The Witch of the Marsh... and Her Panties

The evening sun shone weakly through the tangled trees of the swamp as Louis Ducroix waded through the shallow, muddy water.

The air hung heavy and oppressive, thick with heat and humidity, while mosquitoes swarmed around his sweat-soaked face.

“I have to hurry,” Louis muttered uneasily. “Night will fall soon.”

Just as the last traces of daylight seemed ready to vanish, he spotted a faint glow in the wetland.

A few flickering lamps illuminated the end of a narrow wooden walkway leading to a small cottage.

Reliefed, he hurried toward it.

“This has to be it! Thank God, I was starting to lose hope.”

The cabin stood on crooked stilts above the swampy ground, its weathered planks darkened by moss and moisture, its small windows clouded with grime.

Louis hesitated.

So this is where she lives?

He stepped forward.

Knock. Knock.

No response.

Could she be gone? Or didn’t she hear me?

He reached for the doorknob, taking a deep breath.

“I traveled all this way. There’s no turning back now.”

The door creaked open, and a pungent smell of herbs, resin, and smoke hit him immediately.

“Hello?” Louis called.

Silence.

Looks like she isn’t here...

He wandered deeper into the cottage, stopping beside several jars in which preserved specimens floated in a murky liquid.

Crocodile tails. Snake heads. Bat wings.

When a pair of eyes stared back at him from one jar, he recoiled.

The warnings he’d received before leaving home echoed in his mind.

Are you insane?! You’re going to visit that witch? She’ll curse you, turn you into a toad, or worse, gut you and use your organs in one of her potions!

Louis swallowed hard.

“Maybe coming here wasn’t such a great idea after all...”

He shook his head.

“No. I’m doing this for sis. I’ll get what I came for and leave as quickly as possible.”

He began searching the place.

Cupboards. Cabinets. Drawers.

There has to be some kind of medicine somewhere here...

He opened a nearby drawer and reached inside.

“What’s this...?”

Heat rushed to his face as he stared at the small striped piece of fabric with a red ribbon in the middle.

Panties?!

He dropped them as though they burned him.

So witches wear... this kind of underwear?

Louis slapped both cheeks.

Focus, idiot. This isn’t the time!

Forcing himself to look elsewhere, his eyes landed on a large dark wooden chest.

What’s that?

He lifted the lid and his eyes lid up.

Dozens upon dozens of magic potions glittered back at him.

“There we go!“

Louis picked up bottle after bottle until he noticed one that looked different.

Its rounded glass shape stood out among the others, a brilliant crimson liquid glowing inside.

Could this be a healing potion?

Lost in thought, he failed to notice the door slowly opening behind him.

It certainly looks like one. If I give this to sis, maybe she’ll...

“Pervert.”

Louis nearly launched the bottle across the room.

Spinning around, he found himself staring into a pair of piercing green eyes fixed on him with contempt.

It’s the witch!

She stepped forward and nudged her pointed hat back slightly, two strands of thick violet hair slipping free.

Am I about to become a toad now?!

“What’s wrong, pervert?” she asked. “Cat got your tongue? What gives you the right to barge into my home and rummage through my belongings?”

Slowly, Louis regained enough composure to speak.

“I-I’m not a pervert! I just wanted to...”

She pointed toward the dresser where her underwear still hung halfway out of the drawer.

“And what exactly were you planning to do with my panties, huh? Aren’t there enough women in your village for you to bother with your filthy desires?”

Louis turned crimson.

“Y-you’ve got it all wrong! I was looking for a healing potion.”

The witch glanced from his terrified face to the glowing bottle trembling in his hands.

“Then why are you holding a love potion?”

Louis blinked.

“A... love potion?”

He nearly dropped it in his haste to put it back.

“I didn’t know!”

The witch studied him for a moment before a broad, devilish grin spread across her face.

“Stop making excuses. I understand perfectly.”

Her eyes sparkled mischievously.

“First you snoop through my underwear. Then you plan to use my own love potion on me.”

“N-no!”

“A pervert with a witch fetish.” She covered her mouth to suppress a laugh. “How naughty. Were you... planning to do something indecent on me?”

Louis clenched his teeth.

“That’s not true!”

The words burst out louder than intended.

“My name is Louis. I'm here because I heard your potions can cure any disease. It’s for my sister. She... is seriously ill...”

The witch blinked and her grin vanished.

“Oh.”

For a moment, she looked strangely disappointed.

“For your sister? Not because of me?”

Louis nodded eagerly while the witch considered him in silence.

Then she lowered her hat, hiding her eyes.

“I see. So that’s how it is.”

Her voice turned noticeably colder.

Without another word, she crossed the room and opened the door.

“I don’t sell any potions. Leave.”

Louis stared.

“But... I can’t go back without one.”

“I don’t care.”

“Please...”

“Leave before I turn you into a toad!”

Images of his sister flashed through his mind.

Her weak smile.

Her trembling hands.

The way she struggled to breathe whenever he sat beside her bed.

If I go home empty-handed, nothing will change. She’ll keep suffering...

His fists tightened.

No.

“Just give me a healing potion...”

The witch flinched when Louis grabbed random bottles and jars from the shelves.

“...Or I’ll smash everything in here!”

For a moment, genuine surprise crossed her face.

“Oh? The pervert is rude too. Now we’re adding vandalism to the list?”

She shrugged.

“Go ahead.” Her green eyes flashed dangerously as she grinned again. “See what happens.”

Louis hesitated, slowly lowering his arms.

What... exactly would happen?

The witch sensed his uncertainty immediately.

“Heh.” Her grin widened. “So you’re a coward too. That suits a creep like you. All bark, no bite.”

Nervously, Louis took a step backward.

She’s mocking me... But I can’t help my sister when I’m turned into a toad. Maybe I should...

As he took another step back, he bumped straight into the open chest.

“Uwah!”

The witch's eyes widened.

“Watch out, idiot!”

Too late.

The crash of shattering glass echoed through the entire cottage as liquids spilled everywhere and clouds of multicolored steam rose into the air.

They stumbled outside, gasping for air.

When they finally recovered, they turned toward the cottage, where an unnatural radiance blazed from within.

Eventually, the light faded.

“I-I’ll pay for everything. I swear!” Louis burst out.

The witch didn’t move.

For several seconds, she simply stared.

Then she launched herself at him.

“IDIOT! MORON! IMBECILE! CREEP!”

The heels of her shoes rained down on him while he desperately raised his arms to shield himself.

“Do you have any idea what you could have caused?! Reality distortions! Spontaneous animation! Magical anomalies!”

“H-hey! I already said I’d pay for it!”

“Pay for it?” she snapped. “With what? Your collection of stolen panties?”

“I-I don’t have anything like that!”

He pointed weakly toward the cottage.

“Besides... it doesn’t look like anything bad happened...”

The moment he finished speaking, the ground began to tremble and swirling portals materialized around the cottage.

“W-what is that?!”

The witch sighed.

“Reality distortions.”

A shrill screech echoed through the swamp when something striped shot out of the cottage, flying into the night sky.

Louis stared upward.

“Are those...?”

The panties swooped overhead, rows of tiny razor-sharp teeth lining its edges, snapping wildly at anything nearby, its red ribbon writhing like a tongue.

The witch’s face instantly turned scarlet.

“S-STOP STARING AT THEM, YOU PERVERT!”