KAIROS | CHAPTER FIVE

"THIS IS MY CONFESSION.
AS DARK AS I AM, I WILL
ALWAYS FIND ENOUGH
LIGHT TO ADORE YOU
TO PIECES, WITH ALL
OF MY PIECES."

November 1st, 1993 ( 5:00 AM)

The Dennison household was comforting and calm, something that Riley had needed after the day's events. She followed her friends into Max's room, where Dani put out a bowl of milk for Thackery; the girl was laid on Max's bed, Max and Allison were cuddled up on the stairs, and Riley sat silently by the window.

Hours had passed, and her three friends had fallen asleep, leaving she and Thackery awake. He'd decided to take Max's advice, walking up the stairs and seating himself in the windowsill. "Violetta," he began, "are you really alright?"

She shrugged, "I guess. . . you'd think, after three hundred years, it would feel amazing to have them gone. But, I don't know. Something's not right."

"Hey," he began, "they're gone. You're suffering is over."

"Is it, though?" The girl retorted, her hair falling from the bun and cascading over her shoulders. "My suffering has been caused by guilt, same as yours. What happened to all of those kids, what happened to Emily. . . to you. . . it's all my fault. I should've done something!"

Thackery stepped closer, "Hey! It is not your fault. Your mother's actions do not reflect your own. You are Violetta Sanderson, and you've grown more powerful than they could have ever dreamed to be. You're intelligent, resourceful, kind, beautiful, and not at fault for anything they have done."

"Beautiful, huh?" She smiled, causing Thackery to scoff.

"Not the point."

They looked through the window, the silent of night blanketing them like a quilt in winter; Thackery felt at home, by her side, and knew that he would never get to be who he once was - he wasn't even sure if he wanted to be.

"I have a confession to make," he began, not meeting her eyes. "Before all of this happened, three hundred years ago, I fell in love. I fell in love with this brilliant witch; we met coincidentally when I was waiting for my father to return from hunting. I believed her to be the witch of the woods, watching over the village and ensuring our safety. As the years came and went, as we grew up, I knew that I could never find another woman like her. I knew it would not be allowed, for multiple reasons; first, she was a witch, if she were to be discovered, she would have faced the same fate as her mother. Secondly, my parents had already arranged for me to marry a wealthy girl in the town." He finally turned to face her, "Then, I discovered who the witch's mother was, and I resented her for years. But, after I'd been separated from her for a century, I realized that she was not her mother. It had become obvious to me that she was nothing like that old hag, and I wished for nothing more than to see her again."

Riley looked at him, her brows furrowed as she processed his confession. It was strange, for a cat to speak, and most definitely strange for a cat to confess his love for her, but she felt her heart ping. The pinging had turned into dizziness, and her eyes rolled back slightly.

"Something's wrong." She choked out, falling to the floor. Her fiery hair, some strands matted with dried blood, sprawled out on the floor. Thackery jumped from the windowsill, running down the stairs and through Max's door; the brunette had gone to walk Allison out.

The bedroom door creaked open further, and Riley's eyes painfully landed on her mother. Winifred smiled evilly, and her daughter's duffel back ripped open; the book flew to Winifred's hands, and Dani had been woken up by the sound. Mary grabbed Dani, covering her mouth and pulling her into the closet.

Winifred approached her daughter, "I've realized you cast a binding spell on our relation; anything that happens to you, happens to me. You've grown intelligent, my child, but that will not save you, or thy friends."

The woman entered the closet with her sister, and Sarah hid under the covers as Max and Allison approached the room. The blonde rushed to her friend's aid, and Max went to wake up Dani. Riley weakly motioned her finger to the closet, and Allison's eyes widened as she looked down at Max.

"Dani, wake up."

"Trick or treat!" Sarah exclaimed, sitting up. Allison screamed, and the other two sisters made themselves known. They rushed from the closet, cruel smiles on their lips.

"Looking for this?" Mary nudged Dani slightly, holding up a bag that contained Thackery.

"Or this?" Winifred waved the book slightly, and its eye opened at the sound of her voice.

Max screamed, as did Allison, before Winifred opened the book and a ball of electricity shot out of the pages and hit Max; it threw him over his drum set, and the witches cackled. Winifred looked to Riley, who had been abandoned by Allison to help Max, and smiled.

"You, my daughter, are coming with me. I cannot have you running around, knowing that you'll try to harm thyself in hopes of hurting me." She levitated Riley, whose body had gone almost completely limp, and Allison had begun to make a circle of salt around her and Max. "Salt!" The ginger exclaimed, "What a clever little white witch. But it will not save thy friends. No." She turned towards her sisters, "Come, sisters. The candle's magic is almost spent. Dawn approaches."

The sisters exited the house with, both, Dani and Riley in their grasps. The little girl screamed and fought against Mary, but Riley had been fighting unconsciousness.

Off on their brooms they went, through the ceiling of Max's room. Allison and Max rushed to the hole in the ceiling, desperately calling after their friends, but it was no use.

...

Bound to the beam with rope, the candle burned above her head. She was coming to, the laughter and scuttling of her relatives reaching her ears as her eyes slowly pried themselves open. In the cages hung from the roof, were Ernie and Jay, and their pleads for freedom almost made her sympathize with them.

"Winnie!" Sarah chirped, "Our guest of honor is awake!"

"Riley!" Dani smiled.

"Her name is Violetta!" Winifred snapped, before turning toward the young witch. "Awe, darling, thy clothes are covered in dirt and blood. . . if you assist us, I'll give you some new clothes - and, you know, spare you once I discover how to reverse thy binding spell."

Violetta spit in the woman's face, struggling against the rope that bound her. "I would never betray my loved ones."

"Oh, spare me the boring love conquers all speech." The ginger scoffed, wiping her daughter's saliva from her face, "I guess you will just have to suffer by watching thy friends die."

"Let me out of here!" Thackery yelled, "Violetta! Are you alright?"

"I'm okay, Thackery." She called, glaring at her mother as she walked back to the caldron. "I've been tied up plenty times before, I'll be it, under consensual circumstances. . . and not by my mother."

"I did not need to hear that." Winifred shuddered, before turning to Dani. "Soon the lives of all thy little friends will be mine and I shall be young and beautiful again, forever."

"It doesn't matter how young or old you are! You sold your soul!" The girl yelled, "You're the ugliest thing that's ever lived, and you know it!"

Riley lunged forward as Winifred approached the girl, before being yanked back against the beam by Sarah. "Dani! Stop talking! It's not going to change her mind, at all!"

"You die first." Was all the witch said, before turning back to the caldron. She proceeded to bite off a piece of her tongue and spit it into the potion, causing the liquid to glow green as it had been completed. "'Tis ready! Pry open her mouth!" She commanded Mary, who was more than happy to oblige.

"Dani! Don't drink it!"

"Shut up, you!"