared that Margeret used a quill and ink while the others simply used a pen.

    “And what did you do after learning of your powers?” Soraya asked.

    “Well…” Miyani started.

The grilling went on for quite some time. All four council members wanted to know as much about her as possible. About her time at the orphanage. About every time she attempted magic. About her short list of successes, and of course her much, much longer list of failures which only served to make Miyani feel worse about herself than she already did. She was thankful to Ramona and Whiskers for being there. They were her pillars of support.

    When she eventually got to the point where she had turned Rose into a rose, the questions got a little more intense. It really reminded her of the scoldings of the headmistress at the orphanage. Though they didn’t say it exactly, it basically boiled down to ‘what were you thinking?!’.

    And that only got worse when she talked about the issue with Jennifer. She tried to defend herself by stating that it was in defense of Rose but the tremble in her voice made her seem so weak. Truth be told, if she had been stronger back then, she could have just confronted Jennifer then and there. Instead, she transformed her from around the corner like a coward…

    “And so we find ourselves in the present once more,” Viola said.

    “Indeed. I believe we have learned all that we need,” Barbara said.

    Soraya only scoffed a little to herself.

    “Thank you very much for your time, Miyani. Nathalie will provide you with something to drink. Ramona, if you’d please linger for a moment longer,” Margaret said.

    “Of course,” Ramona said while nodding.

    Miyani took one last good look at all four members of the council. Only Viola was smiling at her but there was something more to this smile that Miyani couldn’t quite pinpoint. “I… uhm… good evening,” Miyani blurted out, uncertain on what to do with herself. With that, She picked Whiskers back up and carried her familiar back outside where Nathalie was already waiting for her.

    When the door was fully closed, Nathalie spoke up. “You must be thirsty,” she said.

    “Y-yeah…” Miyani stammered.

    “Come,” Nathalie said and led the pair back downstairs towards the kitchen of the cottage. Once there, Whiskers had at least calmed herself down enough that she started thrashing about to be let go of Miyani’s grip. Once loose, the cat began inspecting the room and rub her head on stuff to claim them as her own.

    “Tea? Coffee? Or perhaps something else?” Nathalie asked.

    “Ah… Tea please. And some milk for Whiskers,” Miyani said softly.

    Nathalie smiled. “Coming right up,” she said and began to work on warming up some water. She actually reached over to her hawk familiar that was perched on the kitchen counter next to her in order to cast some kind of heating spell. “I hope my mom didn’t give you too much trouble?”

    “She’s… the one with the hummingbird… right?” Miyani asked. She sat herself in one of the chairs at what must have been a mahogany table.

    “That’s the one,” Nathalie nodded.

    “I don’t think she likes me very much,” Miyani muttered while looking down at the table.

    Nathalie chuckled. “I don’t think she likes anybody. You don’t even wanna know how she reacted to this,” she said while pointing to the shaved off side of her hair.

    This at least made Miyani feel a little better again about herself. “I think it looks cool…” she said meekly.

    “Thanks!” Nathalie said.

    Miyani smiled meekly. “Do… you also have tattoos?” she asked while rolling up one of her sleeves to reveal the skull on her upper arm.

    “Heck yeah!” Nathalie laughed. She then lifted up her shirt a little to reveal a snake tattooed on her stomach circling around her pierced belly button.

    “Wow!” Miyani gasped in amazement.

    “Needless to say, my mom doesn’t like any of it,” Nathalie laughed. This little moment of bonding actually made Miyani feel quite at ease around this witch. Could this become her second ever friend?

    Nathalie just she sat herself opposite Miyani and placed a full bowl of milk on the table. In response, from out of nowhere, Whiskers instantly jumped up on the table and began licking it up, of course waving her tail in Miyani’s face in the process.

    “Oh, come on, Whisk. Not now,” Miyani grumbled while shoving her chair a few inches to the left.

    “A black cat, huh?” Nathalie asked.

    “Yeah. Pretty cliché, huh…” Miyani said.

    “Well, there’s a reason for that. Familiars tend to reflect their owners. Take my mom for instance. She has that hummingbird of hers, Sally. She’s always flitting around nervously, barely takes the time to linger anywhere, always on the move. That’s my mom to a tee,” Nathalie explained.

    “Huh… I guess that makes sense,” Miyani nodded.

    “As for you, black cats are often shunned by other people out of superstitions. People think they bring bad luck, or that they’re little demons in disguise. On top of that, cats tend to have their own little peculiarities, as if they’re living in their own little worlds sometimes. Just like most of the witches in fairy tales,” Nathalie explained.

    It was as if this Nathalie had pierced through Miyani’s entire life’s story right there. All she had just described about black cats could very much be attributed to Miyani herself as well.

    “However,” Nathalie said while reaching for Whiskers’ head. Miyani was about to warn Nathalie that she could expect a scratch for interrupting the cat’s meal. However, Whiskers seemed at ease enough to let Nathalie pet her and she even started purring. “If you take the time to get to know them a little better, you’ll find that they are just like us. They can be very sweet and soft when they want to. All they usually want all along is for someone to reach out to them.”

    Miyani couldn’t help but feel a little tear well up in her eye. That’s exactly what Rose did with her. And indeed, it had been what she’d always wanted.

    With that, Nathalie stood up again and filled two cups with hot water. She then placed what had to be a custom-made teabag in both of them and placed them both on the table. “Here you go,” she said.

    Miyani sniffed and rubbed her eyes clean again. “Thank you,” she said softly.

    “So you really only just found out about our world, huh?” Nathalie asked.

    Miyani nodded. “Things happened so fast…” she said.

    “Heh. It’s a lot, huh. To be honest, I think the worst part about it is that we have to keep it all a secret from regular people,” Nathalie said.

    “Right… It’s very stressful and I don’t think I’m very good at keeping secrets,” Miyani muttered as she thought back to the countless close calls she’d had with Ramona.

    “Trust me, I know. I’m pretty sure my whole school suspected me of being a witch. It was in jest but still,” Nathalie chuckled.

    Miyani actually found herself smiling. She wasn’t the only one then. That felt so much more reassuring to her. She then took a sip of her tea and savoured its taste, as if she was a fine wine connoisseur. “This is good tea,” she said.

    Nathalie grinned. “Glad you like it,” she said.

    “Hmm… ginger… mint… and some lemon shavings,” Miyani commented as she picked out each individual flavour she could taste.

    “Impressive,” Nathalie said.

    Miyani grinned. “I kinda turned my apartment into a garden and I make my own tea blends out of that,” she said.

    “Cool. I’d like to see that sometime,” Nathalie said.

    “Ugh, what a bother,” came Ramona’s voice. She had entered the kitchen and looked a little more tired than she did before.

    “Ah, you’re back!” Miyani said.

    “Sorry it took so long,” Ramona said as she sat herself next to Miyani.

    “Coffee then?” Nathalie asked.

    “You know it,” Ramona nodded. She then placed her hand on the table and rolled up her sleeve a little. “Come on out then. You’ve been squeezing my arm tighter and tighter, Ferdinand,” she groaned.

    The snake familiar quickly unfurled itself from Ramona’s arm and slithered onto the table. When he saw Whiskers, he approached the cat as if approaching an old friend. In return, Whiskers mewled and gave the snake a friendly headbut. Nathalie’s hawk simply watched the scene unfold from the kitchen counter and decided to remain out of this situation.

    “What did they want from you?” Miyani asked while Nathaly got to work on making coffee.

    “Oh, they just wanted to drill into me that I should keep a close eye on you and keep you out of trouble,” Ramona sighed.

    Miyani gave an even deeper sigh. “Am I really that volatile…?” she muttered.

    “Don’t take it personally, dear. They act this way around every newly discovered witch. The truth is that so long as a witch hasn’t learned how to control her powers yet, there’s always a chance that things could go south. That’s not a you problem, that’s something we’ve all gone through,” Ramona explained.

    Miyani nodded but still couldn’t help but feel like she was a bigger issue for this council than most given that she was around ten years older than most newly discovered witches. She sipped her tea some more and looked at how Ferdinand was circling around Whiskers. “I just… feel like a burden. I could have already been an accomplished witch by now if…” she stammered.

    “Oh, Miyani. Come here,” Ramona said. She wrapped her arm around Miyani’s shoulders and pulled her into herself. “Everything will be alright. I promise.”

    Miyani felt tears welling up for the second time that evening. Is this what it felt like to have a mother? Miyani had never known her parents so she had no idea. All she knew was that it felt nice…

    Nathalie placed a cup of black coffee in front of Ramona and sat back down again as well. “I’m sure you’ll pick it up one way or another. Likely, you’ll get better at it faster than I did. I was much too rebellious as a learning witch,” she laughed.

    Ramona laughed as well. “The amount of times I’ve heard your mother complain about you could fill entire books,” she said.

    Even Miyani had to laugh at that. She could definitely see that with Nathalie here. It made her feel a little better. If a rowdy student such as Nathalie can become an accomplished witch, Miyani could do so as well.

    That’s when she noticed that Whiskers was staring up above her, her head tilted in curiosity. “What’s up, Whisk?” Miyani asked.

    Whiskers just meowed in response. Her gaze never wavered from whatever she was staring at.

    Raising an eyebrow, Miyani looked up as well herself, as did the other two witches in the kitchen. However, there was nothing there. There was just the ceiling and the lamp hanging down.

    “Hmm. Cats often just stare off into nothingness, don’t they?” Ramona said.

    “Uhuh. I’ve seen cats stare into corners when there’s nothing there. Who knows, maybe Whiskers spotted a ghost?” Nathalie joked.

    Miyani looked at her. “Do they…” she started.

    “No. As far as we know, ghosts don’t exist,” Ramona chuckled. With that, the conversation simply continued as it had done before. However, Miyani couldn’t simply let this go. Whiskers almost never stared off at nothing. She had definitely seen something, but what it was she couldn’t quite say… 

After all three women had finished their drinks, Ramona stood up again and had Ferdinand wrap himself again around her arm. “Well, it’s getting late. We’d best be off again,” she said.

    “Right… I have work again tomorrow,” Miyani nodded.

    “As do I,” Ramona nodded. “It’s been good to see you again, Nathalie.”

    “Same for you, and it was nice meeting you, Miyani,” Nathalie smiled.

    “Yeah… uhm, if you ever wanna come visit… uhm…” Miyani stammered.

    Nathalie smiled. “We have your address so yeah, I’ll swing by sometime. Don’t worry, I’m not going to fly onto your balcony and give you a sudden fright. I’ll use the front door.”

    Miyani smiled back as Whiskers took her usual spot on her shoulders. “I’m looking forward to it,” she said.

    With that, Miyani and Ramona went back outside where they both mounted themselves on Ramona’s broom. “Until next time!” Ramona called out and they were off again.

    As they started rising up again, Miyani took one last glance at the cottage. The council had certainly been an interesting experience for her alright. She wondered how they were going to be chewing out Rose when it was her turn to come before them. Speaking of which…

    “When will they wanna see Rose?” she asked.

    “Not for a few weeks. They’ve given us some extra time,” Ramona replied.

    “To do what?” Miyani asked.

    “So that you can learn how to fly your own broom,” Ramona answered.

    Miyani gasped. “What?!”

    “Carrying you and Whiskers on my own broom is hard enough as is. I’m not going to be able to do so with a third person. You’re going to have to fly Rose yourself,” Ramona said.

    “Right…” Miyani said. It made sense, of course, but it was still a little shocking. She was going to learn how to fly a broom!