Page 20 of Uncharmed

Maeve laughed. ‘Gorgeous might be a bit strong. Why does it feel like you’re about to turn this dump into your Malibu dream house?’

‘You think there’s dream house potential?’ Annie said, firing a wink in Maeve’s direction.

She spun on the spot and delivered a swirl of magic in the direction of the wooden ceiling beams. A dainty floral pattern chased its way along the wood, chains of hand-drawn bluebells, daisies and lilacs painted across each one by an invisible brush.

‘It just needs a witch’s touch...’

Annie’s magic conjured more alterations.

The sofa changed to a pale blush pink, a whole assortment of soft throws and floral cushions springing up to match like marshmallows on the top.

The threadbare rug turned fluffy under their feet, making their toes wriggle and Maeve cackle as it tickled.

Vintage teacups appeared with a rattle on the simple coffee table, a roll of floral wallpaper unfurled itself above the fireplace and a wreath of pink roses and baby’s breath wove itself around the pane in the front door.

Finally and most crucially, she summoned a duster, a dishcloth and a mop and set them to work, feathers and suds flying to tackle the cobwebbed nooks and crannies.

‘This feels like the part in a kid’s film when you’re supposed to be singing a catchy song with a talking badger or something,’ Maeve said with a stubborn eye-roll.

But Annie noticed that even she couldn’t hide a childlike glint of delight in her eyes as the transformations unfolded, a sparkling twirl of incantation surrounding them.

Perhaps not quite a dream house just yet, but it was clean and the soft colours made Annie feel more at ease.

She itched to go wild with her visions for the place, but she held herself back, realizing that the transformative incantations would be some of the most overt displays of magic that Maeve had ever seen.

It should be a gradual process – she didn’t want to completely overwhelm the girl, who already thought that she was too much.

‘Much better,’ Annie said triumphantly, dusting off her hands. ‘Never let it be said that I can’t make the best of a bad situation. Do you want to help me do something about these ghastly net curtains next?’

Maeve flinched with a shiver and her smile dropped a fraction. Annie cursed herself for not being thoughtful enough to immediately light a fire. A string of pink sparks towards the hearth rectified that immediately, roaring flames springing up behind the grate with a crackle.

Maeve just shrugged again and turned to face away. ‘I think I’ll probably just get an early night.’

‘Oh.’ Annie’s shoulders sagged, taken aback by the sudden flip. Teenagers really were as unpredictable as everybody said. ‘I thought we could do face masks. I packed us a few.’

‘I have sensitive skin,’ Maeve mumbled.

‘But...they’re fruity?’

‘And homework to do, so I should probably just...’

‘Well, afterwards? How about I conjure us some pizzas and a Halloween video and you can tell me about how you’ve been finding your magic so far?

Is it just oranges you’re dabbling in? Or have you ventured into pineapples yet?

Considerably more spikes involved, so I guess the health and safety aspect is questionable. ’

Annie could have punched the air when an almost imperceptible twitchy smile came back to Maeve’s face for a second, but the girl quickly caught it.

‘Thanks, but like you said, I’ve brought you enough of a bad situation to handle today.

Sorry to be a burden. It’s kind of just what I always do.

Besides, I’m not really hungry. I think I’ll just. ..’

Frowning, Maeve scooped up her sketchbooks from the dining table and headed over to the one separate downstairs room.

It was slotted next to the narrow, winding staircase at the back of the cottage.

In her mini makeover, Annie had conjured a delicate script of purple and blue to paint ‘Maeve’s room’ in looped letters on the door.

Maeve peered around it, noted the simple bed frame, bare mattress and side table and rocked back on her heels, waiting for permission to leave.

‘Right. You go relax, decompress, of course it’s been a big day for you. Sorry, I shouldn’t have assumed, I just...’

‘It’s fine,’ Maeve replied, their words clashing, that early wall of awkwardness between them building itself back up tenfold.

‘Well, goodnight,’ Annie said, her voice uncomfortably high.

‘I’ll be right upstairs if you need me. If you need anything.

In fact, silly me...’ She flicked her wrist and more sparkles glided around the bedroom door.

‘There. I’ve made up your bed and you’ll find some new pyjamas, plus a full drawer of my favourite toiletries.

That should be everything you need, at least for tonight?

We can get a bit more organized in the morning. ’

Maeve nodded, chewing on her bottom lip.

Annie, for some inexplicable reason, gave an enthusiastic wave and immediately regretted it as Maeve raised her eyebrows.

Just as the door was about to close, Annie couldn’t help but blurt out a final thought.

‘Maeve?’ She cringed, adjusted her volume a little.

‘You are never, ever a burden, okay? Not with anybody, but especially not with me. I’m so pleased to be here with you. ’

At that, Maeve peered back around the door and frowned for a moment, as though confused by how to respond. She only gave a tiny nod, then shut the door behind her with a click.

Annie felt her entire skeleton sigh as the tension broke.

She hadn’t realized how tightly wound she’d been all day.

Tightly wound was her normal state, a familiar rigidity that ensured nothing could go wrong.

But today, it hadn’t worked. Everything was entirely out of her control and she had found herself in the middle of nowhere, with a difficult teenager who thought her new guardian was a ridiculous cupcake of a witch. Which, perhaps, she was a bit.

Her head fell into her hands and she cursed herself for every single silly decision she’d made throughout the day.

With Splendidus Infernum entirely redundant when it came to her relationship with Maeve, Annie was already making huge mistakes: stumbling over her words, endlessly awkward, putting her foot in it over and over without even understanding how or why.

Being here with Maeve meant that Annie’s real self was going to be more on display than she had allowed in forever.

She wasn’t even sure she knew what – or who – that was any more.

What was abundantly clear was that Maeve didn’t seem to like her much – and Annie didn’t blame her in the slightest. This was going to be a long, long stay at Arden Place.

‘What have I done?’ Annie asked herself in a whisper.

Darkness had descended outside and was spilling into the cottage, stealing away the temporary feeling of comfort and cosiness that she naively thought she had managed to create.

It was going to take more than a few superficial tweaks.

Maybe it wasn’t possible for her to make a happy home at all, having not known one herself in a very long time.

Annie sighed and glanced back at the herbs hanging from the beams of the kitchen ceiling. With Maeve having chosen an early night (or, she suspected, just removing herself as soon as possible from Annie’s company), she should turn her attention to the most pressing problem.

‘Lavender for creativity, compassion, calming, new ideas,’ Annie said to herself.

The spell wouldn’t work on her relationship with Maeve, and she would have to accept that, but Annie could still maintain as much balance across the board as she possibly could – think more efficiently, gain control of the situation, shine up her outlook to something more polished.

All she had to do was be perfect again. She would be letting everyone down if she buckled.

Standing on her tiptoes, Annie snapped off a stem of the lavender and crushed it in her palm to a fragrant powder. She headed to the back door and quietly snicked it open, steeling herself as she always had to for what was to come. Regrets, mistakes, heartbreak...Her heart cowered.

A bath would help.