Steam was floating off my arms as my skin, heated from the shower, met the cooler temperatures of my bedroom. I tugged open the bottom drawer of the oak dresser with my black-nailed toe, the sound of liquid sloshing around inside of a container met my ears. I bent over sifting through clothes with my free hand the other gripping the towel around my thin form, a smirk found purchase on my lips as my hand hit the cool glass neck of the bottle half full of dark amber liquid. I lifted the tall, slender bottle of cognac out from underneath the unfolded clothes and pushed the drawer shut with the side of my foot. Unscrewing the top with my thumb I tipped my head back and took a small swig, welcoming the smooth burn of brandy scorching its way down my throat. I removed the bottle from my lips and looked at.
"Still not the same as rum." I muttered longingly staring at the bottle as if it would suddenly turn into rum, couldn't Rumpel do something like that once?
Not that it would make a difference even if he still could there would be no way he would aid me in drinking alcohol, explaining why this was hidden in the bottom of my chest of drawers. I took another swig as I headed in the direction of my closet. I couldn't understand why he was so against me drinking alcohol, I was technically 85 years old and besides I couldn't even get drunk. The toxin levels of alcohol were laughable compared to that of my blood. My eyes drifted over my shoes until they met the black ankle heeled boots. Usually I didn't wear them due to the sharp razors attached to the inside of the heel giving people an uneasy feeling, but truthfully I needed to be intimidating if I was going to get through the day. I forced a long swig own my throat before capping the bottle, the comforting burn clearing my mind that would definitely be stressed and weary before this day was done.
...
There was no doubt in my mind that the note was leering at me. "Ella, though I am currently unaware as to what I have done and would like to discuss it in length with you, your friend, Emma, owes me a debt in which I am collecting now, we have gone in search of Baelfire. I know not when I will return from this excursion but until then stay safe." Rumpel's handwriting was elegant as well as erratic. I could remember the first time he tried to teach me how to write and how he had to go in search of a learning book when I became so frustrated with my attempts at imitating his. "You have to master it first, dearie, before ya make it your own. Kinda like magic." I dropped the note as if it had singed me. Loss and anger began to fill my vision as abandonment crept over me. I crumpled the note into a ball and held it in my fist, marching over to the small plastic wastebasket in the corner. I hovered over it and before I knew what I was doing the welcome flare of poisonous energy ignited in me and tingled along my veins setting them on fire and cooling them at the same time, an exhilarating long forgotten feeling overwhelmed me as I watched the crumpled ball of paper ignite in flames and then turn into cremated ashes. I let the dark grey soot slip between my fingers, long black veins of magic still visibly trailing up from my extended onyx-colored nails weaving in an unidentifiable pattern up my arms and over the rest of my skin. I turned my hand sideways watching in satisfaction as the rest of the cinders slid out of my palm, revealing more inky black veins. I snapped out of the trance with a shriek, realizing what I had done. Quickly, I pulled the venomous magic back into my center, watching the black lines sink and fade as well as my nails retreat. I braced my hands against the wall forcing uneven breaths to fill my lungs. Magic, I haven't done true magic since—I shook my head furiously, keeping those memories at bay. I shoved myself away from the wall, heading back over to the big registry book Rumpel kept, ignoring my reflection following me in the glass shelves and silently thanking whatever deity had kept me from looking in them while I was in that form. I leaned against the shop window and flipped open the large volume just as the ground shook. Whirling around and peeking through the blinds I made out a figure about the size of a five story building. I marched around the counter sliding my knives into both hands. Great, and now we've got a giant to deal with.