Marmalade's Love Potion

Ch 4 - The Enchantress Of Daisy Lane

Aware that her time was growing short, Penelope cut directly across the concourse, skipping between carriages and striding through the garden on her way towards the laneway that Abel had pointed out.

Unlike the other lanes, there was no sign to indicate its name, only a small cluster of small white flowers painted on the stone wall.

The laneway was narrow and sloped downwards, the cobbled street interrupted by the occasional set of stone steps where the path was too steep.

Penelope passed an odd assortment of shops, including a florist boasting luminous snapping blooms and a small bead store selling charm bracelets which tinkled lullabies when rattled.

Penelope wasn't quite sure what she should be looking for, and was starting to think she had lost her way when she turned a final corner and found herself standing in a small square garden.

Row upon row of pots and planter boxes were fixed to the tall laneway walls, brimming with daisies of every colour. A plush carpet of mossy grass blanketed the path, leading to an open doorway set into the wall at the very end of the lane.

Overwhelmed by the unexpected splendor, Penelope stopped to stare, watching small butterflies flitting amongst the petals, their wings assuming the colour of the bud they landed upon.

Penelope breathed in the cool air, which smelled of stone, new earth, and summer flowers, even while pockets of snow still lay in the shadows.

"Would you like to take your boots off, feel the earth beneath your toes?"

Penelope startled, for she hadn't noticed a small woman sitting on a stool further into the garden. She gestured at a shoe rack by the door.

"Oh, um... why not." Penelope awkwardly stepped out of her boots, tucking her socks safely inside, and wriggled her feet in the velveteen moss. A feeling of giddy peace eased a tension in her shoulders that Penelope was unaware she had been carrying.

Sighing with relief as her body relaxed, she padded across the garden to the shoe rack. There were several other pairs, some new and clearly expensive, others muddy and well worn. Penelope placed her shoes in the corner of an empty shelf.

"Step inside. The Enchantress is about to put on a show." The woman winked at Penelope, her eyes brimming with cheerful humour.

Feeling both excited and nervous, Penelope entered the doorway.

The shop was dimly lit. Penelope peered into the darkness until her eyes adjusted. The first thing she noticed was a garden in the centre of the room, ringed by a stone pathway. The garden was filled with white daisies, glowing ever so faintly, like moonlight, and rippling as if caught in a breeze, though the air in the shop was quite still.

A small wishing well made of mossy stone sat in the centre of the garden. Other shop patrons were walking barefoot along the stone path, pausing to browse the bottled potions or magical trinkets displayed on the wooden shelves which lined the walls.

The shop itself was shaped like an octagon, and the shop counter was fitted neatly along the section of wall behind the garden, opposite the front door.

Feeling curious, unsure of what the shop offered, Penelope paced the stone path. The shelves contained all manner of hand-bound books. Some blank, some richly illustrated with tales of ancient mythology, and others filled with symbols of a language Penelope didn't read.

Amongst the books were baskets of oracle charms, vials of flowers steeping in amber-coloured oils, pots of salves for ailments ranging from mild itches to acute pains, and a range of aromatic salts, each of which promised to impart a different mood.