In the morning, I meowed and scratched at the door when I heard and smelled preparations for breakfast were being made. Oddly, the usurper opened the door. I hissed at him, but scampered in before he thought to close the door. He had no coverings on his body and I could now see the terrible scratches ran all over his body. Very little of him was smooth like Griselda was.

“Griz,” he was saying. “You can’t fly around the village like that!”

“Oh, come on Xen! It was just a bit of a romp. I hadn’t been flying in ages. I wanted to take Shadow out. Shadow hadn’t been on the broom yet. Plus, Leonore needed to fly, not just flutter about here!” she retorted.

He wrapped his arms around her and nuzzled her hair in a way that made me want to scratch him again.

“The villagers are frightened of you,” he told her. “Don't give them a reason to come for you!”

“Oh, come on! They don’t really care about me. Not enough to tramp through the forest to find me…” she argued.

“Don't be too sure,” Xenir said with an edge in his voice that made her move away from him much to my satisfaction. She went back to stir the morning stew and added a few more things she’d chopped to it. He got behind her again and I arched my back in annoyance.

“Come with me,” he asked her into her ear making her shiver. “I've decided to leave Woverton for good.” He kissed her neck and she moaned and ran her fingers into his hair.

“You know I can’t,” she told him. “I'm the village healer. Too many would be dead of snake venom or food poisoning or burns,” she emphasized. “I can’t go.”

“Yes, I’m well aware of your healing abilities. I wouldn’t be here if not for you, but…” he began to argue again.

“No!” she turned to him and placed her hand on the ruined side of his face. “I can’t leave them. Besides, I may have a new apprentice.” She turned to get the bowls out for serving and I hopped up on the table to be ready. I wanted to be sure she hadn’t forgotten about me with all the usurper’s attentions.

“An apprentice? Who?” the man asked.

“An orphan from the village. It’s not official yet, but I am hopeful,” she said as she laid out the bowls and gave me a scratch on the head helping me settle down out of my bad mood.

“Speaking of snake venom. There’s a rumor that you have a snake under your control and send it after people,” Xenir stated as he pulled on some cloth coverings over his head and sat down heavily in a chair next to Griselda’s usual chair. Griselda snorted.

“They know about Reggie? Not that he’s really up for attacking anyone,” she said glancing at the glass container where I knew the snake slumbered.

“I know. Another of your rescues. Did you save the black cat from wolves or something?” he said eyeing me. I hissed at him between bites of my food. “Mean old thing,” he growled.

“No meaner than you,” Griselda said kissing the ruined side of his face. He grunted and narrowed his eyes at me. She sat down in front of her own bowl to eat.

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“I made a very powerful familiar summoning potion. It took all day, but eventually, Shadow came to me,” she said smiling at me.

“One of your potions, huh? How much of your blood did it take?” the man asked sharply. I didn’t like his tone. I hadn’t had any of Griselda’s blood! She chuckled.

“You worry too much, Xen,” she told him. “I never regret the cost to help a friend or find one.” She smiled at one then the other of us. Xenir took her hand that was not busy with the food, looked at her, and spoke slowly.

“But those that love you care. You are important, too. You take too much on yourself! Then where would your pitiful menagerie be?”

I meowed, bristling. She had forgotten to sprinkle my food with catnip which was unlike her.

“You'll live, Shadow,” she warned.

When we had finished eating, Xenir pulled Griselda onto his lap and was licking her face in a most undignified manner. I moved to jump into her lap, but she seemed to know my intensions and pushed me from the table before I could. I yowled in surprise and indignation.

“Be good, Shadow,” she growled as she turned to straddle Xenir while I growled at them both.

“Come with me,” the usurper pleaded again.

“You could stay here,” Griselda murmured against his lips. He grunted.

“And do what? Be your butcher? Shadow’s scratching post? What about your apprentice?” he growled, sighed and pressed his forehead to hers. “You're the only one who can see past…past my hideousness.” This voice was thick with emotion.

“No, that’s not true. You are a good, honest man. Too good for an old witch like me,” she said laughing at the indignation that crossed his face at her words. “I won’t be the only one to see it. Trust me. I saw it already. You’ll have two children with her.”

The man’s eyes went wide and he shook his head.

“What?!” he whispered in disbelief.

“Don't worry,” she told him, smiling at his look and caressing his face with both hands. “I'm not the jealous type. I’m happy for you. I’ve been waiting for you. You think that doe just hopped up onto my hook? Shadow caught it for us!”

He looked between Griselda and myself probably wondering how much he should believe, but I puffed myself out and yowled in confirmation. Instead of thanking me and paying attention to me, they went back to licking each other’s faces. I turned away and sat in the hearth so the heat of my fur could match the warmth of the food in my belly. Oddly, they laid down on the sleeping shelf although they did not seem to be sleeping.

When the sun was setting, the man threw on some clothes, pulled out another piece of the deer and went out to cut it up at the prep table outside. He brought the pieces back in, then went down to the stream to wash up. Griselda followed him with the stew pot and the bowls that needed cleaning.

When they came back, Griselda started preparing dinner. I ignored the usurper’s attentions to her since I could smell she had chopped up some catnip for me. I tucked my paws under me, enjoying the reheating of the fireplace and relaxed until dinner time.

I tried to let go of my anger towards the man. Smiling, Griselda picked me up, plopped me in her lap and petted me while we waited for dinner to cook over the fire. Xenir looked sadly at her.

“Are you sure you’re okay here? You need to be more careful,” he started. She laughed her tinkling laugh.

“Xenir, I have lived here for over fifty years. I’ve seen my share of city councils and over-excited pastors and even a couple of good old fashioned mobs. I’ll be fine. You don’t need to worry about me,” she explained. I was purring in her lap now happy to be getting some attention.

That night, I didn’t try to join them on the sleeping shelf. They were being loud and moving around too much anyway, so I snuggled into a pillow Griselda had put on the floor in my hiding spot along with my satchel of catnip. It wasn’t as nice as being on the shelf with her warmth around me, but it was alright.

In the morning, after a hot breakfast, the man went on his way. Griselda watched him disappear into the forest and stared after him a long while. When I meowed at her, she shook herself and we went out to the garden to weed and collect some things for our dinner. I could tell she was out of sorts, but I was glad to see the back of that man. I knew we would never see him again. He was gone for good. We could all feel it.