Viola was both in shock and awe as she gazed at the former blonde. For the first time today, Ellen smiled at her. Even without that Viola could tell just how happy Ellen was as she felt her raw emotion from the contract. That's not to say Ellen wasn't open book to her up to now, but from here on things were definitely going to become more interesting.
"What's the matter? Do you like what you see?" Ellen asked with a mischievous smile.
For a second, Viola was caught off guard by the comment until she realized why. Since the both of them are bound by the same contract, it stands to reason that Ellen would also feel any emotion she was feeling as well. "I can't help it." Viola admitted without a hint of shame. Now that she finally achieved her goal, there was no reason for her to lie or play around anymore, but that didn't change how much she enjoyed teasing her. "That outfit suits you so well. How could I not stop and check you out?"
Ellen couldn't help blushing, not only because of how bold Viola was saying that so casually, but also because she knew she meant every word of it. "How can you say that so easily?"
"It's true though. Even Dawn here thinks so." Viola stated as she placed a hand on the raven-haired girl's shoulder.
Dawn simply smiled at the new born witch reaffirming Viola's statement.
Ellen turned an even deeper shade of red as she was not used to all the praise and even more so wearing such an exposing outfit. She wished she could just go back to wearing her normal clothes. Just like that, she found herself back in the simple white dress she came in and the initial surge of energy that she felt upon becoming a witch dissipated. Even her hair and eyes reverted to their normal color. The sudden transformation surprised the blonde, but it took only a moment for her to realize it was just a temporary change. While not as prevalent as before, she could still feel the power she gained lying deep within her.
"You changed back? That's too bad. I was hoping you would've stayed in that form a little longer." Viola teased.
Ellen decided not to indulge the violet-haired witch any further and elected to remain in her current form. "Yeah, I'm sure you would have."
The both of them maintained eye contact with each other before descending into laughter without really knowing why.
Dawn curiously tilted her head to side clearly confused by what was transpiring. "Did something good happen?"
"We were just discussing snack time." Viola responded.
"Is it that time already? What are we going to eat?" Dawn asked as only an excited little girl can.
Viola turned on her heel and began to leave the foyer. "Well I did bake a cake this morning, but I still have to frost and decorate it."
"Can I help?" The raven-haired girl asked as she happily skipped beside her.
"Of course you can."
Ellen watched both of them start to walk off, before following behind them. She was guided to the fifth floor park and left to her own devices once again. To most people a park on the top floor of a house would seem strange, but to Ellen it gave off a feeling of nostalgia as she had walked through this place a number of times in the past although the area was a bit different than she remembered. For starters, the garden was much larger allowing it to house a wider array of flowers than before. Huge windows were evenly spaced across all four of the room's walls along with a giant skylight that spanned the entire length of the park which allowed for ample sunlight to come through. Finally, a familiar oak tree acted as the center piece of the garden which provided a decent amount of shade. Who knew that just a little bit more sunlight and a lot more space could make this much of a difference to the place? It shouldn't be surprising her as much as it was especially after exploring the place only mere moments before, but at the time she was only focused on looking for a way out. After taking it all in however, the blonde felt like she could once again call this house home.
"Do you like what I did with the place?" Viola asked as she approached her with a picnic basket in tow.
The blonde didn't turn around and instead focused on the oak tree to gather her thoughts. "Like it…? Everything's changed so much. I don't even think I could call it the Witch's House anymore."
"I'll take that as a compliment."
"How did you do it anyway?" Ellen had a serious expression on her face as she finally decided to lock eyes with Viola. "Change the house to such an extent I mean. Before it was… you know…"
"I destroyed the house and rebuilt it from the ground up." The super witch stated playing off the event like it was no big deal.
"That's all that happened?" The blonde asked clearly confused by such a short response.
"I could tell you about the house vehemently rejected me as its new master and how it did everything in its power to destroy me, but what's the point in telling a story you already know the ending to?"
"That's true, but…"
"Putting that aside, shouldn't you already know what happened without my having to tell you? We did receive each other's memories as part our contract after all. I'm sure if you transformed you'd be able to get the answers you seek."
"I refuse."
"Why?"
"It's embarrassing."
Viola couldn't help thinking how cute Ellen was when she acted this way and as much as she wanted to tease her, now wasn't the time nor the place. Instead, she held up a picnic basket and asked, "Would you like to drink tea with me instead?"
"That would be acceptable." The blonde hesitantly agreed.
Viola walked towards the oak tree and pulled out a blue and white plaid blanket. She threw it into the air and using a simple spell, the blanket magically set itself under the shade. Kneeling down on the blanket and placing the picnic basket next to her, she pulled out a simple white porcelain teapot as well as a couple of matching teacups and saucers and poured the freshly made tea into them. "It's ready."
Taking that as her cue, Ellen sat down beside her and accepted the cup. "Thank you."
"There's nothing like drinking a cup of tea in a beautiful garden on a day like this." Viola stated after taking a sip.
Ellen took a sip as well and wore a facial expression that suggested the tea was to her liking. The blonde actually enjoyed the peaceful moment especially with the aroma of fresh tea filling the air, but at the same time that's exactly what made the absence of a certain little girl more apparent. "Where's the brat?"
"She's putting the finishing touches on the cake."
"Are you sure it's wise to leave that girl in charge of a cake? I bet she's probably sneaking a piece as we speak."
"What are you talking about? Dawn's a good girl unlike someone I know."
"Oh, shut up." The blonde stubbornly put the cup to her lips to hide the reddening of her cheeks.
Viola smirked reveling in how easy it was to get under Ellen's skin before taking another sip. "However, you are right. I have to help her move the cake when she's finished. Speaking of, it seems she's almost done." Placing the empty cup on the saucer, she got to her feet and started walking away.
Ellen silenty watched her leave deciding to enjoy the peace and quiet of the garden while it lasted. Despite her reservations, the tea was quite delicious which only made her wonder what kind of cake Viola could've made for her. Just as she had let her mind wander, both the super witch and the brat had returned. Viola was carrying a rather modestly large cake on a silver dish. From what she could tell, the cake was frosted with lots of cream and evenly topped with freshly sliced strawberries. Even more so, it was decorated with really intricate flower designs which led her to believe this wasn't just a normal cake.
"Dawn, can you set the plates for me please?" Viola asked as she set the cake down in the center of the picnic blanket.
The young girl did as asked pulling out a set of plates and forks from the basket while happily humming a tune.
"Ellen, would you like to help me cut the cake?"
"Sure!" The blonde responded almost immediately in an attempt to disguise how nervous she was and for good reason. She went from being kidnapped, to almost being killed by a vengeful spirit, to being rescued by her kidnapper, to finally becoming a witch for a second time, and all of this happened in the span of a few hours. That being said, she couldn't help but be a little skeptical of the events transpiring before her. Just what was Viola hoping to achieve by throwing a party? It didn't make any sense to her.
"You haven't figured it out yet? Don't tell me I have to spell it out for you." Viola teased as if responding to her inner thoughts.
"Stop reading my mind!"
"You're like an open book and you give me such cute reactions too that I can't help myself." By this point, the super witch had a really good handle on how to poke fun at the ever prideful blonde. She knew all the right buttons to push even more so now that their lives were bound together by the contract.
Ellen knew she shouldn't be getting so worked up especially when this was exactly what Viola wanted. It was silly and immature, but despite knowing all that, she continued to fall for Viola's childish taunts. She took a deep breath to clear her mind and with a slightly less annoyed expression shifted the conversation to the sweet baked dessert in front of her. "Just hand me a knife so I can cut this thing."
"You already have a knife. All you need to do is call for it."
Ellen focused her mind forming the mental image of a knife materializing in her hands and to her surprise one actually did appear. Feeling the grip and weight of the knife in her hands, she realized this was her knife. The same one she grasped and kept at her side all those years ago.
"You're not going to be able to cut the cake properly with such a small knife." Before Ellen could respond, Viola stealthily came up behind her and placed hand over the one that held the knife. "Extend." With a simple command, the blonde's knife tripled in length to about eight or nine inches.
Ellen blushed as she felt Viola's warmth seep into her body not to mention her chest rubbing into her back. She almost would've forgotten the third party guest sitting only a few feet away from her if said guest wasn't blatantly glaring at her which she assumed was out of jealousy.
Viola directed her attention towards Dawn. "Would you like the first piece?"
"Yes, please." The raven-haired girl responded eagerly holding out her plate.
Ellen was surprised by the brat's sudden change attitude. Was she only angry because they were taking too long to cut the cake? Well that wasn't her fault. If anything Viola was the one to blame for making a show out of it. The way Viola was slowly guiding her hand and subsequently the knife as it cut through the sweet baked dessert. It was as if she was acting like they just got married and were cutting their wedding cake.
"Bingo." Viola whispered into her ear before serving the first slice to the young girl who eagerly started eating without a care in the world.
Ellen shifted her attention back to the cake. Five years ago she would've dived right in without a second thought, but it was a different story now. Ellen couldn't help wondering what Viola meant by calling this their wedding cake. Given what Ellen knew about Viola, it probably had some weird and twisted meaning to it. Did she do something to this cake? If that were the case, she wouldn't allow the brat to be stuffing her face with it right now. After taking a moment to mull it over, Ellen decided to try a piece if only to satisfy her own curiosity. It was her wedding cake after all. Though, when she finally cut herself a piece and tasted it, the flavor went beyond her expectations. The cake itself was rich, moist, and had a deep chocolate flavor while the filling itself was to her surprise a sweet strawberry jam with small bits of strawberries still mixed-in. It was almost as if she was eating a chocolate-covered strawberry in cake form.
After tending to the little one, Viola turned her attention back to the blonde. "How is it?"
It was a simple question without any underlying hidden meaning as far as Ellen could determine, so she had no problem answering honestly. "This is the best dessert I've ever eaten."
"I'm glad our wedding cake is to your liking."
The way Viola phrased made it sound as if she was relieved, but at the same time it was so carefully masked behind her usual teasing Ellen wasn't sure what to make of it. Though she supposed she could play along if only to show her thanks for such a tasty treat. "So you're just blatantly admitting it now, but I guess in a way you're right."
Dawn quietly listened to the conversation until she finished up her slice of cake at which point, curiosity had gotten the better of her. "What are you two talking about?"
Noticing the empty plate on the little girl's lap as well as the remnants of crumbs and frosting around her lips, Viola used a napkin from the basket to wipe the mess off her face while politely answering her question. "We're talking about how good the cake came out. You've really gotten better at decorating."
"It's only because I had a good teacher." The raven-haired girl cheerfully responded.
"So the brat really frosted and decorated this cake all by herself." Ellen interjected as she was both surprised and tiny bit impressed.
"We've been baking cakes and other treats together like this for a while now, so it's only natural for her to be this good at it." Viola stated.
"I guess you two have known each other for a while." The blonde concluded.
Viola took a moment to gather her thoughts as if debating whether it has actually been that long. "It's been about three years since we first met now that I think about it."
Needless to say Ellen's curiosity was piqued. "How did the strongest witch in the world end up becoming best friends with an ordinary little girl?"
"Viola saved me." Dawn chimed in.
"She was wandering the forest alone picking flowers when she was attacked by a giant snake." Viola explained.
"It had dark green scales, beady red eyes, and it was this big." The ten year old held her hands out as wide as she could to emphasize the point.
The description of this 'snake' sounded all too familiar to Ellen as she had summoned something eerily similar in the past, but it wasn't possible for it to exist outside of the witch's house or at least it shouldn't be. "So what happened to this snake?"
"Viola knocked it out with one punch." The raven-haired girl stood up and made an exaggerated punching motion through the air.
"She punched it…?" Ellen asked with a quizzical look, not that such a thing wasn't possible especially given everything that's happened so far, but just imagining how such a thing must've played out was difficult to say the least.
Just the blonde's facial expression alone told Viola the whole story. "You know if you transformed…"
"I still refuse!" Ellen shouted in a desperate attempt to keep her from suggesting anything more.
Satisfied with the results of her latest gibe, Viola returned the topic of conversation back to the food. After watching Ellen's face light up the moment she placed it in her mouth and more importantly her honest feelings after she took a bite, Viola was more excited than ever to try it herself. In a few seconds, she promptly served herself a slice and tasted it. "This is pretty good. I think I outdid myself."
"Don't ignore me!"
"Calm down, Ellen. There's no need to get so worked up is there?"
"Whose fault is it that I'm so worked up in the first place?"
"Come on, I'll pour you some more tea and cut you an extra big slice of cake."
"Fine…"
Viola did as she promised refilling her tea cup and serving an extra big portion of cake on to her plate beside the blonde's original half eaten slice.
It was hard for Ellen to complain. How could she when she was being fed arguably the best confection she's ever eaten in her entire life? If she could eat sweets of this quality all the time then maybe she could tolerate Viola's teasing for the time being. In the span of one day, she went from being kidnapped, to being saved, to turning into a witch… again, and now she was apparently married? It's been one surprise after another and the blonde couldn't help wondering what would happen next.
AN: This took far longer than I anticipated to complete and finally put up. It didn't help that my laptop's hard drive blew up on top of a bunch of other stuff I won't bother to mention. That being said, I think I'm going to put this story on hold for a while and work on some of my other stuff. Please have a Happy New Year.