The day went on and Victoria managed the shop as Charlotte worked to replenish their shelves. Many came in for curing and health potions, with a few special orders of prevention potions. Then, around midday, Elizabeth came in.

"I'm so sorry," she exclaimed, out of breath. Charlotte peeked her head out of the backroom and smiled. Elizabeth's dress looked disheveled and her light hair was falling out of her bun. It was clear that she had run the entire way there.

"You're fine. What happened?" Charlotte asked, removing her safety gear again.

"My sister came in town last night and I told her that we could have breakfast, but time got away from me," Elizabeth informed before inhaling deeply.

"I appreciate you're effort to get here when you go here. Come, I'll get you something for you," Charlotte informed, motioning her over. She closed the door behind Elizabeth and rummaged through her drawers.

"You're not upset at me?" 

"I'm not, but Victoria might be a little. You aren't late very often, so I can let it slide once in a while," Charlotte answered before handing her a vial. Elizabeth drank it quickly and handed back the bottle. "Why did your sister visit?"

"She hasn't seen me since I started working for you, and she thought it would be fun. She said that she might drop by later, if that's alright," Elizabeth explained.

"I would love to meet your sister," Charlotte smiled. Her employee smiled back and sighed. "Oh, I was talking with Victoria, and she's going to test for her name. Do you want to be an apprentice here? I'll have an opening."

"Yes! Absolutely," Elizabeth answered excitedly.

"Wonderful! Once Victoria gets the title of Madame, we'll get your Mistress title," Charlotte smiled. "Mistress Chymera sounds very sophisticated, if you ask me."

"Very sophisticated," Elizabeth agreed before Charlotte handed her apron.

"Have Victoria show you her duties, and I'll watch the shop," she informed before the young woman nodded and left. Charlotte stayed back for a moment, wondering why these women studied under her. 

They were Charlotte's age, yet they were treating her as a mentor and teacher. Someone that should be decades older than them. Instead, they chose to study under her and trust her knowledge. The Council was even hesitant to let her apprentice so young, although she had been Madame since she was thirteen.

Charlotte sighed to herself before walking back into the shop. Her shoulders fell as she saw who had entered, and she was glad that she told Elizabeth to bother Victoria instead. The woman in her shop was stout and intense, her black hair bundled in a strange design on top of her head. Charlotte noticed that she had her fanciest robes on, which meant that Ava was here to shove something in her face.

"Ava, what do you want?" Charlotte asked, leaning against the counter.

"The name is Madame Fortuna, and you know it," Ava informed shortly. Charlotte bit her tongue, wanting to tell her off. When talking among witches, to call each other by their Madame names was highly formal and generally pretentious. Not that it stopped Ava.

"Anyway," Charlotte pushed, folding her arms. Ava scoffed.

"You never appreciated formalities, Charlotte," Ava hissed, dragging her name. "I'm here to talk to your student employee Miss Chymera."

"May I inquire why?"

"Because I was going to offer a job and study opportunity. I'm surprised that they even let you have an apprentice, or have a student."

"I'm only two years younger than you," Charlotte sighed, at a loss. Ava rarely came into the shop, but always came to put Charlotte down or to mock her. She grew accustomed to it, as her business was doing better than Ava's. Ava waited, expecting audience with her student. "Elizabeth, come here."

"Yes, Madame," Elizabeth answered, remembering to be more formal in the shop.

"Elizabeth, Madame Fortuna here would like to take you under her wing. Would you like to apprentice with her?" Charlotte asked plainly. Elizabeth scrunched her eyebrows together in confusion.

"I've already agreed to apprentice under you, Madame," her student explained. Charlotte turned to Ava, who looked like her was going to explode, and shrugged.

"There you have it. Unfortunately, I have no other students, so if that's all you needed," Charlotte informed, starting to escort Ava out of the shop.

"Excuse me! I am a spell caster, and I refuse to be treated like this by a potion maker!" Ava shouted, her face beet red. Charlotte sighed, opening the door. "You, girl, need to show some more respect, or I'll see that you don't have a job!"

"Indeed," Charlotte groaned, leaning against the door. "I am rather busy, and as much as I would love to argue with you, I simply do not have the time. As a spell caster, I am shocked to see that you have so much time on your hands."

"Your attitude is going to catch up to you, Charlotte! Mark my words, your informality and general rudeness will spread, and you will soon find yourself without a job or credibility!" Ava shouted before promptly leaving. Charlotte watched her scare the people down the street and smiled.

"What was that about?" Elizabeth asked as Charlotte shrugged.

"She has a hard time with competition. I've asked the other witches with shops on the street, and they told me that she does the same to them. Although, I don't take her attitude, so she tends to swing harder at me," Charlotte explained. "Although, I haven't seen her in the shop before. That was new."

"Well, she seems like a handful," Elizabeth mentioned.

"She's more than a handful," Victoria piped up. "I don't understand what she wants to achieve. Besides, she already has an apprentice, doesn't she?"

"I think so. Mistress Cobra? I think that's it," Charlotte answered with a shrug.

"Yes, that's right. I met her at the last Council meeting, and she doesn't seem... competent enough to test for her name," Victoria mentioned, picking her words very carefully.

"I feel bad for her, though. I can't imagine Ava is a patient person," Charlotte sighed. "I think we might close early. I'm a little exhausted by the interaction."

"That's fair. Madame Fortuna seems to seep energy from a room," Elizabeth added, making her boss laugh.

"She does, doesn't she," Charlotte laughed. "Oh, I nearly forgot to ask. Lynn wants us to go over to her place for dinner tomorrow night. Would you be available?"

"Are they back in town already? I would love to come over," Elizabeth answered.

"Wonderful. Alright, I'm going to go back and work on some more potions to stock. If you need anything, that's where I'll be," Charlotte informed before going into the back. She replaced her gloves and goggles, wondering if she would actually be able to get what she needed done before the shop closed.