Witch AU!!!! This was supposed to come out around Halloween but I guess life had other plans, so here it is halfway through November. Will and Nico are about twenty five in this.
Will's POV
I swept the floors of my small apothecary shop, brushing an assortment of stray herbs into the corner, where a fairly large pile was gathering. Later I would have to actually clean it but for now, the pile wasn't doing anything. I made sure that all of the jars were in a straight line on the shelves, and that the displays were set out perfectly. You could say that it was a slow day. Outside the sidewalks were empty, a cold autumn breeze blowing leaves through the air. I couldn't see another person in sight. I sighed, sitting on my small stool, the one that gave me just the right vantage point over the store. I whipped my potions book out from underneath the counter, turning to the bookmarked page. Even if there were no customers, at least I could read.
Around one the bell above the door chimed and like clockwork I slid the bookmark back in, putting the book back in its little nook underneath the counter. There was a young man standing just in the doorway of my shop, about my age with black hair hanging about two inches above the base of his neck, a few stray locks brushing his eyebrows. His brown eyes scanned the shop, scanned the displays of the herbs and the books on potion brewing and various other topics, anything a witch would need to make the perfect potion. The boy spotted me and his eyes lit up as he crossed the shop, stopping at the counter. Having him in my shop was strange to me. I recognized most of my customers, knew their habits and their orders. I could have what they wanted ready for them before they stepped foot into the shop but I had never seen the boy standing before me in my life.
"What do you have for summoning the dead?" he asked bluntly. I was taken aback by his question and it took a few seconds for the answer to swim to the top of my brain.
"I wouldn't advise summoning the dead," I told him. "It's dangerous and hard."
"I need to," he begged. "My sister, Bianca, she died just a few months ago. She was the only person I had left and now she's gone and I just need to talk to her, just one more time. I've been to every other apothecary shop in the area, they've all turned me down. Please, I'll pay all I have."
"What experience do you have in potion making?" I asked.
"None," the boy said sheepishly. "I'm more of a runes kind of guy, but I need to make this potion."
"You have to understand that summoning the dead is risky and hard. It's very advanced potion making." I almost turned him away but there was a look on his face, a look that told me that all he wanted to do was talk to his sister one last time. It was because of that look on his face that I got up from my stool, walking over to the door and flipping over the side so that anyone walking on the street would see that the shop was closed. "Come in the back, I'll help you."
"You don't have to waste your time on me," the boy said, following me into the back room. "You can just sell me the stuff and I can leave." I shook my head.
"No way, not if you're not an advanced potion maker, and especially not if you've never made a potion in your life. If you got hurt, it would be my fault." I extended a hand. "I'm Will, by the way."
"I'm Nico," said the boy, shaking my hand. "So, how do we do this?"
"Go out into the main part of the shop and grab me cloves, earthroot and seeds of rain. They'll be on the shelf behind the counter." Nico quickly walked out into the main part of the shop and I busied myself with getting the cauldron ready. I out a huge pot of water onto the stove, sprinkling in dead flower petals and petals from a sunflower sitting right next to me. "Bring me life and death," I whispered and the water turned a murky brown, just the right color. I was pouring the beginnings of the potion into the huge black cauldron in the middle of the room when Nico came back, cradling three jars in his arms like a baby.
"I got the things you asked for," Nico said, carefully setting down the jars next to the cauldron. He glanced inside to find the murky brown potion bubbling madly, splashing up the sides of the cauldron. "That looks intense."
"It's an intense potion," I responded, measuring a cap full of cloves, earthroot and seeds of rain and dumping them into the potion. There was immediately a change in the energy and the potion began to groan, spirits struggling to make contact with the outside world.
"What do we do next?" Nico asked.
"It's an incantation," I said. "You have to repeat the bring me life and death ten times and then repeat the name of the person you want to talk to five times. After that, you'll only have a few minutes. Do you want to do the incantation?" Nico nodded, gripping the edge of the cauldron tightly.
"Bring me life and death," he whispered. His voice got stronger as he went on. "Bring me life and death, bring me life and death, bring me life and death." His voice began to get quieter as he repeated his sister's name five times over, and I could hear longing in his voice. "Bianca Di Angelo, Bianca Di Angelo, Bianca Di Angelo." I waited for a split second and then a figure began to form over the cauldron, made out of a glistening silver mist. As she began to appear the groans from other spirits began to quiet and when the last lock of her hair fell into place they were completely silent, Nico staring at his sister in awe. He was gripping the cauldron tightly, his knuckles turning white from the pressure. "I- I miss you," he managed to get out in a chocked voice. Bianca made a move to touch him but her hand couldn't go past the boundaries of the cauldron so she was stuck in the confines of the small circle.
"I miss you, too, Nico," she said. "But you know I cannot stay here for long. I must go back to where I belong."
"I know," he said. I stood a few feet away, feeling as if I was watching a tv show. The moment seemed too personal to be witnessing but even so I couldn't take my eyes off of it as I watched a brother and a sister reunite for the last time.
"You couldn't have done anything to prevent my death," she said. "I hope you know that." Nico nodded.
"I know," he got out.
"Goodbye." She went up in a column of smoke and Nico quickly withdrew his hand from the cauldron, rubbing at his hands.
"Are you hurt?" I asked worriedly, talking for the first time in about three minutes. "I told you the potion could be dangerous."
"It's fine," Nico said. I took his hands and I saw angry red burn marks covering the majority of his hands.
"I'll help fix this up," I promised. "Come with me."
I spread a light green over Nico's hands, the black haired boy silent throughout the process. "So, how was it?"
"How was what?" Nico asked.
"Talking to your sister. Not many people get to say a proper goodbye to their loved ones."
"It was good," Nico said. "I got closure."
"So, what are you going to do now?" I spread the cream across a particularly burned part of Nico's hands and he winced. "Sorry."
"I might stay here," Nico said. "See if I can pick up some skills, maybe meet a few friends. My life hasn't quite been normal, and I'd like a normal life for once."
"Well, I'll be here if you ever need to summon the dead again."
"Is that a promise?"
"Promise."
Hi guys! This went in a different direction than I thought it would, but I think it turned out okay. Also sorry if this is bad, it's been a long week and I'm really tired. I hope you liked it!
Nina