THE MOMENT
"So in exchange I want your firstborn," the witch said. Fredrick nodded eagerly. All things considered, the witch wasn't what he anticipated. Her solitary cabin in the forest was small, and quaint, and filled with an assortment of odors from the variety of fresh herbs drying on one wall. The scent of peppermint was overpowering, but he also caught a whiff of lavender and sage. Two other walls were lined with shelves, one wall of thick tomes, and one wall of glass jars filled with magical ingredients. All of that was as he expected, but not the witch herself.
She was nowhere near the hag he imagined having to face. If anything, the delicate touches of silver in her long dark hair and subtle laugh lines made her significantly attractive to Fredrick. And, her smile was almost warm as sunlight. There hadn't been a hint of any sinister cackling in his short time there. That quickness was what had surprised him the most. He'd barely explained his goals and she immediately demanded his firstborn. He'd come prepared to offer his soul, a child not yet born was easier to bargain with.
"They will be yours," he said.
"And a few years later I want your second born," she added. It was unexpected, but it would give him an excuse to see her again, and it was a step toward his goal.
"Uh, okay then," Fredrick nodded. He was growing mildly suspicious, on hope alone.
"Then, after a few more years I want your third but no more," she said. Was she intimating something?
"Jeez," Fredrick nodded with a warm smile. "You have a venue too?"
"What?" the witch asked? "What for? You didn't say anything about a venue before... I didn't take that into account..."
"No, no," Fredrick chuckled. "I just meant.. you want so many of my children.. maybe you were thinking we could raise them together..." he said. "I mean, I thought of it." He wanted to let her now it was on his mind too, he wasn't trying to lay blame on her.
"Get out," she instantly pointed at the door. "I don't need your business, and certainly not your propositions. I am no longer inclined to work magic with you," she said with lovely, stern, cold brown eyes.
"Wait.. what? It was just-,"
"A joke?" she asked. "You come in here asking to be ruler of the damn world, and you think I can just magic that up?" she rose from her seat knowing his gentlemanly habit would force him to his feet too, and she started guiding him toward the door.
"I'm so TIRED of people like you thinking I want to marry them any time I need their children for a spell. IT'S DAMNED WITCHCRAFT!" she shouted. "Baby souls are powerful sources of magic, but I can't just do those spells in a row! That kind of recklessness would kill me, which is why I spaced them out." He'd followed along quietly as she reached the door and opened it, while still reprimanding him.
"I need FREAKING YEARS to recover! You didn't ask me for a trivial spell, you want to rewrite reality. But nooo.. instead of thinking about it logically, your first instinct is, 'she must want me'," she giggled and shook her head.
"The funniest part is, you're a complete idiot," she said. She raised her arm and showed him the back of her hand as she pointed at golden ring with a huge diamond. "I'm already married; I wasn't even trying to hide it."