Ding! Ding! Ding!

The sweet chiming sound of the golden bell had awakened the eerie and silent forest. Rusty the deer, the self - appointed guardian of the bell gave her a look of acknowledgment.

This lady shall pass.

Mia ran to the front window to see the visitor on the other side of the lake. Waiting at the pier was a lady in red cloak accompanied by Rusty the deer. A gondola rowed itself to fetch the lady who kept on distancing herself from the flirty Rusty. Mia sighed in sympathy when the lady almost tripped on her long cloak.

“We have a guest,” Said Mia, her hand reaching for the cloak hung next to the door. She covered her face with a red wooden mask she had randomly picked from the wall decorated by dozens of masks.

The ugly long mask with a horn glared at her and the beardy mask kept on twitching his nose. Sensing that he might be feeling itchy, Mia scratched his nose.

“A sense of mystery is one of the best qualities a sorcerer should have,” Edgar reminded her during of one their learning session. "Always put your mask on when you receive visitors. Don't risk yourself being recognized as a sorcerer's apprentice when you're outside.

They stood by the window and watched as the lady entered the gondola, rowing itself to the other side. The water rippled where the gondola passed and the yellow leaves danced in the autumn wind. Caressed by the cold breeze, the lady pulled her cloak tighter, covering every inch of her skin.

Thud!

The gondola thudded against the pier, giving the lady a sudden jolt. Mia reminded herself for the tenth time that week; I need to enchant the gondola. The spell had almost worn out. It kept on trembling and swaying as it rowed on the lake, threatening to throw out whoever was inside.

Mia followed her movement as the lady stepped out of the gondola and straightened her cloak. She fixed the veil covering her face with her slender fingers, exposing nothing but a pair of green eyes.

It was a common practice they'd done for hundreds of years. The commoners don't belong in the same boat as the sorcerers and sorceresses.

Her fingers were inches away from the door handle when the rusty door hinges creaked open. A hideous-looking wooden mask buried in a black cloak greeted her.

“How can I help you?” Mia said in a hoarse, manly voice.

“Is Edgar the Great around?” The lady spoke in a soft and sweet tone. She was one of Edgar's customers, one of the few who dares to take a risk against the strict law imposed by the King.

“Edgar the Great is out. How can I help you?” Mia asked again.

“I want to buy a Charm Potion,” She said.

“Please wait,” Said Mia before she closed the door and stormed to the shelf. She rummaged the entire shelves, up and down, left and right, until she found a red bottle next to the shrinking potion. She ran back to the front door to entertain her anxious customer.

Creak!

Shocked by the creaking sound, the lady stepped on her long cloak and tripped on the ground. She quickly stood up and fixed her veil again.

“That would be five gold,” Said Mia, passing the bottle of potion to the lady.

The lady took five gold from her bag and passed it to Mia. She grabbed the Charm potion, kept it inside her bag, and dashed towards the gondola.

Ah, she fell again. What a clumsy lady, Mia shook her head.

“Why are they so afraid of us?” Mia asked Oyen. It was a rhetorical question, she knew the reason why.

“Perhaps, they’re afraid of being turn into toads or flies,” Oyen lazily answered. He didn’t want to waste his time for a chit chat. His furs had to be shiny for his date.

Like the other eight hours of his day, he licked his shiny furs. If Mia had never seen another cat before, she would suspect that Oyen picked up the habit of brushing his hair from Edgar.

“We don’t turn people to toads or flies,” Said Mia. She leaned against the door and sighed, thinking about the pink blouse she had to turn white. Her eyes moved to the wide wooden desk under the stairs full of books, scrolls, and crystal orb. It was her study desk. “Well, maybe in a certain case….If the Vistior Army doesn’t come to hunt and torture us.”

“You turned Edgar into a goat last week,” Mocked Oyen.

“Accident. It was purely an accident,” A wicked grin appeared in her face and she let out a big giggle.

It was, of course, another accident that fell on the poor master who had almost given up passing down his legacy.

Funny, she thought. He had threatened to leave her for ten years.

She had inflicted more damages than the number of Edgar’s black hair – His hair was black ten years ago. Yet, under constant abuse from Mia, it turned silver-white. Poor Edgar was a fine young man, he was only twenty-six.

Yet, despite all their arguments, Edgar never gave up on her.

Sure, once in a while, he threw tantrums, kicked her out to the woodshed, and starved her for days. He knew Baddie was sneaking foods for her behind his back, anyway.

“Mia, I’m home,” Said Edgar in his usual charming voice. He was still looking as handsome as he was before he left in the morning, shrouded by mystery under his pretentious cloak. His eyes roamed around the room and he slightly nodded his head, satisfied. His cottage was still safe, all in one piece.

“Welcome home, Master,” Mia grinned with a wide smile.

Mia walked over to Edgar and took his cloak and staff. She wrapped the cloak around the human-size Sir Skeleton and passed him the staff to guard.

Where did Edgar found such a skeleton? Mia used to wonder.

But sorcerer and sorceress didn’t wonder, they dug up the truth. Coincidentally, it was Sir Skeleton's grave she dug. He shared the same last name as them. He too was a Dendragon. A great master to Edgar, such a nice man he was.

Mia made sure that every bone on his body shines bright. She had spent more time polishing his bones than she did on her wand, mana, and skills.

“When are you going to teach me how to Apeaructos, Master?” Said Mia excitedly as she walked to the dining table.

Edgar cast a spell and lit the dangling chandelier hung at the center of their living room. Dozens of skulls glowed and lightened up the room through the hole where their eyes used to be. Mia loathed those skulls. They were too chatty and they scolded her too often.

But what she loathed the most was the Shrieking Stone Lady locked inside the cage. She shrieked too much at the sight of a spider and mourned all day when she missed Edgar. A lady I used to court, Edgar once told her. How she ended up turned into a stone? Mia didn’t want to know.

She pitied the dozen of stone statues she had destroyed in an accident long ago. If only she knew... They were once his lover… She didn’t want to think about it...

“You can’t even move a thing, now you’re dreaming of teleporting? Perhaps, you should start running now. It will be faster. Much, much, much faster.” Edgar emphasized on the word ‘much’. His eyes widened when he saw the foods on the table. He walked over and poked the food inside the pot. “Cabbage again? What? Are we poor?”

“Preposterous! Edgar Dendragon the Great is such a wealthy sorcerer!” Mia said as she pulled a chair for him and sat on the other chair. “I will go to the town to buy groceries tomorrow.”

Edgar gave her a nod and started digging in.

Mia, on the other hand, bombarded him with a ton of questions about spells and enchantments. Edgar answered diligently like a proud master he was. The thought that the hopeless apprentice did her homework today drew a smile on his face. Ah, he worried too much about her.

She was spoiled, pampered, and mischievous. None of his days passed peacefully since the day he brought her back. But then, she was his apprentice after all. He gambled all his life and career on her.

When in fact, Mia was merely avoiding the topic she dreaded the most – Had she turned the blouse white yet?

No, of course, she hasn't.

Well, she tried, didn’t she? But the potion goes wrong and the pink blouse turned to ash, burned by a bottle of potion she thought was a bleaching solution.

Hey, at least, she didn’t burn down the cottage, she told herself over and over again the whole day.

She shoved down the food down her throat, eager to leave the dining table before Edgar notice something was off.

The first thing she need to do tomorrow was to annoy Mr. Bowman, the tailor at Bowman Scissor and get a new blouse for Edgar. Second was to stroll around the market. She too had enough cabbages, carrots, and potatoes for three days in a row.

Thus, as early as dawn, Mia had escaped to the town and left a note to Edgar;

Dearest Master Edgar the Great,

I’m out to the town with Oyen. Please prepare your breakfast on your own.

Your lovely apprentice.

P/s I accidentally burned your blouse. I’ll get you a new one.

“MIA!!!!”

The whole cottage shivered in fear when they heard the roar of the wicked sorcerer.

Fire soared high from the chimney and the plates and mugs trembled with fear. The carpet crept on the floor, sneaking away from his stomping feet. The grandfather clock played dead on the wall, his hands had stopped ticking.

“Fuhhhh… lucky we run away in time,” Mia said to Oyen as they strolled around the town with a basket of cookies and sweets.

It was her well-planned strategy. She would let him burst in anger when she was away. Worse come to worst, she had to listen to his hour-long preach.

Ah, poor Baddie probably crying under the bed at this moment.

As the blue sky turned pink and golden orange, Mia came out from her hiding place. She rang the bell and waited for the gondola to fetch her and Oyen.

Her lips trembled as she forced a smile, staring at the sorcerer leaning against the door frame. He had a staff in his hand and a wicked smile on his face.

The smile of the devil.