Once no one would dare touch the old witch now they toughed her hands and patted her head they were hungry for contact with her and she for them . She should have sent them about their business but she thought of nothing but attention.
The old servant slid the door open, put on her outdoor shoes and stepped off the veranda onto the large stones that formed the path to the well. She pulled up the bucket of water and carried it back into the house. Her mistress lay on the bedding on the floor the supplicants came in a few at a time. The servant stay out of attention as much as she could, it was unwise to draw attention to oneself in the presence of the old one. The servant had long practised invisibility, she thought the old witch had forgotten her name and measured the decline in the powers of the ruler by the loss of awareness of the people and things around. She knew this presented grave dangers to the domains she ruled.