Pandora's Box: Maenads (Book 2)

Together We Stand

"And you have no idea where she might be hiding it?" Pandora's father asks in a pretty disappointed tone.

Pandora takes a deep breath, taking in her father's question and feeling every part of it, "No..." then running her hands through her hair, she faces her parents, "I broke into her locker, but..."

"You broke into her locker?" asks her mother.

"She took it from mine, I figured it was the obvious place to look at least. If you're going to hide something, why not hide it where you found it?" suggests Pandora, explaining her logic.

"Even still, you should have asked for my help." insists Jove, "I appreciate your initiative but you can't just go breaking into someone's locker. I have access to the combinations and she did steal from you after all. It would've been within my power to inspect her locker for it."

"I'm sorry... I just... I didn't know what else to do. I can't believe she would do this to me. What if... maybe she's still possessed? Is that why she's acting this way?" asks Pandora, a bit of hope coming from the question.

Jove and Uni look at each other for a moment, as if conferring, before Uni responds, "It's not likely. You managed to save her from that. Although you said she talked about what she learned from what happened. The previously possessed sometimes do learn from their experience. She's probably not lying about that."

That makes Pandora sink back into her seat at home, trying to deal with the deflation.

"So she's just... more mean?" Pandora wonders.

"Her experience left her with a lot of questions, she's looking for answers. It's understandable." suggests Jove, "You'll just have to find a way to convince her to give it back."

"I could tell her. That might work." declares Pandora.

"You're going to tell her she was possessed by a spirit from Pandora's Box and that you were destined to protect it from people who are trying to open it? And that most of her classmates could also be possessed?" asks Uni somewhat rhetorically.

"Because magic is real and so are spirits and she'll just accept that?" Jove adds.

"I didn't say it was a good idea." Pandora attempts to joke, trying to boost her spirits and lighten the mood.

"If you tell her the truth now, she's going to assume you're making excuses and trying to avoid what's really going on... which..." Uni begins before she and Jove look at each other for a moment, "Might actually work."

"What?" a confused Pandora can't help but ask.

"Tell her the truth and she might be angry with you and give it back to you in frustration." Jove suggests.

"But... then she'd be angry with me. She might even hate me." declares Pandora, clearly not a fan of where her parents are going with this.

A knowing look is shared between Pandora's parents for a moment.

Jove gets a serious and focused look on his face, "That's a sacrifice you might have to make if you're going to save Sarah from unleashing her abilities. You know we can't let that happen. Not after the kind of chaos Jemma was able to cause when her spirit possessed her. Maenads can be a lot worse."

"But... I don't want Jemma to hate me. I... I really like her. I want her to like me too." insists Pandora, still looking for a way around the apparently emerging plan.

"At least you'll know you were honest with her. If you really want to build something with her, you can't lie to her. Telling her the truth gets you something to build on, even if it's going to be hard at first." explains Uni.