What’s Done Cannot Be Undone ~ Shakespeare

Flynn carefully turned the pages of the book, they were very fragile. He’d stumbled on the book by accident hidden in a false panel of the occult section.

Pulling it out he’d only been a mildly curious but when he realized the entire book was hand written he had become excited by his find. This he realized was a far more valuable resource than any of the other books, as this had been someones private grimoir.

As he read he realized that no one would ever make any of the potions listed, unless somehow someone found a way to restore the flora and fauna of the planet, as all potions listed either needed a root or whole plant along with various insects.

He paused finger hovering over the page Four Thieves the flowery handwriting described a recipe far different from his that relied on fresh herbs, yet the recipe he’d been given was merely camphor oil and two vinegar’s mixed together with a dash of salt. Even as he stared he realized that his recipe was one that had been created when fresh ingredients had become lost to all. The potion that interested him most was the one for a potent cure elixir. Hearing someone on the stairs Flynn quickly closed the book and placed it back in it’s hiding spot.

F’lar had finally learned the proper way to mix chemicals, and had succeeded in making two potions.

Frodo logged onto the computer with the intention of checking out a dating website. He noticed a new message icon blinking in the lower corner of the screen. Curious he opened his message center.

Welcome to the Llama's

We received your resume and college transcript. If you are still interested in a job at Llama's Stadium we would love to welcome you aboard as our newest rookie.

Frodo stared at the message why was the local sports team sending him … oh yeah he’d filled out that employment survey a while ago.

All he had to do was click accept and he’d be able to leave the high power and high stress world of business behind him. Was this what he wanted? Would it help him feel the void he felt each night as he drifted off to sleep?

Frodo’s fingers hovered over the keyboard. Moments later he realized he had closed the computer but had no idea how he’d responded to the message. What had he just done he wondered.

Upstairs F’lar was chatting with Ms. Rodiek – Koch, she and her husband wanted a night away from their kids, and they were worried about their son Sameh’s progress in school. They had heard that F’lar did free tutoring and were wondering if in addition to tutoring their son he would watch their daughter as well. Needing a break from the chemistry station F’lar replied that he would be happy to Both watch their kids and tutor their son as well.

At first Sameh hadn’t been thrilled about the tutoring session, but he warmed up when F’lar sat on the floor with Sameh instead of standing over him.

After several hours of working with Sameh and asking him question after question regarding the work F’lar felt a small glow of satisfaction when Sameh suddenly looked up and exclaimed that he not just knew the assignment but understood it. Sameh then described in detail not just the homework problem but the underlying skills that were being built upon. F’lar patted Sameh on the back and went to get his little sister who had woken up unexpectedly.

F’lar realized he didn’t know to much about small toddlers and was grateful when Sameh suggested that maybe his sister wanted a bottle or some soup. F’lar was happy when giving the little girl a bottle calmed her down.

A short while later Mr. and Ms. Rodieck – Koch came home and F’lar was happy to go home. As he walked home he wondered if Tina wanted children and if she did was he ready to be a parent. He was more than willing to admit having someone so tiny and completely helpless dependent on him scared him.

While F’lar had been off babysitting Flynn was happy to finally get back to work at the camp trailer after so much time off, and odd jobs assigned around town to keep him away from the encampment. As tired as he was from a rough day running errands, he was looking forward to seeing his boss, he only hoped she would be as happy to see him back.

His reception was chilly to say the least and he found himself working twice as hard to regain trust he had established with the encampment before he had ever muttered Min-Ji’s name.

As the evening wound down and they had fewer customer’s one of the rough’s indicated that the boss wanted to see him. He was ready and knew what to do. As he entered his bosses curtained off nook he held out the folded property deed to her. After she took it he sat on the indicated cushion and waited while she unfolded the paper, help it up to the candle and incense brazier, and then finally read it.

She refolded it and he watched as it vanished into one of the many hidden pockets on her garment.

Finally she spoke “and I suppose in exchange you want to be promoted to master mystic just like that” and she snapped her fingers.

“No I only ask to be given fair chance to prove my worth to the tribe, same as before.” Flynn replied in a quiet voice, knowing by the shadows that they were being listened in on. “And anytime you decide you want to buy me out let me know and you can have my share.” he added solemnly with his palms face up on his knees and his fingers spread out so she could see that he wasn’t trying anything.

Smiling she nodded. “Do you know why I had called you in?” She asked.

Flynn indicated that he didn’t know why, that there where some questions he never asked the shades.

“You are a smart man Flynn. I know you have doubts about what you did back at university with Min-Ji, but we need you to know you did the right thing. Your choice has saved the lives of countless supernaturals who would have most likely been tortured and killed if what we are fully capable of came out before normals like you, but no your not really full normal either, found out about us.” She then went on to explain how others such as the gypsy’s had been persecuted on earth -that – was and how they had hoped that by taking to the stars they had hoped to escape persecution, but in the end superstition and racism had followed them out into the ‘verse.

When she told Flynn that Min-Ji had died as a result of the spell work she’d woven Flynn paused puzzled and then asked “How can she have died if she was already many turns dead?”

His boss then called out a name he was unfamiliar with and a small wizened man entered the room. She asked him to describe the man before him. Flynn told her that he saw two men and took care in describing both as accurately as he could.

When he finished the room was silent. Finally the man leaned in and whispered something in his bosses ears and then left the chamber.

Flynn could feel his nerves getting the better of him, was his boss happy or was he now in further trouble with the tribe.

Suddenly she reached into her many pocketed garment and pulled out a deck of cards, the cards had dragons on their backs and mixtures of cups, wands, swords, and pentacles on their fronts “I only give this deck to those I know can accurately deal destiny’s for our best clients.”

A promotion, Flynn felt his heart race even as his mouth went dry. Before he could say anything she added “Take care Flynn, far more rests on you than just your brothers fate or this one planet. I know it’s not fair but the ‘verse is on your shoulders and has been since the moment you where conceived.” She then pulled the tiny cord beside her and the curtain behind Flynn parted and he knew it was time to go.

When Flynn finally woke up the following day he saw F’lar outside fighting the rain and clouds in an attempt to search the galaxy for new constellations or asteroids. Arriving in the main room he was a little shocked to see Frodo home.

“Don’t you have work?” Flynn asked.

“It seems I changed careers the other day, I now play for the local sports team.” Frodo responded with a wry grin. He then added “Did you know that our great great great grandfather helped get the team up and running? I knew he’d been an athlete, but it had never fully sunk in that he and his brother had had so much influence on the teams development.”

Flynn just nodded, there were things that still had to happen before he could up and say “yes, because great grandpa Liam always yelled at everyone for not exercising enough”.

Frodo watched his brothers compete against each other over the chess board for a few moments before returning his attention to the days paper. He was curious about the write up on the teams game, as well as if the weather reporter had any further information on when winter would return in full.

“Kaylin, I’m flattered you find me and my brothers attractive but if you don’t stop hitting on us we’ll have no choice but to fire you and hire someone else.” Frodo had drawn the short straw and his brothers had promptly vanished from the house leaving him alone to deal with their maid.

She pouted a little then shrugged her shoulders and went back to work.

Even as Frodo felt relief he wondered what was wrong with himself. He was flattered and Kaylin was healthy and unlike the girl he had sort of liked in high school wasn’t an evil conniver, so why was he pushing her away, and why hadn’t he signed up for the online matchmaker yet. He needed to either marry soon or turn the family leadership over to one of his brothers, yet he couldn’t bring himself to do either.

Grabbing his coat as the carpool horn honked Frodo had a momentary flash of fear that the family line would die with him because he couldn’t make a decision about his personal life unless it was work related.

F’lar continued his push to tutor as many people as would allow him to tutor them.

He even tutored adults and children alike when invited to parties. Oddly this increased his party invites which his brothers found odd. Frodo was a regular invitee as well, and always with the request to bring his guitar. Flynn on the other hand was accepted so long as one of his brothers was with him.

Eventually the brothers agreed to splurge on a TV for the house and set it up on the wall opposite the dining table. The one channel they consistently agreed on was the cooking channel.

F’lar was elated when he realized that creating potions was becoming easier and easier with each day he practiced. He has also been awarded an honorary professor title by the city hall and the school board for his efforts to tutor local adults.

As the snow and winter finally returned F’lar found himself spending even more time in the basement working with the chemistry set. He had expanded his collection of potions to six, and he had twice as many notebooks filled with notes on what hadn’t worked as well as what as had worked.

Late one evening as F’lar was experimenting on a new combination Frodo grunted at his computer before shutting it more sharply than usual.

“What’s wrong?” F’lar asked as he carefully dropped the chemical mix into the beaker he was holding.

“Dad died!” Frodo responded his voice hollow.

“Gorram!” F’lar muttered his hand shaking spilling the contents of the beaker all over the work surface. As F’lar wiped up the mess he realized that he wouldn’t accomplish anything further that night and carefully cleaned up himself and the whole station.

A New Hope … uh … Home

Not wanting to keep Tina waiting on him to long F’lar increased the time he spent at the library tutoring anyone who showed up fort he free sessions.

Even if his brothers didn’t fully understand F’lars goal he knew that it was important to help people see the many ways a person of any age could learn, especially beyond the official halls of academia.

When F’lar wasn’t tutoring at the library he was home either working at the chemistry station or playing chess. Knowing that Frodo had become moody since reaching his mid adult years F’lar asked, knowing he didn’t need to, if Frodo minded if F’lar invited people over for chess matches. Frodo merely grunted and indicated he didn’t care.

So F’lar started inviting people over for chess matches. Usually he won.

Sometimes he didn’t. When he didn’t he would ask for a rematch.

Sometimes F’lar ignored the world in general and focused on mixing the different chemicals he’d gotten his hands on.

F’lar had noticed that Frodo wasn’t the only one who was moody. He had caught that something was weighing heavily on Flynn, his twin, ever since they came back from university. But no matter what kind of hint he dropped his twin wouldn’t confide in him. Instead he watched in frustration as Flynn hid behind the covers of ancient and obscure books, and threw himself into his work.

He learned from Tina that Cassie, Flynn’s girlfriend was worried about him.

One day as F’lar was trying to decide if he should call someone for a game of chess he decided that maybe it would help if the chess board was outside as not everyone was comfortable going inside a strangers home.

F’lar tested his theory with a rematch, and was thrilled when his distant cousin commented that the outside placement was much nicer than the dank basement.

While F’lar had his next opponent over he noticed Flynn had invited Cassie over. Just as he was putting away the chess pieces three large trucks pulled up two loaded with supplies and one with workmen.

Flynn did his best to keep Cassie away from the commotion at the house. They talked with the occasional interruption for a kiss or hug.

Flynn asked Cassie if she trusted him and she answered yes.

Without giving away any details that he knew he couldn’t share Flynn did his best to explain that what he was working on was very important for everyone. He also explained without details that he had done something that he was regretting while at college, and that until he righted what he had done he didn’t want to get married and drag a family into his problems.

“Cassie I love you and want you to be happy, so I think it would be best if you saw other people from now on.” Flynn said trying to keep his voice level even as he felt his heart breaking into a million pieces.

“You fong luh hoe-tze duh pee-goo!” Cassie swore at him her eyes blazing with her anger. “If you think for one minute that I’m not willing to wait while you sort out whatever jung chi duh go-se dway mess it is you’ve gotten into or don’t want to help you fix the jung chi duh go-se dway mess your in then you’re boo-tai jung-tzahng-duh and an idiot to boot!”

Flynn felt his heart soar.

“You mean that? You’d wait for me even help if you could?” Flynn asked, feeling as though he’d just been offered something that he wasn’t worthy of.

“Your gorrum straight I am” Cassie replied ignoring the construction worker trying to flirt with her.

Flynn swept her into his arms and dipped her for a kiss.

“Stay the night, please?” Flynn whispered into Cassie’s ear as his heart swelled at his good fortune.

As he whispered he noticed several shades wiping at their eyes and several motioned for him to kneel. He suddenly felt a weight in his pocket. Placing his hand casually into his pocket he felt the outlines of a box he’d bought during his first term at university that he knew he’d stashed in his mattress downstairs. At the dopey grin of a shade, whose hair was close cropped and wrinkled face resembled Cassie’s to a degree, he knew that he wouldn’t get any sleep for a long time unless he took the hint of approval he was getting.

“Flynn wha …?” Cassies voice trailed off as Flynn knelt in the damp grass and asked her to marry him.

“Cassie, I can’t give you any answers, nor can I let you help me, but if you’re willing to wait for this idiot, I’d be honored to someday marry you.” Flynn knew it wasn’t anything close to the smooth romantic proposal he had rehearsed during his first university term but he really didn’t want every ghost or shade in town keeping him up all night either.

Cassie took the ring and slid it on her finger. While Flynn stood up and leaned in for a hug and a kiss.

As he straightened up he whispered “I don’t know what I did to deserve you but I do love you.”

He yelped when she pinched his bottom before wandering off to check out the newly finished house behind them.

Flynn followed her noting that the fence that had always enclosed the ground around the ladder openings was gone. Then he noticed that the ladders were gone too. He had a brief moments panic wondering how to get in before he registered that F’lar had gone through the front door and Frodo through a side door.

Before he could think on things further Cassie had grabbed him and was dipping him for a kiss, and Flynn remembered why he had fallen in love with Cassie, the new girl from off world as she’d been known back then, at the school dance. He’d sat against the wall nursing bruised knuckles and a sore eye while the girl he’d always had a crush on danced with the guy who’d just beat him up, Cassie had sidled up to him and asked him to dance. Then when he’d been named prom king to his surprise she’d winked at him and told him he’d earned it as she gently touched the lump just below his bruised eye.

Grabbing Cassie’s hand they hurried inside just as the curfew alarm sounded off in the valley below them.

Together they admired the work that Frodo had gotten completed. Flar noted that his brother had made sure the workers hadn’t disturbed any of the urns scattered through out the lower levels.

Flynn let Cassie know he was getting tired and had to work the next day, but he understood if she wanted to stay up later and play with some of the toys.

Cassie grinned and started checking out their childhood toys.

As he settled into bed for the night Flynn could feel his brothers lost ambition in the large open space that was the second floor.

The following morning Flynn congratulated Frodo on his promotion to power broker. Then thinking about the Romani asked his brother if he was going to make any additional changes to the trade contracts. Frodo said no and let Flynn know that their family was now listed as partial owner on several properties around town.

Frodo stared at the screen, he had completed his goal, but he still felt so empty inside. Without thinking much on it he listed his skills but not his age on a job search website. Then closed the computer to get ready for the party he’d planned the day before.

Frodo’s party which consisted of mostly business contacts was a modest success. Flynn even managed to get in a private reading.

While F’lar had stayed outside and played chess.

Sitting alone at the long table Frodo noted that the new chairs really weren’t any more comfortable than the old ones he’d gotten rid of, but at least they all match and look sturdier he reflected as he watched his brother playing chess on the patio.

Frodo also reflected on the fact that he was currently considered the most powerful person in the valley, yet there he was eating alone with no family to share his triumphs with besides his brothers. Frowning at his meal he wondered what had happened had he really become so lost in the drive to get ahead that he had forgotten the value of family.

Looking out the window Frodo tried to decide if he should try signing up for one of the new online dating services. After all if his brothers had no problems getting engaged he should have even less problems finding someone.

Across town Flynn was having difficulties of his own. He had tried to convey a message via a reading to one of the elders in town, but instead of hearing him out so that he could tell her where her late sibling had left the property deed she accused him of spying on her and trying to grab her families land.

Feeling cursed Flynn did the only thing he could do and walked away.

On his way home he stopped by city hall and convinced the clerk that there was a will and to not let anyone buy the woman’s land from under her. As he was turning to leave he spotted the posting of lands with overdue taxes that were up for auction.

Flynn was alarmed to see the land where his employer lived and the various gypsy tribes worked from on the list.

Removing the listing from the board Flynn returned to the clerk and indicated he wanted to cover the taxes. He was shocked to learn that doing so would make him the landowner.

Knowing he didn’t want to be the land owner Flynn asked if there were any other options.

“Well, we can list you as co-owner with someone else if you like. Then at a later date you can always sell your share back to that person.” The clerk answered.

Flynn wasn’t sure what to do when a shade sidled up to him “Turner … Turner ’tis the tribes true name.”

Flynn quickly filled out the form and when the clerk asked for a posting address Flynn responded that there was no need as he would hand deliver the secondary deed himself.

Feeling better about the turn of events Flynn stepped out into the crisp air that was starting to smell of winter cold and heavy snow and headed for home. He would deliver the second deed soon enough.

At home F’lar was searching for more stellar objects, each one he found he named after an ancestor long gone.

Inside Flynn was surprised to find a stranger working on the dishwasher. She explained that thanks to the new trade contracts she was able to do what she loved and get paid for it. Flynn asked her what it was she loved and she grinned “Why fixing things and tinkering with mechanical stuff, naturally.”

Flynn was further surprised to learn that Frodo had hired someone to handle all of the house work for them.

Flynn and F’lar watched as the girl tried to flirt with Frodo, yet he showed no interest in her at all, other than to thank her for her work and ask that she come again the next day.

That night as they settled in for sleep F’lar whispered “Do you think he’ll ever get married or do you think he’ll suddenly name one of us as heir instead?”

Flynn felt his mouth go dry, Frodo give up his position as heir, he hoped not, out loud he whispered back “I don’t know brother … I don’t know. But I wouldn’t worry to much about it after all he’s only middle aged and not in any danger of fading anytime soon.” As an after thought Flynn added “Whatever he’s considering I’m sure he’ll sort it all out soon, just as you’ve realized helping community members train their skills beyond their school years is far more important than being a chess master.”

“True, you have a point there” F’lar whispered back before he rolled over and started to snore.

Sometimes Flynn envied the ease with which his twin had always fallen asleep.

Shades, Shadows, & Fortunes

Flynn spent almost more time reading palms and telling fortunes at the park than he did at the fortune tellers tent. After his first few weeks he had quickly learned that the majority of the town folk shied away from the gypsy encampment.

He had quickly learned that even though he’d been hired not all of the Romani trusted him, or liked him.

One particular day, one of the younger women who was eligible for marriage tried to seduce Flynn, and then had gotten irritated with him when he had politely rejected her and called him a “worthless esau” as she stormed off. Afterwards his boss had pulled him aside, and asked him why he didn’t just marry his girlfriend from high school. Flynn’s face went glum and his eyes filled with pain.

“How can I let myself marry and flaunt my happiness in front of my older brother when I know that his happiness is tied to my success or failure?” He finally replied tears threatening to spill down his face.

“Who told you this?” His boss asked.

“I wasn’t told, but Min-Ji read my palms when I was at university, she’s the one who told me to include the pictures of my palms when I sent you my resume.” Flynn responded.

His boss hissed and swore in a lect that Flynn had never heard before, but he did recognize Min-Ji’s name. Moving with a speed that belied her age she reached out and grabbed his palms and stared at them intently. Just as fast as she had grabbed his hands she dropped them as if they burned her.

“Out!” Her voice was deadly calm, but one look at her eyes told Flynn that if he valued his life he’d make himself scarce for a while. As he left he saw his boss in conference with a few others from the encampment, and he understood that it would be in his best interest to be scarce for a long while. He was suddenly grateful for the long stretches off between his scheduled work days.

And so Flynn spent as much time as he could telling fortunes at the park, never letting on that it was the town ghosts who fed him all his information.

When not at work Frodo spent his spare time playing guitar at the local bar, that no one went to. After all watered down soup rations as drink was fairly gross, but every once in a while someone would come in and nurse a cup, but not very often.

F’lar on the other hand realized that not many people where on the same skill level as he was and found himself running out of chess partners. He had come to the conclusion that the only way to remedy the situation was to help people improve their skills, and began offering private tutoring sessions at the library for free.

Frodo continued to excel in the business world and before he knew it he had been named CEO and was now Ramon’s boss. He still spent his evenings after work playing guitar at the bar. F’lar had asked him about it and Frodo had shrugged and said it helped him unwind.

Rumor reached the brothers that their parents were having marital difficulties. When F’lar tried asking his dad about the problems, he muttered something vague about food and shrugged his shoulders. Knowing it wasn’t much to go on F’lar seized on the topic and spent a day discussing cooking tips, and recipes with his dad, and hoping that his subtle attempts to plant the idea of their dad cooking for their mom might help their parents.

Before they knew it the seasons had rolled back around to the warmer spring like weather and the city returned the chess pieces to the park.

F’lar enjoyed playing chess with his girlfriend Tina who kept hinting that F’lar needed to either let her go or take the next step. Every time she hinted F’lar would get flustered unsure how to explain his feelings to her. He was great at chess, and even half decent at teaching other people new skills and techniques, but he was completely out of his element when it came to his relationship with his girlfriend.

One afternoon as he was thinking of heading for home their mom Emer showed up and challenged him to a game of chess. As F’lar half heartedly pushed the chess pieces around on the board his mom thanked him for giving his dad pointers on cooking.

“I’m going to give you some advice F’lar.” Emer said as she moved her queen into position “Even if your working on some goal of your own that you want to finish before starting a family don’t leave Tina hanging, if you really love her ask her to marry you and explain why you’re waiting. She’s sharp and way to nice to be just left dangling, and if you don’t make your move soon she’ll be gone.”

Emer knocked over F’lar’s king with her queen and left the park. F’lar wondered what had just happened as he stared at the chess board. Tired from a long day he decided he should probably get some sleep and think on what their mom had said.

Flynn didn’t spend much time anymore at the park. It had been a struggle but his boss had grudgingly promoted him to the position of spiritual guide, and as such he was expected to know how to make potions and charms. Yet the only potion he knew how to make was a wash called Four Thieves vinegar, and as far as charms went he knew how to mark a coin for luck.

Thanks though to the local ghosts Flynn had been able to find a section of books that focused on the occult in the library, so he read books by Cunningham, Buckland, Silver Ravenwolf, Crowley, and ancient mythologies trying to learn as much as he could.

F’lar on the other hand had gotten a hold of a chemistry set and was learning a different kind of potions, ones based on chemical reactions rather than elements in nature.

His first attempts didn’t go very well, and he decided that since mixing chemicals was a lot like cooking that maybe he should improve his own cooking skills before trying to make anymore potions.

As F’lar cleaned himself up in the shower he decided that maybe he should follow up on his mom’s advice.

Once out of the shower he called Tina and asked her to meet him at the cafe.

When he saw Tina dressed up he found himself having trouble swallowing let alone speaking. Tina quickly put him at ease, and as they dined F’lar explained his goals to Tina. Tina admired his goals and asked him why he didn’t just move out to complete them independently. F’lar realized that he had forgotten that Tina was from offworld, and found himself explaining how the council had set up the guidelines generations ago and that to have his goals counted for anything he had to finish them under his brothers roof.

As F’lar dipped Tina for a kiss his Aunt Juanita collapsed from old age. Knowing there was nothing either of them could do to aid the staff assisting her F’lar asked Tina if she wanted to come home with him and spend the night. Tina stared as the staff draped a cloth over Juanita’s inert form, they both shuddered as if the cold reality of their mortality sunk in. She didn’t verbally answer, rather slid her hand into his and leaned in with a light nod of her head.

F’lar held Tina in his arms as they slowly danced to the music on the radio.

As he leaned in for a kiss he could have sworn he heard Emer’s voice saying “If you don’t ask her now you’ll regret loosing her.”

When he shivered Tina asked him what was wrong. F’lar paused and said a draft must have come down the stairs and shrugged. As Tina said it was late and stepped back he suddenly realized what he needed to do.

“Tina, I know I haven’t the right to ask you to wait for me but …” f’lar paused fear of rejection making him nervous as he knelt in front of her fumbling in his pocket for the ring he had gotten back when they were still in high school, and had always been to terrified to give her. “Will you marry me.”

Tina’s gasp and the light in her eyes gave him his answer. Her simple eloquent “Yes” as she held out her hand to him gave him the fire he suddenly realized he’d been missing to focus on his goals. He didn’t want to keep his Tina waiting to long, lest she change her mind on him.

As F’lar put the finishing touches on breakfast Flynn gloomily announced that their mom had passed away the night before. Suddenly the day seemed less bright and F’lar no longer had an appetite. Sensing the change in mood Tina asked what was wrong, when F’lar explained she too grew subdued, and then announced that maybe it would be best if she allowed the brothers time alone and headed back to the dorms that single offworlders usually stayed at until they could get a proper home in town.

“Does Frodo know?” F’lar asked Flynn.

“Yes, he’s chosen to throw himself into running meetings all day. I guess being chairman of the board allows one the luxury of changing the schedule for the day.” Flynn responded.

Flynn found himself again at the library studying the more obscure books in the occult section. He’d finally been grudgingly given another promotion, yet after overhearing some of the born Romani’s complaining to his boss he knew he was going to have to work extra hard if was ever to be advanced any further.

He had come to the understanding that part of why his coworkers were so bitter was because the town folk would listen to the exact same predictions from him that they scoffed at from the Romani’s who were the born witches and whom held the real power. In their eyes he was a fake, even if he could see and hear the dead.

Flynn wandered over to the park and spotted Frodo playing guitar. Today all of his songs had a melancholy tinge to them and Flynn felt frustration that they couldn’t properly inter their mom.

Flynn spotted their dad dejectedly tossing darts at the dart board and knew he had to do something.

Under the guise of reading his dad’s fortune Flynn passed on a message from their mom.

“Dad, we love you and don’t want to see you so sad. Mom wouldn’t have wanted you to be so sad either.” Flynn paused and did his fake reading shtick “you know if mom where here right now I bet she would tell you to not burn the macaroni and go find yourself a new partner who can cook.”

Randal recoiled a little “burned macaroni … how???”

Flynn did his best to play it off lest his dad decide to campaign against him and the Romani. He shrugged his shoulders “come on dad, when don’t you burn the macaroni” and then recited every burned meal that Randal had placed before the family to eat when their mom hadn’t had a chance to cook.

Randal calmed down, and Flynn continued on “Dad, we love you and we know your pension isn’t very much. If we thought you’d accept the offer we’d invite you back home with us, but we know how stubborn you can be. What I’m saying is that none of us; Frodo, F’lar, or myself; will be mad at you for finding a new partner.”

Flynn paused as his dad absorbed what Flynn was saying.

In the background Flynn saw a male ghost wander up to their mom’s shade, and listened to their conversation.

Flynn had planned on letting his dad stew on things a bit longer but in light of the conversation the two shades where having he decided to press a little bit more on his dad.

“Dad, you know you’re not the only one to loose a loved one. Didn’t Corinna Mithrillen recently loose her husband too. Maybe you should call on her see how she’s doing, I bet she’d like the company.” Behind his dad Flynn could see the two shades giving each other high fives before wandering off, presumably to mess with people hanging out at the abandoned graveyard.

“Corinna you say … we used to date” Randal murmured and wandered off, presumably to console Corinna. Flynn wasn’t sure he cared he just wished fixing his own situation was as easy. Spotting his girlfriend Cassie talking to Tina and admiring her engagement ring Flynn didn’t need to be psychic to know he’d better vanish if he wasn’t ready to have an awkward conversation with her as to why he hadn’t proposed yet.

 

Into The Dark

Picture heavy post.

Frodo and his brothers relaxed in their assigned dorm room after unpacking their few possessions.

F’lar was happy that they got to have a telescope in their room. Flynn just nodded in agreement that the room was nice.

Frodo made the recommendation that they should get to the student union before the main crowd arrived for orientation, and the meet and greet.

Frodo wasn’t to surprised when their professors didn’t show up. They mingled briefly before going their separate ways.

While his brothers went to take supplemental classes in their fields of study Frodo headed over to the newly reopened community health and fitness center. As he jogged on the treadmill he noticed that the campus administration had taken the suggestion for a small medical clinic to heart and added a small building that led to a larger underground facility in the back.

The three brothers quickly settled into their routines of study, class, eat, sleep. It didn’t leave lot’s of room for socializing with each other let alone their dorm mates, but they all had a desire to do well. Even if doing well to F’lar and Flynn meant something different than it meant to Frodo, who was once again showing his professors just how much of an over achiever he was much to the dismay of his classmates.

They tried to meet up at the soup diner at least once a week, for a break from their regular campus routine.

They took turns preparing meals.

And studied hard.

They also spent a lot of time in the campus library. As he had before Frodo spent part of his time manning the reference desk.

Before they knew it the spring like weather had arrived along with their midterms. After their exams the brothers met up at the diner. Frodo and F’lar ahd done well on their exams, but Flynn hadn’t. Flynn expressed a exasperation at being asked questions on subjects that had never been mentioned by the professors, and that they had never studied in class.

After their meal Frodo and F’lar wandered back the dorm. Frodo read and studied, while F’lar spent the remainder of the day at the telescope. Meanwhile Flynn went over to the admissions office to discuss his grades and learn if he was to be kicked out or if he’d be given an opportunity to show that he knew the material that had been covered as assigned reading.

After midterms the brothers threw themselves even further into their studies, and before they knew it it was time for their finals.

Flynn was happy to see that he’d earned passing marks and would be allowed back. He was even happier that the syllabus had been updated to include all areas of study that would be on the exams, some with a note that it would be up to the students to study some topics like photography on their own outside of class.

Frodo wasn’t surprised to see that once again he had a high A and a 4.5 GPA, and F’lar was happy enough to earn a regular A.

Sometimes when Frodo wasn’t around F’lar and Flynn joked with each other that their brother was determined to fix the planet once and for all on his own.

After a short break, long enough to check over their home and wash some clothes the brothers returned to the university with the hopes of finishing their degrees.

They found themselves reassigned to a different dorm, and this time they weren’t all in the same room.

Frodo noticed that Flynn spent a lot of time talking to some of the campuses odder students whom he usually ignored.

After a most cursory of stops in for orientation the brothers wandered over to the library to get a start on their studies.

The spring like weather didn’t last long and soon everything was buried under snow again. Which made staying indoors to study a pleasurable activity.

One particularly windy day as Flynn was wrapping up his student broadcast an older woman signaled to him from just beyond the quad. At first Flynn thought she was signaling to another student, and ignored her.

The fact that she moved to stay in his line of vision and repeatedly signaled to him sunk in the idea that she wanted to speak to him. Once he was done with his assignment and had put away his gear he approached the older woman. As he neared her he could feel the hairs on the back of his neck tingle, and he thought he saw a faint aura surrounding her.

“Hello” Flynn greeted the woman. She tightened her lips and nodded towards a sheltered corner of the nearby buildings. As she turned and walked towards the building Flynn would have sworn that he was seeing double, as the woman managed to appear both old and young at the same time, he also noticed a dark shadow that walked with her holding the hand of the wispy younger woman. Intrigued he followed her, she was dead yet she wasn’t, he wondered if she would explain.

Once off the main path of the other students and in the relative shelter of the building the woman turned and spoke to Flynn.

“You are Behrooz, no?!”

Flynn quickly noted that her question was more statement of confirmation and nodded his head in affirmation.

“I need something from you” And she leaned in to whisper her request and explanation into his ear. Her breath was warm on his neck, and her scent made him think of the urns gathering dust back home. As she finished her explanation and request Flynn swallowed as the realization hit him that he was the only one who was seeing her as she truly was.

“If I do this will you be able to help me?” He asked. He wasn’t sure if he wanted the older woman’s help with his goal, but had decided it wouldn’t hurt to ask. Especially given what she was asking of him.

“Hold out your hand” she instructed.

She paused, to a bystander it may have looked as if she was thinking on something as she looked at his palm, yet what Flynn was seeing was the wispy younger shade talking to the dark shadow.

After a brief momentary pause she answered him. “Unfortunately it is not within my realm to be able to give you help, beyond the instructions for a few simple trinkets and washes. It would seem that your goal, an admirable one, is one that you must solve on your own.”

She frowned gripping his hand tighter, he saw the frustration in her eyes even as he saw the wispy younger shade arguing vehemently with the dark shadow. “So much rests here …..” She paused her lips and eyes flashed a moments frustration, her tone was firm and final when she spoke again “I need that of which I asked for, and in exchange I will share with you what I can.”

As she released his hand she commented that he was unique in his talents for seeing beyond the veil for all that he was a mere human.

As Flynn walked back to the dorm he decided that coming from her that must have been high praise.

When he returned to the dorm he saw F’lar working on the dishwasher oblivious to the world. In his mind Flynn was still turning over the woman’s odd request and odder comment regarding his own future. For a moment he considered getting his twins attention and trying to talk to him about the situation, shaking his head he moved on this was his problem to solve.

Late one night as he was studying for his finals Flynn finally decided on the best course of action. He had decided that he would get the old woman the requested item.Closing his book he decided that there was no better time than the present.

Carefully, so as not to waken F’lar, he slid from their shared bed and slipped quietly into Frodo’s room. With great care so as not to waken his older brother Flynn carefully snipped off a lock of hair and tucked it into his pocket.

After finals the brothers headed over to the fraternity house for a post finals party to blow off steam, and to celebrate the completion of their degrees.

Neither Frodo or F’lar noticed that Flynn didn’t arrive until 30 minutes after they did. They did notice that he seemed to be hitting the juice awfully hard.

F’lar was the only one unhappy with his final grade. Despite his best efforts his final project hadn’t been very well received; and while he was graduating with passing grades he wasn’t graduating with honors like his brothers.

After the graduation ceremony the brothers hurried back to the dorm to get everything packed up and ready for the trip back to Dragon Valley.

As soon as they were home Flynn sent his resume to the family that he knew ran the small gypsy encampment on the outskirts of town. He also, per the instructions of the old woman at university, included a picture of his palms. Within minutes he received back a message that they were happy to welcome him to the family and they would start him off as a palm reader.

Frodo checked his messages from Ramon and learned that they needed him to take a quick trip to Al Simhara.

Frodo found this trip to be a bit easier than his other trips had been and after a few days of intense conversations with some of the locals was able to learn everything that Ramon had wanted him to.

Late one night, Frodo once again found himself moving as one entranced. The next morning as he packed for the trip home he noticed that he was again missing a page from his notebook. As he leaned in to exam his notebook more closely a car horn beeped and someone yelled that his taxi had arrived. Snapping the book shut the puzzle of the missing page evaporated from his mind.

---

Min-Ji stared at the small stack on her table, three lovers letters and two locks of hair braided together into one.

She was not normally one who shied away from what needed to be done, but nothing before had required the sacrifice from her that this task would.

Andrew and Louise had returned from the off planet trip early that morning, and Louise was still in the house sleeping.

Min-Ji had already explained what was going to happen to Barnaby and left a vial and letter for Louise on her nightstand for her to find when she woke, if she ever woke. It was the one aspect that had Min-Ji nervous, the fate of the two lovers lay in the hands of a third and there was no way for her to aid the young man to ensure the desired outcome.

Taking a deep breath Min-Ji began the incantation, knowing that should the worst come to pass that Louise would slumber forever a young woman at the start of her life while her true love grew old and died alone.

As the last words of the incantation flowed from her lips Min-Ji felt the world tilt a little as everything grew dark.

In the dark void that is neither here nor there a dark shade spoke forcefully in a deep baritone voice “Done!”

The shade held out his hand to the wispy form of a young woman “These long years I’ve waited and now it is your turn to fulfill your promise to come willingly as my bride.”

The wispy form looked at the fallen heap on the floor, then took the dark shades hand, together they shared a kiss before moving off towards some distant place.

Barnaby carefully covered the empty husk that used to be Min-Ji and sealed off the garage so that none would disturb it. As he moved in to the house he glanced up at the darkened window that was Louise’s room and wondered how the girl would react to her grand-mere’s passing, that is if she ever woke up.

Inside he showed Andrew the letter from the council giving them full citizenship, but said nothing about Min-Ji or Louise.

---

Frodo strummed his guitar and enjoyed the light as it reflected off of the snow. As he strummed he wondered what had prompted him to accept Ramon’s offer to become a Division Manager, it meant no more traveling. Instead he would be using reports from others who were traveling to run meetings, and supervise teams developing business plans for trade routes. He knew he would miss the traveling yet at the same time every time he thought of leaving the valley he found his thoughts returning to the guitar in his hands, and a desire to master it, which had been a gift from a passing traveler.

From across the park Flynn saw his brother playing the guitar. The guilt of knowledge kept secret weighed heavily on him, and a lump formed in his throat as he felt the weight of the world settle on his shoulders. The full realization of his choices and what it might cost his brother settled heavily on him, and he knew the full bitterness of regret.

Frodo

Frodo ate his morning meal as his brother’s prepared for school. They had done a good job of keeping their grades up while Frodo was away at university.

Frodo was restless, he’d slept well, but his mind felt foggy, as if there was something he should be remembering but the more he tried to think on it the more muddled his thoughts became. He decided to not try and think on the fog and the sense of something missing but rather work. The second he shifted his thinking he no longer felt mentally bogged down, and the day took on brighter clarity.

As F’lar pushed his chair in to the table Frodo contemplated the response he’d gotten to his resume. It wasn’t for the typical 9 to 5 business job that he’d been applying for. Instead he was being considered for some sort of traveling rep position. He wasn’t sure he wanted to be a traveling rep, it wasn’t that he was against travel and building trade partnerships with the other islands or the off world community, it was more a question of his obligation to provide a stable home for his brother until they to were grown. Frodo stabbed viciously at his pancakes, if his parents hadn’t moved out he could have taken the job without worry, but no his parents had moved out and on with their lives, and now Frodo had to choose between either not working until his brother graduated or leaving them home alone.

Snow day! Frodo was frustrated he had wanted to go into town but the roads were unplowed and travel was near impossible. He supposed he could have jogged into town but from the look of the roads down the hill, he suspected everyone would be working from home today if they could.

Pulling out his com device Frodo called as many people as he could to sort out his work options. One thing that became very clear to him, it wasn’t just the businesses that wanted trading re-established, it was also the towns council.

“We’re going with you?!” Flynn asked with excitedly.

“Would you go! Nothing’s finalized, I don’t even know if I have the job!” Frodo felt ready to explode with frustration. One of the disadvantages to being stuck home was there was no privacy even when you went outside to talk on the com. The other disadvantage was the fact that you could only call one person at a time, and this really was a panel decision to be made.

As evening settled on the valley Frodo rocked in the chair on the porch, while watching F’lar search the sky’s and take notes in his notebook. Things were settled as far as Frodo’s employment was concerned; he was now employed at the main business center with the job title of corporate drone, yet he would be doing anything but office drone work. Instead he would be traveling to the different island regions of their planet rebuilding trade routes making reports to his cousin Ramon, and his brothers would be going with and they would have to do packet work and write reports for school on their experiences as a way to keep their grades up. It wouldn’t be for long though, just a few months as they would graduate soon enough.

AS Frodo and the cab driver waited while F’lar and Flynn grabbed their travel kits, once again Frodo had a sense of something missing, and as before when he tried to think on it he felt his mind growing foggier.

“We’re ready.” The slamming car door and his brothers voices speaking in unison jarred Frodo out of the fog he’d become lost in and he signaled the driver to go grateful that the roads had finally gotten plowed.

All three brothers enjoyed being back in Shang Sim La, for even though the air was crisp and cold there was no snow on the ground to worry about.

Frodo saw to it that his brothers got started working on their skill building assignments and then headed into town to meet his first contact.

The meeting didn’t go as Frodo had thought it would. At first the man was extremely taciturn, when he finally did briefly speak to Frodo it was to give him a map with some instructions on it.

Frodo decided the man was giving him a challenge and that he needed to prove himself by following the instructions on the map if he was to get the man to open up.

Frodo wasn’t sure that he had accomplished much with his short adventure through the deserted catacomb, other than exhaust himself, even now after a night’s rest all of his muscles ached from the physical work required to retrieve the relic the man had wanted.

As he turned over the relic a young woman joined them. She introduced herself as the man’s daughter and frowned at what he had asked for. After the older man went inside the young woman apologized for her father explaining that he had gone senile in his old age and often confused mythological tales for small children with reality. Frodo nodded to tired to argue with the young woman.

As he made his way back to the hostel, he wondered how much fact was behind the mythologies. After all if the map he’d been given was based on information from children’s stories as the young woman had implied then why had he succeeded in not only finding the relic the old man had wanted, but a few others as well?

Frodo ate as F’lar and Flynn practiced cooking. As he ate a breeze wafted in through the balcony’s open door carrying a faint scent that tantalized Frodo’s memory with the hint of something forgotten. Frodo’s eyes glazed over.

Frodo moved as one not in control, pulled out his pen and a sheet of paper from his notebook. A strong breeze ruffled his hair, looking around Frodo wondered when he had moved tables, for he certainly didn’t remember getting up from the other one, he would have tried to think on it further but at that moment his comm unit chimed, looking at it Frodo saw it was his boss Ramon.

“Ramon, hi …”

“I’m good, just finished eating.”

“No, I don’t think I can get much more done this trip. I’ve got a few items that I’m allowed to bring back that might be of interest.”

“Yeah. As soon as my brothers have eaten we’ll be on the next flight back to Dragon Valley.”

By the time Frodo clicked off his comm unit, the breeze, change of seat, and the mystery of the missing page from his notebook had gone completely from his memory. Instead his thoughts were on the odd little relics and whether there could be a market for decorative nick – knack items back home.

Once home, his brothers quickly submitted their homework over their comm’s. F’lar had even completed the written report on Shang Sim La’s two learning centers and was free to pursue his love of chess. Flynn however hadn’t thought ahead and found himself stuck writing a paper that was due the following morning.

Frodo reported in to work while his brothers were at school, where he turned over most of the relics he’d been allowed to bring back, keeping a few for himself as momentous of the trip, and received his next travel assignment. Seeing that he was being sent to Les Champs, he hit the gym recalling how much had been physically demanded of him on his last trip he decided boosting his physical abilities might come in handy.

Noting that it was the weekend and that the trip was to be a short one Frodo decided to leave his brothers home alone this time.

Frodo only stopped at the hostel long enough to check in before going to meet the local vendor he was supposed to talk to.

Once again he found himself attempting to talking to someone who really didn’t want to talk, and once again he was handed a map with basic instructions, although this time he was also given a small knapsack which contained a small tent and some dried food provisions. Frodo understood that until he completed the challenge ahead the woman just wasn’t going to talk to him, so shouldering the pack he made his way to the outskirts of the town.

Frodo quickly realized that this little outing was going to take up almost his entire weekend and was grateful for the supplies in the knapsack. Even more so when he encountered the aged remains of an unknown individual.

Traveling back into town he couldn’t believe he’d been sent after a baseball, an old worn one falling apart at the seems at that. then there was the oddities of the relics he was finding, some seemed suspiciously new under their coating of grime.

He handed the ball to the clerk and started to give her the relics he’d also found. She held up her hand and shook her head no. Frodo, who was in general a patient person, was ready to explode and then she winked as the shop bell tinkled and she turned.

“Ah commissioner how good to see you again” she was greeting an elderly man entering the small shop.

Frodo suddenly understood, what he hadn’t caught on to in Shang Sim La. He was being allowed to keep and take back to Dragon Valley the odd little relics as keepsakes that he found, even as the local shopkeepers were being denied the opportunity to sell the exact same relic replica’s to people.

As Frodo ate his midday meal he glanced at the wall paper. Had there been blue flowers on the paper the last time he was here? Why did the blue flowers seem so important?

As before in Shang Sim La Frodo found himself in a trance pulling out his writing materials.

A comm chirped most insistently. Frodo started, when had he finished his meal and changed into his pajamas.

“Ramon, yeah hi.”

“No no problems, why?”

“Huh, oh well yeah I probably dozed off and that’s why I missed your earlier call.”

“Next flight home, not a problem I’m pretty much done here I think you’ll find my briefing to the panel interesting. See you Monday ten am.”

After arriving home Frodo took a brief nap before heading into the business office.

during the meeting Frodo explained how the shop keepers were being watched closely, but visitors were being allowed to keep trinkets they found lying around.

Frodo then took a damp cloth and carefully cleaned off one of the newer relics, Ramon agreed with Frodo’s assessment that the relic probably wasn’t as old as it was being made to look.

There was much discussion on the next step. Finally Ramon stood up and asked everyone to vote on whether Frodo should be sent back to the university to improve his physical abilities and then out again on one final trip to Al Simhara before any final conclusions were made. The final vote was 5 – 2 for the plan.

Frodo pointed out that it would be best to wait another day before leaving as F’lar and Flynn were about to be eligible for university too and it would draw less attention if he went at the same time as his brothers. Ramon agreed, and as Frodo was leaving asked what time he and the rest of the family should be over for their cousins birthday, and Frodo suggested about six.

The gathering for F’lar and Flynn’s birthday went well. In addition to family Frodo let his brothers invite over their sweethearts.

Afterwards it was straight to business and F’lar and Flynn both retook their university entrance exams. Then hung out and talked while Frodo reviewed the results, which where as expected, on his comm. Once Frodo was done reviewing the results he quickly enrolled them all for university.

~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~

Barnaby opened the mail box and pulled out another pink envelope addressed to Louise. As he had done with the first he quietly handed it over to Min-Ji after Louise had gone to sleep for the night.

Min-Ji took the envelope and pursed her lips. “There’s a spell, it’s dangerous and I’ll need two more items before I dare try it.”

“Wha …” Min-Ji held up her hand cutting off Barnaby before he could say more.  “What I need is nothing that can be directly acquired by either of us. I must wait and what is needed should come to me, but patience is required. In the meantime I strongly recommend letting Louise ride with Andrew when he goes on the Kessel run, and tell him to take his time, I think a few years with her off planet will give us some breathing room.”

“Very well I’ll go make the suggestion to Andrew.” Barnaby replied.

Louise

Louise swallowed hard, her throat dry from nerves and her stomach was twisting in knots. How would Barnaby and Grand-mere Min-Ji react to her news? She already knew they would be upset with her for staying out overnight, because to do so put all of them at risk.

Louise felt her feet dragging like leaden bricks as she approached the front door of their home, remembering the day they had arrived six months ago.

~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~

Out amongst the stars and the vast expanse of space rumors had reached them that a planet named after one of it’s valley’s and for mythical creatures from Earth-that-was was somehow able to stay free of reavers, and that when reavers did attack they died mysteriously.

After the disastrous Tera-forming attempt on one of the few unclaimed moons in the verse that had cost them not only Louise’s parents but over half of their group, the idea of a world that was immune to reaver attacks was a dream come true.

After the town’s leaders had granted them permission to stay with a possibility of becoming permanent residents Grand-mere had cast the protection charm over the house. The charm on the house ensured that only those who desperately needed Grand-mere’s special help ever knocked on the door, everyone else just moved along uninterested.

When they were around town for their assorted jobs, or in Julio’s case his high school classes they behaved as normally as possible, since few communities encouraged gypsies to settle down, even those willing to be hard working community members. At home they relaxed a little but not to much, for even though they had encountered a few others with special abilities they were unsure how the normals would react to their individual gifts that made them just a bit different.

They were a rag tag group all bound together in some way by the supernatural.

Barnaby Baton was the appointed leader of the group, mostly because of his charisma and outgoing personality which made him a natural spokesperson for their little group. To all he appeared and acted a normal human, but by blood and birth he was jin and could have had powers greater than Grand-mere’s but he had sacrificed it all to keep from being enslaved.

Then there was Grand-mere Min-Ji, a full witch, she was old, very old. Louise suspected that grand-mere had used an anti-aging spell or potion to keep from fading. Grand-mere was an unofficial co-leader with Barnaby and the only one in their group who actively used her talents. People tended to seek grand-mere out for potions, and every once in a while they came to her for help with the darker art’s which was how Andrew Batts and eventually his son had ended up a part of their group.

Andrew was full human or normal as Barnaby called him, with a catch. When Andrew first showed up to them as they were getting supplies from an outpost he had been a ghost. He begged grand-mere to make him flesh and blood again spinning her a tale of a youth wasted and a desire to redeem himself.

Grand-mere wasn’t exactly the sort to re-animate just anybody and was all set to turn him away when Julia Rouse the lone werewolf of their group had begged a favor, claiming true love had fallen on her when she set eyes on Andrew’s wispy form. Julia even went and found Andrew’s remains and brought them back to the ship. Grand-mere stalled for a little over a year before relenting, by which point Andrew had earned his spot amongst their crew and had somehow managed to get Julia pregnant. Sadly for Andrew even true love wasn’t enough to get Julia to settle down, and when their son Julio was about six she ran away to join a traveling wolf pack.

Julio Rouse was were wolf by blood, when not at school or studying, he tended to get moody. Andrew thought it was pent up anger for being abandoned by his mom, grand-mere was sure it was just regular teen angst.

And then there was herself, Louise, an orphan or almost orphan. She like grand-mere was full witch but grand-mere had done something when Louise was young that prevented her from being able to use her abilities. As a teen Louise had rebelled a little against grand-mere and her strict rules and in the attempt to undo grand-mere’s spell and had discovered that there were seven generations between the two of them. As grand-mere had erased the blood chain showing the generations from the air Louise had noticed that the flow had been a mother daughter flow down the entire chain, and that the spot for her had a light golden glow to it as had grand-mere’s. When asked grand-mere had brushed it off as being unimportant and merely meant that they were both alive. Louise had considered pushing the matter but spotting the fire in grand-mere’s eyes dropped it not wanting to be in more trouble than she already was. As punishment grand-mere had lifted the self cleaning spell from the galley and Louise was assigned to clean it for a month, after which grand-mere restored the self-cleaning spell.

~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~

Louise swallowed again, feeling ready to bolt, grand-mere’s spell on the door had caused it to already opened for her and now she had no choice but to enter the house. She had already stalled by hiding at the library and reading after she’d woken up that morning at the on campus dorm, there was no more putting off the unpreventable.

Barnaby was at the table and called for Louise to sit down with him.

“Where have you been?” He asked adding “Your grand-mere has been so worried that she has spent the last 8 hours un-spelling and then re-spelling the fixtures to clean themselves.

Louise swallowed, grand-mere worried, but why all grand-mare had to do was do one of her spells to know where Louise was, it’s what she had always done. Out loud she answered “I spent the night at the dorm you sent me to, I was invited to spend the night and given the hour couldn’t think of way to decline.” Truths even when vague or not whole, are still truths which she knew would keep Barnaby’s one lingering jin ability from being overly suspicious.

Barnaby eyed her, his mouth set firm. “Very well, but understand Min-Ji is going to expect a better answer.

“And I’ll be in to get it as soon as I finish with this stove” Grand-mere Min-Ji called from the kitchen.

Louise swallowed, she could feel herself becoming rooted to the spot with apprehension, even though she knew she had nothing to fear from grand-mere. She was unsure of how grand-mere would react to the news that not only had she felt a gnist after shaking a man’s hand but she’d conjured an apple while at the library.

Even now staring down the length of table at Barnaby, Louise could still feel the sensation of Frodo’s mouth against hers and the warmth of his arms around her body.

“Louise, I only needed you to deliver the potion for alertness to the students not make friends with them. You know the rules, the normals don’t fully trust anything that they can’t explain, and if we want to receive permission to become permanent residents of this community we must appear as normal as possible.” Grand-mere Min-Ji chastised Louise while Barnaby ate his meal before heading off to work whatever odd jobs people had for him that evening.

“Grand-mere I know, and I swear I didn’t plan on this it’s just well there was a complication …” Frodo wasn’t a complication was he, why did she say that. Louise saw the reprimand forming in grand-mere’s face at the same time she felt a compulsion settle on her.

“Grand-mere, there was a man … ” She paused recalling the spark that tingled through her when they had shaken hands and the warmth of his breath on her ear when he had whispered “I love you” to her, swallowing hard “… and then there’s this.” Louise lifted her hands up.

“And ever since I woke up this morning I’ve been hearing crying every time I walk past the remains of plants.” Louise quickly added as she held up the apple.

Grand-mere’s sharp intake of breath as Louise held up the apple was all she needed to know that she had just done something she shouldn’t have been able to do.

“Come, I need to consult the ancestors.” Grand-mere stated.

Louise had never seen inside the garage before grand-mere had never allowed her in. All Louise knew was that anytime anyone around town or from a passing ship had asked grand-mere for an elixir or potion grand-mere would vanish into the garage, on their ship it had been a hidden smugglers closet.

Grand-mere Min-Ji instructed Louise to sit opposite her at the table upon which sat a sphere made of pure crystal. Louise was shocked when in response to a wave of her hand the globe lifted up from the table and hung suspended in the air it’s appearance no longer clear. Louise wasn’t sure but she thought she saw figures moving about in the sphere, the one thing she was sure of was that the ball turned an ominous shade of black and red started dripping down the sides.

“Go inside, I have some thinking to do” Grand-mere said flatly.

Louise paused, without looking at grand-mere, she quietly said “There was a gnist when he shook my hand and …” she paused again ” … and he kissed me, more importantly I kissed him back.”

Louise looked at the confusion in grand-mere’s eyes “I don’t know why I kissed him, I just know that I never wanted it to end.”

“But we didn’t have sex. I slept in a separate room on a different floor from him.” Louise quickly blurted out.

“Ta ma de!” Grand-mere Min-Ji blurted out.

Louise saw the spark in her grandmother’s eyes and quickly fled into the house. Whatever was to happen next she wasn’t sure she wanted to know, at least not just yet.

“Louise stand up.” Grand-mere commanded.

Louise stood without hesitation, which quickly changed to concern when she saw the green glow emanating from grand-mere’s hands. She wasn’t sure what was happening or if she would like the results.

“There done is done, and I’ll no longer need you to run errands for me on campus understood.” Grand-mere said.

“Okay, but when did I run errands for you?” Louise asked somewhat confused. She had a sense of something missing, something very important.

Later that night as Louise climbed the stairs, to go to bed in the room she shared with grand-mere she overheard a snippet of conversation from the kitchen.

“Barnaby I understand that your feelings on this matter, and I know the danger we’re in all to well. I need you to understand, I’ve done all I can on the matter, but when it comes to destiny the most I can do is stall the inevitable not prevent it from happening.” Grand-mere was saying.  “I’ve consulted with the ancestors again. There are two paths, one is certain death, the other isn’t.”

“Then put her on the second path.” Barnaby said.

“I can’t, that path depends on someone else, someone normal who’s life is already touched by the supernatural but intertwined with the life of Louise’s mystery man.” Grand-mere said flatly.

~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~

Louise stared at the blinking one on the recorder, a phone call had come in while she was doing laundry. Wondering why she hadn’t heard the phone ring she pressed play.

“Hi this is Frodo Behrooz, I’m calling for Louise I was hoping to invite her to my graduation ceremony this afternoon.” A man’s voice was saying.

Louise felt a spark of something inside, unable to explain anything grabbed her coat and rushed out the door.

Watching the graduates go in Louise realized she had no idea who she was looking for. For a moment she considered going home but she was already next to go in so decided to watch the ceremony anyway. Her seat was way to the back of the auditorium and she couldn’t hear what was being said on the stage.

Afterwards Louise decided that the ceremonies for graduating students was overrated, and she wondered why she had bothered to waste her time.

Walking in the door at home afterwords the first person she saw was grand-mere who asked her where she’d been.

Louise shrugged “I decided to watch the latest batch of townies graduating at the college.” Louise paused confusion in her eyes “I don’t know why but it seemed so important earlier.” Louise hung her jacket on a peg “Anyway I should get back to doing laundry, folks will be wanting their clean clothes tomorrow.”

Grand-mere Min-Ji locked eyes with Barnaby and let out a slow sigh of relief as Louise made her way back to the laundry room.

Once Louise was out of the room Barnaby commented “That is an incredibly strong destiny on both of them, if he was able to call for her even after the enchantments you worked on them.”

“Yes it is.” Grand-mere replied. “But we always knew that as a seventh daughter of a seventh daughter her path wouldn’t be an easy one, need I remind you I too was a seventh daughter of a seventh daughter. Like I said months ago all I was able to do was stall her destiny not alter it.”

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Okay so if you haven't figured out the snag, by now my very unofficial rule is that unless paranormal has been cleared I try to keep supernaturals out of the house so I don't have to keep their do's & do not's straight on top of everything else.

mini note 10/15/2016

Sorry for the delay, I am playing the Behrooz family and per an unwritten & very unofficial rule I have for my challenge families I need a very certain set of events to happen & the sim who needs to make it happen is being very uncooperative, meanwhile his brothers have all cleared what I was looking for them to clear.

There is a 2nd possible sub story line hinging on the outcomes of game play and it starts where the last post left off, but won’t make sense if it can’t get wrapped into the main story line down the road. Which I feel would be just as frustrating to read as it would be to write.

I’m also having some issues with the game, and have had to save and clean the file 3 times now in the same sim day to keep the game from freezing up, which happens sometimes around full & dark moons.

As a thank you for your patience here are a few teasers of things to come. The images are all snipets of things to come, I think I have enough images for at least 4 – 6 posts if not more and that doesn’t even count the side story, spinning around my brain begging to be written.

This is were I disposed of a bunch of IF doll’s, I find it odd and creepy that the sims they went to are long gone but the dolls aren’t.