The next morning Kaitlyn rose feeling better. She was surprised how long she had slept, the sun was already streaming in through her window. She sat up and looked around the room again. It still confused her that the room contained a mix of the furniture she had been given by the elves as well as new things.

She stood up and went to the vanity. Some days she forgot how much she had changed in the past few years. Growing up, her hair had been a soft brown and a little wavy. Now, it was long and silver, hanging down most of her spine. She took a moment to braid it, running her fingers through the long, soft tresses. She then began the act of plaiting the hair as she continued to look at her own face.

Her eyes were still dark brown, but now framed with long, dark eyelashes. She could also concentrate and see faint lines of the curse under her skin, small flashes of magic. She contemplated how she would handle not being able to use magic for days. She had come to depend on her magic hands, not using them meant she would need to plan more carefully. She completed the plait of her hair and allowed it to rest over her shoulder down her front.

When she stepped out into the corridor, she already heard noises coming from the kitchen. She stepped inside to see two brownie women. One was chopping vegetables while the other was working some dough. They looked up and chorused together, “Good morning Mistress Kaitlyn.”

“Good morning,” Kaitlyn said. Brownies stood about a foot tall, but despite their short stature they managed to be just as strong as a standard human and worked hard. Something in their magic made them crave creation. Master Garthis told her no one knew exactly why, but the more work a brownie was able to accomplish, the greater their magical power. So they loved to work, because it filled them with magical power and possibility.

The brownie chopping vegetables had brown hair and green eyes. She wore her hair under a bright red scarf tied at the base of her neck, allowing her braid to hang down her back. The brownie making bread had blonde hair and blue eyes. She wore her hair coifed on her head in a tall stack with a pink flower stuck on top, though because of her size, the flower which would fit in Kaitlyn’s palm looked like a massive hat on the brownie.

“May I know your names?” Kaitlyn said, “or how I should address you?”

Kaitlyn had learned that many magical creatures were wary of giving their names. It was superstition, but some believed in a “true name” which could give power over them. Master Garthis and Fapallo taught Kaitlyn to ask for a use-name instead. Kaitlyn found the practice to be a challenge to remember sometimes, and occassionally an evasive answer felt insulting. It was just another thing she reminded herself was because she was human and had grown up in a human village.

“I am Zizila,” the blonde said, “Cilvic said you were wonderful to work for, so when Master Garthis asked for volunteers, Titami and I volunteered. Oh and Huzaru is working on setting up the gardens with Cilvic. I don’t know if he’ll stay or not.”

“It’s very nice to meet you,” Kaitlyn said, “Please let me know if you need any specific tools or space, I will support your work as best I can.”

They both grinned and Titami said softly, “I love to weave, would you mind if I set up a loom in the cellar?”

“The cellar?” Kaitlyn frowned, “Wouldn’t you rather work somewhere with a window?”

“Oh, I don’t need that,” the little brownie ducked her head, “I can work in the cellar and stay out of your way.”

“You won’t be in my way,” Kaitlyn said firmly. “Give me a few days while my magic recovers, then I’ll make sure you have a space up here.”

“Thank you mistress,” Titami said softly with a little smile, “Cilvic was right, you will be fun to work for.”

Kaitlyn arched an eyebrow at this, but then said, “Can I find out what you are making?”

“We thought we would make some vegetable pies,” Zizila said, “Something pretty simple but using the ingredients you have at hand.”

“That sounds excellent,” Kaitlyn said. “Please let me know if you need anything.”

The narrative has been taken without permission. Report any sightings.

“Thank you mistress,” the pair chorused.

Kaitlyn left the kitchen with a carrot in her hand to munch on until the pies would be ready. She went into the main room, smiling as she looked around. She could almost feel how the house tried to form a space which made her comfortable. Once again she took in the room around her. Just recently, this had been a simple hut’s room with two tables squeezed in.

Now it was a room twice her height with vaulted ceiling leading up to a peak on one side of the room. It now hosted two small tables with four chairs each beside the front door of the house. The large fireplace dominated the middle of the room against the wall with the kitchen. A long table with trestles sat near the back to allow greater numbers of people without the privacy of their own tables. In the far corner stood a small wooden door leading out back.

The door from the main room led through a small storage room tucked under the eaves still. A rake and a very thin worktable dominated the space. The eves had hooks where Kaitlyn could hang herbs to dry.

She went outside to the back of the hut and found Cilvic in the garden. The garden was one of the places Kaitlyn still felt she needed to work. When she first arrived, it had saved her life by giving her basic foods and herbs to survive. When Cilvic had arrived, he had helped her expand it by shifting the wall.

As she looked, she saw the garden had expanded again. Clivic had already been working to arrange the garden, but Kaitlyn saw with surprise a new section of rows of vegetables. Clivic stood up as Kaitlyn came out and said, “Now, you know I’m not gonna let you grub in this dirt, right?”

“Ok, I won’t grub,” Kaitlyn said with a smirk. “I’ll just do some gardening.”

He glowered at her and put his hands on his hips. He shook his head and said, “I’m here now and I’ll do this. You go be a witch or sorcerer or whatever you need to do.”

“I’m not allowed to use my magic right now,” Kaitlyn said.

“Humph,” he replied and then began to pull the weed in front of him, “fine. You go work on that end in the herbs.”

Kaitlyn went to the wall and sensed the edge of where the house’s protective magic ended. She couldn’t help but want to close her eyes and try to look. She immediately regretted it as pain seared her mind, her body reminding her that even looking at magic was not going to happen today.

She knelt in the garden and set to work to help Cilvic weed out the plants. Because of spells on rocks she had buried in the garden in the fall, the ground was warm and kept plants growing through the cold months. Several of the rocks were still very warm, releasing heat not just through the ground but into the air of the garden as well.

Kaitlyn used to have to renew the heating spell manually on the various rocks, but she had been told she had been inaccessible since late fall. The rocks were still warm, which meant somehow the spell was automatically renewing. For a moment, she worried it would be a drain on her own magic. She didn’t know and she wasn’t even sure whether she could prevent the house from taking her magic.

It was a theory Master Garthis had once mused was possible to have killed the witch. Now that Kaitlyn knew more, she suspected it was possible the witch had constantly tried to keep too many spells active and drained herself. After seeing visions of the previous witch and her entitled speech about the house to her predecessor, Kaitlyn could believe it.

As she worked, Kaitlyn tried to imagine the house that witch had lived in. Kaitlyn had seen something massive within the walls. Rooms large enough to fit the entire house and yard as it existed today. She had seen the witch sitting on a chair as a large as a giant, she would have looked like a child on it except her imposing posture and hauty expression. Kaitlyn had been shown a workroom as large as the kitchen, every inch covered in spellwork.

Kaitlyn suddenly wondered if the witch had a library. It had never occurred to her before. Master Garthis complained so often of witches, wizards, and magical creatures hoarding and hiding knowledge. It had simply seemed obvious the witch who had survived by siphoning age and life from others and lived in a monsterously magical house would also obfuscate her knowledge. That didn’t mean she didn’t have a library of books on other topics.

Cilvic suddenly stood in front of her face. Kaitlyn stopped what she was doing and sat back on her heels. The brownie stood with his hands on his hips and said, “I swear, you are getting worse my lady. I’ve been talking to you and you haven’t heard a word I said.”

“I…” Kaitlyn blinked and then blushed and said, “I’m sorry Cilvic, I was thinking.”

“I know,” he said, “You also pulled out a bunch of Valerian and I don’t think you meant to.”

Kaitlyn looked at the pile of weeds and noticed the green leaves of Valerian. She blushed again and wiped her arm on her forehead with a grimace. She said, “I’m going to turn into Master Garthis if I’m not careful.”

“I won’t let you ruin your garden like that,” Cilvic said. “Now, get your head out of the clouds m’lady. It’s time I take you in hand I think and teach you the truth of gardening.”

She blinked in surprise. Cilvic was an interesting brownie and always had been. He had come to help out when her hut was truly in dire need of a handyman and enjoyed tackling the challenges the house presented. Gardening was something he did, but he hadn’t seemed as enthusiastic about it as he was when he was building or working on a project like her oven.

“Truth?” she asked.

“Yes,” he said. “We brownies know this, and I think you need to learn it if you are going to be a great wizardess.”

“Ok, I’m listening,” Kaitlyn said.

Cilvic spoke firmly, “You can’t have a garden without plants you want in it.”

Kaitlyn could only stare at him as he turned on his heel and walked away. Did Cilvic just make a joke?