Chapter 21:
Stupid
They landed in a strange boreal forest. With thousands of leaves of the ground that crunched when you walked on them.
"Its here somewhere." Mabel said feeling the ground.
"Are you sure this is the right spot?" Dipper asked.
"I'm absolutley sure" Mabel got up and started stomping the ground in different areas. Finally she felt a hollow spot. She started scraping leaves off of an old wooden hatch. Her friends and Dipper gathered around it as she ripped it open.
There was a ladder leading down to what looks like an old basment. "Who's going first?" Agatha asked. The four looked at each other before Griffin raised his hand.
"I will." He started down the rickety ladder. It broke once he set his foot on it and he along with it, fell to the ground. Griffin landed on his back sounding out a loud cry of pain. One of the sticks hit him just on the worst spot possible. His father frequently whipped him in the middle section of the back.
"Griffin!" Mabel called out and jumped down without hesitation. She landed next to him, falling that far hurt but she didn't care at the moment. "Are you okay?"
He sucked in air through his teeth and whispered, "My... back,"
Mabel helped him to lie on his stomach. Dipper and Agatha were watching from above. Mabel pulled his shirt back up to his neck. Old faded scars were revealed. And a horrendous bruise covering most of them in the middle, recently gained.
She put her hand over the bruise, Griffin sucked in air through his teeth again. "Episkey," said Mabel. Griffin's back felt very hot, then very cold. She removed her hand once the bruise had faded away. The scars remained as they were.
While Mabel was using a healing spell Dipper whispered to Agatha, "Where'd he get those from?"
She quietly answered, "I- don't know."
As soon as he was healed, Griffin quickly pulled his shirt down covering the rest of his back. Mabel helped him up, she made put a finger over her lips, telling Dipper and Agatha not to question why he had the slashes all over his back. They nodded.
Agatha jumped down first as soon as Griffin and Mabel moved out of the way, followed by Dipper.
The old room was dark, dusty, and damp. Aside from the sunlight peaking in through the hatch you couldn't see anything.
"Lumos." Mabel said and a golf ball sized sphere of light emerged from the horn on her ring. She flipped her hand over so it would levitate in her palm. "Its here somewhere."
Griffin and Agatha did the same, creating their own spheres and setting off in different directions. Dipper, not able to do this awkwardly called after Mabel, "I guess I'll go with you." A few seconds of silence passed. "So what are we looking for exactly?"
"No idea." Mabel quickly answered. She noticed Dipper wasn't satisfied with her answer. "Well, I'll know it when I see it." The room was stuffed with old wine crates and boxes of mummified potatoes.
"I found something!" Agatha exclaimed, peaking behind a series of boxes. The kids started moving the crates out of the way.
There lay a poorly made doll, on the head there were no facial features and what hair was there was made of yarn. It had a dress made of rags and no arms or legs. Laid on the ground it looked like a birdy for badmitten.
"Thats it." Mabel whispered.
Griffin leaned over the boxes and picked it up. "Are you sure? I mean... I would've thought it'd be... not this."
"It must have had high sentimental value." Agatha implied.
"Well here ya go." Griffin lightly tossed the rag doll to Mabel.
She caught the rag doll.
Mabel was suddenly walking with a lady with long black hair down an old timey street. She was holding hands with the woman, being a few inches shorter than her. In her other hand she held the rag doll, but the colors were brighter. Mabel couldn't control her legs. Or where she looked. Something felt unfamiliar about her mouth. Her braces were gone. They were approaching an alley. Suddenly a large man popped out with a poorly made jagged dagger. He grabbed the Woman and Mabel by the arms and pulled them into the alley pushing them up against the wall.
"Give me all ye have!" He yelled.
The woman emptied her pockets and dropped the basket she was carrying. "Thats all I have."
"Hmm... what about her?" The man pointed the dagger towards Mabel. She noticed that he had one dead eye and a stubby beard.
"No! No! I won't let you!" The woman started to fight against the man by attempting to grab his knife. He was quicker and stabbed the woman in the stomach. She inhaled a deep final breath before falling to the ground.
"Mommy!" Mabel screamed.
The man dropped the dagger and lunged for Mabel. She let out a loud shriek she clenched herself tight, shutting her eyes and clenching the doll tight. A wave of green light went off around her in all directions. The man stopped in his tracks, stumbling to the floor, landing in her mother's pool of blood. Tears poured down her cheeks, she started sprinting down the street. Holding the doll tightly. Black hair was blowing all over her face. Where was she going? She ran for miles out of the city and into a forest, where she came upon a small wooden shack. She threw the door open. Pots and pans, a small furnace, bottles of cider. A wooden table with three chairs. She opened a hatch and started down a sturdy wooden ladder. The room she arrived in had crates of wine and boxes of fresh potatoes. She climbed behind a series of crates. Continuing to sob.
Hours later she heard someone come in. She made no attempt to be quiet. "Mum? Morgan? You home yet?" A boy's voice said. He noticed the open hatch to the basement and began to climb down the ladder. The boy heard faint sobbing from behind a crate. "Morgan, is that you?" He said, coming closer.
She continued to sob, sitting in the dirt. Her black hair was like curtains protecting her.
The boy looked finally moved the crate out of the way and saw his sister, Morgan, sobbing with her head in her knees. "Morgan- why are you crying? Wheres Mum?" He asked.
"She's dead." She replied bluntly.
"How? What?" He question, confused.
Mabel looked up at him. He had black hair, falling to both sides of his face. Like Professor Snape's. She could barely make out what he was wearing, tights and a long baggy shirt? "We were walking... a-and the man popped out and took us." She sniffled, "He h-had a dagger, Merlin."
He didn't know what to think. He noticed the red stains on the bottom of her shoes and sat down next to her, hugging her.
When they finally left the cellar, Mabel left her doll.
Mabel dropped the doll, taking a deep breath in. She fell down and crawled away from it. Agatha, Dipper, and Griffin stared at her,
"Mabel what is it? Whats wrong?" Agatha asked, coming closer. Dipper picked up the doll, staring at it.
Tears rolled down her cheeks. "She-she's dead!" Mabel yelled out.
"Calm down, who's dead?" Griffin asked.
Mabel breathed heavily, processing what was going on. She squeezed her head. Her eyes were drawn to the doll in Dipper's hands. "We have to get rid of it."
Mabel was out voted when Dipper, Agatha, and Griffin voted to set up their campsite nearby and bring the horcrux to Dumbledore in the morning instead of doing it immiediately.
They had a x-large tent for all of them to share, and four sleeping bags, with built-in pillows, along with snacks and a radio. Ninja was sleeping on Mabel's sleeping bag in the form of a cat.
The four were sitting in a circle, each on their own sleeping bag, listening to Mabel's experience with the doll.
"So, I think I was like in Morgana's body or something, when she created the horcrux. I don't know. I felt everything she felt I guess." Mabel stroked Ninja while he was sleeping, trying to comfort herself.
In the background, the casualtie list was playing on the radio. Agatha turned it off. "Well, we found a horcrux right?!" she said, attempting to put a postitive vibe in the room. "We should get to bed. We got a long day tomorrow." She shut off the lantern hanging atop the tent. "Night guys."
They each shared their good nights.
An hour later, Mabel still couldn't sleep. She decided to wake Dipper up, who was sleeping next to her. "Dipper, you awake?" She whispered.
"Yeah, I can't sleep. This sleeping bag has zero back support."
"You don't think we'll turn out like Merlin and Morgana do you?" She asked, unsure.
"W-What do mean?" He asked.
Mabel put her head back on her pillow and stared at the ceiling, "I mean, they used to be best friends but then they got all stupid." She turned around to face Dipper, "Can you promise me you won't get stupid?"
He chuckled before he answered, "Not stupider than you, dumb dumb."
She laughed too, "Goodnight, stupid."
"Goodnight, stupid."
Mabel turned to face the ceiling again. Keeping her eyes open. Still not able to sleep.