The cauldron was bubbling with foam at the edges, indicating that it was probably not a good idea to stick a finger or two in there. The color inside was radiant blue mashed with green, and the billowing smoke that rose up from her concoction casted a thick veil in the atmosphere. 

Skimming her slender finger down the yellowed page of her spell book, she grabbed a jar of Lizard Legs and Crow Eyes and popped one ingredient from each into the cauldron. After that, she added some herbs and green ivy. Then, she used her big wooden spoon to stir her ingenious mixture together.

It was at times like these that she felt like a true witch, albeit she didn't have long nose nor creepy eyes. 

When it was finished, she took out a small slim container and pour her concoction into that glass container. She gazed at the luscious pink content inside as it swirled around. 

She walked up to her bedroom upstairs with the concoction in her hand; she pulled the old carpet out and revealed a hidden trapdoor. Pulling it open, she proceeded down to her secret basement where she stored her concoctions.

Witches always had plenty of spells and concoctions on their hands, and she was no exception. Lined up on rows and rows of wooden shelves were bottles after bottles of liquids in bright and radiant colors. On each of them was a small label marking what the spell was for because most of them could get out of hand.

Finding an empty place for her newest creation, she placed the pink bottle on the shelf and made a label that says: Bewitchment.

She stood back, and instead of returning to her bedroom, stared at the pink bottle. A Bewitchment spell was what it was; a spell designed to charm and bewitch anyone, no matter who they were or what they feel. A spell that could secure...love.

That was a silly thought. Spells, no matter how powerful, could never overcome a person's emotions and mind. She was among one of the few witches who believed in that principle.

Oh well, she thought, maybe Hyori would find some use with something like this.

She returned to her bedroom, closed the trapdoor, and pulled the old carpet over it. Dusting her hands, she then got ready for the most exciting part of the day: the annual New Year's Market.

Every year, a big market was opened up in the center of the kingdom comprised with countless vendors of merchants and businesses. The merchandise offered were unlimited. Next to the annual Knight Competition, the New Year's Market was also one of the biggest event in the entire kingdom.

Why has she excited about this? Because she had a vendor herself. Yep, she had her own little cozy vendor that offered herbs and fresh vegetables and flowers and anything that could be found in the Sanctuary forest; she also made perfume from flowers and herbs, which were always women's favorite. She liked the feeling of people stopping by to look at her stuffs and smiled as they picked up a bundle of fresh thyme. Or a couple strolling hand in hand with each other picking out a pretty bouquet of flowers. Or a little child pointing at her brith red hair as if it was something out of this world. 

Just thinking about it placed a warm feeling in her heart, and although she wasn't much of a sociable person, it was good to interact with the townspeople from time to time. Even though some might stare at her with uneasiness, most people still couldn't resist what she had to offer.

Like a little child, she giddily waved her hand. The herbs and flowers and vegetables she piled in stock floated into the air and settled readily in their baskets. She waved her hand again, and bottles after bottles of perfume in the cabinet floated softly into her wooden boxes.

She changed into a purple dress, for the sake of looking presentable, and walked outside. She snapped her fingers and a carriage with a horse popped out of nowhere just like that. Smiling, she loaded her merchandise and started in the direction of the town. Even from here she could already hear the bustling of activities there.

----------------------------

"You gonna reel in a lot of customers this year?" Rumy, the woman in charge of the event, smiled at her as the men started setting up Bom's vendor in the designated location.

"Hopefully." She smiled politely back at the woman as she looked at the familiar tables and shelves being set up. 

"I heard the Princess is getting married! It's the Prince in the neighboring kingdom right?" Rumy asked her in a gossiping tone. "What does he look like?"

Somehow, the inquiry brought a heavy feeling to her heart. She ignored it and tried not to let it dampen her.

"I don't really know. You know I don't keep up with these things." 

"Of course you don't." Rumy waved affectionately. "I'll just ask Hyori."

Good decision, Bom thought as she waved at the retreating Rumy. She didn't want thoughts of him that person to ruin one of her simple pleasures. Their lives crossed paths once, and that was that.

She set her merchandise on the table, lining up the shelves with perfume bottles and putting the radiant flowers in baskets facing the sunlight. She sprinkled a little water to make her greenery fresh, and stood there to look at the crowd of milling people already gathered around the town's square.

The morning weather was just perfect for a day at the Market. It was early into the event, yet already she could see countless people walking and looking at the vendors. The air was filled with noises, and the atmosphere felt like that of a festival of some sort. Standing underneath the shade, she smiled amably at anyone who happened to walk by her vendor.

"Excuse me, can you let me smell the perfume?" A woman's voice drew her attention, and Bom smiled politely.

"Of course."

-------------------------------

"Get your hands off me!" He growled irritatedly as Jiyeon tried to link her arm through his for the nth time.

"What's the big deal? I bet you did way more with other women back in your kingdom." Jiyeon said nonchalantly as she looped her arm through his again.

"Contrary to what you think, I'm an honorable man. Now cut it out." He brushed her touch off harshly.

"Trouble in paradise?" Siwon called on his horse near the castle gate with a teasing smile on his face.

"It's nothing, brother-in-law!" Jiyeon answered.

Brother-in-law my posterior, he thought.

"Siwon let me go with you!" Seunghyun called, running towards his brother.

"Nah." Siwon smiled. "Go with your wife!" He said before disappearing out of the castle gate into the town.

Damn it! That good-for-nothing brother! 

"Come on Seunghyun! Hurry up!" Jiyeon said from inside her carriage as she beckoned for him to come over.

Great. Now he had to put up with her going shopping, no less. What was more annoying than a woman at a market? Nothing!

---------------------------

"That'll be seven coins." She said as she handed the bundle of fresh herbs to her buyer. She smiled and nodded politely after he paid and went off.

Phew, she let out a breath. It was super busy as time passed and as more people arrived. The Market was jam-packed; the neighboring vendors also had their hands full with customers lining up by the second.

She was lucky enough to take a breather. Pulling her dark hood off, she fanned herself against the humid air of the afternoon. The Market didn't seem to be ending anytime soon.

Siwon walked among the townspeople, feeling quite out-of-place in the midst of the common folks. Back in his kingdom, he seldomly had time for things like this, being the heir to the throne and all. But he had always thought it was interesting and beneficial to interact with the people of the kingdom as well as participate in the common events.

He felt like a normal person as he looked at the vendors and marveled at the kind of merchandise being offered. There were so much to see, and like a child he was excited to see everything.

Suddenly, he felt a soft bump against his leg from behind. Turning around, he saw a little girl on the ground with an ice cream cone mushed against the road. The girl started crying loudly, attracting attention, and Siwon stood there flustered with no clue what to do.

Suddenly, a woman with red hair appeared with a thornless rose stem on her hand. The little girl ceased crying when the woman held the red rose to her face.

"A beautiful rose for a beautiful girl." He heard the woman said, and the little girl smiled as the woman her hair. 

"T....thank you." He rubbed the back of his neck embarrassingly as the woman sent the little girl off. The woman turned around, and Siwon's eyes widened.

"It was nothing." The redhead said, returning to her vendor. Siwon stood there, surprised at encountering the lady whose ribbon he asked for at the Knight Competition.

She said Bom was her name. He remembered vividly, because he had her green ribbon tied around his neck.

He stared as Bom smiled at her customers and sold her products to the people. There was something about her smile and the way she hustled around her vendor that made his heart speed up.

Unknowingly, he approached her vendor.

"Yes?" Her voice awoke him from his trance, and he tried to come up with some sort of excuse.

"I....uh...I...how much are the flowers?" He spurted, not looking at her.

"2 coins a stem."

"Then ummm..." Siwon said, looking at his feet. "What's your favorite flower?" 

"Pardon?"

"What's your....favorite flower?"

The question caught her off guard, but she didn't give it much thought. The man was probably asking for a woman's preference that's all.

"Blue lilies." She answered.

Blue lilies. Not roses. Somehow her answer made him smile.

"I'll have a bouquet of blue lilies." He said, this time looking at her.

"Here." She handed him the lilies. "That'll be 10 coins."

He paid her, and she looked down to put the money in the drawer. When she looked up the man was holding the blue lilies in her face.

"For you." Siwon said, trying not to sound flustered.

She was surprised, and slowly accept the flowers with some hesitancy. 

"I'll....see you around." He said, briskly walking off. He couldn't let her see his red face.

What a strange person, she mused. She held the blue lilies up to her nose to smell their pleasant scent and smiled.

--------------------------------

"This color looks good on me right?" Jiyeon said as she held the teal silk against her body.

"Whatever." Seunghyun said flatly, scanning the surroundings distractedly as Jiyeon set the silk down with a pout.

"Are you even looking?" She said, standing in front of him.

"Do I look like I am?"

A dark scowl crossed her features, but she soon replaced it with a smile.

"Let's go see the other vendors!" Jiyeon said, dragging him by the arm. "Oh look the vendor over there has flowers! Let's go!"

"Excuse me, how much are the roses?" Seunghyun didn't even bother to look and only stood with his arms crossed and his back to the vendor.

"3 coins a stem." A voice answered. A familiar voice that set something off in his mind. He whipped around, only to find the person that has been plaguing his dreams at night.

"That'll be 12 coins." He stared as she handed Jiyeon the roses. 

"Aren't they so pretty?" Jiyeon asked, snuggling against him with the roses in her hands. He didn't look and only stared at the red-haired woman behind the vendor. She turned, and their eyes met. In a second, he thought something flickered across her face. But it disappeared immediately when she looked away with an expressionless face. 

"C'mon let's go." Jiyeon said, trying to drag him away from his spot. In doing so she knocked a bottle of perfume from the shelf to the ground.

"Oh no! I'm so sorry!" Jiyeon exclaimed superficially as Bom went out to clean the glass from the ground.

"I'll pay for it." Seunghyun said, awoken from his trance. He digged in his coat for a handful of coins and extended his hand out to Bom. She wordlessly took it, but he suddenly grabbed her hand and didn't let go. She yanked, to no avail. She yanked again, but he refused to let go as he stood there looking straight into her unreadable eyes.

"What are you doing? Just give her the money." Jiyeon said, looking at Seunghyun's hard expression with raised brows. Seunghyun released Bom's hand.

"Keep the extra." With that, he dragged Jiyeon away without a glance backwards.

She stared at the coins in her hand, and a foreign emotion creeped into her heart. She suddenly felt like crying.

--------------------------------

"And now, for the highlight of the annual New Year's Market, we'll host an eating contest! Anyone who wants to compete please raise your hands!" Rumy announced with a loud voice, standing on the platform facing the sea of people. Bom stood close to her, next to Hyori, and observed as a bunch of hands went up. The annual eating contest at the Market itself was also an important event in its own right. In fact most people gathered here every year just for this aspect.

"Let's go let's go! Eating contest! Volunteers please step up!" Rumy yelled, her voice energetic as more and more people volunteered.

"Amazing prizes are waiting for the champion of this contest! Hurry!"

"Why don't you join? Sounds good! The prizes are pretty good too!" Jiyeon tugged on his sleeve, her voice annoying to no end.

"Aish! Fine!" He said irately, stepping up as a competitor just to get away from her.

Siwon looked, and when he saw the redhead standing up on the platform his feet just moved on his own accord and soon he became a competitor.

"All right! The rule is pretty simple: whoever finish this entire bowl of tomato soup first, wins! Don't knock yourself out!" Rumy said to the competitors as the ginormous bowls of soup were placed in front of them.

"3...2...1...start!"

At that word, the competitors started to devour the soup rapidly and hungrily like they haven't eat in days. The crowd started cheering; the loud noises penetrated the air. Bom watched as the participants slurped down on the soup like animals. The sight was amusing, to say the least.

One man, seemingly at his limit, stopped eating and patted his belly with a defeated smile. Rumy declared the man out.

As time passed, more and more people gave up on trying to finish the endless bowl of soup. Soon, there were only two men left who were still eating the soup rapidly yet nonchalantly.

"Hey! Isn't that the Prince?" Hyori whispered, pointing to the man on the right. "What's he doing here?!"

Bom looked, and indeed it was Seunghyun. Looking up at Jiyeon cheering for him loudly down below was enough of an explanation as to why he was here.

The strange man from earlier was here to, and Bom silently cheered for that man to win. Even though it was childish, she didn't want Seunghyun to win.

Unfortunately, fate wasn't with her. For Seunghyun set his bowl down with a thud a moment sooner than the other man did. 

"This man is the winner!" Rumy declared, holding up the man's hand. The crowd cheered deafeningly because most of them probably recognized him as the Prince.

"All right choose your prize!" Rumy said, presenting Seunghyun a table with an array of beautiful things. He scanned the prizes, his gaze landing on her. And suddenly, an idea appeared in his mind.

"Pardon me, but can I get something else?" He asked Rumy innocently, causing Bom to frown.

Rumy, off-guard, answered with a smile.

"Sure, what do you want instead?"

Seunghyun turned around to look at her with a mischeivious smile. Pointing to her, he said.

"I'll get a kiss from her instead."

The crowd gasped, Jiyeon included. All eyes were focused on the redhead standing at the corner of the platform. Soon, whispers were flying about.

"Hey isn't that the witch?"

"She has a vendor doesn't she?"

"Why would the Prince request something like that to her?"

She stood there, shocked and with no idea what to do. Seunghyun, impatient, crossed over and pulled her in his arms as he landed his lips on hers.

The loud gasp of the people seemed to fade away as she stood there in his embrace.