The Witch in the Woods: The Transmigration of Hazel-Anne Davis

After I had left Liang Yiran's courtyard, and before I could get to the front gates of the Palace, a servant intercepted me.

"The Empress is demanding your presence," she said, her head held high and her hand out like I was supposed to bow to her… or tip her. Either way, it wasn't happening.

I raised an eyebrow but didn't say anything. Maids like that were a dime a dozen here, and the only ones worse were the eunuchs.

I knew the Empress personally, and I liked her. I really couldn't see her demanding anything from me—let alone saying it like that. I was more than willing to bet the servant was trying to create tension between me and my mother-in-law.

I smiled slowly. "Lead the way."

The servant stiffened, clearly hoping for something more dramatic, and scurried ahead.

Shi Yaozu walked silently at my side. He didn't ask what the summons was about. He knew better. He also knew the Empress well enough to assume it wouldn't be punishment or reprimand. The only thing I'd be risking tonight was my appetite.

The Empress's private residence didn't smell like the rest of the palace. There was no incense burning, no heavy lacquered perfume clinging to the drapes. It smelled like orange peel and warm rice, like long baths and older books. Comfort.

When I stepped inside, she didn't rise to greet me. She didn't have to.

"You're late," she said, waving a hand toward the second cushion across from her. "I almost ate your dumplings."

"You would never," I replied, folding my robes beneath me as I sat. "You take too much care of your appearance for something like that. Look, the plate is still full."

"That's restraint." She lifted her chopsticks like a queen lifting a sword. "Don't expect it to last when I no longer have to compete with the other women in this place for favor."

I picked one up with my fingers and popped it into my mouth. Still hot. Still perfectly soft. I hadn't realized how hungry I was until I tasted the filling—crab and ginger.

"You remembered what I liked."

"I remember everything about you," she said easily. "You're my favorite."

"You say that to everyone."

"I don't even say it to my own son."

I laughed before I could help it, knowing that she was telling the truth. To have favorites in the palace meant putting someone in danger. She smiled at my laugh, like it was a sound she'd been waiting all day to hear.

The Empress didn't sit like a noblewoman. She leaned on one elbow, tapped her chopsticks on her bowl, curled her legs under her robes like she wasn't sitting on gold-threaded silk cushions. Her hair was half down. Her eyes were half-lidded. But nothing about her was soft.

"I had a dream," she said, passing me the plum wine. "You were sitting in fire. Not burning. Just… resting in it. Like it was a bath."

"Sounds about right."

"Would you do it again?" she asked. "What you did on that battlefield?"

I was surprised; I didn't think that she knew about what happened there. I poured the wine for both of us. "If they try to take what's mine again? Absolutely."

She hummed her approval. "Good girl."

The words shouldn't have felt comforting. But they did.

We ate quietly for a while. No servants. No formality. Just the occasional clink of porcelain and the rustle of fabric as she adjusted her sleeves.

Then she set down her bowl. "Show me again."

"You'll break something."

"I already did," she said with a sigh. "I sneezed and lit my mirror on fire."

"That's talent."

"It's chaos."

"It's Lust."

Her eyes twinkled. "Isn't it lovely?"

I stood and stretched out a hand. "This time, don't try to force it. Just... want something."

"I always want something," she muttered, but she rose anyway and took my hand.

The flame bloomed between our palms—mine dark, hers soft gold. It curled upward like a serpent, flickering but controlled. Her eyes went wide.

"Oh," she whispered. "That's new."

"Your flame listens to desire," I reminded her. "So give it something to want."

"I want to feel young again."

The fire shimmered. A ripple of laughter danced through it, and it shifted shape—curling like a ribbon around her wrist, warm but not burning.

She laughed, too. "You weren't kidding."

"I never am."

"You're very boring that way."

"And you're dangerously untrained."

She turned toward me, fingers glowing faintly with amber heat. "Will you keep teaching me?"

"Do you want me to?"

She looked away. "I haven't wanted anything for a very long time. Except you."

I blinked.

"To stay," she added quickly. "To be here. To not vanish into mist like everything else. And you know, maybe a grandchild or two… or four."

I lowered my hand. The flame vanished.

"I'm not going anywhere," I said. "And I make no promises about grandchildren."

"Promise that you won't leave without saying goodbye?" she replied softly.

I looked at her—not the Empress, not the most powerful woman in the empire, not the mother of a Crown Prince—but just a woman who had tasted power and still felt hollow.

"I promise."

She smiled like it was enough. For tonight, it was.

We sat again. She poured more wine.

"I heard a rumor," she said lightly. "Someone from the North arrived this morning. A Crown Princess with opinions and too many horses."

I arched a brow. "Trouble?"

"She hasn't even opened her mouth yet, and I already want to poison her."

"That's the Lust talking."

"That's the me talking."

I smirked. "Sounds like someone I'd get along with."

"Or kill."

"Maybe both."

The Empress leaned forward. "If it comes to that—if someone challenges you in this court—don't wait for permission. Don't wait for me."

I met her gaze. "I never do."

She looked proud.

Dinner ended slowly. We lingered over sesame pastries and dried plum slices. She made me tell her what each one reminded me of from our world. I described the taste of Oreos and soda. She asked if cola was poison. I said yes. She promised to find some.

By the time I left, the moon had risen high and the halls were still.

Shi Yaozu fell into step beside me without a word.

"You were gone a while," he said eventually.

"She wanted to see fire."

"And?"

"She did."