Lost Witch Department

The LWD logo was projected on the floor through the stained glass door, which opened with a soft chime. “Lost Witch Department. When magic goes awry, we help you find your way,” Leonia greeted the woman who peeked through the doorway before turning back to the client in front of her desk. A line had formed by the afternoon, and the confused and wary look on the witch’s face as she fell into place was nothing new.

“Did you forget where you are or who you are?” she asked the witch before her, while her enchanted pen took a transcript of the conversation. 

“I ummm…I don’t know my name or where my home is.” The woman’s eyes welled with tears. 

“Don’t worry, Dearie,” Leonia said, as she reached across the desk and patted her hand. “Let me just give you a quick scan, and we’ll find your info.” 

Leonia lifted her wand and swirled it in a circle over the witch’s face. On the left side of her tome, across from where her pen had been notating, the woman’s image appeared along with a list of her identifying information. 

“Wonderful, you were registered.” She beamed up at the witch. “You are Myrtle and you’re from Yarith. You’re lucky, it’s not far. I’ll give you a map and you can fly there on your broom. Once you are in a familiar setting amongst your things, your memory should return promptly. With a wave of her wand, a map appeared, and she handed it to the witch. “Have a magical day!”

Leonia was about to call the next client forward when she noticed the woman at the back of the room was muttering to herself. She sighed. It was a sign of escalation. 

She swished her wand and whispered, her voice projecting into an office in the back, “Elsbeth, we are in need of a specialist at the front desk.” After relaying her message, she swished her wand again and waved the next witch over, as if nothing was amiss. She knew Elsbeth could handle the situation.

…

Elsbeth strode to the lobby and her gaze slid across the room, stopping on a witch at the back of the line who was mumbling to herself and rubbing her arms. This won’t do, she thought. She walked up to the witch and stopped just outside of arm’s reach.

“Follow me, please,” she said to the woman before turning on her heels and marching back to her office. 

The woman complied, of course. Elsbeth had laced her words with a bit of magic, a crucial skill for a specialist. When they reached her office, she sat atop the edge of her desk and gestured to the seat in front of her. 

“Hold still while I scan you and then we’ll have you on your way,” she said, whipping out her wand and swirling it around the confused witch’s face. She turned to her tome, expecting the woman’s information to appear, but she was left staring at a blank page.

Hexes! Why wouldn’t she be registered? Every witch was registered nowadays, except for the most paranoid…or the most dangerous. Curses and Hexes!

She stood from the desk. “I’ll just need to run a tracing spell,” she told the witch. And hope that she didn’t wander far from home. “Hurry along now.” I need to get her out of the building before she escalates further. 

Elsbeth swished her wand and whispered to Leonia, “We have an unregistered witch. Be back soon.”

They stepped out the door of the Lost Witch Department, and Elsbeth gave a flick of her wand and recited an incantation. A glowing path lit up the ground behind the nameless witch. Elsbeth helped the witch onto her broom and flew away, ignoring the crazed mumbling coming from behind her.

This time it was Elsbeth who let out a moan when the glowing path ended abruptly several miles away. She ended up too far from home. Time for a different tactic. She lowered the broom to the ground. When she reached to help the witch off, she hissed and smacked her hand away. I need to get her home before she escalates further. Well, no time for niceties.

She walked a couple of paces, spun around, and turned her wand on the woman. Elsbeth screeched out an incantation and the unidentified witch’s eyes widened in a lucid moment. She pulled her wand from her sleeve and blocked with a fluid motion out of reflex. 

Gotcha.

“Ah, you’re from Innis. The smooth movements and light way you hold your wand are customary in that region,” Elsbeth smiled at the woman. “Let’s get you there at once.”

The witch grabbed for her head and moaned. 

Before you go mad, Elsbeth added to herself. Better put in place some precautions. She whipped her wand in circles, binding the nameless witch to the broom, so she didn’t fall during the flight. By the time she reached Innis, she was glad she had done so. The woman was rocking so badly it was hard to keep ahold of the broom. 

“Alright, here we are.” Elsbeth released the spell and watched as the witch stumbled from the broom. She didn’t dare touch her now. “Follow me.”

The two wandered the town, and Elsbeth stopped every so often to ask if anyone recognized the witch with her. All she received were pitying glances and shakes of the head. She walked beside the unidentified witch and observed her. As they were crossing a street, she noticed the witch’s eyes seemed to catch for a second on a store down the side street. It was brief, but Elsbeth was practiced in watching for the slightest signs. 

She led the witch down the street to a little tome shop tucked between an apothecary and a bakery. As soon as they stood in front of the store, the nameless witch straightened and dropped her hands from her head. Elsbeth hurried her through the wooden door into the cozy shop.

The mumbling ceased and a clarity came onto the witch’s face, as a woman rushed forward to greet them. “Oh, Nerula, I was worried sick,” she cried out embracing the no-longer-unidentified witch. 

She then turned her attention to Elsbeth. “Thank you so much for bringing back my sister. Please, look around the shop. Take your pick of anything that catches your eye. It’s the least I could do. She’s been gone nearly a week, and I feared the worst.”

Elsbeth choked back a gasp. Most witches would be entirely gone, irredeemable, after that length of time. But she simply smiled politely at them both. “That’s my job. Lost Witch Department. When magic goes awry, we help you find your way.” With that, she turned to leave.

Elsbeth opened the door, then paused, turning back to face Nerula. “Please, make sure you register.”

…

This was Clever’s story for our Title Prompt Challenge, which you can find out about here. What did you think? Check back next week for WTF’s challenge story, Undead Garden Club. And if you’re a writer, be sure to join us for the challenge!

Thanks so much for reading!

-Clever & WTF