a complecated spell

the pot glowed for a moment, then settled. the witches all looked at you, then at the pot.

"well...who wants to try it?" Sarah asked.

the others all looked unsure of themselves. so far, no one had gotten the spell right. one witch got turned into a toad for a good hour, another ended up seriously sick, and one disappeared entirely and hasn't been found yet...we're thinking she'll be back in a couple of days.

oh, how rude, I haven't introduced myself! I'm Lilly, the newest member to the coven. I knew almost nothing about potions, but I had read so many spells that I could almost use them on things other than brews...almost. a witches power only stretched so far after all. Sarah was my mentor, and honestly belived in me about as much as she belived humans were smart...of course, my views of humans were a bit different. you see, I believed humans were capable of more than they knew, especially this one guy I had seen...but I digress.

"I'll try it" May said. May was one of the highest members of the coven. if my spell did something bad to her, I'd be kicked out for sure. as it is, I almost destroyed it once with a rouge spell already...I said I knew the spells, I never said I was good at casting them.

she took a cup and filled it with the potion, then took a sip. the potion was supposed to allow the mind to expand more, but only for a minuet, after which it would return to normal. Mays eyes widened, and I could almost feel the energy radiating from her. after a minuet, she returned to normal.

"so...how was it?" Lila asked. Lila was my twin, inducted into the cove along with me. she was better with potions, only knowing the spells she knew she could cast, but being able to brew up a potion that could almost create it's own spell.

"Lilly...how did you cast the spell?" May asked, turning to me "...because it was perfect...."

I froze. "p-perfect? m-me?" I asked. I had NEVER gotten a spell perfect, most of my spells were under-developed and would cause others to mess up.

"Lilly, I think you're ready" May said. she then walked off.

"oh my god you're ready!" Sarah practically squealed with delight.

"this is it!" Lila said "you might be able to go into the city!"

my eyes widened. the city was home to humans, people that often thought we were messengers of the devil. If I was ready to go there, it meant May thought my spell work was good enough to keep hidden, and possibly help me if I needed it. but...what would Emily say?

Emily was the youngest of us, but also had the highest position of power...she was our leader, even though we were her elders. actually, there was a rumor about her. Everyone says she made a youth potion that was supposed to wear off, but the spell she put on it was cast wrong and it made a permanent change. she also had a emotional disintegration spell, which makes it impossible for her to get attached to people, so it worked out for the best.

she walked in and looked at my potion "you say Lilly made this, correct?" she asked, talking to May.

"yes Ma'am" May replied "she's the only one able to complete the spell properly"

Emily looked at it, then looked at me thoughtfully "is what she said correct?" Emily ask "you risk getting hanged if you're wrong"

"I amazed myself, my leader" I said. everyone except those in high power were required to call her their leader, and only those in important positions could call her by name.

Emily seemed to consider something "one chance" Emily said "you will be allowed to roam the city freely...if you can secretly enchant a boy of my choice"

and this is why witches are hunted. Emily has it in her head that the humans are inferior to us witches, when in reality, we're classified as humans too. witches have a spirit infused with magic, making us a different entity at heart. however, our DNA matches humans identically, in fact, there is NO difference...unless you become corrupted with evil. the witches humans see are the green faced wart covered ones who spend days trying to destroy the humans, but we spend our time mastering the art so we can help them...all of us except Emily.

Emily hates humans in a way none of us can imagine. maybe one broke her heart once, maybe she just has no sympathy for their stupidity, or maybe she just wants them to stop hunting us.

"but, which boy?" I asked.

Emily took a photo out of her pocket "this boy took a particular interest in magic" she said, showing me "I want you to either convince him he can become magically infused, or give him memory loss that will make him become oblivious to his magical desire"

I looked at the picture. there was no way I could do this...but I also couldn't go against Emily's word... "alright" I said "I'll do it"



when I got to town, it was already night "great" I muttered to myself "now I'll look suspicious..."

Emily had told me to use a charm, that would require getting him to open his mind to me...and I knew the perfect spell to do it. this town was surrounded by magic, though the humans didn't know it. The spell that I had preformed was a multi-use spell. with the potion they had made, it caused unusual brain growth. but, with an elven potion, it was possible the spell could be used as a charm, that could temporarily make him capable of magic...there was also the memory erasing option, but that required a curse.

there is a memory charm, but witches can't preform it without a potion. there's also the reversed growth curse, which can be specified on a specific aspect of the brain. it's a last-choice curse, as it's extremely dangerous, and could cause permanent damage...it also required a wizard or warlock...but I digress.

I was snapped out of my thoughts by a boy my age. we both fell back as he ran full-force into me. a moment later, a ball sailed over our heads. "hey! you made me miss the catch!" the boy accused.

"well, maybe you should watch where you're going" I retorted. ALL witches had a quick temper, it came from making potions all day.

he got up, and I got a good look at him...and realized the curse wasn't an option. I recognized the boy from when I was little...in fact, he was my hero.

when I was a witchling, I was taken to the town to see humans. What no one bothered to tell me was the evil witches had recently been attacking the town, and the elves had been trying to protect them. a single arrow managed to take down a broom stick, and the one caused the others to collapse. I was thrown off, anf this boy caught me...that wasn't it though.

the one shot triggered the witches anger. most of them regained control, and it turned into a full out battle between witches and elves, neither side aware that the boy was human. he quickly took me to shelter, knowing neither side wanted to damage a building and alert the town folk.

after the battle was over, I spent the night with him...that's how he learned about magic. "you look familiar" he said "do I know you?"

I looked at the other boys, who were looking at me as if they had never seen a girl "no...I don't think so" I said. Witches were also great liars. "I'm Lilly"

"I'm Alex" he replied "the boys back there are Max, Zack, and Cole" while Alex was talking, I had been saying a spell under my breath. it was a friend charm, which would make it impossible for them to think I was trouble.

"nice to meet you" I said, finishing the charm. the looks on their faces told me it had worked "same to you" Alex replied. "care to come over to my house for the night?"

"I'd love to" I said. and we started walking off.



at about midnight, I was woken up by him. "Lilly, wake up" he said gently.

"mmm...huh?" I mumbled sleepily "is it training time?"

oops. my mind finally started working as I looked at his face. "training for what?" he asked.

"sorry, just a dream" I said sleepily.

he looked at me thoughtfully, then shook his head "I want to show you something" he said, pulling me up. I was dressed in a night robe his parents lent me, and it provided little warmth from the cold night air as he pulled me outside. thankfully, witches have hot blood, so it wasn't hard for me to raise my body heat. lowering it was a different story...Elves were better at that.

"where are we going?" I asked. he was being quiet as he pulled me towards the forest. the elves had calmed down since the incident, but I knew they were on rough terms with humans. elves are old creatures, preferring to stick to tradition rather than adapt to modern times...which was solely dependent on humans.

you see, witches, wizards, and warlocks had human DNA, but their spirit causes that DNA to have magical energy in it. we could blend in, therefore we decide to keep up with modern humans so we can blend in better. however, elves don't have human DNA, and are purely elven. since they can't blend in, they decide to isolate themselves.

"during the day, when people are everywhere, these forests are quiet" he said "but at night, especially on a full moon, there are human-like creatures that come out from the trees...my parents call them elves"

I was stunned. he knew of elves? "elves?" I asked "aren't they a myth?" I layered my voice with magic, hoping to get him talking as much as possible.

"fairy tale, actually" he said "but I know they're real"

he was so determined... "why?" I asked "how do you know it isn't a trick of the light?"

"because they speak to me" he said "most of the time it's a language I can't understand, but they know English"

Elven...I was familiar with the language. any humanoid creature of magic knew elven, the language of magic...well, that and Latin...and any nomadic human language...where do you think they got it from?

I was distracted as I saw a shadow "hmm...I wonder where they are" Alex said.

suddenly, one dropped from the tree, landing in front of us "I see you have returned, human" he said "and you brought a witch"

"hey, she's not THAT mean" Alex retorted "actually, she's really nice"

the elf glared at me "no, I mean she's a potion maker" he said.

Alex turned to me, wide eyed. well, there goes my shot at being secretive "Alex, I-"

"I knew you were familiar" Alex said "you're the girl I saved!"

uh oh...

"yes, she escaped" the elf said "oh, allow me to introduce myself. I am Merilinder"

"Lilly, pleased to meet you" I said.

"well, Lilly," the elf said "I have a gift" he gave me a small vial

"thank you" I said "but...what is it?"

"a potion to help you" he said "a charm is better than a curse, right?"

I smiled. Elves had a long history with witches, one that involved helping one another in times of need. wizards were often untrustworthy, and Warlocks were focused on conjuring, something elves were against. but witches knew they couldn't lie to an elf, and often they have no need to. so, we supply potions so they can learn spells from it, and they offer elven potions so we can vitiate our spells.

"thank you, Merilinder" I said.

he nodded "just remember, the wrong spell will make it permanent"

I nodded "thank you, and tell your king I owe you one" I said

his eyes sparkled, and he jumped into the trees "what was he taking about?" Alex asked.

I looked at the potion, contemplating something "Alex...this potion will expose your true potential" I said "your magical potential"

the bottle glowed as I mumbled the spell. luckily, Alex was oblivious to my mumbling. "I have magic?" he asked "but...I'm a human"

"Wizards have human DNA" I said "this will give you the Spiritual aspect you need...from there, you can choose to be a wizard or a warlock"

personally, I hated warlocks. Warlocks were the male equivalent of a witch, but they often use their potion-making skills for satanic or demonic purposes. while evil witches were all for making devilish pacts, good witches were anti-demon, and we showed it.

Alex didn't hesitate, snatching the bottle from me and drinking...suddenly, I felt a tingling...the elf wasn't entirely truthful...I watched as Alex fought with the potion, his body rejecting the magical transformation. it was permanent, the elf knew my spell would make it so...

he let out a scream, and I knew it had alerted the town people. I ran off, regretting the decision immediately. he was cursed...and I had caused it...

I had made this story from a prompt I found that intrigued me, especially since I was looking for a fairy-tale story. I know it was a bit of an abrupt ending, but I'm likely to extend it, depending on if I get more ideas for it. please review and possibly rate, I love hearing your feedback!