Candy Crystal

"Come'ere."

The child behind peppermint scented bars cowered away, tucked themselves into the farthest corner.

Child. They weren't a child, were they? Young, sure, but they were old enough that they should have been able to fight back. Fight back against another person, maybe. Not a witch.

Nails tapped against the bars. "Y'know I get unpatient."

Impatient, the child thought. Not unpatient. "What are you"- the child dared a glance but quickly looked away, seeing those horrendously long and skewered nails. They cleared their throat. "What will you do to me today?"

"Potion," the witch said. "Different than others."

Goodness, why are its 'R's so hideously pronounced?

"I do not want it."

The witch shrugged. "N'er stopped me givin' it to ya before." It whispered something into its hand before poking through the bar. The child felt a tug at their chest and legs as the witch continued. "Need a prentice-"

An apprentice. The child picked themselves up involuntarily. Whatever the witch whispered was doing this, and the child wanted to kill the witch for the lack of will it was presenting.

"-an' you're gonna the perfect one."

Now nearing the bars, the child said, "A perfect apprentice would be a willing one."

A weird noise bubbled from the witch's body. The child tried not to lift a lip as it opened the cell door. Their body still moved at the witch's will.

Before much longer, the child was presented with a...a crystal- one purple. 'Amethyst' came to mind. "What is this."

"Eat," the witch said simply.

Shaking their head, the child objected.

"Eat. It's a potion."

"It's a crystal."

The witch let out a low growl. "Potion is in candy. Eat it 'fore I make you."

With a reach of caution, the child grabbed the purple crystal- or supposed potion. They slid it between their teeth and closed their jaw. To say it was a surprise that the crystal bursted in their mouth would be an understatement. One even larger was this; the crystal was delicious.

The pleasantry didn't last long. Just as quickly as the crystal had bursted in the child's mouth, they fell to the ground, consciousness a concept they wouldn't understand until days later when they woke up feeling as light as a feather with magic in their veins.