O’Brien came by two days later with a big box of books, some of which were pretty dusty. I watched as Lou thanked him, and then tore into the books with a fervor.

When she’d mentioned the idea of becoming a police officer, I emphatically supported her. It seemed to match her like nothing else ever had. Radios were fun, but really, just toys and money to her. Math, she was pretty good at, and so she handled finances well, but she found it boring. She completely lacked the customer service skills to run a shop herself - she was too quick to give annoying customers lip.

And apparently, her mother’s idea was for Lou to be a housewife. Cooking, cleaning, and raising children… the idea of Lou doing that made me shudder. She could manage scrambled eggs and coffee, and she could probably raise a cat. Maybe two.

Something about the idea of being a police officer sat well with her in a way that no career idea had ever done.

She had to succeed. But, she was afraid. She didn’t admit it, of course, but it was clear to see. Her fervor to study had an undercurrent of uncertainty. When she made a mistake when one of us quizzed her from her books, she looked like she’d been slapped. Like perhaps, deep down, she was afraid her mother was right, and she couldn’t do this.

I needed her to succeed. Despite frustrating the life out of me sometimes, she was my friend, and this was what she needed.

“There are all sorts of enhancements that can be made to the physical body,” I said one evening, as she took a break from studying. “Layering crystal structures into the bone can help prevent it from breaking, and sort of hold the pieces together if it does break, for instance.”

“You do that to yourself?” she asked, uneasily.

“I don’t bother,” I said. “I’m not doing anything physically strenuous, and such enhancements take some work to maintain.”

“Right,” she said. “Mind telling me why you’re telling me about this?”

“Well, you have that test coming up,” I said. “Your mental acuity is exceptional, but your body is small and weak, especially compared to males.”

Apparently that was the wrong thing to say.

“You’re suggesting that I need to cheat because I’m a woman,” she said flatly.

“Um,” I said, flinching a bit from the look she was giving me. “It’s not cheating, really, just using resources you have available…”

“It is cheating,” she said, putting her hands on her hips and giving me a death glare.

“Ah,” I said, shrinking back from her gaze. “I… okay. But, you could sort of see it as canceling out the bias of your judges? Since they probably think less of you for being a woman?”

“It’s an objective test, Aera,” Lou said, her glare getting worse. “They’re going to time me. There’s no bias in that.”

I felt like I couldn’t shrink anymore.

“O… okay,” I said. “Um. So, you’ll succeed, for sure, then.”

“Yeah, I will,” she said. “On my own merit.”

“Yes,” I said, nodding emphatically. “You will do wonderfully.”

“And you’re not going to interfere at all with that,” she continued. “No matter how helpful you think it is.”

“Suggestions aren’t bad, though, right?” I said. “I mean, I could help you with exercise, make sure you’re eating enough of the right foods for your body to build muscle properly…”

“I’m sure I can manage to exercise without someone looking inside my muscles,” she said dryly.

“Ah… yes,” I said. “But I mean, you are quite thin. I could help with food choices…”

“Aera,” she said, with an exasperated sigh.

“I’m sorry,” I said. “I just want to help.”

“I know that, and I appreciate it,” she said. “But I am going to make this happen on my own, all right?”

“Very well,” I said. “But please, let me know if there is anything that I can do to help.”

“I will,” she said.

Not long after making things awkward, again, we arranged for the construction workers to come and finish up the house, after I fixed it up. One day, while I was making sure nothing was out of place, the phone rang.

It was for Slick - a movie producer, Sol Lesser, wanted Slick for a major role in an upcoming film. I immediately got Slick to call him back, and Slick was clearly overwhelmed as he told us the details.

Seemed like Mr. Lesser had heard about Slick’s recent line of misfortunes, and thought the publicity would make him a more appealing pick. Between that, his good looks, and his amazing singing voice, Slick was in, if he wanted.

While it wasn’t Slick’s first choice of career, it was a way to get him back on the stage. And it certainly beat working on the docks!

He was excited, and with that excitement, he came back to life. It was only days before Alice started having that lovestruck look on her face again. He signed up for acting classes immediately. Lou and I footed the bill, since he was out of money. He swore he’d pay us back, though I was pretty sure Lou cared as little as I did.

It was worth it just to see him alive again.

By the time the house was livable, Alice had been successfully swept off her feet, and let him stay with her. Slick did check out the house, but even though it would have made more sense for him to live there with Alice, he had no interest in doing so. Lou, on the other hand, flat out refused to even visit the house again. She got tense every time the subject was brought up.

So, I moved in by myself. It felt a little lonely, but Alice’s small apartment was far too crowded. Besides, it was nice living on my own for once.

About two weeks after our discussion with O’Brien, I received something in the mail. It was a bit unnerving, because I’d never received anything addressed to myself before.

I opened it quickly, and read over the narrow writing.

Dear Witch,

You are clever and cunning. A fine huntress and prey. Your red haired hero has proven difficult in getting proof of your ability. I was hoping to see the full extent of what you can do.

However, Rhine claims to have found a person with capabilities to see the future. I, as always, have my doubts. I will be in Chicago working with him on that case.

I ask that next I am in town, you remove these restrictions, call off your dog, and reveal your true self. We can do much good for the world. The world is full of people who do not understand power, who do not even understand what it is to be more than they are. The world, in short, is filled with idiots who need guidance.

With your talents you could help guide the world.

I will be back.

Lt. Mikhail Pash

I was so excited.

“Lou! Alice! Slick!” I said, rushing over to them. “Look, look! Pash sent me a letter! He’s being nice!”

Lou looked skeptical as she put down her fork and took the letter from me.

“That’s not all that nice, Aera,” she said. “He called you a witch.”

“I haven’t told him yet that I don’t like that term,” I said. “There’s no reason to take it personally.”

“What are you going to do now?” Alice said.

“I should call O’Brien,” I said. “He’ll be happy to hear it worked!”

The first few times I tried calling him, he wasn’t in, but then I finally got a hold of him. Lou stayed near me, listening in.

“Lieutenant O’Brien!” I said as soon as he said hello.

“Um… yes?” he said, sounding confused.

“This is Aera,” I said. “I received a letter from Lieutenant Pash!”

“I see,” he said. “He’s not supposed to contact you by any means -”

“It’s okay,” I said. “He’s being nice! Mostly. I thought you might want to come by and see the letter for yourself?”

“That’s a good idea,” he said. “I’ll hang onto it, as evidence of breaking the restraining order, in case it’s needed. I’ll swing by today, if that works?”

“It does,” I said. “What time?”

“Maybe around six,” he said. “Unless that’d interrupt dinner?”

“Why not come by and just stay for dinner?” I suggested, unthinking.

“Sure,” he said. “If it’s no trouble.”

“None at all,” I said. “I’ll see you at six!”

As soon as I hung up the phone, I noticed Lou staring at me.

And then my words clicked in my head. I stared at the phone.

“You just asked him to dinner,” she said.

“I… I did, didn’t I?” I said.

“Yeah, you did,” she said, and then gave me an odd look. “You’re interested in him.”

“Me?” I said. “In O’Brien? As in…”

“As in, he’s a handsome man, kind of interested,” she said, her smile turning wry.

“I…” I hesitated, then resumed staring at the phone.

I’d noticed he was a handsome man. I’d become aware of him, but I hadn’t consciously decided to do anything about that.

“Lou…” I said slowly, a blush covering my cheeks.

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“Yeah?”

“I have no idea what I’m doing,” I said.

She laughed, and I heard an odd note in her voice.

“Seems like a habit of yours,” she said, her tone wry again. “Doing things without thinking about what it means.”

“I can’t believe I did that,” I said, then wrenched my gaze over to her. “Lou! Help! I don’t know what to do!”

“What do you want to do?” she asked.

“I…” I hesitated. “Um, well, for now, I need to.. I don’t know… I want to look nice? But it’s not a date, so…”

She laughed. “I am not the person to ask about that.”

“You’re right,” I said, turning away. “Alice! Help! I need clothes!”

Alice’s initial confusion turned to delight when Lou explained what happened. She helped me with my hair, and came up with a design for a dress for me to quickly put together.

By the time six o’clock came, I was wearing a nice housedress that could reasonably be worn casually, but also looked nice enough to be attention gathering.

The fashion at the time, for housedresses, was for complex patterns on the fabric, but a straight color or sequins for special occasions. I compromised with a tighter fitting housedress cut, but with fabric that looked like silk. I thought a dark, forest green would look nice.

When we heard a knock on the door, Alice jumped up to get it. Lieutenant O’Brien stood there, looking sharp, but fatigued.

“Hello, Ms. Walker,” he said, with a tip of his hat. “Thanks for having me.”

“Our pleasure, Lieutenant,” she said, and welcomed him in.

He blinked in surprise when he saw me, and I immediately wanted to flee. I just smiled, instead, suppressing the instinct to roll my eyes at my own cowardice.

“Welcome, sir,” I said, walking up to him. “We’re having a casserole for dinner tonight. Please, have a seat.”

He smiled at me, and thanked me as he put aside his hat. Lou and Slick also greeted him, and he sat down at the dinner table. He’d arrived on time, so the food was fresh from the oven.

I may have splurged a little that afternoon on ingredients - we were having a scalloped potatoes and ham casserole, with fresh vegetables on the side, and wine to drink.

“It looks great,” he said. “If I may, could I see the letter before we eat?”

“Of course,” I said, and grabbed the letter off the kitchen counter. “Here you go.”

He read it quickly.

“He called you a dog,” I said. “But other than that, it was pretty nice, I thought.”

“I’ve been called worse,” he said, chuckling. “What he says is a little unnerving, but I’m glad you called me. I’ll hang on to this.”

“As you prefer,” I said. “Now, let’s eat!”

That earned a grin from the copper, and he earnestly dug in.

We laughed and talked as a group. While O’Brien had given me a speculative look, he didn’t make any comment about my clothing choice. It was good, lighthearted conversation, mostly about dealing with annoying, stupid individuals, as that was something we’d all had to deal with with our jobs. I was the least able to relate, but I had a blast listening to their stories. O’Brien had quite a few.

“You must’ve been hungry,” Alice said after a while, chuckling as she served O’Brien another serving.

“Yep,” he said, grinning at her. “But that’s not the only reason I eat fast. I’ve got eleven brothers and sisters - dinner was a sight.”

“Oh?” I asked. “Siblings making it hard to eat?”

He nodded, then swallowed before speaking again. “Some would steal from the plate, some would pull pranks, whatever. First one that was done eatin’ would have more time to either mess with the others, or dodge. Not that I’m claiming to be innocent, myself.”

Another grin flashed on his face before he took his next bite.

“I know that feeling,” I said, glad to finally have relevance to the conversation. “I have two little brothers, and we’d mess with each other all the time. Like one time, my brother Nordrid made a bunch of illusion spiders on my spoon, just before I took a bite. Scared me right out of my seat!”

O’Brien’s fork stopped in the air.

“Did he get away with it?” he asked, curious.

“Nope,” I said, with a wicked smile. “My mother chastised him for it, and while she was distracted, I turned his soup to acid.”

They looked at me in horror.

“Not a strong acid,” I amended. “Just enough to startle him. It was like taking a bite of food that’s too hot.”

“Heh,” O’Brien said, smiling at me. “I’d not thought about that side of having magic. I can only imagine what it’d have been like if my siblings and I could cast spells.”

“We had good times,” I said, my voice getting a little wistful. “We messed with each other a great deal, but we also helped each other a lot. There’s all sorts of fun games we played with spells. And other things. Eivan, the youngest, was really clumsy. I healed him from falls more times than I could count.”

“We got hurt from falls all the time,” O’Brien said, while Lou fiddled with her fork uncomfortably. “Had to heal the old fashioned way, but we learned to be careful.”

“Ain’t that the truth,” Slick said.

“That’s a known problem with spellcasting,” I said. “With ready access to healing and other supports, casters often don’t have a good sense for how to stay safe. Some even get addicted to healing magic.”

“Addicted?” Alice asked, surprised. “Why would healing be addicting?”

“You’ve been unconscious every time I healed you,” I said. “But the sensation of something wrong becoming right again is very… relieving. Very satisfying.”

“That sounds like it would be addictive, for the right kind of person,” O’Brien said. “Is there a way to treat that?”

“No,” I said. “Mind magic can help a little, but if the caster can create the effect they’re addicted to themselves, then they are beyond hope. Our language has a word for someone who gets that way, which sort of means ‘person walking to their own gravesite.’ If a caster becomes addicted to any aspect of their power, death is the only outcome.”

The table was silent.

“Interesting,” O’Brien said after a minute. “A bit depressing, but interesting.”

“She does that,” Lou said casually. “Where she comes from, things like death and horrors are normal.”

“In her defense, it’s not all rosy here, either,” O’Brien said. “If you were telling someone about our world, the right questions would easily get answers full of death and horror.”

“Indeed,” I said, smiling at O’Brien. “This world is full of things mine is generally lacking; disease, for instance. My world has monsters - yours has children who are born unwanted. I’m not sure which is worse.”

“There are no unwanted children?” he said, surprised.

“Temporary infertility enchantments are the most common in all the world,” I said.

“That’s convenient,” he said.

“Many things she does are convenient,” Alice said. “My walls used to be stained yellow, believe it or not.”

“Many things she does are dangerous,” Lou said. “If she weren’t so nice, she’d be a monster herself.”

O’Brien’s eyes narrowed a little as he caught the tension in Lou’s comment.

“But you are nice,” Slick said to me with a smile, trying to ease the taut atmosphere. “And you’re the only person with magic, other than me, so it’s fine.”

“Thank you,” I said, looking down.

Even with all the stories I’d told, they had no idea what a “monster” spellcaster looked like. They thought my mother was monstrous, despite her good intentions.

The conversation drifted to the sorts of magical music Slick had learned, and I made sure to stay out of it, for the most part. I didn’t want to make things awkward again.

After dessert - a delicious apple pie - O’Brien thanked us again, and headed off. Even though he’d worked all day, he was going right back to his office.

He’d left quite a wake of peace behind him. Considering the time of year, that was quite a blessing. I’d received Pash’s letter, confirming that we were at least temporarily free of his influence, on December fourth.

That gave us right at three weeks to get ready for Christmas, without anything to worry about. My relationship with Lou and Slick had felt cold, ever since our house was attacked, but getting that letter seemed to help improve things.

We all had fun preparing for the holidays. I was mostly doing enchanting work, Lou was mostly studying, and Slick was mostly practicing, so Alice was the one most involved in spicing both our homes up. We’d often all go out together, and listen to Alice cheerfully tell us about her activities.

Making them presents was, as always, a challenge. I wanted something that felt appropriate for the unique events we’d been dealing with. I also still felt a little lingering bitterness at having felt chained, after the Cocoanut Grove fire, so I wanted the gifts to be magical.

For Alice, I made a dress - an absolutely magnificent dress. It took quite a bit of feedback from Dorothy before it could be considered reasonably mundane. I’d initially made it styled like sequined dresses, but with diamonds instead. Apparently that was excessive. I did, finally, find a way to get it to glisten and gleam without overstepping the bounds of the mundanely possible.

Alice had been an orphan Dorothy had raised, so Dorothy had a great deal of insight into her tastes. By the time it was complete, it was an absolute masterpiece. I made matching hats, gloves, shoes, and a handbag to go with it, as well as earrings and a bracelet.

For Dorothy, I got an enchanted snowglobe. I wasn’t good at illusions, but I could copy simple things reasonably well, so I went and got a number of little decorative pieces for reference.

I purchased a plain snowglobe, and carefully removed the little dog that was inside. I added more water, to fill the globe, and then carefully recreated the scenes that I’d gathered. The “snow” particles would seem to change to match the illusory scene. When it was done, it would only activate in her presence, if she was alone, and it would shift through various imagery. I selected a tropical beach, a miniature city, a cabin in the woods, Santa standing in the snow, and for fun, a bottle of wine surrounded by guns. I snuck a peek at her collection, to mimic those. All of them would be dusted by snow if she shook her globe.

I hoped it would make her think retirement thoughts.

For Lou, I got her an enchanted magnifying glass. It would permit the holder to see through items, up to about an inch through solid material. I wasn’t sure how helpful it would be, and the interface was awkward, since she couldn’t use magic, but it certainly fit the theme of her hopefully becoming a detective.

For Slick, I enchanted a radio. Since he could use magic, I was able to make it more nuanced. It would record anything with one type of activation, and with the other, would play it back. It was designed to hold up to fifty recordings, in addition to functioning as a normal radio.

Which left my final gift.

At first, I struggled to think of something. Finally, it was Alice who had the idea.

A simple bottle of Irish whiskey, the best I could find for sale. But rather than simply sending it to Lieutenant O’Brien, I would take it to his house personally.

And, if he went along with it, I’d go inside.

It was one of the most nerve wracking plans I’d ever come up with. For this culture, women didn’t tend to make the first move, but I wanted him. If I didn’t approach him, he would just be professional.

My stomach was tied in knots as I stared at the phone. A week before Christmas was when Alice had suggested the idea, and I had to make the call.

If I went home without calling, I was sure I’d lose my nerve. Lou looked highly amused as I nearly wrung the skin off my hands in nervousness.

It took several attempts to dial his number, and when I did, I almost hung up on him.

“This is Lieutenant O’Brien speaking,” he said, as he picked up the line.

“Hello, sir,” I said. “Um, this is Aera calling.”

“Aera?” he said. “Did something happen?”

“Um… no,” I said. “It’s that, uh, well, I…”

I coughed a little.

“You see, I got you something,” I said. “It’s a… a gift? For, um, Christmas.”

Lou looked amused.

“You didn’t have to do that,” he said.

“I know!” I said, a little too high pitched. “I know I didn’t have to. But I… well, I wanted to. So, um, I did.”

“I appreciate the gesture,” he said.

“I, uh, I’d like to give it to you,” I said.

“I could come by at some point, and pick it up,” he said, and I could almost hear him smiling.

“No,” I said. “I mean, um, you c-could, but I was thinking, if maybe I could, if it’s no big deal, that I could possibly arrange to bring it, um, to you. Not to your office, but um, to w-where you live, like your house, possibly.”

“I suppose that’s reasonable,” he said, and I swore I could hear him trying not to laugh.

“Yes?” I said. “That’s… that’s good! Um, for that, though, I’d, uh, I’d need to know… um… your address?”

He did chuckle at that, and gave me his address. I dropped the pen as I was writing it, but then picked it up fast enough that I didn’t need him to repeat himself.

“It’s in a bad part of town,” he said, sounding apologetic, “So you’ll want to be careful, and not go walking around.”

“Be careful?” I said. “Of what?”

There was no sound for a moment.

“I suppose that you wouldn’t need to worry about random mugging,” he said, sounding like he was wanting to laugh again.

“No, sir,” I said. “But if you want, I could catch them for you! I could even bring them, like another gift! Though…”

He laughed.

“No, thanks,” he said. “The extra paperwork would not be the best Christmas gift, though I appreciate the thought.”

“Um, sure. That makes sense,” I said. “I was thinking… are you… are you off Christmas Eve?”

“Nope,” he said. “I’m working, and on Christmas, too. But you could come by after work on Christmas Eve. I’m usually home by about nine or ten.”

“Yes, that sounds good,” I said. “I will be there! And with your gift, like I said, since that’s why I’m going there.”

Lou buried her face in her hands.

“I look forward to it,” he said. “Thank you again.”

“Of course,” I said. “Um, t-thanks for accepting, and um, bye!”

With that I abruptly hung up the phone, and as soon as it was on its base, Lou burst out laughing.

“That was the most ridiculous and pathetic thing I’ve ever seen,” she said. “But it was also adorable. For your sake, hopefully he likes that.”

I scowled at her, and proceed to curl up in a nervous ball on the couch. Lou continued to give me amused looks and randomly chuckle to herself.

My nerves seemed to settle into a solid ball of excited and anxious anticipation by the time Christmas Eve came along. The day of, I was practically in a state of shock.

At last, everything was in order, and I was ready. Alice had helped me to get my clothes in line, the bottle of whiskey was purchased, and it was time.

I was going to make my move.