"Unless this is a genuine crisis, I have a shop I need to get ready to open up."
"It's not a genuine crisis. Yet. But if it isn't handled before long, it will be."
"Whose crisis?" She scoffed, setting the kettle onto the stove to prepare the water for boiling. "I don't think it's mine. It sounds like it's yours."
That soft, charming laugh resonated from the other line and she couldn't help the small smile forming on her own lips. She was pleased, yet despised, that he had that effect on her; that he knew he had that effect on her. Maybe the next time she saw him, she would pour boiling hot water into his lap.
"Now Miss Bonnie, it's only going to be my problem for the time being. Soon enough it will be yours too."
Spinning on her heels, she crossed the small space to her large, lacquered cabinet and pulled out two bulbs of the Black Dragon Pearls. Propping the phone against her cheek, she placed the two bulbs into a clear pitcher just as the kettle whistled with life. She clicked her tongue against the back of her teeth, amused by his statement.
"Tsk, I run a tea house, Mister Parker, or have you forgotten?" Peering out the window, she smiled at the soft glow of morning sunlight spilling in from the clouds. "Your business is the one they're gunning after."
Slowly, she poured the boiling water into the pitcher - the steam rising instantly as it splashed across the surface of the bulbs inside. The aroma began to permeate the air, creating a sense of calm and wonder. Bonnie would never tire of her work. It was in her blood, after all.
"I wonder how true that statement is going to be, Miss Bonnie," came his soft voice. The bass sent a tiny ripple up her spine and she smiled as the water began to change color in the pitcher. "You are as dangerous as you are beautiful."
She scoffed, setting the kettle back onto the stove. "Is that why you've been wagging your tail at me all these years, Mister Parker?"
"Of course, among other reasons. It's tantalizing, you know, the idea of you surrendering yourself to me."
At this, she laughed. However, Bonnie's laughter slowly ebbed as she watched the Black Dragon Pearls slowly begin to open. But something was different. She sensed a change in the tea - feel the vibration in the air as the magic hummed with a menacing aura. The bulbs wriggled and changed as tiny, hairy limbs and barbs began to spring out from what were her lovely Dragon Pearls.
They changed into grasshoppers!
Bonnie screamed, her hand shooting out to grab the handle but she had to stop herself. If she smashed the pitcher, the grasshoppers would come straight for her. Most people believed they were filthy insects, to which they were not wrong. But to a witch, specifically a tea witch such as herself, they were menacing. They symbolized the end of everything - a plague.
It was a declaration of war.
Her chest rose and fell in anger as she continued to watch the grasshoppers boil to death, their disgusting little limbs scraping along the pitcher's glass surface. Even amidst her rising anger, she could hear their vile little screams in her mind and it only served to fuel her rage.
When they finally suffered their cruel fate, Bonnie picked up the pitcher and stormed out the backdoor of the tea house. She threw everything in the trash, letting out another yell of outrage. The soft scuffle of shoes on pavement brought her out of her thoughts and it was only then that she realized she was still on the phone.
"So, how about it, Miss Bonnie?"
Turning her head slowly, she saw Malachai Parker on the other side of the fence of her herb garden. He was still wearing his chef's apron, the sleeves of his dress shirt rolled up to his elbows. The veins on his arm flexed slightly as he continued holding the phone to his cheek. That unfairly charming smile of his was painted across his face - the soft dusting of stubble around his lips and chin only accentuating it.
Bonnie frowned.
"Are you ready to give yourself over to me?"
A dark smirk played at the corners of her mouth.
"No," she replied softly into the receiver, "but I'd be happy to unleash an all out attack with you instead."
Bonnie chose to close shop for the afternoon. There was no way to tell if every tea in her shop was tainted and she wouldn't dare take the risk. Not yet. Not until she was able to properly clean the entire shop, which would take hours. Or she could summon fairies. But who wanted to do that, really? That was just asking for unnecessary trouble.
There was her own personal collection she was able to pull from. The Jade Mint Oolong had calming effects and she needed the calm to appease her rage. Malachai sat at the breakfast nook in her kitchen as she began preparing the tea. It was a methodical process and she didn't care that he was privy to how she moved around in her own kitchen.
Taking the small cast iron pot off the shelf, she opened the top to confirm that it was the one she used to brew the Chamomile Blossom. Each tea had its own cast iron pot since one never actually washed the pot. Rinsing was a must, but never washing. Because, over time, the pot would take on the flavor of the tea itself, enhancing the flavor each time a particular blend was brewed and steeped inside.
Once finished, she poured the tea in two cast iron cups and set the piping hot brew in front of Malachai. He fished into the small cooler he'd had with him and she watched him place a small plate with a golden brown cake sitting atop it. It had a slight sheen across the top, indicating that there was some sort of glaze coating the surface - a soft dusting of powdered sugar and sliced strawberries finishing off the look.
She'd known Malachai Parker for years. He was like her in the witch department, but he was also nothing like her. Their magic was different and worked in different ways; triggered by different things and required different sorts of finesse and expertise.
He also thought he was hot shit and, truth be told, he was. Even Bonnie could admit it. If she were anything but an intelligent witch brought up in the fine art of tea making, she would have fallen for his bravado - hook, line and sinker. Couple that with his magically enhanced baked goodies and she would have been in serious trouble.
He'd tried many times to sneak a pass at her, both with words and baked goods. Over a cup of Jade Mint Oolong, she almost succumbed. But Bonnie had too much pride to come unglued in front of a fellow witch who took pride in their craft.
That didn't mean she wasn't free to imagine things, however.
Her brow lifted in question as he sliced two pieces of the cake and plated them with dessert dishes that he also seemed to have inside the cooler. Malachai grinned at her as he placed the cake in front of her.
"To go with the tea," he explained while handing her a dessert fork.
Bonnie held the fork but made no move to indulge in the cake. The suspicion must have been clear in her gaze because he laughed suddenly while shaking his head. Her brows furrowed further.
"There's no magic in it, I swear," he said, his hands raised in surrender. "It's just a normal dessert, Miss Bonnie. No need to worry."
"You've tried this before and I almost fell for it," she said, dipping her fork into the cake. She cut her eyes at him in warning. "If something strange happens, you're going to regret it."
He propped his chin in his hand. "As long as you promise to let me die in your arms, then I would face my death happily."
She rolled her eyes, lifting the dessert up to her lips. "You're a strange one. The strangest I've met."
"That means I stand out. I'm all for it."
"Of course you are."
Bonnie slid the fork into her mouth, the cake soft and fluffy with just the right amount of sugar and tartness. It practically melted on the tongue and she couldn't stop the pleasurable sigh that escaped her, even if she'd wanted to. Her eye-line lifted to meet Malachai's and he smiled, leaning further into his hand as he ushered for her to continue. As far as she could tell, there wasn't any magic in the cake. It was just that good.
Oh, just God damn him… she thought bitterly while chewing. She wouldn't say anything. Bonnie wouldn't give him the satisfaction of saying a single word about it.
Instead, she set the fork down and picked up her cup of tea, blowing the steam off that billowed and taking a polite sip.
"So," she said while setting the cup down and meeting his gaze, "do you know who this person is that's trying to sabotage everything I've worked so hard to build in my life?"
Malachai laughed, leaning back as he brought the steaming cup of tea up with him. "You're not the only one whose business is being slammed with this. You shouldn't be so dramatic."
"I can't help it," Bonnie sneered. "I was born this way."
"That's adorable."
"Do you have a plan or not, Malachai?" She set her cup roughly on the saucer, a small wave of guilt hitting her for the tea that managed to spill out onto her fingers.
"That depends."
"On what?"
"On how much blood you want on your hands."
Something dark danced in his gray-blue eyes and it caused the breath in her lungs to expel momentarily. She wasn't sure she'd ever seen that look in his eyes in the years she'd known him, but there was a warmth in her gut that was irritatingly hard to ignore. Clearing her throat loudly, she raised a brow at him and waited as patiently as she could for him to get on with it.
"Bloodstained hands are irrelevant and of no consequence." She took another forkful of the cake and indulged. "I want whoever tainted my tea out of my territory. For good."
His expression softened and he seemed to have returned to his normal, jovial self - like the Malachai Parker she'd always known. But the dark aura that still surrounded him was unmistakable. If she could, Bonnie would have reached out and touched it - caressed it like it was a lover so long lost and now found.
"Then I believe that this is about to be the start of a beautiful friendship, Miss Bonnie Bennett."
There were others like Bonnie aside from Malachai. Not all of them were witches. Not all of them were people. The world was filled with strange things and those strange things liked to throw their weight around. They liked to sniff around on successful turf and claim it as their own. That was how conflict arose and not all conflict came to a peaceful compromise the way that Bonnie and Malachai had years ago.
They had an agreement. He would stick to baking and she would stick to tea. He had his quota he would maintain and she would do the same. When business was lacking for one or the other, they would do their best to send customers to each other. It was a mutually beneficial arrangement; one that they had successfully born fruit from in the last four years.
Now someone was trying to come into their sandbox and kick them out on their asses.
Her name was Esther Mikaelson.
She just opened up a bakery a few blocks from where Bonnie's Tea House was, as well as Malachai's own bakeshop. Business had been booming, which was odd for a small town like Mystic Falls. Her product was selling like hotcakes, which was the first mistake and it made things obvious what was actually going on. Adding to the mistake that she dared to try and drag Bonnie's Tea House into this, well, she was simply asking for trouble.
Malachai had done a little bit of recon and was able to pass on a decent amount of information on the woman. Many called Esther "The Plague" for businesses run by witches like themselves. She would come into small towns like Mystic Falls and run the locally owned witch businesses into the ground, set her shop up, and reap the benefits. If they were popular elements, she would combine the two.
Word on the vine was Esther had set up a tailor and boutique shop in New Orleans after eradicating the competition over in the Ninth Ward. In Marietta, she ran the local cafè into the dirt after sucking up all the locals by spreading rumors that the ingredients the cafè used weren't authentic. All three shops had been owned by witches and once the shops were secured, she would leave a ward in her place to run things in her stead while continuing the hunt for more businesses to devour in small towns.
A kiss was what Malachai wanted as payment. Bonnie gave him a bag of her best Meng Ding Gan Lu tea as instead. He took it with a laugh, agreeing that they would both meet up later that night to iron out the details of what they would do to handle this little "problem" of theirs.
As she waited for Malachai to arrive at her shop well after closing hours, Bonnie sifted through several old tomes in a trunk at the back. One by one, she lifted various books until one leather bound journal stuck out among the others. The leather was worn and the letters "S.B." were burned across the surface from a branding iron many years ago. Fingers threaded through the leather thong that tied the journal shut and Bonnie couldn't help holding her breath.
Her mother's tea journal had come in handy many times over the years, but it was rare that she ever enlisted the help of this particular journal. Because it belonged to her grandmother. Sheila Bennett had been a witch of many talents. Most of her spells often were helpful in maintaining balance - providing the means needed to relax and rejuvenate those who partook of her tea. Others, the more sinister teas and spells? Well, Bonnie had not touched them for a reason.
Opening up the journal, she flipped toward the middle of the tome and immediately saw the entry she had been looking for.
July 14th, 1976 – Vietnamese Marble Mountain Black Tea
Tea with a very interesting legend. It's said that a dragon laid an egg on Non Nuoc Beach, and after a thousand days and nights it hatched a beautiful woman. The shell, left in five pieces, became the five marble mountains.
Good for: Cases of import that are otherwise unmanageable.
WARNING: EXERCISE EXTREME CAUTION WITH THIS TEA. When brewed according to proper ritual, this tea is as dangerous to the conjurer as it is to the victim. Use ONLY when ABSOLUTELY necessary!
Scanning the pages, Bonnie felt a frown begin to form on her lips. She couldn't help but wonder what her Grams would think of her using her tea for this. Would she be disappointed? But, this was an emergency. Bonnie was going up against a woman who was notorious for snuffing people like her out just to take root and exploit the good patrons that depended on Bonnie in the area. Malachai was an unlikely ally, but it wasn't enough. Esther was a formidable opponent and, as such, it was only proper to use the appropriate weapons in one's arsenal.
And this was hers. Vietnamese Marble Mountain Black Tea.
Bonnie set the wooden chest the tea was kept in on the table, her fingers dancing over the heavy lock that shut it away from the world but was still safely maintained. She withdrew the key that hung from around her neck. Her mother and grandmother both kept all of their rare teas in enchanted chests and it wasn't until they both passed on that it was given over to her. It had been years, but this would be the very first time she would actually be opening either chests.
The magic practically shimmered off the edge of it and Bonnie felt her breath coming out in small pants. She was excited. Hell, she was even a little afraid. She knew that this was a sacred moment. The amount of power in either of these chests was still overwhelming and despite being a learned tea witch, Bonnie still had to refer to her predecessors' notes from time to time. She still had a ways to go before she was able to wield their power perfectly.
She hesitated as she set the lock down on the table, stopping herself from throwing open the chest immediately. In that chest, she should have been selecting a tea to help someone. Her feelings shouldn't have been this gnarled with outrage and, dare she believe it, hatred. She shouldn't have been opening that chest out of spite.
She shook her head. No. This was justified. Because Bonnie was saving herself.
And if she couldn't help herself, then how did she expect to help anyone else?
AN: UGH! I am so sorry guys! I should be working on The Gamble, but here I am, working on other shit. I am a horrible human being. And I'm also a late human being. Forgive me! I promise, I'm going to get back on my other stuff when I get the chance. I had another story bug bite me and once I finish it, I will be getting back on my epics straight away. Just be patient with me! In the meantime, I hope this appeases you all! Rate, review and know that I love you!