Total pages in book: 49
Estimated words: 45319 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 227(@200wpm)___ 181(@250wpm)___ 151(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 45319 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 227(@200wpm)___ 181(@250wpm)___ 151(@300wpm)
“Oh, why, the Town Council of course. They decided that a bakery was needed and they did a magic finding spell for a Kitchen Witch of the right bloodline who would be capable of running it and who was unhappy enough in her regular life to leave everything and come here to stay.” She spread her hands. “So, here I am! And here you are too—you wouldn’t have answered my call if you had wanted to stay in the Mortal Realm.”
“Um…” I thought of my boring job and the fact that I wasn’t dating anyone and hadn’t in almost a year. The dating apps are all trash—somehow they never come up with a decent man. (I think their algorithms do that on purpose to keep you hunting.) Anyway, all I had been getting were narcissists and gaslighters and Momma’s boys who wanted me to do everything for them, including washing their underwear and packing their lunch every day, and I was frankly sick of it.
“Well?” Aunt Gertrude demanded again.
“What do you mean the Town Council wanted a Kitchen Witch ‘of the right bloodline?’” I asked, playing for time. “What does that mean?”
“Oh, our family, the Hatches, have been witches from the beginning. In fact, one of our ancestors comes from here—though she got hung for her witchcraft during the Witch Trials, poor thing. That was Hester Hatch, our many times great grandmother,” she explained. “But stick to the point—do you want to live here and run my bakery or not? I really want to travel some before I fade but I won’t leave it to anyone outside the family. I need another Kitchen Witch with Hatch blood to run it—and you’re the only one left.”
I thought again of my dull job and non-existent love life and made a choice right then and there to stay in Hidden Hollow.
Great Aunt Gertrude stayed in town long enough to get me started—almost a whole year, in fact. She was patient with me and introduced me to everyone in town—many of whom weren’t human. It took some time to get used to serving Centaurs and Orcs and Fairies and Pixies and all the rest, but I had been living in a big city with lots of diversity before I left and I enjoyed meeting new people so that helped.
My Great Aunt also advised me to get a familiar but I hadn’t gotten around to that yet. She had a cat herself, named Nella that I swear was as smart as a person.
As a witch, you can choose any animal you want for your familiar—a dog or a cat are the most popular choices because they fit neatly into your life. You could choose a horse or a pig or a cow if you really wanted to but good luck getting them into the house at night. You can even have a raven or a parrot if you want one you can speak to. But Great Aunt Gertrude advised against that.
“Bird familiars tend to be extremely sarcastic and they scare customers off, being rude and swearing all the time,” she told me. “A cat is wise and a dog is loyal. As a woman alone, you want a protector.”
“Why—isn’t it safe here?” I asked. Hidden Hollow seemed like such an idyllic little town—a place where no one even bothered to lock their doors at night and everybody knew everyone else.
But my Great Aunt gave me a dark look.
“It’s as safe as it can be, but my house is located on the edge of the bubble,” she said.
She went on to explain that the magical bubble that surrounded the town sometimes drew other Creatures—ones that weren’t welcome in Hidden Hollow because of their evil tendencies. Social convention kept them out of the town itself—the Town Council would have them forcibly removed if necessary—but they could still get in around the edges of the town limits because they were technically magical creatures so the bubble didn’t keep them out.
“You don’t want to run in a Giant or a Troll, you know,” Great Aunt Gertrude told me. “Or Goddess forbid an Ogre!”
“What’s wrong with Ogres?” I asked, thinking of the lovable Shrek and his sidekick, Donkey.
“They’re horrible Creatures—very bloodthirsty.” Aunt Gertrude shivered. “They would look at you the same way you’d look at an especially ripe plum—something tasty to eat. Just another ingredient, you know. You definitely want to steer clear of them—having a dog as a familiar would help with that. A dog can bark to warn you if anyone is prowling around the house. I mean, I have it warded so they can’t get in unless you let them in the front door, but you don’t want to get caught unaware if there’s an evil Creature lurking out there waiting to snatch you!”
Her words had scared me at first and I had been on my guard. But now, after five years of nothing more frightening than Chester the deaf Centaur stamping into the bakery and shouting loudly that he wanted three dozen double fudge brownies made with extra crispy hay—a common ingredient for Creatures who were part cow or horse—I had relaxed somewhat and my life had fallen into a pattern.