The banging on the door was incessant. "I'm coming, damn it, I'm coming!"

I glared angrily at all the reagents I had laid out, the half done spell work. This had better be good, or I would blast them all into nonexistence. It took hours to set up this spell, and I had been planning this for quite a while. Gripping my wizened, rune adorned staff, I trudged through my tower, down the stairs, to the door. They knocked again. "ARGH!" I shouted as I flung the large, heavy doors open.

A timid, mouse-like man stood there. He wore breeches, a clean white shirt, and a leather vest. Poor, but not extremely poor. He was wringing his hands, a clear sign that he was nervous. Brown, mousy hair, and common brown eyes. Probably another guy with a problem, seeking the wizard. I sighed.

"Well? Out with it, boy! I haven't got all day here!" I tried to look as menacing as possible. I really was peeved right now, and couldn't bear to hear another pity story.

The man only wrung his hands harder. I wondered if he was going to squeeze gold out of them, or something. "Ahh...Master Harry Mithros...I have come from the small town of Kaile. Perhaps you remember it?" His face suggested he would rather I forget.

I combed my mind. Yes...Kaile...I remembered that town. A poor town, plagued by an infestation of magical pests. That, in itself, would have been easy to fix. But they tried to deal with it by calling in priests or hedgewitches. Nothing worked. The pests had banded together, fed off the energies in the town, and become a bogeyman. They had finally called me. The bogeyman had been immensely powerful, and they hadn't even KNOWN it was a bogeyman, so I had to fight it ill prepared. Hell, I nearly lost my life. I only survived due to quick thinking and calling in some immense favors from the Erlking and Odin. Not fun.

In return, Kaile had paid me with... nothing. They didn't have anything. The bogeyman had devoured all their crops, and most of everything else, so they had nothing. In a rage, I had left the town, vowing never to aid them again unless they paid me. Favors from the higher gods don't come easy.

And here was someone. I scrutinized him. "Yes, I remember Kaile." I growled. "Have you come with payment, or do I have to call in expensive favors for free again?"

The man trembled under my glare. "We have...we have payment, good sir. Would you like me to fetch it?"

I stepped back. "Very well. I shall determine if this payment is enough, though."

The man nodded miserably. I had originally assumed he might have been the reeve of the town, but now, considering his actions and his behavior, I think I would be complimenting him if I placed him above the town drunk.

While I was pondering his possible social status in town, he returned. "This...this is Anna." He managed to choke out.

Anna? I looked at the girl next to him. A pretty redhead, perhaps seven or eight. Her face was clean and pale, and her green eyes met me with no fear. She wore a simple sackcloth dress, and for a moment, I wondered why she was here...

"This is your payment?" I tried not to roar, but it's hard to speak quietly when you go days without speaking to anyone.

The man cowered. "Y-y-yes. She has witch abilities, and we thought you would be glad to have fresh blood! Please, don't kill me, don't!"

Don't kill him, I thought wryly. It was fine to kill the girl, but don't kill him. Damn country folk.

I quieted down, and waved him away. "The payment is...sufficient." Who knows, perhaps Mab might like another human plaything. Perhaps I could summon a demon with the blood of an innocent.

I wondered if she was a virgin. They usually were worth more on the supernatural "market".

The man was already halfway down the hill, and still jogging, as I led the girl by the hand inside. I had set my staff to the side, and was walking toward the stairs when she surprised me by speaking. "Are you my daddy?"

I whirled on her. "Am I your daddy? Why would I be your daddy? Do I look like your daddy?" I tried to intimidate her. If you don't lay down the law early, bad things would happen, especially with children.

"I don't know. I never saw my daddy. Are you my daddy?" She showed not the least bit of fear. Damn these children and their innocence.

"NO!" I roared back at her, trying to get the slightest recoil from her. "I am not your bloody daddy! Now, stay here, in this room, at THIS table!" I gestured to a large round stone table that acted as food table and sometimes, sacrificial table. I really needed to get back to my spellwork.

The girl didn't even flinch. She obediently walked to the stone table, and sat on one of the wooden stools. She touched the table with one finger. "It feels...tingly."

My eyebrows shot up. "It feels...what?"

She looked at me. "Tingly. My finger wants to twitch when I touch it." As if to emphasize her statement, her finger twitched a bit, still touching the table. "Can you be my daddy?"

"Wait, wait, wait. You feel the table? You can...sense it?" The table was a summoning stone. It acted as a portal between worlds, and I used it to summon many things, including fae, demons, and angels. Although I used my power to summon creatures, the table itself hummed with hidden power that I drew upon to hold a summoned being in place and, sometimes, force it to obey. And this girl, Anna, could...sense it? Perhaps the man wasn't lying when he said this girl might have potential.

"Mm-hmm. You didn't answer my question. Can you be my daddy?" She cocked her head, green eyes locking onto mine, brilliant hair swaying to one side.

"Uhh...maybe later. I need to go now." And indeed I did. I could probably continue from where I was in my summoning if I got back fast enough. I would have to deal with Anna's potential later.

"Wait!" Anna cried. "Daddy, can I come with you?"

"Absolutely not!" I couldn't afford to lose her before I'd done...whatever I planned to do with her. I started off again...

"Daddy! Wait! Please? I'll be good. Please?" Her eyes were pleading, her whole body was pleading with me. I tore my eyes away, trying to find a middle ground... My eyes caught on two items at eye level.

I pulled the two ritual dolls out of the shelf chiseled in stone and tossed them both to her. The dolls were made of white cloth, and had no facial features or details at all. They were control dolls, that, when imbued with a piece of the victim, could be used to control the victim. In actuality, it wasn't that clean. You pitted your will against your victims, and a strong-willed and prepared victim could easily throw off mental attacks with ease. The only true advantage the dolls gave was surprise.

But I wasn't worried. The girl didn't have anything from me, and anyways, she couldn't possibly know what they were. "Here. You can play with these." I turned away again.

And was attacked from behind. I saw Anna's bare arms clasp around my waist, the dolls still clutched tightly in them. "Thank you, daddy!"

I patted her hands while simultaneously trying to untangle them. "Ahh...yes Anna. But now, your daddy has to go off and do some work, okay?" The word "daddy" fell like a stone. It made it all seem...permanent. Why did my heart seem to melt each time I looked into her eyes?

I left her playing with the two dolls, giggling and laughing as she made them interact. As soon as I entered the laboratory, all thought of Anna and her flaming red hair left my mind. It was time to work. I picked up the brush from where I had left it, dipped it in the glowing paint, and started to paint the runes again...

I was halfway through a rune of protection (my fifth, the creature I was going to summon was not going to be easy), when suddenly, my arm jerked, drawing a huge glowing line that crossed the circle of protection and two of my carefully drawn runes. "ARGH!" I screamed, throwing the paintbrush halfway across the room. Suddenly, I fell forward, only to be caught by some invisible force. I stood like that stupidly for a moment, halfway to falling down, before the implications hit me.

I was under attack by a control doll. But by who? My enemies were mostly dead, I hadn't given out any of my hair or blood recently, and why would they do...this? Most people tended to have a victim strangle themselves when using a control doll.

I focused my mind and will and formed a wall in front of the attacking force. By the gods, was it powerful! I had a feeling that if this attack had been meant to do damage, it easily would have. However, what intrigued me was that it was an untrained force. Instead of the carefully measured, knife-like attack of a professional, this one threw itself against me in waves, large, blunt waves with extremely straightforward commands.

Still fighting it, I went back downstairs. Anna sat there, happily playing with the dolls. Her face brightened as she saw me. "Daddy! Do you want to play dolls with me? Look, this one's you!" She picked up one of the dolls to show me. And indeed, it was me. Before I even saw it, I could feel the tingle of magic on its surface. Somehow, Anna, by sheer force of will, had made the blank, white doll into a semblance of me, with the green cloak usually wore. Indeed, one had to look closely to see that it wasn't a miniature me, but rather, a doll. And, surprisingly enough, the other one was Anna, complete with her red hair, brilliant green eyes, and sackcloth dress.

I couldn't speak for a few seconds. Through sheer force of blunt will, she had imbued these two dolls with the essence needed to control a person. And she didn't even know how! That man was under exaggerating when he said she had "some" potential.

But for now, to deal with this. My summoning circle was ruined, but I wasn't angry. It was like losing a mark and finding a crown. I sat down next to her, tried my best to smile, and took the doll away from her. "Okay, I'll play dolls with you."

Anna smiled. I almost fell down with the sheer force of it. She handed me the doll that was me, and, as soon as it left her hand and will, it lost all resemblance to the victim, reverting to the original, white cloth doll.

Anna looked at it in surprise. "What happened, daddy? Why isn't that doll you anymore?"

She couldn't have given me a better way to introduce her to her magic. "It was only me because you wanted it to be. Anna, you have the potential to be an extremely good witch."

I was going to go on further, but her face made me stop. As soon as she heard "witch", her grin slid off, and her eyes began to brim with tears. Her doll was tossed to the side. She covered her face, stood up, and walked away from me, into a corner. I could hear sobs.

I was confused, so I joined her in the corner of my stone tower. Uneducated in this type of thing, all I could do was stroke her beautiful red hair. Finally, I spoke. "What's wrong, Anna?"

She was sobbing quieter now. "You...you hate me!" Her crying intensified.

I never could understand children. "Why would I hate you?"

"Because...I'm a witch!" she wailed.

Clearly this wasn't the first time this had happened. I drew her unresisting body into my lap, and sat there, stroking her hair, trying to calm her down. She was still crying, and not meeting my eyes.

"Why would I be mad at you if you were a witch?" I murmured into her ear.

"Because...because we deal with the devil, and we're evil, and nobody wants us, not even our parents!" Her body shook with the intensity of her tears.

"Are you evil, Anna? Are you?" I brushed away the hair that had been covering her face, revealing that beautiful skin, those emerald-green eyes. "I know for sure the last one is false, because I...your daddy...want you. I want you a lot." The word came out more smoothly than it did last time, but it still felt like a rock in my throat.

She sat there crying for a few more minutes, protected from the outside world by my arms. Her tears eventually cleared up, and she gained control of herself again. "Daddy?"

"Yes Anna?"

"Why am I a witch? And why don't people like witches?"

I sighed. This would take a while to tell in full, so I tried to summarize it best as possible. "I don't exactly know why people hate witches. A witch is a girl with magical powers, just as a wizard is a man with them. Both can get their power from demons and the devil, but, for some reason, people tend to classify women as doing so more often. But I promise you, Anna, as long as we both live, no matter what you do, I won't stop loving you."

This perked her up quite a bit. "Really? Thank you, daddy!" She threw her arms around my neck and gave me a peck on the cheek.

I pushed her away after a few minutes. "Okay, Anna. But the original reason I came down to talk to you about was to ask if you wanted to learn magic. You have lots of potential; more than I have or will ever have. Never, in my life, could I do what you did with the dolls." I gestured to the two now blank dolls that lay on the floor. "So, what I'm asking is, do you want to learn magic?"

She looked surprised. "Really? I really...am magic? I can learn, just like you? Can I be a good witch? Please?" As if she had to ask me. I couldn't suppress a laugh. "Only you can determine whether or not you're a good witch. But I'll take that as a yes?"

"Yes, daddy! I want to be like you! I want to learn how to be a good witch!" Laughing, she threw her arms and body against me again. I noticed how I could feel the warmth of her slim body through the thin, worn piece of sackcloth, how her slender legs were uncovered, had never been covered in the first place...

I stood up as she let go. I dug through a box of talismans that I kept, and came up with two tracking talismans. They looked identical, simple golden rings with a single, bright red gem, hung on coarse strings, meant to go around the neck. I gave on to Anna. "For...for me?" she asked, staring at the gem in delight and surprise.

I nodded. "Look carefully, Anna. Take the ring and point it in different directions. What do you see?"

She hung it around her neck, and did as I told her. "It grows...brighter, daddy. Brighter and duller. It's brightest when it points at your ring."

I grinned at her. When had I become such a softie? "That's right, Anna. And mine does the same. This way, we can find each other, no matter where we are. This way, we can find each other no matter where we are!" On impulse, I leaned down and kissed the top of her head.

She gave me another great big hug. It was becoming a habit, but one I didn't want to break. "Thank you, daddy! This is the best present anyone has EVER given to me!"

"Okay, okay Anna. We don't need to get TOO emotional about it." Still, I was smiling like an idiot, very pleased with myself for making her so happy.

I spent the rest of the afternoon and night teaching her about the basics of magic. My summoning would have to be redone, but I could do that tomorrow; it wasn't as important as Anna. I talked to her about force of will (the most important thing in magic), as well as things one could use to focus that will. She wanted a staff, just like mine, but I talked her out of it.

We debated a wand, but she accidentally broke the first stick of wood I gave her. Finally, she decided on a good conductor.

"The doll! I want the doll!" I brought both the control dolls to her. She weighed them, sniffed them, felt them. Personally, I couldn't tell the difference, but she threw one away, and showed the other to me. "This one was you, daddy!"

This would be...quite interesting, to say the least. At the beginning of a wizard or witch's training, their conductor would be weak, powerless, until they started to use it. As they grew in power, it would grow stronger, and become more imbued with magic, just like my staff. Typically, people chose things that could store magic well, metal weapons or charms, wooden wands and staffs, and occasionally, a familiar. A control doll could store magic well, though, bit it was an...unorthodox choice. It would be interesting to see where it would lead.

I helped her learn how to focus her will, making the doll levitate. Each time she was able to lift it higher, I made the doll dance around the table, earning bright peals of laughter. It took a lot of effort, but it was worth it each time she smiled. We ended the lesson voraciously hungry.

I took some bread, apples, and cheese out of my time capsule, a compartment set in the ground. That spell had take over a year to do, but any inanimate object set into it would remain in the exact same state until it was taken out. It was extremely useful for storing food. The bread was still freshly baked and the apples had a nice, crisp crunch.

Anna devoured the food like a beast, tearing huge chunks of bread and crunching deeply into the apple. I brought her a waterskin as she ate. "Slow down there! We don't want you getting sick!" She gave no sign she heard me, just kept on eating.

We both finished at the same time, although I ate a lot less than she did. Her face was dotted with crumbs and apple juice, and I wiped it with a cloth. "Are you just hungry because you did magic, or do you usually eat like that?" I asked jokingly.

It was getting late, and we were both exhausted. I gave her a piggyback ride up the stairs, and to my room. I didn't have a guest room, but my bed was big enough for us both. My room was sparsely furnished, as all I really did was sleep here. There was a spring in the corner, courtesy of Oberon, and a nice fireplace, which I let. It threw heat waves across the room, warming us both.

Anna smiled at me. "Are we going to sleep in the same bed, daddy? I want to."

I shrugged helplessly. "It looks like we have no other choice." I responded, taking off my cloak and shirt. I usually slept with nothing on, but...for now, I'd make an exception. I'd keep my smallclothes on.

Anna had no choice, though. She stripped off the burlap sack and tossed it to the side. I prayed that I didn't look hungry as my eyes roamed all over her pure, slim, perfect body. She was just a tiny bit thin, but still beautiful for it. Her vagina, the tiny treasure, was just a hairless crevice between her legs. She made no move to cover her barely developing breasts, which had been hidden by the shapelessness of her clothing. Anna noticed my eyes roaming her body, but I prayed she didn't notice my growing hard-on. "Do you think I'm pretty, daddy?"

"I...I think you're beautiful." I responded truthfully. She gave me a coy smile as she got into bed next to me.

We pressed extremely close together, despite the heat in the room. I prayed she would not notice my cock, so we could stay like this, spooning. And she didn't. I brushed her hair aside and kissed her on the cheek. "Good night, Anna, my daughter." Now it didn't feel like a rock anymore. It felt right, totally and absolutely right.

"Good night, daddy."