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“Lorna will be the first in multiple generations to get out of Willowbrook,” she continued, her praising voice beginning to warp into something sharp and calloused.

“No more working at the store with the rest of the Ashfords. Luckily for dear Lorna,” Drusilla paused, leaning over the counter with a venomous stare, “ she didn’t have a backstabbing classmate to worry about. ”

Daisy sighed. Not that she expected the woman to forget the issues of their past, but Daisy hardly expected her young daughter to be caught in the middle.

Perhaps it was Drusilla who sent the potion.

The anger she held could have fostered a vengeful future, a need to see things follow the story Drusilla had written for herself.

“Can we speak in private, Drusilla?” Daisy asked.

Drusilla glanced between Daisy and Tessa before she rolled her eyes and let her hands fall off from around her daughter’s shoulders.

“Well, I wouldn’t want your presence to disturb my customers, would I?

” With a snarky smirk, Drusilla twisted around from behind the counter.

Her airy dress flowed behind her as she led the way to the back of Ashford Groceries .

Near the back of the store were Drusilla’s parents.

They stocked cans in the aisles, watching warily as Daisy passed them by.

She offered them a polite smile, but merely received a pressing stare in return.

Taking in a deep breath, Daisy did her best to remind herself that the anger Drusilla felt was nothing she was capable of preventing.

The truth of the matter was, simply, that Drusilla had been caught in the wrong and she couldn’t handle the following consequences. That was hardly Daisy’s fault.

Drusilla led them into a back store room that doubled as a small office.

She curved around the long desk and took a seat, returning to whatever work she was in the middle of doing.

Across from her were a few monitors showing the security camera’s footage, one aimed directly at the front doors.

Daisy looked over her shoulder at Tessa, who noticed it in the same breath.

Drusilla saw them enter the moment they did.

“I presume you aren’t here to request special shampoo be delivered to the store,” Drusilla muttered as she leaned back in her seat. “Unlike some other people in Willowbrook, I happen to be too busy for useless conversation.”

Daisy stepped closer to the desk. “Can’t we talk about our issues, Drusilla? I-I can hardly remember how many years it’s been since -”

“Thirty five.”

“What?”

Drusilla huffed, tapping her long nails against the desk. “It’s been thirty five years,” she murmured. “Thirty five years since you ruined my future. Funny how easy it is for you to forget, isn’t it?”

Tessa was about to step forward and argue, but Daisy stuck her hand out.

“What you so readily blame me for, Drusilla, is no one’s fault other than your own.

” Daisy’s confidence stuttered, but she kept her head up.

It was her own fight, one that she wholeheartedly knew herself to be on the right side of.

If she couldn’t stand up for herself, what was the point in coming in the first place?

“Did you truly think you’d be rewarded for stealing another student’s essay?

That your university wouldn’t have found out at the end of the day, even without my intervention? ”

Drusilla launched to her feet. “Look around, Daisy! Not everything is simply handed to you! Some of us need to sacrifice our morality in order to achieve the things we deserve!”

“Is that the lesson you wish to teach your daughter?”

“You have no right to talk about my Lorna.”

Daisy pressed forward. “Maybe not,” she snapped. “But I have a right to defend what I did. Honestly, Drusilla, did you think I’d let you use the essay I wrote about my lack of a father? About something so personally mine ?”

“Just because you chose to stay in Willowbrook doesn’t mean that I needed to succumb to the same fate.”

“If you couldn’t get out through your own merit,” Daisy threw her hands up in exasperation, “perhaps you were never meant to!”

Drusilla began to curve around the desk, the anger growing so sharply within her that her cheeks took on a scarlet coloring. “You know, Daisy, you are the most -”

Tessa shot forward, stepping directly between the bickering pair.

She raised her hands out to either side, a warmth beginning to radiate from the center of her palms. The magic seeped out of her skin unseen, filling the atmosphere with a calming draft.

Lavender, Tessa’s signature relaxing scent, slipped beneath Daisy’s nostrils.

Instantly, the growing irritation trailed out of her.

Across the way, Daisy watched Drusilla’s shoulders droop, though her harsh stare and tugging frown never left.

“I think we can all agree that there are some things in the past that cannot be forgotten or forgiven,” Tessa said as she turned to face Drusilla. “Whatever it is, nothing can defend placing a curse upon another witch.”

Drusilla’s eyes widened. “What?”

“Does your anger justify putting a curse on Daisy? What would your daughter think if she knew her mother would go to such lengths for revenge?”

Whatever calming magic Tessa managed to seep into the room dissipated in seconds. The relentless anger Drusilla held within her chest surged to the forefront once more, her shocked look becoming something else entirely.

“Do you know how long I’ve worked alongside the Witch Council?” Drusilla snapped, her hands firmly against her hips. “How long I’ve had their favor? They’re the reason we’ve had this store for so long, the reason Lorna had the chance to get into a good school in the first place!”

Drusilla’s voice reached a higher pitch as she screeched, “If you think for one second I’d risk everything I have worked for just to curse someone like Daisy, you don’t know me at all! The Council could expel me from town if I did something like that! Then where would I go?”

“If you’re so confident,” Daisy said, stepping out from behind Tessa, “then you’ll let me perform a truth spell, won’t you?”

Drusilla jerked backwards. “I am not letting the likes of you get your hands on me!”

“So you expect us to just believe you? After all those nice things you said about me?”

She huffed and crossed her arms. “Either way, you can’t force a spell on me.”

“Look,” Daisy snapped, stepping closer to the witch, “do what you will, but Tessa and I have more than enough reason to believe you cursed me from our history alone. Refuse a truth spell at my hands, and I’ll be forced to go to the Witch Council, where they can do it themselves.

” Daisy shrugged. “Which would you prefer?”

Drusilla went still, her eyes glancing between Daisy and Tessa.

To have a complaint brought up to the Witch Council was just as bad as being guilty.

The Elders would fix their eye on the magic user for months on end, even years, just to make sure there wasn’t any truth behind the original complaint.

Drusilla was stuck between a rock and a hard place, and Daisy could only hope she’d choose the right path to go down.

Falling into her seat with a loud, annoyed huff, Drusilla crossed her arms. “Do the truth spell,” she snapped through clenched teeth.

Daisy breathed a sigh of relief and walked forward. In the same fashion as Marigold, Daisy placed her dominant hand over Drusilla’s forehead. With her thumb pressing into her skin, the energy flowed between them instantly.

A world of memories flashed through Daisy’s mind.

When she saw herself, younger and unscarred, Daisy jerked backwards, almost surprised enough to break the spell before finding what she needed.

But she stayed focused, searching through the pool of memories till she landed on the most recent weeks.

In the end, Daisy and Tessa’s speculations were proved wrong.

Drusilla Ashford held grudges like a professional, but could hardly be considered a villain.

Daisy pulled her hand away, slightly drained but satisfied. Turning, she met Tessa’s gaze and shook her head.

“Happy?” Drusilla snapped.

Daisy faced her. “No, Dru. We happened to be friendly once, didn’t we?”

With her slender brow knitted together thoughtfully, Drusilla stared up at her with widening eyes.

For a moment, a recognizable familiarity passed through her gaze.

Daisy grew hopeful. Perhaps the past could be left where it belonged, and all the trouble she went through could end up with a renewed friendship from her childhood.

But then a sneer crept over Drusilla’s face, and the recognition was gone.

“It’s the funniest thing,” Drusilla murmured. “I can’t seem to remember.”

Daisy pressed her lips together. Whatever she wished to hear wouldn’t be leaving Drusilla’s mouth anytime soon. Turning around without another word, Daisy pulled Tessa out of the back storeroom along with her.

Ashford Groceries was beginning to get some early morning customers when they reentered the storefront.

Willowbrook remained gloomy and quiet as they stepped back outside, the humidity almost sucking the air right out of them.

There was only one thought in Daisy’s mind, and it resembled the grey atmosphere all around her.

Who would have done this to me?