So It's Come to This

>Silently, Maddie prowled through the jungle like a cat chasing a string.
>She was the youngest cursemaker of the Wartwood magical society.
>Which wasn’t saying much, since the Wartwood magical society only consisted of her and two salamanders.
>But it’s still a job she took very seriously.
>It was her responsibility to protect the Valley from the threats that most frogs didn’t even realize existed, much less prepared themselves against.
>It’s a passion that she loved, far more than the simple bread-making of her father.
>And tonight, she was on the hunt.
>Someone had broken into the Society building, and stolen a number of potentially dangerous books.
>Books on alchemy, books on curses.
>Her expertise, essentially.
>They hadn’t used magic, so she couldn’t track them that way, but, as a testament to her devotion to the job, she had taken the time to magically log every book in the Archives.
>So she simply followed that trail instead.
>The mystical line; physically shimmering in front of her, had lead her deeper into the woods near the outskirts of town.
>Exactly the kind of place that an evil cursemaker, or perhaps a warlock, would plan to hide.
>Prowling deeper, it wasn’t long until the sound of someone else became apparent.
>Poking her head out of the bushes into a small clearing, she saw her.
>A brief shimmer of surprise ran through Maddie’s body as she sized her up.
>She wasn’t a frog.
>She’s a…whatever Anne is.
>Human?
>Maddie wasn’t friends with Anne, not really.
>She’d helped her out once or twice, but they hadn’t spent any time together.
>She knew of her, and she knew she was Sprig’s best friend, despite only appearing a couple of weeks ago, but she hadn’t heard anything about another human hanging around.
>So who was this?
>Inching closer, Maddie started to hear the human talk to herself.

>”Okay, let’s try this again. If I only put in half the ingredients, then that means it’ll have half the potency, right?”
>The human poured some strange glowing liquid into a bowl in front of her, before shaking her head rapidly and pouring the whole thing out.
>The spot where the concoction landed burst into a patch of mushrooms.
>”No, no, stupid! Stupid! That means you get half a potion, not a weaker, full potion! Think of it like cooking! Am I even good at cooking?”
>Looking over her list of ingredients, the human rubbed her temple.
>”Which one of these controls which part of the magic? Because that’s the one that I need less of. Or, or…” the human said, throwing some more ingredients into the bowl, “I can double the amount of ingredients, except for the one I need!”
>There was a moment of silence.
>”Only my problem is that I don’t know which one I need. Ah.”
>Back in the bushes, Maddie was already filling a pouch with a spicy curse for her opponent.
>And yet…
>It felt wrong to attack someone from behind, even if they were a potentially evil cursemaker.
>Besides, maybe they weren’t evil.
>The books could be used for wickedness, but there was also a handful of legitimate, useful knowledge in them.
>She had to be sure.
>Looping the curse bag onto her belt, Maddie crept forward, until she was directly behind the human.
>Taking a short breath, she spoke.
“Excuse me.”
>The human shot straight upwards like they were just electrocuted.
>Glancing over her shoulder, the human stumbled to their feet, spinning around, backpedalling into their ingredients and causing them to spill everywhere.
>Her shock was quickly replaced with panic as she fell to her knees again, quickly trying to salvage what she could.
>Maddie coughed loudly.
“I’d like my books back.”
>She said, slowly turning her head sideways while smiling.

>The human smiled back awkwardly, more scared and nervous than anything.
>”O…oh. These are yours? I…I found them in an old, abandoned shack.”
“That was our Society HQ. You broke three locks. We don’t exactly take kindly to intruders. Or thieves.”
>Silently, Maddie watched as the human reached down and gently wrapped her hand around a long, slender staff off to her side.
>Though Maddie couldn’t imagine why.
>Magic wasn’t something you channelled.
>Maybe she was planning to hit her with it.
>Maddie gently disconnected the curse from her belt.
>”I’m…sorry.”
>Maddie paused.
>”I didn’t mean to break anything, the spell just…went haywire. You can have your books back. I don’t…I didn’t realize.”
“Oh.”
>Maddie said simply, holstering her bag.
>But when she went to grab one, the human gripped the other end.
>“Can I just…borrow them for a moment?  I’m Darla, by the way. Anne’s friend. Do you know Anne?”
>Maddie nodded.
“I’m Maddie Flour. Sprig’s…friend.”
>”Oh, uh, pleased to meet you.” Darla said, bowing slightly, as if she wasn’t sure how to actually accept an introduction.
>”Sprig certainly has a lot of friends, doesn’t he?” Darla said, bitterly.
>Shaking her head, Maddie gave Darla a confused look.
“No…not really. It’s pretty much just Anne.”

>Looking over all the ingredients that Darla had gathered, Maddie quickly deduced what she was trying to do.
>Alchemy was really only one step away from curse making, and she was very proficient in making curses.
>There was only one potion that required such a gathering of esoteric, hard to find ingredients.
>Maddie would have been impressed that Darla could even gather them if she wasn’t disgusted at what she was attempting.
>But still, caution prevailed; she had to hear it from her own mouth before she did anything about it.
“You know, Darla, I’m actually pretty good at magic myself. If you need any help with all of this, I could easily pitch in.”
>Flipping the book back open, Darla shook her head rapidly.
>”No, no, I’m fine. I…I can figure this out. No need to worry, you just…sit over there quietly until I’m done, okay?”
“What do you need my book for anyway, what exactly are you brewing?”
>Darla broke eye contact and swallowed nervously.
>”Oh, I’m just working on a…potion, that’s not done yet. You know, just typical mage stuff. I’m a mage, it’s really impressive. I can do, like, a lot of magic.”
“Really? What kind of potion?”
>”I mean, it’s embarrassing to say it out loud.”
“No, no, I’m interested.”
>Maddie let a shadow fall over her face.
“Very interested.”
>”It’s just a little…you know, a…”
>Darla’s voice dropped to a whisper.
>”A love potion. For Anne.”

>The slap was sudden, and came out of nowhere.
>In a single movement, Maddie used her legs to spring up to Darla’s face and delivered a swift, open palmed slap to her cheek.
>Tumbling sideways, Darla stood back up quickly, a hand rushing to her face.
>”Hey! What was that for?”
“You’re making a love potion! What is wrong with you?”
>Maddie replied, leaping up again and delivering a slap to Darla’s other cheek.
>”Ow! Stop it! I’ll…I’ll obliterate you!”
>The staff at Darla’s side pulsed menacingly, but Maddie paid it no mind.
>Slap.
>”O…okay! I’m sorry! I lied, please stop.”
>Slap.
>”I said I was sorry!”
“Sorry for what?”
>Darla paused, thinking.
>”For…for making a love potion?”
“And why is that bad?”
>Darla thought some more, her face hurting.
>”Because someone might be allergic to it?”
>Slap.
>”I’m sorry!”
>Pausing, Maddie took a step back and motioned to herself.
“Look at me, Darla.”
>Darla did, tears springing into her eyes.
“Love potions are dangerous. They ruin lives. You’re essentially mind controlling someone into doing what you want by drugging them!”
>”When…when you put it like that…”
“You’re stripping them of their free will. Creating a zombie. How could you do that your best friend? You’re…you’re friends! Do you even care about her?”
>”I…I didn’t mean it like…”
”Magic is not a toy; you need to be responsible with how you use it. You need to consider how your actions will impact other people.”
>Maddie said, pausing for a moment to shake her hand in the air, the repeated impacts starting to hurt her as well.
>Glancing up before forcing herself to look forward, Darla fought back tears and gave her answer.

>”I just…wanted Anne to like me a little more.”
>Darla broke eye contact, her hands rubbing against each other like a confession of guilt.
>Like her actions were unreasonable, even for her.
>”I never wanted Anne to fall in love with me. I mean, you’re right, she’s my best friend, I don’t want to lose that. I’m happy just being her friend. Except…”
>Looking back up, Darla smiled awkwardly.
>”It’s just…she’s known Sprig for less than a month now, and they’re already so close. They’re inseparable.”
>”They go everywhere together, they do everything together. When they’re alone, they just talk, freely, for hours and hours.”
>”And I’ve known her for years, and she’s never once…felt that way about me. I’ve never even made her laugh.”
>Darla paused, her thoughts drifting away.
>”Am…am I bad person for wanting the same? To have Anne just like me a little bit more; just so that I don’t feel so…left out, between her and Sprig? Between her and Sasha, and Marcy, and everyone else?”
>”That can’t be wrong, can it?”

>Maddie sighed.
>Sitting down next to the comparatively giant human, she glued her sight to the floor.
”Would…would you believe me if I told you that I know the feeling?”
>Looking up, Maddie gave an awkward smile back.
“To…to always be on the outside, looking in? Clinging to what little you have, fearful that you could lose it at any moment and be left alone? It’s surprisingly common. Frogs don’t really…like me either. They think I’m a little…creepy.”
>But of course, that was just how she was. She could be no less creepy than Polly could be violent.
“But trust me, magic…magic can’t help you there. It only makes things worse. You and I, we’ve been given something special, but it’s not the answer to what we’re lacking inside. Trying to force it through that hole is only going to get people hurt.”
“Magic can’t make people like you. Or, at least, we should be wise enough to know it shouldn’t.”

>Darla fought down a sniffle and looked away.
>”I…I think I already knew that.”
>Leaning back, Darla accidently knocked over a large vail, spilling its contents across the grass.
>But she didn’t care now.
>”I just…just don’t want to be the girl on the outside anymore. I can’t keep…fighting down these feelings. That I might be losing her.”
“Well, have you told her about any of this, Darla?”
>”Well…no, but…”
“Then how are you expecting anything to change?”
>Darla continued to look away.
“Anne’s an understanding girl, if you told her any of this earlier, you wouldn’t have a black eye right now.”
>”You gave me a black eye?”
“That’s not important. What is important, is that you need to be honest with yourself. And be honest with Anne. Running into the woods to brew strange potions is the coward’s way out, and honestly the first steps to becoming, well, evil.”
>There was a moment of silence as Darla rubbed her face, hoping to soothe the stinging, before she sighed heavily.
>“You’re right. What…what was I thinking?”
>Reaching back, Darla grabbed the book.
>”Here. This is safer in your hands. Sorry I caused you so much trouble.”
“Hey, don’t worry about it. We were all a little reckless with magic once.”
>Hopping to her feet, Maddie spun around on her heels and wandered forward; scooping up a couple more of the books that Darla had taken.
“Anyway, I better get these back into the HQ before the mud ruins them. And then I guess I’ll…spend the rest of the day fixing locks.”
>Glancing back at Darla, Maddie was surprised to find her look away quickly; the human clearly having been watching her.
>But she didn’t say anything, so she walked past her quietly, heading towards the edge of Wartwood.
>Until she finally did find the courage to speak.
>”Maddie, can…can you teach me magic?”

>Pausing, Maddie just stood there.
“I just told you, magic can’t make people like you.”
>”I know, I’m…fine with that. You’re right. But you also said that I’ve been given a gift; something that could really help people. That could really help Anne. But I don’t even know the first thing about it.”
>A brief shard of surprise went through Maddie’s mind.
>The curses she’d placed on those HQ locks weren’t the kind that any amateur could just negate.
>She’d just assumed that Darla already knew a fair amount about magic.
>But then again, that probably explained why Darla hadn’t used any magic while robbing their HQ.
>A fluke in her own magic then?
>”You prevented me from making a terrible mistake, one that could have hurt my friend. Clearly I…I need some guidance. I need someone to teach me how to be, well, better.”
”Sure.”
>Maddie said, shrugging.
>”R…really?”
“I don’t see why not. We have an entire society here in the Valley for people like you, who just want to learn magic responsibly. We’d be glad to have you on board. It’s better than the alternative of you studying magic in a cave until someone gets hurt. Like…nevermind.”
“But I warn you, it won’t be easy. I look forward to…showing you the ropes.”
>Maddie said, a shadow falling over her face as she walked backwards into the undergrowth, disappearing.
>Darla just stared at where she used to be.
>”I wonder if she does that on purpose.”
>And so the Wartwood magical society grew to one frog, two aging salamanders, and an otherworldly monstrosity.