The Cursed and The Innocent PART 1 : A Cold Winter's Day

Chapter 9 - The Answer

JASPER'S P.O.V
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I headed up to Raven's room and knocked. "Is Luna there? I would like to speak to her."

"Yes, she's just coming out of the bathroom now." Raven gave the room a quick scan and then looked back at me with a frustrated look. "Why do you have to be so cold? You're not going to get the information from her that you need acting like that." She placed her hands on her hips, instantly causing me to roll my eyes. "You're going to wait outside this door and apologise." Raven whispered with anger in her voice and folded her arms.

I sighed and waited for Luna to get to the door. Raven brought her over to the door, "Oh look who's here." She gave a Luna a fake smile and then looked at me, pulling the same face and speaking in that condescending voice you would use on a child. "Someone has come to talk to".

I looked over at Raven also with a fake smile, but with a frustrated undertone. "Well, hello Luna." I tried to keep a fake smile, knowing it wouldn't last long. "I uh, wanted to apologise for how I made you feel earlier. I didn't mean to scare you or make you feel uncomfortable." I relaxed the smile into a polite resting face and tried to make eye contact while I spoke the words, as difficult as it was.

She looked at me, struggling to make eye contact, arms folded. "Thanks for the apology." I saw the nerves in her body language, as she spoke.

"Look, I wanted to try this again," I paused for second, gathering my words into a sentence. "I'd really like to have that conversation we missed out on earlier." I tried to portray emotion and reassurance as I spoke, "I promise you won't have to feel nervous and scared this time."

Raven quickly spoke over my words, "And if you feel you're not ready, you can say it now and you and Jasper can talk later." She put her arm around Luna's shoulder and smiled. I shot Raven a frustrated look.

"Thanks Raven, but think I need to hear what you have to say, Jasper." She nodded with a nervous smile towards Raven, continuing to avoid eye contact with me.
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"So...what did you need to talk about?" Luna spoke softly, staring at the wooden table. 

"I don't really know where to start." I looked down at the table and then rested my gaze on Luna's face. "I do have to pre-warn you that these questions may feel personal to your day-to-day life." Her face looked slightly panicked, so I forced a smile and got straight to the questions "Now, have you noticed anything strange around you? Any thing that has changed on your average day. Regular, consistent headaches, for example?" I spoke calmly, hoping it would encourage any answers.

"No, nothing that I have noticed or been aware of."

"Okay, that's good." I nodded. "Activity in your house that can't be explained? Ghostly or supernatural presence?"

She shook her head slowly. "No."

"Has there been anything strange going on around you? Anything that has made you uncomfortable or concerned?" She looked at her palms, which were now sweating. This was more than nerves of talking to me now, something about that question made her uncomfortable. It put her on edge.

"I mean, this situation kind of made me uncomfortable, in the car and everything." She laughed nervously, messy around with her hands.

I quickly got the conversation back on track, maintaining eye contact. "What I want to know is if there is anything else other than myself that was concerning you?" I looked her straight in the eye, as if she was the target on an archery board. I could see her left eye twitching as she tried to look at me.

"I, uh, I mean, not that I can think of right now." She stumbled over her words, trying to stay calm.

"Look Luna, if there's something you don't want to tell me, you need to open up to the idea. This is getting serious now. We don't have time for beating around the bush."

She looked up to lock eye contact and hesitantly opened her mouth, "Okay. Well. There is, uh, some change around me."

"Okay. Would you be able to give me more information on what this change is?" I shot her a serious look. No, smile, Jasper. Make her feel comfortable. I reminded myself. I plastered a soft and friendly smile across my face, causing Luna's body to relax a little.

"I guess I found out something that has changed my perspective on life and the world. All I can say is that it involves people around me." Luna just looked down at the table, eyes glistening in the light.

I sighed in frustration. She was not giving me answers, but rather running around them. I decided it had come to the time to enter her mind and recent thoughts. Invading another's mind was never my first option. I only ever did so once I had no other choice. I tried to get through, but nothing was happening. There was a wall around her mind. I looked straight into her eyes trying to keep my cool, with slightly angry sarcasm in my voice. "Do any of these people have an interest in, say, herbal and natural remedies? Any practices using herbs and healing ingredients?"

Her face went pale and her throat choked her words.

She had a protection spell on her mind.

There was no other way that would prevent me from entering her mind. Someone didn't want me getting into her head. Luna has obviously been told I'm a threat and these 'people she knows' are trying to protect her.

I laughed in disbelief and frustration, shaking my head, as I rubbed my hands down my face.

I yelled through the house. "Raven."

Raven came running down the staircase and looked to me immediately. I mouthed to her, 'Witch'.