A Family of Witches

Elpis put her new shoes on and walked out the front door, a wicker basket in hand. She hummed lightly to herself on the walk. Her life finally felt in order and she was in a good mood. The summer was still lingering, but she could sense a change in the air. And she was glad; this had been a turbulent summer. An important one, to be sure, but one she’d be glad to be finished with.

“Amaryllis!” she cried, entering the glade. “Are you here?”

There was a small gust of wind.

“Rose,” Amaryllis said softly, smiling. “It’s good to see you. Is that the tribute?”

“It is,” Elpis said, handing over the basket of honey, herbs, spices, rare flowers, and fertile soil. “What do you do with these?”

“I’m afraid that’s private, little Rose. How are you doing?”

“Great!” Elpis replied. Her smile faltered for a moment, but she shook it off. “My family has been very accepting.”

“Oh, that’s good.” The two of them sat down by the little rock shrine in the center of the glade. “I’m glad that things worked out for you.”

Elpis nodded, explaining, “Tia, my older sister, took me into town to finally buy me some clothes of my own. I’m no longer wearing her old things… Okay, some of them fit very well and are really cute and I’m keeping them. To be honest, I’m a little worried about how much money I’m costing my family. They haven’t even bought me a new uniform for school, yet.”

“Money? That’s the thing humans exchange for goods, right?”

Elpis nodded.

“Ah. I will never understand humans. It all seems unnecessary.”

“Maybe. But money is important and I’m costing my family a lot of it.”

“Perhaps, but I think you’re looking at it the wrong way,” Amaryllis said. “Gifts are a sign of love and it’s okay to accept them if you want.”

“I guess so. I do really appreciate all the effort they’re putting into making me feel welcome.” She scowled. “Most of them, anyway.”

“Oh?” Amaryllis leaned in. “What do you mean?”

“My twin sister, Eris; she’s been really reluctant to accept this from the very beginning. She was the most upset by the transformation and she was continuously upset any time I did anything even remotely feminine. Eris even spent a lot of time making the pendant that made me look like a boy, just so that she wouldn’t have to look at me and see a girl. And now that she knows I want to be a girl, she doesn’t want anything to do with me. I’m really afraid, Amaryllis. I’m afraid that I’ve lost my closest sister and I’m never going to get her back.”

She was on the verge of tears. Amaryllis wrapped an arm around Elpis’ shoulders and pulled her close. Elpis blinked and a few tears rolled down her cheeks.

“I don’t want to lose my sister,” she croaked.

“I don’t think you will,” Amaryllis cooed. “Stay strong, little Rose. Your sister just needs time. This is a big change. Once she sees that you’re happier this way, she will come around.”

“What if she doesn’t? She thinks that I’m brainwashed or something.”

“You’ll be okay. Why don’t you have a talk with her? Use some of that Communications magic you’re so good at to help get your point across. She will understand, I promise.”

Elpis leaned in closer to Amaryllis.

“I’m afraid,” she said. “I’m afraid to face her again. She’s made this whole thing so difficult and I don’t know what to do.”

“Promise me that you’ll try, Rose.”

Elpis was silent for a moment, then nodded.

“Alright,” she said. “I’ll think about it.”

They fell silent. Elpis closed her eyes and listened to the chirping birds and rustle of leaves all around them. Slowly, her breathing steadied.

“I’m going back to school very soon,” Elpis said. “This is the last time I’m going to be the one bringing the monthly tributes for a while.”

“Yeah, that’s unfortunate. I’m going to miss you.”

“Me too. I’m going to miss my parents and younger sister, too, especially after everything that’s happened these past few weeks. And I like my school, I really do, but sometimes I wish that I could attend a school that allowed me to come home at the end of the day.”

Amaryllis nodded, holding Elpis a little tighter.

“I should probably go,” Elpis finally said. “I’ll try to visit again before school starts.”

They stood up and Amaryllis walked Elpis to the edge of the glade.

“Goodbye, Rose. I’m sorry that you’ve had to go through all of this, but I appreciate you still finding time to visit me. You’ve always been a good friend.”

“Thank you,” Elpis replied. “You too.”

Elpis returned home to hear the sound of Vega shuffling about in the kitchen. She took off her shoes and peeked in to see how close dinner was to being ready. Satisfied, she returned to the dining room and rang the little bell next to the blacked-out windows. They turned transparent to let the evening light in and Elpis took her seat in front of the big clockwork art piece, which continued to click and whir.

One by one, the rest of her family made their way to the dining room. Eris didn’t look at Elpis at all as she sat down. Finally, Vega brought in a tray of linguine along with a bowl of salad.

“Dig in,” she said, sitting.

Eris ate quickly while everyone else talked amongst themselves. When she was done, Eris took her plate back to the kitchen and disappeared. Elpis sighed and sank down in her chair.

“It’s not your fault, honey,” Lorrie said quietly. “She just needs time.”

“I didn’t mean to make her so upset,” Elpis muttered.

“You’re not responsible for her feelings or her behavior,” Vega insisted. “You didn’t do anything to hurt her, I promise.”

“Eris has been acting a little weird,” Hestia said. When she got glares from her parents, she clarified, “I mean that there’s clearly something more going on than just Elpis’ situation. She’s been locking herself in the alchemy room for hours at a time for some reason. It’s annoying, because it means I can’t study like I want to.”

“I think we should drop the matter,” Lorrie said.

“Very good idea,” Vega agreed. “Elpis, how do you feel now that you’re officially a girl in the family now?”

Elpis admitted, “Pretty good, actually. I feel like I fit in better than I used to. Aside from Eris’ behavior, I think I’m doing pretty well.”

“I’m glad to hear that,” Lorrie said.

“We’re happy to have you,” Vega added.

When Elpis finished her meal, she picked up her plate and started walking toward the kitchen.

“Elpis,” Lorrie said. “There are a few things I want to talk to you about. Will you wait in the family room for me?”

“Oh. Of course.”

Elpis sat alone in the family room. She fidgeted a little bit under the gaze of all the portraits on the wall. What did Lorrie want with her? Was this about Eris?

Lorrie arrived and sat down on the couch next to Elpis.

“Okay,” she said, “there are a few things that we have to talk about. So far, you’ve just been around us. Once you’re back in school, it might be a little difficult to adjust to being a girl in a mixed-gender environment and you’ll need to keep your guard up.”

“Oh… I hadn’t thought about that.”

Lorrie nodded, continuing, “Your teachers are also going to hold you to a higher standard as a girl than they would have if you were a boy. You’ll need to redouble your efforts in school.”

“Jeez, alright.”

Lorrie patted Elpis on the back.

“There is good news,” she assured Elpis. “We’ve had luck getting the school to update their records. You’ll be able to officially attend school as a girl.”

“Thank you,” Elpis replied. “Thank you so much for this.”

She grabbed Lorrie in a hug. After a moment, Lorrie returned the gesture.

“Remember that your mother and I love you, Elpis,” she said.

“I love you, too.”

Elpis returned to her room. That little talk had made her a little late to the call with her friends, but it had been worth it. She sat down and put on her headset.

“Hello, everybody!”

“Hey, Elpis,” Sam replied.

“You’re finally here,” Jasmine added.

“We have something for you,” Suzanne said.

“Oh?”

Finley asked, “What’s this now?”

“We didn’t tell you,” Mercedes explained, “because there wasn’t really much that you could contribute.”

“What is it?” Elpis asked.

“Hold on. I’ll send you a copy.”

After a moment, Elpis got a DM with a PDF attached, labeled “Girl Survival Guide.”

“What’s this?” she asked, downloading the PDF.

“Just something us and a couple of friends threw together so you won’t be completely lost when school starts again,” Mercedes said.

“Speaking of which,” Sam continued, “We’ve been spreading the word that you’re a girl now. People shouldn’t be too surprised once school starts.”

Jasmine added, “And if anyone gives you any grief, we’ll be there to defend you.”

Elpis wiped a few tears from her eyes.

“Thank you,” she said, voice shaking. “Thank you all so much.”

Since her homework was finished, Elpis opened up a book on Communications magic and listened to her friends talk in the background. Occasionally, she’d add her own two cents, her attention drifting back and forth between them and the book.

During a quiet moment, Elpis felt like she could hear something outside of her headset. She took it off. Yeah, she could hear Eris playing her guitar in the room next door.

Elpis closed her book and sat it down on the desk.

“I’ll be right back,” she told her friends. “I need to talk to someone real quick.”

“Alright, hurry back.”

She got up and stepped outside. Her heart was hammering in her chest as she stood in front of Eris’ door. Elpis knew that she could do this. It wouldn’t be that hard. All she had to do was knock on the door and ask to be let inside.

Everyone kept insisting to Elpis that Eris would come around. All Elpis had to do was sit down and have a proper conversation with her sister and everything would turn out alright. Really, it was Elpis’ fault for not convincing Eris before now, wasn’t it? She should have nipped this in the bud.

The thought didn’t really make Elpis feel any better.

Hesitantly, she raised her hand and knocked on the door. Immediately, the sound of the guitar stopped. Elpis waited for the door to open. It didn’t. Elpis knocked again, quieter this time. Still, there was no response.

“Eris?” she asked softly. “I know you’re in there. Can we talk?”

The lock clicked and the door opened just a little for Eris to peer out. She was scowling, and her eyes were red. Elpis gulped.

“Can I come in?” she asked.

“No.”

“Eris, please. We really need to talk. It’s important.”

Eris sighed and stepped away from the door. She wouldn’t look at Elpis as she entered. Elpis sat down on the bed, but Eris remained standing and folded her arms, still examining the wall.

“Eris,” Elpis began, “we’re twins. We’ve been together our entire lives. Even the fact that we weren’t—well, that we didn’t know that we were—the same gender didn’t really get between us. But because of this, our relationship is the worst it has ever been. And I hate it. I hate how this has come between us. I just want us to go back to the way we were.”

“Ares, that’s what I want, too,” Eris said, finally looking at her. “That’s why finding a cure is so important.”

Elpis sighed. It was time to try what Amaryllis suggested. She closed her eyes and tried to calm her nerves. After a moment, she entered a heightened state of awareness. Elpis could feel the magic swirling within her.

“I know you’re scared,” she said slowly, channeling her magic through her voice. “But I am so much happier this—”

“No!” Eris snapped. “Do not use your magic on me like I’m some kind of animal, Ares!”

Elpis recoiled and fell back on the bed, her concentration broken.

“I’m just trying to—”

“I don’t want you using magic to influence this situation,” Eris insisted. “Magic is the whole reason we’re in this situation in the first place!”

She was grinding her teeth. Elpis pulled herself back into a seating position and let her shoulder slump.

“I just want you to understand what I’m feeling,” she said.

“I understand everything just fine,” Eris insisted. “You don’t really want this, Ares. That spell affected your mind, and I’m the only person who seems to realize it. I’ve spent the entire summer reading about stuff like this. You have to trust me, Ares. Please.”

“I do trust you, Eris. But you’re not listening to me. Don’t my feelings matter?”

“No, Ares, they don’t! You aren’t in your right mind. It’s not safe for you to be making decisions for yourself right now.”

Elpis’ vision was blurry from tears. She managed to choke out, “Would you feel that way if I’d told you I wanted to be a girl even before the wish?”

“You’re not listening to me. If not for the wish, you wouldn’t feel this way at all.”

Even though she could barely see, Elpis pushed past her sister and out of the room. She locked herself in her own bedroom and collapsed to the ground. Elpis buried her head in her hands and began to sob.

After a while, Elpis heard a knock on the door. She stifled her sobs and waited. There was another knock.

“Elpis, are you in there?” It was Vega’s voice. “I heard shouting. Are you okay?”

Elpis shook her head but didn’t answer. Vega didn’t say any more, but Elpis didn’t hear her walk away. After a few moments, Elpis heard the doorknob click.

“Please let me in,” Vega pleaded. “I want to talk to you.”

Pulling herself into a sitting position, Elpis grabbed onto the knob. For a moment, she just sat there, not doing anything. Then she took her hand away.

“Alright,” Vega said. “Come to me if you want to talk.”

Elpis sighed and stood up. She walked back to her laptop, but didn’t put her headset back on. Instead, Elpis exited the call and closed the computer. She’d be going to bed early, today.

In the morning, Elpis dragged herself downstairs still in her bunny pajamas and sat down at the dining table. She could hear Vega making breakfast in the kitchen. Slowly, the rest of her family filtered into the dining room and sat down, except for Eris. Vega brought in a large platter of pancakes and set it down on the table.

“Everyone dig in,” she said, glancing around. “Is Eris not here?”

She pulled her phone out of her apron and sent a quick message.

“Everyone else dig in,” she said. “I guess she’ll get here when she gets here.”

The rest of the family began to eat, but they were quiet. Occasionally, someone would glance at Eris’ empty chair. Elpis finally dropped her fork on her plate.

“I’m worried about her,” she finally said. “But I’m also worried that she’s never going to accept me. What am I going to do without her?”

Lorrie nodded and replied, “I’ll talk to Eris. Don’t worry, honey.”

That didn’t really ease Elpis’ nerves, but she wasn’t sure what else to say. When breakfast was over, Elpis said goodbye to her sisters and returned to her room. Hopefully her computer would help distract her from Eris.

Before long, Elpis heard someone knock on Eris’ door. Lorrie’s muffled voice carried to Elpis’ room. She put on her headset, trying to block it out. Elpis couldn’t handle thinking about Eris right now.

When lunch came around, Elpis seriously considered not going downstairs. Eris might be there. Elpis wasn’t ready to see her. But she was kind of hungry. With a sigh, Elpis stepped away from her computer and headed downstairs.

Everyone else was already in the dining room when she arrived, except for Eris. But there was something that Elpis hadn’t been expecting. At her normal seat was a small muffin and a card.

Ares, it read, I’m sorry that I shouted at you yesterday. I shouldn’t have done that. I hope that we can move past this and things can go back to normal.

“Did Eris make this?” Elpis asked, holding up the muffin.

“She did leave her room briefly to bake them, yes,” Lorrie replied. “But she said she still needs some more time to herself, so she won’t be joining us for lunch.”

Elpis nodded and sat down. She sat the muffin aside to focus on her actual meal. Knowing that Eris was coming around, if slowly, made her feel a little better. Hopefully things would be alright by the time school started again.

“You’ve finished your homework, right?” Lorrie asked. “You’re ready for school to start again?”

“Yes, Lorrie, it’s all taken care of. I’ve already started packing. I’ll be ready.”

“Hestia,” Vega began, “how are you feeling?”

“Nervous,” Hestia admitted. “My certification is coming up soon and I’m not ready.”

“You are ready, dear,” Lorrie assured her.

“Yeah,” Pandora added glumly, “you’re the smartest person I know.”

“Is something wrong, honey?” Vega asked.

Pandora shrugged.

“You can tell us,” Elpis told her.

“It’s just… all my sisters are about to leave for school. I’m going to be alone.”

“You’ll be fine,” Hestia replied. “Besides, you have school too. Are you ready for that?”

“I guess. I’ll be able to show off my own magic to the other kids.”

Lorrie tittered.

“You might not want to do that,” she said. “Nonmagical kids don’t take well to seeing magic. Elpis can tell you about an experience she had when she was young where she tried that.”

“Oh, don’t remind me,” Elpis said, blushing and sinking down in her seat.

Once she was done with her meal, Elpis picked up the muffin and scarfed it down. It was pretty good, but it had a strong nutty taste to it. There was also an aftertaste that she couldn’t quite place.

Elpis stood up from her chair and her knees buckled. She just barely managed to grab herself on the table to prop herself up. Everyone turned to look at her.

“Are you okay?” Vega asked, standing up.

“Feeling a little woozy,” Elpis admitted, her vision swimming.

A sharp pain in her chest caused Elpis to cry out and her arms gave out. She fell to the floor, spasming. Everyone ran over to gather around her. Elpis could taste blood; had she bitten her tongue? Wave after wave of pain echoed through her entire body. Someone was talking, but their voice was muted.

Finally, the pain stopped. Elpis’ breath was shaky. Her body felt wrong somehow.

“What happ—”

Elpis cut herself off as soon as she heard her voice. She sat up and looked down at her body. It had shifted. She looked like she used to, before the wish spell. Still with painted nails and long hair and girl clothes, but definitely a boy’s body.