THIS IS NOT TO DETERMINE THE CIRCUMSTANCES OF THE TRUE SERIES, NOR IS IT MEANT TO PRESUME THE CHARACTERISTICS AND LIKENESS OF THE CHARACTERS. THE ACTIONS PRESENTED ARE FROM OBSERVATION AND INTERPRETATION AND AREN'T MEAN TO ENFORCE THE TRUE TRAITS THAT MAY BE PRESENT IN THE SERIES


"Be careful, okay?"

"I will,"

"I mean it... you know I worry,"

"I never understand why,"

"This world is a crazy one. We can only control so much,"

"Spoken like a true witch,"

"Oh, stop it. Now get going, you're going to miss your bus,"

"Alright. I'll be back before you know it. I love you,"

"I love you too,"

"I'll make sure to call tonight,"

"Wait,"

"What is it?"

"Take this... It's a charm, I... I imbued it with a little bit of my magic. It'll keep you safe. And... and it'll help you think of me,"

"Haha... you know that it's impossible to forget you; you can be so weird sometimes,"

"Oh, shut up and kiss me,"

"How bitey your words are,"

"Then make words unneeded,"


A full day. A full 24 hours passed since his departure. Laurance was already long gone from the city and should have arrived at his hometown safe and sound. Or at least, that's what was going through the fair witch's mind as she fidgeted in the chair she was seated in. She would comb through her hair with her fingernails, tap un-rhythmically on the floor with her heels, and frantically move her eyes around the living-room looking for something, anything, to focus on.

"Everything alright, Lucinda?"

A voice made her have a small panic, jerking her out of her trance and back into reality. Her eyes began to trace over to the direction of the voice, and onto the calm, almond-brown eyes of her friend.

"Oh... Aphmau... Yes, yes... I uhh, I'm alright," the sorceress mumbled, "Just a little distracted is all."

"Are you worried about Laurance?"

The question made Lucinda furrow her brow for a quick moment. As easily as she was able to read Aphmau like a book, the ebony-haired woman always was full of her own surprises from time to time, "He usually calls or at least gives a quick message," she finally answered.

"Hmm..." Aphmau responded, trying to think of something reassuring to console her worried friend, "C'mon, there's a logical explanation for this somewhere. Laurance never does anything without a good reason. Or... at least... a reason."

"Chances are he's taking care of that kid brother of his," Garroth butted in, walking from the kitchen with a bowl of popcorn in hand, his own kid brother following suit, and then Travis and Gene with a large steel pan of drinks that they set on the table, "Speaking from experience, that kiddo can be a real handful!"

"You made it a handful by jumping to conclusions," Zane retorted, taking the seat on the couch that was in between Travis and Garroth, "Thanks to you, Laurance unleashed a kind of wrath I haven't seen come from him before or since. I thought he was going to annihilate the house."

"You have to admit... that was kinda funny," Aaron chimed in, coming from his bathroom break, reclaiming his seat next to Aphmau, before reaching over to grab a handful of popcorn.

"I soooo wish I was there to see it," Katelyn said, throwing in her own two cents as she returned from the kitchen as well with a bag of chips.

"Alright, alright, ladies and gents. Aaron and I invited you all over to watch a movie, and watch a movie we shall," Aphmau objected, realizing the conversation was getting way out of hand, and steering to topics unrelated to the subject, "Lucinda, girl, if you need more private talk, let me know okay? I know you're concerned for him. Which... that's so unlike you, now that I think about it."

Lucinda looked down to her feet, not exactly knowing how to describe her mindset, or even being able to explain why her worry was so strong. This was indeed concern for the well-being of her lover, but was that the be all and end all? Was her affection towards Laurance that potent?

Laurance Zvahl, a man unlike any Lucinda had ever met. Cunning, charming, confident, driven, observant, witty, full of life, added to that was a simple je ne sais quoi that lured the witch even further, and it was a recipe for the enchantress to become the enchanted.

Her newfound daydream came to a halt yet again when her cell began to run rampant with vibrations and a sharp ringing sound.

"Oh! That must be him now!" Garroth declared optimistically, but then ceased his excitement when Lucinda's expression didn't change as she gazed onto her phone screen.

"Unknown caller...?" Lucinda mused. Who could it be? Lucinda wasn't one to give her number freely. She curiously pressed upon the green tap option and placed the phone to her ear, "Hello?"

"Hi... Is this Lucinda? Laurance's girlfriend?" An unknown, deep, mild-mannered voice spoke through the device.

"How do you know me? May I ask who this is, please?"

"This is Hayden. I'm Laurance's father. You're second on his list of emergency contacts, so I thought it would be appropriate to call you myself... If I may ask... is any of Laurance's friends around?"

"Practically everyone... why?"

"If you don't mind, can you please put the phone on speaker and ask everyone to listen carefully...?"

Lucinda blinked, confused and off-put by Hayden's requests, but she did as she was asked, not wanting to displease her own boyfriend's father, "It's his father..." Lucinda informed the crowd, before looking back down to the phone, "Okay... you're on speaker..."

"Thank you," Hayden responded with sincerity, "If Laurance's friends are listening, I want you all to please hear me clearly. Is everyone paying attention?"

"As much as possible..." Gene replied, showing his own sense of confusion.

"I recieved a call tonight... it's about Laurance."

"Laurance? A call? Sir, is everything okay?" Katelyn asked, anxiety building up within her, not liking where this was going.

"I wish it was. It was from our hospital. I'm afraid I have some bad news..." Hayden's voice began to dwindle, seeming like his own distraught was getting the better of him as well, "Laurance was in an accident. He was brought in this evening as quick as possible."

The air in the room was struck by absolute horror. Every single being in that living-room felt their blood go cold. Aphmau instinctively placed her hands on Aaron's arm and shoulder, her eyes enlarging in shock and a small gasp from her lips. Aaron reacted as he placed his left hand on Aphmau's right knee, his teeth showing a small clench. Garroth jolted from his seat, almost spilling the popcorn on his lap before he reacted just in time to quickly place it on the table and immediately dismissing it from his mind, his breath showing signs of quickening as he awaited for the next peace of info.

Katelyn and Travis, in turn, almost spilled their drinks as they nearly dropping their cups, their eyes locked onto the phone as if it could disappear at any minute. Gene and Zane looked down at the floor, a level of confusion and concern infiltrating their minds.

Lucinda's hands trembled, to the point her fingers finally gave way and she lost grip of her phone, the device falling onto the carpet, thankfully intact. She placed a hand over her chest, desperately attempting to regain control over her breathing before picking the phone back up frantically, her voice shaking in a distraught panic as she shot up from her chair,

"A... A-a-an accident!? Wha-how!? How did it happen; where!?" the witch sharply demanded.

"It was a few blocks from our house on Main St... It seems like the vehicle in question was a small semi that was toting a few logs."

"But I don't understand... Laurance didn't take a car!" Aphmau objected, observing his departure.

"No... he didn't..." Hayden responded, with a choked up voice, meant to imply the only explanation.

"...Oh my god..." Lucinda whispered, her voice giving way and cracking, her eyes showing her panic in full form.

"Please... tell us he's okay, Mr. Hayden," Katelyn stood up alongside Garroth and Lucinda.

"He's alive... I can tell you that much," Hayden answered, with a hint of reassurance that at least their companion was among them still.

"What do you mean you can tell us that much!? Just how alright is he!?" Lucinda's panic turned to a berserk outburst as she raised her voice louder than any of them have heard her yell before.

"I'm going to visit him now. You are all welcome to make the trip down here. I'll tell the staff you are all allowed to see if he's alright," Hayden answered, his own worry for his son coming through in full display over the phone.

"We'll head right there... Thank you Mr. Hayden," Aphmau responded.

"You're welcome... I'll be at the hospital, meet me there..." Hayden informed everyone, before pressing the End Call option on his phone.

Lucinda couldn't stop shaking, her haze of panic and frustration overwhelming her before turning her attention to the gang, whom all the members were standing at this point. She gained what little bit of composure she should muster before speaking, "We have no time to waste..."


It was so late at night that it could be considered early morning. Lucinda reluctantly took the passengers seat as Garroth made the trip, as he declared she was in no condition to be driving. After a good few hours, they finally arrived at the medical facility, parking in the ER area before regathering from their respective cars. Lucinda however, did not waste much time before going through the glass doors and into the lobby. As she made her way up the stairs to the third floor, and then through the long halls, following the directions she was given by the man at the front desk, she spotted an older looking man sitting in one of the chairs outside Room 1226.

The man looked to see the witch standing in his presence, before he saw the rest of her companions not far behind her, he looked back at Lucinda with a presumed expression, "Lucinda, yes...?"

The sorceress nodded, "You must be Hayden."

Hayden responded with his own nod before turning his attention to to the room door, "He's in there..." He said with a mild whisper, before giving a sigh and approaching Lucinda closer, "May I ask you something, Lucinda?"

"That depends..." Lucinda said a little coldly. Her impatience was beginning to take form, feeling like she needed to see her lover's fate as soon as possible, but it seemed like whatever deity existed in the universe was content with stalling the process as much as possible.

"Do you know what this is?" Hayden reached into his shirt pocket, and dug something out that fit into his palm. He didn't show what it was until he put his arm out to transfer the item to Lucinda, who put her hand out to retrieve it.

Lucinda brought the item closer to observe it, but it didn't take long at all for the witch to discern what it was...

"This..." She exclaimed, "I... I gave this to him... this was the charm I gave to him before he left..."

Hayden was taken a little aback at the information, but quickly shook it off before speaking again, at this point, not just to Lucinda, but to everyone else who made their way to being right next to the fair spell-master.

"That was in his hand when they brought him here. Apparently, according to some witnesses, and to the driver, it looked like he dropped it while crossing the street, and quickly made a turn back to grab it... That's when..." Hayden silenced himself, before looking downward, exhaling a breath of distraught.

Lucinda made a small gasp, she started to lose control over herself again, as her eyes began to swell, the dams in them beginning to break as she started to give in.

"Would you all still like to see him...?" Hayden asked, looking back to the gang, needing everyone's confirmation before going to open the door to Room 1226. He cracked the door open slightly before drawing back to look upon everyone again, "Are you sure you're ready to see him...? The doctor warned both me and Cadenza that... it... it just might be an unpleasant sight..."

"Just do it..." Lucinda quietly ordered, her mind going into a stage of wishful thinking, "He's okay... He'll be okay..." She thought. Unfortunately, her attempts to trick herself would shatter as she suspected the cruel taste of the truth would infect her dearly. Especially when she passed by Hayden to enter the room and gaze upon the fate of her beloved...

"Oh my god...oh my god, no... Laurance, no..." Lucinda whispered in between gasps of air, her hands covering her mouth as she attempted to stifle her exhales and light sobs. She finally surrendered to the overwhelming bombardment of emotions, and dropped to her knees, clutching the charm she had in her hand tightly. Aphmau rushed over to drop down and place a hand on her shoulder, providing any amount of comfort that could be gathered, however faulty it may be.

The others gazed upon their friend in disarray, the horror that plagued their minds finally realized.

Two IV cords were in Laurance's right arm which was laying freely on the side of the mattress, while his left arm was completely wrapped in gauze with only his fingers lay bare, traces of dried blood and cuts peaking through the part where the fingers and gauze meet. A bandage wrapped his eyes, leaving the state that the eyes themselves were in a mystery, while the left side of his face and forehead was blanketed in a bandage and medical tape, yet even more dried blood peaking through his left cheekbone. His ribs were encased in a body cast, the left side of his torso showing signs of more blood that soaked the general area of the cast.

Lucinda's melancholy sobs filled the room as everyone was trying to figure out what to say, when finally Aaron spoke up.

"Is he conscious?"

"I'm afriad not..." Hayden quickly answered, clearly being pained at seeing the state of his son.

Lucinda slowly rose herself up, using both hands to keep the charm close to her chest, opening up her eyes to look at Laurance's state.

Aphmau stood up alongside her, noticing Lucinda's sobs beginning to tame for a short second, "Lucinda...?" she called the witch, who didn't move a muscle, her face ripe with tear-streaks and her cheeks hot red.

The spell-master's hands reentered their trembling stage and her face began to twist and contort into a contemptuous leer.

"Laurance..." She whispered, her voice cracking in full force, "Laurance... you..." the witch's teeth started to clench tighter and tighter, her eyebrows reforming into a glare, her grip on the charm getting more fierce, sadness turning to rage...

"Laurance, YOU IDIOT!" She shouted, a perfect fusion of sorrow and unyielding fury filling her voice as she approached the bedside, "You put your LIFE in peril for THIS stupid thing!? What were you THINKING!? What were you going to do if you DIED!? Damn it! Did you stop to think about me!? You could have left everyone ELSE behind too! What if you left ME behind!? You could have...! You... you could..." Her explosion quickly drained what little energy she had left as she slowly stumbled back to her pained remorse, she collapsed back down to the floor, burying her eyes into her right arm that she had rested on the bedside, her sorrowful sobs muffled by the bed sheets.

"Lucinda..." Aphmau sheepishly called to her friend, but her knowledge of how to approach her was limited, until Hayden spoke up.

"Come on... let's leave her be for a second..."

Aphmau looked to the gentleman before turning her gaze onto her friends, who all looked at her with the same expression: one that agreed with Hayden. The ebony-haired woman reluctantly nodded, and was the last to walk out of the room and shut the door, leaving the witch alone to mourn.

"I... I'm so sorry." Lucinda said in between her pained sobs, "I'm so sorry, Laurance... th-this is all my fault... if I had never given you that charm..." The bright-haired woman slung the aforementioned item across the room, dismissing it out of mind as she now buried herself into both arms, her fear and sadness still very strong.

"Laurance... Laurance, please... please wake up. I can't lose you... I can't lose you like this... Please don't leave me... Laurance... I love you... please wake up..."