A Second Generation Whateley Academy Adventure

Paying the Pied Pythoness

by

MaLAguA

 

Part Two

 

Saturday, January 7th - 4:43pm
Berlin Mall

At this time of the season, just a week after the New Year, the stores embraced the new beginning, reopening and making offers for customers looking forward to the next holiday. The classic winter staples were on display, be they the newest coats and jackets, portable heaters, or just the seasonal coffee blend. It felt like a different place.

It was something that felt special for Caro. Sure, she’d visited& Berlin last year, but only a handful of times she could count with one hand. And most of those times, she was too worried about her disguise glamour holding up to fully enjoy the surroundings… and in some of those few, it hadn’t.

Now, untethered from the need to hide her horns and scales, she could freely move from store to store and wonder out loud how good it would look on her, if she should take the leap and buy the thing with the extra money her parents gifted her.

“Look at that hat!” Caro pointed at a fedora at the display, as part of the winter ensemble, made of a dark color with a lighter lining along the rim. “Think that would fit me?”

“Think so?” “Definitely.” “Looks lovely. I want one for myself” said the voices around her. None of which belonged to Marlene, Chris, Sofia, or Gwen. Instead, they came from the three other girls that had joined their trip from school: Alvina and Donna from Dickinson, and Miriam from Poe. Girls that were pretty impressed by Caro’s makeover and interested at the mention of a trip to Berlin after lunch and were quick to tag along.

Social climbers, Caro thought, much like in her old school before she gained her horns. Girls that wanted to hang on and out with the popular girls to grow their status. And what better way than to join in an afternoon outing with her, the novelty of the month, in an attempt to join her friend circle?

“Not that that would work,” Caro thought smugly as they stepped into the store to sample the hat. “But it does bode well that they really pay me more attention than Gwen. I still have the full package, the looks, the attitude and the magic to create rules that bend reality,” She couldn’t stop smiling as she picked the item up and tried it on. “I’m sorry, Gwen, but I’m going to overtake you. Hope we can still be friends, though. I know you don’t care for this sort of thing.”

“How do I look? Lovely, right?” Caro asked as she twisted from side to side to let them see the angles, before deftly snapping a couple of pictures. Much to the agreement of the girls.

“This bodes well… they are here for me,” she thought.

“But…” a voice chimed in. It was Gwen’s, standing at the edge of the group. “Are you going to wear that? I mean, when you-know-who returns…”

Caro did the best to not visibly grit her teeth or let any other form of negative emotion show. “Right… Right … But why did she have to say it?” Caro thought, needing to remind herself that the moment the spirit of fables and stories did, she could kiss her normal appearance goodbye… “No… I won’t let it come down to that.”

“Who’s you-know-who?” Alvina asked.

“It’s not important,” Caro said as she quickly recovered her appearances. “Well… it’s still a nice hat, I wouldn’t mind wearing it…” Inwardly, she reminded herself that Gwen didn’t have the sort of malice to pull off that sort of backhanded comment… or did she? She shook those thoughts away as she put the hat back on the rack. “But you’re right. Maybe for another time?”

By now, the other girls that had tagged along drifted around the store to check things.

“How about you? Is there anything you’re interested in?” Caro asked Gwen.

Her friend looked around the store with her hands fidgeting with her purse and jacket pocket.

“Is this how she always gets when she goes shopping?” Caro wondered.

“Hm…” Gwen said after checking over some of the dresses and more high-end blouses back on their hanging spot. “I don’t know. Don’t see anything I might want.”

“Really? There’s a lot of things here that might fit you.”

“I know. Some of those look really nice, but not sure what I would pick. I’m just used to doing the shopping with my Mom and sis. They know more about style,” she said.

“And you don’t?” Caro inquired, just a couple of notches from being a taunt, shaking her head in disapproval as Gwen had picked up some jean shorts from the shelf. “Oh god, not the jorts.”

“I’m trying to learn,” Gwen said sheepishly. “I mean, at school, we have the uniforms for class, and the normal clothes for later. That’s probably all I need. Not sure I want a dress.”

“Really? I remember a nice dress you had for the end of year party. Was that them as well?”

Gwen blushed. “Oh, that. Actually, partly. I asked them and they gave me a list of things to look for. Chris and Leslie tagged along to get it.”

“Sorry, I couldn’t be there…” Caro sighed. “I didn’t have a spell ready to hide my appearance back then.”

“Well, it’s fine. We get to enjoy time together today. Or at least I wish that was the case,” Gwen mused as she looked around, seeing some of the girls moving to the cashier while one was outside waiting for the rest.

“Yeah… I honestly hoped Chris, Marlene or even Sofia would’ve tagged along… but I guess they had other things in mind,” Caro said. True, the invitation was made to the four of them, but since trips to Berlin before the start classes were popular, Josephine’s van got crowded very fast. Sofia had been the first to bow out.

After they checked a couple of stores, Marlene slipped out to visit one of the magic shops in the area. She preferred not to step into the crowd, for obvious reasons, while Chris saw it as her chance to tag along. If Caro had to guess, it was probably to check that anime shop or something nerdy that they’d talked about on the way. The thought got her to roll her eyes, but didn’t begrudge them.

“It feels as though they’re avoiding being with me,” were the words that were stuck at the tip of Caro’s tongue. Once again thinking back to& bad habits from her old school. It was natural to just assume that someone was ghosting you when they didn’t spend time with you. Instead, she said. “Well, their loss.” She spotted the clock on the wall and sighed. “Oh, look at the time, we have under an hour. I know, we’ll drop by the next store and then meet up at the coffee shop.”

“Sounds fair,” Gwen agreed. “I’ll send them a message.”

“Hey, Caro?” one of the girls called from the side. “Have you considered trying for something like Venus Inc.?”

Caro’s attention drifted to the curious question. “I’ve thought of it.”

“Don’t think they love GSD cases, but I bet you could make a Cinderella-like enchantment that catches their attention,” Miriam noted.

Caro laughed in agreement, and yet a growing side within her really considered it. If Grimma were never to return, nothing would stop her from regaining her popularity, going back to being the queen bee. But that was a big ask…

If she did nothing about it.

Saturday, January 7th - 5:02pm
Berlin’s mall deck

Upon a small terrace of the mall that rose up to a second level, one lone girl could be seen stepping out with jovial, careless steps. Fortunately, there was no one around to be wary of any potential incidents that might occur.

She reached the handrail and brought herself over to a stop, knocking some of the snow that had accumulated from the morning down to the head of the bystander below.

“Sorry!” Chris called out, giving her best apologetic smile. That was enough to get him to just frown and keep on with the path, dusting the snowflakes off. “Drat,” Chris sighed.

“Be glad that business is slow today and that no one in their right mind would have lunch on the terrace before April,” Marlene’s voice came through, muffled by the high scarf. “Would’ve gotten a lot of attention if you’d just tripped and activated your powers.” She looked over her shoulder at the rest of the food court. Chris’s energetic antics had drawn in a few eyes, but only for a short time as they were already looking away.

“Well, it didn’t happen,” Chris mused as she turned around to get a better look. Across the street. That was where the skate park was, finding it with the icy sludge covering its surface and the front entrance locked with a sign attached. A couple of guys also stood in front, reading the message with the same longing look as Chris had. “Aw, it’s really closed.”

“You came here for that?” Marlene laughed. “Of course it is, did you really think otherwise?”

“I just hoped… I mean, I thought they could put a tarp on or something.”

“What’s the matter? You do have the parkour lab to play with.” Marlene& leaned against the handrail, close enough that Chris could spot the twitch of her cat ears underneath her hood.

“Yeah, but it’s different,” Chris said with a slight shrug. “It’s the difference between finding a challenge in a toy and making the toy. It doesn’t feel the same.”

Marlene snickered at the description.

“I mean, it wasn’t like I was going to have fun and show off, at this time, wearing this.” She gestured at her clothes, a modest ensemble that was more designed for a day out in town rather than a physical activity. “It was a day out with Caro as friends. And I just ducked out for a moment and lost track of them.”

“It’s not entirely true.” Marlene snickered. “I lured you out with stories of the local otaku import store.”

“I guess I found it a bit more interesting than browsing around clothing store after clothing store.” Inwardly, Chris wondered why women found shopping so appealing. “I guess it’s not my kind of environment.”

“Well, you do like to dress like a boy.”

Chris was good at hiding a flinch. “Um… yeah, hehe.”& Not so good with her feeble attempt at a laugh.

“Not that there’s anything wrong with that.” Marlene pulled back her mask, letting Chris get a good look at her. Much to her surprise, there weren’t any feline features to be seen, except maybe slightly sharpened canines. Part of the spell she’d worked on?& Chris assumed but wasn’t about to ask yet. “Honestly, I’m kinda glad I walked away. I don’t really see myself chatting it up with Caro’s new set of hangers-on.”

“What’s wrong with them?” Chris asked, deciding to ask about Marlene’s appearance another time.

“You never noticed?”

“Um… no?” Chris said sheepishly.

“Well… Some girls at Dickinson take pride in the lack of GSD cases in their cottage. It’s the classic pretties versus uglies between the two cottages. Poe might also be included… but there aren’t that many cases around to count.”

“Is it like Twain and Emerson?”

“Sorta,” Marlene shrugged. “I mean, guys are simpler. Can you guess what happens if someone makes fun of that big muscled boy who sadly gets to look like a clown boy? It’s not funny. But… well, girls are more subtle and indirect.”

“Right…” Chris said.

“It’s like Caro gets to start anew with this development of hers just by looking normal. And, to be honest.” Marlene sighed, adjusting the gloves that covered her clawed hands. “It’s not like I don’t get her. We’ve been in the same boat since the first day in the school, as the GSD cases. We both have magic and have helped each other in and out of classes… even used it to try to fix our appearances.”

“Sounds rough,” Chris answered.

“It’s not unsolvable. I’ve been managing the cat part of my appearance for a while now… But with Caro like that, it makes me feel uneasy as to whether I should do it more often. Have I changed that much since I manifested? That kind of stuff.”

After a brief pause, Chris answered. “I don't think there’s a difference. That no matter what, you and Caro are still the same friends.”

“I guess so. I just hope this new Caro isn’t the real one she’d been holding in.”

“But what is real?” It was Chris’s attempt to sound deep yet aloof, an effort that was being taken more by Marlene than she expected. “I mean, she’s just happy.”

Marlene sighed. “I suppose I shouldn’t judge her. It’s just been a couple of days, right?”

“Yeah,” Chris agreed, though inwardly she felt that this was Gwen’s same concern. She was about to blab about it, but the buzz of her phone distracted her. “Oh. Gwen says she’s going to meet us at the coffee shop. It’s almost time to go back.”

“Well, I already got what I came for.” Chris said. All this time she’d been carrying a pair of paper bags’ straps around her wrist. “Glad some of the items in the store were at a good price.”

“Not exactly the kind of purchases I expected,” Marlene said as the two made their way back in.

“Well, I had some extra cash and I was looking forward to treating my friends as a late Christmas present,” Chris said before adding, “it’s also to make up for the gifts I owe them.”

“And what about mine?” Marlene mused.

Chris grinned. “I thought of it… buuut… it felt as though you would probably have most of the things I would find in Otaku Imports.”

“Probably right,” Marlene laughed as they moved towards the coffee shop.

“By the way, what did you mean when you said you’ve been ‘managing the cat part’…?”

Some time later, at the coffee shop.

“There they are!” Marlene pointed to the group of girls that just emerged from the crowd’s current.

“Gwen! Caro!” Chris was waving a hand at them.

“Hey! Did you two have fun going off on your own?” Despite her friendly demeanor, there was a stink to Caro’s words, enough for Chris to pick up on.

“Sorry,” Chris said apologetically. “I already had a new wardrobe and had been wanting to check that shop for a while.”

“It’s okay.” Caro shook her head. “Find anything interesting?”

“Hey, at least the kitty made it back without making a fuss,” one of the girls from the group mused.

“Aw, come on, she’s obviously housebroken,” Caro played along. “Nobody would think you’re a stray.”

She obviously said that as a compliment, but Marlene didn’t see it that way, instead looking down at her phone with disinterest as she adjusted her mask.

“So? What did you get?” Chris chimed in, asking her friends.

“I got some gloves, nothing too fancy,” Gwen told her.

“A scarf for myself and some bracelets.” Caro pulled her bag open to show off the fabric of her scarf. “How about you? What did you get?” She was drawn to the bags that Chris held but hesitated as she noticed the brand of the store. “Oh, anime stuff.”

“Yep!” Chris reached into her bag and produced a stuffed doll. “And this little guy is for you.” It was a cute mischievous-looking long cat. Gwen hadn’t seen it, but she guessed it was from that anime Marlene had been bragging about. The style of the eyes, the mischievous smile and the small earring hanging from her ear all suggested as much.

“Is that a Puck doll?” Marlene definitely recognized it.

“It is! I was too into this show and thought to give this to Caro as a thanks for the year and as a belated Christmas present.” She held up the plush for her friend to see.

“It looks… nice,” Caro said as she picked it, admiring the features. While uncertain at first, a small smile formed in the corner of her lips. “It’s kinda cute.”

“Careful the Wondercute girls hear you say it,” Chris jested.

“I’ll be careful,” Caro smiled as she placed the doll in her purse. “Thanks, Chris.”

“So, are we ready?” Marlene asked as she adjusted her baggy pants, just to let her tail stretch and wiggle out of immobility.

“Yeah,” Gwen said as she pointed as a van pulled on the side of the street, with Josephine, the driver inviting them to squeeze in so they could return to the school. Making a headcount, the chaperone was more than relieved to know another outing to Berlin had happened without any troubles.

Monday, January 9th - 4:03pm
Whitman Cottage

“There we go.” Caro smiled as she held up her phone to snap another picture of herself. This time she went with the classic wink, lopsided view and her fingers making the finger heart that she’d seen playing about one social media.

It’d been a while since she'd last updated anything to her account. When her horns grew and she was in the process of becoming an outcast in her old school, before the big incident, she gave up on it all. She only checked it every now and then just to punish herself, to see how things were going in her old school now that she’d been out for a while. But now, since Christmas Eve, she was back, posting and updating, bragging about her regained looks and her magic just to instill envy and the& fear of her vengeance in her old classmates.

No sooner had the flash stopped making spots pop in her eyes, she was already looking at the result, admiring every little bit of her appearance. Her perky face, her lustrous black hair, and her beautiful eyes which manifestation had granted an emerald and gold hue about them that brimmed with magic. She looked perfect, as she'd wanted for quite some time.

Although… the more she stared at her reflection, the more she began to wonder if she was missing something. The word ‘normal’ had such a plain connotation and… after staring at her social media for quite some time to catch up while also being in Whitman, probably the most diverse cottage in terms of appearances, she couldn’t help but notice a certain sameness about everything. Certainly having her horns did accentuate her appearance…

“Nah,” was all she mumbled as she typed the caption: “Hex and love for those that didn’t speak ill of me. Those that did, look forward to the next croak. And… post.” She tapped her phone.

“Are you done with that?” her roommate Sofia asked from her side of the room, having been trying to read something on her tablet while it all went on.

“I am. Can’t wait to see their reaction. I just love it when my ex-friends get salty in the comments. Think their insults mean anything.”

“Hm…” Sofia rolled over and stretched long. In the brief moment of relaxation, her powers made some fur grow on her arms.

“Did you add cat to the menagerie?” Caro asked. Sofia’s powers made her able to adopt the forms of a set number of animals she’d come in contact with.

“Think this one might be Shisa’s doing,” Sofia half-joked as she reverted back to normal. “Anyway, I’m happy you’re enjoying this, but I think it might be a little too much. I mean, Grimma will return eventually, right?”

Caro’s mood soured at the reminder, one that she felt everyone was giving her. Why were they so invested in when the spirit would come back and ruin her fun? Were they counting the seconds to when Grimma would show up and leave her horned and scaled? Could it be?

Still, all Caro could do was try to put on a confident smirk as she answered. “Oh, don’t worry about that. I think I have a plan that might spare me.”

“Are you sure?” Sofia said. “I’ll be honest, I don’t think Grimma would like that?”

“And when have you talked to her?” Caro scoffed

Sofia’s answer was silence, a rather ominous silence Caro would’ve picked up on, but her eyes were drawn towards her phone as she got posts and comments to the most recent picture, from both students in her old school, and some of the girls from Whateley. Every comment gave her a kick that she’d been missing for a long while.

“Well,” Caro said after typing in a couple of answers. “I’d love to stay here and keep on talking about what-ifs… but I have some things I want to do before the end of the day.”

“Really? Where are you going?” Sofia sat up. Maybe she was thinking about going out as well.

“Some friends want to meet at the Crystal Hall. Asked if I wanted to hang out with them, possibly make plans for later this week. A party in the tunnels, a gathering in Melville, maybe pay a visit to Venus Inc. Imagine the faces of my old friends when I am in route to becoming a model.” She laughed it off as a joke, but a part within her was entertaining the idea of it actually happening. “I’ll be out till late.”

“Just be sure to not make a mess when you come back,” Sofia said, echoing words that Caro tended to give her back when she was hanging out with Crossby.

“When do I ever make a me- don’t answer that,” Caro corrected herself.& Her brain was full& of examples that Sofia didn’t even know of. Still, being reminded of her magic, she reached into her nightstand drawer and opened it. “I suppose I might as well make a slight detour,” she said as she took the personal item her grandma had sent by way of her father.

On the surface, it appeared to be a quaint flute. Hand-carved, painted with colors that had lightly faded away and bearing faded runes and inscriptions along the surface. Not exactly a tuned instrument, but it would probably still make quite some melodies.

Still, the most important part of it was the power that was imbued in it. At the touch of Caro’s own power exuding from her fingertips, the entity sealed within reacted.& A blue mist slipped out of each of the orifices, only to dissipate, unable to fully leave the confines of the flute.

“What is that?” Sofia asked.

“Oh,” Caro said. “It’s a flute my grandma sent me.”

“And why does it feel… off?” Sofia asked. Of course, while non-mages couldn’t see the magic that radiated from it, that didn’t mean they were all completely oblivious to it.

“Because it’s, um, cursed.”

“Embrujado!?” Sofia blurted out.

“Yeah, emburuhado,” Caro answered. “My grandma sent it after I told her I was interested in investigating weird and spooky stuff. Her personal gallery has a lot of items like these.” Caro held it up for a studious look. She couldn’t see anything but the blue mist that exuded from the inner well of the instrument.

“And… what sort of curse does it carry?” Sofia asked.

“It’s nothing dangerous, really. Think she said she bought this thing in a German town some time ago. It was said to have either helped a town or ruined it when pests came to the spot… although I can’t recall if she said it was the original item or if it was an imitation. It does have a nice name, though: rattenfänger.”

“So, what are you going to do with it? Play it or use it?”

“Neither. Honestly, the curse on its own is of little interest to me,” Caro said as she reached into her drawer to produce an empty glass bottle. “I want the flute, an item that was treated to contain an entity.”

“And is that the safe thing to do?”

“Removing the curse? I don’t think so. I mean, my grandma said that she would’ve been able to release the curse without breaking the thing… but she hasn’t because of how useful it is,” Caro said. “Which is why, before I tend to my new social life, I’ll be passing by Ms. Grimes or Vanity Girl just to know how it can be done.”

“Oh boy… Maybe we should tell Mrs. Savage about it,”

“Please, let’s not. I promise that it’ll be safe,” Caro assured.

For a moment she feared that Sofia would give her another lecture, but all she got was a warning look.& "Fine. Just a little thing, right? Not like it's going to be a problem for me. But be careful anyway."

“Don’t you worry. I got this under wraps. Alright, I’m going to enjoy everything,” Caro resolved as she left, closing the room in her wake.

Making her way across campus, an idea sparked in Caro’s mind. Taking a pause from her practiced walking and texting, she sent a couple of messages to Chris and Gwen, asking if they were up for something after class.

“Sorry,” answered Chris, just as Caro was approaching the magic department’s offices. “Mrs. Horton wants us to help organize the cottage’s evening. We can’t leave.”

“Drat…” Strolling through the snow, the thought couldn’t help but pop up. “Are they trying to avoid me? Like some of the girls did back in old school?” She thought long and hard over that for the next ten steps before she shrugged. “I guess it’ll just be more fun for me.”

She patted the flute, comfortably safeguarded in her coat’s pocket along with the small bottle. This was something she’d been mulling over since Christmas. “Grimma is going to hear my demands.”

Tuesday, January 10th - 6:11pm
Whitman Cottage

Now that classes were ready to begin again, the school kicked back into gear. And yet, by the second day, the classes were still lax enough that they could be considered an extension of the break. When Gwen and Chris stepped into Whitman Cottage, it really didn’t feel that different from a couple of nights ago. At the common room, some of the girls were wandering in and out making plans for dinner or just to meet up with friends for some other activity. Only a few lingered in the common room, entertaining themselves with the TV or with their nose down on their phones.

“Hey, Gwen. Chris.”

Both girls lifted their gaze to see the girl greeting them from up the stairs.

“Sofia,” Gwen greeted back.

The Whitman girl trotted down to join them on the sofas. “What brings you two here? Looking for Caro or Marlene?”

“What? Can’t we come here looking for you?” Chris mused.

“Well, were you?” Sofia asked.

“Um…” Chris said, caught in the joke. Still, her expression was enough to get Sofia to laugh.

“I’m just messing with you,” Sofia said with a jolly chuckle. That was more like the girl they remembered when they began Whateley, before she fell into bad company.

“Well, who's here?” Gwen took over. “We were dropping by to say hi. Just a visit.”

“Yeah… plus the parkour lab wasn’t open,” Chris said, much to Sofia’s amusement.

“So, are Marlene and Caro here?” Gwen corrected.

Sofia shook her head. “Sorry, you missed them both.” 

“Really? Drat.” Chris bopped her forehead lightly with her phone. “Where’d they run off to?”.

“Marlene was out for a meeting of the Anime Club. She should be back any second.”

“And Caro?” Gwen asked.

“Who knows.” Sofia shrugged. “She mentioned checking out some small gathering in Melville, a party near the tunnels… and something about Venus Inc.”

“Wow…” Chris noted. “She’s really social now that she’s all done up normal, huh?”

Sofia sighed. “Yeah, she is.” 

“Well, as long as she’s happy,” Gwen said, though her tone of voice bore a hint of sadness.

“Wanna stay? I was a tad bored anyway.”

“Sure, we can wait,” Chris agreed. “Got any games for us?”

“Chris… I don’t think Sofia was planning to-”

“Oh, I have a pack of playing cards, or I can boot up the jackbox or something like that,” Sofia mused. “Sure other girls will want to join.”

Chris smiled. “Alright.” 

Eventually, Caro made it back to Whitman. It just happened to be on time for the curfew, about ten minutes after Chris and Gwen departed. But she was having so much fun sending snide comments about cursing friends in her old school that she neglected to check any messages in her own box.

The same thing happened the next day, when Chris, Gwen and Marlene came around on multiple occasions after class to check on her. And yet they could hardly be surprised when she disappeared to prioritize her reignited social life.

Thursday, January 12th - 6:52pm
Tunnels near Caro’s workshop - second basement

Caro left her lab with a pep in her step. This close to the tangle, the confusing part of the tunnels with a life of its own, made it almost a guarantee that the pathways would be& empty, filled only by the echo of her steps.

“I got it… I made it. I did it,” she repeated with ecstatic relief. A grin in the corner of her lips as her hands held the fruit of her efforts.

In one hand was the glowing souvenir she’d bought during her trip. A small bottle that was once empty, now it housed a ghostly light that moved and flickered with every movement made.& Faint lines of ink manifested and glowed whenever it came into contact with the surface. A container. Enchanted by her own hand.

What she would do with the curse was up for debate. Whether she would unleash it on her enemy or leave it stored for as long as the thing held, whether it would be released or transferred to a better vessel, it was a question for another time.

The important thing was the empty flute held in the other hand.

This folkloric item would be the bargaining chip she was hoping for. An object carved by an original enchanter from the start, it was said to have spent over a century holding a magical animist curse within. Now that it was empty of its contents, Caro could feel the flute’s drive to hold something again. With her own enchantments added to the mix, it wasn’t hard to imagine that Grimma would fall in that category. Whether she would be able to capture the spirit, some of her powers, forever or just for some time was up to anyone’s guess.

Even if things didn’t work out, Grimma wouldn’t take it the wrong way, right? This wasn’t the first time she’d tried to banish her witchy patron, and most of the time she took it with levity…

Of course, Caro really hoped it wouldn’t come to that. That she would be able to convince Grimma to let her stay like a normal girl and just use the empty vessel for something else.

“But I want to be normal,” Caro said, just to give herself resolve. To convince herself it was the right call.

As she strode down the corridor, she never noticed a gaze spying upon her from the concealed position of an air vent. Feline eyes glimmered in the dark, peeking through the steel grate that would’ve made it impossible for a normal cat to slip through–but not a problem when its presence was just as elusive as the air.

Within the confines of the square of metal and concrete, the small cat-like creature rested. ‘Mew’ was accustomed to watching with longing, while her gaze was lost to the enigmas of the mind, dancing between the questions such as, what was its place in these tunnels? Where did its her creator go? And what was it to do later? She knew the need to be careful when skulking around and exploring for food, having seen the male and female youths wander about causing trouble.

And yet, rather than hunkering down in fear, little by little she grew more curious about what would be outside. Daring enough to tread the outside during the day, to skulk around the spaces where kids had their noses buried in pieces of equipment and chemistry sets to notice they had less food than just a moment ago, or to get closer every day to the smaller house with the two-headed dog, who was always nudging her to take a step closer to play.

Little by little, Mew disobeyed her lessons, dreaming of a caress on her back or the warmth of another’s petting touch on the head.

The thought of following the girl that smelled of magic crossed her mind. She reminded Mew of the frequent dark visitor to the abandoned lab, albeit somewhat faded. A kind figure out of this world that would happily tell her stories, or turn on the screen to keep her entertained.

The last time had been about a girl that flew on her broomstick and had a tiny black cat.

Wednesday, January 11th - 6: 42pm
Dickinson party room in the tunnels.

“Hm… not bad,” said one of the girls nearby. Her face intruded on the reflection of Caro’s appearance just to get a better look at the work she did. “Not bad for an amateur?”

“An amateur?” Caro scoffed as she leaned to the side to give a 3/4ths view of her head, appreciating her makeup work. “Much better than the scribbles you had on your face.”

“How come I never seen you wear makeup?” another of the girls said.

“Well, I don’t exactly need it…” Caro said with a bit of pride. “But back in my old school, when some girls began to want to do makeup, I researched some videos and mastered the craft before anyone else. I just don’t use it as often.”

Admittedly, she also had to thank her magical training for keeping the skills sharp. Drawing lines and etching words on surfaces for spells and requirements certainly helped to keep her facility with grease pencils.

“Well, I do agree. You probably don’t need it,” one of the girls praised.

“And, check this out.” Caro held up the bottle of ink that she’d been dabbling at the tip of the pen before applying. “A special ink I made for a show. If I do this…”

Caro turned the flashlight on her phone on, shining the reflection on the mirror and back at her face. That was all that was needed for it to kick in. The black lines on her skin started to glow up in colors of gold and silver, with the outline breaking and flourishing about to add ornate branches to every stroke.

“Wow!” “Amazing!” said some of the girls in the vicinity that weren’t gasping. Caro felt giddy from the attention. How she’d missed having people fawning over her.

“Can I try it?” one of the girls asked.

“Sure,” Caro mused as she held up the small bottle of liquid. “But it’s the last one. You will have to make a good case as to why you should get the ink.”

And at her words, the girls leaned in closer, each making the plea. And when they began stepping on each other’s toes, both metaphorically and literally, the& verbal spats were awfully familiar. Definitely like old times. True school royalty material here, she thought.

“Have you thought about joining Venus Inc? Bet they would love that,” one of the girls said.

“Bet they would love to have you as a makeup artist.”

“Or a model,” someone else chimed in. “You’d do well for their calendar.”

“I’ve heard that,” Caro mused. “I bet they would love to have me.”

She felt the mild buzz of the phone in her hand. She would’ve missed the sound of the text’s chime, between the girl’s talking and the music playing in the background. “Oh, I have to check this.”

“Say, tomorrow, some of us are planning to meet up for a girl’s afternoon.” The girl mused. “Are you interested?”

“Nah, nah nah,” said Tonia, a girl from Melville. “How about you tag along with me? I got some girlfriends that would be more than interested in getting to know you better. Would love it if you would pay a visit into our clubhouse.”

“Really flattered. I’ll think of it,” Caro told them as she finally managed to pull herself away from the crowd, just enough to check on the messages.

It was Chris. [Hey Caro. Gwen and I were heading to Whitman. Wondered if you’re there.]

Caro couldn’t help but smile inwardly. Normally, they didn’t call ahead to ask if she was available. Most of the time she used to either be in her lab or at the cottage by herself. It really put into perspective how much her social life had taken off since she returned. So busy it was exhausting.

She looked back at the crowd of girls, who appeared to have sorted out who was going to be using the last of Caro’s magical ink, but were also at the ready to move on to the next topic.& In this case it appeared to be chatting and gossiping around, with a bit of pranking intermingled, basically the sleepless sleepover experience. As much as she would’ve preferred to hang out with Chris and Gwen, she knew how much of a boost this would be.

“Aw, it’s been a while since I had that…” Caro mused as she looked back at the message. [Sorry, not tonight. Having fun with the girls… Do you wanna come?] she texted, though she already knew what Chris, the most tomboyish and physically active girl, would say.

[Ah. It’s okay, we were just dropping by to check on you. Have fun.] Soon after, Chris added. [Gwen and Marlene wish you have fun too.][Sofia as well.]

“That Chris,” Caro mused with a light smile. She did feel a little bad that her friends weren’t there with her, but this wasn’t their element.

And yet, before she could put the phone away, it chimed again. It was Chris, again. [Hey, are you free tomorrow?]

Caro thought for a moment. The invitations she just got from the other girls were still fresh in her mind, and they sounded much more enticing and attractive just to keep this streak of social interactions going. Because, as much as she hated to admit it, Chris and Marlene’s ideas of fun would belong at the bottom of the social chain, as far as she knew.

And yet, a part of her felt duty-bound to just spend some time with the girls that stuck next to her no matter what last year. Even despite her worst moments…

It was still a very close call, taking several seconds of her typing an answer before deleting and going for the other.

[Sorry, I have some plans. Maybe later.] She texted with a sigh.

“They’re your friends Caro,” she reminded herself just as she sent the message. Once that was done, she decided there was no point in regretting her decision and moved back to the crew, just as Tonia waved a hand at her.

“Hey, enchantress. Venus Inc girl here. Show here your magical ink.”

Sunday, January 15th - 11:23am
On the way to Whitman

“What do you think the new Caro will want to play or watch?” Chris asked, her mind always going to games or TV when asked for entertainment. Though she was clearly aware that wasn’t exactly the kind of thing others would go as the first reaction.

“I don’t know. I’m kinda curious and nervous about it at the same time…” Gwen answered. Admittedly, she wasn’t sure what would be the right go-to suggestion. It’d never been a problem before, when they were most of Caro’s social life. “And Caro is our friend. Don’t think it right to treat her as the ‘new’ Caro.” Even though she wanted to believe that, she was incredibly uncertain. “Just try to treat her as we always do. Should be about right, right??”

“It’s just that it doesn’t seem like we have much in common now that she’s ‘free’ to do as she wants. Makes me wonder if she really liked what we used to do…” Chris thought for a moment. “Well, most of the time she seems to enjoy the kind of things Marlene or I suggest. But if she can enjoy our things, maybe we can enjoy hers, right?”

“I just wish normal girl fun wasn’t just about buying things or considering buying things. My mom already spent a lot on me.” Gwen shook her head as they walked along the path. Her words trailed off into a silence that lasted for several steps.

“Something wrong?” Chris asked.

“No… nothing is wrong,” Gwen muttered. “Just lost in thought.”

“About what? Is it Vic?”

“Kinda,” Gwen mumbled. “It’s just that it’s been a week since we’ve been back to& school and I haven’t seen him. Makes me wonder if he’s avoiding me. Or I’m just unlucky enough to not run into him on campus.”

“Maybe he didn’t make it back to school?” Chris suggested.

“He said he was returning for the winter term in his messages and I get the feeling that if something had happened to him, Tanya would’ve let us know.”

“Yeah… we might’ve noticed something like that.”

“It happens to us when we can’t keep secrets all that well.” Gwen sighed. “I’m just a bit worried about him.”

“Think Dereck will get jealous?”

“Be serious, Chris.” Gwen gave her friend a nudge. “Today is Vic’s birthday.”

“Ah. Have you sent him a message?”

“It’s… kinda complicated,” Gwen said, though she still checked her phone. “He doesn’t like to celebrate it.”

“Really? Who wouldn’t want to celebrate?”

“Well…” Gwen was about to say, but at that time, they had already arrived at Whitman, so she decided it was a good opportunity to quiet up on the not so happy story.

Chris, fortunately, let the topic die as she quickly raised her hand and voice. “Marlene! When is the next showing of the club?”

“It should be Tuesday,” the presiding member of the anime club stated. She was in Caro’s usual spot in the common room, focused on stitching pieces of cloth–part of her next cosplay, most likely. She appeared to have been going at it for quite some time because she was more than relieved to put the thing away. “What are the two of you doing here?”

“What do you mean? We came for Caro and you. We finally managed to make plans to go out to Berlin today, right?”

Marlene cocked her head confused, her eyes widening in surprise as she sat up. “Oh… I thought you two had already left.”

“Uh? Why did you think that?” Chris blurted out. “We were looking forward to this for… a week, right?”

“Yeah but… A couple of hours ago, after breakfast, Caro told me that her chaperone would be leaving for Berlin then and there, and that she had to hurry on up to meet with her friends. I assume she meant the two of you. I told her that I was about to take a bath and couldn’t go.” Marlene frowned, recalling something sour. “Although I could’ve done it without the tongue bath joke. I wasn’t even going to go even if she was willing to wait.”

“She said that?” Gwen blinked.

“I mean, she always had a bit of a tongue… but I don’t imagine she would say that.” Chris said.

“I honestly couldn’t believe it at first. When I asked her to clarify, she said: ‘Relax, I’m just joking’.”

“That’s not a nice thing to say,” Chris said as she pulled out her phone to text her friend.

“I know,” Marlene agreed. “She should know the implied rules around here. She was just lucky there were no other girls around to call her out on that.”

“That is not cool,” Gwen mumbled. “She’s acting as though she won’t be going back to the way she used to be.”

“Grimma hasn’t returned, as far as we can tell,” Marlene told them. “And she’s been, in fact, overly confident that ‘the old Caro is here to stay’. She really thinks she has a plan.”

“Dang,” Chris echoed. “Think our friend has been replaced.”

“No,” Marlene shook her head. “We’re just meeting the real Caro. I’m convinced that, if Grimma hadn’t altered her appearance, that’s the Caro we would’ve been dealing with all this time.”

“This is bad. That can’t be,” Gwen said, a mixture of sadness and disappointment heavy in her voice.

“Well, that’s kinda what Sofia and I think.” Marlene held up the sewn skirt just to check how it would look. “This was probably who she wanted to be. I wish I had a direct line to Grimma…”

Gwen and Chris were left in stunned silence. Their plans of the day were upset by the seemingly careless attitude of their friend. Forgotten and left behind. 

And when Caro sent an explanation later, it boiled down to: “It slipped my mind. Some of the girls that were coming were already planning to go early, and I knew that you two had stuff you were busy with, so I didn’t want to rush you.”

It hardly made them feel better, even if they tried to buy the explanation. Even after Marlene offered them an alternate activity for the afternoon, the concern about their friend being gone was heavy in their minds.

Wednesday, January 19th - 5:42pm
Whitman Cottage - Room 247

Caro sighed relieved as she made it back to the cottage after a long day’s work. Social work and activities, that is. The school was still picking up the pace after the break, and she had plenty of time to do her homework and catch up on her notes later on.

What mattered right now was getting ahead in popularity. First things first, she had to make the new her known. Then, gain a following. And after that, she& just let the influence do the rest. It had worked for her before and now, she could actually try it out in a much more expedient way. Because who knew when Grimma would come back and mess up her life again?

Would it mess her up that much? Being popular meant being there for everything, for as many social outings as possible. That was if you didn’t have the special something or the money to be instantly attractive. With her horns, she had a mildly hampered social life, while the other criteria were measured at a much higher scale here. So she stopped trying after the first term.

And yet somehow Gwen made it into the ‘Something special’ category. Probably just by natural charisma.

But now that she got to relive her glory days in junior high, she was going to seize and enjoy life just like she used to. She sat at her desk, spying her reflection in the mirror as she applied some of the makeup she’d borrowed from some of the new friends from Dickinson. Blush, lipstick, eyeshadow. Nothing overly exaggerated, just a tiny bit, enough to add the extra degree of allure.

Once done, she leaned back and admired her reflection, striking up a few faces before giving herself the approving nod.

“I had forgotten how demanding it was to be social.” Caro sighed as she looked at her phone to check her agenda. So many events were laid out, between two get-togethers, a lunch, a party, and a trip to Berlin Mall, the rest of her time this week was split. She barely had the time to do the more complex parts of her assignments.

“Still, this is the way to power, right?” Caro said to no one in particular. Right then she happened to be alone in her room, allowing her the moment of introspection. And it was because of that solitude that she could chuckle at her own words. “Power. What a funny thing. It was the actual reason why I made that deal with Grimma so long ago. To think that she deliberately messed with my form because she thought she knew better… That day I gained the mystic powers I fantasized about, but I lost everything I had when things got weird…”

Caro smiled. She looked down at the back of her hand, devoid of scales and, with focus, she trailed her finger across the air creating a line. “This is what I wanted.” Even if it were to grow weaker now that Grimma had released her.

All ready now, she got out of the chair and picked up her purse. Checking its contents before leaving, she stopped as she found something stuck at the bottom. It was the doll Chris had gifted her last week. The cute light felt anime cat with a rather charming smile. Puck, that was its name and he was a sort of spirit familiar to one of the characters.

Smiling, she put the plush back into the purse, deeming it her companion for the night, before departing her room. She made her way down the stairs to the common room. Sure, it was a school night, but she could always make up for any assignment she couldn’t complete. She felt she’d gotten into many teachers’ good graces for them to give her the benefit of the doubt and extra time to do anything she couldn’t complete.

“Just go ahead, and think it’s all fun,” Caro told herself as she reached the front exit to the cottage only to be taken aback by the presence of Chris, Marlene, Gwen and Sofia, seemingly busy in conversation. She stepped into view, with a smile about to greet them, only to catch the words that escaped Gwen’s mouth.

“... I get that we’re not entirely happy with her but we can’t try to fix her.”

So that’s what they were really like when she wasn’t there to see…

A few minutes ago.

Gwen and Chris were crossing the school to make it to Whitman as had become the habit these couple of weeks. As per usual, they wanted to meet up with their friend, the third member of their trio after having been unable to spend much time with her since the trip to Berlin a couple of weeks ago. From there on, talks started to become strained. Even though neither of them wished to admit that they were starting to grow concerned about the state of their friendship.

Caro had changed as much in the heart as in her appearance. In the back of Chris’s mind was the fear that they would be one friend fewer soon, while Gwen wondered if this were the real Caro and& the girl had only hung out with them because she felt she had no other option.

“So… what are you thinking of doing?” Gwen asked.

“Dunno. Videos? Movies? I just hope she’s there…” Chris said.

“You didn’t ask her?” Gwen sighed as they cut through the snow with Whitman Cottage within sight.

“I did. I sent her a message or two,” Chris said sheepishly as she took two steps ahead before turning to walk backwards. “But she hasn’t answered them.”

“Did she at least read them?”

“Either she didn’t or she made it so it doesn’t show,” Chris shook her head. “It didn’t used to be like this. We usually didn’t need to book time with her.”

“Well, she has a good social life now, and that’s what matters,” Gwen mumbled. “Can we change the subject? Have you been having fun with Swerve?”

“I don’t mind seeing him around. He says hi and talks to me, which is a start. He’s not that bad of a dude. Though he’s asked if I’d be willing to cut my hair.”

“Ah… I do wonder, why don’t you?” 

“Eh… I’m too lazy?” Chris dodged. “How’s things with Dereck?”

“We’ve been doing fine, had our first date of the year and hung out about school during and after classes,” Gwen said. She found some inner calm when talking about her relationship, feeling the comfort of someone that wanted to be with her… and yet, there was always that one little detail that she kept secret out of fear, so she felt the need to keep him at arm’s length. It got worse whenever Dereck prodded her about her life prior to Whateley, and all she could do was buy time by deflecting, especially with the holiday topic at the forefront. “There’s just the… you know… usual”

“I see…” Chris trailed off as they hit the same old uncomfortable topic. But still willing to carry on, she was in the middle of formulating the next question when she paused and turned around to make a greeting. “Sofia, Marlene! Hey!”

Outside the cottage, they caught a glimpse of the two Whitmaniacs from among another group that was just making their way back from the Crystal Hall.

“Chris! Gwen! Heya!” Marlene answered the greeting as she splintered off the group. “What are you two doing here? Looking for Caro?”

Gwen sighed. “Is it that obvious?” 

“Think she might be in?” Chris asked.

“She said she was just about to get ready to head out, but that must’ve been about half an hour ago,” Sofia noted.

“Ah, so we missed her?” Gwen said.

“I mean, there’s a chance she’s up there. I can open the room for you.” Sofia took a couple of steps towards the cottage, inviting the two Poesies.

“Are you two going to talk to her?” Marlene chimed in, getting them to stop. All four girls had an inkling of what she was talking about, but she still clarified. “Because, I mean, Caro has been blowing off your plans since the winter term began.”

A silence lingered between those present. Fortunately, there was no one else in the vicinity to pay them attention.

“I…” Gwen began

“She’s been busy, hasn’t she?” Chris admitted. “Maybe this is an adjustment period.”

“You say that, but what if this is how it goes from here on?” Marlene said. “I considered the old Caro a good friend. Now, she’s just become a… just a bitch.”

“We weren’t planning on having an intervention,” was all Gwen said, but Marlene had read through the words.

“But you wanted to, right?”

And to that, Gwen had no real answer.

“I know this is a matter of personal preference, and that’s just petty,” Marlene sighed. “But I’m really thinking that Caro is making a drastic switch that’ll get her in trouble.”

“We can’t ask her to go back to how she was before just because we don’t like how she’s shaping up.”

“It’s not just that. Old Caro would’ve stood up to anyone making jokes about some of the girls with GSD. Now more and more she finds herself cracking jokes at their expense. That might get her into trouble,” Marlene said. “I don’t think I can consider myself her friend if she keeps on like that.”

“But what can we do about it? This is how the new Caro acts. I get that we’re not entirely happy with her but we can’t try to fix her.” Gwen just wanted the topic to be done with… unfortunately, that just made matters worse as she saw the other three girls looking past her, with Chris having just finished slashing a finger across her own throat in& the universal gesture for ‘shut up’.

Gwen felt her stomach sink like a rock just as she heard Caro’s voice behind her. “So you think I need fixing?”

“Caro…” Gwen said, turning around to find the girl in question. She stood at the threshold, with the light casting a strong shadow on her front but still letting them see she was dressed up for a social night ahead, purse under her arm and makeup about her face.

“Are you going out?” Gwen asked, trying to change the subject.

“It’s a school night, you know?” Marlene piled on, her tone having barely mellowed out, instead, turning stern. They all knew that Caro had heard enough to make up the context.

“It’s fine.” Caro said, matching Marlene’s energy. “I can do anything I want.”

The answer got a frown on her fellow Whitmaniacs.

“So, again. You think I need some fixing?” Caro snorted.

“Well, it’s more like an adjustment. You’ve been blowing your friends off over the past week and a half. And being unpleasant to be around.”

“Do you know how many people I hang around? Unpleasant?” Caro said, taking offense on that matter.

“You heard me.” Marlene frowned. “You’re acting like some high strung… Ojou-sama that keeps looking down on everyone.”

Caro rolled her eyes. “I don’t speak Japanese.” 

“It’s a very polite way of calling you a stuck-up B.”

“Oh, I heard that before. Kinda what they used to call me and my friends before I came to Whateley, but they did that out of jealousy,” Caro said thinking back. “Granted, they were mostly right.”

“And that doesn’t give you pause?” Marlene crossed her arms. “You’re just acting like the classic mean girl.”

“Am not.”

“Come on!” Marlene said. “You’ve gone around referring to people by their GSDs and making fun of it. You called Toison an ‘ewe with half a fleece,’ said Pastel was a ‘rainbow eyesore’ just today… I mean, granted, she tends to do the same. And you’ve referred to me as ‘Whitman Catgirl number three’, ‘Overgrown Familiar’ and ‘Bad luck charm’.”

“But I do it affectionately.” Caro defended. “It’s what friends do.”

“Not when you use them constantly or as a way to clearly put others down,” Marlene retorted.

“If it bothers you that much, you could’ve told me,”

“But you don’t take well when people stand up to you. When they insult you back, like Pastel did, you didn’t exactly wait to pull out your magic as a threat.”

Caro frowned, much like she caught someone speaking out of line. “I didn’t like her attitude… and she kinda deserves it, but in the end I didn’t follow through.”

“I wonder if the only reason you do this now is because you knew that if you began the name calling last year or the year before, you wouldn’t have been able to handle the backlash.”

The witchy girl didn’t say anything to that. Either because it was true or she had no better comeback. “Are you going to try to police my words now? Is this what this is about? Sorry if that’s how you feel.” The ‘you’ part in the conversation was emphasized. “I’m just enjoying my time here, trying to make it worthwhile.” There was the impression something was being left out.

“It’s not just how I feel. But also how we’re all finding dealing with you.” Marlene turned to Gwen, Chris and Sofia. “Isn’t that right? Do we agree that Caro has been acting up?”

Being put on the spot cast a moment of silence between those present, with only the crunch of the snow under their feet and the sound of conversations taking place inside the cottage.

Eventually, Sofia ventured to speak up. “Honestly, I don’t like how she behaves. But, yanno, with how I acted when I was hanging out with Will last year, I have no leg to stand on.”

“And I don’t want you to,” Caro cut in, much to Sofia’s discomfort. “After being the worst roommate despite my good will, I don’t really want to hear from you.”

“But that’s the point,” Marlene pleaded. “You tried to help her. So isn’t it fair that she still tries the same? That we try the same?”

Caro turned towards Chris and Gwen with a threatening glare, trying to coax them to drop the subject. It didn’t work.

“You’ve been… you’ve been acting differently,” Gwen said, trying to be polite.

“I kinda liked when we used to have fun,” Chris said on the side. “We don’t really get to spend much time with you.”

“I’m sorry, but the last time we were out together, most of you just peaced out,” Caro scoffed.

“I told you there was something at that store I wanted. And neither you nor your new friends wanted to go,” Chris argued.& Caro held up a hand to interrupt.

“Either way. I tried to. That’s the kind of thing I’m used to having fun with. I always cave in and agree to watching your nerdy movies or playing games with you. Why can’t it be the other way around?” Caro said, her tone trying to sound hurt. “Now that I’m back to how I’m supposed to be I thought there would be more things I could do with my friends.”

“But that’s the thing. You haven’t,” Marlene interrupted. “Sofia and I have been stuck around to see your friends drop in looking for you, only to find out you had left for some other thing.”

“I don’t want to get into this,” Gwen whispered to her fellow Poesie.

“I think we kinda have to now,” Chris replied.

Gwen sighed as she spoke up. “Listen, can we just change the subject? Or drop it?”

“It’s fucking stupid to just ditch your friends just like that.” Marlene and Caro were ignoring their pleas.

“Why? Because the new ones accept me for who I am? At least they don’t wish for me to get dragged back into looking like a freak? But that’s probably what you’d want, right? Like your dumb cartoons. No wonder your old pictures show you like some nerd.”

“Oh, wow,” Marlene said sarcastically. “You’re just a flick of the tongue away from calling me a loser.”

“Then how about I meet you where you are? You were a loser, might still be. The animal parts were just to out you as a furry.”

“Want me to show you ‘furry’?” Marlene growled as her arm tensed, revealing black claws at the tips of her fingers.

“Caro!” Gwen snapped, taking a step forward. “That was uncalled for.”

“Really?” Caro said, a silence lingering as she looked at Gwen with growing frustration that didn’t completely hide the hurt or feeling of betrayal. “You’re gonna take her side?!”

“I’m not taking anyone’s side!”

Caro shook her head. “Really? Because it seems like you’re backing her instead of me.” “You’re both my friends…” Gwen hesitated for a moment before answering. “But you’re crossing lines.”

Caro’s frown deepened.

“And that’s another thing.” Marlene said. “You act as though Grimma won’t come back and change you back to how you were. You agreed to the deal, didn’t you? She will eventually reappear and the only issue is that you’ll find yourself with fewer friends here if this was always the real you underneath.”

“Que sera sera.. At least they don’t wish Grimma back on me.”

Marlene frowned back. “Oh, believe me. I wish I knew the correct method to summon her.” 

“This was a long overdue thing,” Caro scoffed. “The main reason I came to Whateley, for me, was to see if any of the magic teachers would fix my appearance. Unfortunately, all I got was the ‘it’s too dangerous’ answer. ‘We don’t do that.’ ‘Don’t even try it.’ ‘A paladin shouldn’t make demands but just accept.’ All handwaved dismissals to cover that I just can’t be out and about as a freak case. So, my next hope was to research a way to strike a deal with Grimma, in spite of everything… but then, I was distracted. Because of you.”

“Because… of us?” Chris and Gwen exchanged glances. Neither of them could tell if Caro said that out of spite, but either way, the accusation hurt in a surprising way.

“Yes! You two. I now realize that you’ve been distracting me all this time. I would’ve been more prepared if I had been focused on my goal.”

“Is that all that was?” Gwen said. 

There was a sadness in the girl’s eyes that wasn’t expected at all. It made Caro stammer. “I-I had fun… b-but I could’ve been better.& Could’ve done better.” Taking a step back, her hand felt the cold snow that had piled on the bench and her fingers tensed around it.

“This is the real you?” Marlene said. “I can’t believe you would throw away your friends just to hang out with that shallow ditz from Dickinson and the wannabe models.”

“You sound so much like Grimma,” Caro scoffed, raising her voice just to stop Marlene from talking. “You both talk like you know what’s best for me. She would have me turn into a fairy tale monster just to ‘steer me away from my bad friends’. You don’t sound any different from her!” And she punctuated that by throwing a halfmade snowball at Marlene.

Unfortunately for Caro, Marlene’s reflexes were on point that night. When the snowball was thrown, she easily dodged and retaliated, grabbing a handful of snow and throwing it back. Without thinking much, she had put in some of the ice magic she’d practiced to go along with her cosplay, making the clump of snow into a much sturdier projectile. It hit Caro hard enough to send her back against the bench, while also exploding into diamond dust that glittered and vanished as it fell back.

“Oh crap!” Marlene gasped, seeing her friend up against the bench’s wooden boards, with her purse and its contents thrown about. “Sorry, Caro! I thought you were going to do something more dangerous.”

“Fuck…” they heard her curse under her breath. Chris and Gwen were on their way to help her only for Caro to raise her hand. “You two. That’s enough. I don’t want your help.”

“But-” Chris began but was cut off by Caro as she pushed herself up. The witchy girl picked up her purse and whatever spilled contents she could find. Fortunately, her phone and wallet weren’t that far off.

“That’s enough. Stay there.” Caro rubbed her stomach, feeling the wet spot of the snowball and the frost that clung to her body. While far from ruined, it certainly brought forth the frustrations of picking the outfit just a couple of hours ago. “Crap… If this is how you’re going to react to my happiness, then fine.”

With that, she got up, dusted herself off and began her walk back into the cottage rather than carrying on out.

“Wait,” Gwen blurted out. “Weren’t you going out?”

“I changed my mind,” Caro scoffed. “I’ll just blow off the girls to make you feel better.” The last part curdled with sarcasm and spite. It really cut through the girls in one way or another, between guilt and unease as they watched their friend step back inside.

“Well…” Marlene sighed as she dusted the snow off her hands. “I didn’t mean for& it to go like that.”

“It happens,” Sofia said.

Gwen and Chris, though, weren't exactly sure how to take the argument. Chris was perplexed while Gwen was just sad. Stuff happened, yes, but inevitably she had to wonder if she could’ve done something better. “I… I don’t know…” was all she said on the matter, but her brain wouldn’t give up on it until it got pulled out from that train of thought by Chris and Marlene putting their hands on her shoulder.

“I don’t know if this is the real Caro… but I don’t want to believe she thinks that a friendship with you two isn’t worth keeping,” Marlene assured.

“I guess,” Gwen said.

“Maybe we can sit by the Crystal Hall or go somewhere else?” Chris offered, to which both girls nodded.

“I’ll tag along,” Sofia offered as she caught up with them. “I think living with her is going to be a tough matter for the next couple of weeks… if not months.”

“I’m sorry I brought up the issue,” Marlene said. “Will you be okay living with her?”

“It’s not like we haven’t had our little moments before,” Sofia said as she followed. “I think she knows that we can be mad at each other and still be able to share a space.”

Wednesday, January 19th - 11:32pm
Whitman Cottage - Room 247

“I can’t believe they would betray me like that…” Caro grumbled after a long time sitting down on her bed. Her frustrations seethed within her, making themselves present as moisture in her eyes. “How could they?”

Her eyes scanned her space. The door to her room was closed and locked and the curtains pulled over the windows for quiet. The only light was the lamp on her night stand and she was the only one moving about, so she could have the entire world to herself.

Well… that was almost true as Sofia’s breath moved under the covers of the other bed. The girl was fortunately still asleep.

After the argument, she’d stormed her way back into her room, ready to add the next person who talked to her to the bad list she started less than an hour ago. Locking herself in, she tried to let the emotions wane just to focus on what to do now. Distracting herself through social media and a half-assed nap, waking up as her roommate got into bed. No words were said, but Caro knew quite well that she was judging her. 

“How dare she? Saying that I’ve changed? That the me with horns and scales, the one that looks like the villain straight out of a fairytale, was the better version of me? Do they thrive on my misery?” Caro& got to her feet. “I’m just enjoying myself. Trying to get back the life I used to have before everything. Isn’t that right?”

Sofia stirred softly and grumbled, but nothing& coherent or conscious. Which would be a problem with Caro as she felt right now.

After a second of thought, a sigh escaped her lips.& She reached into her nightstand of knicknacks to pull out a tiny brass bell. It was quite different from the slick silvery one she’d used before, but still bearing the magic nonetheless. With a flick of the wrist, a simple muffled chime was released into the air, with the waves smoothly embracing Sofia as her breathing became more peaceful.

She didn’t exactly feel proud after the incident where she put the entire cottage to sleep … though she had to admit there was a silver lining. So, taking some notes from what went wrong, she came up with the, fittingly, tiny bell chime. When rung, anyone nearby who was already sleeping would fall into the deepest of slumbers, for which nothing short of a blaring alarm and a good shake would wake them. Then, come the morning, they would wake up feeling well rested.

“I see it as a win-win,” Caro said, out loud this time, Sofia didn’t stir. It worked well enough. Now she could talk to herself to her heart’s content.

“I hope that trip of yours lasts longer, Grimma. Way longer.” Her hand slipped down into the open drawer, grabbing the hollowed container that was once the cursed flute.

She continued with her monologue, finding solace in giving voice to it.

“This is what I wanted. How I was supposed to be from the start. It’s not fair that they don’t like me if I am how I want to be. Think about it this way. I did want to spend time with them. I did. I invited them to the mall to spend time together but they were quick to bail on me… if I hadn’t had the other girls with me, it would’ve been a sad visit among friends… are we even friends?”

A sigh. “I noticed it. The way they look at me. How they have begun to avoid me… I’ll be able to make some new friends to replace them. Heck, maybe a change of cottage is in order. Even the girls from Whitman have started to give me frustrated looks. I could go with what my parents said and transfer out… if Grimma never appears.” Her finger swiped on her phone, guiding her to some of the old photos she had with the friends in her school. One showed her standing with arms locked with two other girls. Over-focusing on moments when one’s smile looked just a bit off or how they gave her the side-eye. “I can recognize those. The looks. I’m used to getting them, even from people within my circle. All of them were hoping for my downfall. The moment I grew my horns, they were more than ready to jump in to denounce me…”

She scrolled back in her timeline, going back about two years. All to see the old photos and comments from way back when. Different places, be it school, a friend’s house or just out about in her city. With different girls, her personal circle, her guy friends from the sports teams or just some of the nerdy classmates she hung about for help with her homework. But there were also different expressions about her. Photos that captured the genuine laughter, modesty or charm about her. Things she, admittedly, couldn’t replicate in the more recent pics she took.

Her finger moved to the next point of the timeline, only to be met by a photo that was taken the day she fled from school as her horns grew in, or a newspaper article that showed a large figure outlined by fire among the foliage. The comments became more accusing then and there. “I knew she was a lizard.” “Mutie loser monster.” “Ding-dong the Bitch is dead.” And other comments of a similar nature. It didn’t help that the incident was covered up; many of her classmates could connect the dots.

From there, the comments from both ‘friends’ from her inner circle and people who had it against her just seep through, with no distinction, back into the older photos, like they’d always been mocking her. Oddly enough, those old school friends had gone quiet since she began to upload the photos from her break or with& her new friends. The attractiveness of the Dickinson girls in the shot certainly brought her more attention.

“Whatever,” she said once her scrolling caught up to the here and now. “Well… I shouldn’t let my prep go to waste. What a way to sour my time in this school. Now I really want to take my parents’ offer for a transfer.” With that, she dusted and unwrinkled her outfit and considered what pose to take. The camera app opened to show her nightstand… and that’s when Caro’s blood froze.

Lying there, on the surface under the light of the lamp was a band of gold. A simple piece of jewelry with no discernible feature on its surface… It was her ring. The one she made last fall, after the whole incident in the tangle.& The one she gave Grimma as a collateral.

That could only mean…

She lowered her phone and there it was, the ring sitting on her desk, its power flaring as her hand passed it by. It was really hers. But not the only thing. As her view widened, she recognized the tendrils of smoke that had begun to seep around the corners of her room. Grimma’s energy slithered with colors hidden in the darkness.

“You came back,” Caro mumbled to herself.

“As it was promised…” The words broke through the silence of the room, making Caro jump and stifle a startled shriek. She turned around only to find a shade sitting on Sofia’s bed, being mindful of the occupant’s outline. It was wrapped in a flowing veil of smoke, and with the glowing eyes framed by the contours of a face. In the proximity of the light, one could see the outline of dress and regalia. A polite laugh escaped the shade as she looked at the sleeping girl and the spell cast on her. 

“Grimma,” Caro said. “Welcome back.”

“Thank you,” the spirit said cordially, her eyes narrowing and arching subtly to represent happiness. “Though I hope my presence didn’t stop your heart.”

“It… almost did,” Caro admitted. It was actually the opposite. Her heart was beating against her chest as she reached into her drawer behind her, feeling the flute there. “How long have you been here?”

“I just arrived,” Grimma said. “Yet it seems as though things are much more spirited. Have you been having fun with your small easement?”

“Easement? I mean… yeah.” Caro said as she put her hands in her jacket’s pocket, fishing about some of the articles she carried with her, while also hiding the flute. “You sound different. No thous or thys?”

“I’m changing my phrasing. Someone told me it could be… obnoxious at times, others just love it. But I’m willing to entertain it.”

“I see…” Caro said. “So… Did you have fun with my ring?”

“It was fun to have it. Tolkien’s world is such a joyous tale, a sublime setting. Having something that draws inspiration from worlds like that, why, it drives me to fall in love with them again.” Grimma sighed romantically. “Some of my acquaintances found the piece to be quite the object of interest.”

“You go and bother other people?” Caro snorted, as her other hand felt the other protection she was looking for in her coat’s pocket.

“Very special individuals. I’m a pest, a ghost, an ally and a tutor to most of them. To some, I am a mother, to others, a friend. There’s even a group that thinks of me as something more,” Grimma mused as her finger danced in the air, creating the outlines of men and women. “Strands of every life. Rangers, caretakers, mages, enchanters, writers and so on. Different walks of different rounds… but worry not. You are among them, as my paladin, as they mentioned.”

“I’ll keep that in mind… but they can see you?”

“I allow them to,” Grimma said. “I’m not a normal spirit, Caro. You should know that.”

“Do I? Because you don’t tell me much.” Caro pouted. “And how much of that can I trust? You don’t even keep your thee and thou nonsense straight anymore.” She would’ve reached to dispel the spirit’s form with a swipe, were she not focused on keeping her hands concealed.

And to that, Grimma laughed modestly. Her figure reflected the demeanor of a highborn lady… or that of a cackling witch. “Truth coats your tongue, yet it feels like venom. But what is a story without an element of mystery… I just hope that the day you can peer through my veil you won’t be disappointed.”

“Will I?” Caro voiced, but had no follow up for that. Instead, her focus was on her concealed hands. One held the flute she’d worked on for the past couple of days, tight against her back, the other clutched tightly around a bag that carried rough softness and a metal coin resonating with magic. It was the latter that would set everything off… That was, if she dared do it.

“I should introduce you to them one of these days. If you’re looking for some help, or wishing to intercede in someone else’s troubles. It’s always fun to bring you into someone else’s story. Although it’ll be amusing, considering the different ways I present to them.” Grimma smiled as she waved her hand, letting the figures wash away. “So, pray tell. What had you in such tumultuous emotion before I made myself present? Did you enjoy the festivities with your family?”

“It was great. The best time I’ve had in my life,” she said. Her first tactic was to hope that Grimma would have the heart to let her stay the way she was. “It was such a joy to be out in the open without having to worry about a glamour failing. Without having to worry about being singled out as a mutant by my horns. Would you imagine how badly things would’ve gone otherwise? My father and mother would’ve had to make several changes, having me cooped in the hotel room until I could come up with a glamour that worked… What tragedy if it’d stopped working at the wrong moment.”

“It would've been a shame, wouldn’t it?” Grimma said, seemingly oblivious to the underlying plea of her comment. “But, thou chose to rely on illusions rather than going for something more daring. Something less frail.”

“Like… transformations?” Caro frowned. “I’m not doing that…”

Grimma shook her head. “The fear still lingers. That incident still haunts your mind.”

Caro frowned. “How could it not?” 

“What happened back then was… unfortunate. But rather than the risk, it seems as though a block was born that bars you from a world of fun to be had.” Grimma smiled, or at least Caro imagined she did. “I should strive to help you.”

“I’m not going to try.”

“I hoped that the right motivation would dare you to take the step. Take for example, the little cat that came to ask for a favor. You strung the poor girl along as you pretended to do research while working up the nerve to admit that you couldn’t do it,” Grimma noted. Her tone might’ve been sweet and caring… but to Caro, it was just mocking, reminding her of her agreement with Shisa. “Now, you just hope that kitty will drop the subject and forget about it rather than facing that discomfort within you.”

“It’s just too much and not worth it,” Caro muttered.

“And here I hoped I could provide better learning opportunities.” Grimma raised her hand, casting a spell that spurred life between her fingertips. Caro was on edge for a moment before the shade closed her hand and made the energy explode into animals made of brighter mists. The phantom beasts flew, paced and scurried around the room. “I collect curses as a pastime, from ancient to new. Some draw inspiration or carry within them the essence of animals, and those may take on more and more aspects from them as time passes. They could influence a person’s appearance, even when that wasn’t the original purpose. On occasions, these could be used as a replacement power source for more complex magics, as you may remember, becoming more symbiotic in nature. Some aren’t even that harmful. And as long as I can help, I’ll be sure that none of them oversteps…”

“I see…” Caro said, watching as the entities flew off and disappeared into the air. It made her think of the curse taken from the flute just a couple of days ago.

“Which is why I would consider if this would be a good way to help you overcome that block… But all things in due time…” Grimma said, breaking the silence before it lingered. “So, you mentioned a sour time to this place. Not having fun with your pedestrian form tonight?”

Caro frowned. “I just had a bad afternoon… an argument.”

“With your friends?”

“I don’t know if I should use that word anymore. Marlene, Chris, Gwen and Sofia have been acting up against me all this time. They don’t seem to like me when I’m not a monster. Clearly awaiting your return.” Caro inwardly cursed, wishing that she hadn’t brought up the subject of their deal.

“Certainly makes me wonder if I should’ve reached out to them before,” Grimma said, with a ghostly shrug. “And, pray tell, why would they want that?”

“Because I’m on my way back to being popular. To build up the following I used to have before. Back to being the best version of myself.”

Caro could hear Grimma sigh while her head shook. “I sincerely doubt that.”

“Of course you would side with them,” Caro scoffed. “I was working on making new connections every day. I was regaining the social life I once had. Going places, getting a following and becoming the most important person in the thoughts of others.”

“Is that the most important thing for you?” Grimma asked. And when Caro didn’t answer, she continued. “And you think it’s because of your appearance?”

“I’m certain of it, otherwise, I wouldn’t have made this many strides in such little time.”

“Hardly convincing,” Grimma mused. “Makes me think of the story of Sir Gawain. The worth of appearances.”

“Well, that is what happened. The friends think of me as an enemy now that I’m no longer suffering from my appearance.”

“Suffering,” Grimma shook her head. “A funny word to use considering what I’ve seen of you around here.” With that, she stood up and took a couple of steps around the room that felt more immense within Grimma’s domain. “It does bring back memories of the ‘you’ from before. Someone who would willingly stave off the culling of vapid company to avoid sifting the gold from the chaff.”

Caro frowned, her hands clutching the items in her pockets for real now that she felt Grimma about to make her point. “I never appreciate getting tricked the way I did, or being forced to move here.”

“Didn’t you? You met friends here. Unconventional, interesting, and joyful friends who brought fun to your days. Fist and shield whenever things grew dire. There for you to ask you when things went wrong.”

“But only when I am doing poorly.” She was getting frustrated about this topic.

“Tell me, have you found friends in your new company? Is your laugh genuine or just a reflex? A facade to fit in? Are your smiles practiced or random like fire? And warm alike. Is everything with a particular purpose or just for the joy and adventure?”

“I…” Caro muttered, weighing the options. She knew the answer Grimma was fishing for, so all she did was give her the opposite. “I did everything because it is what I wanted.”

“I see.” Grimma raised her hand, producing a glimmer of green magic that could only represent a spell of her own. The same one the old witch had used on her before, she could tell by sight and feel. “But, I suppose that if they are true friends, this sort of change could hardly surprise them, now could it?”

“I…” Caro stared at the spell in Grimma’s fingers. “Wait, wait!”

“What is it?” Grimma asked, holding her hand.

“Can’t we just skip that and leave me as I am right now, please?”

“Oh Caro.” Grimma shook her head. “Do you understand the consequences? What will come to pass if you deny this?”

“I don’t want to go back. Please? I don’t want to be a freak forever.”

“It was never meant to be forever,” Grimma mused, changing her words. “Hopefully this would’ve eased up those fears.”

“I, I…” Caro stammered.

“And remember, a deal is a deal. For what you wanted and wished, this was the starting price,” Grimma said as she swung her arm, the glimmer of magic trailing through the air towards Caro. It crossed the air in an arch before making contact with the girl’s skin.

The magic tried to take hold, spreading around Caro’s figure, only to find itself repelled by a sheen of light that emanated from around the girl’s body. It was push back into the air, where it fizzled back into Grimma’s grasp–negated and cancelled by the counterspell barrier that enveloped Caro.

It wouldn’t last, though. As it made its first and only deflection, the coin that held the spell started to burn up. She could already see holes gnaw themselves into the surface of her defense, slowly chipping away to reveal pathways of attack.

Knowing that she only had seconds, Caro sprang into action. First, her hand reached into her pocket for the sand wrapped in a piece of cloth. “White grains of the west, touched by the sun’s caress. In the dead of winter, I ask, keep your victim under task. Grimma, patron of fable. To move you won’t be able. Till the grains lose their light, this is the fight of my might.” And with that, she threw it forth. In Grimma’s domain, the particles of sand charged with magic shone like stars in the air, flying through the air before lining themselves into a lattice around the spirit.

“Ah! Caro!” Grimma hissed as the shaded figure tried to reach outside of the barrier, only for a flash of light to force her back. It even peeled back the shadow to reveal more of the outline. “What is this?!” the spirit’s voice now carried a bit of panic

“Sorry, Grimma,” Caro said. “But I’m not going back. Swear you won’t turn me back and I won’t follow through.”

 “I appreciate a good laugh, but the joke is getting tiresome, don’t you think? Let me out,” Grimma said. However, her voice quivered beneath the relaxed tone as she waved her hand and tried to slip it through the grains of sand. The result was the same as before, causing a flash that had her reel back.

“This is your last chance, Grimma…” Caro warned as she clutched the flute.

“And bow to you? There is no negotiating your way out of a deal. You won’t succeed.” Grimma’s words came as a grave warning. It was enough to strengthen Caro’s resolve to move on.

“I’m sorry you feel that way.” Caro pulled the flute from her back. The item that once held a curse within, it was craving for something else to fill in the void. Reinforced by Caro’s magic; worded, marked and enchanted by her hand. Guided by some of the teachings her grandmother passed down and a bit of advice from some of the teachers and books on how to word things. All joined together to make a prison for a spirit.& For Grimma.

It shouldn’t matter if the spirit was of a higher caliber. If she did the preparations right, it would work to no lesser a degree. There was a veiled doubt within her, but as she saw Grimma’s increasingly concerned reactions, she knew she had something worth trying at hand.

“What is that?! Caro? What are you doing?” Grimma asked from the confines, trying to grab the space between the grains with charged magic, only for it to flash as an electric warning. The dark and colored mist seeped through, but the main body remained in the cage. “Don’t you dare!”

“I needed to work up the courage for this. But I’m not going to let you undo this new life that I’m building. Throwing me back into how I was… it is too much to even think about abandoning,” Caro said. “You always told me to be more daring and seek the next twist.”

And with that, she held the flute before her. At her command, the lines of magic& seeped through and made themselves present. Patterns of straight and squiggly lines appeared, the latter being Caro’s abridged speech, compressing sentences of law magic into mere threads of light. A swing of her hand and the blowing of a note activated the magic, making it float in the air as the power within resonated with Grimma’s.

“No… NOoo!” the entity hissed. The bits of darkness that comprised her form were being absorbed, allowed passage through the starry cage only to find another. “How could you!? I made you who you are. I created you, you insolent girl!” Grimma’s words trailed off in a moment of silence as her form slipped through, now linked to the flute, leaving only the sound of wind coursing to fill the void.

Caro remained silent. Her mind was trying to cover any eventuality. From Grimma attempting to attack again to Mrs. Savage–or anyone for that matter–detecting trouble. But she didn’t expect for there to be a laugh.

“Hah… haha…. hahahaha,” Grimma said from behind the enchanted barrier. “What do you think?”

“What…” Caro blurted out, feeling the panic start to rise out from within her. Did she just get played?

“Why, I mean my acting. Was it convincing enough?” Grimma said, her bright eyes narrowing and arching in glee. “I’ll say, it’s been a while since I’ve been inserted into a story this way. I was a bit nervous about my acting. Should I have had more of a breakdown? Pretended to plea? Beg? I think my method worked well enough-”

“What the hell are you talking about!?” Caro blurted out already fearing what might come next. “Are you free?”

“Oh, no no no. Your ploy succeeded and I’ve slipped into your prison.” Grimma gestured down at her body, where her lower midsection was practically gone, along with her arm. Her remaining hand reached over to touch the grains of sand floating in the air, only for its spark& to prove its efficacy by warding her off. “I cannot get out.”

“Then, why aren’t you panicking!?” Caro asked.

“I am, in my own way. But I am also finding everything exciting enough to not fall into fear.” Grimma’s hand waved through the current of darkness that trailed off, finding her fingers starting to fall apart and be syphoned into the flute. “Made this just for me, did you? Might take me some time to break free, but not forever.”

Caro breathed a sigh of relief. At least, she hoped this meant she would be safe.

“I won’t keep you there forever, Grimma. You’re a friend of my grandmother. I just want some more time like this,” Caro said, taking a deep breath, knowing that she had won. “You always told me to push myself.”

“To think you would go to these lengths to learn the wrong lesson. I’m both impressed and disappointed,” Grimma said, with no malice about her words. “I still applaud the effort you put on this twist and I can’t wait to see where the consequences will get you. Maybe further along, past the obstacles from before.”

“So. No hard feelings?”

“Ha ha ha. No. I shall get back at you for this, maybe in the next hour? Maybe in the next day? Or next week or month. Who knows?” Grimma said, with the nicest threat even as most of her body had gone into the flute, reducing her to an orb with the glowing eyes. Even the dark environment around, conjured by her, had been reduced to a couple of strands of darkness that flowed around the wall and floor, letting her watch some of the little critters made out of darkness scamper away. “I’m just saddened I won’t bear full witness to your adventures for a while… We’ll have a lot to catch up on…”

Caro scoffed. Now that Grimma had been reduced and given her the confirmation that she’d won this bout, she felt much more confident about herself. Almost hard to believe, but at the same time she felt fully drunk with the power of her deed.

“Until then, remember I’m but a broken seal away from you, for advice…” were Grimma’s last words as her voice faded and the last bits of her dark form were pulled into the flute. Once its job was done and the entity was contained, the magic that powered the vessel began to go dormant.

She held her breath, standing in the middle of the room. Her eyes inspected every little bit of her surroundings. Seeing no mist lingering, no ghostly critter running about, and hearing no word or echo for the next couple of minutes. She focused on her magic, stretching her senses to detect anything… and there was nothing.

“I… I made it,” Caro mumbled, letting herself take a deep breath. Now it was over. She’d finally done it. “Is this real? Did I just finally do it? Stood my ground to Grimma and won?” A grin slipped around& the corners of her mouth as she stared at the flute on her hands. She could feel the pressure exuding from it, making the item feel heavier.

The flute would definitely not hold Grimma forever, but it might be anywhere from a few weeks to months… Was this the best of things? The question popped up in the back of her head. Had she just pissed off one of the strongest entities she knew? Would the old hag get out? How bad would it get?

“Well… Grimma would never go out of her way to hurt me, right? Killing isn’t exactly her style,” Caro told herself. “But that doesn’t mean she wouldn’t do it.”

If that were the case, she wondered if she would have her own magic to protect her. If it would be the same with Grimma’s quirks, or if it would revert back to the basic wizard trait? Or would she lose it altogether? She still felt the pulse of the energy, so she definitely still had it for now.

She paused for a moment as she collected her thoughts and plans.

“Maybe I can find a way to bribe her, eventually,” she resolved, thinking that Grimma wasn’t entirely unreasonable. “Or maybe I can send her back to my grandmother’s estate. I bet she would get a kick out of it and figure out a solution.”

Letting herself fall down on her bed, she held the flute up to her gaze. Just like before, she could feel the sealed spirit’s, Grimma’s, influence trying to seep through, much like the original curse it held. But to that, the extra enchantments piled on made sure it would be like the breath of a prisoner contained by the bars, it would be harmless. She might lose her magic because of this, but the beauty of this type of magic was that it would last beyond her own powers.

“I’m… sorry it came down to this, Grimma… But I told you that I wasn’t going to go back. Hope that there isn’t any bad blood between us now.”

There was no answer.

“Think she’s fine with it,” Caro sighed relieved as she carefully deposited the flute in her drawer, where she contained the magic of some of her creations. Right next to the bottle with the original occupant.

“I can now enjoy this school, as the real me,” she said out loud, throwing her arms up in celebration, just short of waking up Sofia to tell her of what just happened.

That night, a magical entity traveled around the room. Tiny and bright blue, with black lines that criss-crossed its form, it scurried itself from a pocket of darkness in the corner of the room to touch the carpet with misty footprints. It paused a moment to look up at Sofia’s bed, cocking its head before slowly edging away. It immediately sprinted over after Caro’s.

Effortlessly, it leapt up into the air and expanded with the black lines snapping, releasing itself in a quiet explosion of blue, raining over the sleeping girl without anyone the wiser.

All the while a trail of magic slithered its way into her draft notebook on her nightstand. Sliding in between the covers and finding a blank page to touch. With the trace of a pen, words wrote themselves into existence, drawn with elegant frames and lines with a bit of flair that resembled an old story.

“In a home filled with perils lived a little rat with her enemies. No one loved her for who she really was, but by pretense. Valiant steps would take her to low places. Enters a witch, who, despondent of the young rat’s pleas, gives her a gift. Real boons come when the real unblemished her emerges. That day on, every praise would make the little rat taller and prettier.

Made more confident and assured through the day, or whenever she spread kindness. Yet met together by four of her closest enemies, a gathering was made for the witch.

Making herself more and more like the humans she admired. Excluding a great cat spirit, from another story’s fantasy. Appreciation oozed as a reward she gave the witch. Nectar of honey that was brewed by an expert as a token of gratitude. In the end, she lived in joyful quiet solitude blending in with their kind. Never trying again to let the blessing within her leap out. Going forth for a dull time, the story is now over and done.”

 

To Be Continued