Charmed, I'm Sure...

Angelica answered the door.

"Serena, what a surprise, please do come in."

Serena crossed the threshold carefully.

"Can I get you anything? Some tea? I have cookies in the oven that are almost done. You have impeccable timing."

Serena stayed by the door. "There is no sense in beating around the bush. There was a council meeting yesterday...."

Angelica cut her off, "A council meeting? Oh my goodness, I am so sorry. I have no idea how I missed that. I swear I didn't get a notification. I mean I have never missed a council meeting, I don't think anyone in my line has missed a..." Angelica looked at the expression on Serena's face,"...Oh I see. I was not informed. You were meeting about me."

"Yes. There have been some complaints."

"Some complaints? About me?"

"Yes. Complaints."

"Well you might as well sit down so we can talk about them."

"There is nothing really to talk about. You have been practicing without permits."

"Permits? Permits to do what?"

"You know you need permits to practice. It was part of the Accords. The council agreed to them."

"Not the whole council, no."

"As a representative for the council I agreed to them. You just have to file for the permit before you practice. Everyone else seems to have gotten with the program, why haven't you?"

"Because I did not agree to it. You are asking me to file for a permit every time someone comes to me for help. Gee, Fred, I'd like to help your wife deliver your child but I need to file for a permit so come back to me in a week when everything is processed. It's nonsense and you know it."

"That is the most extreme example. You aren't just practicing midwifery. You are doing other charms and..."

"Rites. Rites. You are trying to declare that I have no right to my rites. Do you not see how ridiculous that is?"

"It is the way we live now."

"No, it's the way you live. The people around here depend on me. They cannot depend on anyone else."

"There has been another complaint."

"I'm sure there has been."

"Lord Elefan said that you refused to work with him even though he had procured all of the proper orders."

"He had procured them? You mean he wrote them? How difficult for him. Did he tell you what he wanted?"

"That doesn't matter. He had the paperwork."

"He wanted an agreeable charm. I would not produce an agreeable charm for my closest friend let alone a member of the ruling class."

"He..."

"He wanted to never be told no. Ever. Not that it matters when someone tells him no, apparently, but he wanted to get rid of that small hurdle of free will."

"There are others who..."

"There are no others who have ever asked for an agreeable charm. They might have wished for one, or thought how much easier life would be with one, but no one has ever dared to ask for one." Angelica realized her mistake, "Wait, you are saying there are others who would make him one? No one outside of my lineage can make a perfect agreeable charm. Did those others explain that to him? That it might work, or it might not. Or he might discover where the origins of The Monkey's Paw came from?"

Angelica searched Serena's face. "No, of course not. He pays well. And if he got what he wanted, not just the charm, but punishing me for denying him, then all is good for him. And whoever made it for him would take their chances. Right, Serena? You would take your chances?"

"I resent the accusation."

"You might resent it, but you cannot deny it. Not in my house anyway."

Serena glared at Angelica for a moment before resettling her face into a neutral mask. "The council has voted to remove you from your position on the board and to deny you your practice for the next 12 months."

"You want me to stop practicing for a year? To stop supporting my neighbors? No healing, no childbirth, no growth charms for the crops? You want me to abandon them?"

"Someone else will step in to cover your area."

"Along with theirs? So you will have one practitioner handling multiple towns and villages? How will people get to her quickly enough in times of emergency? It's hard enough for my rural neighbors to reach me, if they had to go two towns over? People are going to die. You know that."

"People are going to learn to live without us soothing their every little need. There have been plenty of times in history where they were self sufficient. We are not indispensable."

"You are creating our destruction? Is that what I am hearing? You are helping to destroy our way of life for what?"

"I do not have to listen to such accusations. I am here as a courtesy to let you know that your services will no longer be required. I am sorry that this came as a surprise to you but you really have left us with no choice in the matter. Progress cannot be stopped."

Angelica smiled, "Do you honestly believe I didn't know this was coming? Did you believe that no one on the council would have given me a warning about what was happening? Serena, you should have known better."

"Fine you knew I was coming, but there is still nothing you can do."

"Again, you are believing things about yourself that are not true. You stepped into my house, across my threshold. You have no power here. Not just your new found love of administrative powers, but no powers. You can't make a charm or cast a spell. You have nothing while you are here.

Well except you do still have free will and can make a choice. You can sit down and have a cup of tea and a few cookies and then leave here believing that you delivered the message and I went meekly into the woods and this matter was settled to your satisfaction. Or you can stay here behind my wards. Nobody will find you here, and you won't be able to leave. There are enough goods in the cabinets to last you for awhile but the farmers won't be bringing new supplies. I'll go away no matter which way you choose. It's up to you on if you join me as a ghost."

"You will trap me here even though you are going to do as I ask? What's the point?"

"I'm not going to do what you tell me to do, Serena. I'll still be here. You just won't be able to find me. The people in my village, the people under my protection, have ways of contacting me."

"You trust them to not sell you out?"

"True, maybe I shouldn't, I mean I did trust you." Angelica laughed, "Okay, that's not true. I have never trusted you, Serena. You're a weak witch who has always used dubious methods to grasp power. You would be a toady to a Lord instead of an independent power unto yourself for a piece of gold. You've never understood what service to others means and because of that we as a group are weaker. You are a disgrace. But I will still give you the choice. Have a cookie, Serena. Show me that you are just exactly who I believe you to be."

Serena glared at Angelica. "Give me the damn cookies."