Welcome!
It is past 3am here and I need to be up at 6am :')
Anyways, I couldn't wait to update! So, thanks to all of you who favorited and alerted the story! I will be waiting for you in the review section :D
The people that I love right now are RandomWeirdGirl, jayeshdms and MagnusIsKewl!
So, I give you,
Chapter 13: Silver
The road was dark, the only thing to be seen the small strip of road in front of the vehicle, lit up by the bright lights of the machine. The forest around the highway was pitch-black, the moon in the covered entirely by a cloud. If you stood still and listened, you could hear everything around you. The small breeze rustling the trees gently. The occasional owl hooting in the distance. The rare deer or doe running in fright. The eerie call of a coyote. Tomoe, the red and black Kawasaki Ninja was running down the highway, as if she were, too, a creature of the dark. Her rider was bent low, his helmet closed, as the bike rushed almost at full speed.
He didn't care much for the nightlife. He knew, that if it came down to it, he would be able to fend off anything in that forest. After all, he had something stronger than claws on his side. He had magic. To possess it in the sense that he did, as a Traditional Crafter, was a fairly rare thing nowadays. He had, luckily, been gifted with the power of his ancestors. It was a mysterious force, an energy that flowed through a person's blood and body. It had a mind of its own. And like any great power, it had a great cost. And if there was one person who knew the cost of magic, it was Daniel King.
The bike slowed down, turning away from the main road and into the woods. The warlock didn't follow a path, nor a trail, but he drove among the trees where he could. He knew the path to his destination by heart, after all, as he had been there numerous times. Soon enough, an old, ruined house came into view. The bike slowed down and then completely stopped in front of it, the young man jumping off. He left his helmet on the seat, knowing that it would only take him a couple of minutes to finish his job.
He climbed onto the ruined patio of the wooden home and walked in. The roof had caved in years ago, the only things still standing the four walls of the small house. It had been a hunter's lodge, used a long time ago, when Beacon Hills still had a good hunting community. Nowadays, it was nobody's property, just an abandoned ruin. But, what an unsuspecting hiker wouldn't know was, that the broken lodge also represented one of the five border tokens.
Dan bent down in the center of the house, where the fireplace used to be and waved his hand above it, chanting under his breath. Pale, almost white, smoke rose from the ashes, swirling in different, beautiful patterns in the air. The warlock frowned, but reached into his pocket, regardless. From there, he brought out a small bundle of herbs, which Eve had given him, and smelled it. Still fresh and full of bay leaves. Their earthy smell was dominant, but he could still detect a couple more distinct scents. Eve really wasn't messing around this time.
"Flamma." He whispered, his breath fogging. The ashes suddenly blazed aflame, burning nothing. There was no wood, no leaves, simply, the flame which was dancing above the ashes, as if it were burning in an invisible hearth. The warlock tossed the bundle of herbs, not really caring that the soft, felt baggie was burning along with its insides. After all, it was a great material for protection spells. Felt was only going to make the barrier stronger. "Sarci." Was the next word that the warlock said, blowing on the flames softly.
The fire vanished, leaving a scented smoke to rise from the ashes. It swirled aimlessly in the lack of wind, before stopping at a certain point. It crawled up, as if there was an invisible wall there, trapping it. The warlock gave a small smirk, before bending forward and inhaling some of the scent, his smile widening. The barrier was up. His spell had worked perfectly. He got up and left the ruined home, climbing on his bike and driving away. The house remained in the middle of the forest, a little ways off the main road, as if no one had disturbed it in ages.
Simone didn't really have a plan for her weekend. She had managed to finish the small amount of homework which her English teacher had given them in the morning, and then she had wasted the hours away by playing with her cat. Eve was gone, mysteriously, probably staking out the Sheriff's office, and Dan was still asleep, this time in his room. Luckily for the witch, the Meyers family had gone on a small trip, so she was pretty much on her own. That had given her a chance to sneak the book about werewolves, which was still making her feel paranoid, back into its place in the library.
"Excuse me?" A stern, accented voice sounded from the hallway and Simone jumped a tad and then got up, leaving Minuit on the couch. The Asian woman that had been at the Inn for at least a week was standing in the doorway to the kitchenette. She was dressed casually, in all black, with a large black bag on her back. "I'm sorry for interrupting you, but I would like to check-out?" It was posed as a question, but it sure didn't sound like it.
Simone gave a nod, though, heading towards the entrance. "This way, please." She said politely. From there, she continued forward, past the door and the staircase, into the former dining room. Now, it was reformed as a reception, along with a desk and a seating area. The teen walked behind the desk, turning the ancient computer on and opening the ledger on the proper date. "Your name, please." The witch easily recited the words that she had practiced with Dan a thousand times, as he pretended to be the weirdest or rudest guest ever.
"Kimura Keiko." The woman's accented the words in a strange way, speaking fast.
"Like Kenshin?" Simone couldn't stop the words coming out of her mouth. The woman finally smiled, throwing her head back and laughing merrily. The young witch blushed, looking at the ledger.
"The kanji in my name is 'Ki', which means 'tree'. Kenshin-san's last name is Himura, which has the kanji 'Hi', meaning 'scarlet'." The woman seemed genuinely unoffended and quite amused. "Don't worry, it's not the first time that I've been asked to explain my name. It is the first time that I've been compared to Himura Kenshin, though."
"A-alright." Simone quickly typed the name and then looked at the other information needed. Date and time. She looked at her phone and filled it out. Payment. "Will you be paying by cash or credit?" The girl asked, looking up. She suddenly realized that the Asian woman wasn't wearing a shred of makeup and still looked like a supermodel. For a second, Simone wondered if everyone in Beacon Hills looked like they had just jumped out of a magazine.
"Here you go." The woman handed over a silver credit card. Simone accepted it with a nod and swiped it through the machine, waiting. The machine beeped and the girl smiled. The payment had gone through for the right amount. The ancient computer froze, the cursor turning into a little hourglass icon. She couldn't suppress an unprofessional sigh and bent down to hit the old machine, hoping that it would begin working after that. She had quickly realized why Dan considered the villa to only have two computers, calling this one a dinosaur. It was full of useless files and took longer than a school computer to boot up.
When the young witch rose, the hourglass sign had vanished, a number written in the payment area. Simone felt her eyes widen in shock, her eyebrows rising. That number had three zeros. The witch knew that the Lighthouse Inn was a pretty luxurious place to stay at, especially if you were also taking meals with the accommodation, but this was a ridiculous price. She wondered if the computer had, maybe, frozen at the wrong time and taken more money than it should've.
"E-excuse me, could you tell me how many nights have you stayed at the Inn, Miss. Kimura?" Simone shakily asked. The door opened, Eve's distinct heels clicking on the wooden floor. The Asian woman didn't have a chance to answer.
"Simone!" The blonde witch entered the reception, smiling wide. "Why don't I finish up here and you can go arrange these in the fridge?" And the woman handed her grocery bags, still grinning. "There are more in the car, honey."
Honey. That was the signal word. Usually, Eve didn't use terms of endearment. Sure, she occasionally cooed at Dan that he was stupid or an idiot, but not with Simone. However, whenever she wanted the teen to leave the room, she would use that word. Honey. It was a sickly sweet term that made Simone's magic crawl up and into her skin protectively, ready to defend its owner. The young witch hated it when she got signaled like that to leave. And Simone hated a small number of things. She simply didn't want to be treated like a child anymore.
"It was nice meeting you, Miss. Kimura." The teenager circled around the counter, taking the bags and leaving for the kitchen. She did catch the small nod that the Asian woman gave her, though. The witch couldn't help herself. She quickly stored the food into the fridge and the cupboards, before rushing out to the car. She paused in the hallway, pretending to take too long to tie her Dr. Marten's shoelace, attempting to hear the conversation.
However, she lucked out. It was in a different language. By ear, she would guess Japanese. After all, Simone had seen an average amount of anime in her life. Seriously, if you haven't seen at least one episode of Naruto or Bleach on the TV, you hadn't spent the same amount of time in the front of a telly as an average teen.
After the third trip to the maroon KIA, Simone had managed to get all of the plastic bags into the kitchen and properly placed the food. The voices from the reception desk moved to the hallway, still speaking in a foreign language. The young witch poured water into the electric kettle and readied one of the porcelain teacups for herself. She liked the cups here. They weren't the usual, Walmart mugs, like back home, but old, hand-painted cups from Europe. From Russia, as Dan had told her.
"Hey." Eve appeared in the doorway, smiling softly. "Do you have anything planned for today?" Then she noticed the kettle which was steaming. "Other than drinking tea, of course." Simone silently shook her head no, taking a tin can from the cupboard and opening it. "Then, why don't you make that cup to go and we can start stocking the shop?" The blonde witch bounded away, grinning. "Chop! Chop! Time is money, Simone Jones!" The last word made the teen remember the obscene amount of money which had been taken from Miss Kimura's credit card and she wondered just how much staying at the Lighthouse Inn cost.
Regardless of her questions, the witch poured the hot water into a travel mug, placing the teacup back in its glass windowed cupboard. She took a tea infuser, the one that looked like a blue dinosaur, and put her choice of dried leaves in it. Then, her drink was ready. Simone had just grabbed her bag when Eve came back downstairs, her makeup a little darker than before.
"Shall we?" The older witch asked with a bright smile.
"That's verbena officinalis." Eve said, pointing at the dried flowers that Simone was holding. She turned the book to the proper page, sliding it over to her young apprentice. "Be careful to separate it from the verbena hastate, because we have both."
Simone nodded silently, carefully writing the name of the plant in Latin, then in English and then tying it around the small bouquet of dried flowers. She also made labels for the different parts of the plant, which had been harvested and dried at the appropriate times and in the appropriate time. Being a herbalist was the essence of the Craft and precision was one of the most important things about it. If a plant was harvested at the wrong time, it weakened its magical properties, making the witch using it strain herself to make her spell work. Often, it also made the enchantment itself weaker.
A knock came from the door of the shop, making both Eve and Simone look up. There was a tall, light-haired man at the door, his face rather stern and half hidden by sunglasses. He took them off and the young witch noticed his eyes. They were so cold. So pale and so cold.
She had heard the compliment of her own eyes being 'like ice' quite often, from both her parents and their friends. Yet, she had never seen this sort of coldness in her reflection. No, her eyes were blue. Like the sky, she liked to think. Because, Simone loved the color of the sky. And not only that. She loved the freedom. The sheer space. Somehow, she connected to that phrase which she had heard, that the skies were huge. The teen witch had noticed it first when she had visited her grandmother, in the little mountain village. How the skies seemed to be enormous as soon as one left the city. She liked to think that her eyes were that color. Like the sky.
Eve scrambled off the ladder, from which she had been arranging numerous bottles onto shelves and headed towards the door. The cold-eyed man gave her a small smile as the woman let him in.
"I know that I mentioned my little shop, but I did say that it wasn't open for business yet." The blonde giggled, tossing her hair over her shoulder. Surprisingly, the motion looked natural.
"I was actually in the neighborhood." The man's voice was deep, rumbling. What a cliché, Simone thought. But, even though he was smiling, his eyes were still cold. Simone realized that she was gripping the glass bottle full of verbena flowers for her dear life. "There is a very good pizza place down the road, and my daughter wanted to get some on the way home." As if on cue, the door opened, a pretty, ebony haired girl walking in with a large pizza cardboard box in her arms.
"Dad, I put half pepperoni and half- oh! I'm sorry for interrupting." She stopped talking, noticing that her father was engaged in conversation. Simone recognized the girl. After all, it was tough not to, as she had been subjected to both Harley's and Rory's 'meet the Beacon High' narration. It was the new girl who had been introduced into Lydia Martin's clique, which Harley thought was quite outrageous. But, that wasn't the only reason why the young witch recognized her. She had also seen Stiles talking to the pretty teen on Friday night. And that evening was pretty much seared into the girl's memory.
"Nonsense, we were just chatting." Eve smiled, waving Simone over. "I'm Eve and this is my Goddaughter, Simone. She's also new at Beacon High this year." The teenage witch managed to release the glass bottle shakily, before nearing the small group. Surprisingly, cold eyes didn't run in this family. The pretty girl seemed genuinely kind and a tad sheepish about her interruption.
"I'm Allison Argent." The ebony haired teen said, shaking Eve's hand over the pizza awkwardly. "It seems that you already know my dad, though." Eve laughed.
"It's a funny story, really." She began telling, unaware of the way Mr. Argent and Simone had locked eyes over the pizza. "I was taking my evening run in the woods last night and your dad almost shot me with a crossbow!" Simone noticed the way Mr. Argent's eyes didn't even react to the words.
"Oh my God!" Allison exclaimed, seemingly between shock and mortification.
"It's no worries, though, he realized that I wasn't game pretty quickly." Eve laughed the situation off. "And after we got talking, we realized just how many things in common we had. Including you two!" The woman's arm came around Simone, hugging the girl to her side. The witch managed a smile at that, but it got frozen on her face after Mr. Argent spoke.
"Indeed." He, too, placed a hand on Allison's shoulder. "Shall we? Before the pepperoni cools down. You know that your mother hates re-heating the pizza." After the teen nodded, the cold-eyed man turned to Eve once more. "It was nice seeing you again, Miss Eve."
The blonde witch held the door for the two unexpected guests, smiling, as always. "You as well, Chris! Be sure to come to the Inn sometime, I have quite a few trekking maps for the preserve, which might be useful for your hunting hobby." Then, she turned to Allison. "And you should visit sometime, as well, dear. I'm sure that Simone would be glad to have you over." The two teens shared an awkward glance and nod.
"Delighted." The witch managed, twirling a piece of her hair nervously.
"See you at school." Allison told her, leaving after her father. Eve locked the door once more, turning to her Goddaughter. The smell of the shop, previously full of different earthy scents, was now mixed with a delicious, distinctive smell of pizza. Simone's stomach grumbled softly.
"Lovely man." Eve noted, walking over to the counter. Then, she lightly tapped her forehead just under her boho headpiece with her finger, as if she had forgotten something. "I didn't tell him that I ordered his wolfsbane!" The blonde shrugged, going to her abandoned work and picking up a couple of bottles full of colorful liquids. "I guess I can just bring it to him when it gets here."
"What does he need wolfsbane for?" Simone frowned. She still didn't like the man's cold eyes. "It's poisonous."
"Exactly." Eve spoke, her voice muffled from her stretched out position on the ladder. "He needs it for hunting." The witch turned slightly. "Hand me those bottles, won't you? By the way, I really feel like going for a slice of pizza now."
Surprisingly, the beginning of the next week wasn't quite as uneventful as Simone would've liked it to be. On Monday, she attended the lacrosse practice, by the insistence of Harley, and had to sit through an hour of awkwardness, as Allison was positioned but a few feet from her. Sure, they had waved to each other, but pretty soon, Lydia had taken the ebony girl's attention, and if there was one thing that Simone had learned was, that Lydia Martin did not take well to being ignored or disobeyed.
However, it hadn't been the awkward meeting that had made Simone's Monday memorable. In fact, it had been the good boy, Scott, who had caught everyone's attention by dislodging the Captain's shoulder. Of course, Harley had spent the rest of the day convincing her two group partners that Scott McCall was in fact not an aggressive guy. She had even told them that he had been too scared to jump off a diving board into the pool when they were younger. No need to say, the black girl had no idea how her adorable, scaredy-cat childhood friend had turned into a lacrosse machine.
In Chemistry, their group assignment about the effects of global warming on the animals' habitats, which focused on the chemical aspects of the global problem, had gotten them an A-. That fact had set off an angry tirade from the star of the school, Lydia Martin. If Simone was being honest, she had come to fear the redhead more than she had ever feared Rory. Lydia was simply a person that made you realize just how puny, ugly and useless you were. And the most terrifying aspect of her was that she knew that perfectly well and flaunted it every chance she got.
On the upside, other than talking to Harley and Rory, Simone had spoken to a couple more people at school, which she considered a magical thing that didn't involve spells at all. There was a tall boy, in her Chemistry class, who had asked her for a pen when he had forgotten his. Simone didn't know his name, but she considered him an acquaintance. Allison had waved at the witch before their French period and they had awkwardly spoken a couple of words about the pizzeria next to Eve's shop.
Other than that, Simone had met Emma, the only thing that Rory and Harley actually agreed on, and she didn't like the girl very much. Emma spent most of her time glued permanently to her boyfriend, in more detail, to his mouth. Simone had never seen anyone stick their tongue so far down someone else's throat before and she wasn't sure that she really wanted another look. In fact, she would prefer to never see that again, much less try and do it herself.
Thankfully, Rory had rescued her on Tuesday from another lacrosse practice game. It had taken at least fifteen minutes of convincing Harley how they wanted to be surprised by the awesomeness of their team during the game on Saturday, rather than the fact that they simply did not want to watch the boys duke it out on the field.
"Seriously, I don't get why she loves watching that stuff?" Rory complained as the two waited in the parking lot. The skater girl usually went to school on her board and she had asked her mother to pick them up. "It's a testosterone filled battlefield where they are trying to measure the size of their sticks, like that proves anything." Rory snorted.
"I think it's an interesting sport." Simone mumbled. "But I prefer football, after all. I don't understand the rules for lacrosse."
"Are you stupid or something?" Rory gave her a look that clearly said 'you're stupid'. "It's ridiculously easy." A black SUV pulled into the parking lot, stopping in front of the two girls. Rory didn't even blink before she opened the door and hopped into the passenger seat. Simone reluctantly followed, slipping into the back.
"Hello Aurora." Mrs. Griffith greeted with a smile. She was a pale woman with light brown hair that was pulled into a loose bun. Her eyes were dark and her face had a touch of light, day makeup on it. She immediately turned back to Simone, greeting her as well. "You must be Simone! Aurora has told us so much about you." The skater girl visibly face-palmed in the front, wishing that the earth would open and swallow her. "Welcome to Beacon Hills. How do you like it so far?"
"It's really nice here, Mrs. Griffith." The witch politely replied. "I like the school and the people. Also, I really love that there are no large buildings everywhere. The preserve is amazing, as well."
But, before Mrs. Griffith could ask another question, Rory piped up, growling. "For fuck's sake, Lillian, just drive!"
"Aurora!" The middle-aged woman exclaimed angrily. "Don't you dare use that language with me again!" And the SUV left the car park, the Beacon High getting smaller and smaller in the distance, the constant bickering of the mother and daughter the only sound in the car.
Surprisingly, spending time alone with Rory wasn't that bad. Simone had expected it to be awkward and filled with the girl's extreme opinions and cuss words, but it had been a tad different. The skater girl liked the same music as the witch and they had spent the first couple of hours listening to different tracks, watching YouTube videos and making fun of the various silly outfits and trends.
It had been Mrs. Griffith that had interrupted their ridiculous karaoke session to Nicki Minaj's 'Super Bass', which they were attempting to guess all the lyrics to.
"I thought you girls had more style than that?" The woman commented, raising her eyebrow at the rapper on the screen. Rory turned the song down, a grin still present on her face. Simone was attempting to calm down her giggling, which really wasn't working.
"We usually do, Lillian." Commented the skater. "But it was either Nicki or Eminem." And the two girls descended into another bout of laughter.
"Anyways," Mrs. Griffith spoke. "I think that it's time you called your parents to pick you up, Simone. It's almost curfew."
"What?" Rory stupidly asked. "It's only nine twenty." She read off her clock.
"Didn't your teachers tell you?" Mrs. Griffith asked. "The police department has issued a new curfew. Everyone under eighteen has to be home before nine thirty."
"Wasn't listening." Rory shrugged.
"And what about you, young lady?" Mrs. Griffith asked the young witch next.
"Must've been in the bathroom?" Simone offered weakly.
That's all for now!
Some info:
- Bay leaves are used in Wicca for protection and to avoid being jinxed or hexed
- Felt is a fabric that holds magical properties as well. It is used for protection, good luck, wealth (white felt), sacrifice, strength
- The spells which Dan uses are the following: Flamma (to set on fire, to burn) and Sarci (to repair, to mend) and they are in Latin (imperative form)
-Wolfsbane is a poisonous plant, but it can also be used as a healing herb (not recommended, it is dangerous)
Onto the reviews!
Jayeshdms: Thank you! That's why the whole 'meeting the gang' was a bit on the slow side xD
The stone? Thank you! It's going to play a role later :D
Oh man, One Piece? I love that stuff! I've both read and watched it multiple times :D
I hope you enjoyed!
RandomWeirdGirl: Alpha? Now now now… who has mentioned the alpha here? xD he heheheheee I love writing those tension, thriller scenes xD they make me soooo happy! I can't wait for Simone to properly learn to use her magic, she is so boring now xD
Yeah, Stiles wouldn't be Stiles if he wasn't in love with Lydia :D Besides, he doesn't even know how big of a catch Simone is. He thinks that she's just a weird, shy new girl. Then again, a girl nonetheless, ergo, his interest in her :D It's going to take some time for them to really get together, though. Now, it's just the Malia deal which I have no idea what to do…
Eve… Oh man, I love her as well… Then again, I disagree with her ways sometimes… But, she's just trying her best… Somehow, I pity her because of the stuff that I have in plan for her…
Oh, Simone is in for a tough one… Scott kinda makes you want to constantly help him… And Stiles doesn't care if you want to or not, he just asks for information… It's going to be a ride when they find out about her origin :P
Ahhh, I took a small break from Stiles in this chapter :D He will appear in the next one, though :)
Love!
MagnusIsKewl: Thank you for reviewing! I'm so happy that you're enjoying the story :D
I have noticed a couple of stories with different witches, but none of them really did it for me, so I ended up making this xD I know that I'm not following Wicca tradition, but I'm really enjoying all the different stuff that you can combine for magic :D
I promise that Stiles and Simone will become better friends soon. But, he is a tad preoccupied with Scott at the moment, and she is too shy to annoy him, so it will take some time. There will be more Stiles time, though :D
I'm glad that you enjoy my portrayal of him, I'm always debating if its good or not xD
