The pot, filled with a mysterious concoction bubbled over a large fire. A young and plain woman, stood over it and quickly ladled it into a large earthen bowl then handed it over to the young man that awaited her with eager eyes.
He hesitated for a second but quickly drank the bitter concoction under the warm and comforting gaze of Cerin. She chuckled and clapped for him as he finished.
" Good job, after this you should be able to return to your wife with pride tonight."
Contrary to her simple but innocent look her vulgar tone and expression made the man, who should have been accustomed to it blush red and quickly hurry away after paying up.
She grinned wildly and happily jingled the coin purse as she headed towards the rest of her savings to tuck it away.
It was on her way back to clear up that she saw a crowd of angry and boisterous women crowding around a young and fragile looking beauty and looking into the ominous concoction of the pot.
One of them caught sight of Cerin and began to scream, bringing the attention of the others.
" There she is, Sister Mia. The witch you said stole your husband!"
Cerin was confused and annoyed but still straightened out her clothes, fluffed out her hair and headed over to the gaggle of screaming geese then walked right past them with an impassioned expression.
" What's this? If you guys want anything I'm already closed for the day. Make an appointment tomorrow. Your village chief should have my address if you need it."
She spoke in short and crisp sentences, leaving no space for interruptions as she began packing up the previously used supplies.
The girls nudged the one called 'sister mei' to the front, the young and fragile looking beauty.
" come on! If you want your husband to be returned to you-you have to fight for him"
" yeah! What can she do, she's only some witch who can't even leave the edge of the forest. Anyways."
" And she's so plain too. Just make her remove whatever spell she cast to make him keep returning and let's go."
" I agree. It's obvious that she wanted him but couldn't afford him with her standard of looks in comparison to yours so she had to turn to witchcraft."
Okay. those last two kinda hurt. Although she knew she was plain, they really didn't have to keep repeating it so often. Especially since she was right in front of them.
Encouraged by these comments 'Sister Mei' stomped in front of Cerin and began to speak in a voice that would have been strong if not for the constant trembling in her tone.
" G-give back my husband! He doesn't love you and wouldn't have come here if not for your witchcraft!"
Under ordinary circumstances, Cerin would have quickly dissolved her misunderstanding and ushered them away, but this time she didn't for two reasons.
One, her pride was hurt by the constant assaults to her appearance and two, she smelled money.
She slowly turned towards the crowd with a foxy smile on her face and sauntered towards them, fully utilizing her witch's robe that was somewhat tighter and of higher quality than their shabby village rags.
For although her face was nothing to look twice at, her figure more than compensated for it and her smooth velvety voice added to her allure.
" so because of your-"
She looked at 'sister mei's' flat and malnourished figure and pulled an even bigger taunting smile. Causing an irritated flush to bloom on her pale skin.
" Lacking at best figure, couldn't keep your man at home, you decided to come and antagonize me?"
With a snap of her fingers, the dying embers of the fire roared alive once again and added an ominous feeling to the scene. Making the girls remember that Cerin wasn't just a husband snatcher but also a witch.
They quickly backed away from 'sister mei' leaving Cerin space to wrap herself around her like a poisonous ivy. She dragged a smooth finger across Mei's work hardened the skin.
" Let's be honest with ourselves dear. You didn't come here to accuse me of stealing your husband. You came here to get what your genetics and lifestyle couldn't give you."
Mei's resolve wavered as she remembered all those nights that she had laid in the bed, waiting for the shameful acts her mother had told her that occurred between a married man and woman, only to be insulted by her husbands immediate descent to sleep, or in worse cases when she lowered herself to initiate; his leaving of the house.
Cerin realized this and swooped in for the kill,
She drew out an amulet from her pocket and dangled it in front of Mei's large eyes.
" If you can offer something as valuable. I can promise you a figure to rival mine."
By now, the gaggle of girls that had come with Mei was long gone and no one was left to convince Mei of otherwise.
In a dazed glaze, Mei dug through her pockets and brought out a small but full coin purse and offered to with an eager gaze.
" will this be enough?"
Cerin quickly grabbed the coin purse and counted through it with a scornful expression.
" I only take money for illnesses because it is only correcting what is wrong. There is nothing wrong with you in terms of your body. This means I'll have to go against the laws of nature to aid you. Do you really think this small amount of money will be enough?"
Cerin then took her gaze off the purse and fingered a handful of the girls long and soft hair,
" I require something a bit more….Valuable."
Mei quickly took the hint and gathered her hair in her hand, then offered it up.
" Would this be enough? I've never cut my hair before and it means an awful lot to me. "
Cerin nodded and brought forward a knife to the hair, intending to cut it off. But it was here that things began to go wrong.
The girls that had abandoned Mei had returned with her husband, who upon seeing his beloved wife with a knife to her throat, threw his long spear at Cerin and pierced her through her heart.
Cerin fell backward with a thud and adrenaline pumped through her punctured heart, making it impossible to speak anymore.
Seriously, who would strike so viciously without even investigating the scene first?
As a last bitter grudge, she cursed the two to never have any offspring and began floating in the cosmos of the dead, a place she had often borrowed power from.
So now what?
She thought. Because she was so accustomed to it, she was able to control her movements and wandered around, debating whether to take over a body and re-begin her life or to go the natural route and head towards the giant white light.
Cerin continued to wander until she came across a small but bright green star and found herself being sucked in with a force stronger than her own power.
Unlike the others, Cerin's magic let her offer some resistance but the star was too strong and she was absorbed.