A Crown of Gold

What Once Was

"I've dabbled."

"Well," she breathed, setting the jar back down on the table, "Don't dabble again. This one will slowly melt your mind if you spend too much time with it."

"I've seen it happen." When Faye cast me a questioning glance, I elaborated. "Some of the villagers from my childhood used it. Mostly the old ones, to forget whatever past they wished to no longer remember."

"It certainly numbs a mental pain, I'll tell you that."

Faye took a step to her left, so she was standing in front of the next group. "Moving on. This next group is of lethal use. It's poison, more clearly." There were only three bottles in this batch, small compared to the six or more in the others. She took one more side-step, ending up in front of the final group. She had a grin on her face and a dangerous glint in her eyes.

"Oh boy."

"These," she said, placing her hands on the table on either side of them, "Are my personal favorites. They're, you could say, more aggressive than the other two."

"More aggressive than poison and medicine that slowly melts you mind?"

"These are incendiary, like the stones you saw in the forest." She paused, gently picking one of vials up. It was a muted orange and not opaque like most of the others batches. "They're explosives, essentially."

"Explosives." I repeated, eyebrows raised.

She sat down across from me, kicking her feet up to rest on the edge of the table. "They come in handy during combat. I'm just a Natural so the offensive is limited for me."

"Natural?" I was beginning to think I knew nothing about anything at all.

She sighed, pulling her feet from the table and leaning forward, her forearms resting against the wood. "The witches are primarily divided up by four factions. Each faction represents an Elemental power. I'm a Natural, which means I deal with manipulating and conjuring anything plantlike and alive in nature."

I nodded, moving to mirror her position. "Aside from Naturals, there are Incendials, Tempestials, Hyromials, and Cryomials. Hydro and Cryomials are typically grouped together." She explained. When she took in my calculating look, Faye laughed. "Incendials manipulate fire, Tempestials; weather, Hydromials; water, Cryomials; ice. All witches have some form of basic power, but they're born to specialize in one of the factions." 

I nodded, my eyes grazing over the bottles and jars at the end of the table again. "What faction does the queen belong to?" I asked.

Faye sighed, "Well, Queen Nyria doesn't technically belong to any faction. She's a connex." I blew out an exasperated breath, leaning back in my chair. Faye looked at me with an apologetic smile. "It's a religious thing, I suppose. It's okay, it's not that important."

I watched Faye for a moment, taking in the striking green of her eyes. "Have you ever been to the city? The one the witches hail from?" I asked.

Faye smiled, "I have. It's very beautiful there. The people are very beautiful too." 

"Well that much I can see," I said, without thinking. 

Faye's cheeks flushed under her dark skin, her eyes fluttering down to look at the table as a small smile tugged at the corners of her lips.

"I wish I'd been anywhere at all." I said with a sigh, changing the subject. "The only place worth mentioning that I've ever been to is Greenbrock."

Faye shrugged, "I've never been. Tell me about it."

I don't know why, but the concept of having been somewhere that someone hadn't was exciting. "Alright," I began, "The castle is huge, and there are tall windows that line every corridor to let the light in. And there's a grand library where the scholars study. It has a ceiling just as high as this one, with shelves of books covering every wall."