Her room was a mess.

Willow had been incapable of mustering even a modicum of organized energy towards the task of making her bed and sorting her books. Each time she placed a hand on a hardcover book from among the stacks, her fingers quaked and the act of wrapping them around the bindings became an impossible task.

She couldn’t lay in bed either.

Not because there was a mess to contend with, although sleeping among discarded shirts, dresses, and shorts should have counted as a mess if she were in the right headspace, but because there was too much chaos flowing through her to let her find even a moment of rest.

Sleep would not find her as easy as it once had, so she did the only thing left that gave her a sense of control and peace.

She paced across her room.

The stacks had slowly been pushed to the edges of her path, allowing for the mindless back and forth to overtake her legs without need to worry about damaging her possessions.

But time pacing meant time spent thinking and even in her addled stupor, the consequences of her actions nipped at her heels.

Willow didn’t stick around to see if Magnolia made it out okay. She didn’t ask the professor about her whereabouts or remain at the portal's edge in support of her friend.

But Bianca had found her that day and that was enough confirmation for Willow to know that her actions had borne fruit.

“Hello Willow,” Bianca looked devilishly delighted to see Willow in her immediate state of anguish, “Oh, have I caught you at a bad time?”

“What do you want, Bianca?” Willow spat back with her ill-placed vitriol. Deep within herself, Willow knew who deserved the brunt of her displeasure.

Bianca was unphased by the lash out, “Cheer up, girl. I’m here to offer you some good news. I’ve been informed by our mutual contact that your end of the contract has been fulfilled. Congratulations, you did remarkably well.”

Willow’s stomach churned, bile rising and falling as the room around her gained a faint spinning sensation.

“So you’re saying…” Willow couldn’t bring herself to finish the sentence.

“I’m saying that our mutual friend has deemed your actions satisfactory to our contract. Whether that dreg has suffered for her transgressions or not is irrelevant. So long as she’s incapable or uninterested in joining us for our graduation ceremony is what matters.”

This was an emotional detachment from the situation that Willow could not muster. It didn’t help matters that for all her guilt, she’d still been the one to condemn her friend to a terrible fate.

She flailed her arms and wiped away the day's old memories.

“You were put in that position,” Willow whispered under her breath, the pace of her steps becoming faster, more erratic, “You didn’t have any alternatives. You weren’t just representing yourself in that contract but your parents too, and they’ve been suffering far longer trying to make ends meet for you.” Willow wrapped her arms around herself, fingers squeezing at the biceps and digging into the skin. “So many Incants have prices to pay for their success and this was just yours, right? It wasn’t a fair shake but you did the best with what you had and came out ahead for it.”

Her words did little to assuage her ailing heart. All the reason in the world could not wash away the stains on her hands, the stench of failure from her being. She was too cowardly to refuse the call to action and too cowardly to stick around for the results.

“Willow,” Her mother called out from beyond the door, “There’s someone here to see you!”

Her pacing stopped.

Was it Bianca? She was meant to come around and provide her with access to that library so were they going to hash out the logistics of all of that so soon?

Her heart found new depths to sink under.

Was it Juniper? They hadn’t interacted much but Magnolia mentioned she was a delver and had means of finding hidden things. Was she here to take her pound of flesh?

“Willow, what do you want me to say?” Willow's mother called out to her.

“J-Just send them to my room. I’m currently cleaning up.” The moment her directive left her lips, Willow scrambled to organize what little she could of the room. It was a sty, a mess, a pit for her to wallow within but she had to be presentable, whoever came through the other side of that door.

The rattling of the door knob came too quickly. Or was it her sense of time that had also been affected by the haze of her mind?

Willow bundled up the mess of clothes on her bed and tossed them into a corner of the room, hoping her guest would not notice. The book stacks would remain, a suggested testament to her voracious appetite for knowledge and the capacity to use what she knew.

In all of her radiance, Magnolia opened the door. She was wearing another sundress, this time a sky blue colored garment with a cloud pattern. Her smile was warm and inviting, her arms outstretched.

The finality of her friend's demise was upended and with it the feelings of guilt.

Her friend had survived the exam! She was here, alive and in the flesh and smiling at her and pulling her in for a hug.

Willow reciprocated immediately, stumbling across an ankle stack of books to reach her friend and wrap around her tightly.

“I’m so sorry I didn’t stick around.” Willow offered as she squeezed her friend tighty.

“Don’t worry, Willow. I figured you were still on the other side by the time I came back. I wouldn’t have wanted the company anyway.” Magnolia replied.

She suppressed the worrying thoughts that began bubbling to the surface of her mind as best she could. As far as Bianca and her stupid Scrivener were concerned, Willow fulfilled her end of the bargain. The look on that dumb bitches face come schoolday to see the both of them-

“Hey Willow,” Magnolia wheezed, “You’re wrapping around too tight.”

Willow let go and swiped away the remaining detritus on her bed to make room for her friend.

“Come, sit.” Willow patted the bed. Magnolia sat down and observed the room in silence. She was kicking herself over falling down a spiral, incapable of making her space at least presentable to potential guests.

“Your mom was such a pleasant woman, Willow. Why haven’t I met her sooner?” Magnolia asked.

Because she was always busy and the last thing Willow wanted to do was pile up responsibilities at her feet to be present around her friends?

“My mom and dad are off in the field most of the time. The house is empty more often than not so it was better for the both of us to hang out in your room.” Willow answered.

“That’s a shame. This house is truly beautiful.” Magnolia whispered.

“Is your sister doing well? She’s still alive and well right?”

Magnolia chuckled, “Yeah she’s doing fine. Her business venture at night led her on a wacky adventure that kept her away on the day of the exam, but we’re hanging in there together.”

This narrative has been purloined without the author's approval. Report any appearances on Amazon.

Willow held back a wince.

“Speaking of hanging in there together,” Willow held eye contact with Magnolia, “You’re gonna be attending graduation right?”

Magnolia feigned disappointment before smiling, “I wouldn’t dream of missing out on all that. We didn’t go through all of that torment just so we could sit things out at the end of things. I’ll finally have my life as a freelancing Incant ahead of me.”

“That sounds like a ton of fun. My parents got a new spell binding gig here and they need all hands on deck so as soon as I’ve gotten my license, I’m committing myself to that.”

Magnolia raised an eyebrow, “A new spell binding gig? With who? Under what family?”

Fuck.

“Oh, you know, just a new gig. They haven’t told me who they’re working under but they’re influential enough that my dad’s wearing suits and stuff for his meetings at their estate.”

Magnolia chewed on that information and thankfully brushed past it.

“Well that’s good to hear. I know how much you agonized over their success and what it meant to you so this is great.” Magnolia smiled.

“If that made them happy, you should have seen the looks on their faces when I came home having passed my exam. My dad did his best to lift me up and we all yelled.” The recollection of that memory was acid down her throat, the immediate pangs of guilt and disgust causing her bile to rise and fall in waves.

“Juniper was much the same way. She didn’t have a doubt in her mind that I would pass but once I confirmed things, she yelled so loud that one of the other residents checked in on us to make sure we were okay.”

Magnolia started to laugh and Willow joined in.

“Sounds like your sister.” Willow chimed in between her laughs.

“Yeah, she was really happy to hear I made it out in one piece. The exam itself was less than stellar.”

Willow gulped.

“Oh, what was it like? Dealing with your exam I mean?” Willow played it cool.

Magnolia’s smile wavered, “Honestly it was incredibly terrifying. I want you to hear your side of things when I’m done with my recount. When I crossed the threshold and started running through the swamps, I had to hide at one point because I spotted an old student getting toyed with by a monster of a spell. He was pockmarked all over the place with these burning holes.”

“That sounds awful.” Was all she could offer.

“And after that, I ran towards the Suggestions domain and crossed into a world of rolling plains filled to the brim with grassy meadows and rainbow colored flowers. Compared to the swamps, it was like stepping into wonderland. Even had a table for tea.”

“What an interesting manifestation…”

“Oh it was so much more than that. There was a regality to them that made them so much more than the southern belle they posed as. That was her place of residence, former conquests seated at the table as a constant reminder of what kind of fate would befall me if I made an error in our interaction. I’d never been more afraid in my life.”

Willow noticed Magnolia’s eyes flickering for just a moment, the foggy white of her eyes flashing like lightning arcing through a cloud.

“You should have been there to see it, Willow. It was a performance I don’t think I can ever forget. The pleasantries exchanged with one another knowing full well that failure to reciprocate or answer in half truths meant complete and total subjugation. You should have been there when I failed.”

“I don’t understand. What do you mean you failed?”

“In the last moments where I’d bound the creature, I slipped up and it leapt for the opportunity. How my heart leapt from my chest thinking about that finality, about the indifference the school would have with my disappearance, like all those that sat there before me.”

“Wait but if you failed then-” Willow’s sentence got caught in the air, her mind subsumed in an ether.

What was happening?

Magnolia shook her head, the perspective from Willows end viewing the room like an audience member watching a performance from a distance.

“Willow, you’ve broken the rules of decorum. It is impolite to ask for more after I’ve offered so much freely and graciously. You were meant to tell me how things went with your exam after I finished my recounting and failed to do so.”

What in the world was she going on about? Willow tried to scream and shout but her body was distant, her pleas falling into the void around her.

“Don’t worry though, I can answer that question of yours and get something in return,” Magnolia adjusted her dress and took a deep breath, “Please tell me everything you know about the good luck charm you gave me the day of the exam.”

No. No no no no no. No!

“Don’t do it! Stop!” Willow screamed. She flailed wildly within her mind but could not move a muscle.

“The good luck charm was meant to inhibit your ability to bind a spell into a grimoire or item in some way.” She heard herself answer out there. The moment her statement came to light, Willow’s mind was pulled closer to the surface. She could feel her fingers twitch as she strained herself to escape whatever was happening to her. Prevent herself from revealing anything more.

“Thank you for the response, Willow. Did you acquire this item by yourself or were given help in some way?”

Willow could hear herself begin to speak in that strange dreamy stupor, “I didn’t get the charm myself. Bianca gave it to me to give to you.”

The end of her sentence spelled the end of her confinement, her mind ricocheting back to complete control with a heavy dose of nausea and whiplash. Willow pulled herself away from Magnolia and reflexively entered into an offensive stance, staff in between the two of them.

She opened her mouth before shutting it close. Rules of decorum or not, it had something to do with words and she wouldn’t give her friend an inch.

Were they still even friends at this point? The way she invaded her mind like that certainly didn’t make the prospect appealing.

“But up until today, you thought you killed your only friend.” Her conscience provided a counterpoint.

Now wasn’t the time to dwell on that.

Magnolia sighed and got off the bed.

“Willow, I’m going to ask this and hope you can offer me closure of your own volition; why did you do what Bianca told you to do?”

Willow bit her lip. She could have dealt with this situation any time after that harlot made good on her side of the deal. Offering or acknowledging their involvement with one another to Magnolia meant voiding the contract with the Scrivener, even if she fulfilled her end of the bargain.

She didn’t want to see all the fucking effort put to get this far get taken away from her and her family like this.

“I’m sorry, Maggie but I have no idea what you’re talking about.” Each word was caustic in her mouth. She hated this. She hated being in the situation she was in. She wanted things to work out but there were so many things outside of her control that made life a struggle. It wasn’t fair.

Magnolia shook her head, “I wish you could tell me freely. It’d mean so much more to me to know that my only friend in this whole damn institution didn’t sell me under. And if you did, to get an understanding on why.”

Willow flinched, her fingers falling one by one onto the cool length of wood, eyeing the girl for any sudden movements. She could explain everything once Bianca’s end of things were settled. Willow would apologize up and down for Maggie’s forgiveness and they’d make up and it would all work out fine. She deserved for things to work out fine.

Magnolia gave Willow an antiquated bow before making for the door, her flickering eyes locked on Willow’s own. Her hand falls on top of the door knob and she waits for Willow to make a move.

When none is made, Magnolia twists the knob free to open the door and Willow’s mind immediately succumbs to Magnolia’s spell.

“You’ve broken the second rule of decorum, Willow. A severe infraction at that considering the role you hold in my life. Where I offered you vulnerability and a chance at redemption, you offered only silence in return. Now, now you will stand and listen to what I have to say.”

Willow dropped her staff and viewed Magnolia, her focus fixated on her every word.

“I’m in front of you today because of that charm you gave me. I was unaware of its effects that day and when the spell made its attempt to bind me under its will, it activated the bracelet's conditions and redirected the binding to itself. I don’t know whether to be flattered by Bianca or not but she probably had no idea I was going after the spell I did.”

Magnolia gave Willow an accusatory look and stabbed her with an incriminating finger, “But you did. You knew that my failure would hold severe consequences and you went along with it anyway. A part of me wanted that closure but I can live without it. Honestly I should be thanking you because in a way, your callous self-preservation saved me from suffering a fate worse than death.”

Each passing second brought Willow closer to the surface, closer to provide a rebuttal, a response, anything other than that dreamy silence she’d given up to now. She could make her friend understand if just given the chance to settle things.

“You and I are different, Willow. Fundamentally so. You sold your convictions and your allies for a favor with a person that sees you as fundamentally lesser. You refused a core tenet of being a Scarlet Sister, of conquering your monsters by any means necessary. The Weave gave you powers beyond comprehension and you molded yourself into another piece on someone else’s playing board. Languish in your inadequacies, Willow. I’ll cherish what we had and suggest you make peace with the choices you’ve made. From the looks of it, it won’t be a hard peace to find.”

Magnolia stepped out of the room.

Willow was freed from the spell a few moments later, the grooves of her spell fresh within her psyche, the justifications for her actions bubbling up inside of her but her mouth was incapable of making even the slightest of sounds.

So she went back to pacing around the room, trying to find the right words that would fix all of her problems.