The Witches of No.17

Ten years have passed, this wonderous life;

Full of love, hate, peace & strike.

Too many know, they’re starting to question;

Its time to give them a new impression.

We must vanish without a trace;

To do this we ask you, give us a new face.

The three witches gathered around the candle-lit table spoke clearly and powerfully. Their magic filled the room.

The candles flickered and the sheer curtains twitched as a cool breeze blew in through the open window. Their black cat mewed approvingly in the corner, watching the spell weave its way around them.

Magdalena, the matriarch of the small coven, rolled her shoulders as the pain in her back faded to nothing, brushing her hands with satisfaction across her face as wrinkles smoothed out to nothing.

She had always enjoyed this spell, knowing that every ten years she would be able to take on a new face. This time she had opted for someone taller, younger. Too long had she played the role of wizened crone, it was time for her to have some fun.

“That’s better” she cooed, her previously croaky voice now silky like velvet. She looked to her right where her daughter was standing. “Is that really what you wanted to look like Dolores?”

Where there had been a tall, pointed woman before, now stood a short plump woman. Her ginger hair was tied in a messy knot atop her head, with hard-wearing hands were tying an apron around her waist. “I thought I would take after Grandma this time around or is that still a touchy subject for you?”.

Magdalena simply stared back at her daughter, rolling her eyes and continuing to admire her new body.

Dolores rolled her eyes, “I’ll take that as a yes,” she chuckled warmly. It was funny, but also typical of their relationship. What point was it that they had grown so far apart? They used to joke with one another, but now they simply sniped.

Shaking herself out of her reverie, she clapped her hands together determinedly and smiled, “How do you feel Rose?”

The two women turned to the end of the table where the youngest of their coven had stood, only she was no longer there. A creak from above, and a slamming door told them all they needed to know.

“I’ll go talk some sense into the child,” Magdelena said, sweeping around the table. Yet it was Dolores who reached the door first, putting a thick arm out to block her mother.

“I think it's best if I do,” she said, “both of us are used to this life, she is young, and it will take time to adjust”.

Magdelena glared down at her daughter, “I could deal with your past…miscalculations-“

“-miscalculations!?”

“-but. One more mistake from that…child, and you’ll find that changing faces will be the least of your worries”. With that Magdalena turned abruptly on the spot and started to admire herself in the nearby mirror.

Dolores glowered at her mother, grimacing at the woman smoother over her new curvy figure. Then, with tears in her eyes, she turned to go upstairs.

How could she be so stupid? That’s why their relationship had changed. She still hadn’t been forgiven for falling in love all those years ago, for not heeding her mother’s warnings and getting too close to a man, but she’d gotten Rose out of it. Now, here she was on the precipice of the same argument with her own daughter.

“We don’t have long” Magdalena called out from downstairs, “make it quick so that we can go and join the others in the woods”.

No, this time things were going to be different; Dolores wasn’t like her mother.

Upstairs, Rose had shut herself in her room, only she no longer looked like herself, well, at least not the self she had been for the past decade.

The first time she had been lucky. At eight years old she wasn’t quite aware of how she looked. At least not enough to really care when they had performed the spell of transformation. Now it was different, it meant something.

Her mother had been preparing her for this moment. Only it had come a lot quicker than expected. There had been no time for goodbyes.

Sat on the windowsill and wanting to take her mind off the betrayal her family had put her through, she turned to her phone. She scrolled through pictures of smiling faces of her childhood friends. There were birthday parties, sleepovers, days out. An array of stories from the past ten years.

She scrolled to the next picture and her heart broke a little more. There she was, her arms wrapped around the person she had been the closest to in her whole life.

Harper had started off as Rose’s friend, they met in English class five years ago. A love for reading had brought them together.

Yes, they hung out with their other friends, but mostly they sequestered themselves in the library. Each week they picked another book, quickly making their way through the limited collection the school had to offer.

The next picture caused Rose’s chest to tighten, her heart aching even more. Harper was cuddled into her, kissing her on the cheek.

It hadn’t been long since they’d realised their friendship had blossomed into something more. Even back then Rose had known what that meant, she would eventually tell the truth about who she was to the woman she now loved.

“Rose?” it was Dolores, peaking round the door and pulling Rose from her memories. “How are you doing sweetheart?”.

Rose put the phone down, but she didn’t look at her mother. Instead, she chose to look at the sunset. With each passing minute, the light faded telling her that the life she had created for herself was ending.

“Please talk to me my love” Dolores continued, sitting on the edge of Rose’s bed. She looked at her daughter; her skin was a touch darker than it had previously been, her round features were now sharper and more mature, and her bobbed hair now long and curly. Yes, she looked different, but it was still very much her daughter. “It will be ok Rose”.

“Will it?”

Dolores was taken aback. Her daughter had never spoken back like that before. It reminded her a lot of how she used to be with her own mother. That was normal considering the circumstances.

“Do you have any idea what you and that crone down there have done to me?” Rose said, venom on her tongue, “You’ve taken away my life”.

“Now don’t be dramatic-”

“You’ve taken away my life”. Rose had tears in her eyes. She’d wanted to remain strong, but as usual, her emotions were getting the better of her. “My friends won’t know who I am, Harper…” her voice caught, her argument taken away by a swell of emotion.

Dolores sighed, it really was too much like when she was younger. Not wanting to cause an argument, she searched for the right words to get through to Rose.

Then Rose spoke again, standing up with her hands clenched at her sides, “I want you out of my room, I don’t want to talk about it”.

“Rose please”

“Get out” The door swung open, smacking hard against the wall. The closed windows blew open with a crack from the wooden pane.

Even through the tears stinging her eyes, Rose glared at her mother. For the first time, she felt nothing but pure hatred for her.

“Darling, let me just say one thing”. Dolores stood slowly, she knew Rose wouldn’t hurt her, but that sudden display of power could spell an unfortunate accident. “I know what we did has upset you,” she looked into her daughter's tear-filled eyes, “believe me, I’ve been through the exact same thing, remember what I told you”.

Rose sniffed, “Yeah I know” she rolled her eyes, “when you met Dad, and had me-”

“-yes, exactly” she put a hand on Rose’s cheek, wiping away a falling tear, “my mother, your grandmother-”

“Wicked Witch”

Dolores laughed in spite of herself, “We argued, and eventually, she got her way, I never saw your father again. Thankfully she isn’t so wicked as to make me give you away”. She paused, “I’ve entirely forgotten what my point was going to be, this blasted spell always leaves me a little loopy”.

“I thought you were meant to be helping me understand all this”. Rose sat on the bed, deflated, “I just – I really loved her mum”.

Dolores sighed. She really knew how much Rose loved Harper. Their love was indeed true, even if she hadn’t read their tea leaves, you could just see it in how they were with one another. “Do you really think she would understand all this?”

Rose nodded.

Dolores smiled and waved her hand toward the window. There was another soft breeze and tinkling of nearby chimes. “You have half an hour, I think your grandmother’s new body will keep her distracted”. She moved to the door.

“What do you mean?”

“Hello?” came a voice from outside.

Dolores shot her daughter a knowing smile, “You has half an hour”. As she made her way downstairs, she could hear the beginnings of what would hopefully, if the tea leaves were to be correct, a long-lasting love.