"Ja-ade?" Granny, Jade's grandmother called from inside of the house, "Jade, darling, is that you?"

"Yes, Granny!" Jade called back. She turned a corner and came to her living room where Granny sat in a sleek wooden rocking chair, humming to herself while knitting. Granny was a frail old woman with hazel eyes that were slowly turning blind. She was friendly and loved Jade, and Jade loved her back with all her heart.

"Jade, dear, please make me some tea. I'm getting rather thirsty." Granny smiled and patted Jade's cheek affectionately while Jade nodded and scurried away to the kitchen. While the kettle was boiling, Jade glanced out the window. If she positioned herself just right, she could see Gwyneth's Bakery through the leaves and branches of trees in her backyard.

There were still a lot of people there, with cameras and microphones. The guy was right—most of the people surrounding the bakery were press. So far, Gwyneth hasn't re-appeared yet.

The kettle whistled and Jade dragged her gaze away. Hastily she assembled a delicate china tea set and carefully carried the tea back to the living room where she set it next to her grandmother on a table.

"Thank you, Jade dear." Granny stopped her knitting and placed the needles and the sky-colored half-finished scarf on her knees. Slowly with the help of Jade, Granny poured some chamomile tea into a china teacup and drank. Jade sat crossed-legged down on the faded plush carpet beside her grandmother.

After a while of silent drinking Jade spoke up, "Did you hear about the witch and her potion?"

Granny nodded, placed down her teacup and started rocking again. "Yes, honey, I saw it too. Very strange."

"But it's true..." Jade murmured, "It can really bring the dead back to life."

Granny stopped rocking and turned to Jade, frowning, "You're thinking of resurrecting your mother, aren't you Jade?"

Jade nodded, "She could be with us again. Don't you want that?"

"Sure I do, sweet pea, I loved your mother. She was my daughter, don't forget," Granny chuckled, and got a far-away look in her fading hazel eyes, "But Jade," Granny turned to look at Jade. Her eyes held sharpness Jade had never seen, "Don't mess with witchcraft. It'll just bring doom among all."

Jade was silent for a while. True, taking the potion to resurrect her mother was a big risk. What if it didn't work? What if her mother came out different than before? But...she had to try right?

"Granny..." Jade stood, "I'm going out for a walk. It would help clear my head."

Granny smiled, making Jade feel guilty about her lie. Because no, Jade wasn't just going out for a 'walk'. She was going out to get the potion, and keep it.

"Sure, darling, go on. I'll be here!" Granny chuckled again and picked up her knitting as Jade ran out of the house, slamming the door behind her.

She ran across the street to Gwyneth's Bakery. Paparazzi stilled littered the entrance. Jade knew she'll never make it through. Instead, Jade eyed the small, unkempt backyard. No one was there, surely.

Quietly creeping behind several hedges, Jade crept around the press, jumped the fence, and sneaked towards the back on the bakery. She spotted a window but couldn't push it open. Finally, Jade tapped the window, hoping that Gwyneth might have a change of heart and let her in.

Suddenly, the window flew open...outwards. The glass hit Jade face-first and knocked her flying. She landed with a loud thump on the overgrown grass.

Seeing Gwyneth staring down at her, Jade ignored her throbbing nose and rushed over. She had practiced a long, formal speech about the potion but when Jade spoke, she forgot it all.

"I want the potion!" she blurted out, then clasped her mouth. Gwyneth was still staring at her. Jade hurried on, "I mean, it's not for me, it's for my mom. She died when I was 3 and I really want her to be alive again, please would you just give me a tiny bit so she could finally be with me?"

Gwyneth stared.

Jade held her breath.

"Tell me, youngster," Gwyneth remarked thoughtfully, looking at Jade in a way the girl couldn't decipher, "Is—or should I say, was—your mother Ivy June Collins?

Jade looked at the witch with wide green eyes, "Ye-yes," she stammered, looking shocked yet suspicious, "How do you know?"

Gwyneth's pigeon-blue eyes seemed to glaze over, and she murmured, "Your mother and I...she was a good woman."

Jade didn't know what to think, or say, or anything. Gwyneth knew her Mother? They saw each other? Interacted with each other? "Who was she to you?"

"Ivy June...such a tragedy," Gwyneth mumbled, her eyes stilled containing that haunting far-away look, "Such a bright young girl, so eager to learn," Gwyneth's eyes suddenly snapped towards Jade's, and the witch sighed, "Your mother was my apprentice."

All her breath seemed to escape her lungs in a heartbeat, and all Jade could do was stare. Ivy June, her own mother, was a witch? Gwyneth was her mentor? All these thoughts swam around in her head as Gwyneth suddenly placed something smooth into her hands. The potion.

"For Ivy June," Jade heard the witch say, and for once the old woman's voice had a wistful tone to it, "For that beautiful girl."

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A/N:

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~Rose~