The Purple House: Chapter Six

Dawn was just a hope when Lilith removed the lock and banged on Credence's door.

It would be a long day, but each hour that passed brought Lilith closer to her reward.

She had prepared two more cups of tea, but only one had an enchanted blend, a simple calming mixture with a dash of gullibility. Lilith knew it would take more than a day to properly prepare Credence, but if she kept the girl pliant and docile, by the time Credence realized what was happening it would be too late.

"Get up, girl!" Lilith shrieked, hitting the tea tray against the door. She conjured another window to spy on Credence and saw the girl sitting up in bed, confused and half-asleep.

"Is it morning," Credence groaned. "It doesn't feel like—"

"Doesn't matter what time it is! Do as you're told and open the damn door!"

Lilith closed the spying window and waited. The door cracked open and Credence peered down at her host, but did not move to allow the witch inside her room. It was an odd reversal of the first time they met, but now Lilith knew the great reward Credence would bring, so the witch spoke with a little more civility.

"Morning tea," she mumbled, her patience reaching its end just as it began.

"Why?" Credence asked, still groggy but instantly cautious of Lilith's generosity. "Are you going to punish me?" Hastily she added, "I didn't mean to harm you. I'm sorry."

Lilith wanted to drop the tray and throttle the girl.

"A witch never says 'sorry'. Let me in so we can discuss what you did."

Credence opened the door and the old witch ducked under her arm and into the room. There was no proper table for tea, so Lilith sat the tray on the bed and plopped onto the stool beside it. She patted the blanket in a motion that meant for Credence to join.

It was like seeing a bear in a dress, this abrupt etiquette coming from Lilith, and Credence kept her guard up as she took her seat across from the witch.

This is a trick, Credence thought, knowing Lilith could read her thoughts, she means to poison me.

"I mean nothing of the sort," Lilith snapped. "From one witch to another, I only want to show a bit of gratitude."

"Gratitude? For what?"

"Not taking my life, of course." Lilith dropped an old sugar cube into her cup. "You could have, you know. Could've ended me right there, but you didn't. I like my life, and don't wish it to be done just yet, so here I am, to—" The words were caught in her throat, so Lilith coughed to free them, "—here I am to congratulate you on a blow well struck."

Credence took the cup Lilith offered her and eyed the steam rising from it.

"I don't know what I did."

And Lilith wouldn't be the one to tell her. If Credence had displayed a true commanding of the wind, a power Lilith struggled in vain to produce, what did it matter? It didn't, to Lilith. She would never give Credence the satisfaction of understanding her own self—not until Lilith had the girl firmly under heel.

"We'll discuss that some other time," Lilith said, making Credence frown.

There was an echo of Credence's childhood in that answer, for it was a thing often said by her parents when they wanted to withhold secrets. Just as it did at home, the reply troubled Credence.

"Just remember I showed you kindness today," Lilith continued, "instead of seeking revenge."

Ah, so that was it. That was the reason for this uncharacteristic courtesy. Lilith was trying to spare her hide. It wasn't a surprise to realize the witch was merely laying the groundwork for Credence's future pity after discovering how fierce and powerful her apprentice really was.

Mind that pride, Credence's mind warned, but Lilith chuckled.

"No shame in being proud of one's work."

"But I didn't mean to hurt you, only to stop you."

"One and the same sometimes. How did you sleep after?"

"Very well," Credence admitted. She'd fallen to sleep the moment her head touched the pillow, and the night had gone by uneventfully, without any dreams or tormenting thoughts.

But now that she was awake, a remorseful reflection tugged at her.

"I should have gone to you," Credence said. "It was not right for me to stand by."

Lilith grunted. "A witch doesn't concern herself with 'right' or 'wrong' either, but only bothers with what they feel. What matters are the emotions that drive each moment, and damn all the rest. Instinct, girl. In the moment your emotions drove you to act, and it was your emotions that kept the blood orb from hitting you, wasn't it? Not 'right' or 'wrong', eh?"

"I suppose. But still, I should have helped you after."

"Why? I tried to hurt you, instead, you hurt me. That wolf you ensnared in a tooth trap, or those nasty twins burned in their home—should you have helped them?"

"That was different."

"How?"

"You weren't really trying to hurt me."

"Wasn't I?"

Half, Credence thought. Lilith motioned to the cup in Credence's hand.

"It'll get cold soon."

Credence held the cup to her nose and inhaled its lovely floral scent.

Chamomile, a hint of lemon balm, valerian, a pinch of sage and—

Ah, there it was.  A mild scent masked between the layers of sage and lemon:

Poppy. The Craver's Flower.

Credence thought back to a moment in her lessons:

Lilith held up a vibrantly red flower with a black ring around its yellow center.

"Poppy," Credence responded.

"Also known as?"

"Craver's Flower."

"Why?"

"Highly addictive in medium doses. Feed enough to someone and they'll yearn for nothing else."

"What does it do?"

"Makes a person susceptible to commands. Its oil can be rubbed into the skin to make a human doll, but after too many doses it will kill. If burned properly the fumes can cover a village and create short-form dociles of many people at one time, but the effects of poppy smoke wear off within a few hours."

"Strong smell though."

"It can be masked with lavender or lemon balm."

"Sage and rose will also do in a pinch..."

The dose in her cup wasn't enough to turn Credence into a raving addict or mindless doll, but a few more cups of spiked tea might do the trick. At any rate, one cup might sedate Credence for an hour or two. What game was Lilith playing?

"It's still too hot," Credence said and put the cup back on the tray. Lilith's face betrayed no hostility in the refusal.

"Got a long day ahead of you," Lilith said through sips of tea. "After what you did I mean to accelerate your lessons. You'll need your strength. A good breakfast will help."

"I'll see to it right away."

Credence started to stand but Lilith stopped her.

"Take your time. Stretch and wake. Reflect on your power last night and prepare yourself. I'll sort out breakfast."

Lilith couldn't possibly believe she was being sly. The witch had never shown kindness before, and the mask of civility she wore now was so transparent—

She didn't care she was being obvious. Something about that seemed more dangerous. Credence couldn't help but wonder if the witch planned to attack her somewhere inside the day.

Lilith stood and took the tray with her, but left behind the tea meant for Credence.

"No doubt you've recognized the poppy in there," Lilith tossed casually over her shoulder. "A smart witch would know it's not a meaningful amount. Just a little something to take the edge off. For what we've got to accomplish today, I need you calm and not worrying over every little thing. Drink and join me for food."

Credence had no intention of swallowing anything with poppy in it, so when she moved downstairs she poured the tea into an old potted plant. It was dead anyway, as most things in the purple house were, so Credence felt no guilt in the act. She walked into the kitchen, putting on a dreamy air.

"Smells delicious," she hummed as she eyed the food Lilith was preparing, a mash of egg and potato. "Thank you for the tea." She took a seat at the kitchen table, praying Lilith wouldn't see through her act.

Lilith set a steaming plate in front of Credence, then prepared one for herself. The hag dove into breakfast but Credence studied her plate through narrowed eyes, and she bent to sniff it, masking her suspicion with an amused air, acting like the smell was so delicious she couldn't help herself. Lilith was not fooled.

"Didn't put nothin' in there to harm you," she said through a mouthful of food, not bothering to look at the girl.

"I didn't suppose you did," Credence answered demurely before taking a bite. It was delicious, made with butter and cream and a hint of fresh garlic, and certainly one of the better meals offered to her in a long time. Credence hummed in approval and took several more bites. If Lilith meant to poison her, at least her final meal would be memorable.

"What will you teach me today?" Credence asked.

"Most important lesson of all," came the cryptic reply. "I mean to teach you about yourself."

"Myself?"

"Galeia never told you about her childhood, did she?"

"A little."

"She probably never told you about your birth, did she?"

"What do you mean?"

Lilith looked up at Credence, and her stare burned into the girl.

"Never heard nothin' about your destiny, huh? About Galeia's promise?"

"Oh, that. Ma told me about it. She said I was free to make my own choices."

Lilith snorted. "There's no choice in destiny. You have as much control over it as a fish does the sea! No, the only thing you need to know about destiny is that it comes when it comes, and you can't do a thing to stop it."

"That's not what I was told."

"Then you were told wrong!" Lilith pounded the table with her fist. As abruptly as it came, Lilith's anger dissipated, and she ran her spidery fingers through the few remaining strands of hair on her head. "Galeia thought she could change the course of the future, but her stubbornness only pulled her child into the mess she created! In a way, you can deny your path, but you'll leave chaos and destruction in its place. You leave imbalance. And in the end, destiny always catches up to you, one way or another."

"Why?"

"When destiny commands something it must be obeyed. Take me, I accepted my place here when I was just an infant."

"I thought a dark witch could do whatever she wants."

"There's always someone or something to serve, and destiny sits highest of all. I do what I want because I accepted my fate, because I serve that which cannot be overruled. That allowed me freedom."

"So there's freedom...in serving?"

"You've got it. Serve nothing except destiny. Accept your fate. Keep it happy, so you can be happy."

"I once met a cat who said it sat above all."

"What does a cat know beyond its own paws?"

"It said it was a god."

"And you believe everything some wild animal tells you, eh? I was beginning to think you had some brains in you. Perhaps the cat really believes it's the most powerful being in the world, and maybe that belief even makes it so, in its own way. But the truth is there's no higher power than fate. You can't bargain or reason with it, you must embrace your lot—or doom yourself."

"How?"

"Take Galeia. She spat in the face of destiny and look what it wrought—the very Collector itself!"

"Ma did not create the Collector."

"Oh? You know more about it than I do now, eh? Little stump has all the knowledge over me, is that it?"

"The Queen made the Collector. In her anger she created a monster that grew out of her control."

Lilith laughed in a way that made Credence feel simple.

"Is that what you were told? The Queen melted the iron, but it was Galeia who forged the sword."

"I don't believe you."

"You don't have to, but it's true."

"So everything is Ma's fault? Sounds like a jealous sibling to me."

"Don't care how it sounds to you." Lilith paused to stifle her rising fury. "Galeia was wrong to betray her destiny."

"Why did she?"

"Stupidity," Lilith said simply. "The stupidity of youth and love."

"She told me she didn't regret it. She told me I had the same right to make my own choice."

"She lied, and did more harm than good to put those foolhardy notions in your head." Lilith set her fork down. "You have a promise in your soul, accept it or not. You've been calling to it and it's heard you. Destiny comes for you, girl, and swiftly. It's my job to see you ready."

"What is my destiny? To join the Queen's court in Ma's place?"

Credence's voice was colored with fear. The Queen was gone. What sort of destiny did that leave?

Lilith eyed her cautiously, choosing her next words carefully.

"I mean to tell you all of it. The truth of Galeia's past, and how she sacrificed her daughter while you were still growing in her belly."