The Lady-in-Waiting

Chapter 12

Zora

The rumors were real. The house, about six feet above me, was standing on a pair of chicken legs. I think about the experiences that have led me to this point, to this place, standing six feet below a house on chicken legs, six feet below one of the greatest living witches. Part of me is tempted to take a selfie with the house, but I want to fully experience this. My wings flutter and I find myself flying for the first time in years. My feet hit the porch and I land. My feet hit the porch and I land. My jaw drops as I stare at the door. All I had to do was knock on it and I'd meet her. You got this, Zora. You've fought a princess and graduated from ten years of magic school. You can knock on a door without jumping up and down in excitement. I look down at my outfit. I was meeting Baba Yaga at my work close. I guess she won't care. She lives in the woods after all.

"Zorana, what are you doing?!" yells Desiree. "We all need to go in!"

I groan. Why are these four so helpless without me? I try to figure out a way to get them up here. I'm too weak to lift them and I'm too far away to know how to teleport them. Thankfully, it just snowed and I'm best with snow. I make a ladder out of ice.

"Before you ask, I can't teleport you guys up here," I say.

Eli, George, and Desiree climb up the ladder. Lisa jumps eleven or so feet up and lands, rocking the porch.

"How are you capable of jumping that high?!" exclaims George.

"The cloak," says Lisa. "It's all the cloak. It's magic. And that's all I'm going to say about it."

I walk slowly to the door, my fist trembling as I knock. I step back, all of me now trembling. The door opens with the loudest creak I've ever heard. A scowling woman is behind the door, her white hair and blue eyes almost glowing. Desiree walks up to me.

"You'll be the distraction," she whispers discreetly.

I don't say yes or nod or anything. I didn't agree to come here. Lucinda did. And if everything goes right, she'll be the one stuck dealing with her problem.

"I'm Zora!" I introduce myself. "I'm um...I was a student at the Lunar Sorcery Academy. I graduated from the advanced program last spring. These are some...allies of mine. I was hoping to talk to you and they came along as well."

"It's nice to meet you, Zora," Baba Yaga says, smiling for a second. "You all can come in. But your friends can't touch anything unless they've had magical schooling like you."

She goes away from the door and we enter the house. I can't tell if the house is small or if there are just a lot of artifacts and junk here. I wonder if she ever cleans or just figures she doesn't have to with the lack of company. I look at Baba Yaga. She's floating around in a giant mortar and she's holding a huge pestle.

"Zora, let's go to the living room," says Baba Yaga. "Your friends have to stay here."

"Okay," I say, following her to the living room.

The living room isn't that far from the entrance to the house. Like all the other rooms, it seems small due to how much junk there is. There are two couches across from each other. They both look very vintage and are identical. I sit on one couch and Baba Yaga hovers over the other.

"What did you want to talk about, Zora?" asks Baba Yaga.

"As I said, I'm a witch," I start. "I'm also technically a fairy godmother. You may have heard of me. 'Evil Fairy Caught Cursing Over a Thousand People During Royal Christening.' Around seven years ago, I went to the Christening of my goddaughter and accidentally cursed the audience. The king immediately banished me-"