Daughter of a Witch

Motherly Competition

Y/n steadied her breathing, closing her eyes and focusing on the small, flickering candle flame before her. It wobbled uncertainly, then flared, crackled, and extinguished with a faint puff of smoke.

"Not bad," she muttered, squinting at the smoke trail as it drifted toward the ceiling. Just as she reached for the candle again, she felt a familiar presence step into the room.

"Not bad?" Agatha's voice was calm, though Y/n caught the tiniest glimmer of pride. "Let's aim for better, shall we?"

Y/n straightened as her elegant and composed mother strode in and surveyed the scene. She took in the scattered herbs, the candle, and Y/n's notebook filled with scribbled spells, all strewn across the table. With a small, disapproving frown, Agatha flicked her fingers, and the items rearranged themselves: the herbs gathered into neat piles, the candle stood precisely in the center of the table, and the notebook lay open to a fresh page.

"Magic is about respect," Agatha explained, her voice soft but firm. "If you're careless with your tools, your magic will be just as chaotic."

Y/n nodded, feeling both a bit intimidated and grateful. Agatha had always been a perfectionist, seeing magic as an ancient and exacting craft. She watched Agatha's hand trace a small circle in the air, her fingers leaving a faint, glowing trail.

"Try again," Agatha instructed, her gaze sharp and intense. "This time, focus on your energy—imagine it as a thread connecting you to the flame. Let your magic flow along it, like water through a stream."

Y/n closed her eyes and took a deep breath. She followed her mother's instructions, picturing the thread and feeling her own energy steady, concentrating on her task with newfound clarity. She whispered the incantation, and slowly, the flame lit. It glowed with a quiet, steady brilliance, filling her with a warm sense of accomplishment.

Agatha nodded approvingly, allowing herself a small smile. "Excellent. Method and discipline—those are the foundations of good magic."

But before Y/n could fully absorb the praise, a new voice cut in from the doorway.

"Or... maybe she could just feel it out."

They both turned to see Rio lounging casually against the doorframe, arms crossed, a playful smile tugging at her lips. She strolled in, opposite Agatha's sharpness, radiating warmth and ease as she approached Y/n's side.

"Sweetie, you don't have to be so... formal with magic," Rio said, affectionately reaching out to ruffle Y/n's hair. "Sometimes you just let the magic flow, like... well, like it's an old friend."

With that, she raised a hand, made a gentle flick of her fingers, and a different candle on the table flared to life, its flame dancing and casting a soft, golden light across the room.

"Magic isn't just a formula, Mi corazón," Rio teased, looking at Agatha with a glint in her eye. "It's intuition. It's art."

Agatha's eyes narrowed, but there was a hint of amusement behind the stern expression. "Magic, Rio, is a craft with ancient rules and structures. If you just... play with it, you're bound to make mistakes."

"Sure," Rio conceded, shrugging with a smile. "But sometimes, the best things happen when you let a little chaos in." She turned to Y/n. "How about giving it a try my way? ... breathe and feel where your magic wants to go."

Caught between them, Y/n hesitated. She loved Agatha's structured lessons and felt a sense of pride in perfecting her spells, but Rio's easygoing approach had a warmth to it, an invitation to experiment that was hard to resist.

"Well... I guess I can try," Y/n said, earning a pleased nod from Rio.

She let herself relax, drawing a slow breath, this time feeling her energy without trying to direct it as rigidly. She extended her hand toward the candle, letting her magic flow more naturally, and a spark burst to life, leaping from her fingers and flaring the flame to a brighter glow before it settled into a soft, flickering light.

Rio beamed. "See? She's got a feel for it."

Agatha sighed, though the corners of her mouth twitched. "A feel for it, yes. But magic deserves more respect than that. And she needs more discipline."

"Discipline's overrated," Rio shot back playfully, crossing her arms. "Maybe she'd learn more by just exploring her own way without such tight reins."

"Oh, would she?" Agatha arched an eyebrow. "Then why don't we have a small test of methods, just to see?"

Rio's grin widened. "Are you suggesting a duel, Cariño?"

"Not a duel, my love," Agatha corrected, though her eyes sparkled with challenge. "A demonstration. Let Y/n decide whose method works best."

Y/n's eyes widened as she looked between them. "Wait, you don't need to—"

But neither of them seemed to hear her, too caught up in their own rivalry to notice. Agatha took her stance, raising one hand in a disciplined posture. A sphere of shimmering energy appeared, hovering in front of her, precise and contained. Rio, in contrast, lazily extended a hand, and her magic bloomed like a playful breeze, swirling in a warm, lively glow that seemed to dance around Agatha's sphere.

"Alright, Y/n," Agatha instructed, her tone even. "Let's start with you casting with me. Show me your control."

Y/n nodded, moving to Agatha's side. She felt the weight of her mother's sharp and encouraging gaze and took a steadying breath. This time, she focused her energy with all the precision she could muster, directing it exactly where Agatha had taught her, maintaining a steady focus on her target.

Together, their magic formed a delicate but powerful structure—a sphere of light, strong and unwavering. Y/n couldn't help but smile at its symmetry and how perfectly it aligned with Agatha's style. But before she could feel satisfied, she heard Rio calling her over.

"Nice and sturdy," Rio said, smirking. "But now, let's shake things up a bit."

With a nod, Y/n joined Rio, who coaxed her to close her eyes to "feel the magic like it's music." Y/n let go of her focus and allowed her energy to flow freely, guided only by a sense of rhythm rather than precision. She felt her magic form into a mist, soft and swirling, wrapping around the candle flame in loose tendrils of light. It was beautiful in a way she hadn't expected, with no hard edges, just movement.

Y/n grinned, but the room grew tense as she watched her mother's energies brush against each other. Agatha's precise sphere met Rio's playful tendrils, and the two magics sparked faintly, creating tiny bursts of light in the space between them. Y/n's heart skipped a beat as she watched, transfixed.

"Alright, maybe I'll—" Y/n began, but she was cut off by Agatha's voice, steady and unwavering.

"Discipline will always outlast chaos," she said, drawing her energy into a refined shield.

Rio raised an eyebrow, conjuring a breeze of shimmering energy that circled the room with a warm glow. "But chaos is what makes it fun," she countered, laughing.

As their magic filled the room, Y/n took a step back, watching them both with growing amusement. Then, with a quiet resolve, she took a deep breath and focused inward, finding her own balance. She drew on Agatha's sense of form and Rio's sense of flow, blending them in her mind.

Her own energy flared to life, and her hands shaped it into a glowing, harmonious sphere—a combination of discipline and freedom, structure and fluidity. She opened her eyes, and both of her mothers turned, startled.

"Look, I think I'll do it my way," Y/n said, smiling.

Rio burst out laughing, reaching over to hug her. "I knew it. Best of both worlds."

Agatha smiled, too, a rare, soft pride in her eyes. "It seems we've taught you well."

As they laughed and left for the kitchen, Y/n felt a warmth settle around her, knowing she carried a part of each of them in her own magic.