Ivy’s hand shot inside her bag, her fingers gripping around the hilt of her dagger.

“What are you talking about?” she asked.

The worst of her fears had been realized. How had she been so stupid to be taken in by this woman? How many people were waiting for her outside? Oh god. Oh god. She remembered what the witch hunters had done to her months ago and her imagination went wild thinking how the paladins had to be worse.

“I’m right, aren’t I?" Rose asked. "Yes, I am.”

“Of course not.”

“Then what were you going to do to those men bothering you?”

“I don’t know what you mean.”

“You weren’t going to use your power on them? It looked like you were.”

Ivy dropped all pretense of being friends and pulled the dagger out of her bag, pointing it at Rose.

“Who are you, Rose? A witch hunter? An acolyte of the church?”

Rose put a hand up to her mouth.

“Oh my,” she said, “on our short walk here I had forgotten how sensitive you are.”

“Answer the question.”

A gentle laughter filled the room.

“Ivy, you’re in no danger right now. You see, I’m a witch too.”

Ivy’s hold on her weapon faltered, and her arm lowered a touch. Another witch? Could it be true? Of course others existed, but she had never thought to ever meet them. She strengthened her grip and re-positioned her stance against the woman.

“I don’t believe you.”

Again, Rose laughed.

"I can see that."

“Prove it,” Ivy said, “show me your power.”

“You’re asking a lot for a girl who won’t even admit to her own truth. What if you’re the witch hunter here and you take me away?”

“If you want me to believe you, show me.”

Rose sighed.

“My power allows me to read people," she said, then waved a hand in front of her face, "don't worry. It's not like I know your exact thoughts. It's more like a...feeling. But it's how I know you wanted to use your power on those boys. It’s also how I know that the gold you’re carrying around means more to you than just money. Someone you hold close to your heart gave it to you.”

Ivy stepped back, reeling. Her dagger fell from her fingers to the floor with a dull thud. This woman—this witch—had taken something precious from her, right out of her mind. She felt…violated. What right did she have to do such a thing? She looked up at Rose who was frowning at her from across the room. Ah, right. Ivy had demanded that she prove herself, and she had done exactly as asked. In a way, Ivy had granted her permission. Still, though.

“Well?” Rose asked.

“Y-yeah. I believe you. B-but—”

“But how could you agree to stay with someone who could pick out and read your most intimate thoughts at a glance?”

For a second time, Ivy saw the sadness on Rose’s face that had come over her when Ivy had almost gone off on her own. The loneliness of the last two years since she herself had become a witch hit her hard. Here was a woman who thought even her own kind would not accept her.

“No,” Ivy said, “it’s not that. I’m just a bit in shock. I’ve never met another witch before.”

A small smile bloomed on Rose’s face, and Ivy couldn’t help from reciprocating.

“Come sit with me,” Rose said, placing herself down on one of the chairs circling the fireplace.

Ivy plopped herself down on the white upholstered couch, shaking her head at both the plushness of the cushion and feel of the fabric. She rubbed her hand across the seat adjacent to her, just enjoying the smooth sensation against her fingers.

“I-I have so many questions,” Ivy said.

“Let’s start with a more proper introduction. You know a little about me, now. What about you? What’s your power?”

Ivy stopped admiring the couch to regard Rose and felt her cheeks heating up again.

“Well, I, uhm…kind of don’t know.”

Rose tilted her head.

“What do you mean?”

“Well, it's really confusing. I don’t even know how to interpret it myself, much less explain it.”

“Can you try?”

Ivy nodded.

“So, when you use your power, does the world lose its colors?” Rose’s eyes widened and she shook her head. “Okay, well other than that, everything completely changes. Except, not really. Not for everyone else. I think. Anyway, it’s like my vision goes all crazy. Nothing looks like it should anymore. Lines and shapes curve in all directions that make no sense. And everything is a bit…shaky. Wiggly. It kind of hurts my head to even think about it.

“Oh, and I can like…use this new witchy world of mine. I’ve been calling it my witch world, by the way. So yeah, I can—I don’t know—follow the paths I see in the witch world that other people can’t. I can move so fast that even witch hunters couldn’t catch me. I went right through a solid floor once, too. Ah, and other people can’t see me while it's happening.”

The spew of words came out like a dammed torrent of water waiting to be released. Ivy had not realized how much she had wanted to tell someone about what was happening to her until she had actually had the opportunity. It felt like Rose had lifted a huge weight off of her shoulders by doing nothing other than listening.

“Fascinating,” Rose said, “can you show me?”

She was leaning forward in her chair, eyes sparkling. Ivy in turn sank into the couch, not wanting to disappoint the older witch.

“What’s wrong?” Rose asked.

“Well, I’ve been too scared, you know?”

“Hm?”

“I haven’t, uhm, let the darkness take me, I guess? I wasn’t sure I wanted a demon holding my soul. I can’t actually call for my power.”

Rose sat there staring at her for some time, a cheeky smile on her face.

“Oh my,” she said, “you are too precious.”

“Huh?”

“Does it look like a demon lords over me, Ivy?”

“Well no, but…I mean you're really nice and everything so—”

Ivy’s face was getting hot again. There was so much she didn’t know, and Rose had no problem teasing her.

“Forget everything you know about what being a witch means,” she said, “I’ll teach you the truth from now on.”

Ivy let the fluffy cushions embrace her.

“You mean I can safely use my power?”

“Safely may not be the best word, but no demon is going to ask for your eternal soul if that’s what you mean.”

“But, the borderlands—”

Rose’s gaze grew distant.

“Yes, the demons exist. That is not in question. But they do not control us.”

“Who do they control?”

“Everyone else, perhaps." That was probably scarier than Ivy’s previous understanding, but before she could pry further, Rose went on, “Another time for that.”

Ivy had thought she could get a couple of answers having found an older, wiser witch, not more questions.

“T-then what now?” she asked.

“Now you get to feel what it’s like to be a real witch.”

Ivy’s heartbeat quickened at the thought. A real witch. A servant of darkness. Should such a thing feel so enticing?

“What do I have to do?” she asked.

Rose chuckled.

“You don’t have to do anything. Being a witch is who you are. I just want to show you that you don’t have to be afraid of that. Fear the paladins. The hunters. The general populous. But never yourself.”

She wasn’t sure how she was supposed to not fear the mind-crippling pain that assaulted her once per year, but Ivy knew better than to try arguing that point now.

“So…I can use my…magic whenever I want?”

“That might carry a bit of risk, but it will never cause you harm in and of itself.”

Again, Ivy felt like mentioning the pain. Rose must experience it as well. The phenomenon was one of the main reasons that the church used as an argument towards witches being unnatural.

“Alright,” Ivy said, “I suppose I’m ready. How does it work?”

Rose placed a hand on Ivy's chest.

“On your day of awakening, you’ve felt the strength of your heart, right?”

How could she forget? That intoxicating darkness had somehow convinced her to want to understand the incomprehensible witch world. Had caused her to laugh at the misfortune of her pursuers as they chased her with the intent to kill. No matter what Rose said, she couldn’t convince Ivy that their power wasn’t in some way corrupting.

“Yeah, sure,” she said.

“Then search for that feeling again,” Rose tapped her on the breastbone, “right in here. It’s always there, just hiding until you know how to find it. Your day of awakening forces it to the forefront, but you can find it anytime you look. The connection to it is yours, not any demon’s or dark power otherwise.”

Right. Ivy closed her eyes, focusing on the steady rhythm of her heartbeat. At first she held her breath, isolating the movement in her chest, listening only to the thrumming melody produced at her core. Nothing happened. No burst of power or great revelations to be had. She tried instead evening her breathing, letting the ebb and flow of her lungs complement the beats of her heart. Still nothing.

“This isn’t working,” she said.

“Remember back to what it was like to harness the power the last time it came to you.”

“So, delirious from pain, being chased by trained killers, utterly lost in a colorless hellscape?”

“Sure,” Rose said, “and you were serious about outrunning witch hunters?”

Ivy ignored the question and dug deep into her memory. She dredged up not only the flight from the hunters, but of her solitary night in the woods and of the nightmare that started it all over two years ago. It felt like so long ago now, but she still could recall in great detail the sensation of sticking her lockpick tool into the alien form of the man who had approached her. And the despair she had felt when she had understood that she had killed him.

But those feelings weren’t important right now. She needed to remember what it had been like to have her power churning within her. Back when she had been alone in the forest outside of Miss Angelica's farm, she had felt it. It had slowly drained away as she had studied the witch world, and then rapidly deteriorated as she had begun to move. With the hunters she had been running from the start, and it had barely lasted any time at all. But still she had sensed how it had fueled her escape.

She realized she had been scared of it at first, but thinking back now, why? There had been no whispers from the darkness, asking for her soul or driving her to madness. She had only felt a desire to accept and comprehend her power. And she had no reason not to. If Rose was to be believed, it was hers alone. Of course, this could all be a demon talking, twisting her mind in whatever direction it wanted. Yet even if it was, at this point, she didn’t care. If there was an unholy force that compelled her forward, she would simply follow it. As far as she could tell, if a so-called evil power could mold a person into someone like Rose, and the church's God supported people like the witch hunters, then Ivy would choose the darkness without regret.

Her heart felt full, and within it bloomed a swirling energy that begged to be consumed. Ivy opened her eyes to the colorless insanity of the witch world.

“Oh!” Rose said. “You’re really gone. Ivy, are you still there?”

Across the way from Ivy, the vibrating form of Rose twitched back and forth. Unlike the witch hunters, Ivy could almost recognize her even in the witch world. Her body still took on the twisting characteristics of everything else, but in some way she stayed familiar.

“Yeah, Miss Rose,” Ivy said, “I haven’t moved.”

Rose stopped her frantic movement and a scoff escaped her lips.

“Just call me Rose,” she said.

“Yeah, sure.”

“So right now your vision is like you described?”

“Yeah.”

“What do I look like?”

Ivy stared at her.

“It’s kind of hard to put into words. Like maybe if a skeleton had big crow wings for arms?" She cocked her head to get a different angle, and Rose's form warped further. Her "arms" elongated, spanning out beyond Ivy's peripheral. "No, that’s not right either. It's like...like someone took you, and then mixed up every part of you into some sick, broken version of you. But I also still know it's you. I know this isn’t making sense.”

“That…must be quite bizarre.”

Ivy let out a weak chuckle.

“This is what I opened my eyes to after the pain of awakening...after watching my friends murdered in the street.”

“I’m sorry that you had to go through that.”

“I'm sure we all have our stories.” She tried not to think of that night, but a single tear escaped her left eye.

“Not many survive their awakening, for one reason or another.”

Ah, of course not. Ivy had been incredibly lucky her power had rendered her undetectable. The average witch would be found out immediately and unless her powers manifested in a way that allowed her a means of escape, it’d all be over. She should consider herself fortunate. Ha.

“So, uh,” Ivy said, trying to keep as still as possible to avoid falling down some crazy witch world path, “how do I turn it off?”

“Your power. It obeys you.”

Well, okay then. She doubted it would be that simple, yet when she wished for it to stop, color and sense returned to the world. Rose sat on her chair grinning at her.

“There you are,” Rose said.

“Here I am, ‘a true witch’ now, I guess.”

“Indeed.”

“Thank you for this, Rose.” Ivy wiped the streak of a tear off of her face and smiled.

"It is my pleasure, believe me."

For the first time since awakening, Ivy felt she might actually have someone she could truly rely on.