1. two old friends
Gazing into the scorching flames of her fireplace, the old witch found herself deep in thought. Nightfall had finally arrived and her anticipation was soaring higher than her broomstick ever could. The night she had been planning for years was finally at her doorstep and it felt far too good to be true! An ugly smile crossed her wrinkled old face. Walking across her living room floor, she stood next to a rather tall object covered by an old dusty leather blanket. She was about to face the one thing that had haunted her for centuries! Taking a deep breath, she clutched onto the blanket and threw it aside with a quick sweep of her hand. Beneath the dusty old covering stood a tall body sized mirror.
Even though it hurt the old witch deeply to stare into its depths she knew her deepest of fears must finally be faced. It was also her reason and motivation for the dangerous journey ahead. Staring into the mirror, she shuttered at her own reflection glaring back at her. Wrinkled green skin hung from every part of her 450 year old body. Her nose was extra-long, pointy and a bit curved at the end. Bushy gray eyebrows hung above both eyes along with knotted gray hair covered by a pointy black hat sitting atop her forehead. Extra-large warts dotted her face along with barely visible facial hairs. She sighed at her own reflection. It was quite enough motivation to face her deepest of fears even though the task ahead seemed far too daunting to bear. It made her sad to think that she couldn’t make herself young and beautiful again even with all the magic she possessed. She knew there were only a few things in life that magic couldn’t accomplish but depression would quickly set in if she dwelled on them for too long.
A pair of green glowing eyes watched her from the corner of the room. “I really think you should take me with you Misty,” said a high pitched crackly voice from the shadows. Misty glanced up at her caged raven and responded with her usual slippery and mysterious tone of voice. “I can’t afford to lose you Blackbeak. If anything should happen to me tonight I would need you to finish what I’ve started.” Blackbeak flapped his wings agitatedly. “Let me out of this confounded cage Misty,” he squawked! Misty frowned. “I’ve placed a spell on it to open the moment I leave. I don’t want you following me Blackbeak,” she replied delicately. Blackbeak’s gaze met hers directly. “Dragons are dangerous creatures Misty. It would be wise to take me with you. I could at least be a distraction while you take the lamp from that savage beast.” Misty stared back at him as if contemplating the matter before shaking her head disapprovingly. “No Blackbeak, there is too much at risk already to let you come with me. I’m sorry. I know we’ve been through a lot together but this mission is far too dangerous for both of us to go on and if I never see you again…just know I will miss you immensely my friend.”
Grabbing her long pointed wand from her deep inner robe pocket, she flicked it in the air casually while muttering the words “BROOMA KA DOOMA!” (It was a silly sounding spell but it got the job done.) Her old straw broom flew from the attic into her outstretched hand. Her summoning spells usually worked quite quickly and she was proud of that fact. Turning towards the glass living room windows she flicked her wand towards them muttering the spell “OPANNO COPRANNO!” The windows jolted open as Misty shoved her old broomstick between her
