"I'm sorry, Regina, for everything. You deserve better, better than me and us all."
A flowery, pink witch rang the bell of a potion and herb shop, carrying a basket of pink liquids. She had rosy cheeks and a bright smile, eager to greet an old acquaintance. "Hello, is anyone home? A visitor is here", she knocked lightly on the door, and it opened.
"You could have just come in, I have an open-", her eyes blinked back, and she covered her mouth.
"Surprise, Miss.Regina! I have arrived!" "Charlotte?!" The cheery witch embraced Regina with open arms, "I missed you so much!!! I know you needed time to adjust to a new town, but I couldn't stay away for long, I mean, you're my best friend!"
Regina flushed, "I mean, I know that, but I've just barely arrived. I don't even have any clients yet, my goodness, Charlotte, you're the first to visit."
"I am?!" Charlotte perked up, "Well, then that makes me special", she giggled, "Plus, I brought gifts, so that means I can help you make the best product for your future clients! I mean, I know they're gonna love you, you are just the kindest and most creative witch I know. Hell, you even taught all the best techniques to me!"
Regina smirked, "Well, only the best can, and even then I'm still learning myself, there's always something new to learn in a big world like this."
"Sure is, but it helps to have help, doesn't it?" Charlotte waved the basket of rose-colored liquids, and Regina couldn't stop herself from smiling. "Sure does", she frowned only for a second, taking the basket out of Charlotte's hand and placing it on the table.
"Sometimes, I forget that, honestly, so I love it when you remind me with gestures like this." She popped off one of the bottle corks and used her hand to get a whiff of the liquid's smell. "It smells of dew and fresh fields, so pleasant", she swung over to the pantry and opened it to reveal an array of fresh ingredients.
"Now, let's see, we got: Honey, Lavender, Daffodils, Dill, Weeds, Fire-bark, and...."
Regina's eyes scanned over more jars of ingredients as Charlotte pulled out a cauldron, decorated with a few pink tulips. She tossed her sweet, blonde locks to the side and cracked her knuckles, "Let's mix in two bottles of pink potion, Lavender, Honey, Fire Scales, and a little surprise of magic." She raised her eyebrows as Regina squinted intensely at a jar of amber liquids filled with balls of an unknown crimson substance.
Regina poked at it as it swirled in circles, sending a worry down her spine as a thud hit the door. They both jumped, and Charlotte glanced over to Regina with a deep sigh, "That's not a good sign." Regina shook her head and looked back at the jar where the crimson spheres had resided; however, they did not appear only in that carmine color. Instead, they resembled a porcelain white dissolved in a mushy, rustic liquid that made the skin almost crawl.
Meanwhile, Charlotte opened the door to a dead raven, one tear in its body, along with a musty smell. "Disgusting", she murmured, leaning over to quickly examine the bird, noticing a few torn pieces of auburn fur in its beak, flickering in color. Regina rushed to her side and scrunched up her face, her hand flat, facing the bird.
A heavy surge pulsed through her bloodstream, and her hand began to illuminate Azure alongside her pupils. In a single breath, she released a vaporizing energy that destroyed the undead creature within seconds, exhaling with a shuddering twitch.
"Regina, it's okay", Charlotte put a hand on her arm, but Regina shook it off, "It's not okay, it's a bad omen. Something is coming, Char, I can feel it."
The pink witch put her hand to her hip and glanced at the door. "We've seen plenty of small creatures die before. We can always do a cleansing ritual."
Regina clicked her tongue, "Yes, it seems simple, but it might only work temporarily. I'm not sure of the energy around this place and who knows what warning this is trying to send." She balled her hand into a fist, "But as a healing witch, it is my goal to purify this wicked spirit."
Charlotte reached for Regina's hand and gently took it in hers, "While this is true, remember you're important to people, Gia, to me. I don't want anything to happen to you. I know we were trained to help people, but we also have to protect ourselves."
Regina glanced down at her lightly tanned hand and squeezed it tightly, "I know, I won't forget that." Charlotte wrapped a flower from inside a hidden dress pocket around Regina's hand, "I know, and as long as I'm alive." She made it into a little bow and pressed some of her magic into it, "I won't let you forget."
Regina raised a brow, "As long as you're alive? Are you okay?" "Yes, yes, sorry to scare you, I was just speaking." "Well, don't scare me like that, I don't know who I would turn to if you weren't here." "You would have someone, Gia", Charlotte softly assured.
"Maybe, but it wouldn't be you and you're my best friend, we do things together, always." Something in Charlotte's heart stirred, her eyes lighting up as she glanced back at Regina. "Y-you mean that, Gia?"
"Always."
She tapped her finger on her lip, pondering, "Now, about this mess on my door-" "I'll tidy that up for you, just grab the items for the caludron and start up the elixir."
"You sure? You're a guest, Char, I wouldn't want you to have to do that on your first visit." "It's fine, just keep that bracelet close to your heart for me, okay? Plus, you can't do everything alone, remember?"
Regina smiled, "I can't forget, and again, thank you." Her attention turned to the pantry, where she retrieved Lavender, Honey, Fire Scales, and a pinch of Daffolis.
From there, she took it to the counter where she first began to grind the dry ingredients into a mortar with a pestle. Crunching up the peppering flakes and strong lavender along with the bits of plant.
"Finished, wasn't too bad of a spot, but I made sure it looked just swell when people walk in. It's gonna be amazing, Gia," Charlotte stated with a giggle, and Regina warmed.
She had almost forgotten what it was like to have the comfort of a friend who just wanted to help you. Traveling so far away to a nearly deserted place made her forget that, and she was glad Charlotte was reminding her; it was one of the things she needed most since arriving.
Helping to calm that unnerving feeling in her gut since she got here. Of course, it still wasn't going away, but at least with the company she was focused on other things than that...
For now.