Page 2 of Bewitched By the Wicked Witch
My stomach sank as I realized who it must be. Cate. Of course she would slip away, probably hopping off to show the whole town what an evil witch I was. To force them into a mob with pitchforks and torches to brand me a wicked witch.
All because my magic was different, so like a dark wielding ancestor of mine. The elusive Bess Blackstone. The very witch who started the hysteria that fueled theSalem witch trials killing so many of our kind. My magic, just like hers, manifested early with shadows and stars and darkness.
Now, surely my end would be just as tragic as hers, burnt at the stake.
I had to find Cate before it was too late. Before I ended up tied to a stake. I set the tub down with a thud, ignoring the angry croaks of protest from Ms. Randolph and the others.
"Sage Blackstone! What in Hecate's name is going on here?" a shrill voice demanded.
I winced, slowly turning to see my grandmother, Bertie, marching toward me, her flowered house dress flapping in the breeze.
"Hi, Gran," I said weakly. "I… um… I may have accidentally turned my class into frogs."
"Accidentally?" She peered into the tub, hands on her ample hips. A particularly large bullfrog glared back at her balefully. "Looks pretty thorough to me. Is this… is this Geraldine Randolph?"
I nodded miserably. "She was yelling at me and… and I just wanted her to stop. They were calling me wicked again, and they had me boxed in, I was scared. I didn't mean to. I swear it, Gran, I'm so sorry."
I sniffed and placed the tub down on the ground so I could wipe the tears from my face. "Please, don't be angry with me. I'm trying to be a good witch, I swear." Heat streaked down my cheeks, and I swiped at it with the back of my hand before she could catch a glimpse. I turned away, pretending to study the floor like it held all theanswers.
Gran sighed heavily, running a wizened hand over her face. She placed her hand to my shoulder, "Look at me, Sage, dear." I slowly turned, pressing my lips tight together as I bit my lip, hoping it would stop my tears and the wobble of it. I hated disappointing her. But she looked at me with such love and kindness. "Oh, Sage. Your magic is powerful, but your control is lacking. What have I told you about magic?"
I sighed, sniffling back tears as she waited patiently, one white eyebrow raised. I answered on a long exhale, "That magic is tied to our intentions and emotions."
"And?"
I shrugged, avoiding her disappointment as she pierced me with her bright blue gaze before shaking her head and sighing. Her face was stern as she answered, "And emotion without discipline leads to chaos." She gave my shoulder a reassuring squeeze. "Magic isn’t just something we use, Sage. It’s something weare. It flows from our will, shaped by our desires and thoughts. When your heart is steady and your mind clear, the magic listens. But when you let fear or anger take the reins..." She shook her head softly. "It turns wild. Unpredictable. That’s when it becomes dangerous, not just to others, but to you too."
"I know, I know. It's just so hard sometimes. They are so mean." I bit my lip, holding back a sob as my Gran's face softened.
"People will always fear what is different, they will always fear what is powerful, and that will never change," my gran said as she observed me carefully.
"Then what's the point?" I almost shouted. "Why do I have to keep being good? Keep being the better witch onlyto get a face full of mud every time and they never get punished!"
"I know it's hard to understand. I know it doesn't make sense. But you can't control what others feel and think. You can only control what you feel and think. By doing that, you'll control your magic."
"What if I don't want to?" I admitted as a dark thought entered my mind. What if I didn't? What if I just became what they wanted me to be? Nothing more than a wicked witch?
"Then they win. Do you want them to win?"
"No," I admitted with a sigh as my shoulders deflated.
One of the frogs jumped and hit the top of the container, and I felt my entire being crumble. She was right. Doing the right thing was better than what they thought of me. And one day I would find someone who liked me and my magic just the way I was.
But that meant I had to stop trying to prove myself to people who would never see past their prejudices. I couldn't do that by trying to change minds that were already made up. I could just work every day not to be exactly what they accused me of; that would be letting them win.
As if she followed my thought process, my Gran nodded. "We'll have to cast a null spell - it will undo all the magic you've ever cast, reverting everything back to its natural state. It's the only way to turn your classmates back to human again."
There was a sadness to her words as she said it. I didn't understand at first what that meant. Why would that make her sad? Then I did and everything stood still. Myworld went dark for a moment, so dark and cold. Colder than the early winter air that pressed in on me, colder than frost on the tips of the grass crunching under my feet. No.
"A null spell? But that will undo all my magic!" I thought of my few precious enchanted toys up in my room. The stuffed animals and dolls I had brought to life to keep me company. My only friends in a town that feared and despised me. "Gran, I can't! I'll lose everything!"
"You can and you will," she said firmly, but there was a pained expression in the way she frowned, and her pale eyebrows drew together. "Go home and bid your friends goodbye. It's the only way to turn your classmates back to human again. And you still need to find the one that's missing."
"Cate," I whispered. "Gran, I think she hopped away to intentionally get me in trouble. She hates me the most."
"You'll never find her now," she sighed, shaking her head. Her features softened. "I'll take this lot back to the house."
With surprising strength for her age, Gran hoisted the tub and began walking away. The frogs' croaking grew louder, and I could have sworn Ms. Randolph was still glaring at me.
