The quiet acorn 2/9

Ermintrude had quickly settled in with Esmerelda and Dulcibella. She still woke up every morning with a bit of a start and then relaxed as she remembered that she didn’t have to worry any more about being found out pretending to be Jennifer Jane.

She was nice and warm and comfy in her very own bed that Esme had produced for her by magic, at the same time that she’d added a new room to the cottage just for her to use.

Every day after breakfast, the two witches and their new apprentice, would fly along the path to Tasmin’s cave, where Ermintrude would stop for a moment or two for a chat and ask how Freda was getting along.

Then she’d walk along the path to the fire patch where Esme and Dulce were setting up for the day’s work. A quick fireball to light the fire under the cauldron, and then Esme would teach her some easy spells while the water was coming to the boil.

Since Ermintrude had joined the group, they had been able to produce the simple spells that the local villagers had always wanted. The Witches’ Home couldn’t be bothered with ordinary everyday magic and there was a tremendous demand now that Esme and Dulce were able to supply what they’d always promised in the past.

So much so, that they had been able to afford to hire a carpenter from Lurbridge to build them a small shop just beside the path leading to the village. It only had two rooms. One contained all the spells that were for sale, stacked neatly on shelves running round three of the walls.

This room had a window in the front, which was covered at night-time by a large shutter. In the morning the shutter was let down, and served as a counter when the witches were open for business.

The second room had no outside doors and could only be entered through the shop. There was an open working space in front of a large old fashioned fireplace that now held the cauldron used for boiling up new spells. Round the walls were the shelves where all the ingredients were kept.

On the day that the quiet acorn fell, things began a little differently.

“I think it’s time you had a broom of your own,” said Esme. “We can afford it now, and it’ll make things a lot more comfortable for us if we don’t have to crowd together on one of our brooms!”

“Ho Yers,” agreed Dulce.

So the two witches had flown off to the local shops to buy three new brooms, for their own were also getting very battered if the truth was to be told.