“You want to make a pact with me, little witch?” The elder witch looked at the younger with eyes that had long since decayed to the magicks in them. “And why’s that?”

“I’ve heard the stories. You’re the Endless Witch.” The younger witch looked back, gaze steady.

“I want to be your apprentice. I want to travel with you. As long as you live, I want to as well.”

The elder witch laughed, looking over to her doll. “Is that what they call me in this iteration? Always something new.”

“Always, Miss.” The doll smiled, sewing something quietly.

“I’ve studied the magicks you use.” The young witch held out a journal, thick with stuffed pages. “You’re using magic that shouldn’t be able to exist, harnessing things that *can’t* exist in this dimension. Either you’re trespassers, or you’ve made a stable time loop.”

“That’s an interesting theory for a witchling. And what if we aren’t just wanderers passing through?”

“Take me with you. Teach me. Let me see history, again, and again, and again. I want to learn, to know.”

The elder witch looked bemused and uninterested, but just as the younger took a breath to continue to plead, she laughed again and nodded. “Get your things. Be back here within the hour, and maybe you’ll get your wish.”

The younger didn’t waste any time running off, dropping her journal in the process and leaving it for the elder to pick up and begin to pursue as she waited for the new ward to return.

“Why’d you do that, Miss?” The doll looked up, cocking its head. “Two thousand cycles and you’ve never given into her demands.”

“Not because I’m tiring of your company doll, don’t worry. I just… want to see what happens.”

“And our goal?”

“The same as ever, love.”