Unnatural Magic

by C.M. Waggoner

we are not shrinking, sighing women. We are bold, and the bold always take a good breakfast.”

“I know, darling, but I don’t think that we should allow such petty details to distress us. We are wizards, after all.

She was in the habit of apologizing for making faces that men thought weren’t very pretty. It occurred to her, very briefly, that she resented being made to think about her face when she was trying to focus on the contents of her mind.

She knew that he was dreadfully rich and sophisticated, but at that moment she was quite sure that he was just as silly and nervous and worried about looking nice in front of his friend as she had ever been when Sy came by for tea.

He bellowed at her a bit in Awati. She responded in beseeching tones with one of the only phrases she could say in that language, which was, “Happy new rains festival, grandmother!”

I read this passage in bed while my fiance was asleep and I may or may not have woken him up laughing...

“I think I’ll have Mrs. Macosti bring more tea, darling. I like to have something to do with my hands whilst I describe the worst moments of my life.”

There is nothing quite as hazardous to the happiness of young girls as a perfect young gentleman.”

“It’s more complicated than simply waving one’s hands about and saying fiddle-dee-dee, don’t lie to me.

“I don’t see why you always apologize for your language if you’re just going to curse in any case,”

“He’s worse, when you’re not around.” “Of course he is. Why do men always act as if women would never know what anything was if they didn’t say the word in front of us?”