Part 4

Boscha watched as Willow continued to walk, the distance between them growing. She glanced down at the ground again as she dragged her feet. She felt bad for how she had acted. Mostly because if nothing else, it made her a sore loser. The more she thought about it, the more she regretted the way she had behaved at the greenhouse.

Slowing down to a stop, Boscha shook her head. She was not going to mope about what had happened. That wouldn't make things better. Although, Boscha wasn't sure what she could do to turn things around after her outburst. But leaving things off without so much as an attempt to apologize wasn't sitting well with her.

A heavy sigh passed through her lips. She wasn't going to get anywhere at the rate she was going. Not that it could be helped. As it was, she really didn't like the idea of having to apologize. She knew it would make her look weak and she always hated admitting to being in the wrong. Sure, maybe for something little it wasn't too much of an issue. But when it came to something this big… she wouldn't just look weak, she'd look like a quitter. And quitters were always bigger losers than failures.

She shook her head and tried to force herself to get past whatever was eating at her. It was driving her nuts how hard a time she was having. All she had to do was spit out two stupid little words. That was all, and then it could be done with and she could try to salvage whatever was left of the day.

Boscha took a minute to take a few more slow, deep breaths. She wanted to be sure when she apologized that she didn't do it with an attitude or anything like that. And if Willow was still upset with her, she'd just have to suck it up and deal with that. It would be no different than dealing with a bad call being made during a Grudgby match. All she could do is accept it and move on with the game.

Now in a better mindset and fueled with some sense of determination, Boscha started to move a bit faster. Willow was still a good way ahead of her, but she'd catch up quickly enough. Then she'd get her attention, apologize, and bring Willow someplace where they could actually have some fun together. She was not going to let anything get in her way of that.

The distance between Willow and herself grew shorter with each stride. In just a few more steps, she'd have caught up to her. She'd grab Willow firmly by the shoulder and just say she was sorry. Then if Willow wasn't going to accept it, she'd just use that as an excuse to try and prove she was sorry. And if that didn't work, then whatever, she can at least say she tried.

With her confidence returning, Boscha closed the gap between herself and Willow. She reached out slowly, not wanting to come across the wrong way when she made contact. But just seconds before she could place her hand onto Willow's shoulder, everything suddenly became dark. The next thing she knew, Boscha felt herself being lifted off the ground and slung over someone's shoulder.

After getting past the shock of her situation, Boscha began to struggle and cry out for help. But her efforts were in vain on both accounts. The nasty smelling, burlap sack that was covering her head seemed to be enchanted as no sound came from her no matter how hard she tried to scream. Her struggling only earned her a painful jab in the side from her captor and she tried to retaliate with an attempt at casting her fire spell.

The creep abducting her was ready however and Boscha got another strike before she could finish drawing her spell circle. Then she was set down again and something coated her hands, binding them together and solidifying to the point where she couldn't move them even the tiniest amount. She was back on her kidnapper's shoulder and was being carried off again to who knew where.

Boscha was furious, and if she were honest with herself, pretty darn scared too. Things with Willow had been going badly enough for her. The tedious labor and the drama she had caused at the greenhouse were proof of that. But this… this was far worse. Her chance to escape was dangerously low, if she even still had one, and she had no idea what was going to happen to her once they got to wherever she was being taken. She let out a muted sob and felt despair starting to set in as she gave up and accepted her fate.

Whoever was carrying her stopped again. Boscha felt herself being turned around and then she was being grabbed at by the jerk's hands. She started to fear the time had come for the worst to happen when suddenly… it all stopped. For a moment, Boscha was falling before another set of hands caught her. Then she was gently set down on the ground and the bag was pulled off her head.

The first thing Boscha saw once the bag had been removed was Willow. She was looking at her with concern and saying something, but Boscha couldn't register it over the sound of her own heavy breathing. Her eyes darted around as she tried to make sense of things. There was a large flower nearby, a carnivorous one with its petals wrapped some demon's upper body. Boscha stared at the violently kicking legs that were sticking out of the closed flower, only just starting to notice the muffled noises from within.

A hand gently touched her shoulder and Boscha jumped. She turned her head to look back to Willow, who was still trying to talk to her. Boscha, having concluded that she was safe, was finally able to relax a bit and focus on the other girl. Willow called her name again and Boscha needed another moment to find her voice again.

"W-what?" She stammered, still a bit disoriented.

"I said: are you okay?" Willow replied. "Are you hurt anywhere?"

"Um… I got hit a couple times, but I'll survive." Boscha told her. "I'm more freaked out by what happened than anything else."

"You're certain you aren't hurt?" Willow pressed, still looking concerned. Boscha gave a nod and Willow let out a small sigh of relief. "Thank the Titan. When I saw what happened to you, I got so scared. I am so glad I came looking for you after you disappeared like that."

"Yeah… me too…" Boscha said, smiling a little before something occurred to her. "Hey, wait a minute. How did you find me?"

"Oh, well…. I may have thought you'd try to ditch me at some point today, so I had something prepared in case that happened." Willow explained, drawing a magic circle and levitating a crushed flower that was on the ground nearby. "This is a Screaming Mimi. They let out a piercing shriek once they bloom, it can be heard for miles. I planted a seed on your jacket when you were working in the garden earlier. And when I couldn't find you a few minutes ago, I cast a spell to make it grow. After that, I just followed the noise."

"But what if you had been too far away for your magic to work?" Boscha asked. "And how were you able to target it when you couldn't see it?"

Willow giggled. "I have a way with plants. Mrs. Amaryllis says she hasn't seen natural talent like mine in years."

"Are you bragging?" Boscha asked, managing to crack a tiny smirk. "I kinda like the confidence. It's a good look for you."

"I'm guessing that would be my compliment for the hour?" Willow inquired, a barely noticeable blush on her cheeks.

"You want a compliment? I think you're awesome!" Boscha blurted out. "You really saved me… after all the crap I've put you through over the years… I would've thought you'd just walk away."

"I… I could have and if it weren't for the fact that you're supposed to do anything I wanted today, I think I would have. But I'm so glad that I didn't. If something had happened to you, I'd feel awful about it."

"Why?" Boscha asked, surprising Willow quite a bit. "If someone I hated got snatched and dragged off, I wouldn't have cared."

"You think that I hate you? Boscha, I don't hate you." Willow told her calmly. "I don't like a lot about you, but that doesn't mean I want something horrible to happen to you! You could have been sold at the night market and forced into labor for the rest of your life. Or eaten or even just killed for fun!"

"Or… something worse than any of that." Boscha added, paling a bit. "My mom always told me that I needed to be careful when I'm out. She said some demons are bold enough to snatch a young witchling off the street in the light of day. I always thought she was just trying to scare me into not staying out late or something. I never thought it would happen… I… I owe her an apology…. And you too."

Boscha fell silent, her eyes slowly looking down to the ground. Her vision started to get a little blurry and she went to rub her eyes, but forgot her hands were still encased in some kind of odd substance. She tried to pull her hands free, but her efforts were in vain, making her groan in frustration. The blurriness in her eyes got worse and she blinked repeatedly to try and clear her vision. Then she felt something touching her face and she flinched.

"It's okay, I'm just wiping away your tears." Willow said softly.

"What are you talking about? I'm not crying!" Boscha replied, seeming almost offended by the idea.

"Yes, you are." Willow told her. "And it's nothing to be embarrassed about. You have every right to let your emotions out right now. So don't try to hold them back, okay?"

For a moment Boscha wanted to argue, but she was able to hold it back easily. After what she had just gone through, she couldn't be bothered with caring about her image right then. She let the tears fall, sobbing openly yet softly. Willow repositioned herself to be seated at her side, reaching over to rub her back while she wept.

After a minute, Boscha's tears stopped and she took a slow, deep breath. Willow took out a handkerchief from her pocket and wiped Boscha's face. The gentle touch made Boscha's face heat up a bit and she turned her head away as soon as Willow was finished. Then the two stood up, Boscha still looking anywhere but in Willow's direction.

"Thanks." She mumbled. "I owe you. Big time."

"Don't worry about it." Willow replied. "I don't need you to do anything for me. I'm just glad you're alright."

Her words gave Boscha some slightly mixed feelings. It was strange to have someone just act like saving her life wasn't something for which she owed them. If Boscha had saved someone, she'd have made sure they paid her back by doing every little thing she wanted of them. The way Willow just passed on that chance made her feel confused, but at the same time… a little happy too.

Boscha tried to get to her feet, Willow helping her. They both looked back to the flower that Willow had used to catch the creep, their legs kicking frantically with barely audible muffled cries sounding from the closed petals. The limbs continued to struggle until Willow drew another circle, making the plant engulf the rest of its victim.

"Oh my Titan…" Boscha breathed in awe. "Did you just kill them?! That is so hardcore!"

"What?! Oh, no, no. I didn't do that. I just had my plant swallow them." Willow explained. "It would take days before they had been digested enough for it to be fatal. And about a month before they'd be completely digested. Not that I'm going to let that happen."

"It's still pretty hardcore!" Boscha gushed. "I underestimated you, Willow! You're not as much of a dork as I thought!"

Willow giggled. "Take it easy with the praise already. I'm not used to it yet. It's just too different from how you usually treat me."

"Hey, if it helps, I can go back to insulting you instead." Boscha replied.

It had been meant as a joke, but it made Boscha smile a little sadly. Her choice of words had stirred up a regretful feeling in her. The countless times she had harassed Willow at school rose up in her mind, swarming like fire bees. She shook her head, banishing the negative thoughts and then looking at Willow again with strong resolve in her eyes.

"But I won't. Not today, not ever again." She declared solemnly. "And if anyone messes with you, you can count on me to have your back."

Her words were met with silence. Willow was just staring at her skeptically, as though she thought Boscha were messing with her. Boscha's shoulders sank, her gaze shifting off to the side almost guiltily. She felt a few of her bangs brush over her third eye and went to move them, but recalled that her hands were bound in… whatever that weird stuff was supposed to be.

Boscha tried to pull her hands free, grunting softly in what turned out to be a futile effort. Regardless, she kept struggling to pull her arms away from each other. She tried using one of her feet as well, lifting it up to try and use her leg strength to push the stuff off her hands while she pulled her arms back. Willow suddenly rushed to her side and Boscha realized why when she nearly fell over, landing in Willow's arms instead.

"Careful!"

"I can't get this stupid gunk off!" Boscha replied, still working in vain. "What even is this stuff?!"

"It looks kind of familiar." Willow noted, leaning over for a better look. She lightly poked it with her finger, her brow furrowing a bit in thought. "I think it's some kind of abomination goo. But it's so thick, almost like cement."

"Can one of your plants get it off for me?"

"Um… not without taking your hands too." Willow answered. "But I bet Amity would be able to help. I think she said she is having a lunch date with Luz today, so let's see if we can catch her before that."

"Works for me." Boscha said with a shrug. "So… what about that jerk? Do you wanna just leave them like that?"

She gestured to the plant which had swallowed her abductor. Willow didn't give it any thought at all. After spinning a spell circle, the plant regurgitated the contents of its stomach. A yellow-green, bile covered mass landed on the ground in front of it, something twitching within the grotesque mass.

"As much as this creep deserves to be punished, I don't want them to get off too easy." She said, turning to Boscha with a surprisingly mischievous smirk. "You're a rule breaker, Boscha. Know if there's a 'Keep off the grass' sign anywhere nearby?"

With a wicked smile and a nod, Boscha showed Willow where to find a little patch of grass. It wasn't far, just around the corner from the alley. And just like Willow requested, it was one of the many places in Bonesborough with a sign posted to tell people to keep off. Since it was such a convenient distance from their current location, Willow took the opportunity for a little fun. She drew another spell circle and then spread out her thumb, index and pinkie fingers while closing her middle and ring fingers to keep it active.

Willow's plant bent over and grabbed the creep it had just spat up, swallowing them again. Boscha watched as the plant then grew in height and turned its closed petals at an angle towards the sky. Then Willow swung out her hand and the plant spat forcefully, launching its victim in an arc over a building before they landed smack in the middle of the patch of grass.

"Now let's run!" Willow said, taking off in the opposite direction. "This way!"

Boscha hurried to follow Willow, giggling the entire time. Willow was giggling too. She was feeling a bit giddy from the adrenaline rush from her recent stunt. And the fact that she had gotten to give a creep what was coming to them was adding to the feeling.

The pair ran for the next few minutes, their giggles dying down when they were almost to the limits of Bonesborough. They slowed down to a more leisurely pace, Willow still taking the lead as they made their way towards Blight Manor. Boscha figured out where they were headed and slowed down. She stopped for a moment and then sprinted past Willow and cut her off.

"Hold up. Why are we going this way? The only thing in this direction is Amity's house!"

"I know. That's where we are going." Willow nonchalantly replied.

"Okay… but why?"

"To see Amity, obviously. I already told you she's having lunch with Luz today. If we get there soon enough, we should be able to catch her before she leaves."

"And what about Mr. and Mrs. Blight? Something tells me they won't like you at their house."

"Again, yes, I know. But that doesn't matter. They can treat me as badly as they want, if you get the help that you need then it'll be worth it. Now let's go. You want to get that stuff off as soon as possible, right?"

She continued walking, leaving Boscha behind for a second. Boscha quickly fell into step behind Willow again, her words repeating in Boscha's mind. A part of her wanted to ask why Willow was willing to do so much for her, but she felt like she may already know the answer. And it was giving her a strange feeling again, but it was slightly stronger this time.

They entered the tree lined path that led directly to Amity's house. Given the distance that Blight Manor was from the city, it would still be minutes longer until they arrived. The lengthy walk became awkward for Boscha, who grew more and more annoyed with her predicament. Having her hands bound wasn't just uncomfortable, it was embarrassing. She was just grateful they had left the more populated part of town where they were less likely to encounter anyone they'd know.

The thought of dealing with any of her peers gave Boscha an uneasy feeling. It occurred to her that they had a distinct chance of running into Amity's older siblings when they got to Blight Manor. And while she doubted either would do anything like post about her on Penstagram, Boscha still worried about being seen by either of the older, cooler teenagers.

Boscha moved closer to Willow while they walked. She looked down at her trapped hands, sighing deeply. So much of the day had already gone poorly and now she was left to wonder how long it would take for this mess to be handled. And if they couldn't get Amity to help, would she need to go to see a healer? The idea made her groan internally at the thought of how that would go.

"I need you to promise me something." Boscha said, still staring at her bound hands.

"What's that?" Willow asked, glancing over her shoulder.

"If we need to go to a healing ward for this… please, please don't call my mom, okay? I can't stand the thought of how she'd react if she knew what happened."

"But what if we do need to go to a healing ward? The healers might need to know how to contact her."

"Could you call one of your parents instead?" Boscha asked in return, almost sounding distressed. "I'll do anything you ask if you do me this one favor!"

"You already have to do what I ask, remember?" Willow countered. "And I want to know why you don't want to tell your mom what happened to you. So, tell me."

Boscha groaned in defeat. "I don't want her to know because she'll freak out and start babying me! She does it enough as it is, but I don't need her getting all overprotective too!"

Willow smiled a little. "Okay, that's all I needed to hear. If we end up taking you to a healing ward, we'll figure out something. But for now, let's just see what happens when we get to Amity's house."

She held out her arm for Boscha to take. Unsure of what exactly to do, Boscha just lifted her bound hands. Willow slipped her arm between Boscha's linking them. It was a bit awkward for them both, but after getting a bit closer, it wasn't so bad. Although it was a little embarrassing for Boscha, but she didn't complain.

Continuing up the path, the two spotted someone further ahead. Two people they recognized, even from a distance. One of whom they had been seeking. Willow raised her free hand up to her face, cupping it aside her mouth and called to them. The couple stopped their leisurely stroll and turned to face them, both brightening at the sight of Willow.

Grabbing her girlfriend's hand, Luz came towards Willow and Boscha with Amity in tow. The excited look on Luz's face gave Boscha an uneasy feeling. No doubt in part to her current position with Willow on the path. She began mentally preparing herself for what she could only expect to be a taxing conversation with the human girl as she and Amity reached them.

"Hey you two!" Luz cheerily greeted. "How's the date going? Are you two getting closer? Cuz I see what you two have going on here and I am loving it!"

"Luz, behave." Amity softly insisted, then turning her attention to Willow. "But I would also like to know how everything has been for you today, Willow. Boscha hasn't been causing you trouble, has she?"

"Things haven't been… the best." Willow replied tactfully. "We've had a little incident and could use some help."

She pulled her arm away from Boscha, gently placing her hand on Boscha's forearm. Willow gently pulled Boscha's arms up to show her bound hands to the other girls. Amity stared at the glob of goo encasing Boscha's hands and then immediately gave her an accusing look.

"And how exactly did that happen?" She asked. "Did a prank backfire on you, Boscha?"

"I wasn't pranking her!" Boscha defensively answered. "I… it was… something else."

"What kind of something else?" Luz inquired, sounding genuinely concerned. "It wasn't anything bad, was it?"

"We can explain later. If Boscha wants to…" Willow said, looking to Boscha who shook her head. "Maybe some other time then."

"Well maybe I would rather know now." Amity said.

"Amity, Boscha doesn't want to talk about it and that is it." Willow stated firmly. "Now can you please try to help her?"

The sternness of Willow's tone left Amity taken aback. Luz was also surprised, but in a good way. She was beaming at the display, barely seeming able to contain herself. Boscha had the feeling if it weren't for her current problem, Luz wouldn't have been so restrained.

Willow encouraged Boscha to step forward. She did so and let Amity take inspect the substance binding her hands. Amity stared at it for a short while, moving to check it from various angles with a studious look on her face. After looking it over, she began to prod at the stuff with her fingertip, her brow furrowing in annoyance.

"This is abomination goo alright, there's no question about that. But it's so thick, it's more like cement. Whoever made this must have added something witch-made to the batch. This is going to require further study."

"Why don't you just use your magic to remove it?" Luz asked simply. "If it's abomination goo, you should be able to just magic it away, right?"

"If it weren't so solid, yes I would be able to try it that way." Amity replied, still poking at the goo. "But if I try to manipulate this stuff, I am more likely to hurt Boscha than anything else. It would be safer to just try cutting it off."

"But we can find a better way, right?" Willow pressed.

Amity stood upright, folding her hands in front of herself. "Of course. It will require a few quick tests, but I know we can manage to safely free Boscha's hands." She said, then hesitating a bit. "So, would you two like to join us at my house? We were on the way there for lunch."

"Whoop! Yea! Double lunch date!" Luz cheered, pumping both fists in the air. "Please say you will!"

Willow giggled and turned to Boscha, silently asking her what she wanted to do. Boscha only nodded a little and kept her gaze on the ground. Luz and Amity began heading for Blight Manor once again, Willow falling into step behind them and taking Boscha gently by the arm once more. Boscha sidled up to Willow, feeling slightly more comfortable by the other witch's side, and also just a little more optimistic about putting the recent, rotten turn of events behind her.

To be continued.