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“Willow.”

Joy smiled. Smiled and paced. “A strong name for a strong Witch. Tell me… why are you here, Willow?”

“I want to be a Queen’s Blade.”

“Why?”

Willow shifted slightly, uncomfortable.

“Find stillness,” Joy instructed. “Breathe in with me. Hold. Three, two, one. Exhale. Good. Tell me…why do you want to be a Blade?”

“I want to be strong.”

“Are you not strong already?”

A pause. Then, in barely a whisper, “Not enough.”

Joy nodded, more to herself than Willow. The air grew heavier and warmer. Candles flickered and went out. The smoke from her incense followed Joy’s path around the room, trailing behind her as she circled.

“What scares you, Willow?” Joy asked suddenly.

“Spiders,” Willow answered immediately. Fey fought the smile that tugged at her lips. Oh yes, she liked this little Witch. This clever, disobedient Witch.

“Spiders,” Joy rolled the word in her mouth, tasting it. Considering it. “No,” she said, finally. “I think not. Not spiders.”

“It’s their legs,” Willow explained. “They have no right to so many legs.”

Lilith’s harsh laugh was cut off by Fey’s swift elbow to her ribs.

“It’s not fair, is it?” Willow continued, opening her eyes a fraction and turning toward where Lilith and Fey stood. “Snakes don’t have any at all.”

“Breathe,” Joy reminded her, trailing her fingers over Willow’s shoulder as she passed. Willow recentered herself and took a deep breath.

“I think you’re lying to us, little Witch,” Joy said.

She paced around Willow in slow, steady circles. Calm, considering.

“You wrap yourself in jokes to protect yourself,” Joy said, her voice suddenly heavy with sadness. Pain. “But you’re scared. And your jokes won’t protect you here. Not from me. You want to be strong. Not just strong, you need to be the strongest. The best of the very best. Why? What scares you so much you would risk it all for strength? What scares you even more than death?”

Willow’s lips twitched but she didn’t answer. The smoke curled in tighter and tighter circles around her, circling her like a storm.

Joy took a deep breath in and stopped pacing.

“They left you, didn’t they?” she said, suddenly, and Willow’s breath faltered.

“Breathe,” Joy commanded. “Inhale. One, two, three. Hold. Exhale.”

When Willow’s breathing had resumed a measured pace, Joy continued.

“And you were young, weren’t you? So young.” There was a deep sadness in her voice. Fey thought she might be crying. “Not even Awakened yet, were you? Not even a real Witch. They didn’t even bother to wait to see what you would become.”

Willow said nothing.

“Just a child and your family left you. Left you to be raised by strangers, left you to die. Why did they do that, little Witch? Why would they leave you?”

“I don’t know,” Willow answered. Her voice sounded strangled.

“What did you do to make them leave you? To make them abandon you?”