Which Way is W.i.t.c.h.?
By: A J
Disclaimer: I do not own W.i.t.c.h. or Amber. I'm merely a Fan of both expressing my appreciation through this original piece of fiction, with no monetary gain sought.
Chapter 4
'Random Emotions'
Susan parked her Accord with a contented sigh. Dinner with the Lins had, as always, been delightful and delicious. Even listening to Irma prattle on about nothing and everything had been a novel experience. Susan remembered a momentary pang she'd had during the brunette's running commentary about - she completely blanked on the subject - but had suddenly worried that she and Will didn't just sit and talk like that anymore. Sue fervently hoped it was just a syndrome of her daughter's teenager life, and that the two of them would eventually return to their pre-Heatherfield friendship. 'Any day now …' she added to the thought wistfully.
Will hopped out to get the apartment door while her mom took care of her nightly auto lockdown. Their neighborhood had suffered over the three years they'd been there, and their new habits bore it out. Will felt especially bad about the theft problem, since if she and her friends hadn't been so busy saving the Infinite Dimensions from each other, they could have put a stop to it with ease. 'One of these days,' she thought sadly.
Car locked, Club™ on the steering wheel, and deadswitch engaged, Sue joined Will at the door. The pair took looks in each direction, (Will always included up, to her mother's perpetual amusement,) then hurried inside. Both of them were saddened by the fact that, even with a family friend on the police force, they still didn't feel safe in their own neighborhood.
Once inside, Susan sent Will to get both their black outfits and hang them just outside the bathroom for their morning rush. Will got her mom's first. Susan had left it on the door of the door of her closet before the teens had arrived earlier. But when Will went to grab her own from her room, she found something on top of her lace-edged blouse, which she'd lain across the edge of her bed during the morning's tumult.
A small rectangular box awaited her.
"What the frak is this?" she muttered, plucking the box up. It wasn't heavy, but it was strangely cold, like it had just come out of a refrigerator. Stranger yet, as she grabbed it, the Heart of Candracar gave one of its ringing chimes. She recognized the chime from whenever the Guardians had come across another magical artifact, like the Seal of Phobos, or the Key to Balo Tocc. Since the Heart hadn't immediately taken offensive or defensive action, Will figured this item was safe to examine. 'Huh? Make that these items,' she amended, when she opened the box and found a deck of cards. "Wait your turn, jealous thing," she murmured soothingly, holding her hand and the Heart over her own thumping organ.
She plucked the cards out and found they were, if anything, colder than their container. Flicking through the deck, she marveled at the artwork of the cards. It wasn't an ordinary deck of cards, she realized, it was a tarot set. Suddenly thankful to Irma and Hay's sporadic forays into researching Earth's magical traditions, Will fanned the deck softly. During their tenure as the Guardians, each of them had had their palms read by Irma, their horoscopes plotted by star-watcher Hay Lin, and even their numerology charts done by a skeptical Taranee. (None of the rest of them had been up to the math.) When Cassidy had given Irma an old tarot deck for Christmas last year, the Water Guardian had gone out, picked up a copy of 'Tarot for Dummies', and proceeded to do a spread for each of the girls. That plain set had been a poor cousin to the masterpieces Will held in her hand now.
Each card looked hand-painted. The swords and cups depicted were straight out of museum displays. Will had no clue what art values must be like for something this beautiful, (she was sure Hay could have told her in a heartbeat,) but had the disturbing feeling she was holding a priceless heirloom. Then she got to the Arcana, and gasped. Each one was a portrait, but all were hauntingly familiar. It was as if she'd seen each person, place, or scene portrayed somewhere before …
She was admiring one of a glorious castle on top of a mountain, the Tower card appropriately, when her mother yelled from the apartment's bathroom.
"Oh, I cannot believe … Will! I need the box!" Susan yelled.
Hastily casing the tarot set, Will snapped upright. "Huh? What box?" she called, slipping the deck into her pocket.
"The box in the linen closet! You know … the women's supplies!" her mom answered.
"Oh! On the way, Mom," Will exhaled in relief. Grabbing her black outfit, she hung it next to her mother's and got their feminine products out.
"Oh, thank God," Susan said when her daughter handed her the boxful. "It couldn't happen at a worse time, but I can't complain, considering …" She stopped talking so suddenly Will looked back in at her.
"Mommmm?" Will locked eyes with her mother, and Susan deflated.
"Well, you know I'm dating Dean …"
"Oh, my God, Mom, don't tell me …"
"Almost …"
Will smirked mischievously. 'And here I thought the reason Dad and Serena invited us all over last weekend was to tell me I was gonna have a little sibling from them, first …" At her own words, she paled. "Oh, ohmigod, oh Mom, I am so sorry …"
"No sorrier than I am, sweety," Susan managed. She finished her routine, and with a sad expression – for several reasons – flushed and exited. "I … I'll see you in the morning, Will. It's been a long day." Mother and daughter hugged each other silently, then both went to their rooms.
Will slid the deck of cards out of her pocket after closing her door. Flipping back to the one of the Tower, she sat on her bed and slid that one away to reveal the next card. She almost dropped the whole deck with a gasp. The Emperor card looked just like her father!
Heart thumping, breath short, Will did her best to try to remain calm. 'This can't be happening!' she screamed inwardly. First, a mysterious uncle she'd never met … never even heard of, before … now, an equally mysterious gift that showcased her father as the … what? 'What is all this about?' she thought, looking at the card again. Then her day, already turning into a surreal nightmare, got weirder …
The card, or rather the tiny portrait on the card, answered her!
"What is what all about?" the tiny man in the tiny picture asked. "Who are you?" If she hadn't been completely freaked out, Will would have been as scared as she was reassured that she hadn't noticed that he was talking to her telepathically, just as the other Guardians did.
"Will," she managed to croak. "I'm Will. Don't you recognize me, Dad?" If it wasn't him, she was really setting herself up for some serious therapy later.
"If you're Will, then I'm not your father." The tiny man, dressed in brown and black medieval garb, looked for all the world like a laird of Meridian to her. He looked at her closely, seeing her crestfallen expression at his pronouncement. With a wry grin, he amended, "I'm your grandfather. My name is Random."