Chapter 2: Late Night Tea
If you were to ask how the Addams manor in New Jersey looked, you'd receive various calls for haunted, a few pleas for gothic, and a chorus of magnificent. A monolithic home suited only for the Addams and those they allowed into its halls. This was not the case for the Reserve family home though, it was a massive log cabin crafted from smooth sanded oak logs, with massive awnings and tall ceilings. Furs lined the walls in a gargantuan living room near 3 stories high, with windows of equal height, a row of mounted head trophies ringed the semicircular space. Near the windows sat a shining black grand piano, and before that sat 3 couches in a half moon around a fireplace on the right wall. The left held what appeared to be a minibar, the walls lined with various bottles of spirits and wine. Down the hall to the right contained a large kitchen with cabinets made of the same oak, and charcoal gray granite countertops, an island lay in the middle with a large gas stovetop. To the left one could find the master suite, as well as a conference room, and a bathroom.
The upstairs was far more simple, a balcony jutted out from the wall with a railing made of twisting branches, along the wall five separate doors sat closed and quiet. None of these rooms were remarkable; inside a queen size bed awaited with thick comforters to guard against the cold, a desk with spare pens and notebook, and an enchanted wardrobe designed to give the occupant the perfect outfit depending on the occasion. At the end of the balcony lay one extra door, in which came another enchanted room. The bathroom was enchanted so that any time the door was opened from the outside, the occupant would be moved to a liminal space mimicking the bathroom until they left, by doing this the house was insured against having too few bathrooms when many people were staying at once. What really tied the home together though was that all the strange angles of light, and conservative use of it as well, led to stretching deep shadows dancing along the walls and floor. A chandelier hung above it with all the candles lit in dancing flames that only added to the shadowy spectacle.
But save the best for last, and only an Addams knows the truth in this, we come to the garden outside. Carpeted by bioluminescent moss, with mushrooms of all sizes and varieties lined up in neat and colorful rows, such an effect can only be upheld by magic as well, but it is the magic of the Keeper that allows these dark and damp loving little morsels to thrive in the dry environment. Beyond the garden rested a small lake where all manner of little devils called home, yet the water remained so still it shined like a mirror of the night sky.
As both rider and hearse approached the building from the outside, Corvus let out a sharp whistle that rang clear and sharp into the mists. A moment later small blue flames lit up the edges of the driveway and led to an overhang where Lurch should park the vehicle. Inside though, Pubert was getting excited and jumping up and down on his seat as he peered out the window to watch the flames. But as soon as his eyes began to glaze over Morticia plucked him up and set him on her lap, out of sight of the little spirits outside.
"Be careful my little cat's eye. The Will O' Wisps are beautiful, but more than happy to trick you and lead you to your death, and I expect all my children to die in their 90's at the youngest," she ran her hand down the side of his cheek, "do you hear me my darling?"
"Yes mom."
After pulling up to the house, Corvus led them on a quick tour of the building and showed each of them to their rooms while Lurch unpacked the car. Thing had crawled out of Wednesday's pack and rested on her shoulder as they paced the echoing halls. Truth be told, it was far more comfortable and familiar than she had thought it would be. It had an eerie aura that all Addams homes tended to possess. She could see how care had been implemented into each facet of the cabin and that Corvus was going beyond his duties as Keeper by far. His singular goal and objective was to guard and report all things that Addams generations later down the line might need to solve mysteries or curses of their own without the same daunting task of months of research. In the basement, Wednesday knew the largest library of family journals and diaries was collected for this purpose alone. But Corvus had gone beyond that and turned the entire Reserve into a variable stockpile of magical components. With the land and beasts thriving as she had seen so far they could host an entire army of witches and never run dry of phantom tears, grimm fangs, or gryphon blood.
Wednesday wanted into that library, there was no chance in her lifetime she'd find herself unprepared for a meeting such as this, she needed to learn everything about werewolves as she could in the time being to give her an edge. There were of course the obvious weaknesses she had learned from her father as a child; silver, wolfsbane, and fire were all good ways of either cornering or ending such a beast. But you had to get close to use those. She needed something that would manipulate or control them, something to perhaps make them more…agreeable, to her family's terms in the new treaty. Whilst her mind had been wandering, Corvus finished the tour and said he would be in the kitchen making hemlock tea if anyone wished to join him.
First things first though, she needed a shower to wash off all of her parents' doting affection for each other that sat like a film on her skin from the long drive starting in New Jersey. It oozed off of them like tar. She excused herself to freshen up, giving Thing explicit instructions to stay in her room and check every corner of it for hidden passageways or places to hide things. Something deep in her soul, something she could feel was connected to her psychic power, was warning her the negotiations would last much longer than anticipated. Wednesday had brought this up with her mother once already, but Morticia had smiled and said her own abilities as a dove had offered no such warning, and that she felt things would go even better than expected.
After her shower she changed into a pair of black pajamas and decided to go downstairs and have tea with Corvus after all, opting to not rebraid her hair just yet. Nobody but her family was allowed to see her looking anything less than murderous, and the twisted nature of her cousin made her all the more certain that he would take notice of the subtle show of respect she was offering by doing this. The older man was sitting on a barstool and leaned on the counter, one hand wrapped around a still boiling cup of tea while the other flicked through an old tome as though he had read it 7 times already. Perhaps he had, with a lifespan that long she could only imagine the amount of knowledge kept in the crypt of his mind. Her foot scuffed on the uneven flooring between the hallway and kitchen, and without so much as looking Corvus lifted a finger from his book. It traced a delicate rune in the air, leaving behind a trail of dark green in the air that seemed to pull in the light, and utensils began flying through the air as the magic took hold and brewed Wednesday a cup of her own tea that was then set down in front of the seat next to his.
"Care to join me Wednesday? It's the perfect night for a good read."
"I'd be more than happy, so long as I'm not interrupting your routine." He chuckled a bit at that, and placed a bookmark in the old journal before turning to her. In the dark of the night outside she had assumed his eyes had been the same dark brown as the rest of the family, but she could now see her assumption had been wrong. Corvus's eyes were not just black, they were all black. Pupil, iris, sclera, the entirety were black as the night with the same green sheen you'd find on a beetle's carapace as the light reflected off of them.
"There's no routine to ruin, not for family. I'm not allowed many visitors out here so I welcome every opportunity to speak with someone other than Rue."
"Rue? I wasn't aware anybody else lived out here." Wednesday's confusion was plain on her face, and it made Corvus let out a dry laugh. Another rune traced through the air and all the windows crept open, and he let out a sharp whistle similar to the one from before, but with a musical melody reminding her of Frank Sinatra's 'My Way.' Out in the darkness of the night came a keening screech, a moment later a small creature sat perched on the windowsill by the sink. It had the head of a great horned owl, with razor sharp talons, and wings stretching out from its shoulders. The body reminded her of a bobcat, large and covered with ashy gray fur with a long curling tail tipped in black. "What is it?"
"She's a gryphowl, a subsidiary family of gryphons and hippogriffs. They're endangered now as their blood is easier to harvest than that of their larger family members, and twice as potent. They all share the same amount of magical energy you see, regardless of size, and it causes the magic in a gryphowls blood to condense to fit in such a small package," Corvus raised his hand and it walked across the counter, leapt onto the island, and rubbed its face against his finger. "She's as close to a familiar as I'll ever get, I've been taking care of her since she was no bigger than my finger."
"Fascinating," Wednesday sat down next to her cousin, held a flat hand out to Rue, and waited. Rue sniffed at her at first, before rubbing her face up and down along Wednesday's arm before flopping onto one side and resting her head in Wednesday's palm. "What do you mean by 'closest you'll get to a familiar'? All witches have a familiar, it comes with being a witch." He sucked in a deep breath and nodded at that, a pained expression overcoming his face.
"That's true enough, but I'm afraid I must be the exception to that rule," he began to pet the sleek gray fur and check Rue's toes for barbs, "but an Addams familiar is one and the same as who the curse of love picks for them. Many of our family witches have supernatural partners with animal-like forms or instincts. Your great great aunt Liza was a witch of the highest order, and her husband Leopold was a very powerful werewolf. He served as both the object of her curse and her power."
"And because you are the Keeper, you're never allowed to find love," Wednesday finished.
"That's right, the only thing that can kill an Addams and make it stick is the loss of our love. Since I cannot love, I cannot die. At least not by any natural or easily obtained supernatural means. Beyond even that, I am a cross between two old and powerful witch bloodlines. My mother was an Addams, as you know, but my father came from a family of green witches known as the Enfants de la Décadence."
"The Children of Decay," Wednesday translated the french, and slipped her hand out from under Rue's head to take a sip of her tea, "what's the difference between the two?"
"The two of what?"
"What we are and what your father was, what is a green witch? I've heard of them but never met one."
"You have an inquisitive young mind, for sure. A green witch will often forge their own connection or what they refer to as 'the path,' to whatever energies within nature most call to them. Some find deity work to their liking, others get along well with bogs or rainforests and use plants to their benefit, and the Children of Decay specialized in all things in nature that broke down the dead, returning their energy to the earth. Mushrooms, fungus, mycelium, insects, mold, scavengers, these are the things my powers tend to relate to. As well as a penchant for simple runic magic granted to me by my mother."
"I see, thank you for clarifying," she said and took another sip. Behind her eyes thoughts swirled together and blended in a haphazard sorting system. So green witch blood must also be the reason he looks so young after all this time, no Addams has lived past the age of 80 without at least a few white hairs. Yet he stands here after 200 years not looking a day over maybe 24. "I tend to ask many questions, if it ever becomes overbearing or bothersome please inform me so I can satiate my curiosity with other means."
"I'll be sure to, so long as you bring anything of import to me first. You may rule the family one day, but for now little cousin, this is my territory and I know all the secrets it holds. Speaking of which," from the pocket of his vest he produced a large silver key, inlaid with a large sapphire at the end, "this will give you full access to the library to use at your discretion. Take care of the library and it will take care of you, it's more alive than you might think." Corvus winked and picked up his tea, scooping up Rue in his other arm. "I think it's late enough now that if I don't sleep, I may just miss the Sinclair's arrival tomorrow. Goodnight Wednesday, sleep well."
"Goodnight Corvus, thank you for speaking with me," she stood with her hands behind her back, "it was enlightening to say the least." He nodded to her with a wry grin, and began the walk down the hall to his own room.
Tomorrow was both a nerve-wracking thought and an eager chance to prove herself, the restlessness had already gotten into her bones and made a new home for itself. Tonight she would not sleep, she would delve into the library and find any and all information she could on werewolves from her ancestors' personal accounts.
Tonight she would feast on knowledge like a man starved for weeks.