Mahou Tsukai no Hako: Starlit Marmalade

April showers bring May flowers.

Having given up on life, 16-year-old Chise Hatori sells herself at an underground auction, where she is bought by Elias Ainsworth, a not-quite-human mage, for 5 million pounds. She learns that he intends for her to be his future bride, and her world begins to change.

One today is worth two tomorrows.

Few people know the truth about the bookstore on the outskirts of London that Elias frequents. He takes Chise there, where they meet Angelica, who teaches Chise a little bit of magic, but... The true power of the Sleigh Beggy materializes a fragment of Chise's memories.

The Balance distinguishes not between gold and lead.

Simon, who is assigned by the Church to keep an eye on Elias, visits with some business. One of his requests brings Chise and Elias to the ends of the earth, where they meet Elias' mentor, Lindel, along with an old race on the verge of extinction. An old one, about to return to the earth, spends his last moments sharing a dream with Chise.

Everything must have a beginning.

Long ago, the humans and cats of Ulthar, city of cats, were struck by a great tragedy. For generations, the souls of those who were at the center of this tragedy have been sealed away by the king of cats. Chise and Elias travel to Ulthar in order to complete Simon's second task: to purify the spirits that remain.

Love conquers all.

To sorcerer Refnred's eyes, Chise is a sad girl, being duped by a mage. But no matter what Elias' true motives are, Chise has no intention of leaving him. Elias was the first person to value her, after all. As she walks towards the epicenter, she learns of the truth behind it. The sight of a boy appears behind the tragedy.

The Faerie Queene.

Chise is deep in thought as she watches the souls return to where they'd belonged all along. More than ten days have passed since the incident at Ulthar, but she is still in a deep sleep. Elias and Simon stand worriedly by her side, when they are met by two unexpected guests: Titania, Queen of Fairies, Lord of Tír na nÓg.

Talk of the devil, and he is sure to appear.

The dog, with its flowing, black hair and burning red eyes, called Chise by the name "Isabelle." The Church's final request is to investigate a black dog that emerged in a cemetetry, but the black dog ends up saving Chise from danger. Meanwhile, Renfred's apprentice, Alice, is also on the move, looking for the black dog.

Let sleeping dogs lie.

Alice sees Elias' changes and decides immediately that he could never be human. Sorcerer Cartaphilius, who is attempting to capture the black dog by manipulating Renfred and Alice, causes Elias to show a completely different side of himself when his "work" hurts Chise. Those who know Elias call him the Pilum Murialis.

None so deaf as those who will not hear.

With the church's requests fulfilled, things were supposed to go back to normal. But Elias has been acting strange since the last request: he'd vanished on the first morning after Chise had spent a night in his room. Neither Angelica's kind words nor Ruth's pure words are enough to put Chise's mind to rest.

We live and learn.

Chise and Selkie climb aboard a dragon's back to meet Lindel, to have her own mage's staff made. Frustrated by Chise's acceptance of her being kept as a pet by Elias, he describes the time he found Elias in the darkness. Meanwhile, Elias, who had stayed at home by himself, receives a letter from a sorcerer's college.

Lovers ever run before the clock.

Elias, is an odd failure who pretends to be human -- but is it because of his master's words, or because of his distrust for humans, that he stopped communicating about himself? Lindel's alias, Echoes, refers to the to a song akin to the sound of snowmelt, traveling through the wind, causing the blooming of flowers and the dancing of fairies. The magic of the song turns into a mirror the surface of the water Chise peers into. What does she see beyond the mirror?

Better to ask the way than go astray.

Lindel finishes the staff that Chise had finished carving. As she finishes, she meets an old friend, who offers her some wise advice.

East, west, home's best.

Chise and Elias are in the middle of shearing Wooly Bugs, magical creatures who eat cold from the air and grow wool with magical properties. Chise becomes distracted and is attacked. As Chise recovers, she and Elias open themselves up to each other more.

Looks breed love.

With Chise being transformed into a fox, she takes off running into the woods. Elias chases after her. Later, Chise is visited by the Leanan sídhe, who is attached to Joel, claiming that Joel will not wake up.

There is no place like home.

With King Oberon taking Chise into the Fairy realm for recovery, Silke becomes agitated waiting at home. Chise slowly recovers under Dr. Shanon's care, a fairy that was raised as a human.

God's mill grinds slow but sure.

Christmas is coming up. Alice invites Chise out to London, where they hang out together and go gift shopping for Renfred and Elias.

Look before you leap.

Stella, a young girl Chise encountered while Christmas shopping, finds that her brother, Ethan, has gone missing and her parents have forgotten he exists.

Forgive and forget.

Stella visits Chise with her payment of sweets. Elias, irritated by and jealous of Stella, runs away. Chise finds him hiding in a shadow but becomes worried as he restrains her and seems to want to eat her.

Any port in a storm.

In the land of dragons two young dragons are kidnapped from Lindel by Cartaphilius. Chise awakens from a dark dream to find, Alice, Renfred, Adolf and college administrator Tory Innis in Elias’ home. They explain Cartaphilius stole the two dragons using a teleportation device he stole from Renfred and want Elias to find the dragons and take them home

You can't make an omelet without breaking a few eggs.

As the dragon rampages, Elias tells Chise they must absorb the dragon’s magic in order to stop it. This leaves Chise in a predicament as Elias becomes unable to help.

Necessity has no law.

Elias and Chise attend Mariel’s coven meeting and meet Phyllis, Mariel’s high priestess. Secretly, Elias is given information that could help Chise. Following the meeting, Chise becomes suspicious of Elias' activities.

As you sow, so shall you reap.

Chise awakens in Cartaphilius’ laboratory. Cartaphilius explains his plan, as he is cursed with eternal life and Chise is cursed to die he proposes he swap Chise’s cursed arm for his own, hoping it will curse Cartaphilius to die while cursing Chise with immortality. He forcibly switches his and Chise’s left eyes to see if a transplant is possible. As he puts Chise to sleep she dreams of her childhood. Her memories suggest only her father could fight dark creatures. A fragment of Cartaphilius enters her memories of the day her father left with her brother and never came back, after which Chise and her mother were tormented by dark creatures. Chise’s mother eventually tried to kill her and then committed suicide. Chise confronts the dark version of her mother she kept in her memory and thanks her for not killing her, allowing her to move on. The Cartaphilius fragment reveals he is both the curse and the blessing that keeps Cartaphilius alive and is willing to give that blessing to Chise if she decides to live. Chise asks what he wants in return. The fragment says there is only one wish he has wanted for thousands of years. His wish is “Help me!” At that moment, Chise awakens back in the laboratory, overpowers the shocked Cartaphilius and declares she is going to forcibly find out why he keeps doing the awful things he does.

Nothing seek, nothing find.

Elias transforms into his monster form and destroys part of the forest. Titania and Oberon offer to “help” by kidnapping Chise to the Fairy Kingdom. Elias refuses, as he has learnt he must become a better man if Chise is to ever be with him. Titania and Elias cast a locating spell. Phyllis tells Marielle to help fix the problem she caused. Chise enters Cartaphilius memories and sees the original Cartaphilius take over the body of a young gravedigger named Joseph, combining their memories and becoming confused over whether they are Cartaphilius or Joseph. Chise learns Cartaphilius was the man who threw a stone at Jesus during his crucifixion and was punished with immortality, a memory he has now forgotten. Cartaphilius attacks Chise but she is saved by Elias and all her friends. Cartaphilius angrily rages at being punished for a crime he cannot remember. Chise, who can still sense his suffering, follows him as he flees. Elias follows as well, unwilling to lose Chise. They encounter Marielle who helps by transforming into a bull to carry Chise. Chise tells Elias to fix his mistakes by helping with her plan. When Cartaphilius finally stops running Chise approaches him alone.

Live and let live.

Chise and Cartaphilius argue about the different ways they have suffered. Chise attacks but Cartaphilius is shielded by Ashen Eye, while Chise, in turn, is protected by Ruth, Elias and Aerial the wind fairy. Ashen Eye tries to flee with Cartaphilius but Elias and Aerial combine magic and behead Ashen Eye. Chise tries to put Cartaphilius to sleep, but he stabs her, revealing sleeping spells don’t work now he has her eye. Chise has Elias trap him while Ruth retrieves the eye. Chise hugs Cartaphilius, reassuring him that she understands him and they begin crying together. She sings a magic lullaby, putting them both to sleep. Chise dreams of the Cartaphilius fragment, who will now keep her alive by fighting the dragons curse. She awakens in Elias bed and reunites with him, then immediately berates him for all the stupid things he has done, while Elias berates her for all her foolish decisions. They eventually make an agreement about their future decision making. Life returns to normal, only Cartaphilius is now being kept by Chise in a place he can finally sleep peacefully. Ashen Eye, who is secretly still alive, expresses his disappointment. Chise visits Angelica and Stella who both give her birthday gifts. Silver tells Elias to go to the forest where he finds Chise wearing a wedding dress and veil. She places a ring on his left hand and they promise to always stay together, even if they occasionally disagree. As they return home Chise decides she wants to keep learning as Elias’ apprentice.