Disclaimer: I do not own the "Avalon: Web of Magic/Quest for Magic" series or the song "Violet", they belong to Rachel Roberts and The Birthday Massacre respectively.
The tragic comedy divine
Paints the way to peace of mind
Leaving shallow lovers far behind
Emily lay wide awake on her twin bed, pale blue comforter pulled up to her chin, staring at the dark ceiling. She turned her head to glance at the digital alarm clock on her bedside table to her right, noting with some exasperation that it was past three AM and she should be asleep. She closed her eyes and tried to fall asleep for what must have been the millionth time since she went to bed at eleven, but slumber would not come. She groaned and threw her arms over her eyes, running the events of the week past through her mind.
Past uncertainties combine
Bringing tears to sleepless eyes
Memory runs the course of time
She kept receiving bits and pieces of awful visions, maybe a voice or a flash of an image, and she did get painful headaches every now and then. She suspected that it would take a while for Ruin's spell to wear off, but this was ridiculous. She was beginning to halfheartedly curse the day she ever found her healing gem. As time inched toward four, then five AM, a gray dawn began to take over the dark blue night in the sky outside her window. She watched the sunrise with tired, bloodshot hazel eyes. At 5:30, she'd had enough and got out of bed, walked out to the living room and switched on the TV.
Blood runs cold beyond the violet prison
For violent visions
And so the broken record plays
As you throw us away
The Healer hugged her knees to her chest as she flipped though channels of infomercials and religious programming and early morning talk shows on low volume before she heard her mother walking down the stairs.
"Emily?" Carolyn asked groggily. "What are you doing up? It's a Saturday, you should be sleeping in."
"I couldn't sleep. I had a, um, nightmare," the redhead told her mom. Well, it was sort of true, she told herself, trying to justify the lie. She stared at her pastel pink and orange pajama pants as Carolyn made coffee in the next room.
We're never enough
We're drowning in cliches
So desperate to love
We're twisting every word they say
So we sleep through the days
"That hasn't happened since you were ten. What was it about?" She called from the kitchen. Emily followed her, leaning against the doorframe.
"I don't really remember," she replied.
Carolyn looked at her curiously, but then shrugged it off. "Well, I have an appointment to give the Richards' dog her shots at eight, but so you want to go out to the diner and shopping later?" She asked, trying to comfort her sixteen year old daughter without seeming too "motherly".
Emily smiled a little. It was so rare that her mother had anything resembling a day off. "Sure."
Within the heat of passions war
Lust is spilled upon the floor
Staining red the wasted metaphor
Carolyn turned back to her coffee machine and poured a cup for herself and her daughter. Emily took it gratefully, hoping the caffeine would make up for her lack of sleep. The two Fletcher women sat down at the tiny pine dining table, drinking their coffee and talking about various unimportant things. Naturally, the conversation drifted towards Emily's work at Ravenswood, but the girl steered the conversation safely away from anything too revealing about the wildlife preserve. Eventually, Carolyn went upstairs to finish getting ready, and the Healer was left on her own again. She showered and changed, and then went outside to check on the animals that were being housed temporarily in the Pet Palace.
The selfish need for something more
Claws in vain at closing doors
Scarring faces once adored
Emily and Carolyn walked on the grayish sidewalks of Stonehill, peeking into the windows and occasionally exploring the little boutiques and shops. Mother and daughter continued their aimless talk from that morning, and decided to head back home a little while after noon. Emily noticed with relief that Ruin's spell was beginning to fade away completely--She had not experienced any part of a vision the entire time she was out, and had only had a tiny, nagging headache while they were at the diner. When they were back home, Emily found that she had missed a call from both Kara and Adriane.
Tracing circles in the violet prison
For violent visions
And so the broken record plays
As you throw us away
When she called her friend, the Warrior informed her that Marlin was desperate to speak to her--And it was apparently driving Kara crazy, as the dragonflies kept pestering her that Marlin needed to get a hold of Emily.
"Seriously, Kara called me all distressed because she was at the mall with her friends and they kept popping up out of nowhere. She asked me to call you because no one picked up at your house earlier."
The redhaired girl smiled and hung up after saying goodbye, briefly stopping to tell Carolyn that she would be at Ravenswood for the next few hours.
We're never enough
We're drowning in cliches
So desperate to love
We're twisting every word they say
So we sleep through the days