❤❤❤This chapter is dedicated to all the witches who believe magic is in the little things. Rainbows, trying even when you fail, loving someone even when they are far away. I do believe in magic, I believe. ❤❤❤

We got an idea the next day, found the bad guy, and saved the world, but all we accomplished was that now I could remember her. I spent half a month except for random days off with Sage. It was almost June, and she was not a warm, welcoming person, but she was probably not evil. She reached the point where she would have me do all the computer work she didn't like, and we would do the garden work side by side. I have to say I think I was growing on her the longer I stuck around. She didn't seem upset anymore when she saw me in the morning until our fight.

Today, we were expanding the food gardens with a fruit tree section. We were elbow to elbow, looking over Sage's plan. Of course, it looked like a kindergartener had drawn it, and I told her such.

"I tried my best," she glared at me before adding two squiggly lines to the paper.

"What is that supposed to be?" I took the pencil from her as she tried to keep it from me.

"that is the walkway for the garden visitors." she reached for the pencil I now held over my head.

"for shame," I erased her marks and redrew the lines straight and parallel. "you are not allowed to draw on this paper again. Simply tell me what you want, and I will add it."

"you know I did my job just fine before you arrived." she watched as I drew the path and fences around you and proposed an addition.

"and how many of your ideas were chosen?" I glanced at her

"This section on the left side shows the different apple tree types." I guess she chose not to answer that question. "you write the names of the trees under them." I walked over to the computer in her little work area. To check her email because the computer made a noise. She leaned over the table, scribbling the tree names under where I had drawn them.

"how long have you worked here?" I logged into the computer and ran through all the junk emails first

"Years, I think I volunteered for her for the first time when I was 8 during the summer and weekends. This is the first year that I have worked here after school, and they gave me a work area." She was looking intently at the paper. "Do you think it would look good to grow grapes on the wall?"

"it would look good, but do grapes even grow in this area," I asked

"I could grow grapes here." She popped her head up and raised a brow.

"I'm not challenging your prowess. I'll draw the grapes in a second." I opened up some of Jenny's staff emails. I hate having unopened emails in an inbox. "Do your parents like you spending all your time in the garden?"

"my father fought me on it for a while, but we came to an agreement, so he let me come here. He said that his family has always liked gardening, even him, but he has never seen anyone love it as much as me."

"that is really nice." I opened up the order sheet for this month: "What about your mom."

"I don't have a mother," she said sharply, tucking her head lower to the table.

"I'm sorry," I muttered. Sage was silent momentarily. I focused on the order sheet, and it was standard, except they had no new plant orders. I don't know much about plants, but I talked to Reece, and she said that root rot could kill plants if you aren't careful. I find it hard to believe that we could work fast enough to save all the plants in the exhibit.

"Sage," I called her away from her task of designing a fruit tree exhibit. "I think there might be a mistake on the purchase sheet."

"What are you looking at that for?" She walked over; I could feel her right over my shoulder. "That is none of your business."

"It was just emailed to you. I opened it, but there are no replacement plants for the desert exhibit. Remember the first day I was here? Several of the plants had root rot."

"Oh," I felt her retract from me. She started fidgeting but was forcing herself to remain calm. "None of the plants died because we dug them up and cut off the rotten parts."

"Yes, but none of them died, and all the little plants you grow here, none of them die either."

"I'm good at my job. Do you want me to apologize for that? Maybe if you pay attention, you can learn a bit too?" She grew louder as if insulted by what I said, but her act fell apart as she refused to meet my eyes.

"No one bats a one hundred, ok? Everyone gets something wrong, and when I was talking to Reece, she called it your magic touch. That when you work with a plant, they live." I stood from the computer to look her in the eye, and she backed away a few steps. I have learned that Sage hates it if you push her for information; she either folds or explodes since she can't talk herself out of it.

"Magic is a thing for children to believe in." She turned to walk away from me. I was not letting her go that easily, so I reached out. I don't know my plan, but I grabbed her arm to bring her back to me, but closer this time. She was looking anywhere but at my face and was trying to get away from my person.

"Sage"—I looked around, checking for the people I knew weren't there— "it is only childish if it isn't true. When I first met you the second I left, you were erased from my memory, not because you weren't memorable but because something made me forget."

"And that doesn't happen anymore?" She finally brought her wide eyes to mine, searching for an answer, terrified of the possibility that I could remember her. Then it hit me; she was not oblivious to the memory charm as I had hoped. She relied on it to whip my memory after this exchange.

"I took measures to secure my memory from anything." I pulled her closer. I didn't mean to hurt her, but she gasped. "What did you do, a memory charm, a perception filter, or something else?"

"You are like me?" and she was muttering to herself. Her hands were wringing. Had she never met a witch before? Jeremy and I figured she was not a warlock because warlocks were not known for their patience. Or maybe I was wrong; perhaps she was something else entirely.

"Let me see you, Sage; let the charm go." I lightened my grip and placed my hands on her shoulders. She closed her eyes in concentration and mumbled 'release' under her breath. She curled her fingers in as she spoke. It was like a window in front of me was now clean. Her hair, which I thought was dull, had highs and lows in color from working in the sun. Her skin had a tan glow, and her eyes were dynamic brown, with different shades firing from the pupil. From what I could see before, she was a new person.

"Once I let a person through the perception filter, they can't be fooled by it again." She reached up and grabbed her hair, not looking at me again. My hands fell to my side, stuck at the moment. She was fey, but she had no species marks. She looked human and did a spell, meaning she was a magic user, a witch, wizard, or warlock. "Are you like me?"

"Yes," I said, reaching for her again, but something still bothered me. She was acting like she had never met a witch before. All witches go to school together, at least all the ones living in the States, and I didn't hear an accent. She should know witches her age. "I'm a witch too."

"No, no, no, I'm not a witch," Sage pulled away so fast that it was like I electrocuted her with my words. She slammed her back into one of the worktables and hissed in pain but continued her path away from me; she was scared of me. I had never seen one so frightened in my life. "I'm a warlock."

"But... you..." That didn't feel right; she used her magic to make plants grow. It didn't make sense for us to be enemies.

"Get out; you are dismissed for the day." She was still backing away, making the distance between us, and I knew better than to reach for her again. The plants around the room were responding to her, growing towards her.

"I have two more hours, but I don't understand Sage." She was pushed so close to the wall opposite me that it looked like she wanted to phase through it. Vines were crawling across the work tables at an alarming rate.

"Then clean the beds outside until it is time to leave."

"Sage, please." I took a step toward her. I know I shouldn't; I'm not a hunter; I should be scared of her, but she was afraid of me, practically cowering on the other side of the room. I never wanted to make her fearful, and every fiber of my being wanted to fix it. The plants near her were wrapping themselves around her arm. Avoiding me altogether, they were trying to comfort her. "I don't understand how..."

"What is there to understand, Reed? We are on opposite sides of the oldest war in history. Light vs. dark, right vs. wrong. It is the way it is."

"One more question. I know it is asking a lot, but please answer one more question, and I'll leave." She nodded from the other side of the room, fear in her eyes. "The plants, is that some sort of spell?"

"That is a natural gift; all I have to do is touch them. It has been that way my whole life. I don't feel alive when I'm away from nature." I was about to ask her another question when she asked one. "What is your last name?"

"Redfield and you?" I swear she would have run if the wall had not been against her back; she must recognize my name.

"Arden, I'm an Arden." Now, it was my turn to stumble away. I knew that name; they were thieves and murderers, one of the most powerful warlock lines to exist and the longest-lasting. Hunters have spent and lost their lives trying to protect people from that family. I walked to the garden she told me to clean. I want to say that I didn't spend the next two hours running that conversation over in my head. Still, I did, and just like when I was having the conversation, something felt wrong about Sage and me being on opposite sides of the war.

I wasted the next two hours in the first garden bed I encountered. My conversations with Jeremy filtered through my brain. Based on her tending to nature so well, we had assumed that Sage was a nymph or a half-nymph. We had tossed out the possibility of her being a warlock. Figuring her out became my new distraction from life, but now she was the thing we were supposed to turn in to the hunters. We were always warned in school never to interact with a warlock because, unlike witches, they were allowed to kill. She wasn't a killer, was she? We were told evil came in many forms. Maybe the frustrating but hardworking girl was the act. It must be if she is a warlock.

"Working hard or hardly working," Reece said, scaring me out of my thoughts. She put her hand on my shoulder. It is time to go. I was heading out when I saw you muttering to yourself."

"Thank you." I brushed the dirt off my knees.

"Sage got you frustrated, I assume. Well, don't you worry? Her bark is much worse than her bite. That girl wouldn't hurt a fly; she just keeps everyone away. I can't break down the walls, but she likes you. Maybe you can help her," Reece explained as we walked.

"Help her? Help her how?" I was confused. You can't help warlocks, not really. They are evil, and the only thing you can do is lock them away.

"The only people with walls around them as tough as hers are those who have been hurt the worst. Maybe you can show her that she is safe with you." Recce ran off to her car. I looked around for Sage but couldn't find her, so I ran to Jeremy. I needed help to figure this out.

When I got home, I discussed the conversation with Jeremy and Amelia, but they were not very helpful.

"You are working with an Arden. That is bad; we will have to call a hunter to check out what those warlocks are up to," Jeremy said.

"She is a girl, not a criminal. Why are you calling the bullies of the magical world to check out nothing? She hasn't done anything. You know that this is wrong," Amelia said.

"Ames, this isn't a human we are talking about; it is a Warlock. They always have a scheme going to hurt humans." Jeremy replied. They have been sniping back and forth for a while; I just watched. I'm numb from today. I guess it was always a possibility she was evil, but I didn't buy it.

"But you said warlocks have souls, so they can change."

"Water wraths have souls, but that doesn't mean they won't drown you for fun. Warlocks have a warped sense of right and wrong, especially an Arden. They are one of the oldest families of warlocks, and they are part siren, which is evil."

"But they also have a soul and freedom to choose what to do with their magic; you can't declare them all evil."

"Ames, only demons lack souls; the rest of the dark world have souls but choose to do things that hurt people. Sirens have souls but reportedly laugh after singing a ship to a watery grave. Hundreds of people die, and they laugh. That girl has that running through her veins. God forbid we find out who her other lineage is. She is bad enough just as an Arden."

"We could give her a chance to change; maybe she doesn't know she can be different." Amelia wants everyone to have a chance at self-improvement; it is probably the best quality I have seen.

"Yes, have her change from volunteering at a garden." My eyes rolled with my quiet response, which no one was listening to.

"Amelia, be reasonable. I know you just learned about this world, but there is a dynamic, and we are always in small conflict. This war has been ongoing for a long time, and everyone chooses a side. Warlocks against witches, gremlins against fairies. One side fights for power and control, and the other fights for balance. This girl may be young, but she is a warlock, and they think that magic users should be out in the open and ruling the humans as if they were lesser beings."

"How do they get people to follow them with such a dark message," Amelia asked.

"because warlocks are evil," I respond in a dry voice

"They phrase it as saving the world humans are destroying. If witches rose up and called the shots, the planet would be protected, and their lives would be better. They believe it is the rightful place for magic users, like in the days of the fisher king, they have been on the opposite side of every major battle throughout history." Jeremy explained.

"She has a witch's gift, and I don't see how volunteering at the garden will help control the world," I said.

"Are you sure she has a witch's gift? Dark world powers could look similar. Warlocks are experts at making the world think they are good. Think about the Persian War, where the warlocks fought on the side of the Greeks and won, destroying an empire without slavery. Then, retelling the story where they saved democracy." During their argument, Jeremy and Amelia look at me for the first time, but all this doesn't feel right.

"I know she is a warlock; I heard her say it." My hand slammed on the table. "She can heal plants and make them grow just by touching them, and she uses her perception filter to keep people away. She has been doing it for a long time. More than that, I'm still a witch after all the terrible things I have done and how miserable I have been about this forced work. She is a warlock even though she hasn't hurt anyone and makes choices that help people. Our garden helps provide fresh produce to the local shelter; Sage is trying to expand the food supply by adding a fruit tree garden."

"Well, Jeremy, that doesn't sound like a warped sense of right and wrong; that sounds like a terrified girl trying to protect herself," Amelia said.

"Still, that could all be a trick to get close to her goal, and you don't know that she has never hurt anyone. You only met this warlock; you don't know her story." Jeremy took a minute to run his fingers through his hair in frustration. "We need a hunter to handle a warlock."

"No." I have no idea where these outbursts were coming from; she is a warlock. I should have called the hunters while tending to the garden, but even though I knew it was what we were supposed to do, I said no.

"there might not be any choice on our part," Jeremy said. Both Amelia and I looked at him.

"A little bit ago, there were several attacks on human women in the area, and when a coven witch looked into it, they sensed traces of dark magic." he looked at me, imploring me. "the coven decided to call the hunters, we were told at the meeting to reach out with any information."

"you don't know that she did this, Jeremy," Amelia pleaded; she believes in me, and without even knowing, Sage is willing to believe in her.

"don't tell them about her, please," I begged. I could say goodbye to my magic if they learned I protected a warlock. They would follow through on the threat of binding it for two years. Know what hunters do to warlocks, and I couldn't let that happen to Sage. "Give me more time, Jeremy. Let me figure this out. Warlocks have to have lived between plots for world domination, right? You wouldn't want to call a hunter in for nothing; you know how cranky they can be. Jeremy, father, will be irate if we waste a hunter's time and cause a big fuss. he wants the world to forget me if we call the hunters here for nothing. Imagine the stir that will be caused back home. all I'm asking for is time." Amelia and I held our breaths to see if Jeremy would relent. He nodded, and suddenly, this summer was not just about getting through to the fall. I had to find out if Sage was up to something and what she was doing that made me want to protect her. I needed to get that sorted so I could do the rest.

I hope that the goddess is watching over me. 

********************************************************************************

Hello beautiful people,

Clarifications:

1) witch, wizards, and warlocks are none gendered terms for magic users. They describe where a magic user falls on the good-to-evil spectrum. This is why Sage is a warlock and Reed is a witch (you can also be born into your group, if mom and dad are witches, it is assumed that you are a witch as well). I know I had clarified that before but I just thought a reminder would help.

2) Hunters are witches that hunt and kill demons; they also catch other dark-world fey so they can't hurt anyone. I wouldn't say they were the police of the magical world, more like bounty hunter assassins.

3) creatures are split into two big overarching groups, fae, and naturals. Naturals are creatures that don't have magic like humans or puppies, while fae are all the magical creatures in the world like water wraths and witches

4) the North American continent has one school for witches called Mardovo's school for witches. It is a boarding school where kids are sent from ages 5-18. As their magic comes out, it is in a safe, contained environment without any humans around to see. Witches also start using their powers young, sometimes before they turn sevenish. This is a witches-only school, so our warlock friends are not invited.

Alright, I think that is all the things people might not understand if you still have questions leave a comment or leave a comment just to say hi.

have a magical day

So mote it be