"Okay, let me get this straight." Virginia said, sitting at the edge of her cotton candy bet. My roommates had gotten the habit of turning on the illusions on particularly tiring days, Fridays, and holidays. "You have been having hormonal fits-"
"Mood swings." Ellen corrected from her leave adorned bed.
"Can't I use a bit of hyperbole here? Anyway, then you go to the mall with Grabby, go to the… game… arca…" The roaring laughter coming from her very stomach interrupts her. "Well, he does that, and then you see some angry woman who looks just like your mother in your head yelling some stuff you can't really remember, he casts Spirit Sight and sees another soul in your body. Then you wake up at three in the morning, you see a cute girl stroking your hair-"
"She saw the girl, then she woke up." Ellen corrected.
"Yeah. Doesn't matter." And that's how gossips get so messed up. "Then you go to the accounting room because you can't sleep, see a piano Grabby apparently bought you and an envelope with the keys and a letter saying "Happy birthday," then you hear the Grabby 2.0 woman's voice and another voice that was from the cute girl and then the chick makes the other half-naked soul leave and she tells you she's Grabby's death girlfriend from a decade ago."
"…Ex-girlfriend." I said somberly. "And this is not, under any circumstances, leaving the room."
"Ouch. Over protective, aren't we?"
"Sorry…"
"Just kidding, tigress. With some Telepyre and good nails nobody's stealing your man away."
"He's not even mine…"
"Didn't she just say she's always with you?" Ellen asked, a little nervousness on her face. Virginia was already laughing uncontrollably at my remark.
"Um… yes…"
"Then she heard what you just said."
"Yes."
"Horses are so cute! I'm not getting this uniform off under any circumstances."
"Do you even wear any real clothing?"
"Not really."
"Uhm…" Ellen seemed really confused at my calm behavior. They didn't understand the real situation. "Was she okay with that?"
"Why don't you cast Spirit Sight and ask her?"
"Wait. We can?" Virginia stopped laughing. Ellen looked at Virginia questioningly for a moment. "What? Even I can cast that."
"Yes. Just do it! She's dying to meet you."
Saturday had arrived. The night before the girls couldn't talk with Violet because, right after they greeted each other, she had to run away and blurted out something about being caught. I remembered what she told me about the manus and Professor Grabiner finding her, so we decided to let it rest. The first impression they had gotten from my strange friend was nice, at least. Anybody would get a good impression from such a beautiful woman that greeted you with a gigantic smile. Virginia and Ellen seemed not to pay much attention to her white eyes at least.
The next morning, Violet had returned. I woke up with a bit giddy; since Hieronymus and I hadn't had the time to speak through the week, I was excited to see him in outside of class and without other students interrupting. In my mind, I reviewed the song as I walked through the hallways. I made the movements with my fingers, just as if the piano was there. When I arrived to the accounting room, the door was locked so Hieronymus obviously wasn't there.
After some delivering, I sat by the piano, feeling depressed. My mother hadn't sent me any kind of letter. What if something had happened to her? What if she actually doesn't want to see me anymore? What could I have done to upset her?
My fingers were already moving on the piano's keys. Having a piano in the accounting room still seemed strange to me, but now I needed to pour it all out into that song. I realized Violet wasn't there anymore…
Time passed, Hieronymus didn't arrive. The song had finished, and I just sat there, staring into nothingness.
"It seems we must have that conversation from before…" There was an expression that fit the tone of her voice; a frown.
Surrounded by darkness, I could see Violet's ghost again. With a flick of her wrist, the surroundings transformed into a seemingly endless library.
"I don't recommend touching the books." Violet said. What was the purpose of having tons of books if you couldn't touch them? "Come." She extended her hand, wearing a gentle smile on her face. I gently placed my palm over it, and then she guided me through the dark labyrinth of bookshelves.
As we walked, we seemed to be getting closer and closer to a source of golden light, and soon enough we were standing in front of a circular table with a chair on either side. Behind, there was a fireplace, illuminating the whole place.
It was calm and, I didn't know why, it reminded me of Hieronymus.
"Sit." She commanded again. She sat across me. Her nervous smile made me feel very uneasy.
"Wh-what's going on?" Violet took a deep breath, and let it out.
"For starters… Hieronymus isn't here. He's in the Otherworld." She raised her hand before I could scream "what." "This universe is divided into four worlds. The Upperworld, the Overworld, the Otherworld, and the Underworld. The Upperworld is divided into three; the Lower Kingdom, the Heaven Kingdom and the Gods' Realms. There is a forbidden realm, which is the library we are in."
"If it's forbidden, why are we even here?!" I demanded as I dug my nails deeper and deeper into the table's wood.
"Because the current owner gave us permission! You see…" She still maintained her smile and lecture demeanor. "For starters, you are the Wi- AUGH!"
Suddenly, everything vanished into thin air.
"Violet?!" I yelled as my eyes shot open.
"Chloe." The person I had least expected to see was holding me again. I lied on the accounting room's floor and Hieronymus had found me again. Hadn't Violet just said he was in the Underworld? "You will be fine now." I could only stare at him, utterly confused. I felt some additional weight on my chest; a string hanging around my neck with a shiny red stone attached to it.
"What is this?" My voice was weak, his expression seemed distant.
"A charm." He answered. "It will keep… undesirable entities away, or at least from harming you." That explained things. The charm prevented Violet from getting near me or communicating with me. The tone Hieronymus used to remark the word "undesirable" made me feel uneasy.
"H-Hieronymus?" He knew, or so said the impression he gave. He just stood up, and left me sitting on the hard, cold floor in front of the piano.
With a sigh, I removed the charm from my neck.
"…I'm proud of him." I heard Violet's voice say again. "He knows. He doesn't want to see my face anymore because he wants to move on... Or because I'm too different and he can't stand it."
"H-huh?! I thought he missed you or something…"
"He changed, but I think I changed the most out of the two of us… I'm just a stranger to him now." Her tone was low, lacking in energy, it almost seemed hurt, distant… or nostalgic? Violet was hard to read at times.
"I thought… he would be happy to see you and then…"
"Chloe Grabiner. This man, who has sworn not to set a single foot on the Otherworld ever again, has broken his promise just to find that stone to make you that charm and protect you from Susana." The energy had returned to her voice, and I immediately felt better. "He's doing a lot of things for you. Now, get that stuff back on your neck! I'll tell you when to get it off."
"Are you okay with it?"
"It gives me time to explore and Susana won't hiss at me anymore for keeping her in check." I stood up, brushing dust off the back of my robes with one of my hands, and stared at the necklace that stayed in the other.
"How do I know when you want to talk?"
"You'll just know." When I finally left the necklace to fall on my shoulders, I felt our connection snap, and everything around me go completely silent…
It felt really, really lonely, almost as if having your best friend sent to boarding school.
I clutched at the stone that hung from my neck lovingly; Violet wasn't really gone anyways! I could just get it off and talk to her. However, the way Hieronymus had just left… he was probably very angry for not telling him about Violet. I had never told him about it anyways.
When I arrived at the bedroom's door planning to study to the rest of the afternoon, I debated whether I should really go and talk to Hieronymus or give him some time.
It hadn't been even five minutes and I already felt the need to talk to Violet. I had become very dependent on her in the past week and for me that wasn't good.
I took a deep breath and released it. Before I could lift the necklace over my head, I let it fall back on my shoulders and hid it beneath my robes, feeling determined. At this rate, I was not going to be able to stand by myself. I needed to be strong and solve my own problems by myself.
So I turned around, and made my way to Hieronymus' chambers.
I still needed to thank him anyways.
Nervousness started weighing down on my stomach when I knocked the door and patiently waited for my husband to invite me. No one answered, so I knocked again. At first I thought he was really mad at me, so I almost left… in tears.
Curiosity invaded me; I put my ear against the door, but heard nothing. Probably he wasn't even there.
Logic told me the second place he could be in was in the library. When I entered there for the first time in the whole year I could feel the nostalgia of the place I had met Minnie in almost every Saturday in my freshman year. While I mostly studied Blue, sometimes Red and White magic throughout the week, I would come here and ask Minnie to help me with the other types I ignored.
I had also met Hieronymus here various times, for example the day of the Maple Ceremony. Being married, I wasn't allowed to go since it was an act of courtship or something like that, so I came here to pass the time and he came in to return some strange book.
And there he was now, returning some strange book. I slowly closed the door behind me, and Hieronymus calmly turned to look at me.
"Hieronymus…" I still stood by the door, feeling a little nervous.
"Chloe." He said my name firmly. We stared at each other for some seconds that seemed hours, and they were killing me. I just opened and closed my mouth, trying to find what to say.
"Thank you. You know, for the neck-"
"You are not." He countered, but this just left me puzzled. "It is keeping her away, isn't it?"
"…What are you even-?"
"Don't play dumb with me!" Yes, he knew. Since when? I had no idea, but I couldn't care less about that right now.
Was he angry?
Or was he… jealous? Why would he? That thought just crossed my mind… Probably because Violet never chose to appear to him, only to me, and even avoided him.
"I'm sorry for not telling you, I just thought… Hieronymus?" He took his hat off, revealing his dark wavy hair, and let it fall on the ground as if it were some piece of crumpled paper. Then, he slowly began getting closer… and closer… and closer…
I held my breath, feeling the hair in the back of my neck stand under his deep angry eyes.
My eyes were peeled open, my mouth agape. My back was against the door; there was no escape. My body just refused to move.
His hands took me by arms firmly without intentions of ever letting go. I could feel his breath brushing my flushed face.
"Breathe." He whispered…
His voice was like butter.
I released my breath just as he commanded, and just in time; I was beginning to feel dizzy. No, I was already dizzy due to our close proximity. One of his hands traveled to my cheek and caressed it tenderly.
Was I scared? Yes, yes I was.
Scared that this was all a dream.
The next thing I felt, were his lips on mine.
This kissing business was completely new for me. The first and only kiss I had ever received had been months ago, so now I had no idea of what or how to move, where to place my hands, or anything.
Almost automatically, my hands traveled to the back of his neck and started caressing his hair. His went to the small of my back, pushing me closer to him…
Everything he did, it sent tingles down my spine and made me feel very warm.
"H-Hieronymus…" The kiss broke, but I still felt very high up in the clouds.
Somehow I understood. I didn't know if it was some spell or anything, but I understood.
He wasn't jealous. I had been the jealous one all this time.
Author's Note:
Another chapter... Well, reviews are appreciated.
Also, another drawing: art/Chloe-Sad-419605364