Exquisite Poison (Original Draft)

Chapter 24 - The Crossroads

Back at the house, Netta was surprised to find that the Selkie's energy seemed to have rejuvinated. The Monster flitted through the living room, looking at pictures in frames and examining personal items with obvious excitement.

"Master never let me come in here - she was frightened of what her family would say if they saw me." When It spoke, the tended to sound softly garbled, as though It were always speaking under water.

"Why's that?" Ophelia asked.

As she was walking, a few of her Sisters seemed adamant to fuss over her various bruises and scrapes, to the teenager's obvious annoyance. Finally, she closed her eyes and gave the older Witch, Morgan, who had been examining the side of her face carefully, a good shove.

"Enough - I'll check myself out later."

Elluvia looked back at Ophelia, the smile that had been growing on the Monster's face gradually. "It was unwise to allow any of you to meet me before we had gone through the Sacred Contract."

The surprise from the other Witches was obvious to Netta.

Finally, Wu, a beautiful Witch of Asian descent broke the silence by saying, "She wasn't just hiding a Monster from us - but a Monster betrothal?"

Miss Kienna from where she sat in her winged armchair. "Why did she wish to keep your preseance and the nature of your relationship with her from us?"

Morgan answered again, saying, "Maybe it has something to do with the fact that this one has something that I would guess to be lady parts as opposed to the traditional male ones."

Some of the other Witches tittered in surprised laughter. Ash might have chuckled, or it might have been him coughing.

Elluvia turned to look at Morgan, her head cocked to the side. "If you mean it's because I prefer to take the physical form of a woman, then, yes."

Ophelia spoke up then, a note of despair in her voice. "Why wouldn't she tell me? How long has this been going on?"

Elluvia turned to regard Ophelia with something akin to gentle sympathy in Its eyes. "She wanted to tell you most of all. I - I fought to have her come out with the nature of our relationship, but she feared that she would be... torn from me."

Netta bit her lip and found a memory, unbidden, rising up in her. She found that she had turned to regard Ash with a glance that he returned with a sober, knowing look. She looked down and shook her head to clear the sudden - unwanted - recollection.

Miss Kienna, with a distraught look on her face, said, "If she feared ostracization or punishment for her relationship with you, I can assure you that I never, ever would knowingly love a Sister of mine less for her passions and preferences."

There was a long, surprised silence in the room.

It was some time before they continued with their conversation with the waif-like - but, obviously, somewhat powerful Selkie. When they did, it was only once Ophelia had been shuffled off to her bed.

Miss Kienna offered the awkward looking Monster a place to sit next to her. Then she began to ask It the questions that they could have possibly asked in front of Ophelia.

"You say that you saw Anais' murderer. What happened?"

Elluvia looked at all of the women and fidgeted.