“Glad to see me?”Maude said with an incredulous laugh.“I doubt it.I disowned him the moment he removed his magic.He has done very poorly up there, hasn’t he?”
Maddox looked taken aback.
“Evidently he hasspawned,” she said, looking at Maddox in disgust.“But I don’t suppose you would be here if your situation aboveground was at all palatable.”
Maddox stiffened his shoulders.It seemed that his hopes of finding a sweet old grandmother had finally dissolved.“My father is the Captain of the Royal Guard.We live very well.”
Maude’s gloating eyes turned beady and resentful.I was beginning to understand why Ma never spoke of the Greenwoods.If Maude’s husband was anything like her, they were both too horrible to even gossip about.
She sneered.“The last thing I want is a spoiled little human boy with a questionable taste in fashion as a grandson.”
Quiet gasps came from the windows on either side of the street.
“I’ll have you know that ismypetticoat!”I shouted over the fence.“And Maddox looks far better in skirts than you ever will, you old crone!”
Murmurs of agreement came from the neighbors.
“Maddox, let’s go,” I said, waving him over.
Maude sniffed and swept back into her cottage.“Get off my property,” she said, then slammed the door behind her.
Maddox turned around, but instead of a victorious smile on his face, he looked stricken.My own grin faded.He walked slowly through the fence.I reckoned he completely forgot he was wearing a petticoat before a kindly witch woman stepped out of a neighboring house and offered him a pair of breeches.She appeared on the cusp of middle-aged, though there was still a youthful glow to her cheeks.
“Don’t you listen to a word she says,” the witch, who introduced herself as Briony, said as Maddox stepped behind a bush to change.I stood idly outside of Briony’s house as she continued.“That Maude always had a poisonous mouth, even to her own husband.I always felt bad for poor Manuel.Their marriage of convenience was ill-suited.”
“Marriage of convenience?”Maddox asked from behind the bush.
“They were both weather witches,” Briony explained.“When they took on the responsibility of lighting the village, they figured they ought to marry, as there’d be a better chance their progeny would have the same magic and take on the mantle after they passed.Back in those days, the longevity of Witch Village took precedence over everything else.”
This idea wasn’t new to me.Childbirth was rare compared to abovegrounders, as witches were mindful of the limited space in the village.The children that were born were expected to take on a role that kept the village running.Many family lines began unromantically; perhaps that was why witch children like Seraphina Barclay and Maddox’s father were so shunned.They chose themselves over the village.Yet, even when times had changed and witches were no longer forced to stay in Witch Village, this mindset had yet to disappear.
Maddox emerged from the bush with new breeches.“But, what about my grandfather?”he asked faintly.“Was there a funeral?We can’t just...leave him there.”
“Ah.Nothing gruesome.We witches are spelled to dust after death; it is typically a private affair,” Briony said with a nod.“Clean and efficient.”
Yet another custom meant to conserve space.Learning that humans buried their dead in large expanses of land was rather a shock when I came aboveground.
“Anyhow, I’m glad to hear your father is doing well for himself, despite everything.”Briony gave him a sympathetic smile.“Don’t let Maude get to you.”
Maddox managed a nod.Once we said goodbye, we headed back down the trail.
After some time of silence, he said, “Father never told me he was disowned.”
I wasn’t sure what to say, so I was thankful the darkness concealed our expressions.“Seems like every witch who left Witch Village ended up with some misfortune or other,” I murmured.
Seraphina Barclay ended up dead.At least Captain Greenwood wasn’t dead.
Maddox said nothing.Our footsteps weren’t nearly loud enough to fill the silence.I scuffed the dirt road with my boots.
“You know, you shouldn’t even be upset,” I said.“Your grandmother may be awful, but everyone has at least one awful family member.You can just pretend she doesn’t exist.”
My house was in sight now, but Maddox stopped.“Is that all you have to say?”
I was surprised by the hurt in his voice.I laughed uncomfortably.“What?It’s not that serious, Maddox.”
“Then I suppose my problems are nonexistent compared to yours.”
I blinked.“I never said that.”
