***
AS SOON AS THE GUESTSwere settled, Ma called us all down for dinner.I was calm enough by then to show our guests downstairs.There were two additional chairs set up around the dining table.Christabella sat beside Ma, I sat beside Christabella, and Edmund beside me.Somehow, Maddox got sandwiched between Sonny and Pa, the former of whom wouldn’t stop gawping at him, and the latter who seemed to make it a point to avoid looking at him entirely.
On the table were Ma’s signature dishes.A spiced stew of potatoes, cauliflower, chickpeas, corn, and tomatoes sat next to garlic flatbread and steaming bowls of pillowy rice.
“The food looks delicious, Mrs.Phula,” Edmund said, a polite smile on his face.He had changed into a clean ensemble, a crisp white shirt and a rum-colored waistcoat and coat, looking ready for a formal dinner.
“So you’re here as an emissary,” Ma said sharply.She dipped her flatbread into the stew and took a bite out of it, not breaking eye contact with Edmund, like a lioness stalking her prey.She chewed and swallowed.“You wish to know more about Witch Village, I presume.”
The smile didn’t waver on Edmund’s face.“Yes, Mrs.Phula.”
“What has my daughter told you about the village?”
My cheeks heated as Edmund’s gaze flicked to me.
“That Witch Village is the village where witches live,” Edmund said with a laugh, evidently attempting to dissolve the sudden tense silence.
Ma didn’t smile.“Hmph.”
I wanted to melt into a puddle, already anticipating her next lecture—that I shouldn’t have taken the job as a guide if I wasn’t going to do it properly.I grabbed a piece of flatbread and stuffed it into my mouth.
“Witch Village was founded three generations ago under King Humphrey’s unfortunate reign,” Ma began imperiously.“Witches were given one month to evacuate the kingdom at the start of the Non-Magic Age.There were no avenues of escape within such a short time span.No ship would dare assist a witch as we were outlaws.A group of witches stumbled across an underground tunnel and decided the best way out was down.They used their magic to deepen this tunnel, and finally expand it until it was large enough to accommodate all of us.
“Together, we witches built this village from the ground up, adding the comforts that had been taken from us.The sky, the sun, shelter, and the freedom to roam and live as we please.The founding witches planted a great oak tree where this village started as a mere hole at the end of a tunnel.”Ma pointed at the circular kitchen window, where the branches of the First Oak touched the glass panes.“My late mother was one of the main founding witches.This is where Witch Village started.”
Across the table, Maddox’s mouth was in the shape of an “o”.
“I didn’t realize this place held such significance.”Edmund gazed at the ceiling, as if he could see the canopy of the great oak through the roof.“You say Witch Village began here and expanded out.Under which part of Delibera are we?”
Ma smiled a hard, prideful smile.“We are currently beneath the grounds of the royal palace.”
“Incredible,” Maddox breathed.
I bent my head and ate my stew, though I didn’t taste the food.Heat scorched my tongue—and my cheeks.Ma loved telling this story to anyone who would listen, and she was so very smug about being a descendant of a founding family, as if that held any real significance.At the end of the day, we were just like any other witch family, living a quiet life in the village like everyone else.
“This village is a symbol of our resilience,” Ma continued.“Even as times change, our village is not something we will let go of easily.”She said the last part as a threat, which I could tell through her slightly narrowed eyes.Edmund was oblivious to such subtleties, so he merely smiled and nodded, and said something exceedingly polite about how honored he was to dine underneath such a significant tree with such a significant family.
I allowed myself to relax when everyone began to eat.
Christabella nudged my side.“Not so bad, hm?”she murmured.
