Hide and go seek

"Are you serious?" I started. How could he still be talking to me about lunch? "Lunch now!" His voice was low and brooked no argument. I had a feeling he wouldn't say a word about my parents unless I ate. I slumped into my seat and reluctantly scooped up the thick, fragrant, mouth-watering stew. Ahem! But I didn't enjoy it! He did the dishes alone. I didn't offer to help, and he did not ask me to. But from the dining area, I did notice a half-lidded pot in the kitchen that very likely contained leftovers of the stew. I tugged at my bracelet with narrowed eyes and resisted the urge to ask for more. He'd probably laugh in my face if I did! A minute later, he walked out. I could still hear movement in the kitchen. I stole a glance to see that the utensils seemed to be...washing themselves. I sighed. Magic sure was convenient. "Now... about your question," he said. I faced him seriously, but he didn't seem to be in a hurry to talk. He poured me...wine? And that too from a teapot. I raised a brow and pushed away the cup. "I'm too young to drink." "It's not alcoholic," he said, his expression thoughtful. "But if you leave it to ferment long enough, it will be." He gestured. "Try it, it's hibiscus tea, and it tastes great." I didn't want to drink his tea, and I didn't care about the taste, but his posture seemed to tell me that he had all the time in the world to waste. But I didn't. I gripped the cup. In a flourish, I made to finish the small bit of tea in one gulp. Big fat tuna mistake! Cough. Cough. Cough. "So...cough...damn spicy!" He had a Cheshire grin that narrowed his eyes to a slit. "It's the ginger," he said and took a small, delicate sip from his cup. He could have told me to drink slowly, but he kept quiet. I had a feeling he did it intentionally. I slammed the cup on the table. "Be careful, little girl, that's good china." I scoffed. He tapped the teapot. "More tea?" I glared at him. How I wished I could pour the pot of tea up his stupid nose. I licked my lips. The aftertaste was quite nice. But not enough to tempt me! I sat still, quietly glaring at everything. Then I heard him drop his cup. "Finally," I grumbled. He began, "Your parents won't be easy to locate." "Does that mean you can't—" "Difficult, but not impossible, little girl." "Oh—" I didn't know what else to say, even though I had many questions. He continued, "It will take a long time to manually find them, especially since they went missing at different times." "Can't you use your magic spell book or crystal ball to, like, locate them?" He looked me in the eye for a straight second, then laughed. "Pfft, hahahaha, little fool." I hid my exasperation under a most impressive poker face. It feels like he has laughed at my expense about a hundred times today. "What?" I finally bristled. "Relax, little girl," he reached out and pinched my nose. I hit him hard. "Ouch, tigress." "Don't touch me!" "We... Magicals are not like that. We don't have a spell book with words that we chant to do stuff for us." "We're specialized in our magic, different covens have different concentrations." "For example, Maera's coven is better at disguise, and their more powerful ones can even shapeshift. They can cover up their scent easily and fit in pretty much anywhere." I nodded in understanding. "So what's your power?" He raised his hand. Intermittently, a mirror, a book, an apple, a knife, and several other items emerged out of thin air and vanished just as quickly as they came. "What do you think my concentration is?" I thought for a second. "...erm, conjuring?" "Close, but not quite right. More like to manifest, to will something into existence." "Of course, that thing must already exist, so don't expect me to poof up unicorns or a dragon." "Hold up, if you exist, then why can't they?" "... well, if they did ever exist, then they're extinct because in my nearly three hundred years of existence, I have never met a dragon or the other." My mouth fell open. "Th-three hundred!?" He leaned close and grinned in my face. "Is it that shocking? Don't worry, when you're my age, you might look just as stunning as I do." He touched his cheek. I rolled my eyes. "I'd be very dead in three hundred years." He smiled at me, just smiled. The kind that said he knew something I didn't. But I didn't bother about it. None of the categories of witches he mentioned can help me find my parents! "So, how will you find them?" "Through this," he manifested an old photo of—wait... glasses? "This is?" "Glasses." Close your eyes. Deep breath. You can't beat him in a fight. "I can see that," I ground out through clenched teeth. "What is special about it?" "They are Seer Glasses. As long as you can remember the look of what was lost, putting on these glasses will help you find it, even if it's dead." I glared at him with venom. He raised his hands in mock surrender. "Where is it? The fact that you're showing me a picture tells me that you... don't have it," I said this with certainty. "Bright as always." I knew he was being sarcastic. "It can be easily found. Getting it out of its guardian is the problem." "It's what?" He sighed deeply. His lips moved silently, and I could swear he was telling himself to calm down. "Magical items are housed in guardians. Guardians could be animate or inanimate objects...Like, while the Baba Yaga house is an animate guardian, Aladdin's cave is an inanimate one." "Aladdin's cave exists?" "That is not the point, Aurea!" "What did you call me?" He blinked. "It doesn't matter. Tomorrow, Maera will take you to find the Seer Glasses." "Okay, but just to put it out there, my name is A-r-i-a, not Aurea. Tch, can't even pronounce a simple English name." He raised his hand. For a second, I thought he would flick my head, but he pointed to something behind me. "The door's that way." I relaxed but tensed again when I saw where he was pointing. "That's a window." "Leave." "You want me to climb through a..." "Leave!" "How do you expect..." "Now!" Fine! I'll go. I gave him a hateful glare. I grabbed a chair and hurried to the window before he could stop me. At least it was a wide one. I crawled through the window, my face turning red at the embarrassing position. I wiggled out and thankfully landed on my feet. I looked at the rose bushes around me and cursed under my breath at him. As I stomped away, I could hear laughter coming from his house. Stupid, psycho, sadistic creep! A few steps forward, and I screeched to a halt. Purple eyes stood there, staring at me. "What do you want?" I crossed my arms, trying to regain my composure. He blinked at me, his expression plain and unreadable. "You... came out through the window?" I narrowed my eyes. "Yes, Sherlock, that's what people do when they can't find the door." He tilted his head, studying me "You're feisty. I like that." I scoffed. "I don't care what you like or dislike kid. Just tell me what you want." He took a step closer, his gaze intense. My heart skipped a beat. He opened his mouth and just said "Nothing"