I’d always found that in the face of obstacles the world threw at me, there were always comforts, no matter how little, to be had. When I’d gotten my first period, there’d been a warm soothing soup that mother had left me outside my bedroom when I finally came back outside. The child-like wonder aquariums brought me had gotten me through my first heart-break. And now with Robert retiring and leaving me in the protection of a stranger, I turned to a floral-scented comfort of mine.

The rain had stopped, but the flowers outside Duke’s, Flowers for every occasion! Were still bowing to the droplets weighing their petals down. Inside, James Hapney would be preparing for his day. Usually he was alone in the shop, save the delivery kid that would pedal their bouquets all over Sydney. He’d begin with preparations, counting the decorative materials, checking orders that had come in over-night. A small part of me envied it. The mundanity of a human life. The simple worries of whether their latte was just right, or if he’d cut his thumb on yet another thorn.

I gave myself a moment, and stepped inside. There was no use to musing over such things. If I were born outside my coven to a human mother, I knew I’d find myself staring outside the glass of a flower shop craving the dangers of the life of a witch.

“James,” I called out, sliding his cappuccino onto the counter. He looked up from his counting, jotting down another point in his hand-written inventory.

A smile quickly lit up his face when he noted the tall cappuccino. His smile and his coffee were entwined, a habit he’d kept from our days in University together. With four different coffee shops on campus, we decided a latte and a cappuccino after seminars were our given right. Just like his smile, most of James could be described as a habit. The way he let his russet curls hang loosely, the black-framed glasses he’d had since before the start of university to the knit-sweaters he always seemed to wear when working.

James took a sip of his cappuccino. “Guess what?”

I leant against the counter and took a long, dramatic sip of my latte. “What?” He drummed his pencils on the old wooden counter and threw them up into the air. “I got a date!” He announced. The pencils came clattering down onto the floor.

James, a date? Unheard of.

“Never would’ve guessed that in a million years. Good thing you just cut right to the point?” I said with a smirk, hiding behind my take-away cup. With my free hand I slipped a hand underneath my shirt and tugged a sweet-smelling vial out of its pouch and rolled it onto the counter. James snorted.

“Rude. Plenty of girls hit me up all the time.” He said, putting a bunch of lilacs from the behind the counter in front of me.

“Funny how you never manage to get a date with any of them,” I teased. I ran a thumb over the petals, happy with the quality. James gave the vial a cautious sniff and squinted at the label.

“Florrssian.” He mumbled.

I tucked the lilacs away into my brown back-pack, silently praying they’d stay intact for the trip home. “It’ll help you figure out why the petunia’s keep dying. With Florrssian you can understand the flowers in a more…empathetic language, rather than a spoken language. It’s a fairly quick potion to brew, since witch’s usually use it to care for their own house-plants and herb garden.” And it’s cheap.

“So how’d you manage to convince this poor girl into going on a date with you?” I asked, a little stab of jealously in stomach. It’d been a year since my last date. Of course, much had happened in between then and now and dates had been right down there at the bottom of the list of things that truly mattered. Still, I couldn’t help but miss the butterflies I got when meeting someone new. In spite of that, I was happy for James. He was the off-beat type, and sometimes found it hard to find the same rhythm others were on. Hopefully whoever this girl was, was nice.

“Met her on a delivery. Art studio had ordered some arranged sunflower bouquets as models for a few honours students and she liked more than just the flowers I guess,” James said with a cheeky smile, flipping his inventory notebook over. He bit his lip, and glanced up to me with a sheepish look. “One little thing, though. I kind of made it a double date on accident. So I was thinking you and Robert can come along - ” He began, looking ready to dodge a bullet. I nearly spat out my latte.

“Robert and I are friends and he’s my familiar. We’re not like that,” I insisted, tapping my fingers on the counter. James put his hands up in mock surrender. I slumped onto my hand, my cheek pushing down onto knuckles. “Besides. He’s not even my familiar anymore. He’s retiring.”

James took a sip of cappuccino and gave me a quizzical look. “Bit young for retirement isn’t he?”

“Familiar and human retirement are two very different things. Humans retire at the end of their working life, but Familiars can retire from their Witch for a few reasons. Most don’t. The bond we forge is quite strong and we get quite close but at the end of the day Familiars are still independent people. A year before we met Robert was badly hurt in a fight that’s left his back with a permanent injury. It’s hard, but I think he just wants the best for me. And if that means getting a different protector...” I said, my voice growing softer. James said nothing, but put his hand on mine and rubbed his thumb over my knuckles. There was a soft look in his hazel eyes that helped quell the anxieties bubbling away in my stomach.

“Look, if I find someone I’ll bring them. But I’ll be there if you want me to,” I shrugged, swinging my backpack on.

“Thanks. And thanks for the potion, too.” James smiled with a wave.

I left the shop and stretched, enjoying the sunshine on my face. As I began to decide on where to go next before my ramen meeting with Robert, a shadow blocked the sunshine.

“Sienna Cross. Off to write your report, I presume?” A cold, flat voice sliced through the hum of traffic.

I spun around and standing over me was the unwelcome sight of William Fade, a Red Sparrow. He had the same hazel eyes as James, but with none of the softness. A crimson half-cloak rippled in the morning breeze, red feathers sprouting from his shoulder pauldrons, the silver gauntlets on his knuckles glittering. The familiar brown curls of the Fade’s were tied up in a prim and proper bun, a sharp look on his face as he glared down at me.

I haven’t even had time to think about writing up my report for the Mermaid’s breath potion. Considering I was nearly kidnapped and mugged afterwards, I’m guessing Kurt had something to do with it. Can’t include that in my report, though. That’d bring some unwanted eyes from Holfast on me.

“I-I’m in the process, of writing the report, sir.” I stammered, my eyes dropping to the footpath. Red Sparrows were creatures fed with respect, efficiency and a lack of questions. They were the eyes and ears of their Witch Chapter and the accountability enforcer when necessary. Men and women with hard gazes and the ability to serve without question were selected as Red Sparrows, usually human families that already ran adjacent to the world of magic and witches. A knot twisted itself in my stomach as I glanced over to the flower shop. James was looking out at us, a look of hesitation on his gentle features. If William was the blade of the Fade’s, then James was the bandage that held them all together. When I first learnt the Chapter of Persephone had selected William Fade as their new Red Sparrow to watch over the Sydney Witches, the very same knot in my stomach had formed.

“Holfast has questions, Sienna. Specifically, they wish to know what you might know about a blue-haired prisoner of theirs. His trial was meant to begin today.” William said. He turned to sniff at the morning air, like a normal human might sniff the air in appreciation of the beautiful weather, or hope for what they new day promised. The Sparrow seemed to be mourning the loss of a trial that he already knew the ending to.

Guilty.

Holfast reigned over all. For a thousand years, the Celestial forest and the Palace at its heart had reigned over all Witch Chapters. Those that bowed to Persephone, the elder Chapter Demeter, Shiva and the Crone had formed a council to preside over the ever-changing world. From Holfast they reigned, and with their Sparrows they listened and controlled every witch. From Quartz to Serpent. From the Witches that lived amongst the polar Bears in the Artic to the jungles of Kerala.

“I don’t know much of anything about the inner-workings of Persephone’s council, or what they do with their prisoners. If I hear anything, I’ll include it in my report.” I said. Hastily, I plucked a lilac from the bunch and offered it to him.

“There’s few of us in the city, but I’ll ask around,” I said with a small nod. The Red Sparrow looked at the flower with a flicker of suspicion, then took it.

“Have the report ready and sent before tomorrow, sundown.” William said with a twitch of his nose. He spun, his crimson cloak filling my vision for a moment. The sound of the beating of wings filled the air for a moment, and just like that he was gone.

I dug my fingers into my palms.

If my mother hears of this, she’ll claw her way back into my life and all the chaos she brings with her. And if she figures out what I’ve done, I’ll be on trial too. And I know exactly how it will end.