"Willow's Missing Tail" 30

Martha was on her way to the kitchen with the two cups of tea to try to talk sense to Miriam but she stopped before she reached that room, feeling a strong rumble of unstable magic coming from a different room. She placed the teacups down on a side table in the hall and ran to the library, as she approached the room she saw sparks of conflict escaping through the small space around the library’s closed door.

She tried to open the door but found it still sealed by the ancient Ramulus. Her face etched in worry, she felt powerless to stop whatever was transpiring inside. Was Willow strong enough to survive it? She thought so…she hoped so

 

The three loyal cats, Max, Chaos and Ram sat next to her. They hadn’t moved from their guard-cat positions, primed and ready to help Willow but with no magic and the sealed room, all they could do was wait for the sunrise, and there wasn’t a glimmer of light outside.

Sunrise felt an eternity away.

*

When Perfidia stepped into the kitchen she saw Miriam at the counter mumbling to herself. She appeared to be lost in unhappy thoughts about Percival.

Perfidia could have tried to comfort her but at the other end of that counter stood Jon looking suspicious and wholeheartedly annoyed with her. His expression may not be welcoming her but she approached him anyway.

“We should talk,” she said in a quiet tone.

“You want to talk?” he scoffed, “What about? The newest door you’ve found to push me out of? Where is it? I’ll happily go through it.”

Perfidia deserved his sarcasm but that didn’t mean she was going to accept it.

 

“If you’re not going to be serious Jon then there’s no point in us talking.” She turned to leave him.

“Wait.

She heard his request but his tone sounded conflicted. She looked at him over her shoulder but again her eyes slid to Miriam. It didn’t appear she even knew Perfidia and Jon were in the room with her but Perfidia didn’t want to talk near anyone.

“If you want to talk, I know where we can have a private conversation,” she told him and walked over to her pantry door.

Jon’s eyes narrowed on her. “You want to talk in there?”

“Maybe,” Perfidia mumbled as she opened the door a crack and peeked inside. Her smile of relief was immediate. The path to Martha’s kitchen was still there. She fully opened the door.

“Follow me,” she told him and stepped inside.

 

Jon walked over to her and looked inside the pantry. “Is that another kitchen?”

“Yes, it’s Martha’s kitchen.”

“Doesn’t Martha live on the other side of town?”

“Yes she does, but Chaos bridged this portal to my home.”

Jon gave her a disappointed look.

“So you did find another way to get me out of here,” he scoffed and walked around her and into the pantry but before he could walk through to the other side she stopped him.

Perfidia placed her hand on his arm. “No, I’m not trying to get rid of you. If we go into Martha’s kitchen, we can talk there without interference from the dark nonsense currently lingering in my house.

“Fine,” he shrugged and continued walking through the long double sized pantry and into the adjacent kitchen.

Perfidia followed but when she got to the threshold to Martha’s kitchen, the path was blocked for her. She couldn’t take another step forward and looked at Jon on the other side.

“I can’t pass through the doorway. There’s something, probably that force of conflict, blocking me from following you.”

 “I see,” Jon smirked,” so this really was the plan. Well, you win Perfidia, you got me out of your house and I have to admit it, your plan was clever, bravo.” He applauded sarcastically.

Perfidia’s eyes turned into storm clouds of indignation.

“I didn't plan this Jon. I wanted to follow you over there and talk.”

“Sure you did,” Jon smirked, not believing her. “Just tell Martha I’ll be sleeping in her house tonight and I’ll leave first thing in the morning.” He stepped back to close Martha’s pantry door in her face.

“Jon, wait. I promise you it wasn’t a trick. Just come back over on this side and we'll talk.”

Jon wasn’t convinced she wasn’t a little pleased he was out of her house but maybe she hadn’t planned this exact departure.  He reopened the door.

“Okay, if you’re willing to answer all questions…I’ll come back,” he said with a raised brow waiting for her response.

“I will.” She nodded.

Jon went to step back over the threshold but this time he felt the thick band of resistance at the doorway. He couldn’t pass back through it. He chuckled darkly. “It seems I can’t come back.”

“Try harder.”

Jon turned his shoulder into the air over the threshold and pushed with all his strength against the unseen force. It was no use. There was no give in the invisible fibers.  He couldn’t return.

“I can’t get through it.”

“Okay, stay at Martha’s tonight but please don’t leave in the morning. After sunrise, I’ll come over there and we’ll talk.”

Jon gave a short mirthless chuckle. “Sure…guess you got what you wanted Perfidia.”

“What do mean?”

“You wanted to wait until tomorrow to discuss that enchanted bracelet, now you’ll get your wish.”

“I told you, I didn’t plan this…”

“Okay, if you didn’t…let’s not wait until tomorrow, I can hear you just fine so…talk now. Tell me why you wore the bracelet?”

Perfidia felt the creeping darkness enter the pantry and then she saw the tiniest dark cloud form over Jon’s head and it formed a smile! Was it kidding? Was it mocking her? She knew it would confuse any conversation and she couldn’t risk it, afraid of what it might do to Jon’s feeling for her. No, she may not have planned this exit for him and she didn’t want him to think she had, but he was right, maybe it had worked out the way she’d wanted it to. She frowned at the taunting cloud over Jon’s head and knew she wasn’t sorry he was out of her house.

Jon crossed his arms and nodded. “No response to that? I thought you wanted to talk Perfidia, guess I was wrong,” he concluded and his eyes stabbed hers with judgment.

“No, I do but…I…I-”

“Don’t bother Perfidia, relief is written all over your face. Admit it, you’re happy this happened,” he said scrutinizing her guilty face before stepping back and firmly closing the pantry door between them. Her heart panged with regret when she heard the lock on the door turn.

“Please Jon wait at Martha’s until tomorrow. Don’t leave. I’ll be there after sunrise and I’ll answer any questions,” she whispered through the closed door but nothing was heard from the other side. She wasn’t even sure if he’d heard her.

She looked up and the stupid smiling darkness and now it had formed itself into a grin. She slapped at it and it dissipated but it didn’t make her feel any better. She feared she’d lost Jon.

Was it the dark matter playing with her confidence or was it true? Either way, the pain in her heart was real.

*