W.I.T.C.H.: Cries from the Woods

Part 3 Something in the Basement

After a few hours the group, separated in their rooms, could hear Danny return and argue with her grandmother. Laying upstairs, they couldn't fully understand what the two were saying, but they knew it was about the missing tool and Danny accusing Janet; then the door slammed shut again. Danny might not be back until dinner. After a few hours, Sheela called the group down for dinner. Dinner consisted of spaghetti with tomato sauce and home-made iced tea. The pasta tasted like the box they came in and the sauce tasted like it was straight out of the can and lacked salt, but it was food and jetlag killed any appetite that might have existed. Still, the group at least attempted to eat their meal; Janet, who sat at one end of the table beside Sheela, simply poked at her serving. As they quietly ate their meal in the dining room, the front door opened and slammed shut; Danny had returned. Clearing her throat, Sheela called out, "Danny, dinner is ready. We are having pasta. Come in and have some."

Danny simply walked past the dining room with a bag in her hand. She had gone down to the local convenience store at the end of their driveway after failing to find her tool. With a flat tone, she replied, "You are the only grandmother in the world that can't cook. I got myself dried anchovies instead."

Sheela simply shook her head and continued with her meal. With the jetlag affecting everyone, time passed by in a haze and soon it was 10:00pm and outside the windows darkness hid everything from view. As the group retreated to the living room for a game or two; however, the Prince excused himself from the group to go to bed; he had been awake for the past 40 hours and had the mental capacity of drywall. Even though he wanted to, he refrained from kissing his wife before going to bed as he had overheard Irma's interrogation of Will and didn't want to fan the flames. In the living room, Danny teased Irma with the dried anchovies while the other girls, including Sheela, played a card-game and Janet returned to her seat and stared into thin air. Will remained awake for another half hour playing the card game with her friends before excusing herself and headed for bed. As she climbed the stairs, Sheela called after her from the living room. "When you are in bed, make sure the bedroom door is locked. Katja has a habit of stealing shoes and Janet sleepwalks."

Will called back that she understood and headed for bed. In their room, she found her husband lying in bed and seemingly asleep. Will only shook her head; back in Meridian, she had to drag him to bed and now he went on his own free will. After locking the door, and checking it to make sure it locked, she lay down and he immediately wrapped his arm around her and pulled her closer. In a dry, sleepy voice he mimicked her complaints of the past months of their marriage. "There you are...Why didn't you come to bed sooner? I almost froze to death without you."

"I do not sound like that. I thought you were tired?"

"I am tired, but I couldn't pass up on this opportunity." He replied with a smile and Will quietly chuckled at him. Bother were suffering from jetlag; they were tired, but not the kind that allowed them to sleep. With a furrowed brow, Will turned her head to her husband and asked.

"Do you think Danny and Janet are weird?"

"I haven't come across a single normal person since I met you. I am beginning to believe that normal is just a myth." He muttered in return and nuzzled against her neck. Ever since the first night they shared a bed, he enjoyed the sensation of holding her. Perhaps it was part of the poison's effects or it was because he deeply loved her. With a content smile on her face, Will looked up at the ceiling while patting her husband's arm that was wrapped around her middle and thinking that he might have a point. "We aren't normal either."

"True, there is nothing about us and our family that is normal."

"What does that supposed to mean? I thought you and I are working out quite well." He said while giving her a questioning look.