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“What do you think, Vi?” Wynona set the new jar on the open shelf and stood back to admire her collection. Rows upon rows of tea mixtures decorated her shelves. They were all homegrown and custom made, and after everything Wynona Le Doux had been through, she was extremely proud of her accomplishment.
Violet, Wynona’s purple mouse, chittered and ran circles on the workshop table. The creature had gotten its unusual color during a hex gone wrong from Wynona’s sister, Celia. Wynona and Violet had become wonderful friends ever since the near-disaster and the tiny rodent was now a permanent fixture in Wynona’s life.
Wynona smiled. “I know. It looks good, doesn’t it?” She let her eyes scan the neat labels, which included lists of all the ailments the teas would help. Her mind continually churned with more ideas of how to mix herbs and tea leaves in order to help people, and Wynona looked forward to trying them all.
Violet skittered down the table leg and dashed across the room, diving into a dark corner.
Wynona frowned, but didn’t stop the creature. It wasn’t like Violet belonged to Wynona. They were friends, not master and pet. When Violet decided she was done with a situation, there was little Wynona could do about it, except hope that her small companion came back later to enjoy a meal together. Wynona was growing used to Violet’s lavender color and had even decided the uniqueness of it fit the mouse’s bold personality.
Wynona knew what it was like to be different, especially when that difference came because of a curse. Maybe that was why she had put such effort into drawing Violet out from her hidey hole behind the bookcase after Celia’s attempted killing. Birds of a feather and all that...
The biggest difference between the two was the fact that while Violet’s curse was visible to everyone, Wynona's was nearly invisible. She had had the unfortunate luck to be born into the most powerful witch family in all of Hex Haven. Her father and mother ruled the valley, with her father holding the title of President Le Doux.
At her birth, Wynona had more than likely been born with great powers, if her family line was anything to go by, but something had gone wrong. From the moment she had entered the world, her powers had been bound.
Her family had been completely unaware of the problem until it was too late and no amount of research had helped them find the culprit. As someone who had now become completely worthless to her family, Wynona spent all her growing up years isolated in the castle. Her family and even the servants either ignored her, or treated her like dirt.
The only bright spot in her life had been Granny Saffron Le Doux. She had refused to allow Wynona’s unfortunate situation to color the way she treated her grandchild. Thus the older witch had taken Wynona under her wing and taught her everything she could that didn’t require magic.
The large inventory of teas and spices were a testament to Granny’s tutelage and why Wynona had named her tea shop Saffron’s Tea House.
Without her grandmother, Wynona would never have escaped her family and never had a chance to live her own life.
“And despite dead bodies and grumpy vampire police chiefs...we made it, didn’t we?” Wynona whispered to the empty room.
Violet must have decided to take a nap, since she didn’t answer.
Brushing her fingers against her pants, Wynona began to put away all the tools she had used to create her latest tinctures. Her workspace smelled like someone had spilled incense on every surface, but she didn’t mind.
Each smell only reminded her of her granny and the few good moments of her childhood. There were times when it was far too easy to dwell on the bad parts of her life. Like the fact that her family hated her, the fact that she had no magic, the fact that she’d been mentally abused as a child...
But Wynona didn’t want to dwell on those things. She wanted freedom from it all. Freedom from pain and nightmares and heavy grudges. That’s why she had decided to open the shop. When she was busy helping other paranormals, she was too busy to be angry at her family.
It was a win-win for everybody. Wynona got to use the skills Granny had taught her and her family could ignore a pest they hadn’t wanted in the first place.
Wynona was just wiping down the last workcounter when her stomach growled. She automatically put a hand on it and grimaced. “Guess I should have eaten breakfast.” Shaking her head, she quickly finished up, then hurried inside.
Her kitchen was just as neat and tidy as the rest of her house. There was something so wonderful about having a place for everything and everything being in its place. An unbidden smile pulled at Wynona’s lips as she walked into her small, but cozy kitchen. She had bought the house from a dryad when she’d first escaped her family. It bordered on the Grove of Secrets. A magical forest that no sane person or creature ever entered willingly.
The isolation had been perfect for Wynona. The magic of the forest helped infuse the plants in her greenhouse with a little something extra, and nobody bothered her while she was working.
The pan she had placed on the stove started sizzling and Wynona pulled herself from her wandering thoughts and cracked a couple of eggs. A squeak from behind caught her attention and Wynona smiled over her shoulder. “Hungry?”
Violet stood on her back legs, nose twitching toward the stove.
“Grab a seat,” Wynona said, waving toward the table. She grinned wider when she could hear the scuffling of tiny legs hurrying to their usual spot. Without missing a beat, Wynona stirred the eggs and gathered two plates. One large, one small. It only took a few moments to toss some bread in the toaster and begin to put the food on the plates.
“Here you go.” Wynona added a few slices of strawberries to each serving, then set the tea saucer in front of Violet. The house was quiet as the two ate their simple meal, contentment thrumming through the air.
Wynona couldn’t stop the smile on her face as she ate. It had taken her a long time to get to this point. Years of heartache, struggles, failures and now finally, she was seeing a rainbow at the end of the storm. She had her business, she loved what she did, and she had new friends. Including the little mouse at her side.
“Good?” Wynona asked.
Violet chattered, scrubbing her face with her tiny, purple paws.
Wynona’s phone buzzed and she grabbed it from the farside of the table.
We still on for lunch?
Wynona glanced at the clock. She had promised her friends she would host a tea luncheon.
Yep. As long as you bring the flowers you promised.
Primrose was Wynona’s best friend who happened to be a fairy, and was also one of the premiere flower growers in Hex Haven. Just like Wynona and Violet, Prim was a bit different from the rest of her species in that she didn’t have any wings, but no one could talk to a rose the way Prim could.
Wynona had seen flowers move as Prim walked by, just because they felt her presence. Being born without wings definitely hadn’t dampened Prim’s magic at all, though many in the fairy community refused to acknowledge it. The flower farmer’s own ostracization was part of the reason she and Wynona had become such good friends.
Wynona had learned very quickly after escaping her parents’ castle that tragedy brought people together.
Oh, they’re ready. It’s the invitation to the wolf shifter that I’m worried about.
Wynona bit her bottom lip. Deputy Chief Strongclaw, otherwise known as Rascal, had been instrumental in not only saving Wynona’s life when she was helping catch a killer a few months ago, but he had also seen to it that Chief Ligurio, a grumpy vampire who had a grudge against the Le Doux family, listened to Wynona and her ideas.
Along with that already impressive resume, Rascal was also very handsome and a strong flirt. Wynona had so little experience with men that she wasn’t sure if his flirting was serious or not, but she would be the first to admit that she wanted to find out.
In an act of bravery, she had invited him to this Sunday’s afternoon luncheon. It would be his first time attending one of her tea parties and Wynona was more than a little nervous. Though she wasn’t exactly sure why. It wasn’t a date and she didn’t even know if Rascal was interested in her as more than a friend. But the sprites that took flight in Wynona’s stomach whenever they were close to each other gave her hope.
You didn’t chicken out, did you?
Wynona sighed and texted back.
No. I invited him. He said he’d come.
Wynona could practically hear the squeal that would be leaving Prim’s mouth right now, and just knowing it was happening was enough to make Wynona smile...again.
She couldn’t believe this was her life now. A year ago this was nothing but a dream and here she was, looking forward to many more days spent just like this.
“Come on, Vi,” Wynona said, standing up and stuffing her phone in her pocket. “Let’s go make sure those imps haven’t burned down the kitchen.” Wynona bent down and picked Violet up and put her on her shoulder. “And let’s hope that their antics didn’t drive Lusgu into giving his notice!”