chapte 8, History lesson,
The next day, it was a rather quiet in the Ghoul school, a thing that does not accrue to often Within it's wall,s but with the the events that had happened Yesterday day, the ghouls didn't really know what to make of it or what to expect as a result, all they knew was, that it was probably best for them not to step foot back into town after a while, thinking that eventually any issue they caused or the town may now have with them, will eventually blow over and return back to normal, well normal for what they could say, but for now,, they would follow missgrimwood's advice and keep low at the mansion , Wilbie though promised he'd come back to visit them when he could and hoped he'd be seeing the ghouls again real soon.
As it was nearing noon, it was just 11:30 and the ghouls were in the middle of one of their lessons , Missgrimwood was going on about the all sorts of different traditions and lifestyles of from all over the world, talking deeply about how the times in the 16th century were, , How ever, winnie was having a bit of trouble keeping focused, she was too busy looking board and would rather be chewing on one of her Claws, to which Elsa sibella noticed and lightly kicked her leg motioning for her to pay attention,,.while that was so, tanis was paying well attention as she was able to finally get some actual sleep, sense today, she was going to come clean about she and winnie sneaking a peek about that Dream Holder Spell Book, and while winnie was a bit less optimistic about it, she had to admit, she wanted to know what miss grimwood had to say about it, there were things that she didn't expect to find in there by such from a ghoul as Grimwood,,
" Now, as you can see, many Humans were accused of being witches, and were punished severely for being so,.but of course the act of witchcraft wasn't always a bad thing, my family for generations have used it well for good purposes, but those who done it for, much darker reason, but that bad name on it, for witches and humans who were accused of it," Miss grimwood stated, as Her magic Hand servant, which was a floating white glove, was writing her words down on the chalk board behind her,
" you see, there was this thing called the Salem witch trials in the 1600s,in which witches where hunted and executed , many believe by burning, but that is mostly false, for hanging was the proper method, it's a dark fact, but true and part of our history, "
" seems pretty bizarre that was done, I'm glad stuff like that isn't around anymore, " sibella spoke up ont he subject
" Indeed, but everyone's history, has some dark elements to it, from humans to ghouls, but witch craft was something that many kept secret for those reason for years," she said a she then made her way over to a drawer that was against a wall, she then pulled something out from the drawer, and made her way over to the front of the class.
" Now I imagine you know what this is ? " she said holding up something long thin and brown, and no doubt anyone could guess what it was,
" hey, that looks like a wand, " Elsa said,
" right you are my darling, " miss grimwood said nodding, " this here is a magic wand used by many witches, in this case. by Me." she said rubbing it a bit, " I have had this wand sense was a young witch no older then the most of you, which seems like many years ago, but it's what I was given too by my Mother as a gift, one I asked for, for many years, I wanted nothing more then to learn about magic and become a great user of it, as you may know I was a student here like you, before I ever came a headmisstress, " she sighed as though she was remembering some good times,
" but as you know, this wand was used for magic practice, it ha been through a lot, but it still holds a lot of magic in it, just watch," just after she said that, Miss grimwoox began swaying her wand around in the air, and at first nothing happened, but suddenly little sparks of magic began to fly out from around it,
the ghouls watched in awe as she continued to sway it,, soon many objects and such in the room, like books and scrolls, began to slowly levitate into the air,
the ghouls looked around, seeming to still be impressed.
" hey, looks like it does have a lot of magic, in it " phantasma said chuckling,
" oh yes, it sure does, as magic never truly dies, but it can be forgotten, you must always be able to bring it back, and keep it flowing, Like this, " Miss grimwood then began to demonstrate the use of her wand. as she then began to move it around in a almost dance like fashion, as, books and scrolls from all around the room began to do the same coming to life it seemed floating into the air and over the ghouls impressed faces,
However ,Matches was who laying there on the ground with the comic he had stolen from winnie was then suddenly magically whisked away from him, and levitated into the air as well,
matches looked shocked by this, but then growled as he attempted to snatch it back,
the ghouls all chuckled at his expense
" you seem my ghouls. Magic is all around us, and anyone, And I mean anyone can use or manipulate in some form, but heed this, no one owns it, so therefor, No one can actually control it, for I am simply influencing it," she said as she continued to make the object swerve around in an enchanted dance,
she then brought over the comic to winnie and magically dropped it on to her, and winked,
winnie grinned and grasped it, all while matched frowned and growled to himself,,
" well then, anyone want to give it a whirl, it's rather easy once you know what to do, all you must do is relax, feel the magic flowing around you,"
" how about you Tanis, you seem like you'd have a neck for this, after all, mummies, to have experiences with magic,,
" oh, I'd love to miss grimwood, " she said excitedly and quikly made her way to the front,
miss grimwood chuckled a bit, " well here's what you do, simply grasp the wand, and just sway it like so, and feel the magic channeling from you and into the wand, it acts as your projector." she said handing it over to Tanis,
the others watched with sweet smiles on their face as tanis manged to make all the objects continue to dance in the air,
moving with every direction she would influence it to,.
this went on for a good while, with each ghoul getting a short chances at being able to do so, when they all had the chance, miss grimwood, had them all take their seats again, and began to explain more of their lessons,
" well, as we learn more about magic, I hope you seen come to understand it, and see what an art it truly is, " she stated,while she placed her wand on her desk,
" that is an important lesson, and with it being so, you come closer to learning more about what makes this world we live in, alive, so are you readyto learn more about magic ? "
the ghouls all seemed more eager to know about magic, then they ever had before, and she could see it, their faces seemed to say it all,
" well then, before we move on to our next steps,...I think we should start with a bit of a History lesson, "
" History lesson, I thought we were going to learn more about magic, ?" winnie said crossing her arms
all the others themselves didn't say anything, but certainly looked a bit suprised of the change of course, specially when things were just getting really intresting, but missgrimwood chucked a bit,
" oh my ghouls, I think this is one you'll quite be interested in, as it will play important part in our following lessons, " she said, she then mentioned for her Hand to go and fetch something from out of the room, to which it gave a thumbs up and floated out,
the ghouls all exchanged slight unsure looks but simply waited, still seeming to be eager as to what she had to say,
within a minute, here magic hand came back holding something, and upon looking at it, the ghouls could clearly see what it was...the Dream holder Book.
this caused everyone to exchange looks again, how ever, winnie and tanis exchanged a slight look of concern.
" ah yes, as you know, this is the dream holder spell book, which we'll be using while I'll teach of magic," she said placing the book down in front of her on her desk,
" but before we use it any further, I think I should at least explain what this book is, as it's been through a lot, " she eyed up all of the ghouls as she then walked over to the chalk board while keeping her hands behind her back,..she waited a moment before speaking again, " well...I suppose I should say, this book had been in this school for years, long before I was even a headmistress, it was used to teach ghouls the same thing I teach you, this book, was kept a very big secret actually, and not shown to just any student, but those who really felt could be trusted with it's abilities , " she cleared her throat to continue.
" we learned that This book was crafted many century's before I was even born,, and was one in a set of eight spell books,., all which were similar to another, these books were to hold some of the most powerful spells any witch could use, , but not just witches of course, but anyone who held this book. cause like I said, no one owns magic," placing her hand on the book,, but this book contained all sorts of spells, both good and and bad,, sense it was created to contain almost any magical element,
"so as you can see, one was sent to this school, to aid in learning of magic, knowing any ghoul could use it's abilities, and that went fine for many years, this book had brought and taught much much knowledge, on how we influence it...and how it can influence us,." when she said that, she almost looked as though she had a slight look of sorrow in her eyes that lasted for a brief moment
this did catch the attention of some of the ghouls though,
" You see...Like how I was once a student at this school, there is another you know who was one as well, one you know through, unfortunate actions, " she sighed a little when she spoke those lines,
" You see, this book influences a lot who use it, to do many things, good or bad, and unfortunately in this case,...It was bad,." a shadow seemed to be cast around Miss grimwood when she started speaking, the others were not sure were she was going with this, but their attention was caught,
and wanting to know more,
" Revolta, the witch who tried to brainwash you all into becoming evil, was once a student at this school as well, around the same time I was one, "
there was a slight gasp from the students, but none spoke a word, but instead listened to their teacher.
" Revolta, was a student like any other, even you my ghouls, she wanted to learn about magic,
just like you and I, she studied it, she practiced it, and you could say, she perfected it, as you see, Revolta was a fast learner, Her magical skills were above any other in the school. and the teachers saw it, but the only problem was, she wanted to learn more then just...magic, " miss grimwood took a deep breath and before continuing,
" she wanted to learn more about dark magic, " she stared down at the Dream Holder Book,
" And that was forbidden for any student to learn, as dark magic, was a source of power that no Good soul being would ever need to use, but revolta, she was ever so intrigued by it, and she turned to wanting to learn from the dream holder Book, as no teacher would teach her on that, and as it was the only spell book that had anything of that sorts in it, in this school," Miss grimwood then ribbed her head a bit,
" it was then...I noticed a change in revolta, she soon stopped. Talking to anyone in the school, starting skipping classes, and shut herself away, always trying to use the book when should could, she became almost obsessed with it , so much that the teachers, felt there was trouble with her, and after a few mishaps, she was no longer permitted to learn magic, and the book was kept away from her at all times, "
" so...what happened ? " sibealla finally asked looking invested by this story,
Miss grimwood turned to look at her but then closed her eyes, " She tried to take the book by force, in the middle of the night, she stole the book, and tried to use it to destroy the school and all those in it. you see at this point she was convinced it was rightfully hers, and that only she should be able to use it, "
all the ghouls were now on the edge of their seats, wondering what could have happened,
" she was ruthless with is, she was going to destroy us all, but even she didn't know how much power this book had, and she ended up summoning powerful forces she could not control, as for someone like revolta, even she didn't know we don't control magic. but it was too late, the book soon unleashed a full force of power onto the mansion and if nothing would be done, we'd all be doomed, "
miss grimwood then picked up her wand, " it took a lot of effort, but we managed to stop the book from doing any real damage that would destroy the school or harm anyone , and possibly spreading out and doing anything else,
in the end recolta was then banned from ever returning from Grimwood property, so she fled into the night, not to be seen for years, " Miss grimwood said rubbing her wand,
" that's so awful, that someone would do something like that with that book." Tanis said
" well it was revolta. she's nothing but an evil witch, " winnie added.
" true, revolta isn't a good ghoul, but I saw something in her that night, something that, a look in her eyes, like she knew she didn't have control...and seemed to be almost downhearted by it. like she was in a loss,. No one can say why revolta did what she did, as before she just seemed like a ghoul with a few strange interests, perhaps a bit of a trouble maker, but going evil in one night, no one saw it coming, " miss grimwooed then picked up the book
" the whole experience though , made it so that magic was put off the teaching program here for a while, they didn't want to risk anything like that happening again , so for extra protection, a spell was placed on the book, to keep its magic from being used outside the school, "
" so...if magic was dropped from the school program, why are you teaching us about it ? " sibella aked,
" well, sense the incident, I was one of the last to ever learn magic here, but after revolta came back and tried to take you girls, and you defeated her, we haven't heard from her in many months, and I almost was going to put off the Magic lessons again, but, I figured now would be a good time after all these years to finally get magic back into the program, magic isn't somehthing that shouldn't be contained or held back, it needs to be freely explored and embraced, and which is why I now take it upon myself to allow it to be brought back, meaning you girls are the first in years to learn magic at this school once again, "
all the ghouls though, didn't seem to know what to think, or feel, it was an incredible story in which they sure had a lot more to it,
Miss grimwood then sat down on at her desk and put on a slight...mischievous looking grin on her face...this caught on the ghouls by surprise a little,
" so...now that I explained a bit of history behind this book, and why you haven't seen it before, I hope that answered any questions you may have had, "
everyone just looked at another a bit confused,
" you know,..I'm sure some of you had been wanting to know a lot about this book, so I figured I'd explain this story, and...well I was wondering. If any of you just happened to..do a little research on it before hand. " she said suddenly eyeing up the ghouls, who only seemed to have confused expressions,
all except winnie and tanis, who seemed to look nervous.
" you know, it's funny, it seems like one of you may have decided to...do some looking around, and just happened to stumble upon this book, and lets say...give it a looking at ? "
tanis then felt a cold chill run through her body when miss grwimwood spoke those words. did she know what she and winnie had done ? was she now trying to get them to confess ? should she now, cause from some reason, that was seeming harder to do now,
" you know, I know you are all such good ghouls...and wouldn't do anything bad, when ever you girls do though, you always come clean, just like you did yesterday about the whole prank you did on those sisters girls you mention in the park, so I'd imagine if any you are hiding something, you'd tell me,
while everyone still seemed to be confused, tanis was looking down at her feet, she didn't know what to do, she now fore some reason felt..nervous, and didn't want to come out, she could only imagine what winnie was thinking, wondering if she'd break and expose them both, despite saying she could,
" well then ? " miss grimwood said,
" Alright it was Me ! "
they all heard Someone yell, they all looked over to see winnie gripping at her desk with her claws, everyone seemed a bit surprised, by this,
" It was me, alright, I sneaked into the library the other day, to take a look at the book, and when I did I saw all the creepy spells, which surprised me, I didn't plan to do anything though, I just wanted a look, but please no need to torture me this way, just call me out,, " winnie finally said breaking down,
everyone looked even more shocked by this, especially tanis, Miss grimwood however, looked a little surprised, but soon started chuckling, in an almost amused tone,
winnie then perked her ears up, " w-what so funny ? " she asked,
miss grimwood placed her hand on her mouth giggling still, " oh, winnie, I knew someone had sneaked into the chamber to take a look, I just didn't know who, which is why I thought it's be best to finally tell this story "
winnie's ears then drooped again, " oooh, " she said sheepishly and rubbing her arm,
" wait a minute, you snuck into the library to take a look. why am I not surprised " sibella said folding her arms,
" well..it wasn't just her," tanis said , looking a little sheepish now
" wait..you too " sibella said in a bit more shock.
" woah ! little tanny doing the sneaking ! " phanty said in a gasp like tone
" Well..I didn't want to originally look, I just kept watch for Winnie, which is why you really say me standing there that night miss grimwood, but after that, the guilt was getting to me, I was planning to come clean today, winnie even was even okay with it, "
Miss grimwood sat their and rubbed her chin a bit, the smiled lightly, " oh my ghouls. I am happy to have such interested ghouls in my school, but, really, if you ever have questions about something, or just want to know more about a certain thing, all you have to do is ask, you don't need to go around in secret behind my back, I'm your teacher and care taker, I would be willing to answer anything you have to ask, I hope you all understand that, " she said crossing her arms, but gave a soft and kind hearted smile,
winnie closed her eyes and nodded, " yes miss grimwood, " she then turned to tanis, " and I'm sorry tanis, I didn't mean for things to get out of hand for you, "
" it's okay winnie, I know you didn't mean it," she said nodding and smiling,
" well lets just hope no more secrets then, I think we can all learn about magic in peace now,"
Miss grimwood said,
" so...your not going to punish us " tanis asked.
Miss grimwood closed her eyes " well, No harm was done, and you did come clean, but I want their to be no more of this, nothing of the sorts, alright ? " she said a little sternly but not harshly
winnie and tanis nodded a bit sheepishly, while the others just nodded in agreement.
" That's good my ghouls, I'm glad we all agree, now then, it's almost time for launch, lets say we all get to that then, I think we all would like let our minds ease a little with that, from all that has happened this far, "
" you bet, I can finally eat in peace tanis said," with a light chuckle.
Miss grimwood just chuckled back..as her students were all getting ready to head out of the room for lunch,
but then winnie stopped for a moment, " say...how did you know someone was in the library anyway ? "
mis grimwood put on an amused smirk, " well...when I went to check on the book, I noticed it was placed upside down...and well...I would know If I did that or not, so I figured...someone was snooping around in there," she gave a small wink. to which winnie looked a little embarrassed, " Oh...right...well then I'm going to go grab a bite, " she said walking off, still with a slight embarrassed look.
Miss grimwood just chuckled a bit, he know her ghouls could get into trouble at times. but now she didn't think she'd have to worry about anything serous, after all, it seems like the bad things involving that book, have long passed from when she was learning from it...
to be continued...