50. Secrets

Last chapter…

Mosi went on a quest to get manly relationship advice in order to woo the new girl in class, who unbeknownst to him is an ex-Themysimran Seeress and magically-age altered fairy from ancient times…but who cares when it’s love, amirite?

Also we finally got to see Pili (abs), and peeked a smidge more into the (gratuitous) past…but then Oly came to visit and Artemis blew everyone’s minds (slash upset everyone’s digestive systems) with a startling revelation!

Onward!

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“I simply don’t trust her, Prim,” sighed Belladonna, “you never know from what sort of angle the fae will come at you; this could very well be an elaborate ruse!”

“Bella, dearest, don’t you think you’re being just a tad paranoid?” Primrose did her best to ignore the rise of irritation she felt whenever her oldest friend maligned the fae, “what could pretending to be a child possibly gain Persephone?”

“Are you daft?” Hissed Bella, “unsupervised access to the children of course!”

“Was she not previously offered a position teaching the secondary class some years ago?” Balsam chimed in, “would that have not been an easier way to be alone with your progeny?”

“Very true, pet, but our friend Bella is quite unreasonable when it comes to anything involving fairy-kind; it’s a wonder she even deigns to speak to me!” Prim realized she sounded a little sulky, but her friend’s remarks were rather hurtful.

“Er–” Belladonna had the decency to look slightly chagrined, “you’re only fae-blooded, Prim, it’s not nearly the same thing…”

“And it just so happens that my family is proud of it’s fairy heritage, Bella! Perhaps it’s not as grand as being descended from djinn, but it was good enough for the Lady Nimue, and it’s good enough for me,” she shot her companion an icy glare, “and, I’ll remind you; it’s good enough for our grandchild, also.”

“Peace, friend,” the red-haired witch sighed, “truly, I don’t wish to quarrel with you, but you cannot pretend that the fae aren’t, on occasion, impishly malicious; and here you are with three of them living in your home, offering to mentor that very grandchild in exchange for our sorcery…surely you can see where that appears suspicious?”

“Mind the size of your cuts, Balsam; one quarter inch precisely,” huffed Prim, “I won’t have the entire brew spoiled by careless cubing.”

“Understood, Mistress.”

It grated on Primrose’s pride to admit that her friend had a point about the nature of the fae…and that she herself had had one or two moments of doubt about the motives of their untimely guests.

“The thing is done, Bella,” she said at length, “Persephone has joined Oly’s class, and her two sons sit, even as we speak, under the tutelage of our resident ex-vampire-turned-secondary-teacher.”

“The visions are coming more often now,” admitted Belladonna, “and they appear to be gaining in complexity; Oly saw you and I with Cassandra when you performed the Aura-Splicing–”

“Oh dear–” what must the child think of them? “Did you explain? I know how fond Oly is of Cassandra’s eldest girl…”

“I think Oly was more curious about it than anything else, but…oh, Prim, were we wrong all this time in keeping everything from the children? Perhaps we should have told them straight off about The Accident and everything that’s come of it–”

“Hush Bella!” Primrose sighed heavily, “what’s done is done, and we couldn’t have decided that for their parents, in any case, now could we? What good does it do to lambaste ourselves over the past?

“None, I supposed,” conceded Belladonna, sitting with a frustrated exhalation, “Cassandra’s husband showed in the vision as well you know; as he was when my girls found him in that ruin, before we got him sorted out; I swore Oly to secrecy, of course, but you know how children can be–”

“It sounds as though the damage is done, Bella; but you mustn’t blame yourself, you cannot help what that child sees in dreams,” Primrose considered the situation for a moment, “we will have to warn Pili and Cassandra though, and you should bring Calliope up to speed, and possibly Holly and Kalvin as well.”

“They just whelped another one you know; speaking of my daughter and her kept-man,” Belladonna’s voice took on a decidedly petulant timber, “Uriel they called him; as if human-born spawn have anything angelic to recommend them…”

“You have my sincerest condolences, darling,” every year or so, when Holly dropped her newest mewling brat into Belladonna’s arms, Primrose thanked her lucky stars she had nice well behaved son like Perseus, who didn’t make a point of breeding with humans.

“The offer still stands to have Balsam impersonate Kalvin and try to get a proper magical babe on her; you just say the word my dear,” Primrose offered; it was the least she could do after nearly 700 years of friendship.

“It would be an honour to serve the Line of Bavmorda, Madam Blackthorne,” Balsam added.

“And I’m quite certain you’d find it amusing to see her attempt to rear a changeling; I’ve heard they’re abnormally troublesome creatures in their youth.”

“Exceptionally so, Mistress,” confirmed the Familiar.

“Oh! But doesn’t that sound nice? And then, perhaps, you could have the beast as your own Familiar when it’s all grown up–!”

“Well, I won’t say it’s not tempting, but lets give it another couple centuries or so before we take any drastic measures; eventually the man will die, won’t he? What’s the lifespan on a human anyway? 150 years?”

“Oh yes, I don’t imagine it’s any more than that,” humans were constantly dying; it was probably even less, but Primrose didn’t want to get her friend’s hopes up.

“Few humans live to see their 90th year,” came the correction from Perseus, “and you really shouldn’t offer to meddle, mother; it’s Hollyhock’s business what she grows in her womb, not ours.”

“My precious boy!” Beamed Primrose, “back so soon! Surely you must have good tidings for us?”

“Did you find it?” Gasped Belladonna, rising from her seat, “did you find the Anchor?!”

“Peace, ladies!” He sighed, “I did not find it–”

“We cannot help Persephone without the Anchor, Perseus,” such a sweet, delightful child, but oftentimes so terribly flighty, just like that satyr father of his, “should I send Balsam with you to look for it? He can be spared–”

“As he isn’t currently off impregnating unsuspecting witches? Yes, so I’ve heard; I don’t need assistance, mother,” Perseus tone was bordering on insolent, but Primrose could see that he was tired, “I did not find it because it cannot be found at the Temple of Athena, if it ever was there to begin with.”

“I knew it!” Hissed the red-haired witch, “that little imp lied to us! Didn’t I tell you she couldn’t be trusted–?”

“There is no evidence of deceit!” Primrose felt her ire rankled once more as Belladonna immediately jumped to blame fairy mischief.

As usual, Perseus chimed in with diplomacy, “it could very well, be, Madam Blackthorn, that the Anchor has been moved since last Persephone beheld it.”

“No! It’s there! It must be there,” Primrose insisted, well aware she was beginning to make a bit of a spectacle of herself, “you will take Balsam to the temple and find it; clearly it is hidden!”

“Yes, very well mother, I’ll take your pet and go look again, will that satisfy you?”

“A waste of time, since the fairy lied,” grumbled Belladonna.

Balsam watched the scene with seeming indifference, “if the Anchor cannot be found, Mistress–?”

“You will find it,” snapped Primrose, “and do not return until you do!” Truly, she was going to feel a little silly later for kicking up such a fuss, once she’d had a stiff drink and a lay down.

“What is the Anchor, Master Perseus?” Primrose heard her Familiar ask, as she watched them trudge away.

“According to Persephone,” came her son’s reply, “it’s a well.”

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Footnotes:

Sometimes there needs to be a bit of connective tissue to tie up loose things and connect stuff and make parts of other things make sense…right? Right; they can’t all be shirtless flirting!

Next chapter will be kids doing kid things.

In the mean time, let’s end with something a little bit whoa:

Ghost of Bastet: “Boo! And HAPPY SIMMING!!“