The most interesting part of the shop turned out to be a small shelf on the other side of the room. It was stocked with potion bottles that had intriguing effects. One contained a tiny storm cloud that repeatedly flashed with lightning and then faded over and over again, while another held a luminous liquid with little, gold doves flying inside the glass. There was also a bottle with a miniature swirl and sparkles that burst every second; and if you leaned closer you could hear a laugh in the vial with a blue haze.
At the end of the room Violette's eyes found a wooden arch leading to a pantry rather than another room.
The woman behind the counter raised her head and lazily greeted the visitors. Coming closer, Violette did the same but with much more enthusiasm.
“Where can we find ingredients for potions?” she asked politely and her face lit up with an amiable smile.
The woman sighed and idly waved her hand in the direction of the archway with a half open dark green curtain. Dante didn't wait a second and crossed the room, disappearing behind the curtains as Violette thanked the vendor.
Violette hurried to the hidden room. Dante was regardfully eyeing the wooden shelves stuffed with pouches, jars and tins and glass boxes with ingredients under the muted light of a lamp. It was looking much more promising than she expected after what she saw in the other room. At least, they had many options of the components to choose from.
The room was almost as small as a closet, chock full with tall shelves around, height to the ceiling. In every square was displayed a jar or a tray signed with a name of the ingredient. There were herbs in the glass open boxes, herbal pouches, the same as on the counter, jars with liquids, tins with powders and small bowls with spoons sunk in the bulk. Almost all of them were pretty full.
Violette's nose crinkled as the strong scent of flowers and herbs reached to her the second she stepped in, making her feel dizzy, and creating a compressive ring around her head. The stiffness in the air made it harder to breathe.
She sized up the shelves and curiously leaned to the shelves, studying the jars. Her eyes stopped on the glass vials with potions – not that astonishing as in the main room. There was a little yellow bottle with shimmering fluid labeled as ‘Sweet dreams’, a bottle in the shape of a tree leaf with the label ‘Growing potion’, a blue flacon tagged as ‘Memory fixer’ and…
“Love potion?” Violette was surprised as her eyes took a glimpse of a heart-shaped lilac bottle with a pink liquid. “So they don't havea sleeping powder thinking it's a bad thing but have a love potion?” An insolent smile emerged on her face as she took the bottle in her hand. Such hypocrisy. Love potion was much more dangerous than sleeping potion at her discretion.
“People here believe love is a beautiful thing and can't cause anything bad.” Dante's mouth twitched as he leaned on the shelf near. “I consider it ironic, since most of their famous stories are quite tragic, even if some of them get their happy endings after all.”
“But it's about a choice. Putting love spells on a person won't make them love you truly, just take their choice away to love and the right to be loved,” Violette resented.
Dante slanted his head to the side. “Let me make it clear to you who shops in the stores like this: desperate people who want to change their lives, witches and wizards for ingredients and people who seek something magical and entertaining, like a firework in a bottle. Nobody cares if these shops sell love potions if it doesn't kill anyone.”
“This is completely strange for me.” She placed the bottle back.
“I think so.” He turned away from her, viewing the opposite closet. “You grew up in a society of wizards, magic potions and spells, all of it is usual to you. But most of the people here don't understand how magic works, some of them afraid of it, some curious. You see,” he effortlessly explained, “people here love magic, magic things and spells but they don't want to be involved withit too much. They like to watch magic, to experience it but they don't want to use something they can't control. They like only the pretty side of sorcery and avoid all the ugly stuff it can do.” His hands folded together, measuring the shelves. “They don't want to cast spells themselves and use potions that can have side effects, it's easier for them to buy something that they can't really mess up.”
Violette perused the shelf for the right ingredients, ruminating about his words. Dante’s eyes got back to the girl, he watched closely where her hands landed and what she was examining. She grabbed some lavender, which was logical enough since these flowers were used in sleeping medicine. And after a long pause he decided to switch sides and lean on the back of the shelves, tilting his head to the side.
“I hope you don't have in mind a plan to trick me, Little Witch.” His voice curved with a smirk.
“I am the one who wants it to end as quickly as possible.” She sent a glance at him, taking a small bottle with yellow leaves.
“Sweet mallow? Didn't know it has some magical traits.”
“It's for the taste. I'll pour the potion in the drink, it's better not to have any strong taste that could arouse suspicion,” Violette explained.
“Good,” he said meditatively, his eyes glued to her. “Also, I was thinking if there is something you can do to make him forget everything that happened, especially you and your questions about the map?”
“I can,” she replied, putting forget-me-not flowers in a small velvet pouch.
“Tell me about the ingredients,” as well as it sounded like an order, his voice was soft as silk, instilling unwonted amity.
“Don't trust me?” Her lips curled upwards.
This earned her a feeble smile. “I'm just invested.”
Was it true? She'll never know, but she did as he said.
“Forget-me-not says for itself,” she voiced and then leaned forwards. “Night blueberries for strong sleep, cloudlet pillows,” her hand grabbed three pink fluffy balls which looked like cotton candy from a white plate, “to fall asleep faster, periwinkle juice to mix and stardust berries…for beautiful dreams.”
He looked at her questionably.
“The least I can do for him after lying and stealing is giving him nice dreams,” Violette explained. “He'll awake elated, convinced everything was a dream.” Her gaze dropped at the silver berries in her palm, sliding in the pouch. “It won't harm him, just secure his sleep with good emotions deprived from stress and worrying about what happened.”
“Very well.”
