🐍🔱REBIRTH🔱🐍
🐍🔥♥🔱♥🔥🐍
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◆~×_____CHAPTER 1_____×~◆
***_16 years later_***
Sonali pulled her hood lower as she walked in brisk long strides towards her destination. She could not and would not be caught in this part of the city. It had taken her months to locate this specific witch's shop. The streets were cobbled and the houses close together, a middle class gentry faction. The witch wasn't a woman with good reputation but Sonali had nothing to do with her reputation.
Only business with her. She turned an alley hoping she was going in the right direction. Her long dark black cloak billowing behind her in the morning mist. Puddles of rain water splashed as she walked over them dirtying the hem of her long light brown skirt but she didn't mind. She just hoped the clink of her coin purse didn't attract attention.
The sun hadn't risen but only showed rays of its arrival. Sonali stopped in front of the house breathing in and out deeply. Her loud beating heart sounded like a dull drum playing in her ears. It wasn't the walk that made her heart race. She was more fit than that. No, she was scared of getting caught. In a country with magic all around, it was still feared, repulsed or admired. Not all magic was good, not all magic was bad.
The woman who she was about to deal with didn't do any evil or harmful magic. But her magic came with a price that wasn't gold or silver. Sonali hoped she would get a good bargain and make sure this witch was discreet. She rapped at the door knocker and looked sideways as she waited for an answer. The sun's rays now painted the sky a purplish blue like a darker bruise overhead but Sonali was surrounded by buildings in the alley. She kept checking for people passing by, so far, there was no one. The door opened to reveal an elderly lady with silver streaks atop her rusty blonde hair.
She had a couple of wrinkles on her face and her eyes were sunken inside her sockets a little with noticeable blue veins, but her medium sized lips held a friendly smile. Sonali was surprised by the woman's tidy and comfy attire before she did a curtsy as was the tradition and show of respect towards elders, to hide her surprise.
She was expecting something...else.
"Well hello dear. How may I help such a lovely girl as yourself." She said pulling her fuchsia, intricately woven wool shawl closer to keep her warm against the morning chill. Her voice was soft, gentle and reminded Sonali of her etiquette teacher. 'Morning ma'am, I apologise for the early intrusion, but I would like to procure an item.' She said quickly then pursed her full red lips. 'Ah, business. I see, well come in dear, I will fix us a cup of tea.' She said stepping aside and Sonali entered swiftly and elegantly. Olethea examined the young girl without looking at her as she made her way towards the kitchen to get some fresh cake and tea. 'Are you alright with peanut cakes? I have some really sweet honey glazed peanut cakes here.'
'Oh do not bother yourself with that ma'am. I am troubling you already.' Sonali declined politely as she was taught in etiquette.
A mannered girl. Good bargaining.
Olethea thought while replying 'Nonsense dear, I don't get to be in the company of beautiful girls often.' She replied making Sonali smile shyly at the flattery. Even though she was commented on being beautiful her whole life, she was always modest about her compliments.'Well, if you insist.' Sonali replied softly. Also in etiquette to accept an elders proposal if insisted. Sonali rubbed her cold hands and let the coziness of the small house warm her cool cheeks. She didn't know why she had been expecting something else entirely. She expected a dark hovel with a putrid smell and an ugly woman. Her surroundings were quite the opposite. The decor was simple, clean and it was comfortable. The room smelled like firewood and cookies. While she looked around standing in the middle of the room a small ginger haired cat meowed. It climbed up and seated itself comfortably coiling it's tail around its legs and purred. Sonali extended her hand forward to scratch it's ears and it was open to her touch. Sonali was busy making the cat purr when Olethea returned with a tray of steaming tea and cake.
'I see you've made friends, Mano.' She said placing the tray down on the oak table while talking to the cat. 'Sit.' Olethea offered while seating herself on the opposite armchair.
Sonali did as bid and Mano climbed into her lap and made herself comfortable. 'Sugar?' Olethea asked holding out a small sugar spoon.
'No, thank you.' Sonali replied shaking her head.
No sugar and a slim body, a noble. Serious business.
Olethea thought while handing Sonali her teacup and cake. Once Olethea sipped her own tea and watched with satisfaction at how Sonali's face sighed at the well steeped tea she smiled.
'So what can I do for you.'
'I would like to discuss your terms and policies first.' Sonali said shyly.
A shy girl, very desperate. She'll want discretion.
Olethea smiled before speaking 'My spells, potions, charms, and all my magic comes with a price. Not gold or jewels as you know.' She said and Sonali nodded her head.
This shy bird did research before coming. Must be a high noble.
Olethea mentally noted. 'I charge extra for secrecy. Information is also my business. My magic is guaranteed, I assure you. My customers always leave with satisfaction and my merchandise and wares are scarcely a disappointment. Ask anyone if you'd like. If my concoction, charm or token don't work, you can always get a refund.' Sonali nodded understanding and sipped her tea like a proper lady.
'I would like a charm or token. I don't know what you'd call it. I need something to change my appearance.'
Sonali said looking away. Olethea now noticed in the glow of the fire that her eyes were golden. Her senses became alert. She was in the presence of a magical being, a very powerful magical being. As she examined the beautiful noble girl she sensed that the innocent girl knew nothing of her powers.
Easy pickings.
Olethea thought. Leniency or goodwill was uncommon in her line of business and Olethea was being polite enough with Sonali. 'Hmm, but you are already beautiful dear, I bet you have the boys running after you.' Olethea cooed sincerely making Sonali look down but she didn't smile at the compliment instead bit her peanut cake and chewed it slowly. 'Thank you.' She muttered once done and Olethea wondered if she thanked her for the compliment or the cake. Sonali pulled out a dainty beige kerchief and dabbed her lips delicately. Olethea stared now wondering what a noble like her would want with a common witch.
'I need a disguise.' She replied finally looking up and Olethea was lost in the powerful golden orbs that stared at her. Her black thick and long eyelashes portrayed her big bold and upturned eyes beautifully. 'Whatever for?' Olethea said breathless at her beauty now that she examined her facial features properly.
'I need to dress as a man.' She said and Olethea now grew more curious now.
'Troubling parents?' Olethea asked suspiciously, girls her age came for all sorts of common magic spells. Love potions, abortion pills, beauty masks, lucky charms, disguise tokens, invisibility spells, or some silly wish etc. Olethea was used to girls asking her for such magic that broke petty rules. She was disappointed really. She was hoping for some excitement in this beautiful young girl's motives.
'Something like that.' Sonali said looking down simply sipping her tea. 'Well follow me.' Olethea said getting up.
'Bring your tea along.' She instructed heading towards her basement. Mano followed twirling around Olethea's legs then Sonali's. 'She really likes you.' Olethea chuckled while descending the stairs. There was doubt and fear in Sonali as she watched the elderly lady go to the basement.
What if she kills me and uses my body for her magic!
It wasn't uncommon and Sonali was still cautious even while the old woman's hospitality had somewhat comforted her, she wouldn't trust her so easily. Even if there was cake involved. Sonali went down the stairs in the dim light wondering if this was where the witch kept her dark side.
She was expecting mouldy jars, hanging pieces of flesh or open spell books, dim gas lamps, dusty shelves, grimy floorboards and skulls with fat candles on them. It was the description her maids had given when they had described a witch's lair.
Once again she was surprised to see nothing of the sort. Instead she admired her surroundings. There were jars but they were tinted glass with fireflies in them, there were hanging pieces of leaves, spices and other objects like dove feathers and, beans? The room was bright enough to examine it's contents and had a hanging iron chandelier with fat tallow candles on them The floor was creaky but otherwise clean and there were no skulls or rats scurrying about. Books lined neatly in shelves and the room smelled of cinnamon, cloves and mint. There were other spicy smells too but she couldn't identify them. Olethea stood in front of a bubbling pot which Sonali guessed was her cauldron. She was still a witch after all.
The cauldron bubbled pink furiously while Olethea checked her token shelves behind the counter and muttered to herself 'Where is it...''cat potion''? Nope...... ''Longer hair''? Doubt it... ''Courage tokens''? Eh.'
While she muttered to herself Sonali calmed her jumpy nerves. She'd never used magic before. Her parents forbade her even getting near magic. Sonali breathed deeply, in and out. She looked at her cold tea and placed the delicate teacup on a nearby table with a tink. She looked up when Olethea whipped around 'Ah, here, found it. Disguise of the opposite gender.' She said holding out a token that was a glass empty sphere. It was so small it looked fragile. Olethea handed the small sphere in Sonali's giant palm and she saw it looked more like a small glass marble that she liked playing with as a child. It weighed like one too.
'How does it work?' Sonali asked holding the sphere in between her thumb and index finger.
'Works when you speak a small incantation. I'll write that down for you. You can put it in a ring or a necklace, it's got the space for it. Don't crack it though, then the magic fluctuates or stops working.' Olethea told as she started flipping through her spell books. Olethea scanned the contents of her book with her bony finger then stopped, her sunken dark eyes glittered.
'You'll need to follow some instructions for the magic to be renewed often and stay alive. You'll also have to make sure you don't break it's rules or it might have dangerous consequences. Now let's see.' Olethea said humming.
'Now listen carefully. This magic works best depending on how frequently you use it. Use it everyday and there won't be any signs of you being a woman. Only you shall see yourself as a woman in the mirror. Once it's taken off or out from where you placed it, it will need to be refuelled. It will alter your body, meaning your hips will look narrow or your eye color might change but your hair color would stay the same."
Olethea explained pausing to catch her breath 'You will need a man's clothing too to fill out your new form.'
'This glass cannot come in contact with any other liquid, so be careful when you take a bath. The only liquid it will be allowed to have is your blood. How much of inner masculinity you have will determine how much of a man you look.' Olethea then scrunched her light eyebrows in thought and Sonali registered what the witch said. Engraving each word into her memory. 'Ah, the second last rule, very important, make sure no one gets too close to you or stares at you closely for too long. Even magic panics sometimes.'
Olethea winked. 'Now, I will demonstrate to you how this works.' Sonali watched as the elderly woman pricked her finger with a sharp needle. She squeezed her thin finger and produced a droplet of dark blood that she let fall in on her own glass token.
'Woman to man, man to woman, woman to man, change my nature, change me whole. And if there's no more blood, change me back to Olethea.'
Sonali heard the witch's name for the first time and stepped back as she watched purple fumes engulf her completely head to toe and they smelled a bit like lavender. When the fumes vanished she stood in the presence of an old man with a silver mustache, a receding grey hairline and wrinkles on his face.
He held the same features as Olethea, the same dark eyes, the skin, and the smiling lips.
'Works on the voice and the sex too, anyone tell you to take off your cloths and they're gonna meet a man.' She explained raising both eyebrows and wiggling them mischievously.
She looked funny being a man and wearing a woman's clothes, Sonali stifled a giggle.
Olethea's voice was like a man's, an old man's. Sonali smiled satisfied. 'Now where's the antidote.' She, or you could say he, wondered looking around. 'There it is.' She said shuffling through some bottles. She pulled one out that looked like an olive oil bottle. 'Now this,' She said showing the dark bottle 'Is the antidote. Oh my, I almost forgot, you can't let anyone see you in the mirror too long either. Mirrors have the substance that sometimes see through magic, I'm afraid if anyone stares at you for long they'll see through your disguise.'
Olethea then unscrewed the bottle cap and held it over her tongue. A single drop landed on it and she swallowed it. Her lips puckered before she was engulfed in purple fumes again and when the smoke evaporated into thin air, Olethea stood again. This time in her feminine cloths she filled out her form. 'What about clothes and hair? Will I have to cut my hair?' Sonali wanted desperately not to cut her long hair.
Her hair was perhaps the most beautiful part of her body. Long, straight, silky, shiny and wavy ended. Her hair was legendary.
Everyone envied her and her mother was proud of it. 'I'm afraid you're gonna have to cut it dear, and start wearing men's clothes too to make it look real. When you transform into man nothing changes about your hair and men usually don't have too long hair.' Olethea told with sadness settling in her upon seeing Sonali's broken expression. Women loved long hair and it was a hassle to make them grow long. She knew that, even as a witch. She had been a young woman too and had a daughter, Olethea could do nothing but smile.
'How much for this token?'
Sonali asked in a sterner tone now. 'My price is usually hair, nails, teeth, blood or a piece of skin.'
Olethea didn't mention how even a single strand of hair on Sonali's head was powerful. This would even benefit her a lot in the future. Sonali pulled out a small transparent vial with a short lock of her jet black hair. 'Will this do?' She asked and the witch nodded eagerly and cradling her payment in her flat skinny palms as if she were cradling a child. Sonali then placed the heavy bag of silver and copper coins that had been clinking on her hip.
'You don't know me, you've never seen me and if anyone asks you of anything about me, let me know.'
Sonali made sure to harden her golden gaze at the witch who nodded and swiped the leather coin pouch from the table. 'Pleasure doing business with you.' She smiled and Sonali smiled back.
'Oh and one other thing.'