The Bewitching - Midsummer Aine - Book 2

Chapter 4 - A Walk Down Memory Lane

Dantes stood anxiously outside the door to the laundry room. He wasn't about to let Elyssa and Dewdrop spend time alone without being around just in case all hell broke loose. Dewdrop could easily hold her own, but he also knew Elyssa held untapped powers she wasn't aware of. In the greater scheme of things she could probably wipe out a whole town if she knew how to channel her efforts. Even Dewdrop would be powerless if Elyssa accidentally tapped into that side of herself. He already knew how fortunate he was not to be a mess of fluids on the floor from the encounter earlier.

He glanced back down the hallway to where Annette, Tobias, and Alicia all stood and shook his head. So far everything seemed calmed. He hadn't been able to hear a thing, which he hoped was a good sign. At least it meant they weren't trying to kill one another. At this point he'd settle for that.

Maybe they were actually getting along, or at least tolerating each other. He could feel Elyssa's energy from the other room. There was still a bit of anger in her, but the longer they were back the more it seemed to turn to a nice calm, or at least an understanding. The only emotion that didn't seem to leave was a feeling of jealous. He wouldn't have been proud to admit it, but part of him liked that she was slightly jealous.

Soon he felt the mood in the room changing once again. Dewdrop seemed to be overcome with a great deal of sadness, something he had never felt from her in the several months he had known her. Elyssa too went through a change. He could feel the calmness that had been building all of a sudden change to one of worry. Something must not be right. He glanced over his shoulder at Annette and Alicia. They too had a look of concern on their faces.

Without thinking, he knocked on the door. A few seconds later it cracked open just an inch as Elyssa peeked out. He could see Dewdrop getting dressed behind her.

"I just...uh, is everything okay in there?" he asked as innocently as he could. Her face scrunched up angrily as she shook her head. Without saying a word she shut the door hard in his face.

He glanced back questioningly towards Annette and her mom, but they were gone. They must have known she'd still be angry with him and decided to disappear. Luckily it didn't result in an argument this time. He still muttered to himself, annoyed that they had abandoned him.

A few minutes later the door opened again and Dewdrop stepped out. She looked up at him with her golden brown eyes as she traced her finger along his jaw. A slight smile crept across her face before she buried her face into his chest and held him tightly. He was a bit taken aback, and he could still sense the lingering bit of sadness coming from her. Whatever had happened behind those doors had effected her in someway.

"Is everything all right?" he asked as he wrapped his arms warmly around her.

"Everything's fine."

"Are you sure, because I'm getting some strange feelings about..."

She smiled warmly as she pulled slightly away to look into his eyes once again.

"Yes. We just talked and some of my peoples old ways came up. The old perspective brought with it some things I'd forgotten. It was a bit overwhelming but it'll pass."

She leaned up and kissed him softly.

"Oh, and I think she's waiting to talk to you. Just be nice okay?" Dewdrop gave him another quick peck, this time on the cheek.

"I'm going to talk a bit more with Annette and her mom." With that she was gone, leaving Dantes with a perplexed look. He wasn't looking to get into a deep discussion, but he had a feeling that Elyssa had other plans. Knowing her it would be about their past. He had tried to forget about it for so long, the heartache and memories of how things once were between them. He was finally starting to come to peace with it and now he sensed she was going to ask him to relive those memories all over again.