Yuki jolted awake to the sound of frantic pounding. For a moment, she thought she was back in her apartment with an angry neighbor complaining about her alarm. Then she saw the unfamiliar thatched ceiling and remembered: magical village, potion shop, talking wolf.

"Make it stop," groaned Fenrir from the foot of her bed, where he'd somehow migrated during the night despite her protests. The massive wolf buried his head under his paws. "Tell them we're closed forever."

The pounding continued, more desperate now, accompanied by a voice: "Witch! Please, you must help!"

Yuki stumbled out of bed, still wearing her scrubs from yesterday. She'd been too exhausted to look for nightclothes.

"Coming!" she called, trying to smooth down her sleep-rumpled hair.

She hurried down the narrow stairs, nearly tripping on the bottom step. The shop looked even more intimidating in the pale morning light—all those jars of mysterious substances staring down at her like accusatory eyes.

The knocking grew more insistent.

"I'm coming!" Yuki called again, fumbling with the heavy lock. She finally pulled the door open to find a young man with straw-colored hair, his face pale with fear. He clutched a small bundle wrapped in a woolen blanket.

"Thank the Crystal Moon," he gasped. "Witch, please, you must help! My daughter... something's terribly wrong!"

As he spoke, the bundle in his arms squirmed, and the blanket fell away to reveal a small child—a girl no more than five or six years old. Yuki's medical training kicked in immediately, but her assessment stopped short when she saw the child's condition.

The little girl's skin was turning a vibrant purple, spreading outward from her cheeks. More alarmingly, tiny green shoots were sprouting from her scalp, pushing through her blonde hair. As Yuki watched, one of the shoots unfurled into a small, delicate purple flower.

"What in the—" Yuki bit back her words, aware of the father's panicked expression.

"It started this morning," the man explained, tears welling in his eyes. "Lily woke up complaining her face itched, and within an hour, she was turning purple. Then the... the plants started growing." He looked desperately at Yuki. "Can you help her? Please, she's all I have."

The little girl whimpered, reaching up to touch one of the flowers sprouting from her head.

"They tickle, Papa," she said with the innocent confusion only a child could maintain in such a situation.

Yuki felt the blood drain from her face. Her first patient had arrived—and nothing in her pharmaceutical training had prepared her for this.

"Bring her inside," she said, stepping back to let them enter. Medical emergency or magical emergency, the first rule was the same: stay calm.

"Put her on the counter here," Yuki instructed, quickly clearing a space on the large wooden counter. "What's your name?"

"Thomas, ma'am. I'm the village baker." He gently set Lily down on the counter. "And this is my daughter, Lily."

"Hi, Lily," Yuki said, keeping her voice gentle despite her internal panic. "I'm going to take a look at you, okay?"

The girl nodded, surprisingly calm for someone sprouting flowers from her scalp. Her purple complexion had deepened to a rich violet around her cheeks and forehead.

"Well, well, what have we here?"

Yuki nearly jumped at the sound of Milda's voice. The ghost had materialized beside her, peering down at the child with interest.

"Not now," Yuki muttered under her breath.

"Who are you talking to?" Thomas asked, looking around in confusion.

"Just thinking out loud," Yuki said quickly. She'd deal with the fact that apparently only she could see Milda later. "Can you tell me if Lily ate or drank anything unusual yesterday?"

While Thomas thought, Milda floated closer to the child.

"Moonglow Syndrome," the ghost declared confidently. "I've seen it before. The child must have eaten moonglow berries. They grow in the forest clearing during the full moon."

"We did go berry picking yesterday," Thomas said, frowning. "In the forest clearing. Lily, did you eat any berries that Papa didn't check?"

Lily looked down guiltily. "Just a few pretty blue ones. They were glowing and looked like stars."

"Moonglow berries," Thomas groaned. "I told her not to wander off."

"Are they poisonous?" Yuki asked, her concern spiking.

"Not poisonous," Milda answered. "Just highly magical. They cause temporary transformation in children. Adults just get a mild stomach upset."

Thomas didn't hear the ghost, of course, but he shook his head. "They're not deadly, but they cause... well, this." He gestured to his daughter's purple skin and flowering hair. "The village healer used to treat it, but she's been gone for years. When I heard you'd returned..." His voice trailed off hopefully.

Great. Her first case, and already Yuki was in over her head. She couldn't exactly tell them she had no idea what she was doing.

"Give me a moment," she said with a confidence she didn't feel. "I need to check my reference materials."

She picked up Milda's recipe book from where she'd left it on the counter and quickly flipped through it, hoping for something about moonglow berries or purple skin or human flower pots.

"Page ninety-three," Milda said helpfully, reading over her shoulder. "My Moonglow Antidote. Works every time."

Yuki found the page and skimmed the recipe: Distilled moonwater, powdered silverleaf, three drops of morning dew, essence of rootbane...

"I don't even know what half of these ingredients are," she whispered frantically to Milda. "Let alone where to find them."

"Most should be right here in the shop," Milda replied. "The organization system is quite logical. Herbs in the wall cabinet, minerals in the small drawers, liquids on the back shelf."

Yuki glanced at Thomas, who was comforting his increasingly flowery daughter. More blooms had appeared in her hair, and the purple color had spread to her little hands.

"I'll need to mix a remedy," Yuki announced. "It might take a little while. There's a bench outside if you want to wait, or—"

"I'll stay," Thomas said firmly. "If that's all right."

"Of course."

Yuki set the book on a stand and began searching the shop for the ingredients listed. To her surprise, the labeled jars and drawers were indeed organized logically—almost like a pharmacy. There was even a section labeled "ANTIDOTES" with subcategories for different types of magical accidents.

Okay, maybe she could do this.

"The silverleaf is in the blue jar with the silver stopper," Milda instructed, hovering nearby. "No, not that one—yes, that one."

"What's going on down here?" came a grumpy voice. Fenrir padded down the stairs, yawning widely. He froze when he saw the customers. "Oh. Humans."

Thomas gasped. "A familiar! The legends were true!"

Fenrir puffed up slightly at the recognition. "Yes, yes, I'm quite magnificent. No need to make a fuss."

Lily giggled, momentarily distracted from her condition. "Puppy!" she exclaimed.

The wolf's golden eyes narrowed. "I am not a 'puppy.' I am an ancient mystical entity of great power and dignity."

This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road. If you spot it on Amazon, please report it.

"Can I pet you?" Lily asked, completely unfazed.

Fenrir opened his mouth to object, then looked at the flowering child and seemed to reconsider. "Fine. But only because you're sick." He sauntered over and positioned himself next to the counter where Lily could reach his fur.

While the wolf distracted the girl, Yuki gathered the ingredients for the antidote. Milda continued to direct her, pointing out items and correcting her technique.

"You'll need the copper cauldron for this one, not the iron," the ghost instructed. "Magical transformations require copper to reverse properly."

Yuki hauled the copper cauldron onto the hearth and lit the fire beneath it with matches she found in a drawer.

"No, no, no!" Milda exclaimed. "You don't use matches! Use the firestarting spell!"

"I don't know any spells," Yuki hissed quietly.

"Hmph. Youngsters these days, always taking shortcuts." The ghost shook her head disapprovingly. "Very well. Matches will work, but it won't be as potent."

Following the recipe and Milda's instructions, Yuki added the ingredients one by one. The mixture bubbled and changed colors—from clear to blue to purple and finally settling on a shimmering silver.

"Now three clockwise stirs followed by one counterclockwise," Milda directed. "And recite the incantation."

"What incantation?" Yuki whispered.

"Bottom of the page, dear. Do try to keep up."

Yuki looked at the recipe again and found unfamiliar words scribbled at the bottom. She read them aloud uncertainly: "Florescentia reverso, corporis normalis restoro."

The potion sparked and released a puff of silver smoke shaped like a flower that quickly dissipated.

"I think it worked," Yuki said, surprised.

"Of course it worked," Milda sniffed. "My recipes always work when followed correctly."

Yuki carefully ladled some of the silver liquid into a cup and brought it to Lily.

"This might taste a little strange," she warned, "but it will help with the... flowers."

Lily looked dubiously at the potion. "Will it hurt?"

"It shouldn't," Yuki said, hoping she was right. She glanced at Milda, who nodded encouragingly. "It might tingle a bit."

"Be brave, flower bud," Fenrir said unexpectedly, nudging the girl's hand with his nose. "I'll let you scratch behind my ears after you drink it."

That seemed to convince her. Lily took the cup and, after a moment's hesitation, drank the potion. Her face scrunched up at the taste.

"Yucky," she declared.

For a moment, nothing happened. Then Lily began to glow faintly with silver light. The purple color slowly receded from her skin, and the flowers in her hair wilted, the stems withdrawing back into her scalp. Within minutes, she looked like a normal little girl again, albeit with a few flower petals still stuck in her blonde hair.

Thomas let out a cry of relief and hugged his daughter tightly. "Thank you, Witch! Thank you!"

"You're welcome," Yuki said, genuinely relieved the potion had worked. "But maybe keep her away from strange berries in the future."

"I will, I promise." Thomas reached into his pocket and pulled out a small pouch. "For your services."

Yuki hesitated, then accepted the pouch. Inside were several silver coins of unfamiliar design.

"One more thing," she said. "She should drink plenty of water today, and if you notice any lingering symptoms—even small ones—bring her back immediately."

The advice was standard for any medication, but it felt right to say it. Thomas nodded seriously, then helped his daughter down from the counter.

"The village will be overjoyed to know you've truly returned," he said, bowing slightly. "We've missed having a proper witch."

After they left, Yuki sagged against the counter, the adrenaline rush fading.

"I can't believe that worked," she admitted.

"Of course it worked," Milda said. "It was my recipe."

Fenrir stretched lazily. "Not bad for your first day. Though you could work on your bedside manner. And your spell pronunciation was terrible."

Yuki ran a hand through her hair. "I don't know anything about spells or potions or magical berries. How am I supposed to be the village witch?"

"You just were the village witch," Fenrir pointed out. "Successfully, I might add."

"But that was with Milda's help! I can't keep pretending I know what I'm doing."

Milda drifted over to the recipe book. "That's why you study, dear. No one becomes a master witch overnight." She patted the book with a transparent hand. "Everything you need to know is in here. The basics, at least."

Yuki picked up the book doubtfully. "And what happens when someone comes in with a problem that isn't in this book?"

"Then you improvise," Fenrir said, jumping onto the counter and sitting down. "That's what witches do. They experiment. They try things. Sometimes they explode things, which is always entertaining."

"Great," Yuki muttered. "Potential explosions. Just what I needed."

She opened the pouch Thomas had given her and examined the silver coins. They were stamped with a crescent moon on one side and what looked like a plant on the other.

"These are moonstones," Milda explained. "Ten moonstones is a standard fee for a simple remedy. More complex potions can cost up to fifty."

"And what am I supposed to do with magical currency?" Yuki asked. "It's not like I can use it back in my world."

Fenrir and Milda exchanged a glance.

"What?" Yuki asked, noticing their look.

"Nothing," Fenrir said too quickly. "Just... you might want to hold onto those. For supplies and food and such."

Before Yuki could press for more information, the shop door opened with a cheerful jingling of bells. A tall, lean young man with auburn hair and spectacles stepped inside, dressed in an elaborate blue and gold outfit that screamed "important person." He carried a leather satchel filled with books and scrolls, and his sharp green eyes instantly focused on Yuki with unnerving intensity.

"Fascinating," he said instead of a normal greeting. "So it's true. The Witch of Remedies has returned."

Milda let out an exasperated sigh. "Oh, great. The royal pain in the cauldron is here."

"Who—" Yuki began.

The man strode forward and bowed with a flourish. "Prince Elias Valerian of the Western Kingdoms, Royal Court Alchemist and Third Son of King Alaric. At your service, honored witch."

Yuki blinked. "A prince?"

"A pain," Fenrir muttered, just loud enough for Yuki to hear.

Elias straightened up and adjusted his spectacles. "Word traveled quickly about your arrival. A witch who can cure Moonglow Syndrome in minutes? Most impressive." He peered at her with scientific curiosity. "Though you're not what I expected. Your attire is most unusual."

Yuki became acutely aware that she was still in her rumpled scrubs from yesterday, her hair uncombed, probably with dark circles under her eyes.

"I wasn't exactly expecting visitors," she said stiffly.

"Oh, this isn't a social call," Elias clarified, pulling a notebook from his satchel. "This is research. The Royal Academy of Alchemy has been documenting magical practitioners for generations. I'd like to interview you about your methods, your background, your power sources..." He flipped open the notebook, pen poised. "Let's start with your full name and place of origin."

"I, uh—"

"She doesn't have to tell you anything, you nosy royal brat," Milda huffed, though only Yuki could hear her.

"The Witch has just returned and already treated a patient," Fenrir interjected, much to Yuki's surprise. "She isn't taking interviews at the moment."

Elias' eyebrows rose as he regarded the wolf. "A speaking familiar. Even more fascinating." He made a note in his book. "Is it true you can detect magical auras? Transform into other creatures? Channel elemental forces?"

Fenrir snorted. "Wouldn't you like to know."

"Indeed I would," Elias said earnestly, missing the sarcasm entirely. "The Academy's records on magical familiars are woefully incomplete."

Yuki felt a headache coming on. "Look, Your Highness—"

"Elias, please."

"—Elias. As my... familiar said, I've just returned and I'm still getting settled. I'm not ready for interviews or research or whatever it is you're hoping for."

The prince looked disappointed but nodded. "Of course, of course. The rigors of interdimensional travel must be exhausting." He closed his notebook but didn't leave. Instead, he began wandering around the shop, examining jars and equipment with obvious fascination.

"Is there something else you needed?" Yuki asked pointedly.

"Hmm? Oh! Yes, actually." Elias rummaged in his satchel and produced a sealed letter. "An invitation. The village is holding a welcome feast in your honor tomorrow evening. As the royal representative currently in the area, I was asked to deliver it personally."

Yuki took the letter reluctantly. "A feast? That's really not necessary."

"Oh, but it is!" Elias insisted. "The return of the Witch of Remedies is cause for great celebration. The entire village will attend." He pushed his spectacles up his nose. "And I admit I'm personally quite eager to observe how you interact with the local magical currents. The confluence of ley lines beneath Moonflower Hollow is quite unique, you know."

"Uh-huh," Yuki said noncommittally.

Elias finally seemed to notice her discomfort. "But that can wait, of course. You should rest and prepare." He gathered his things and headed for the door but paused before leaving. "One question, though, if I may?"

Yuki sighed. "Just one."

"Your world—is it true there are no magical creatures there? No spells or enchantments?" His eyes were wide with genuine curiosity. "I can't imagine such a place."

The question caught her off guard. "That's... correct. No magic. Just science and technology."

"Remarkable," Elias breathed. "A world without magic. I have so many questions about how such a place functions." He seemed to catch himself. "But those can wait. Until tomorrow, Witch." With a formal bow, he finally departed.

The moment the door closed, Yuki collapsed onto a nearby stool.

"What have I gotten myself into?" she groaned. "Magical illnesses, nosy princes, village feasts..."

"Just an average day in the life of a witch," Fenrir said, jumping down from the counter to paw at a cabinet. "Now, about breakfast..."

Milda drifted over to Yuki. "You did well with your first patient. Perhaps you have more aptitude for this than you think."

"I just followed your recipe," Yuki pointed out.

"Yes, but you executed it correctly. Not everyone can manage that, even with instructions." The ghost smiled faintly. "Old Milda's potions are delicate things. They respond to the brewer's intent as much as the ingredients."

Yuki wasn't sure what to make of that. She looked down at the invitation in her hand, then at the pouch of moonstones, then at the recipe book.

"I still don't understand why I'm here," she said quietly. "Why would a magic shop from another world kidnap a pharmacist from Tokyo?"

Fenrir, who had somehow managed to open the cabinet and was nosing through its contents, paused. "Magic always has reasons, even if they aren't obvious at first."

"Very profound," Milda said dryly. "Now stop getting your furry nose all over my dried herbs."

As they bickered, Yuki walked to the shop window and looked out at the village. People were going about their morning routines—opening market stalls, sweeping doorsteps, chatting with neighbors. It was peaceful, quaint, and utterly foreign to her.

Yet somehow, the potion shop felt... right. Despite the strangeness, despite her lack of magical knowledge, something about being here resonated with her in a way her sterile pharmacy never had.

"I guess I'm staying for the feast," she said finally. "But I'm going to need some clothes that don't scream 'kidnapped from another dimension.'"

Milda brightened. "Oh! My old wardrobe is still upstairs! Second drawer in the bedroom."

Yuki wasn't sure how she felt about wearing a dead witch's clothes, but it was better than attending a village feast in scrubs. As she headed upstairs to investigate, she heard Fenrir call after her:

"Bring back food! A mystical entity requires sustenance!"

For the first time since arriving, Yuki found herself smiling. Maybe being the Witch of Remedies wouldn't be so bad after all.

At least until she figured out how to get home—if she even wanted to.