Diary Entry No. 25

I really fucked up. Like, big-time. And it feels, at least to me, that Rose had to go through a horrible situation because of me.

It had slipped my mind for a bit, but I finally remembered that her clothes order at Jeanne’s shop should be finished. Over the past several weeks I had Rose practicing meditation, so I figured she would enjoy having a break from the whole staring at goats plants routine we had gotten into. Plus I had my own errand to run in the woods, to pick up the saltpeter I need for that recipe.

I thought I had done a good job of preparing her for any danger. She had a sword, and even if she’s new to more formalized instruction in magic she still has surprisingly good instincts, despite her tendency to constantly occasionally space out. It’s not like it happens all the time anyways, and it’s actually kind of endearing in a way. It kind of gives you a feeling like you want to watch over her and protect her. Not that she really needs as much protection as it seems like, and I know deep down she’s perfectly smart and capable, but something about the way she acts so outwardly clueless is absolutely adorable. It makes me want to pet-

Anyways. She should have been able to stay out of danger, since it was just a trip into town, I even gave her a broom and flying potion, as added security. And most importantly of all, I warned her away from that vixen Elizabeth. I know she’s family and all, but I can just tell she’s trying to steal my apprentice from me. Not that I wanted to spook Rose about it, so I made up some bull about her collecting back taxes. I think Rose bought it, surprisingly enough. And naturally, I gave her a heads up about the Tailor’s Guild. Although I didn’t think they would actually do anything…

But I had ignored how greedy they had been lately. It was my own fault. I was too focused on my own experiments to really pay any mind to the danger I was about to put my apprentice through.

My actual errand went relatively smoothly. Except for the Cave bear attack. They tend to live in the mountainous areas found much deeper in the woods than I had went, but this one must have wandered looking for prey before winter hits. They have been getting a bit more uppity in recent years since the last of them were wiped out in the mundane world. Not that they’re in any danger of going extinct here, but it’s like the shared consciousness of their species can tell they’ve gone extinct in another world. And now there’s one less of them in this world too.

I passed through the clearing where I found Rose, on the way to the caves. The shoes and jacket she left there were gone, likely having fallen back into her world. In its place was a nosegay of Cedar Leaf, Nutmeg Geranium, Enchanter’s Nightshade, Indian Jasmine, Roses, Zinnia… This seems rather odd, almost like a summoning more than flowers placed in joy or remembrance. The plants chosen screamed of thoughts directed towards someone, and the energy that had been poured into them was at the level of one of the greater witches in this world. I decided to put the bouquet away just in case, since that level of obsession seems like something to be concerned about.

Anyways, I gathered a whole bunch of bat shit for my recipe. Once I got back, I used magic as a shortcut to leach out all the non-salt-peter stuff from the guano. Then came grinding/mixing the ingredients, and it was ready. I planned on testing it out tomorrow, with Rose.

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I went back to the house and decided it’d be best to tidy up a bit before Rose got back. I was really excited about the thought of seeing her in her new outfit, but letting my impatience get to me wouldn’t be helpful. The closer and closer it got to dusk, the more antsy I began to get. Was she okay? She had been gone pretty late. Finally, at around twilight, and ringing noise let me know she was approaching.

I rushed out of the house, but she wasn’t on the path. That must mean….

I saw her, riding the broom towards the cottage door. Something must have happened… and behind her was Elizabeth, holding on tightly to my apprentices waist. That bitch. As she saw my reaction she gave me an absolutely smug grin from behind my Rose. How fucking dare she!

I temporarily lost control of my temper at that moment, truth be told, sending Rose inside while I let that thieving girl know exactly what I thought of her behavior. I interrogated her about the events that happened, and informed her on no uncertain terms that Rose was my apprentice. And, just to drive the point home, I sent a magic note to James letting him know exactly what his daughter had been up to.

Losing my temper like that had scared Rose, however, filling me with even more guilt. After all, it really was too soon for me to have let her go off into town on her own. Yes, she’s an adult and all, but I still felt as if I had abandoned her. And now she though I was mad at her.

It’s been a while since I’ve really interacted with anyone in-depth outside my family, so I wasn’t exactly sure about the best way to deal with her feeling badly. Luckily she seemed to bounce right back after I asked her about her day. Plus, I even had an excuse to sit right next to her! It was really bliss. Until she revealed how clueless she was about Liz’s intentions towards her.

Really it’s kind of sad. She’s bright in so many ways, yet she seems kind of blind when it comes to anything directly related to her. Like a puppy. Like an adorable, cute puppy, but one short of a leg. She goes through life happy, carefree, and not realizing she’s lacking something as major as a paw missing. But one of the stories I got from the mundane world did say girls are cutest when they’re half stupid. At the time I read that I thought it was a bit offensive, but now that I have a real-life example of in in front of me I find myself agreeing with it.

And the outfit! It’s so adorable! That jacket and skirt, with the hat! I don’t know what god or goddess I got on the good side of to deserve someone like this, but I’ll be sure to throw a few dozen extra prayers their way!

And she finally got the coffee drink she’s been talking about wanting for the past several weeks! Really she’s just too precious. She was so excited about it too that she didn’t even seem to mind me getting closer than usual while she was preparing it.

She’s only been here a short while but I already don’t know what I’d do without her. Is this what love at first sight is like? She’s gone through so much, a lot of it being my fault, yet she’s still able to smile about things like coffee and clothes. I need to step things up on my own end, since I desperately want to avoid losing her to anything! Part of that means I need to write a letter to James now, to deal with the assholes that attacked my precious apprentice, so I probably should wrap up my diary entry for tonight. I hope you’re doing well up there, Mom, Dad. I miss you so much.

Your daughter (of course you know it’s me),

Mary Korppi xoxoxo-