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Give the child a talea magica and watch her to see if she performs any magic. This was the task given to a small group of Shades. They had no names or numbers, only known as shades even among their own ranks. The one thing that defined them was their tasks, given to them by The Great Witch, their Mistress of the Eldwitch woods.
In the dead of night one shade held tightly to a talea magica, tucked safely underneath their robe of invisibility. Two wooden carved snakes coiled around a metal rod, holding yellow and green gems in their opened mouths. Gems that would allow their new owner to cast otherworldly magic.
The shade made their way towards a small rundown house on the outskirts of town. Even with their invisibility cloak it was still possible to physically run into things. Luckily it was easy enough to avoid the meager amount of people that were out on the streets. Most townspeople chose to stay in bars, drinking till they couldn’t stand or remained home for fear of witches attacking them in the night.
Finally approaching the correct house the shade peeked through the window and confirmed that the inhabitants had turned in for the evening. Trying the front door, the shade found it was locked. This wasn’t a problem since all shades were provided a skeleton key to access any rooms within the town. This allowed them to perform the magic that their tasks required of them. The lock clicked quietly as the shade turned their key.
Slipping into the house the shade closed the door behind them and made their way to one of the bedrooms where a small girl slept. Carefully the shade maneuvered the scepter under the girl's pillow. But the movement of the pillow caused the girl to stir. The shade held their breath inside their mask as the girl opened her eyes and looked around the darkened room. Even with the pure black cloak hiding them from the girl's view the shade didn’t want to risk the child reaching out and touching them, so grabbed the small engraved silver bell they all carried and rang it. It didn’t take long after the small chime for the girl to fall back asleep.
With the first part of their task done, it was now up to the small group of shades to take turns watching this child in case she ever decided to cast a spell. But for now the girl would sleep for a while due to the bells' effects. So the shade moved out of the small bedroom and left the house leaving the girl to her dreamless sleep.
(Months later)
The shade watched the small teal haired girl play in the wintery fields near her home. They smiled as the girl laughed rolling down a hill, her goat companion following along, grazing on dried grass as it walked. The shade had been observing the child for so long that they almost felt like a guardian angel at times. They had watched the girl grow and play. Watched the struggles of scraping a knee after playing too rough, to begging for a later bedtime.
The girl, growing being told the dangers of magic, had hidden away her talea magica. Hiding it in the woods and promising to never use it. With the refusal to cast magic the shade’s time watching her had been uneventful. Yet they needed to remain nearby on the odd chance she did decide to cast a spell.
Eventually the girl’s playing and tumbling led her to the open window of her house where her parents were talking in the kitchen. She stuttered to stop listening to their conversation from under the window sill as the voices grew louder.
“We were barely able to scrape by last time, but this time we won’t have enough to pay this month's rent,” said the girl’s mother.
“Work has been slow. No one needs a bricklayer when it’s been this cold out. They would rather wait for the warmer months,” replied the father.
“So what are we going to do? If we don’t find a way to gather more money, we’ll be out of the house by the end of the month. What will we do with Jean if we are thrown out on the streets.” As she spoke her voice wavered, tears flowing down her cheeks.
“I’ll… I’ll figure something out. Just give me a few days,” replied the girl's father, exhaustion seeping into his voice as he sat down, burying his head in his hands.
The small girl was still pressed against the outerwall listening to the conversation. Tears had also started to roll down her cheeks. The shade watched on with guilt, guilt that there was nothing they could do. They needed to let the story playout as the Storyteller commanded, to perform only the task their Mistress had given them. Perhaps the family would find a way to make the money they needed and all would be well again.
The young girl suddenly perked up, as if struck with an incredible idea. Without hesitation she rushed off into the nearby woods. The shade followed closely behind, wondering what the child had planned. They watched on as the girl stopped at the base of a now barren tree, its fallen leaves scattered along the forest floor. Reaching into a clump of bushes nearby the girl pulled out her long abandoned talea magica. Gripping it nervously in both hands she returned back home. As she made her way to the garden behind her parent's house she picked up a leaf that had fallen from a nearby tree. Laying the leaf down in an empty section of the garden, the girl spoke.
“I want money for mommy and daddy. Goldor!” shouted the girl.
But as she spoke her pet goat walked in front of her. The shade rang their bell and both the child and goat fell under its influence and collapsed. The shade looked down for a moment at the sleeping child, and the goat that had walked too close. It was said under that spell's rules that it would turn whatever was closest to gold, and the shade knew this. The goat, Margaret, now lay between the girl and the leaf she had been trying to enchant.
With remorse the shade picked up the unconscious goat and carried it to a place where it would be taken to Eldwitch woods and cared for there. Gathering other shades, one remained to watch the still unconscious girl as others prepared a replica of her goat. A copy was quickly made and coated in gold. When the final product was done it was placed in front of the child, where the goat had been standing. When the scene was ready the group of shades waited for the child to awaken.
As her eyes fluttered open she scanned the area around her, searching excitedly for the gold leaf she had just created. But she did not find the leaf, instead she saw her companion turned to gold.
“Margaret,” the girl whispered quietly as she shuffled towards the golden figure. With the goat giving no signs of life the girl began to sob, throwing her arms around the creature's neck. The shades watched, giving each other silent glaces, glad for the masks that now hid their emotions from the scene before them. Is this really what the Storyteller had planned?
How easy it would have been to tell the child magic was a lie, and that her Margaret was perfectly safe. But that was not the task they were assigned. So instead they watched the crying child, unable to do anything, unable to change what had happened. The sky above them started to grow dark, a cold chill blowing in the wind. The other shades left, leaving one to continue watching the girl.
Eventually the child stood up, her eyes red with tears. She gave a longing glance at the golden goat and walked off towards the water that flowed nearby. The shade followed along making sure not to make noise among the dead leaves. The girl watched her reflection in the river for a moment, and then she did something the shade had not predicted. The girl leapt into the freezing water. The splash of the girl hitting the water rang loudly in the shade's ear.
The shade sucked in a sharp breath, their heart racing as they watched helplessly as the child’s body was moved down river. If they jumped in to save the girl she would know that someone had been watching her, the whole secret of Labyrinthia would be uncovered, and it would go against their task of keeping the magic secret. The shade’s mind quickly flipped through options before landing on the only other person they could go to. One of the few that knew about that shades, the alchemist.
The shade’s lungs and legs burned as they ran as fast as they could. They hoped that seeking the alchemist’s help would not break the rules of their task. And if it did, if it ended up saving that child's life, then it would have been worth any punishment they would receive.
Luckily their destination wasn’t far. The shade burst through the front door with such force that it banged against the opposite wall, causing the owner of the house to come from around the corner to investigate. The shade was struggling to breath through their mask as they motioned frantically. The alchemist, one of the few that could see past the black cloak, approached the shade.
“What’s wrong?” he asked.
The shade shook their head, unable to form words as they tried to swallow enough oxygen to breathe, only managing to motion for the man to follow. The two rushed out into the cold night, the shade leading the man to the river. When they approached the water’s edge the shade pointed to a small form that could be seen floating in the distance. The alchemist immediately understood, and without hesitation jumped into the water. The shade paced nervously until the alchemist returned, holding a soaked and unconscious child in his arms.
The shade reached for the girl as the alchemist pulled himself from the water. His breathing stuttered due to the chill in the water. He pushed wet hair from his face as the two looked down at the soaked girl. She was unconscious from the cold, but still breathing.
“We need to get her some place warm,” the alchemist said.
The shade nodded, following the alchemist back to his house and helped set the girl up next to the fireplace as the alchemist changed to dry clothes. They wrapped a blanket around the child’s shoulders to try to warm her up as quickly as possible. As the two waited with bated breath for the girl to regain consciousness the shade shifted nervously, knowing that they could be in a lot of trouble if the alchemist reported this incident to the Storyteller.
“You did the right thing, you know,” said the alchemist, breaking the silence.
The shade’s look of surprise was hidden behind their mask.
“I’m sure no one would have wanted this girl to die. Poor thing, she’s so young to already be…” His train of thought drifted as the girl in front of the fire started to move. The shade stepped back as the alchemist moved to crouch next to the shivering child. After some calming words that she would be ok the girl broke into tears, telling the alchemist everything that had happened. How her parents were going to lose their house, how she had turned her goat into gold, and how she had tried to end her own life over the fear that her being a witch would put her parents in danger.
As she spoke the alchemist remained quiet, putting on a face of strength. But the shade that still hovered nearby, still invisible to the girl, could see the hurt behind his eyes. After a warm drink, a hot bath, and change of clothes the child was asleep again. Now alone and free to talk, the alchemist turned to the shade.
“Thank you for coming to get me. If you hadn’t…” his eyes fell to the floor unable to finish that sentence. “Could… could we just leave this girl be? Pretend she’s not a witch?” he asked in vain, already knowing the answer.
The shade shook their head, feeling as exhausted as the alchemist looked.
The alchemist sighed. “I’ll speak to the child’s parents tomorrow and get this all sorted out. And I don’t think it needs to be said that neither of us will report this incident to the Storyteller… or The Great Witch,” his voice trailing off at the last few words.
The shade nodded in agreement. Relieved at dodging any punishment from tonight's actions.
“I know you are supposed to keep watch of her,” started the alchemist turning to the child resting by the fire. “But could you, just for now, let her have a night to herself? She’s been through a lot.”
Even knowing it was against their task the shade nodded in agreement. The girl was asleep and had left her talea magica back home along the water's edge. Meaning she wouldn’t be casting new spells anytime soon.
“Thank you,” breathed the alchemist, some of the stress leaving his shoulders.
The shade gave one last glance at the girl they had observed for so long. Why had she been chosen to suffer the fate of being branded a witch? In the end it wasn’t their job to question the will of the Storyteller and The Great Witch. This was how the world was written to be. And with that thought in mind the shade left the alchemist’s house. A night of peace was all the girl would have. For even if she refused to use magic ever again, she was still at risk of being taken to the flames.