So, there was certainly a sign before it all began.

It was late autumn, just as the northern forest was ripening into the season. A large freight wagon stopped in front of the witch’s tower. With a loud whinny from the horse, Marli quickly ran outside.

“Hello, sir!”

“Hello, Marli.”

The gray-haired merchant greeted her in his usual easygoing way. He was the only merchant who had visited since the days when Belladonna owned the tower, long ago.

Trust was everything between a witch and a traveling merchant. The merchant delivered groceries, firewood, and ingredients, and even sold potions and goods on her behalf. Of course, Marli could only ever entrust him with rather ordinary remedies.

While he unloaded the goods he’d brought, Marli brought out the items she had to sell. Among the usual assortment of odds and ends, the merchant’s eyes widened at the sight of a glass bottle filled with a vivid purple liquid.

“Whoa, what’s this?”

“It’s Belladonna’s special potion. I made it myself.”

“You did, Marli?”

Marli nodded proudly. The merchant examined the glass bottle, looking surprised, before smiling with satisfaction. He had always felt sorry for Marli because she struggled to make ends meet, even though she was a witch.

She also handed him a pouch filled with small medicine bottles.

“And please sell these, too.”

“What are these?”

“Fairy essence.”

“All of this?”

The merchant was speechless as he looked at the pouch stuffed with potion bottles. Not only the potion, but even the essence. With this many, even just his share of the commission would be considerable.

“Marli, you’re really talented. At this rate, I’ll be rich in no time, too.”

“Oh, it’s nothing.”

Marli replied, feigning indifference as a wave of embarrassment washed over her. For a moment, she considered telling him she’d caught a fairy but decided against it. It wasn’t as if he’d get the wrong idea, but she wanted to keep that secret to herself.

The merchant unloaded plenty of food and firewood. With winter approaching, and since the potion sales would cover everything, flour, barley, root vegetables, and dried meat soon filled the storeroom.

For now, she priced the potions low. It was Belladonna’s special recipe, but this was her first batch. Once word spread, she could raise the price as much as she liked.

As the merchant rearranged the remaining goods, Marli remembered something she’d forgotten.

“Oh, and one bottle of honey, please.”

“Honey?”

“Yes, give the best you’ve got.”

The merchant selected the finest honey from his stock and gave it to her. It was naturally intended for Prim. With winter approaching and flowers growing scarce, the fairy trapped in the witch’s tower and Marli hadn’t been able to gather any nectar for him.

“Next time, please bring an even better honey. Bring the very best you can find.”

“For our Grand Witch, it’ll be my pleasure.”

The merchant promised cheerfully, then finished loading his cart.

Marli carefully cradled the large jar of honey in her arms. Would Prim be happy? The essence and the potion, she owed it all to the fairy. Even if their situation was a little exploitative, she didn’t want to be a heartless landlord. Besides, she and Prim had become quite close.

But—

“Mmm…”

“What’s wrong? You don’t like it?”

“It’s not that… I just don’t have much of an appetite.”

Today, Prim had no energy at all. After just a few dips into the honey Marli had poured into the bottle cap, she rolled over and turned away. Even her wings, which usually sparkled, looked droopy and dull.

Marli wondered if there was something wrong with the honey, so she dabbed a little on her pinky and tasted it. Wow, it was sweet. The syrupy taste made her scrunch up her face. She couldn’t tell if it was good honey or bad, but it was unbelievably sugary.

She found herself worrying about Prim, who had turned away. She asked him again.

“Should I go pick some flowers for you? If I go a little farther, I can probably find some autumn blooms left.”

“No, I just want to sleep.”

“Oh, okay…”

Now that she thought about it, Prim had seemed quieter than usual over the last few days. Marli gently draped a soft cloth over the tiny fairy’s body. Curled up and facing away, Prim didn’t move at all. For some reason, Marli had a bad feeling.

🧚‍♂️⋆｡°✩｡⋆⸜🌸⸝⋆｡°✩｡⋆🧚‍♀️

But the next day, Prim was flying around as if he’d never been sick. Marli kept an eye on him for another day or two, but the fairy was perfectly fine—if anything, a little too energetic.

“Marli, Marli, Marli!”

“Ugh, stop making such a racket.”

“Aaah, I’m bored!”

Prim flopped onto the desk, flailing his arms and legs. Marli just glanced over, then went back to her work. She was busy steaming and drying all the herbs she would need over the winter. Even in the cool air, beads of sweat appeared on her forehead.

When his dramatic pleas failed, Prim scurried over and clung to the top of Marli’s head. The familiar scent quickly made her body heat up. Exasperated, Marli peeled the fairy off her hair.

“I’ll play with you later!”

They were both now accustomed to this shared routine. For Prim, sharing his essence with Marli merely added to the enjoyment of the experience, so he didn’t mind at all. Although Marli grumbled about the noise, she secretly enjoyed having someone around. After all, whenever she returned from the forest, the tower always felt far too quiet.

They weren’t quite friends or family, but their relationship was close to that. As is often the case with such relationships, you never realise how precious someone is until you’re together every day.

When Marli kept brushing him off, Prim fluttered away in a huff.

“Tch!”

If Marli had looked up at that moment, she might have noticed that there was something amiss with the fairy’s flight. But she was too busy preparing for winter to notice the danger already at her doorstep.

🧚‍♂️⋆｡°✩｡⋆⸜🌸⸝⋆｡°✩｡⋆🧚‍♀️

Marli shivered in the cold while she was out in the forest. The temperature had plummeted overnight, making it feel as if winter had arrived all at once. She realised that she hadn’t seen any small animals, such as squirrels or rabbits, all day.

Winters in the northern forest were long. Once the first snow fell, she would be stuck in the tower for the next four months. As she dug up herb roots, she picked whatever wildflowers she could find along the way.

This would probably be the last time she could bring flowers to Prim. Despite Marli going out of her way to buy expensive honey, the fairy still preferred to sip nectar straight from the flowers rather than eat it from a dish.

After wandering for a long time, Marli still couldn’t fill even half her basket. She realised that she would rather relax in front of the fireplace with Prim than wander around like this. She pulled her cloak tight and hurried home.

As soon as she returned to the tower, she went straight up to the ‘witch’s room’. She planned to brag about all the flowers she had gathered as she threw open the door.

“Hey, Prim!”

But the fairy, who should have shown up immediately, didn’t respond. Was he asleep? But then again, fairies don’t hibernate. Marli tilted her head, puzzled, and stepped inside.

The dusty room was silent—eerily so. There was no flutter of fairy wings, no high-pitched whining voices. The crackle of the fire sounded deafening against the stillness.

Marli’s eyes were drawn straight to the window. Had the barrier failed? Had Prim escaped? Honestly, it had been ages since she last made sure it was still functioning. But the window was exactly as she had left it—shut tight.

“Prim?”

Again, there was no answer.

Marli tried to remember whether she had locked the door properly when she left earlier. No matter how hard she tried, she just couldn’t remember. She’d never worried about the fairy running away before, for no particular reason.