Chapter 45
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Chapter 45: Home
"Willow."
"Willow, sweetie... wake up. You're home."
The voice was warm, and comforting. Willow wanted to sink into the soft pillow and disappear under the blankets for longer, but the soft, familiar voice gently lured her out of the darkness.
Willow: Mom?
Elf: Who else would it be?
Elf: Now don't get up too fast. How are you feeling?
Willow: Kind of weird. Like I'm not all together. What am I doing here?
Elf: You've been sick, honey. Your friends were worried about you so we decided to bring you home so I could take care of you.
Elf: We've had doctors come in and out of here for a couple of days now. It was just a bad fever, but you pulled out of it.
Willow's mother came in close to hug her though her back stiffened at the sudden intrusion. She tried to remember how she even got here. Right now, all her memories seemed so foggy.
Willow: Mom, I'm okay. I'm fine...
Elf: You didn't look that fine when you came in.
Elf: I'm just so happy that you're awake and talking. Why didn't you let anyone know how sick you were?
Willow: But I don't remember being that sick...
Elf: You've always been such a strong, independent girl, but there are some things you know you can't do on your own. You need to let the people who love you help you.
Willow: I know Mom, but I'm fine. Wait.. is that my spell... is that my book?
Elf: I don't know what kind of book that is, but it had a nasty effect on you. If we even tried to take it out of the room, you'd get angry.
Elf: You just turned into someone we know you aren't.
Willow: You didn't read it, did you?
Elf: No, I couldn't read it. But that's not the point.
Elf: You have to let me take it away from you.
Elf: I think whatever it is can't be good for you. Whatever it had over you is gone now and you just need to let me get rid of it for good.
Willow: Miss Cordial gave me that book.
Elf: I know, Willow, honey. And I know Miss Cordial meant a lot to you. But she's dead and you need to move on.
Elf: I care about you so much and I don't want to see anything like this happen to you again. Just let me have the book.
Once again, Willow cringed instinctively as her mother touched her. She didn't know why. It was her mother sitting beside her, wasn't it? It was her warm brown eyes looking at her, her gentle voice speaking to her. But as soon as she touched her she felt strange.
Willow: No... wait! If anyone has to get rid of it, it's going to be me. But I don't know why you think it has anything to do with me being sick...
Elf: Willow, this is one of those times where you have to trust the people you love. I'm your mother, don't you think I know what's best for you?
The door creaked lightly. Willow looked up, surprised. Her father lingered at the doorway. How long he's been there, she wasn't sure. He looked older than she remembered, and tired. The look in his eyes were of sadness, and it nearly broke Willow's heart to see him like that. He seemed to struggle trying to find words to say.
Colin: Willow, you need to listen to her.
Colin: Just let her take the Book away from you.
He walked towards the bed, and reached out for her hand. She looked up, expecting to see her father's face.
Willow shuddered and pulled her arms away from him. It was just a brief moment... a flicker of a shadow, but it was enough to make her wary.
Her voice dropped down to a low whisper.
Willow: You're not my father.
Colin: I'm so sorry... I just wanted to make sure you were safe...
Elf: Willow. Honey. Sweetie. We don't have time for this.
Elf: You're not out of the woods yet. We both love you very much and I don't want to see you fall into another relapse of your illness. Just give me the book and it will be over. Can you do this for me, honey?
Willow: But I'm not sick. And if you wanted to keep me safe, why did you bring me here?
Willow: And none of you are my parents! This isn't home!
Elf: Willow, you are home...
Willow: NO, I'm not!
Willow: This isn't home. I need to get out of here.
Willow: Someone help me...
"You promised to keep me safe..." she mumbled softly, her head shaking.
Wesley watched as her fingers fletched and twitched as she tried to fight the spell that kept her asleep.
Slowly her eyelids began to flutter open. She turned towards him, and said his name.
Clara: You are just so bad at this aren't you?
Wesley: Did you really think you could trick her that easily?
Clara: If you could have just stood there and kept your mouth shut there would have been a better chance of her buying it. You're such an idiot. Now get lost. If you please.
Wesley: Remember what you said, Clara.
Clara: Oh god, here we go...
Wesley: If you hurt her... I don't care if I die, I will kill you.
Clara waited patiently for Wesley to leave. He wouldn't go far, because of her. It was how she preferred it. She needed him close for this.
She stood at the bars of the cage and watched as the girl inside began to wake. It was too bad the glamour spell didn't work. Clara spent a lot of time getting those annoying details right.
Willow: Mom? Dad?
Clara: Oh don't you worry your little head about them. Everyone's safe. Except you.
Willow looked up. Her hands were pressed against the floor and the coldness of the stone was almost sharp. The air she breathed was cool and damp. As her eyes adjusted to the low light she could see the small room she was in, the metal bars that surrounded her.
Slowly she began to remember what had happened. Wesley was the one who brought her here.
Willow: Who are you? Why am I here?
Clara: Oh calm yourself, sweetie. I really should apologize for the lack of hospitality. I know it's no four star hotel. I truly do feel sorry for anyone who has to stay here... well. Not really.
Willow: Where's Wesley?
Clara: Wesley, Wesley, Wesley. Willow, Willow Willow. Is that all either of you talk about? You are both so pathetic.
Willow: There is no way you could keep me here.
She raised her hand to cast a spell... she wasn't sure exactly which one but she was sure the magic would come to her as soon as she willed it.
Except this time, nothing happened. Just like trying to cast a spell at Sibyll's lair, the magic didn't materialize. It was a discomforting feeling.
The Witch began to laugh.
Clara: Save it, dear. The cage is a spell. While you're in it, it inhibits your abilities. You can't cast anything, so stop flailing around and just sit tight.
As much as she tried, the spells weren't working. Willow swallowed hard, feeling panic rising in her.
Willow: Why are you doing this? What do you want???
Clara: That's simple.
Clara: I want this.
Willow: My spellbook?
Willow: But you already have it, why do you need me in here?
Clara: I'm not stupid, honey, I know what you could do and what you're capable of. Keeping you safely in there is my insurance that things don't get out of hand too soon. Now, if you want out, all you have to do is one little thing. Just give me the Book.
Clara: It must not be that important to you if you took your sweet time coming back for it. You've learned all you could and you clearly no longer need it. Just think of it as recycling! Getting rid of all that excess in your life. What do you need that clutter for anyway? So all you have to do is say the book is mine. And you're free to go.
Willow: I...I don't know if I could do that... or if I should.
Clara: Of course you can, dear. You could do anything you put your mind into.
Willow: No! You can't do this. You can't lock me in here just to get something you want. I don't even know who you are!
Clara: Honey, you are not in the position to be telling me what I can or can't do.
Clara: But you know what, you just got here. You need some time to think. Why don't you sit here in the dark then, and mull it over.
Willow: No. Wait!!!
The witch left the small room. Willow could hear a door latching shut behind her, and then there was complete silence.
She stepped back until she felt the cold bars against her. She began to shiver all over, trying with all the strength she had to keep from crying.
The memory of those kids in highschool trapping her in that tiny room rushed back to her. She was that girl again, scared and frightened in the dark.
Except this time...
... she didn't feel alone.
Jasmine had hoped to have missed the usual early morning rush hour, but of course things could never be that easy.
She sighed, glancing over at Wren and Raven, both snoring in the seat next to her. At least her cousins were able to catch some sleep on the ride. Jasmine wasn't so lucky. This wasn't exactly how she wanted to start her day.
Only a few hours ago, before the sun was up, they had broken into her dorm. Adrian managed to catch them before they woke up the entire building.
Despite it all, strangely enough she wasn't that mad.
Jasmine: It's a dead person, Wren. A cremated corpse. Tell me again why you felt you needed to bring this here?
Wren: Contained in this vessel are the ashes of someone Clara found important enough to keep close to her. Who it might be, who knows? A dead husband? An old friend? A relative? Maybe a parent? Maybe even a complete stranger?
Jasmine: How is that relevant to anything?
Jasmine: What does this have to do with what you told me about her? What does it have to do with her being a witch?
Wren: Think about it. What if it isn't a dead relative? What if Clara was storing dead bodies in her condo to conduct experiments in the occult? Among all the other evil, supernatural paraphernalia we observed in her home, we discovered that she has the Ressurect-o-nomitron.
Adrian: The what?
Raven: It's a machine that raises the dead. It makes zombies.
Jasmine and Adrian looked at one another. The moment she was reminded about zombies, she knew that he was thinking the same thing.
Wren: Now you need to tell us if you've encountered any zombies. Because there's no telling how many she's been able to create.
Raven: Probably lots. Like a whole army or something.
Jasmine: Guys, shut up.
Raven: This is huge, Baird. If it weren't for you sending us to investigate her, we would never have uncovered this. This could be even bigger than the Strangetown UFO cover-up! She's a bonafide Witch. Sparkles, cauldron and all.
Jasmine: Okay, first of all, I didn't send you to "investigate" anyone.
Jasmine: I did not tell you to break into her place and steal her dead relatives. What is the matter with you? Do you realize the kind of shit you put all of us in?
Raven: But you were right about her, Baird. She's a big deal. Our... uh... "sources" tell us she's a Dark Witch. That's bad right there. So tell us what to do next, we're ready to kick her evil ass.
Jasmine: What we're doing next? We're not doing anything! What you two are doing next is going straight home.
Adrian: Are you sure you want to drive them home yourself?
Jasmine: Yeah. They're idiots, and I don't trust them to go straight home. Not without getting into more trouble along the way.
Adrian: I understand. They're just kids though, don't be too hard on them.
Jasmine: No they're not "just kids". I don't know how they manage to do it, but they pull crap like this all the time.
She had to tone down the growing frustration in her voice.
Jasmine: I'm really sorry about them. But you don't know the half of it with these guys.
Adrian: What they said about your Dad's girlfriend...
Jasmine: I'm not going to do anything about it if that's what you're worried about. I don't even know if I believe them.
Adrian: Just don't do anything stupid. At least not without me. Okay?
Jasmine: Don't worry about me. I'll be back in a few hours, I promise.
Adrian: Right. You hate it when people worry about you.
Adrian: It's just bad timing. I didn't really expect the night would end like this. Though, I didn't think the night would start the way it did either.
Jasmine: I know. Listen, I know we kind of rushed into things...
Adrian: Jasmine. Look at me.
Adrian: No regrets. Alright?
Jasmine looked up at the warmth in his eyes. He meant what he said.
Jasmine: Okay. Got it. No regrets.
The only regret she had was that she didn't just shove her cousins in a cab just to get them out of her hair. But she really didn't trust them... she wasn't exactly sure how they got to campus in the middle of the night.
They moaned about it, but she eventually managed to get them both in her truck and drive off.
The ride back to Simtopi seemed like it took forever. She wasn't sure when they had fallen asleep. She didn't know if their talking or snoring annoyed her more. Keeping the radio loud didn't seem to phase them.
In the back of her mind, she knew that they couldn't just be making any of this up. Even if they had misunderstood what they had seen, they must have seen something that made them worry. And Wren and Raven were both adamant about their findings: Clara was a witch.
"You dad's girlfriend is a witch." they had said.
She couldn't help remembering what Willow had told her not so long ago:
"...your Dad is probably under a spell..."
Her cousins could easily be wrong. This was Wren and Raven, they saw conspiracies in everything. Every second neighbour to them was an alien or werewolf and the government was covering up a huge zombie invasion. She should have just easily dismissed this tidbit of information.
But they were pretty specific, too, about Clara being a "Dark Witch". Whatever that meant, it didn't sound good. Maybe this was one of the things that Samantha Cordial could deal with better, though that woman was the last person Jasmine needed to see right now. Maybe Willow could help her... if they were still on speaking terms.
Jasmine: Wake up guys. You're home.
Raven: Thanks Jasmine. And listen, if you want our help kicking witch butt, we got your back.
Wren: Because you were sooo effective last time.
Jasmine: No, it's okay. You've done enough. Just don't go breaking into anyone else's place, please?
Wren: We're not going to promise anything. Now about our compensation...
Jasmine: Compensation?? What are you talking about...?
"Boys???"
Wren: Mom?
Jasmine: Aunt Jodie?
Raven: Oh crap.
Jodie: What are you guys doing? Jasmine???
Jasmine shifted into reverse and slammed down on the gas. She really didn't want to be dealing with her Aunt right now.
Jasmine: Sorry guys, you're on your own!
Wren: But what about the hundred simoleons you owe us...?
Jasmine: Send me a bill.
She looked in her rearview mirror, long enough to see her Aunt Jodie giving the twins an earful. Maybe it was too optimistic to hope that she'd have ignored Jasmine driving away.
Jasmine really should have known better. She wasn't even back on the road for long afterwards when her phone began to ring. She glanced down at the call display and sighed.
Jasmine: Hi, Dad.
Clive: Jasmine I just got an interesting phone call from my sister... your Aunt Jodie.
Clive: She seems to think someone who looks a lot like you driving a truck that looks a lot like yours dropped her boys off at their house a little bit ago. You wouldn't happen to know anything about that would you?
Jasmine: Dad, I'd love to talk about this more but I really should get to class...
Clive: Jasmine, I know you're in town. Please come home now.
Jasmine: Dad it's really nothing, I should just....
Clive: I'll expect you here in 10 minutes.
Nothing made Jasmine feel more like a child in trouble than her father could.
She knew she was expecting some kind of lecture, but she wasn't exactly sure what she could tell her father about her cousins.
Once home, she knew she'd find him in his office.
Clive: It didn't take me that long, though I had to go through some older databases to find it.
He was on the phone, but glanced over at his daughter, beckoning her into his office space. She didn't know why she felt nervous right now. She was an adult, she knew she didn't do anything that would warrant her getting into any real trouble.
She had to remind herself of that as she tried to relax, pretending to be nonchalant as she knelt down to play with Tucker.
Clive: There's a lot of other older properties that I actually own that I could get plenty of information on, Gabriel. Why this one?
Jasmine's ears perked up hearing Gabriel's name.
Clive: Alright, fair enough. You'll have the information for your project soon.
Jasmine: What did Gabe want?
Clive: Never mind Gabriel.
She knew it was too hopeful of her to divert the subject. He walked around the desk and stood in front of her.
Clive: So, Jasmine, what's going on?
Jasmine: I don't know what you're talking about.
Clive: Bringing Wren and Raven back home after they've been out all night, that's what I'm talking about.
Jasmine: It's no big deal, they needed a ride home, what else was I supposed to do.
Clive: So whatever they were doing all night, you had nothing to do with?
Jasmine: What? No! ... Why, did they say anything?
Clive: Jasmine. I'm not an idiot. You get into an accident, that fire at Willow and Gabriel's dorm, Wren and Raven are sneaking around all night. Something's going on. Listen, I was in college too...
Jasmine: Dad...!
Clive: Jasmine, listen to me. If you or your friends are in trouble, I expect you to tell me about it.
Jasmine: Dad, there's nothing to tell
Clive: Why don't I believe you?
Jasmine groaned. She really didn't know what to tell her Dad. That Willow was a witch and zombies burned down her dorm? That Cecilia could talk to ghosts and spent the other night being possessed by one. That if Wren and Raven were actually right, that his girlfriend could be an evil Witch?
Jasmine: Okay look. I said something to the guys and they took it literally. I didn't mean for them to go running off, but they did and I just wanted to make sure they got home and stayed there. It's no big deal.
Clive: And what did you tell them to do that they took literally?
Jasmine: It doesn't matter...
Clive: Jasmine.
Jasmine tried to avoid her father's stern glare. She couldn't even think fast enough to come up with a lie. Though there was a small part of her that wanted her dad to know. That tiny voice was growing louder now.
Jasmine: I might have told them... I told them to find some information on someone and they're the ones that went way too far with it.
Clive: So you told them to spy on someone. Jasmine, you of all people should know what your cousins are like... did they take anything?
Jasmine: I.. I don't know. I mean, I don't think so. Nothing important anyway.
Clive: And who were they sent to spy on.
Jasmine: Dad.
He stared at her intently.
Jasmine: It was Clara. They went to spy on Clara but they didn't find anything and I told them to stop as soon as I found out what they were doing.
Clive: Jasmine...
He sighed. It was a tired, frustrated sound. He got up and sat next to her. Jasmine, at the moment, felt small.
Clive: I know this was all sudden to you. But we are all adults here. If you expect me to treat you like one, you're going to have to respect me and my relationships. I thought you at least could have understood and have been mature about it.
Jasmine: Dad, you can't expect me to like her... even you told me that it wasn't serious.
Clive: I know. But I think things are going well with me and Clara. Really well.
She started to clench her fists, her face going red.
Clive: I have to ask you to respect that and at least try a little harder to just get to know her.
Jasmine: Oh hell no!
Jasmine: If you're going to do this "let's all be adults" bullshit, then you are just going to have to deal with the fact that I have an opinion about someone and you may not like it.
Clive: Jasmine, I may not be able to get you to like Clara right now , but the least you can do for me is to try. You can't write off people because you have some baseless predisposition towards them. You can't get by like that in the real world. I need you on my side on this.
Jasmine: Are you kidding me? You've never cared about my opinion before, why would you start now?
Jasmine: You know what, I've told you everything I know. Wren and Raven aren't going to cause anyone anymore trouble, least of all for your precious girlfriend. And I'm going to do the adult thing and just get back to school!
Jasmine had to spend several minutes to calm down, violently shaking, trying not to slam things around. She couldn't believe her Dad could be so careless... didn't he do any background checks on this woman? And despite what he said, he was trying to make her feel like a child. She didn't know if she was more angry that he was doing it, or more angry that it was working.
"You dad's girlfriend is a witch."
"...your Dad is probably under a spell..."
She knew her Dad hadn't been with anyone in the years after he and her mother divorced. Didn't he deserve to be happy after everything that's happened..? If it was for real of course. But what if it wasn't and he was under some spell?
And what about Denise? What about her mother?
She turned around, but still couldn't find the courage to look at him.
Jasmine: Dad, look... I'm sorry. About everything.
Clive: Like I said, I know things are happening quickly. You need time to get used to it... maybe I do too.
Jasmine: This thing with you and Clara... I mean... you're really into her. I understand that. Just for you, I'll try to get to know her better.
Clive: Thank you. And listen, if the boys took anything from Clara, I could trust you to bring it back, right?
Jasmine: Yeah, sure.
Clive: Okay. One more thing. Can you get this to Gabriel?
Jasmine: What is it?
Clive: Information he needed for his assignment.
Jasmine: Yeah whatever.
No, it's fine, Dad. She thought to herself as she got in the car and drove off.
I'll definitely do my best to get to know as much about Clara as I can.
If Wren and Raven were wrong, she'd have to apologize to her Dad, apologize to Clara, and accept that woman with open arms into her family. Eventually Clara and her Dad could even get married. Clara would be around all the time. She'd be her step-mother... Is that what the spell was getting at? Did Clara do this just so she could marry a rich sim?
Jasmine groaned the thought. She stopped to get gas before she left the city. While she waited, her mind just raced and everything went straight to what Willow had told her not so long ago: Her Dad was under a spell.
She really needed to stop thinking about this. Frustrated, she grabbed at Gabriel's envelope and mindlessly pulled out the contents.
What was all this about...?
But as she kept reading further, she suddenly realized what Gabriel was doing. This was no school assignment. This was about the Secret Society Mansion.
Jasmine grabbed her cellphone, dialing quickly.
Jasmine: Gabriel.
Gabriel: Good morning to you too, Jasmine.
Jasmine: The Landgrabb mansion. You were looking it up. You think Willow found something in there?
Gabriel: Were you talking to your dad...?
Jasmine: I'm coming to see you. We need to talk.
Next » [ Chapter 46: In the Dark ]
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Notes:
* Yes, finally an update! And sorry this chapter is not as full of excitement as I'd have liked. I think my big problem was trying to cram a lot into one chapter, that I just ended up stuck.
* Many thanks to simcerly, skellington7d andbolob, for listening and offering helpful advice to get me through my block. *bows*. It was a pretty bad block. Hopefully now that this chapter is done, things will be a little easier.
* Thank you always for reading, and sticking around even for the slow bits. :`)