(A/N: As we all now know, Passions has finally gotten around to actually introducing an actual Crane offspring, the supremely entertaining Fox.  Unfortunately, I originally envisioned my story over the summer, before any mention of this most recent cast member was made.  As such, I decided that the other three Crane children would all be daughters.  After all, considering that no mention of an existing child of Julian and Ivy's as the logical heir to the fortune had ever been made, three girls would make the most sense (not that a lot of things actually make sense on this show).  Anyway, because of this there will be no Fox in this story, as much as I do adore him.)

            "Hey, Laura," Jessica called happily as she bounded into their room, "I'm back, and you'll never guess wh—what on earth happened to you?!" she exclaimed, forgetting her train of thought as soon as her gaze fell upon her sister.  "You look like an explosion at the Keebler Elf factory!"

            Indeed, the Bennett family's most recent addition was a sorry sight to behold.  Both hands bandaged, as well several areas along the neck and forearms, her face lightly covered with flour and hair dotted with various bits of food plastered limply in strings clinging against her head, she stood with a dazed expression on her face, as if she herself was not quite sure how she had come to this point.  "Oh, our mother thought it would be a good idea for me to help her cook today.  After the highly predictable catastrophe, I came up here to change."

            "Oh, dear," Jessica sighed, thoughtfully stifling a giggle, "you'd better go and take a shower before dinner."

            "Yes, I was just going to.  Say, Jess," she said, trying to keep her voice as casual as possible, "think you could go ahead and open the closet door for me?  You're right there."

            "Umm…ok," Jessica replied, thinking that the request was odd, to say the least, but opened the door anyway.  With an expression on her face closely resembling relief, Laura peered into the closet and, apparently satisfied, grabbed a clean pair of jeans and a t-shirt.

            "So, before I go and clean up, how did things go today?" Laura asked, smiling conspiratorially

            "At first he was really upset, of course, and didn't want to talk to me," Jessica answered, her face rather long.  Then, she brightened up enormously and continued.  "But he eventually let me in, and we talked for a couple of hours.  He kept going on about all the warning signs, and what an idiot he had been, and I had to keep going, 'no you're not an idiot!,' and comfort him.  Finally, he started saying how he'd been so one-track about Kay that he hadn't noticed how wonderful this one other girl is."

            "And then?!" Laura asked urgently, momentarily forgetting her own wretched condition as she found herself, despite her own strictly adhered to policy of never allowing herself to really get attached to anybody, sincerely rooting for her sister.

            "Well," Jessica smirked slyly, blushing a little, "when he said that, he kind of leaned just a little closer to my face, a little shy, and I was sure that he was about to kiss me…"

            "And?"

            Jessica's dreamy smile crashed into an annoyed frown.  "His mom came in, and reminded him that he had a dentist's appointment in half an hour.  Sorta spoiled the moment."

            Laura felt for her, but realized she was definitely on the right path.  "Oh, that's too bad.  Still, on the bright side, it sounds like he was definitely attracted to you.  I'd say it's only a matter of time."

            "I hope so.  Anyway, how was your afternoon?  Apart from the obvious, I mean."

            "Very…educational," Laura finally responded, after searching for just the right word.  "I learned a lot about the family.  Apparently, it's a miracle you're all still alive."

            "Yeah, I suppose it is," Jessica agreed nonchalantly, "but that's just how it is around here.  Oh, I'm so glad that you spent some time with our mom, though."

            Laura now sported a funny expression on her face.  "I guess it was a good thing, but Jess, don't you think there's something a little…off about her behavior?  Now, please don't take this the wrong way, because I really don't hate her or anything, but doesn't her obsession with Charity and John get to you sometimes?"

            "She's just trying to make up for lost time," the younger sister quickly asserted, once again denying her deeply repressed feelings.

            "Oh, I'm sure that's part of it," Laura replied, not impressed.  "But Charity's been part of the family for years now, and it seems to me that she's so wrapped up in John that she often forgets that she even has another son.  I'm a newcomer, so that does make me somewhat more interesting, but since I'm a lot more standoffish than either John or Charity, she doesn't know what to do with me and therefore only tries to reach out to me when absolutely nobody else is around.  Also, the fact that I was raised as Ivy Crane's daughter probably doesn't sit with her too well, either.  From what I've gathered, she and Kay didn't get along very well, especially not after Kay began openly acting out against Charity, perhaps also trying to get some attention, and since she knows you won't cause any trouble or do anything that requires her to get distracted from John and Charity or from having two men in love with her, she doesn't have to pay you attention."

            "Mom can't help all that!  She didn't make David show up after all these years; she couldn't even remember him."

            "Maybe not, but she isn't in too much of a hurry to get that annulment, is she?  She's forcing our father to sleep on the couch, claiming that it's to set a good example for us, but it really just makes him understandably upset and gives David more leeway to hang around and pine after her.  I think she's enjoying herself, personally."  Off of her sister's shocked expression, she continued.  "Oh, I saw it all the time, at the society mixers and balls and the like, heck half of the girls I lived with at boarding school did this.  And let me tell you, the worst ones were usually the girls who claimed to be moral and modest and virtuous.  They just couldn't get enough of that illicit thrill of being fought over."

            Jessica shook her head vigorously.  "That may be true sometimes, but not for our mother.  And…and, she doesn't MEAN to ignore me, it's just that with everything going on…she doesn't have time to…" but Jessica could not say anything further, because at that moment she burst into tears, apparently overcome by the flood of emotions that Laura had elicited against her will.  "I mean," she gasped out in between heaving sobs, "I love Ch-Charity and John, I do, but…before all this, sometimes she asked how I was doing, in school and in my extracurriculars…I guess she just takes it for granted that I'm getting As and Bs and staying out of trouble…I thought if only I could do everything right, be her helper…sorry to bore you…"

            "There, there," Laura patted Jessica gingerly on the back, "it's okay, Jess, you can tell me how you feel."  She felt quite awkward, not used to having anybody confide Severe Emotional Turmoil to her, and more than a little unsure of just how to act, but she truly wanted to help Jessica, who was going through something that Laura could most definitely relate to.  The difference between the two of them was twofold: one, that Ivy had always been unequivocally playing favorites while Grace had the Perfect Mother reputation, making Jessica feel guilty for having such feelings; and two, that Laura had gotten used to it all at a very young age and had learned to adopt a pragmatic and sometimes even cynical outlook to cope, while Jessica was the sort of personality who would repress and deny and self-sacrifice until she broke down completely.  Laura knew that she needed to tell all this to someone, and would have engulfed the hysterical teen in a sisterly hug had she not been covered practically from head to toe in all sorts of goo at that moment.

            So, instead, she listened as Jessica let everything out.  She explained how she had been jealous of Charity and John, and had then felt horribly guilty for feeling that way.  She admitted that she had even been a little jealous of Kay, who at least was getting the attention of a troublemaker and had stood out, and how she still missed her "sister" terribly, and felt awful about how she had treated her, even if Kay had often deserved it.  She had thought that since she could never be a better bad kid than Kay, then she would try to be perfect and helpful, but that had just put her in the same category as Charity, who would always stand out that way.  Finally, and in a hushed, barely audible whisper, she confessed how often she actually was furious with her mother, both for neglecting her and for treating her father so callously, and how she could never admit it before because it meant that she was a really terrible person—

            "No, Jess, you're not a terrible person," Laura interrupted, grabbing her firmly on the shoulders and looking into her eyes seriously.  "You're entitled to feel this way, and as I've been trying to tell you, you don't always have to be okay about everything.  You know, I understand how you feel."

            "You do?" Jessica asked with a slight sniffle.

            "Of course."  Laura hesitated briefly before continuing.  She had vowed never to tell anybody how she really felt about this, for fear of appearing vulnerable, but right now her sister needed to know that she wasn't alone, and that was more important at the moment than keeping up appearances.  "When I was a Crane," she began, "sometimes I locked myself up in my room and cried myself to sleep when I saw all the attention that Ivy paid Ethan.  She doted on him, and I just couldn't understand why she didn't love me that much.  Sometimes, I hated her and prayed that she would die an excruciating death, and at other times I thought I deserved it, that if I could just be better, she would love me, too.  I had to hide these feelings from my sisters, because while they were annoyed by it all, they didn't hurt quite like I did, and tended to make jokes about Ethan and our parents.

            "So, I started imitating them, though I couldn't manage quite as much venom as they could.  Then, I got sent off to school, and my parents could completely ignore my existence, except for the money they would send on Christmas and birthdays.  I would have done I don't know what just to have my mother offer to take me with her on a trip during a break, tell me she loved me, even just call and ask how I was doing, any sign that my existence mattered to her, but there was nothing.  Eventually, I learned to be independent, to not even want any motherly love.  My entire goal in life became to avoid annoying my parents or my grandfather until I could get my trust fund money and quit the family for good.  Well, I got my wish, but not exactly how I expected to," Laura laughed, unable to hide the bitterness from her voice.  It had actually felt good to let that all out finally, though she definitely had no intention of making a habit of it.

            "Wow," Jessica gasped, "I had no idea it was like that for you!  I'm sorry, I had no right to go on like I did…"

            "Hey, don't be sorry!" Laura insisted adamantly. "As I said, I dealt with all of that a looong time ago.  It was good for you to say something.  I don't want my sister giving herself a nervous breakdown here," Laura smiled.

            "I do feel a little better," Jessica admitted, absentmindedly wiping away the tears from her eyes, "like a huge weight's been lifted and I'm free.  Thank you so much for listening to me go on and on."

            "Don't mention it, sis," Laura smiled again, but then looked down at herself.  "Gee, I'd really better go take that shower."

            "Alright.  See you at dinner."

            Now disappearing into the hallway, Laura called, "See you.  Oh, and if you value your life, stay away from the brownies."

*****

            As soon as they had gotten back from their meeting with Cassandra, Timmy ran up to his room, leaving Tabitha to wonder what in Hades was the matter with that lad of hers. 

            After a few minutes, Timmy came running back down the stairs with a decidedly urgent air about him.  "Well, what is it, Timmy?" Tabitha implored, nearly chuckling at his antics.

            Barely pausing to catch his breath, Timmy handed her the scrap of paper he had inscribed the incantation upon.  "Is this it, Princess, is this the spell that will make Ivy be herself again?"

            Tabitha snorted as she began to read the paper, just to humor the boy.  "Ridiculous," she snickered, "there's absolutely no way that you could have found…" her voice slowly trailed off as she kept reading.  When she had finished, she asked in awe, "Timmy, how did you find this?"

            "It was in a book in Cassandra's chamber, on her desk," the former doll explained, beaming with no small amount of pride.  "The book was opened to the page with this spell on it, so Timmy went and copied it down."

            "Well, I've got to hand it to you, Timmy, you've found it.  This is, indeed, the very counter-spell that Kay Crane is so desperately looking for as we speak."

            "But, Princess, why would Cassandra have it in the first place?"

            Tabitha sighed, as seemed to be her usual reaction to just about anything these days.  "From what I could tell, her library seemed pretty extensive.  She must have secretly obtained that missing copy ages ago, and she's kept it down there the entire time.  I assume she knows all about every single one of Kay's activities, including her current magical issues, and has looked up the reversal out of idle curiosity."

            "Timmy doesn't understand.  She didn't look it up to help Kay?"

            Tabitha scoffed, shaking her head wearily at her precious Timmy's pitiable simplicity.  "Think, lad!  What if Ivy Crane were to be recovered, but with enough left over from Ivy Winthrop that she's swayed away from evil, and notices that Kay is getting more and more wicked by the day?  Why, she'd be extremely worried, of course, and would persist in trying to reach her, 'save' her, if you will.  Who knows, she might even be able to succeed, and Cassandra certainly wouldn't let her Heir be persuaded to turn from evil."

            Seeing his chance, Timmy drove in his point.  "If Cassandra doesn't want it, and we're her enemies, then shouldn't we give the spell to Kay?  She won't get what she wants then."

            Tabitha couldn't quite believe what she was hearing.  "And openly defy her!  I should think not!  Besides, if our goals happen to be the same, then I'm on her side, and I don't want to fix Ivy any more than I'm sure she does."

            When she had finished speaking, Tabitha decisively waved her hand, and the paper dissolved with a loud SNAP! into a very fine powder.  Seeing this, Timmy yelled "NO!," and looked as if he was fighting back tears.

            Oh, how it hurt her blackened heart to see Timmy upset like this!  Unfortunately, there had been nothing else for it.  "I'm sorry, Timmy, but you're just going to have to learn to stop trying to be a hero.  Ivy will remain as she is, and Kay will continue down her path to evil.  I'll tell you what, why don't I go into the kitchen and whip you up a nice grilled cheese sandwich?"  Timmy nodded sadly, so Tabitha exited the living room, feeling a good deal more remorseful about her decision than she would ever admit to.

            As soon as Tabitha had gone, though, Timmy's features transformed into a broad grin, and he promptly yanked another scrap of paper out of his pocket.

            "Timmy knew that it was a good idea to run up and make another copy, just in case something like this would happen.  Now, all Timmy has to do is find the right time to slip away and go to the Crane mansion, and everything will be fine!  Sorry Tabby, but Timmy must do what he knows in his heart is right."

            Timmy then felt a stab of guilt cut right through him, knowing that his sweet Princess wouldn't like this at all.  He hated betraying Tabitha, and no matter how many times he crossed her, he still felt really bad about it.  A boy had to do what a boy had to do, though, and Timmy had to get to Kay, hopefully sometime tomorrow, and give her the spell so that she could cure her mother.  Timmy only hoped that his witch would understand his actions.

            "Wait a second!" Timmy exclaimed out loud, relaxing as an almost physical wave of relief washed over him.  "Timmy doesn't know why he was so worried a minute ago.  Tabby will be mad for awhile, sure, but one day soon she'll turn good, and when that happens, she'll be glad Timmy did what he's going to do.  He's not betraying his Princess at all!  He's just following her future wishes exactly!"

            That moral crisis settled, Timmy grinned once again, and stuffed the paper back into his pocket.  Then, putting his sad face back on, he marched glumly into the kitchen, playing quite effectively at total dejection.

*****

            Gwen and Hank hung around the docks at a small section of the harbor, trying to look as casual as possible, while searching as well as they could for any signs of suspicious activity.  They had been there for hours, without any luck, and would need to go back every day until they found something.

            "Let's face it," Gwen finally muttered out of sheer frustration, "this is completely hopeless.  We have absolutely no idea what we're looking for, and Boston Harbor is enormous, large enough that we can't just sit around looking for patterns of some kind."

            "Hey now," Hank responded patiently, reassuringly holding her hands in his, in an attempt to calm her down.  "How many seemingly dead ends have we already faced?  We'll figure something out.  Don't worry."

            "Don't worry?!" Gwen repeated incredulously.  "Don't worry?  Nobody knows where we are, and we're trying to rescue Antonio from very dangerous illegal arms dealers WHILE also capturing the shipment and bringing down the whole operation.  This isn't a game, Hank; these are very dangerous waters we're wading in, and I don't think we really know what we're doing."

            "Well, would you rather let Antonio be forced to deliver the shipment, and probably be killed afterwards?"

            Gwen shook her head emphatically.  "Of course not!  And not just for Antonio's sake; this is a matter of national security, I get that.  It's just that I do have a healthy instinct for self-preservation, and this is definitely going against it."

            With the double motive of comforting Gwen and appearing like a normal couple out for a stroll by the water to anyone who might be watching, Hank gently took hold of Gwen by the forearms and drew her ever so slightly closer to him.  "It's all gonna be alright, you know."

            "You think so?" Gwen asked, trying to ignore the thrill of his touch, and the odd yet persistent desire she felt to press herself entirely against his tall frame.

            "No doubt about it," Hank replied breezily, neither his voice nor his features betraying the truth that her presence affected him just as much as his did her.  "Look at us: Luis is a cop, Sheridan doesn't seem to be killable, you've shown that you can trace just about anything, and as for me, well," he said with a slightly cocky smile, "I've learned a thing or two in my shady past.  We've been through a lot now, and I know we'll all get through this."

            Gwen couldn't help grinning back, the gravity of their predicament forgotten for a moment.  "We have been through a lot, haven't we?  And we do seem to make a pretty good team after all.  I never would have thought it possible a month ago.  I thought you were the most obnoxious guy on the planet back then."

            "So, what am I now, fourth most obnoxious guy?"

            "Nah," Gwen smiled wickedly, "I'd say you've gotten yourself down to number seven or eight.  So, have I dropped any?  You must have thought of me as the biggest bitch alive.  Have you since decided that I come in second?"

            "I never thought you were a bitch," Hank answered truthfully.

            Gwen looked up at him, completely taken aback.  "You're kidding!  You always saw through me, even when no one else did.  You knew perfectly well that I was plotting against your best friend's little sister!"

            Absent-mindedly brushing a stray strand of hair from Gwen' brow, Hank let out a light chuckle.  "But I never disliked you for it.  Now, I'm not saying that what you did was right, but I'm hardly perfect myself, and I'm guessing that you realize just as much as I do that you shouldn't have done whatever it is exactly that you did.  I like you, Gwen, always have, and I meant it last year when I said that you deserve a guy who doesn't see you as being second best."

            Gwen didn't know what to say, and so continued staring up at him, unconsciously moving ever so slightly nearer.  By looking into his now totally sincere deep blue eyes, she could tell that he had meant every word, and furthermore was looking at her in a way she had always wished Ethan would gaze at her, but had never quite managed to.  Suddenly, she wanted nothing more than to reach out to him and melt into a passionate embrace, and almost did, until the voice of reason stopped her.

            It was madness, of course.  Complete and utter insanity.  Their current situation was highly abnormal, to say the least, and she'd feel completely different under normal circumstances.  Right now, they were thrown together and their lives were in danger, but once they got out of it, she'd come to her senses and realize that it could never work.  They were so different, and besides, she didn't even like him!  As soon as the danger was past, everything would change, and she wouldn't want him anymore.

            The other big factor here, she soon decided, had to be Ethan.  She had loved him for well over a decade, and he was her first, her only, the man she'd almost married.  She had been right earlier when she said that she was on the rebound; Hank was just there, the convenient man to turn to.  Any reasonably attractive male would have elicited the same response.  Yes, the combination of their bizarre circumstances and her thwarted love for Ethan had brought her to this point.

            It was not until several hours later, when she was trying to get to sleep in the room she and Sheridan were currently sharing, that she realized that it had been well over a week since she had last thought about Ethan at all.

*****

            Ivy and David were now totally alone in Kay's room, as the teenager had been called abruptly away, leaving the two of them to continue the search.

            Slamming the book she had been reading down with a frustrated oomph, Ivy sat back wearily, her expression a mixture of irritation and despondence.  "That's it.  I'm sorry, but I just can't look at one more yellowed page filled with archaic occult inscriptions without flying into a homicidal rage right now."

            "We have been at it for quite a while," David agreed, truly not knowing what else to say.

            Sighing, Ivy began to gather up the texts, bumping them in a large lockable chest Kay had been using for the purpose of hiding them from the cleaning staff.  "I don't know about you, but I'm finished with this for today."

            David kneeled down, and proceeded to help her pit away the volumes.  Concerned about Ivy, and wanting to fill up the silence, he asked, "So, how're you feeling right now, since Kay said that she might not be able to do the counter-spell?"

            "To tell the truth, I really don't know," Ivy replied, consciously keeping her voice as emotionless as possible.  "I mean, I'm scared about what will happen to me if we find it, I admit.  On the other hand, I'm not supposed to be here, and I really hate having to live out this life, knowing what I've become.  I guess I'll just have to wait and see what happens, and just accept it either way."

            "Yeah, I guess that's all one can do," David replied sympathetically.  What else could he possibly say right now?  No words came, so when they finished, David stood back up, saying, "Well, I'd better get going now that we're done here for now.  After last night, it really wouldn't do for us to be spotted together again."

            Saying goodbye, David took his leave, leaving Ivy alone with her thoughts.  Currently, and for obvious reasons, her thoughts were the last things on earth Ivy wanted to be alone with, so she decided to go downstairs, and see if she could find something else to occupy her time.  She no longer feared interacting with others; she had had enough encounters already that she felt confident enough that she would be capable of handling any event that might arise.

            After taking the elevator downstairs, Ivy wheeled into the main living room.  She had not been there for more than a couple of minutes when, suddenly, what looked like a large white cotton ball came running into the room, nearly tripping over her wheelchair, followed closely by Rebecca, wearing a cartoonishly frilly, pastel pink peasant's dress with a decidedly formidable bust, and carrying a large hooked staff.  "Oh, dear," she, evidently not yet aware of Ivy's presence, exclaimed in a sing-song, pseudo-distressed voice, "I've lost my sheep and I just don't know where to find him!  When I catch up with that rascal, he's going to get sheared, alright!"

            What the hell?!  With a rising horror, Ivy realized that the gigantic ball of cotton was in fact Julian, dressed up as a sheep, and Rebecca's sleazy get-up was meant to resemble a shepherdess.  Why on earth they would run around dressed that way? It all made absolutely no sense at all, unless…

            Good God in heaven!, Ivy mentally cringed, stunned to say the least,   they're playing some sort of a sex game here!  What have I done to deserve this?  Sickened beyond description, Ivy could not help voicing her revulsion.  "Ugh, I can't believe you two!  You're absolutely disgusting!"

            Although both now looked a little embarrassed, they each stood up straight, as if attempting to muster up something resembling actual dignity.  Rebecca spoke first, turning up her nose ever so slightly.  "Yes, Ivy, something like this must be a terrible shock for you; after all, we all know that it's been years, possibly decades, since you've had a good romp with anyone."

            "Well, it's certainly been that long since you've had one with me," Julian joined in, obviously going for cutting sarcasm in a vain attempt to not appear quite so ridiculous in his costume.  "In fact, I don't think I'd be able to even remember how long it's been if we couldn't just take the age of our youngest daughter and add nine months."

             "Unfortunately, Julian, a thousand years wouldn't be enough time to let me forget the horror of THAT experience."  Although Ivy of course had no memory of any of this, and she really barely even knew a much younger Julian, yelling at him just seemed to come automatically, like a second nature.  In fact, she was so wrapped up in the moment that she didn't notice that he seemed to shift his weight from one foot to another in an almost guilty manner for a second.  The mention of Kay had got her thinking, though, and her instinctual protective feelings rose to the surface.  "And speaking of our youngest, she, not to mention God knows how many other people, are living under this very roof as we speak.  What's to stop her from walking right in when you're carrying on with your sexcapades?  Really, how dumb are you two?!"

            "This is my house, and I'll do as I please in it," Julian replied lamely, knowing that he didn't have a good excuse, but loath to admit it to Ivy.

            "Right," Rebecca inserted pointedly, as if determined to get another word in.  "It IS his house, and mine, too.  Or, it will be, anyway, once you get that divorce from the Tijuana Tart.  You are working on it, aren't you, pookie?"  She gazed at him demurely, but everything about her manner seemed to convey a very thinly veiled threat.

            "Uh, of course I am!" Julian smiled nervously, squirming visibly.  Desperate to change the subject, Julian began to nibble on Rebecca's earlobe.  "But right now, Becks, why don't we go and find out what's underneath this fleece as white as snow."

            Both of them giggling again, they quickly exited, hopefully to Julian's own room.  Once again alone, Ivy quickly came to the conclusion that her tormented thoughts were not such a bad company after all.

            "Well, on the bright side," she said to herself, "I've been agonizing over how and why I turned bad, but now it all makes perfect sense.  After years of living with HIM, I guess I just couldn't take it any more and finally snapped!"

*****

            With some effort, Kay finally made her way into her ancestor's lair, amazed that such a vast network of passageways existed right under her very home.  She knew why she had been called down, of course; it was finally time for her to begin her real training, which she had been looking forward to with a nervous anticipation.  She still didn't really understand this 'destiny' that Cassandra spoke of, but she knew that it would give her the power and control that she now so desperately craved. 

            "Nice place ya got here," Kay observed offhandedly, looking all around the room.  "Very 'Batcave of the Damned.'  I like it."

            "Why thank you," the vampire replied brightly, gliding across the expanse of the room to greet her.  "I'm glad that it suits you.  You will, after all, be spending a great deal of time down here."

            "Cool.  So, what is this education of mine all about?  'Cuz, I gotta admit, I'm kinda fuzzy on what exactly I'll be doing as this 'True Heir' you keep talking about."

            "All in good time, my dear Kay.  You'll understand everything eventually.  Don't lose heart, though; we'll have to move at a fairly brisk if you're going to be ready when the time comes."

            "When the time comes for what?" Kay asked uneasily, not liking the ominous tone of that statement.

            Cassandra looked slightly reluctant to part with her information, but nevertheless gave her an answer, choosing her words carefully.  "I'm not going to lie to you now, Kay.  "There are forces for God assembled here in Harmony that are going to try to destroy you.  Of this, I have absolutely no doubt."

            "Great," Kay sarcastically interjected, feeling a good deal less enthusiastic about the whole business.

            Apparently unconcerned, Cassandra continued.  "You needn't worry, child.  As the True Heir, it will not be your fate to fall so easily, and so soon.  You will triumph over you enemies, never fear, but in order to do so we must begin preparation.

            "Alright, we'll prepare.  What am I going to learn now?" she asked eagerly, anxious to get down to something concrete and useful, instead of all this prophesy-type talk.

            "Well, you'll be studying spell casting, of course, to learn to master both your normal powers and your Nosferitia.  In addition, you'll be honing your senses, among other things."

            "I don't understand.  What do you mean by 'senses'?"

            "It's really very simple.  My son and grandchildren, and even great-grandchildren to a very limited extent, possessed senses that were more vampiric than human.  They faded, but you should possess them as well.  Now, I know you're going to say that you don't have any, but I can feel them, lying dormant deep within you.  Now, close your eyes and clear your mind as much as you possibly can, as if you were listening for something nearly inaudible."

            Kay complied, and stood as still as humanly possible, though she privately thought that it was all a waste of time.  What was supposed to happen, she'd just stand there and suddenly reach enlightenment?  Kay was just about to give up and say that she didn't think this would all be so lame, when a cold shiver shot up and down her spine.  Cassandra's icy hand was now touching her temple, and she felt something beginning to swell inside of her.  It, like the vampire's touch, was also freezing cold, and yet somehow it felt right, as if she had been built to feel like this.  Ever so slowly, though, the swelling built up, until it became unbearably excruciating, and Kay thought that she would either explode or freeze to death or both.  Then, when she couldn't take it any longer and was about to open her mouth to scream, something did explode inside of her, and when she opened her eyes, everything was different.

            The difference was hard to describe, and impossible to capture exactly.  Kay's eyesight had always been perfect, but now it was as if she had just put on glasses for the first time after suffering from a severe vision problem her entire life.  Colors were vibrant where they had been dull, and brilliant where they had been vibrant, the edges of everything looked somehow much sharper, and her eyes could pick up far more detail than they ever had before. 

            It wasn't merely her sight that had been affected, either.  Suddenly the slightly musty odor of the chamber became far more intense, and she could pick up the scents from around the room: she now noticed the aroma of old paper, strange ingredients on the shelves a good thirty feet away, and the slightly metallic smell of the instruments.  A myriad of tiny noises sounded off around her, making her realize that her hearing had become far more finely attuned.

            "Amazing, isn't it," Cassandra asked with a zealous smile, breaking Kay's reverie and causing her to focus her attention on the vampire.  At this instant, it became apparent that Cassandra had been talking about more than the five physical senses.  For lack of a better term, she could "sense" the supernatural forces surrounding her ancestor.  Kay would have said that she could "see" the magic, but that would have been giving the wrong impression as to the true nature of the experience.  Cassandra didn't look any different, at least not in any way that could not be explained by her heightened vision, but this aspect was just as tangible, just as real to her as anything she could see with her eyes.  Then, as if this one experience made all others possible, the rest of the chamber now hummed (though not in a way that would imply sound, as she certainly wasn't hearing this at all) with power, with various points showing a concentration of this power.  Furthermore, she could also discern a marked difference in the various kinds of magic in the lair: though it all had a dark cast, the spell books felt noticeably different from Cassandra herself, for example.

            "Wow," Kay whispered in a small awestruck voice, finally answering Cassandra.  "This is incredible.  I can actually feel all this power!  And my sight, smell, hearing…"

            "Yes, and you'll find your sense of touch has increased as well, though it's not as dramatic or crucial.  Your taste will stay the same, though.  Not being a vampire yourself," Cassandra slyly showed all of her teeth, "blood will not be a part of your diet.  That's also a difference with smell, as well.  If you shared that aspect, the blood flowing in others' veins would literally call out to you, probably driving you quite mad.  Other than that, the senses that have emerged are quite vampiric."

            "Cool," was all Kay could say in response for a good long while.  "So, we're gonna spend the rest of this time today teaching me to use this?"

            Cassandra nodded, and amended, "and if there's time, we'll work on using your magic to you fullest potential as well.  I don't want to push you faster than you can safely go, but as I said before, it's imperative that you learn as quickly as possible."