Legacy 111: Penny Dreadful
Xxx
Nineteen year old Sofia stood on the streets of Los Angeles, looking at the busy nightclub in front of her. It was called Nightshade and was the place where casting agents and movie producers hung out. Sofia had moved to LA about a year ago to make it as an actress, but so far, she had not gotten a single part. If she could impress one of the VIPs in the club, she could finally get her shot at stardom.
Dressed in a pretty blue cocktail dress, the young brunette crossed the street and joined the line in front of the club. As she did, she saw the two bouncers at the door whispering to each other. A moment later, one of them came walking up to her.
"Do you want in?" the bouncer asked.
"What about the line?" Sofia replied.
"A girl like you doesn't deserve to stand outside." The bouncer replied. "I bet there are many people inside who would want to meet you."
"Oh my gosh, thank you so much." Sofia said excited.
The bouncer nodded and guided her past the line, which earned her angry looks from many other girls. Sofia went inside was amazed by what she saw. The entire club was a modern and stylish blend of black, silver and purple. Sofia made her way to the bar and ordered herself a drink. She looked up and saw there was a special balcony for VIPs. A woman in a fiery red dress was looking down at the club and their eyes met. The woman was mature and beautiful, with long brown hair and red lips. She smiled and whispered something to an Asian man in a suit. Then she disappeared.
Sofia turned her attention elsewhere and tried to spot some famous people. For a moment, she thought she spotted her favorite actress, but it was just a look-a-like. When someone tapped her on the shoulder, she turned around and saw it was the Asian man.
"The owner would like to meet you." The man said.
"The owner?" Sofia asked confused.
"The woman in red. Her name is Dahlia." The man replied. "She owns the club."
"And she wants to meet me?" Sofia asked.
"You stand out in the crowd." The man said. "We spotted you the moment you came in. You don't see such natural beauty all the time, especially in this plastic city. My name is Ryuu."
"Nice to meet you. I'm Sofia." Sofia replied as she shook his hand.
"So are you interested?" Ryuu asked. "Dahlia has a lot of powerful and important friends. Having her as a friend could get you far in this business."
"How did you know?" Sofia asked.
"It is why most people come here." Ryuu explained. "So shall we go up?"
"Yes please." Sofia replied.
Ryuu smiled and took her hand and he guided her through the club. When they entered the balcony, Sofia was amazed by all the celebrities she spotted. It felt like a dream come true. Ryuu led her to a table in the back, where the woman in red was sitting.
"Dahlia, meet Sofia." Ryuu said as he introduced them.
"It's so nice to meet you." Sofia quickly said. "Thank you so much."
"It's my pleasure." Dahlia said. "I saw you at the bar and I could not resist. You have such a pretty face. So sit down, Ryuu will get us some champagne."
Ryuu nodded and left while Sofia sat down. "So what brought you to LA, dear?" Dahlia asked. "Actress, model or singer?"
"Actress." Sofia replied. "I've always dreamed becoming a star."
"But the business is not quite what you expected, right?" Dahlia noted. "All the hard work and the rejections. For each part, there are a hundred other girls just like you."
"Exactly. It's been pretty rough." Sofia said.
"Well, luckily, you caught my eye." Dahlia replied. "I have helped countless of young men and women achieve their dreams. For a price of course."
"A price?" Sofia asked nervously. "But I don't have any money."
"I'm not interested in money, dear." Dahlia replied as Ryuu returned with their champagne. "I have money and influence enough. I am looking for something else."
"Like what?" Sofia asked confused as she took a sip of champagne.
"Your soul." Dahlia replied. "I can make all your dreams come true. You can live the life you always wanted for ten whole years. After that, your soul belongs to me."
"This is a joke, right?" Sofia asked.
"Not quite." Dahlia replied. She held up her hand and a flame appeared. "As you can see, I am not your average club owner. I am much more."
"What are you?" Sofia asked scared. She backed away and bumped into Ryuu, who had sat down next to her.
"A demon, dear." Dahlia replied as the fire disappeared. "But don't worry, I would never hurt you. After all, you are worth so much more. You can have an amazing career. You can make all your dreams come true and never have to worry about getting old."
"I could really have it all?" Sofia asked.
"For ten years." Dahlia said. "That is the deal. You can go back to the streets, or you can sign my contract and get the role of a lifetime tonight."
"Where do I sign?" Sofia asked impulsively.
Dahlia smiled and held out her hand. A parchment appeared on the table in a flame, along with a feathery quill. Sofia knew she would never make it on her own. She had left her family behind for stardom. She would be a fool to turn this down. She did not believe in the whole soul thing anyway. She grabbed the quill and signed her name.
"That's it?" Sofia asked.
"Not quite." Dahlia replied. "Ryuu?"
Ryuu nodded and grabbed Sofia's arm. Suddenly his eyes became snake-like and Sofia screamed. His nails grew into sharp claws, which he used to cut the palm of her hand. He then pressed her hand on the contract so her blood was smeared the parchment. He then let go and smiled, causing a forked tongue to sliver across his lips.
"Sorry." Ryuu said as his eyes returned to normal and handed her a tissue. "Blood is required to make it permanent. The cut is superficial and will heal soon."
"You made a smart choice, Sofia." Dahlia said.
"What happens now?" Sofia asked.
"Ryuu will take you to meet someone you might recognize." Dahlia said as she pointed at a famous director sitting nearby. "I think he just found the perfect actress for his new romantic comedy."
"Are you serious?" Sofia asked. "He is one of the best."
"I know, dear." Dahlia replied with a smile. "How you think he got this far?"
Despite all the freaky things that had happened, Sofia could not help but smile Ryuu guided to the table of the director. At the same time, Dahlia rolled up the contract and made it disappear in flames. Ryuu returned and grabbed a glass of champagne as he sat down.
"She was a smart choice, very promising." Ryuu said.
"I am getting bored of this city." Dahlia noted. "All these people are the same. I need something new. How is the scouting for new clubs going?"
"Actually, I think I found a perfect location." Ryuu said. "It's in San Francisco and just what you are looking for. And did I mention it was once owned by a certain three witches?"
"The Charmed Ones?" Dahlia asked.
"It has been closed for years." Ryuu said. "But a city like San Francisco is filled with potential new clients. And it will make a nice change from LA."
"Make it happen." Dahlia ordered. "I want the club opened as soon as possible."
"There is just one potential problem." Ryuu said. "While the Charmed Ones may be gone, their progeny is still active in the city. And they are each very powerful."
"That's not a problem." Dahlia replied with an amused smile. "If they get in my way, I will simply kill them, or offer them a deal of a lifetime. After all, even powerful witches have desires for which they would sell their souls."
Xxx
Penny Halliwell was sitting in a college class room trying to stay awake. She had been out partying all night and the professor had the most boring voice ever. It was too early for this and she should have known better. Despite her attempts to get her act together, she still occasionally messed up and let out the inner party girl. At least she had not woken up with a random guy again. Penny yawned and stretched, accidentally knocking against the chair in front of her.
"Excuse me!" The girl before her hissed.
Penny groaned the moment she recognized the voice. Her sort-of-nemesis Olivia turned around and glared at her. The two of them had been bitter enemies ever since Olivia learned that Penny had hooked up with her boyfriend Ronnie a few times. Even though it happened before they were dating.
"Sorry." Penny replied.
"Yeah right." Olivia said. "You totally did that on purpose."
"Of course." Penny said with an eye roll. "Because my main purpose in life is to annoy you. Get over yourself, I didn't even see you."
"Well, I certainly smelled you." Olivia remarked. "I should have known it was you from the booze breath alone. Had another drunk hookup with someone's boyfriend?"
"No, sorry, Ronnie wasn't available." Penny snapped back. "But I'm sure he'd come running if I call."
"You take that back!" Olivia called out as she spun around.
"Excuse me ladies." The professor said. "I am trying to teach a class here."
"Sorry, professor." Olivia said in a fake charming tone.
Penny glared at her as the professor resumed the class, though she decided to shake it off. Olivia was a spoiled brat, and she was not going to waste the effort. When the class ended, Penny gathered her stuff and headed out. She had a free period, so she was looking forward to shower and a power nap. As she left the class, someone bumped into her, causing her to drop her things.
"Oops, sorry." Olivia said with a smile.
"Hey, what is going on?" A male voice asked.
Penny looked up and saw Ronnie had just arrived. He was the cute jock type with brown hair and a great body. However, he had lost his appeal the moment he went out with someone like Olivia. When Ronnie noticed her, he seemed nervous.
"Penny, hey." He said casually.
"Don't talk to her." Olivia said.
"Olivia, come on." Ronnie replied. "We're not in high school anymore. We're all adults here. What happened between me and Penny is ancient history, right?"
"Right." Penny added.
"Well, I don't care." Olivia said. "Her type is trouble."
"My type?" Penny asked with a frown.
"You know, sluts." Olivia said.
While Olivia and her friends laughed, Penny became angry. She wanted to punch the smile right off her arrogant little face. She hated being called that. It was such a double standard. Guys could sleep with whoever they wanted, while women were considered easy. Olivia had no right to judge her. Penny stepped forward and grabbed her by the arm.
"Shut up." Penny ordered.
Penny heard her own words echo on a telepathic level. Olivia's eyes widened and she stopped instantly. She looked like she was in a trance. What had she just done? Had she used some kind of mind control or something?
"Okay, so I slept with Ronnie. Get over it." Penny said. "From now on, I want you to leave me alone. Do you understand?"
"I understand." Olivia replied distantly.
"Good, now get out of here." Penny said as she let go.
The trance wore off and Olivia corrected herself. Normally, this would be the time she would make another insult, but instead, she turned around and walked away. Her friends looked confused and then quickly followed her.
"That was actually pretty impressive." Ronnie said. "I like how you stood up for yourself."
"Why do you even date someone like that?" Penny asked.
"I don't know." Ronnie admitted. "I liked her at first, but she is a little stuck-up."
"Hey. Can I test something on you?" Penny asked as she turned to him.
"Okay." Ronnie replied with a frown.
"Kiss me." Penny ordered as she stared deep in his eyes.
Her words echoed again and Ronnie entered a trance. He leaned forward and kissed her passionately. He then stepped back and shook his head.
"What just happened?" Ronnie asked confused. "Did I just kiss you?"
"Now stand on one leg and cluck like a chicken while flapping your arms." Penny said as she stared in his eyes.
Ronnie did as she ordered and made a fool of himself in the middle of the hall. Everyone stared at them. Penny realized she really had some kind of new mind control power. She looked at Ronnie one more time and ordered him to stop.
"This is so bizarre." Ronnie said embarrassed. "I don't know why I just did that."
"It's okay." Penny replied. "Just forget what just happened."
"Okay." Ronnie said.
Penny smiled as he looked dazed for a moment. She picked up her stuff and walked away, leaving a confused Ronnie behind. She was going to enjoy this new power and felt like she needed to take it for a test drive. It wasn't personal gain if it was just practice, right?
Xxx
At the Halliwell Manor, Wyatt peeked down the stairs to make sure the coast was clear. He knew Chris was working at the hospital and it looked like Henry was gone as well. He sighed relieved and headed down the stairs followed by Dylan. It was the first time they had spent the night at the manor, though Wyatt had not yet found the right moment to tell his family they were dating.
"Sorry about this." Wyatt said.
"Look, I understand you need time." Dylan replied. "And the sneaking around is fun for once or twice, but I am not going to make it a habit. It was bad enough I had to blurry up to your bedroom last night."
"I didn't know Chris was still home." Wyatt said. "I really want to tell them. I already told Prue, but the others are trickier. Especially my siblings and my dad. I am searching for the right way."
"I know, and I hate to push you." Dylan admitted. "But let's just go to my apartment until you're ready to tell them. Okay?"
"Sure thing." Wyatt replied as he wrapped his hands around his waist. "Do you have to leave already? We have the house to ourselves and I can make breakfast."
"I wish I could, but I got a garage to run." Dylan said.
"Alright fine." Wyatt said reluctantly. "I guess I to go to work as well, even though it is just a stupid cooperate assignment."
Wyatt let go and walked over to the coat hanger to grab his jacket and photography equipment. Before heading out, Wyatt gave Dylan a long kiss goodbye. At that moment, the front door opened and Henry walked in. Wyatt quickly stepped back and tried to act normal, but judging by the stunned look on his younger cousin's face, it was already too late.
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