As Harrison and his men led her away from the forest and back towards her camp, it had been the safest Ginelle had ever felt since she was forced to leave her mother and the city. As they were walking back, even the smallest sound would startle the young girl, as she was still rather scared from what had happened to her. Harrison had noticed her jump and responded by offering his hand to the young girl for her to hold and a smile to reassure her.
“You’re safe with us, little one.” he told her, “No one is going to mess with a group of lumberjacks, not with these axes either.”
Ginelle returned the smile and took his hand, walking with him as they all returned home early for the day. It didn’t take more than an hour for them to walk back from the forest to what the lumberjacks referred to as their camp, which was more like a cluster of cabins, with one of them bigger than the others. Most of the men scattered to their own cabins while Harrison lead Ginelle to the bigger one, and as they got closer an older woman came walking out and greeted them from the porch. This woman, Ginelle assumed, must have been the Margorie that Harrison was referring to the other men about.
“You’re all back form work rather early,” she called out to him.
“Sorry, Marg. We had an issue that required out immediate attention,” Harries said, gesturing to the small child with him.
“I see,” Margorie said looking at the young girl, “Where did you find her?”
“In the woods, obviously.” Harrison answered, “She was hiding in a tree, and was rather scared when we found her.”
“And why bring her to me rather than the town?” Margorie asked.
“She has talents,” Harrison answered, “She hit me with a rather nice magical shot that had blue lights. Given what’s going on in the kingdom right now, I felt it was best to consult you first.”
“Your instincts served you well,” Margorie said, as she looked back at the young girl again. “What’s your name?”
“Ginelle,” she replied, unsure why the young girl felt comfortable enough to tell her. For some reason she felt safe enough to do so.
“Can you cook, Ginelle?” Margorie asked her.
“I can,” Ginelle said, smiling. “My mother was teaching me before…”
“No need to say anything more,” Margorie said, holding up her hand. “That’s all I needed to hear. She can stay with me, Harrison, and help me prepare meals for the boys to earn her keep.”
“I had a feeling you’d say that,” Harrison said, with a smile. “I thought you could use the extra hands.”
“Once again your instincts served you well,” Margorie concurred, “The little girl and I will make an early lunch, but I expect you all to get your lazy arses back out there and make up for lost time afterwards. Are we clear on that?”
“Crystal clear,” Harrison said, as he let go of Ginelle’s hand. “You’ll be safe here. Margorie is the best and will take very good care of you.”
“Thank you,” Ginelle said.
“Don’t thank him yet,” Margorie called out to her, “You’re going to be put to work. Very hard work too.”
“I don’t mind hard work,” Ginelle replied, as she walked closer to the older woman standing before her.
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“Is that so?” Margorie asked.
“It is,” Ginelle confirmed, “I’m eager to earn my keep as you put it, so let’s get started so these guys can get their lazy arses back to work.”
Margorie looked back down at the pretty young girl with a grin, “Alright then. Follow me, young las.”
Ginelle followed Margorie into the big house that she had been standing on the porch of while she spoke to her. Once she was inside, Ginelle realized the big house in front of them wasn’t a home but instead was a cafeteria like setting. There was a large hall with several tables it with eight to ten chairs set at each table. She followed Margorie through the doors into a very large kitchen, which was surprising to the young girl. Ginelle had though her mom’s kitchen in the city was huge, because that was where should would brew all her soups and potions for clients but Margorie’s kitchen was three times as big. And yet despite all that space, there was no one else in the kitchen to help out. There was just the old lady and the little girl, and no one else to help out. Ginelle kept peeking around to find more workers but there were none but the two standing in there at that moment.
“Stop looking,” Margorie said, even chuckling a bit. “Before you got here, it was just me cooking for all those hungry lads.”
“But how?” Ginelle asked, “How can you make three meals a day for that many big men?”
“The same way your mom probably made all those potions,” Margorie said, “With magic.”
“You’re a witch?” Ginelle asked.
“I am, and so are you.” Margorie said, as she strolled over to a workstation and resumed dicing some vegetables that was already started. While she was working at that station, she started to sing a hymn. As she did so, Ginelle watched with awe as a spirit form parted from her body and started to walk around and do things around the kitchen. Two more also departed from the woman’s body and there were a few of them working around the kitchen and busy making the next meal for the day.
“Don’t fret, little one.” Margorie said, grinning at her. “This is a very advanced spell that is hard for any witch to do. It’s called mirror imaging. We project a mirror of ourselves and control them with our thoughts.”
“That’s amazing,” Ginelle said, watching the projections work in the kitchen, making up for the lack of hands in the kitchen. “Can they do anything?”
“No, there is a limit to what they can do.” The older lady replied, “They can’t come into contact with anyone, or speak. I like that cause that means I have a staff that can’t backtalk me. This is where you will come in handy, because they can’t serve the food, or set the tables… but you can.”
“Alright,” Ginelle said, as she understood. “I can help with prep and settings, but you have to agree to show me how to do that.”
“I can show you a lot more,” Margorie said, “But I have to warn you, chaos magic is very difficult to learn.”
“I’m a water witch,” Ginelle said, “I can cook as well, but chaos is not my specialization.”
“That’s one thing you need to learn about chaos,” Margorie said, “It doesn’t like to follow the rules, so your specialization is irrelevant. Anyone can learn it regardless of what kind of witch they are.”
“I had no idea,” Ginelle confessed.
“No one advertises it,” Margorie said, “So I have no doubt you were never told about it or its immense power. Considering what kind of world you live in, this magic just might be the only thing that keeps us alive. I hear our sisters in the cities are not faring well.”
“If they’re even alive,” Ginelle added, “Mom was worried they’d be executed without even a fair trial.”
“Her worries were justified,” Margorie confirmed, “The cities have been ruthless, but it makes me feel good to see some made it out like yourself.”
“I got lucky,” Ginelle confessed, “I was scared until I met them.”
“They’re good boys,” Margorie agreed, “Feed them and take care of them, and they’ll take care of us. You won’t have to worry about your safety here, little one. We’ll be okay out here.”
“Thank you,” Ginelle said, as she grabbed an apron and started to put it on. “I will do my best to earn my place here.”
“I’m glad to hear that,” Margorie said, “It will also be nice to have the company, and I’ll clear out one of the smaller storage rooms so you can have your own space here. It won’t be much…”
“It will be just fine,” Ginelle said, “After all that’s happened, it’s more than I hoped to ever have. Maybe even more than I deserve.”
“Oh, deary.” Margorie said as she walked over and hugged the young girl. “I’m happy to reach out and help a fellow witch. I will also enjoy having another lady around. There are far too many men around here so you are welcome to stay as long as you want.”
“Thank you,” Ginelle said, wiping away a tear. “Where shall I start?”
“Let’s start with lunch,” Margorie said, “It’s not that hard to keep a man happy. I’ll give you a hint, it’s through his stomach. I swear that thing is their second heart…”