Friends to Foes

Camellia and Ida grew up together, and they were absolutely inseparable. They were simply the best of friends. They went to wizardry school together at Calionus School for Witches and Wizards, stayed in each other’s rooms every night, and spent long nights cramming for exams, but they had no idea that one day they would find themselves on opposite sides of a poisoned love potion and a kidnapping.

Camellia and Ida were no average girls. Camellia and Ida were very powerful witches, unlike the rest, with lots of potential to become some of the greatest in the world.

Camellia was always fond of nature. She always strived in things like animal studies and herbology, and was such a kind-hearted soul. She was a harmless girl, could never hurt a fly, and above all, she was always a great friend to Ida.

Ida was always very different from Camellia; What one seemed the thrive at, the other would fall behind, and vise versa. Ida was always interested in the darker side of things. She loved studying potions and chemicals and was always finding different concoctions to knock a person out with one drop. She took a liking to working in the laboratory, and she was always working alone, and making potions.

Against all personality odds, these two girls were the best of friends all throughout their years of school, and they had both graduated at the top of their class and became full-powered witches. Camellia and Ida were so interested in different fields, that they seemed to drift apart after a while, realizing they had nothing much in common, and lost touch soon afterwards.

Camellia learned how to communicate with animals and she learned how to bring plants back to life. She worked with children and taught them how to be kind and good-hearted people. She used her powers only for good, and became head-witch of the school she had grown up studying in. Camellia came into much power and success, and turned into one of the most well-known witches of all time.

Meanwhile, Ida took a different route, and she used her powers in different ways. She worked as a potion master. She created powerful potions, of any kind that people could request for a hefty price. She took a liking to hiding in the shadows and living in the dungeon of the home she grew up in. She enjoyed using her powers to be deceitful and cause mischief, while Camellia grew up to be a hero in the wizarding world, and a role model that all developing witches and wizards desired to be.

Ida was always jealous of the way Camellia could be the best of friends with anybody she came across, and it would only remind her of how good of friends they used to be. She was so furious that Camellia had left her in the dust and become such a well known witch, and Ida was coming up on her last straw.

One day, a customer came into Ida’s shop, asking for a love potion. The man said that he was here on behalf of the Great Head-Witch Camellia, and said she needed to charm a man she had “always been in love with”. The man was Prince Albert. Prince Albert was the Prince of Calionus, next in line for the throne, and Ida had been in love with him ever since her first year at wizarding school. When Ida heard the news that Camellia was in love with “her man”, Ida’s blood began to boil, and she saw this as her chance to finally get back at Camellia for moving on in life.
Ida told the man, “I will have your love potion ready in 2-3 days, come back then. Be gone now I have much work to do!” The man happily left, not knowing that he had just led Ida into devising a plan to cause Prince Albert to fall in love with her, instead of Camellia! This is how she would get back at Camellia!

3 days later when the man returned to Ida’s shop to get the potion for Camellia, Ida had the bottle ready for him at the front of the store, with a list of instructions beside it.

The instructions read:
Drink one sip of the potion
Have your desired suitor drink a sip of the potion as well
Within 6-10 hours, this person will be unable to resist you, and will instantly be in love.
While was was really going to happen was:
Camellia would take a sip of the potion, and nothing would happen yet
Prince Albert would take a sip, and be utterly mortified by anyone else who had drank the same potion within 24 hours, and instead fall in love with the first woman he saw
Ida would be waiting outside Prince Albert’s castle, ready for her to be the one Prince Albert would fall in love with, and foil Camellia’s plans of marrying Prince Albert.

Camellia's messenger returned from Ida’s shop, with the potion, and Camellia couldn't wait to try it! She had no idea that Ida was angry with her about moving on in life, and didn't suspect for a moment that she would ever try to sabotage her love life! Camellia read the instructions very carefully, and took a swig of the magic potion. The instructions said nothing would happen until Prince Albert drank the potion as well, so Camellia headed straight for Prince Albert’s castle!

At the castle, Camellia offered him a bottle of wine as a housewarming gift, which he gladly accepted, and grabbed two glasses for them to share a toast. While Albert left to get glasses, Camellia poured the remainder of the potion into the wine and slipped the empty bottle back into her overcoat, making sure nobody saw her! The two drank their wine, and Camellia left for the night.

Camellia returned to the castle in the morning, ready for her true love to come running to her and catch her in his arms as soon as she walked through the gates, but that did NOT happen. Camellia walked through the gates, and immediately knew something was off. Prince Albert couldn't even stand the sight of Camellia! He made her leave the castle immediately! Camellia ran out of his castle, eyes full of tears, and had barely made it out of the gates when she noticed a hooded figure standing in the nearby forest... there, Ida waited to make her move on Prince Albert, but she was spotted by Camellia! Camellia ran to Ida, took out her wand, and cast a spell towards Ida that trapped her in a wall of vines, to the point where she couldn't even move! Camellia was furious! She demanded Ida tell her what was going on!
“Ida! I asked you to make me a love potion! Not make me disgust Prince Albert! What have you done!?”
“Well, where should I start. First I should say, as soon as I walk through those gates, and Prince Albert sees me, he will instantly be in love! You know I have loved Albert since the day we entered school together! You've always been better than me at everything, and it's time that I get to win for once!”
With that, Ida slid her wand out of her sleeve, and cast a fire spell onto the vines, and once she was free, she set fire to the surrounding forest! While Camellia was distracted trying to save the trees, and anything that could've been living inside, Ida retreated into the forest, and ran back home towards her potion shop. Camellia ran into Albert’s castle, and warned him about what Ida had done. She had to explain herself and why she needed to use a potion to gain Prince Albert’s affection, but he quickly forgave and exclaimed, “Let's get that Ida, and lock her away!”

Camellia and Prince Albert quickly made their way to the wizarding school, and built themselves a little army so to speak. The two rounded up the top students in each field of studies, and put together a plan to track Ida down. With the help of talented students, Camellia and Prince Albert located Ida's shop, and crept into the  room. As soon as Camellia and Prince Albert entered the room, the door slammed shut and a huge bang sounded throughout the room. The lights in the room turned on, to reveal Camellia, Prince Albert and the students were locked in a massive cage, with no way out. Ida appeared from the corner of the room, wand in hand, and with mischief in her eyes.
“Let us out of here this instant Ida!”, Camellia exclaimed.
“And why would I do that?”, Ida replied.
“Come on Ida, you’re being irrational! At least let these innocent students go, do with me what you may, but leave them out of this!”
Ida answered, “And how do I know you will just stay there, and not try to escape? Not going to happen! I’m not an idiot, even though you may think so!”
“I don’t think you’re an idiot Ida, but I do know that you’re acting like a fool! Leave others out of this, and let’s settle whatever is making you upset.”
“Fine. You sit down, and I’ll let the rest go.”
Ida pulled on a lever, and the cage lifted from the ceiling. Prince Albert and the others filed out of the room desperate to get out, and Ida slammed the cage, leaving Camellia to deal with what she had coming.
“Ida why are you doing this to me! What have I ever done to you?”, Camellia questioned.
“You were my best friend. For so many years, and you just left me to become rich and famous, and never bothered to look back!”, replied Ida.
“I moved on and I’m sorry, but you need to do the same!”
“Oh don’t go telling me what I need to do Camellia! I don’t need one of your lessons on how I can be a better version of me!”
“I’m just saying, let the past go! You could’ve talked to me about this. We were friends for a long time, I think you knew I was trustworthy.”
“If we were real friends, they why was it so easy for you to just forget about me, huh?”
“Ida, I’m sorry. I didn’t realize I had hurt you, I never meant to do that and I’m truly sorry. Please, let me know how I can make it up to you. Anything.”
“You know I’ve always loved Albert. Since we were little girls just beginning school together. I can’t believe you would try to force him to fall in love with you, when you knew I loved him!”
“Ida I’m sorry. I didn’t remember that you had felt that way. If I had known, I never would’ve asked you to help me with any of this, and I hope you can forgive me.”
“Just please leave me out of your love life, and leave me alone.”
Ida pulled the same lever, and released Camellia from the cage. Camellia decided to try to comfort Ida, and go talk with her.
“Ida do you want to talk this through?”, Camellia asked.
Ida replied, “I just don’t want to be mad anymore. I know I over reacted I can’t believe I did this to you and I’m truly sorry. I was just so angry.”
“I get it I really do. I left you to move on and I never looked back. I was a bad friend to you and I should’ve stayed in touch.”
“It’s okay I forgive you. I just hope you can forgive me for what I’ve done to you this past week.”
“I forgive you, don’t worry about it.”
“Thank you so much Camellia, I’m really sorry.”
“Hey. What do you say we forget about Prince Albert, and go get some food, and we catch up. I would love to get back in touch with you. This has all reminded me of how much I cared about you when we were younger, and I miss that.”
“I would love that.”

Ida and Camellia left the potion store, and they went with each other to dinner. They chatted all night long about what they had been up to for the last few years, and gabbed for hours like the old friends they were. The two old friends told stories about their new jobs and their lives all together, and decided to make this a tradition. Every Saturday afternoon, the two decided they would get together for lunch, and stay in touch. Ida and Camellia rekindled their relationship, until they really were best friends again. They quickly forgot about their past issues of stealing each other’s true love and leaving one another in the past, carried on like none of it had ever happened, and put everything aside, to become best friends, once again.