Golden beams of morning light poured forth through the pale boughs of the aspen trees.

The day was just beginning. The creatures of Grudgewood Forest were gradually stirring back to life. From the shadows came a small black kitten: a rare visitor who dared to venture into the old forest.

It had taken Marvela a good portion of the morning to navigate through the streets of Vigilance to find the route back to her forest up on the hill. It could have taken her less time if she had brought Curious with her as he knew the town's layout far better than she, but she had left him sleeping in the library.

She wanted to make this journey by herself.

Alone, she strolled through a sea of fallen yellow leaves, tiptoed over toadstools, and crept under spiderwebs, all while serenaded by songbirds. Marvela's ears pivoted at the lulling sound. Everything was familiar and precisely as she had left it.

Yet she wondered why it didn't feel like she had returned home.

What's changed? the kitten wondered to herself.

"Marvela? Is that really you?" chirped a voice from above.

Marvela looked up into the treetops and saw a pudgy blue face staring down at her in surprise.

The kitten sat amongst the speckled toadstools with her tail curled over her paws. "Hi, Sunshine," she said to the bird with a smile.

The round little bluebird gasped on his branch. He flitted down to the ground and landed beside the kitten with a bouncy hop. "I haven't seen you around in days! No one has!" said Sunshine. "Not since your cottage—ah." The bird held a wing to his beak, unable to say more. His feathers ruffled as he puffed out his red chest to regain his composure. "Well, look at you! Your star's as bright as ever. You seem like you've grown, too!"

Ears askew, Marvela took a long look at herself. She twitched her whiskers. She didn't look any different as far as she could tell. And she certainly didn't feel any different. "You think so?" she asked the bird dubiously.

"I do!" tweeted Sunshine. "And there's something else different about you too." The bird hopped backward away from Marvela. He squinted his eyes to get a better look at her. Then he laughed. "Yes! It's your eyes! There's a new twinkle in those orange eyes of yours!"

Something about that made Marvela's heart want to sing like the songbirds up in the trees. Her chest swelled as a smile spread across her muzzle. "It's nice to see you again, Sunshine," she purred to her old friend.

The bluebird eyed the kitten up and down, a cheeky expression on his face. "It's certainly lovely to see you, too! You wouldn't happen to have any juniper berries with you by any chance? It's getting harder to find them the colder the weather gets. No one can hunt them down like you can! I'll even give you a feather or two in return! Willingly!"

Marvela sighed wistfully. It almost felt like old times... But then she shook her head to clear away the fog of nostalgia. "Not today, Sunshine. Sorry. But next time I'll be sure to bring a whole bushel. Just for you!"

The chubby little bird let out a few joyful notes as he took wing. "Marvelous!" he sang as he returned to his nest, barely able to squeeze himself back into the hollow in the tree.

Marvela turned back to the path ahead of her. She held her chin high and took a deep breath. Her paws continued to carry her forward. She hoped she was ready to meet what lay on the other side of the trees ahead.

Eventually, she came upon a clearing in the woods. And nestled in the clearing, spotlighted by shifting sunbeams teeming with glistening dustmotes, was all that remained of her home.

Marvela hardly recognized the charred pile of rubble she stood in front of. Her chin quivered as she took in the sight. Weeds and moss had already laid claim to the blackened wooden beams and crumbled piles of stone. Burnt shreds of paper scattered in the breeze like moths.

Marvela swallowed the rising lump in her throat. Cautiously, and with the stale scent of smoke stinging her nose, she stepped forward into the rubble. The further she delved into the wreckage, the more bits and parts she recognized. Yes, there was what remained of the old fireplace. And there, under a pile of debris, was Sable's cauldron and charred scraps of her afghan. And over there was—

Marvela pricked her whiskers forward as she approached a book lying amongst the ruins. She brushed the ashes from the cover with a paw. Her breath caught in her chest. It was the book of poetry Sable used to read from every night beside the fire. Orange splatters still stained its spine.

Suddenly, it was all too much. Marvela collapsed into the ashes, hugging the book close to her.

"I miss you," she whispered.

I wasn't just a servant to you, was I?

A memory welled in her mind like the tears in her eyes; a memory of the first voice she ever heard. Back before her eyes had opened for the first time, she had heard that soft voice. Her witch read to her. Spoke to her. She had told her what a treasure she was. She called her her little shooting star as she petted Marvela's white star spot. And Marvela couldn't wait for her eyes to open so she could finally see the face of the person who already loved her so much.

Marvela opened her eyes. Instead of Sable's rosy and round-faced smile, she saw ashes.

Heaving a sigh that disturbed the dust she lay in, Marvela sat up and cracked the book open. It fell open to a page marked by a single feather. It was the very last poem Sable had read, the night Asra had taken her away. Marvela sat up straight. Her orange eyes followed the lines of text as she read aloud to herself, slowly, savoring every word.

"In my heart, a rising flame,

In your heart is much the same.

I let it flare, let it glow,

You made it flourish, made it grow.

In your arms is where I fell..."

Marvela paused, her bottom lip trembling. That's right. She never got to hear the last line of the poem. She read on.

"Love, a simple spell."

Marvela felt her magic swell within her. It grew with every beat of her heart.

Love.

The wind picked up again, making the feather in the book shiver. The kitten blinked and held it up in the sunlight between two claws. It was Sunshine's orange feather; the very one that had altered Sable's potion.

Marvela smiled to herself as she tucked the feather behind her ear for safe keeping. How she longed for the days when a simple potion mishap was her greatest grievance. How quickly life could change in just a few short rotations of the Earth.

She shut the book again, her gaze lingering on the word 'love' as the cover closed over it. She was never a servant to Sable. She was so much more.

However short their time together had been, they had had a bond. And it was that bond that made their magic come alive. More powerful. She felt her magic fill her at the realization. It was warm, like Marvela was once again dozing beside the fireplace in her witch's lap.

Strangely feeling lighter, Marvela stepped away from the ruins and set off into the forest. But then she stopped. She turned back to cast one last look at what remained of the old cottage. Her magic stirred within her again.

She unleashed it and watched it swallow up the ruins in a vast shimmering orange cloud. She stood back as moss grew over beams and charred furniture. New growth soon covered the cauldron, what was left of the fireplace and the numerous bookshelves, and even the book of poems. The moss and grass continued to grow, fed by Marvela's magic, until it completely concealed the debris. Soon there was nothing left to see of the old cabin in the woods, just lush green hills. One by one, orange wildflowers popped forth from the moss, soaking up the sunshine. Butterflies of every color flapped from the trees to investigate the new garden.

Marvela stared at the sea of rustling sunlit flowers, contemplating in respectful silence.

But then the silence was broken.

"Neat!" someone beside her exclaimed. "That was impressive, Marvela!"

The kitten jumped up in shock but then calmed when she recognized her white rat. "Oh, Curious!" she meowed, scooping up the rat that had craftily followed her in the tightest of hugs. "Come here!"

Curious laughed and wheezed in her grasp. "Too tight! Can't breathe!"

Marvela giggled and released her familiar. "Ready to go?" she asked him.

"Yeah," the rat answered. He pondered the rolling garden of wildflowers for another moment. One of the butterflies alighted on the tip of his raised tail. "I gotta say though, with a name like Grudgewood Forest, I was expecting a spookier place. But it's nice here." He turned back to his witch. "Did you find whatever you were looking for?"

The feather behind her ear flapped in the wind and Marvela smiled at a sudden idea.

"Oh, I did," the kitten said, shrugging at her rat as she turned back toward where Vigilance lay—the place where Asra lurked. She raised her tail behind her as she pressed onward. "Just a simple spell."

The orange feather behind her ear fluttered in the breeze that picked up and enveloped the two of them. The eyes of the aspen trees watched over them, unblinking, as they left the forest.

As the pair wandered back home, Marvela could practically picture Sable laughing in her mind, her witch's eyes twinkling with amusement just like they used to. As usual, the spellbook that awaited them back in the library had the perfect solution for them in store.