I Think My Fairy Godmother Drinks

Strange Magic

Ashe tumbled headfirst into her bedroom. She landed hard on the carpet with a muffled thump. Groaning, she sat up and blew a few errant strands of hair out of her face. She sighed at her cramped bedroom. What had she been thinking? 

In debt to the mob and she goes to a party.

Standing, Ashe reached for the zipper of her crop top. At least she could finally get out of this ridiculous dress and these uncomfortable shoes. She tugged on the zipper. Nothing. Frowning, Ashe tugged harder. Still nothing. A mild panic settled in her shaking fingers. She reached for the zipper of her skirt. It too was stuck. A horrifying thought skipped through her brain.

Bending over, she tried to take off the painful heels. The red ribbon ties that wound up her calves wouldn't come loose. Real panic started to twist her stomach into knots. She tried to slip the heels off her feet...and nothing. They were stuck. She lunged across the room to her small desk in the corner. Snatching the pair of scissors from the cracked coffee cup, Ashe set about cutting the ribbons. A cry of frustration tore past her lips as the ribbons remained intact.

"Ashe? Are you okay?" Julia's worried voice  came from the other side of the door.

"I-I'm fine! Totally fine!" Ashe stuttered, her voice high and frantic.

"You don't sound fine." Julia replied.

"It's nothing! I'll be out in a few minutes!" As soon as I figure out how to explain this. Expensive dress. Expensive shoes. Neither of which she could take off!! Stupid fairy godmother! She should have known better. Never, ever trust fey magic.

"Oookay...mom was just worried about you. You've been working so late recently. We didn't even hear you come in." Concern was evident in Julia's voice.

Ashe bit her lip. "I didn't want to wake you. Don't worry about me." Guilt heaped on top of the panic. She'd lied to her step-mother and sister about where she'd been tonight. And now, she'd landed herself in a bigger mess.

"Wait!" She whisper yelled to herself. Frantically tottering to the hamper, Ashe dug until she found the jeans she'd been wearing earlier. The jeans that had Tynder's card in the pocket. Hope briefly soaring in her chest, Ashe reached for the cheap flip phone on her nightstand. "Please answer, please answer." She chanted as she dialed.

"Hello..."

"Yes! Tynder, it's me. I--"

"This is Tynder's voicemail. If I'm not picking up, I'm probably screening. If it's important leave a message and I might get back to you."

***

Leon stood in the library and brooded. There was something wrong with his brother. Well, there was always something a little wrong with his brother, but this was different. He had never seen his brother looked so...so...possessed. It was the only appropriate word for what he'd seen in his brother's blue eyes. A wild darkness that he'd never seen before.

His eyes strayed to the floor behind the couch. Ashe. She didn't seem like a witch. If she wanted to bewitch his brother, he doubted she would have run from him. She seemed as surprised as he that his brother was acting so strange. The memory of Ashe as she looked under the moonlight teased a reluctant smile from him.

She didn't know who he was.  She had no idea who he was and she treated him like anyone else. There was no forced obsequiousness, no condescension. For the first time in his life, he could relax and be just Leon. She'd thanked him for helping her escape, but declined his offer to have someone drive her home. Declined was too mild a word for loud "no" that burst from her lips. She'd muttered something about a complicated home life and took off before he could say anything.

Bastian was right about one thing. She was a goddess.

A light knock caught his attention. He turned as the door opened and Andrew stepped in. "I'm sorry for the interruption, but your brother is calling for you."

Leon sighed. This did not bode well for him...or Ashe. He had a bad feeling whatever magic had been worked on his brother was not over. "I'll be right there."