Damien's Novela

Chapter 3 (Edited)

Damien's pov

I leaned on the door frame and watched Mirabel gaze on my kitchen in wonder, but sigh dejectedly. 

"Miss Mirabel? Are you okay?"

"Oh, Damien! I'm sorry, I'll leave."

"No, no. Please stay. I'd enjoy some quieter company. Care for some more rose milk?"

"If it's no trouble."

I made two mugs and shrunk the extra chairs and vanished them back upstairs. I sat across from her. 

"Did you know, rose milk, while tasty, is also a remedy for acne and nasty poisons?"

"No, that's amazing."

"I know. It was the first thing Mama Sofia taught me to make when I started potion crafting."

"This is a potion?"

"Technically yes, Mama Sofia made it herself. She was the top with in her coven back in the day. However it more used as a tasty drink to soothe a troubled mind."

We sat in a peaceful silence for a few minutes until I waved my hand and a small plate of snickerdoodles came over from the cupboard. 

"Would you like to learn witchcraft?"

She gave a small start and coking a bit on a cookie as I sipped from my mug, hiding my laugh.

"I noticed you not doing much at dinner. Do you not have a gift?"

"Nope. I'm the only ordinary person in the family Madrigal."

"I thought not. I can teach you basic spells and potion making, but only if you actually put the effort into it. Most unwilling the student, less effective are thy lessons and thine core's damage will take."

"What does that mean?"

"When a witch is teaching their craft to a willing student, those lessons are bound with the teacher's magic essence. An unwilling student will repel the magic, resulting in excruciating pain for the teacher. It's why there aren't that many witches anymore. Humans gave witchhood a bad reputation. Parents tell stories about evil witches coming to cook and eat the children if their not well behaved. As such, witches are a bit of a rarity nowadays."

"If you are willing to teach me, I am willing to learn. I'm fed up being labeled as the "Useless Madrigal."

"Alright, but there is a small caveat. If at any time you kill another witch, you will be stripped of your magic. It is a painful process and could kill you."

"Oh. Well you said that witches are rare, so I don't think that would be a problem."

"Good. We'll perform the teacher student bonding ritual tomorrow in your bedroom. Tonight, I need to rest. I recommend you do the same. Would you like to sleep in the guest room for tonight? It's fully furnished and clean, save for a dusty shelf or too, but a quick rinse will get that."

I go to look at her and she is knocked out, face first on the table. 

"What the- "

"Master!"

Selkie hugged my leg with a proud grin on her face. 

"Selkie put sleeping potion in her milk!"

"Selkie, that's a no no." 

"Selkie is sorry."

She look down, but she still hugged me. I lifted Mirabel into my arms and carried her to the guest room. I set her carefully in the air and set a jet of water over the room and banished all the dirty water outside. After the room was dry, I laid Mirabel on the bed and covered her up. I went to my room and went to sleep.