Disclaimer: I do not own Little Vampire or The Craft (the universe of my OC) and all depictions done are out of love for their respective franchises...
Author Note: WooHooo~! Thank you so much Author-fan2012 your encouragement is much appreciated ;D! We're getting into the thicket! Pretty soon the romance will bite...just a few chapters away ;)!
- O -
"You're not even a bat!" she squawked. "How is this possible?!" her limbs flailed as he dove through the air with her. Her fingers squeezed around his frigid hand. She was flying. She was legitimately flying! This had levitation spells beat.
"I didn't know you guys could fly when you weren't bats!" Nancy shouted over the night breeze. It danced wildly through her curly hair. For the first time since they left the ground, she turned her glowing face to look at the teenage Vampire.
Gregory's face reflected the epitome of practiced indifference.
But underneath, smugness bubbled.
The rolling white misty clouds greeted her as they floated through the air. She sputtered as they flew through a particularly fluffy one.
Gregory did his best to not let his amusement show. "You know, if you keep gawking and screeching at every bit of scenery we pass," he paused to catch her gaze. "I might just lose my concentration and drop you," he warned with a teasing fanged smile.
Nancy squinted at his joking.
She had half a mind to let go of his hand, just to see if he would catch her. She contemplated the likelihood of that actually happening. She really considered it.
Nah, one act of random kindness was good enough for the night. She wouldn't risk the return of the Vampire boy's wrath.
Or would she?
Taking in a great breath she loosened her grip and felt herself slip easily out of Gregory's hold.
She had no time for regrets or thoughts of any kind, as adrenaline raced through her free falling form.
The Earth lurched closer and closer and was creeping steadily upward to meet her.
With a panicked but accepting mind she processed that Gregory would not be-
A steely grip latched onto her wrist and held her still.
Her body swayed and floundered from side to side as she dangled in the air.
Her arm bruised.
The two were suspended just above the height of the trees.
The Witch waited with bated breath. She was frozen.
...
Finally, Nancy looked up daringly into the boy's face.
Her beads jangled in the ripping wind.
She was stunned to find a most unusual expression there. The remnants of panic, and dare she say, fear?
As quickly as she had identified it, the flicker was gone, and she was left to find a much more familiar countenance.
He was livid.
Well, about as livid as a sallow dead face could be.
" You. Are. Insane," he spat as he yanked her arm forward so that he could elevate her back up to his level.
She winced in slight pain at his roughness. But ultimately found that she couldn't keep a straight face. She exploded with heaving laughter. "I've always wanted to go sky diving!" she choked. Her body was still pulsing with adrenaline.
They flew onward in silence for a moment.
Gregory tired to keep his composure. "I hardly find this amusing." He wasn't doing a very good job.
Nancy took in a great sniff of air before directing a giant smile at him. "Oh c'mon, you have to admit," she raised her eyebrows. "That was hilarious!"
Gregory only gave her a deep scowl. The girl was a maniac. "That was foolish."
Nancy could do nothing but roll her eyes. She had had her fun, so she supposed she could give the boy a break. He actually saved her after all, even if it was her intention to put herself in danger in the first place. She had to give him some credit.
Her hand tightened its grasp on his.
Gregory either ignored her, or pretended not to notice.
- O -
Her shoes sank into the peat of the cemetery as they finally touched down to the ground. "Yuck," she winced trying to rip her feet free of the swampy soil. She yanked and tugged but to no avail.
Gregory showed surprising patience, as he waited for her to remove her shoes from the muddy Earth.
With a loud 'squelch' she was released. She stumbled clumsily to join Gregory at one of the catacomb entry holes.
He nodded to her curtly before he took a step and his body disappeared down into the darkness.
"Show off," she muttered. She quickly dropped her satchel down into the cavern hoping to have hit her mark, but sighed when she only heard the sound of it hitting the ground. With a practiced ease she crouched down and shimmied her way into the hole.
Nancy fell onto the dusty floor in a heap. But recovered easily. She stood quickly and catapulted her bag back up onto her back.
Looking around, she saw no sign or trace of her Vampire boy wonder. She shrugged in indifference before making confident strides down the darkened corridor. The further she ventured the louder the bouncing voices got. She was really starting to feel like a creeper. Always listening and dropping in on the Vampire family's conversations.
Her head peeked around the corner to see an angel statue. She was back by the main room. Perfect. She could find her way back to her cavern end from there. Holding her head high she sauntered into the cavernous room. It was her intention to walk by without any notice or acknowledgement, but fate had other plans for her.
"Witch," the deepened voice of Frederick halted her hastened steps.
He had called to her just as she had made it to the center of the large high ceilinged room.
With a face encompassing wince she turned to his voice. "Yes sir," she bobbed her head to him. With surprise she noticed that the entirety of the Vampire family was in her company. This had to be the first time she'd seen them all in the same room together, other than when they were sleeping of course. She poignantly tried to ignore all other characters in the room and focused solely on Frederick.
"Tell me," he began. "Did you mean to tell us of your deceit, or did you wish for us to find it by ourselves."
Nancy blinked. Was he talking about her trying to leave? She honestly wasn't sure. Better play it safe.
"What?" she asked stupidly.
Frederick's face reflected annoyance. "You are here to aid my family," he looked down at her from his full looming height. "It is an absolute mockery to find you and all of your possessions suddenly gone from our company without any notice."
Nancy felt her eyes water. Why was Frederick so intimidating? This wasn't going well. They weren't supposed to notice her absence. She'd only been gone for a few hours for fuck's sake.
She felt herself begin to crumble. How was she supposed to explain that she had left to keep him and his family safe? He'd demand that she leave again that very instant.
With a withering look she noticed Frederick's form stumble slightly. He was still weak. Fuck. She was so fucking selfish.
"I-"
"She was out gathering herbs," Gregory intercepted. He stepped forward to the center of the room, in challenge to his father.
Nancy couldn't breathe. She might as well still have been cascading downwards in the sky.
Frederick's head jerked to the side to regard his son.
"She was lost," he provided with a small head tilt in Nancy's direction. "Couldn't find her way back in the dark, so I aided her."
Frederick narrowed his eyes in scrutiny. He turned to look at Nancy once more. "Is this true ,Witch?"
Normally she would have scoffed. That wasn't her name. But given the circumstances she could do nothing but quickly nod in affirmation.
Frederick looked harshly between his son and the Witch.
"Very well."
Nancy almost relaxed.
"But I would like proof."
"Proof?" Nancy parroted.
Frederick nodded his head solemnly.
Nancy glanced at Gregory. He looked nervous. What the hell did Frederick want? With a panicked thought, she realized that she didn't have any herbs in her bag!
That's a dead giveaway.
Frederick reached down to the necklace encircling his neck. His long fingers effortlessly grabbed hold of the round golden ring at the base of the chain. "This is the Ring of Attamon," he explained.
Nancy's face squinted in confusion. Her fingers tightened around the arm straps of her satchel.
"Hold on to the ring and we shall see where your truth lies," he spoke, readily reaching his arm out to offer her hold of the ring.
She gulped.
Well, this is it I guess. Can't really get out of this one.
She reached out a trembling hand.
The moment her fingers made contact with the overly warm metal, she felt her mind roll.
It was just like a much more powerful version of her gypsy orb. Except, she had absolutely no control.
It hurt. A lot. It felt like her skull was being torn open by its bony seam.
Camera-like flashes started to hit her. All were fuzzy and unrecognizable, but as they increased in frequency a vision began to unfold.
The details of the room were impossibly fuzzy.
She was standing on a hardwood floor, an open window was blowing cold wind at her.
Nancy felt a tickling sensation on her hand.
She shook her arm to alleviate it.
A few seconds passed and it returned.
She glanced down to her hand to observe a flurry of cockroaches scurrying along her knuckles. With another disinterested shake, the roaches scrambled up her hand and into the sleeve of her jacket.
Her entire body itched. They were all over her. Before she knew it, she had thrown herself to the ground and was writhing as they ran rampant up and down her limbs. With unadulterated horror, she realized that they were in her mouth as well. She squeezed her eyes closed as their feathery feelers crawled up and out of her screaming throat.
Fat tears fell down her face as she seized in terror. Her hands pummeled her own body to try to remove the frightening creatures. Nothing would stop them. Her fingers began to burn. She forced her eyes open. The moment she held her hands up, they transformed. Her fingers grew, and began to slither.
They had become snakes.
Nancy tore her throat with a scream.
Frederick stepped away from her.
Nancy took in shaking breaths as her body tried to recover from the pyschological trauma.
Frederick spared her a bewildered look, before he took yet another step back.
He must have seen it too. Those bugs.
She shuddered and wrapped her arms around herself.
"Well, what has happened?" Anna asked impatiently, completely oblivious to the turmoil of her father and her Witch. "Is Nancy to stay?"
Frederick looked wearily at his daughter. Then to Nancy.
Nancy looked steadily to the ground, still attempting to catch her breath and calm herself. Before Frederick could respond to his child's questioning Nancy had already gathered her fallen bag from the floor and vacated the room.
With hurried surprise Anna scampered after her.
"What did you see my darling?" Freda stepped carefully forward.
Frederick blinked quickly before answering his wife. "...Nothing, it twas nothing."
"I see," she spoke, but didn't push the subject.
A tense moment passed.
"...She will stay," he spoke tiredly.
Whatever cruel scene they had shared, it was clear that the girl was no villain. Quite the contrary.
She was the victim.
- O -
"I knew you would not abandon us!" Anna gushed happily.
Nancy tried to smile at the dear child but her strength was failing. That hex had really rattled her.
Anna gasped in excitement as she watched Nancy cast the spells in the cave end that made everything begin to glow blue. Just as she positioned her candles back to their precise positions she heard a small sound.
"Nancy?" a small boyish voice inquired.
"Rudolf," Nancy gave the boy a strained smile.
He glanced quickly to Anna before reiterating, "We are most glad to have you back."
Nancy gave a tense laugh. "I'm glad to be back." It was weak, but there was actual honesty in her words.
"We were so worried, I truly thought you had left us," Anna's sweet trusting voice added.
Nancy pinched her eyes shut and kneeled down to embrace the two children. "I'm so sorry I worried you guys." She really didn't know what else to say. What else could she have possibly said to them?
Gregory watched her cradle his siblings.
As Nancy retreated from her hold of the children, she felt herself squint at the sight of a buckled shoe. Gregory was watching her from the cover of shadows at the edge of her tunnel. Startled by the realization she tried to stop herself from outwardly expressing her surprise.
With a quickly moving mind she addressed her brood of Vampire children. "It's been a long day, I think I'm going to go to sleep," she spoke quickly, even going as far as to throw a fake yawn into her admission.
Anna gasped. "Of course!" She grabbed hold of Rudolf's arm. "Come brother, Nancy needs her rest."
As the chipper voice of Anna disappeared down the passage, Nancy spared a look for the buckled shoes of Gregory.
They were gone.
Minutes ticked on with not even a glimpse of Gregory's appearance.
With a sigh of annoyance she quietly sauntered her way out of her cave and looked around cautiously for his scroungy form.
Just as she neared the end she was stopped by the sound of a throat clearing.
Her head turned swiftly to the side.
"Are you searching for something?" he spoke lazily, staring off to the side.
She jumped in surprise. He blended so easily into the cave wall.
"No," she blurted out. On instinct. For some reason she didn't want to give him the satisfaction of knowing that she was looking for him.
He turned his head to her.
She swallowed.
"Okay well, yeah, actually...I wanted to talk to you."
Her admittance almost made him recoil.
"...Why?" his voice was peppered in suspicion.
Her hands began fiddling with the spiked collar at her neck.
"Well, I uh...I believe thanks are in order," she spoke stiffly, feeling extremely awkward all of the sudden.
"Thanks?" he was incredulous.
"Yeah, you did a lot for me tonight," she kicked at some dust by her shoe. "More than a lot, actually."
Gregory could do nothing but stare.
"..."
The awkwardness tipped to a new height. Nancy couldn't handle it. She didn't know what else to say.
So her body hurled forward to grab hold of Gregory.
Her arms wrapped strangely around his dirty grey trench coat, and squeezed for a moment before flinging back off of him.
Gregory was rendered immobile. He had half a mind to push Nancy off of him. Her unexpected contact had felt like an attack at first before he realized that she was trying to hug him.
She cleared her throat.
Gregory opened his mouth to speak.
She interrupted him. "So yeah! Thanks!" she practically yelled before walking briskly back to her glowing grotto.
'What is wrong with me?!' her mind screeched.
Not even daring to risk a look behind her to see the dreaded boy's reaction. That hex must have been worse than she thought. She actually hugged her worst nightmare. Enemy number one since she set foot in the cemetery.
But it wasn't that simple anymore was it? For whatever reason, he had convinced her to return to his family, he had saved her daredevil ass from spattering all over the ground, and worse yet, he had defended her against Frederick. That one really got to her. Now she really didn't deserve that. Part of her really wanted to be caught in her deception. They'd be better off without her after all.
Especially after that vision. What the hell was that supposed to be anyway?! This was her second run in with a cockroach hex. Her body was still trembling from the unexpected experience.
What was Frederick thinking? He must have seen it too. She had left before she could even inquire such a thing. Was he even going to allow her to stay? Well, he hadn't found her and told her to leave yet so she was going to have to say no. But whatever they had shared, Nancy was positive that it didn't bode well for her.
Feeling a bit dizzy all the sudden Nancy sat herself down by the glow of her candles.
Her hands shook and reached forward to hold onto her head. Fingers slipped by and tangled into her curls. Her head was burning.
They were crawling underneath her clothes.
They were crawling in her hair.
They were crawling beneath her skin.
She began to chant,''Fire, fire burning bright turn my darkness into light! Take away my bad luck ill, bring me nothing but good will." Her voice cracked, "Bad luck came and stayed too long, be gone forever, be gone, be gone! With this fire burning bright, bring me good luck, bring me light!''
Bright yellow streaks shot out from her figure and bounced off the blue walls.
Her breathing became shallow.
Before she could form any more coherent worried thoughts, she had slumped forward and passed out on the sticky cave floor.