And here we are at the finale! Hope you liked this four-shot. Thanks for reading!
~4~
"There has to be an answer in one of my spell books. There has to be."
The desperation was beginning to set in for them both. This whole handcuffed fluff piece had been an irritant at first, but it was starting to rear its ugly head as hell itself. Julius was exhausted, and Vivi had to pee, but they were back behind the Accessory Shop making their way into the woods where their adventure began to get to the Witch's Hut. She had been determined to keep its location secret from him, but they were out of options. If she couldn't fix this, it was clear nothing would. What if they were stuck together forever?!
Over his dead body, Vivi vowed. She was annoyed enough that she had admitted the idiot had any worth as an artisan, but that still didn't change the fact he wasn't good enough for Molly. This jerk was the reason she was always late. He was the reason Vivi didn't see her as often. He was going to take her away. The Witch wouldn't let that go so easily. No amount of trinkets could distract her from that fear.
He was just some ordinary nobody. Well, ordinary is a bit of a stretch… Vivi hadn't seen many humans in an age, but she was sure they didn't usually look like Julius. He was an enigma to observe – the marriage of cool purple and warm red all cluttered with too many patterns and sharp angles. Everything about him looked like a couture experiment. He looked like the last person to be interested in romancing a farmer.
Vivi was lost trying to figure out his motivation and wasn't paying any attention to the sounds of the forest around them. The next time she looked up, she shrieked like a mouse when she saw a person directly across from them in the clearing. The idiot carpenter! "Hide me!"
The Witch attempted to scurry behind Julius, but the necklace wrapped painfully around him and bent her arm. Without time to think, he remedied this by grabbing the petite girl and stuffing him behind his back beneath his coat. Vivi obediently kept quiet and unmoving, latching onto his shirt for protection.
"Julius, is that you, man?" Luke asked, jumping over a fallen tree like a hurdler. He had zero reservations doing so even though he held his axe in his hand. He had a confident grip on it. "We been lookin' all over for you!"
"Oh?" Julius asked, feigning nonchalance as he angled his shoulders to hide Vivi better.
Luke paid no attention to his odd pose. He itched his nose. "Yeah! We got Mira back waitin' at our place with the mayor and the other big wigs. She said y'all got robbed, and you disappeared in the woods, and we were like whoa. Where ya goin'? Did you find the bad guy?"
"Yes, actually," Julius said. Vivi kicked the back of his leg, thinking he was going to expose her, but he kicked her shin back in reprimand. He tried to keep a straight face during this exchange, but Luke was beginning to catch on that something weird was going on. "The thief took off with one of our necklaces and dropped it when I found them. I'm still looking for it."
"Ya scared him off? Nice!" Luke raised a hand in offering for a high five.
"I-I have poison ivy! It's everywhere around here, so you'd best stay back," he quickly fibbed.
He obeyed, looking at the ground to try and spot the telltale leaves of the poisonous plant. Vivi shifted, and Julius' arm got pulled further back, making his shoulder go with it. Luke squinted at him. "Hey, what's wrong with your arm?"
Julius laughed it off with a strained chuckle. "Er… burrs. On my shirt. I'm sure you know how annoying those are."
Vivi was impressed how easily he provided an excuse at every turn. Here she was shaking like a leaf, and Julius was perfectly calm and keeping his head in such an awkward situation. He went out of his way to protect her, too. He didn't have to do that. Julius owed Vivi nothing. All she caused was trouble, and she did so on purpose. Why would he show her any kindness? Was this what Molly liked about him…?
"Oh, ya need help?" Luke offered, tromping forward through the tall grass again.
"No!" Julius stopped him, his panic bubbling up. He quickly quelled it with a suggestion to finalize their escape. "Why don't you go ahead and let Mira know everything's okay? Knowing her, she's probably in a tizzy. Let her know I'll be back soon. I just want to see if I can find that necklace."
"Oh, yeah, okay," he processed his instructions with growing agreement. He gave a firm nod and waved. "Alright, I'll let her know! You stick around though, yeah? Don't go wandering too far. There's some weird shit in these woods."
"I'm well aware," Julius couldn't help the rumbling laughter building up he was holding back. The Witch gave him a scolding pinch in the back, and he returned it, pinching her arm.
Luke ran off back the way he came, shouting to reunite with Bo who was also out looking for him. Julius heaved a sigh once he was gone, and Vivi came out from her hiding spot, grateful for fresh air after being stifled so close to him. She adjusted her bangs. "Well… that was unnerving."
"You're welcome," he said, a little cocky to have her fear of being found to lord over her. He was well aware she was in his debt. "I would say that constitutes a reward of some kind?"
"Sure," she acquiesced, leading the way once again. Her home was getting close. "When I free us, I won't kill you immediately. You're welcome."
Julius supposed that was about as good as he was going to get with her. He didn't have time to press any further as the air grew more stale and even a touch humid despite the cold weather. The trees had grown to be giants, and the ground became marshy. He realized they were in a swamp at the same time he spotted a little house.
She lives all of the way out here? By herself? Julius watched in curiosity as he was dragged along a boardwalk and shown with great reluctance to the front door. The home was very old, explaining her interest in possible antique jewelry. The Witch was a kind of relic herself. "How long have you been out here?"
"As long as there's been a here to be," she replied shortly in her odd, guarded meter.
The door swung open, and they clambered inside at the same time. The doorway was too small for the both of them, and they fought to wriggle through before the other. Julius wound up stumbling through first, and she scoffed in irritation. Once both were safely inside, the Witch shut the door.
Julius looked to her in asking, and she balked. It was just too strange to see someone other than Molly in her home. It was downright wrong. Was that right though? She shook her head. "You keep your mouth shut; I'm going to do some research. Attempt cooperation."
"This coming from the witch who's been cavorting me about all day," Julius replied with an annoyed click of his tongue. But he relented as she made her way to the bookshelf, and he stood fast at her side – not by choice of course. Though the place he found himself in was strange enough, he felt compelled to follow her regardless, unsure of what to do with himself or where to look.
Molly is the only person she knows. Julius decided at last - this empty hut the final nail in the coffin of his theory. A mysterious recluse was just the type of person only Molly would find and subsequently befriend. It almost made too much sense. He noticed a teapot on the table with considerable wear and remembered that was Molly's favorite drink. The mystery was solved. This was where she disappeared to every afternoon.
The loneliness was oppressive here. Silence was heavy all around them like it had its own echo. For someone to live here all alone was… just about the saddest thing Julius had ever heard. He amended his previous insults with an impulsive compliment. "Before, your ensemble was pretty horrible, but… getting a good look around, you've got a sort of aesthetic going on. You fit right in."
"Gee, thanks," she sarcastically replied, browsing the titles before her. Vivi almost did a double take – wait, was that supposed to be a compliment? She wasn't expecting one of those. She grabbed a few volumes and used Julius as a human stand, passing them his way. She amended her own statement, feeling a little odd. "Er… thanks."
He didn't put her on the spot, taking her unprecedented humility in stride. He cocked his head to the side, his long hair falling with the gesture. "Why do you hide yourself away out here? Not one for company?"
Vivi rolled her eyes. She didn't expect a simpleton like him to understand. However… it was a difficult topic to talk about. Especially with Molly, her only ear, who understood but was still trying to break her shell. She sought validation. "Magic isn't normal. I can't exactly go walking through town the way that I am."
"Why not? Never stopped me," he argued.
One glance had his point proven. The Witch had assumed correctly that his style wasn't exactly normal either. She dismissed this though with the obvious. "You're human. They'll accept you."
"You must care a great deal what other people think of you," Julius said, somewhat disappointed. The Witch didn't bother to respond.
Once she collected what she was looking for, she gestured for them to sit at the table. Julius had to pull up his chair uncomfortably close in order for them to sit basically shoulder to shoulder. Vivi wrestled her arm up for control of the necklace hand and managed to separate a book from the stack. She cracked open the old tome and began to read.
Julius busied himself by removing the burrs from his jacket hem. Each one got a distasteful frown as it was placed in the growing pile on the table. The minutes ticked by, and he was soon feeling a little presentable again just as Vivi jumped up, painfully wrenching his arm with her. "I've got it! Let's finish this."
They positioned themselves in front of each other, and Vivi removed her staff from her back. She aimed it at their hands glued to the chain with a determined grit of her teeth. She wasn't sure how it was going to turn out, and her eyes flicked up to Julius' as if seeking affirmation he was ready. Instead, he wore a teasing smile. "What? Going to miss me?"
"Hardly," she snorted. This guy's sass is endless.
Vivi took a calming breath. Finding her zen, she released the magic, and a white light emitted from the end of her staff. She balanced it there, gently touching it to their bonds as Julius squinted and shied away in fear of backfire.
The light faded. They each shook their hand at the same time, rattling the chain. No luck. They were still bonded.
"Now what?" Julius asked. There had to be another spell, right? That couldn't have been it. That couldn't have been their last hope.
"Now what?" Vivi echoed, eyes wide and scared. She had messed up bad this time. In an attempt to protect her friend, she had idiotically and permanently attached herself to her boyfriend instead. It was impossible to screw up worse than this. She brought a hand to her cheek as she stared off in thought. Molly was going to find out. She'd never forgive her. "It's over… isn't it?"
"Well, that's a dramatic way of putting it," Julius chided despite his own heebie-jeebies. It was dire if the Witch was beginning to lose her cool. He couldn't let the same happen to him. He went for a practical approach. "There's got to be something else we can—"
"It's too late!" The Witch shouted. She pointed at the clock on the wall getting closer to three in the afternoon. "Molly's going to show up any minute – what am I supposed to tell her?!"
Julius saddened upon seeing the old minute hand tick by. Vivi quieted to see how distraught he was, but he simply pulled a self-deprecating smile. "If it's any consolation, I doubt she's feeling up for a visit. Considering I stood her up for our date three hours ago."
The Witch blinked. Molly? Was waiting? Somehow the minutes that had weighed on her own shoulders in the past came crashing down. The times she would wait for the farmer to appear, that weight getting heavier and heavier with every passing second. But when she walked through the door, that lifted. Vivi was relieved. Happy. She felt loved. Remembered.
She had inadvertently dumped that weight on her best friend, the person she supposedly cared about the most. Molly had waited and waited for someone she loved to appear, and they never did. Vivi's greatest fear. Of being forgotten.
I did this. I did this. "I did this…" Vivi found her voice as her eyes filled with tears. Reflexively, she drew her hands to her face to hide them, but this brought Julius closer to her.
He watched her hiccup and cry beneath him, and he was at a loss. Julius had surmised the little witch to be selfish, so he hadn't predicted she'd be swayed by guilt. Let alone shed any genuine tears on someone else's behalf. Wondering if he was going to be turned into a turtle, he took the risk and gave her a gentle pat on the head. He remembered some wise words Mira had only just told him. "Look… um… Witch. If you're worried that Molly will be mad, I can assure you that's not her style. As her best friend, you'd know that well."
The Witch's tears slowed. She remembered Molly's sunny smile and how she always put up with her smart mouth. How she would bring her yummy treats for tea time. How she was the most fun to tease. The loyal lap dog of a friend. But perhaps Vivi was seeing what she wanted to see and was underestimating her. She was a friend who was always there for her, who understood her reservations and isolation. A friend who had gone out of her way to give her the only support she could in the best way. A strong friend who wasn't deterred by words she knew Vivi didn't mean.
Maybe Molly had read her much better than she had thought. Vivi felt ashamed for thinking she had outsmarted the farmer when all of this time, she was the one being close-minded and simple.
"I was afraid…" she admitted quietly, staring down at the floor and her pumps. "If she had someone better, she would never come back."
Julius shook his head. It was scary to be alone. He knew that well – he hadn't had many friends most of his life himself. Until Molly. She had reached out to him when he thought it was impossible to relate to anyone. He had given up long ago on even trying to bother. But Molly fought to understand him and seek him out. When he was still trying to figure out why she would, he was already in love. "Molly isn't going to change, no matter how many people she loves. She has a big heart. There's plenty of room."
Vivi dropped her hands and found Julius smiling at her. She saw his hand outstretched to her, and she looked inquisitively at it. "Truce?"
"Truce," he agreed.
She took his offer and slowly shook on it. Vivi cracked a smile, watching their intertwined hands clasped together over the hands still gripping the necklace. It was a bizarre sight, but it wasn't totally unwelcome. At least she didn't feel like murdering him anymore.
Maybe it wouldn't be so bad having more than one friend.
The door opened, and they both swiveled in alarm to find Molly standing there. She was out of breath and clearly befuddled to find the view before her. "Wh…? Julius? What are you doing here?"
Floundering for an excuse, Julius was trapped speechless for once. "Molly, I—"
"It was me!" Vivi interrupted before he could say anything. Julius looked at her like a deer caught in the headlights, but she went on. She held up their conjoined arms. "I wanted to know who he was. I found him, and well… I wanted you to break up. I didn't want you to ever get married and leave forever."
Molly was quiet. She hadn't anticipated a heart-to-heart speech upon visiting the Witch after a bad day, but they were words she wasn't sure she'd ever hear. Her brow furrowed though, bothered Vivi had gone out of her way and gotten Julius involved.
Vivi bit her lip, summoning her courage. She looked to Julius and found some comfort in that he was waiting for her apology, too. "But I realized that was selfish, and I don't want to ruin your happiness for my own gain. The real reason Julius is here is because I—"
"—we," he said, his turn to cut her off. He nodded when she just gaped. Julius' eyes said it all. We were both wrong. We're in this together, aren't we? He reluctantly revealed the truth. "The Witch and I wanted to give you this necklace."
Molly had been hesitant, but when she saw the clover pendent held between the people she cared most about, a smile blossomed – her famous one that was bright like sunshine. The farmer ran forward and wrangled the pair into a group hug, squeezing them tight. "You guys! This is the best surprise ever! I can't thank you enough!"
Julius and Vivi watched in dumbfounded, slack-jawed awe as Molly plucked the necklace free of their magically bound grasp and held it up to the light. She was disappointed to find the clasp broken.
"How?!" Vivi asked, bombarding her friend.
Julius flexed his hands as if to test he was really free. He shared the same look as Vivi – utter bewilderment. Neither understood that the magic was broken because their hearts worked together, and they relinquished their ownership of the necklace – and Molly for that matter – to one another. Peace at last.
"Vivi, you actually left the house?! I'm so proud of you!" Molly congratulated as she ensnared her friend in another hug. She moved to Julius next to give him his own individual hug as well. "I can't believe you made this just for me. I love it so much!"
"Only the best for you, love," Julius reciprocated, happy to have her near again. He suddenly realized what she said and looked accusingly at the witch. "Wait, you have a real name?"
"Hey, my hug was shorter," the Witch complained, totally ignoring him. Molly rolled her eyes and went back to Vivi to give her another hug.
"Wait, what? After all I've been through?" Julius asked, affronted.
Molly wisely got out of the way. Vivi put her hands on her hips, nose stuck in the air. "I'd say you're lucky! You're in one piece, aren't you? Now if you'll excuse us, it's late for our tea time."
Julius couldn't believe she had the audacity to claim Molly so soon. He flicked his hair over his shoulder. "Must I remind you whose fault it was we missed our date? Clearly, I deserve Molly first."
"You get her enough already! Why do you think she's late for tea every day?" She retaliated with half a mind to pick her staff up off of the floor. Maybe if she hit him in the head hard enough with it, he'd forget Molly altogether, and they could forget this ever happened to begin with.
Julius wasn't going to let the Witch just have her way now that she'd had her cry. He was the last person to be stepped on, and definitely not by the likes of some mismatched, hermit magic user. "Because asking for every day is too much even for Molly. She's stretched thin enough as is!"
Free of their literal shackles, they were also free to bicker once again. Their vicious custody battle continued with the farmer looking on helplessly. Molly could only giggle as she watched them. It would still be quite some time before they both learned how to share.