Bad Holiday in Witch Town

by Mark Hockley

"Eh..." she began.

  The red headed boy scratched his ear absently. "It's fish pie, Ma'am. Already in the oven."

  Ellie nodded automatically. "Whenever you like. I'm Ellie," she added, feeling awkward, "what's your name?"

  The boy frowned. "I'm Jacob, Ma'am. At your service."

  Finding this all very uncomfortable and awkward, the girl did her best to make him feel at ease. "Thank you, Jacob. It's nice to meet you. Do you need any help in the kitchen? My mum always said I would make a good cook if I put my mind to it."

  Jacob looked aghast at this. "I'm the cook," he stated with what appeared to be hurt pride. "It's my job."

  "Oh I see," Ellie offered, sensing she might have offended him. "Well, I'm sure you're very good at it."

  The young boy watched her a little cautiously, as if concerned she might make some kind of sudden movement. "Can I go back to the kitchen now, ma'am?"

  "If you want to," was all Ellie could think of to say.

  Jacob gave her another wary look and then turned to walk back along the corridor and disappeared. Pleasant aromas were beginning to drift out of the kitchen and Ellie gave a short bemused shake of her head.

  So now she had child servants. She was a witch and kids would be cooking her meals for her! Her next therapy session was going to be a classic. But then she checked herself realising that she had to adjust her thinking. Therapy with Ruth was a thing of the past. That was another life, another world. The time for talking about things was over. From here on, she would need to take action.

  12

  So Beth is a maid and Zack and Luke are learning how to be farmers. Obviously strong career choices! And I have kids as servants. Crazy or what!? And if that's crazy, now they tell me I get to choose a husband. Really!? As if I didn't have enough to deal with! Well guess what, it's not going to happen. No way. I'm single and that's the way I'm staying. Finding out you're a witch is one thing but getting married is taking the whole thing way, way too far!

  Funny how things can go just the way you hoped and yet be so impossibly tricky to manage when you found yourself there.

  Zack sat on a swing seat on the porch of a wood panelled house. Opposite him watching attentively sat Leonie. They were alone.

  "Is it okay to ask questions?" he asked a little hesitantly, trying to feel his way into a conversation.

  The girl's green eyes sparkled in the fading twilight. "You can ask," she said softly, but in a tone that clearly said he should be prudent.

  He understood her meaning and considered how to proceed. The last thing he wanted to do was offend her. "What is this Dance everyone has been talking about?" he ventured.

  Leonie appeared to relax a little when she heard his question and Zack realised that she had been very tense up until that moment. "It is tradition," she observed, "a new Mother takes a husband and the Coven celebrate with The Dance."

  The boy almost did a double take. "Take a what!?" he blurted.

  "A husband," she replied casually, "all Mothers take a spouse after The Testing."

  Zack attempted to stand and nearly fell off the swing seat. Leonie rose too and took a wary step backward, eyeing him with alarm. "My sister is going to get married," he spluttered, "to who!?" He tried to steady himself, but he had knocked the seat in his haste and now it bumped into the back of his legs. He lost his balance and fell back into it, landing in an undignified fashion while the girl appeared to evaluate his intentions.

  When she smiled it caught him completely off-guard and two things occurred to him. One was that he must look like a complete fool and the other was just how pretty she really was. Leonie gracefully sat back down, her eyes still twinkling with mirth. "Your sister will choose as is the right of every Mother," she told him as he repositioned himself so that he looked slightly less stupid.

  "But she won't," Zack insisted, "she won't choose. She doesn't want to get married! She's only sixteen!"

  Now Leonie became far more grave, her expression altering to one of something akin to melancholy. "Every Mother must take a husband. It is expected."

  "So why aren't we allowed to be there?" queried the boy.

  "You are her brother so are not eligible. And I have been charged with keeping watch over you."

  Zack became very agitated feeling as if he should do something. "So if I get up and try to go there, you will have to stop me?"

  With a look that said that she didn't enjoy having to answer this question she nonetheless agreed. "It is my duty."

  This left him with a major problem. He didn't see how he could just wait here and leave his sister to fend for herself while they tried to fix her up with one of the Witch Town men. But there was no way he was going to do anything to hurt this girl. Even just the thought of it was horrible. He tried to clear his head, but her green eyes made it difficult to think straight. This whole situation was becoming increasingly impossible.

  Then something occurred to him and he paused for quite some time before he decided how to frame his next question.

  "So that means you had to do it too...choose I mean? At The Dance." Zack flushed slightly, not really wanting to know, but compelled to ask.

  The girl glanced away and he saw that her cheeks also had reddened. "Yes," she said quietly, "but my husband is dead now. And a Mother can only marry once." She returned her gaze to him once more. "So you see, I am glad not to attend."

  Zack had no idea what to say now. He fumbled for something sympathetic, but nothing materialised. "I'm sorry," was the best he could come up with.

  She gave him a thin smile. "My time of mourning is over. My life is devoted to my Sisters in the Green Coven."

  His mind racing, he desperately wanted to find out more, but he sensed that she was likely to become upset or just refuse to discuss it if he persisted. He decided to change the subject.

  "What about Luke?" he questioned, wondering if his friend was off somewhere being guarded by Allana.

  Leonie gathered herself and adjusted the green scarf about her neck. "He is at the Dance with the other men."

  Zack's face was a picture of bafflement. "Why?" he asked at length.

  The girl's answer was off-handed as if it were obvious. "All eligible men are offered to the new Mother."

  Zack shot up again."What!?" he cried out, almost lost his balance and took three steps sideways.

  This time Leonie did not mirror his actions, obviously sensing no threat. "Ellie of the Black Coven will be allowed to choose for herself. Please calm yourself."

  But the boy did not sit down again. He just stood there with a stunned, confused expression. What was this place!? It was all madness. He considered for a fleeting moment making a run for it and then thought better of it. Leonie would have to stop him and he was quite certain she was more than capable of doing so.

  Finally he settled back into the swing seat, letting his body slump. It seemed Ellie and Luke would have to manage things without him. He couldn't imagine what his sister would say when she realised what they had in mind. And he couldn't even begin to guess what Luke would be thinking when he found out why he was there.

  Luke sat on a high backed chair in a long row of identical seats the length of one side of a great hall. Opposite they were faced by just as many girls also seated. The distance between them was not enough to avoid their mischievous smiles and appraising gazes.

  He glanced to either side and saw that there were many boys around his age, but also some older men too. All of the girls facing them though were much younger and he realised that they must all be under sixteen as none wore the colour of a Coven.

  Seated at a long table at the end of the room were some of the witches he recognised from his experiences in the Council. Margaret was there, along with Isobel of the Reds and the other heads of their individual Covens. But it was Ellie's presence that caused Luke to stare. She sat next to the elderly black witch and seemed quite downcast. And now that she wore the same garb as the other women, Ellie seemed even more distant to him, more a
part of this world. It hurt him to even think about it and he wanted to call out to her, but despite the low murmur of chatter, particularly among the assembled girls, it all seemed too quiet and orderly to shout across the hall. Luke hated that already he was beginning to fall in with the social rules of this place, especially as he wanted nothing to do with these people. And even though he accepted that Ellie was one of them, a witch, that did not mean she wanted to stay here either. He continued to look at his friend, trying to catch her eye, but she appeared to be preoccupied with her own thoughts.

  Now Margaret stood and addressed them all. "We are here tonight to select a Husband for our new Mother." There was some excited chatter and a little giggling among the girls but all of the men sat in complete silence. Luke sensed nervous tension around him. "And I should add that because our new Sister, Ellie of the Black Coven, has shown herself to possess exceptional ability, the Husband she chooses will be most fortunate and privileged."

  "Wait!" It was Ellie. She also stood and her expression was fierce. "I'm not marrying anyone! And don't try to make me. I've gone along with enough of your stupid games already and I'm sick of it!"

  There was utter silence in the room as everyone there waited to see what happened next. Margaret glanced at the girl next to her and smiled benevolently. "Do not fear, Ellie," she said gently, but there was a steely edge to her voice. "If you find the choice too difficult, we will be happy to make