The untuned saloon's piano greeted Robin as he swung the wooden doors open.

"Doctor Prakash!" Doctor Don called over the din from a table in the dimly lit back corner of the saloon.

"Morning, Dr. Robin!" Jackie called from the bar. "What can I get started for you?"

"Just a coffee for me today, Miss Jackie. Thank you." Robin said, making his way to the doctor's table.

Since it was fairly early in the day, the tavern was much less lively, the main customer base being those who had stayed out drinking all night, only to be snoozing on the saloons tables in the early afternoon.

"Good to see you, son," Doctor Don greeted, standing and reaching out his hand to greet Robin.

"You as well, Sir." Robin replied as he shook the old man's hand and sat himself in the old wooden chair across from the old man.

"Oh, please, just call me Don. I don't care much for formalities."

"Of course, and likewise, you can just call me Robin if you wish," Robin replied with a smile.

"If that's what you prefer, then no problem," Don said with a wrinkled smile. "Just like Miss Holly prefers Miss Ivy, though I let it slip sometimes." He chuckled and shook his head.

"She prefers it?" Robin said, slightly confused. "I thought it was a nickname?"

"Oh, I guess you could call it that. I think the better term is alias." Don said with a laugh as he lowered his voice and scanned the room. He slowly leaned closer to Robin as he spoke softly, "She's got plenty of those, you know. Safer for her to go around being called Ivy since everyone was told the real name of the Crimson Crow. Don't want the wrong people finding her."

Robin tilted his head, his curiosity piqued. At first, he didn't mind when people said small things about Holly since it was none of his business, but now that he was staying longer, he reasoned he should probably get more information on his host.

"I keep hearing about this Crimson Crow situation," Robin said, lowering his voice to match Don's. "But nobody seems to say exactly what happened." He looked closely at the older man, trying to gauge his reaction."Obviously, I don't want to ask Holly." Robin continued," The only thing I know is that many people seem to think she's dangerous, yet nobody acts as if she's a threat. I can't help but be a bit concerned since I've been living with her for a month or so now."

"Well," Don said slowly, choosing his words wisely, "you have lived with her for about a month. What do you think of her?"

Robin lowered his eyes, unsure how to respond.

"I guess..." Robin said after a moment of thinking over all the moments he had shared with Holly as he got to know her, "She has done some things that made me think she is very powerful.. But I wouldn't say I feel like I am in danger ."

"Precisely." Don nodded in approval, giving him a warm smile. "People who know her past might warn you about her, but it's not to protect you from her; it's to protect her from you." Don chuckled. "Not that she needs much protection from us—she can handle herself if need be, as I'm sure you've already seen. I mean, she was once one of the strongest sorceresses in the world, after all..." Don stopped to think for a second before continuing.

"But she's more than that, and that's what people are trying to protect. At least, for me, that's the case. She's a sweet girl who found herself in a very sticky situation."

"And what's the situation, Doctor?" Robin said, lowering his voice to a whisper as a man walked by their table to get to the bar.

"Well," Don said with a slow sigh, "I don't know the whole of it, but she was once in the Great Plains military. She was considered one of our greatest weapons during her time there." Don sighed thoughtfully. "But after destroying a town, she left and went into hiding. It was a huge story at the time. People said she went crazy, that sorcerers of her power can't be trusted. 'The power got to the young girl's head'—dumb things like that. None of it's true, of course. Those who know her know it was all lies."

Doctor Don paused as if recalling something painful.

"I treated the poor girl after the incident... I'd say that whatever happened on that day  left her just as destroyed as the town, physically and mentally.""

There was silence for a moment. Robin didn't know how to respond. He nodded solemnly. The medicines he had seen when he was injured came to his mind. He now realized what they had been for.

"But don't let that scare you. Truly. She's a sweet girl with a soft heart. She's made quite a new life for herself here, and the whole town loves her. Only a few of us know who she really is, and we try to keep it that way. Usually, we act dumb when someone asks. Though you got Miss Jackie to crack..." Don said, raising his voice and glancing at Miss Jackie as she walked over.

"What about me, Donnie?" Jackie said, swaying over to their table, carrying Robin's coffee.

"Just saying you are just as big of a fan of Miss Ivy, as Robin and I am." The old man chuckled with a wink at Robin. 

"I-" Robin flustered by the old mans claim.

"Now, I don't know if Holly's already told you this, Robin," Doctor Don interrupted, "but Miss Jackie is a magician too, just like you. Able to tell someone's true intentions by what they say." He said with a knowing smirk."She can't tell if someone is lying, but she can tell their heart behind what they say."

Miss Jackie let out a chuckle and shrugged. "I was surprised to find that you were a magician too. I was very skeptical of another magician, but I couldn't find any intentions besides seeing your brother, so I sent you on to Sunshine Acres. Glad I did too, huh Don?" Miss Jackie said with a wink to the old doctor.

"I am so glad you did, Miss Jackie," Don said to Robin with a knowing smile. "Everyone in town is rooting for the towns newest "it" couple," 

Robin's ears grew warm. "Ah, that's very kind of you, doctor, but there isn't anything going on between me and Holly. I'm just here for my brother, and I'll leave with him once his work here is over."

Don turned and looked back at Miss Jackie, who smirked and nodded at Robin in mock belief with a knowing smile on her face.

Robin felt panicked race across his body at what she might have heard behind his words.

Doctor Don chuckled and turned back to Robin with a sly smile. "Alright, well, that's too bad. I only told you all that about Holly because I want someone who likes her, to like her regardless of her past, not because he was ignorant of it. So, if you bring any of it up after you leave this town to anyone else..."

The old man's face darkened, his blue eyes piercing into Robin.

"You won't just have a powerful sorceress after you but this whole damn town too."

Miss Jackie's laugh broke the tension. "Easy there, Don, you can't scare him into liking her."

The old man was taken aback. "No! No, I wasn't—"

Miss Jackie raised an eyebrow at him, and the old man went red, chuckling in embarrassment. He leaned back in his chair and gave Robin an apologetic look.

"Ah. Sorry about that. I crossed the line."

"It's okay, Don. I understand the sentiment, but you don't have anything to worry about. I wont tell anyone." Robin said awkwardly.

Robin was already planning to keep his job as a powerful sorceress's housekeeper and cook in exchange for room and board a secret from his friends back home, so the old man's threat didn't faze him.

Robin cleared his throat and tried to change the conversation to what they originally came to talk about.

"So, you told me you have some new medical journals. Mind if I take a look?"

"Ah yes, of course! The real reason we are all here" The old man beamed, letting out a laugh as he scrambled into his bag to pull out two leather-bound journals

Miss Jackie chuckled and gave Robin a wink before turning on her heels to return to serving the rest of the patrons.

Robin smiled, relieved to have changed the conversation, but something in the back of his mind told him this was just the beginning of unraveling the mysterious sorceresses past..