(no subject)
Author: ketsuekinotsuki
Challenge prompts: Wildberry 14 [under a spell]; Marshmallow 14 [tantrum/rant]; Blueberry Yogurt 7 [a fresh start]
Rating: PG-13 (some swearing)
Word Count: 2026
Story: The Witchcraft Season (working title)
With a horrible gentle smile, he said, "Why do you think they purged every witch they could find?"
Horrified, Lily tried to step away from him, but his grip on her arm stopped her from running.
"Because someone found out that only those with power go to 'heaven.'" His smile twisted, bitter and full of hatred. "They couldn't have that, could they?" He barked out a laugh, his fingers tightening on her arm. "And so our work was done for us."
"You..." She was shaking, angry, terrified, silently mourning all the hundreds of brothers and sisters killed in those "purges." Innocents. Temper flaring, she reached out with her power to taste his mind. It was tainted, clearly, but...salvageable. Almost as if someone else was controlling him, tainting his thoughts.
Which was, she realized, entirely possible. A stronger demon could easily weave a spell of evil influence over him, changing a nature that was, at its core, kind.
Finding a tendril of that spell, she smiled viciously, enjoying the confusion in his eyes for a fleeting second as she burned through the spell, watching it crumble to dust, then vanish altogether.
Alexei blinked, trying to work out the sudden change within his mind. “What did you do?”
“Let go of me and I’ll tell you.” He did, blushing. How cute. “You were under an evil influence spell. I…undid it.”
Before he could respond, Alexei’s jaw dropped open and he blinked again. They weren’t in the forest any more; they were in a cozy kitchen, facing glass doors that looked out on the ocean. “Where are we?” he asked warily, looking around him. The room was all butterscotch and chocolate, warm and well-used.
“My home,” Lily glanced at her watch and smiled. “And my family will be home any minute now.”
Alexei paled; he had heard about her “family.” It was the goal of every demon he knew to take out one of her family members, but their strength and protectiveness made that impossible.
“Don’t worry,” Lily soothed, “they’re mostly nice.”
He couldn’t help it - he choked, staring desperately at the glass doors. “I think I should leave.”
“You can go for a walk by the water, but you can’t leave,” she said mildly, turning to the fridge. “We just got you, we don’t want to lose you yet.” Besides, if you leave too soon, you’ll be vulnerable to another evil influence spell. Balancing a bowl of hard-boiled eggs in one hand and a jar of mayonnaise in the other, she barely flinched when the front door slammed shut.
Sam stomped into the kitchen, freezing when she saw Alexei. “What the fuck are you doing in my house?” she demanded.
“How ungracious,” Lily remarked, saving him from having to respond. She paused in peeling the shell from an egg to flick her hair out of her face. “He’s my guest, Sam. Be nice.”
“I don’t do nice,” Sam growled, “but I guess I won’t gut him. Yet.” Giving them both a withering glare, she breezed out of the room; a few seconds later, they could hear her storming up the stairs.
“Don’t worry about her,” Lily said cheerfully, “she’s just shy.”
I am not shy.
Eyes riveted to the door, Alexei wondered how convoluted one’s mind had to be to think of that as shy.
Lily frowned at him. “I’m not convoluted,” she protested, hurt. “I just know her really, really well.
He seems to have a pretty accurate grasp on how your mind works.
Oh, shut up. You know you’re jealous.
Of…?
My amazing personality. Lily could practically hear her sister’s snort as the link between them closed. She felt a flash of bitterness, quickly subdued. People thought they understood her, looking down their noses at her as they did. Because I’m the ‘crazy’ one, the convoluted one, they think my grasp on reality is shakier than theirs, that I don’t know anything about life.
Alexei jumped when the mayonnaise jar hit the floor, shattering into tiny, dangerous pieces. One look at Lily’s face had him backing away in confusion and fear; her eyes were a vivid red, filled with hatred, her face twisted into an ugly combination of hate and rage.
“Mother?”
A dark-haired boy had appeared in the doorway, his blue eyes filled with concern. He approached her cautiously, aware of her eyes on him. When he was within a few feet of her, he reached out and pulled her into his arms, tucking her head against his chest. “Calm down, Mama. Please. We all love you; we don’t look down our noses at you. Calm down.” His soothing murmur was lost as the sound of her sobs filled the little room, her arms around his waist looking painfully tight.
Alexei glanced again at the doors, wondering if he should leave, not understanding what was going on but feeling like an intruder nonetheless. But when he looked at the boy again, he found himself pinned in place by that unwavering, furious blue stare. Not angry enough to kill, but finding someone to blame for his mother’s pain.
Then Sam was in the room, snarling at him to get out, get out, get out, so he retreated through those glass doors, stumbling towards the soothing rumble of the ocean.
* * *
After making sure the demon was a safe distance from the house, Sam turned to her sister and nephew, already thoroughly exasperated. “Lily,” she said firmly, “stop that. You know the boy didn’t say it to be hurtful.”
“I - I know that,” Lily hiccupped, turning her face away.
“So why the hysterics?”
Lily glared at the window, hating having to explain this. “So many people look at me and only see my power, or they think I’m crazy. All I ever see in their eyes is pity or fear.” She sighed. “I just wish they would treat me like a regular person.”
“We all want that, Lily, but - ”
“But they don’t look at you and think, ‘Oh, she’s unstable - better walk on eggshells around her,’ do they?”
“Lily! Will you listen to me?” Sam waited until she was sure she wouldn’t be interrupted before continuing, “We all have problems, Lils. But we also have each other. Do you know how many people don’t have a family as wonderfully supportive as ours? Imagine that - having no one to help you carry the pain. No one to hold you while you cry it out.” Now, despite herself, she was crying, but she kept talking through the tears.
“And you can change that - you have the power to change the world if you choose to! Don’t sit there and accept their judgment of you - do everything you can to show them who you are!”
This, finally, caught Lily’s attention; she turned and stared at Sam with a haunted expression in her eyes. “Show them who I am?” she repeated hoarsely, thoughtful. “But what if they don’t want to see that?”
“Show them anyway!” Sam shouted, angry at herself for getting so emotionally involved - but it was Lily. She wasn’t just going to sit back and bite her tongue, not sure how to help, when her best friend was in pain. Not anymore, not knowing what she did about what was going on.
“What is going on?”
Lily flinched and glanced at the doorway that led to the rest of the house, paling when she saw the expression on James’ face. She squeaked when Gabriel - the traitor - let go of her and gave her a shove; suddenly off balance, she stumbled across the room - until her enraged husband caught her by the elbows and steadied her.
“James,” Sam said cautiously.
“Sam.”
“Don’t be a jerk.”
That said, she left the room with slightly more haste than was necessary, dragging Gabriel along with her.
Understanding the meaning behind the message, he relaxed. “What happened?” he asked quietly, studying Lily’s face as she struggled to look nonchalant despite the tears still on her face and eyelashes.
“Oh, you know.” She shrugged and gave a nervous titter. “Alexei thought I was a little convoluted when I told him Sam is just a bit shy, and that reminded me of the way most people think I’m less than I am because of - well. You know.”
James shook his head and kissed her, resolving to have a chat with Sam and Alexei about what had actually happened - and veiling that thought carefully so she wouldn’t pick up on it.
* * *
Alexei looked up from his careful study of the waves to see a young man - from his appearance, about eighteen or nineteen - walking towards him, kicking his way through the sand, hands shoved in his pockets, head bowed; though it was impossible to tell whether it was against the wind or because he was deep in thought.
He came to a halt when he had drawn almost even to Alexei, raised his head, and smiled amiably.
Alexei waited warily to see what he would say, wondering vaguely if the girl - Lily, he reminded himself - was okay now.
“As much as I would like to throw you out on your ass for making her cry, Lily is insisting that so stay with us for the time being. Come inside.”
Although it wasn’t nearly as bad as he had anticipated, Alexei winced. He followed obediently, wondering if it was always so chaotic here.
Lily greeted them at the door, giving James a kiss and a reprimand - “I told you to be nice” - and giving Alexei a warm smile. “Don’t worry about what happened,” she said, her voice quiet but intense. “It wasn’t your fault, exactly. Go ahead and sit, dinner’s almost ready.”
As he eased into one of the wooden chairs, he noticed that all of the eggs had been neatly shelled, split in half, and had a swirl of yellow goo where the yolk had been. They now sat in orderly rows on the two large trays on the counter, where Lily was busily piling spaghetti, tomato sauce, and meatballs onto five plates.
Alexei noted uneasily that her idea of one serving was massive, but before he could find some way to escape, the food landed lightly on the table and the others were sitting in their various spots.
* * *
Alexei stared at the bed, wondering if there was a way - any way - around this. He knew that as soon as he got in that bed, he would get that uncomfortable feeling in the pit of his stomach.
He yelped when the door suddenly flew open, catching the back of his head.
Lily stood there, smiling at him - a smile that was colored with approval of his nightclothes. “Don’t worry about it,” she said, gesturing to the bed. “I’ll help you get to sleep without the nausea.” I wonder if I’ll ever stop telling him not to worry…won’t he ever feel at home here?
He warily moved to the side of the bed, holding himself rigidly. After glancing again at Lily’s reassuring smile, he gave up, clambering up with no dignity.
Studying the way he sat curled up in the exact center of the bed, looking like he was about to burst into tears, Lily couldn’t help but pity him. So she jumped up next to him, put her arms around him, and sang him to sleep, just as if he were one of her own children.
Feeling himself drifting, perfectly comfortable, Alexei wondered why so many demons thought the Inheritant and her family were bad. They seemed nice enough to him…
* * *
Lily stayed in the guest room for a long time after he fell asleep, watching him, wondering. If he wasn’t the only one held in sway by a more powerful force…if there were others who could be friends instead of enemies…
Lils?
I'm okay. I was just...thinking.
About the demons?
Yeah.
Alright. Come to bed soon, okay?
Sure.
She used her power to float off the bed, being careful not to disturb the newest member of the family. Whether he was aware of it or not, Alexei had been officially adopted into the clan.