Lavender's Dungeon

This is my short story submission for the first round of the NYC Midnight writing challenge. This story is about a young apprentice of wizardry. He creates a spell that uses people’s wisdom teeth to expose their darkest secrets.

Guidelines for contest: Must include procrastination, a dentist and the use of Fairy Tale genre. 2500 words.

The old man slowly flipped through the worn pages of the ancient book. He was quite comfortable here in his little office. Most days he would sit upon his stool, reading about spells created when he first began. All around him the jars would sit. They were timeless. Some had been there for centuries. Inside of them, the stagnant fluid sat in the exact same way it had been for such a long time. The only thing that diversified each jar was the writing on the label pasted on the outside. Each jar was sandwiched in between other jars of the same size, and stacked upon the shelves bordering the room.

In this room of jars the old wizard would sit. His spindly, wrinkled fingers would flip through the pages of the book. He must’ve reread it thousands of times—making notes in the margins with his quill. He would envision himself performing the spells in his younger years. Sometimes, when it was late, he would slowly drift off. He would get lost, reminiscing about when it all began. 

…

It started as he was nearing the end of his ten-year apprenticeship through an old wizard from the city. The wizard was getting close to retiring, but he wanted to pass on his trade to a younger wizard with the spark he lacked. The old wizard taught him the art of Medical Magick—a type of magick thoroughly frowned upon by the majority of their fellow townspeople. The old wizard would create potions, herb mixes and perform spells on people that were desperate for healing. The young apprentice was fascinated by what he learned from this old wizard. He was amazed by the way the old wizard could identify people’s ailments with ease. Although the practice of Medical Magick was seen as dabbling with the Devil, customers that had once been healed by the old wizard would always return in secret (or disguise) to obtain more goods. The old wizard had good business.

In this apothecary of Medical Magick, the young apprentice discovered his trade. The young wizard was now quite experienced in the trade since he was nearing the end of his apprenticeship. The old wizard would let him run the shop by himself in the late hours while he slept. One late night a young couple came into the shop through the back door.

“How can I help you?” asked the young apprentice.

“My husband has a toothache. The dentist is out of town for the next week on business. He can’t speak or sleep. We are desperate,” she explained.

The husband groaned.

“Let’s take a look,” said the young wizard.

They descended down the long flight of stairs, all the while her husband moaned. He clutched his wife’s arm with one hand, his other caressed his aching jaw. They entered a room lit by a low candle light. In the center of the room was an armchair and a table.  

“Please sit,” said the apprentice.

The man sat in the armchair and closed his eyes. The apprentice sat near a wooden table with a large crystal ball mounted on top. He activated the crystal ball by rubbing it three times in a circular motion, and it began to light up the room with dancing colors. Shapes and apparitions reflecting off the many books, bones, jars, plants and stacked letters. The couple looked around the room, amazed. To them it looked like a collection of junk, but to the apprentice they were the endless projects of a seasoned wizard. He lit a candle and walked over to the husband, swiftly plucking a hair off his head. The apprentice then placed the hair on the flame of the candle. As soon as the hair touched the flame the crystal ball’s light fell to a low yellow glow. The apprentice approached, looking into the ball. He studied the wisps of glowing colors. The couple waited with their eyes locked on the concentrating gaze of the wizard. After a thorough reading the apprentice spoke.

“He needs his wisdom teeth removed.”

“What are wisdom teeth?” Asked the wife.

“The wisdom teeth hold the secrets of the body. In many cases, the wisdom teeth know more about the body than the mind. They are quite extraordinary little objects.”

“Why are they causing him pain?”

“Well, it is uncertain why they decide they want to leave the body. It is sudden. They don’t give much warning, but when they decide it is time to depart the body, they must be removed immediately,” explained the wizard. “They must be extracted tonight.”

The wife looked down at the husband. He nodded.

            “Do what must be done,” she said.

            The wizard retreated to a cabinet full of potions and elixirs. He grabbed two small bottles and returned to the armchair.

            “Milk of the Poppy for the pain.” He tipped the potion into the mouth of the husband. He swallowed the thick syrup and sat back in the armchair, dizzied by the effects.

            “That should do,” said the apprentice as he grabbed a pair of pliers from a nearby drawer. 

            The wife gently placed her hand on her husband’s arm as the apprentice began pulling the teeth out of the man’s mouth. After the deed was done, the husband bent over a large bowl to spit out the blood. The apprentice gave him cloth soaked in more Milk of the Poppy to help clot the blood and prevent pain. 

            “What do you do with the teeth?” Asked the wife, for she couldn’t help but notice the large molars sitting on the table.

“We keep them for research purposes,” said the wizard. “Let me help you get your husband home. How far do you live from here?”

“Not far,” said the wife, looking down at her hands.

            “Is something the matter?” Asked the young wizard.

“No, just feeling a bit tired after this ordeal.”

“Understandable, let’s get him home.”

They put both arms of the man over their shoulders and made their way up the stairs. As they walked down the cobblestone path, still carrying the unsteady man, the apprentice realized he wanted to make conversation with the woman. He tried, but simply couldn’t find the right words.

To his relief, she spoke. “How long do you have left in your apprenticeship?”

“I have 3 months left,” said the young wizard.

“And where will you go afterwards?” Asked the woman.

“I want to leave the city. I want to practice my magick in a place that is more accepted by the community. I want to feel safe and respected with my practice.”

“That is an understandable decision,” said the wife.

The wizard was taken aback by the knowledge this woman possessed. He decided to change the topic.

“Do you have children waiting for you at home? I’m sure they are fast asleep in bed by now.”

The woman looked solemn. “I was never able to have children. We tried everything. I don’t suppose you would have a spell for that?”

“Unfortunately, our fertility spell cannot guarantee a child, madam. It still requires more research and trials before it can be put into practice with promised results.”

“I see,” she said.

At this point they got to the front door of a small house. The woman opened the door and began lighting candles. The wizard set the husband down near the fireplace. He set more gauze and the second potion on the table. Soon the husband was asleep.

“Give him the second potion and change out the gauze when he wakes,” said the young wizard.

The woman approached him and grabbed his hand. He looked at the woman in the dim candlelight. He now realized just how young she was. In fact, he was stunned by her seemingly timeless beauty. Her skin was dewy with perspiration after carrying her husband home. She had long auburn hair that curled into ringlets around her breast. He quickly looked down at her hand holding his.

“Thank you so much for everything.” She smiled sweetly.

He opened the palm of his hand. Inside was a gold coin.

“Payment for the procedure and potions. You did better than the non-magick dentist could ever do.” she explained.

He mustered up an awkward nod, and felt his face getting hot. He quickly turned out the door, not daring to look back.

…

Now, with his old age, he allowed himself to look back on that day. The first day he met her. His first time dabbling with dentistry on his own. He realized long ago that he loved her the day they met. Tears began forming. He removed his glasses and wiped the falling moisture from his wrinkled cheeks. He closed the old book and ventured over to the endless shelves of jars. He shuffled to a small cabinet full of his unfinished projects. He gently reached in and pulled out a jar. The label read: Amber. He carefully rolled the small jar back and forth…pondering.

…

The younger wizard returned to the shop in a daze—falling asleep on the armchair that the man sat in through the procedure. He envisioned what it would feel like to have the woman’s hands resting on his arms.

The next day he awoke to the old wizard shaking him awake.

“Hey you. Get up. You have a customer.”

“Already? Why me?” wondered the young wizard.

“She insists on speaking to you.”

The young wizard’s heart began beating fast. He thought back to the woman he helped last night. He began patting his hair down, and before he knew it, she was at the top of the stairs, descending down. The old wizard returned up the stairs back into the shop.

“How’s your husband?” Asked the young wizard.

“Oh, he’s fine. He’s been asleep all morning. I changed out the gauze and gave him the second potion,” she said.

“Great. How can I help you then?”

“Well…” she began walking around the room, looking at the jars and books on the shelves. She stopped. “You know, you were really great yesterday. It’s amazing how you can tell what is wrong with someone by just looking into that crystal ball.”

“Thank you.” He could tell something was on her mind.

“What can I do for you?” Asked the wizard once again.

She stopped and began looking at her hands.

“I need to know about my husband,” she said abruptly.

“What do you want to know about him?”

“I suspect he is being disloyal to me. After what you said about the wisdom teeth…about the secrets…I have to know. Ever since we realized that I will never bear children I’ve become suspicious of him. He goes out late at night to the pubs and returns smelling of lavender oil. Please help me.”

The young wizard sat in the chair looking at the woman. He realized the opportunity being presented to him at this very moment. If he helped this woman, the results may cause her to be heartbroken. The spell may also cause her to rekindle her love for her husband. Either way, he knew he needed to begin writing a spell for this woman.

“Okay. I’ll help you.”

She smiled.

For the next few months the apprentice stayed up late with the candlelight. He kept the mission secret from the old wizard—as it was not medical magick. It was magick meant for finding a different truth. He wrote endlessly in a large book. Writing his experiments; what worked, what didn’t work, tweaking his recipe to perfection. The woman would come by and sit with him. She became his inspiration. Her interest in medical magick was encouraging to him. He found it very easy to speak with her, and he found himself slowly falling in love with her. One evening, she told him her name: Amber. Now every time he studied his insects crystallized in amber, he would think of her. Every time he saw an orange sunset fade into the horizon he would say her name.    

Finally, the spell was ready. The night had come. The full moon was out and Amber was waiting patiently in the armchair.

“Are you ready?” Asked the wizard.

“I’m ready,” her voice was shaky.

The young wizard pulled out the cauldron from under the table and brought it over to the hearth. He added the necessary ingredients; frog leg, celestine, bay leaves, moon water. Finally, he pulled the jar of teeth from the shelf. He looked at the woman. She seemed nervous. She nodded her head.

He opened the jar and dumped the teeth into the cauldron. The crystal ball on the table jolted to life. Displaying colors of flashing red and pink. The young wizard and woman ran to the table, gazing into the ball. The images that flashed before them were horrendous. Images of her husband drunk at the brothel, bedding dozens of women. There were visions of these women bearing his children. Amber fell to the floor, sobbing. She was heartbroken. She wept for a while and then fell silent.

“Let’s go,” she said.

“Me?”

“Both of us.” She was serious.

The young wizard never knew spontaneity. He knew that his apprenticeship was technically over. He knew Amber no longer had loyalties to her husband. Most of all, he knew that he was deeply and irrevocably in love with Amber.

…

Centuries had passed since that day. Amber was long gone. She refused to live a mortal life with the wizard, as tempting as it may have been. The wizard, now ancient in body, mind and soul thought back fondly on the day they ran away together. This was the day their new life began (and what a life it was). They took the crystal ball, and fled under the cover of night to a nearby town. They began their life together at the same time he began his business. He would perform medical magick for people of the town, and he became a well-respected wizard of dentistry. He vowed to never expose his spell, but only create more spells to pass the time. He remembered the day Amber woke with a toothache, and he extracted just one of her wisdom teeth. Before she died, she made him promise to perform the truth spell on her tooth. Now, he flipped through the pages of that spell book he began so long ago. He stopped when he got to her spell, and felt an overwhelming sense of reassurance. He looked down at his hand holding Amber’s jar. The undying trust he had for her led him to procrastinate performing the truth spell on her tooth. He decided he would only perform the spell on his dying day, only to see her face one last time. The orange sunset brilliantly lit up the room. The old wizard made his way over to his collection of crystallized amber in her shelf. Taking one last long look, he slowly began opening her jar.

Lavender Dustan

1/30/21