Anagha Baheti

“What about me?”

“That other lady didn’t seem too happy about you helping me.”

“Every few days, a new lad shows up, claiming to be the child of prophecy. The very next day, the dragon leaves the charred remains of his body in the ditch. So excuse my sister for wanting to save your worthless little life.”

“That can’t be all. I have never known witches to possess empathy.”

Gelda smiled.

“She is far too young. Besides, empathy is bad for business. One fever cured for free usually leads to death, either by starvation or by fire. But to answer the unasked question, the village blames us for every death at the hands of the dragon. With every grave, our rent goes up. We can barely afford the rent right now. After your corpse gets added to the pile, we will end up homeless.”

“That is unfortunate. Why did you help me, then?”

“For my amusement.”

“You are crazy, even for a witch. But I do believe that even a crazy witch deserves a home. Take my bones back to my family. My grateful mother will let you stay with them until you figure something out.”

Gelda looked up at the boy who had tossed her a rug off his back. What she felt in the moment was an emotion alien to her.

“You would help me even when I lead you to your death?”

“Someone else would have helped me, or I would have found his lair myself. All you did was save me time.”

For the first time in her life, Gelda didn’t know what to say. She stared at the boy for a good minute, trying to locate any indication of a lie. When she didn’t find any, she extended her hand and muttered a few words. A stick as tall as she was appeared in her hand.

“I like you, little boy. And because I like you, I am going to let you in on a little secret. The prophecy is a lie. When the dragon settled into the mountain some eighty years ago, the men of this village mounted an attack, but they were no match for the fiery cannon. Fifty men left the village. Only one made it back, and even he died a few days later due to smoke inhalation. Women began to whisper of a saviour yet to be born. What began as midwives’ tales travelled far too wide far too quickly. People began to believe in the chosen one, and soon, it became the truth.”

The boy hung on to every word. When Gelda paused to catch her breath, the boy nudged her on.

“How did you get roped into this?”

“When I showed up here twenty-two years ago, it was mostly for the dragon. Our ancient texts note potions brewed from different parts of the dragons. Potions that can cure anything from the shivers to infertility. Curiosity got the best of me and one day, when the dragon was out on the hunt, I explored the lair. Soon after, a prince showed up claiming to be the prophesied hero. You can guess his fate. I thought that would kill the prophecy, but other squires began to show up demanding to see the dragon’s lair. Before my heart turned to stone, I wished to help the poor boys. So, I placed traps all around the lair. Far too many of them. But the boys refused my help, and slowly I stopped offering.”

“Does this mean you are offering me your help?” A flicker of hope dared peek from his mousey brown eyes.

“If you want it.”

“Of course I do.”

“Well then, let’s end this dragon together, shall we?”

Gelda saw a smile rising on the boy’s lips. He wiped away his tears and enthusiastically nodded. She led him away from the mouth of the lair, towards the forest at the bottom of the mountain.

“What will you do when you emerge victorious?”

“Go to the capital and claim my knighthood. Then, move my family into whatever castle I am granted. Then, I will buy my mother the finest gowns money can buy. And finally, I will convert a part of my land into a sanctuary for witches.”

“We don’t tend to be fond of our kind.”

“For two witches, then. If I come out of this alive, I hope you and your sister leave this wretched village behind to come live with me. You won’t have to worry about rent or food or judgement anymore. You wouldn’t have to hide your empathy.”

They crossed a small cluster of trees and a cave appeared.

“What is your name?” Gelda smiled.

“Timothy.”

“Well then, Timothy, shall we?”

A globe of fire appeared in Gelda’s hand.