The Engagement (Inkheart789 & Eyeris)

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"Your more skilled than you let on if you know that one." Hibiscus was pleasantly surprised. If she knew this much, there was hope for her to accomplish even more.

The door would open up to a dusty

"Tinidh" Hibiscus meant to say the word as an instruction to the girl, but as soon as she said it the candles sprung to life. I suppose I still have some power here after all...

The candles were pale waxy things sitting in the corners, on the shelves, tilting and melting over the books and dust. The room would smell like burning dirt for a few minutes.

The room was covered in shelves, full of books and bottles, jars and tubes. The place was strangely stale, not even spiders and worms dare to dwell here.

"First close the door. Lock it if you know a spell to do so. Then... well... do you need rest? food?" Hibiscus existed in her mind, or perhaps only beside it. For, she could not read the girl's mind, nor know her feelings.
 
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Cara could hear the slight hope in Hibiscus' voice and she shook her head. "I dislike magic. I only complete what I need to to stay alive." She muttered as she slowly closed the door.

She felt contained here. It seemed like she was the only living thing and it comforted her and scared her at the same time.

After whispering a rather powerful locking spell, Cara looked around to find something to sit on. "I am hungry, though I can go longer if there is nothing to eat. I will need some drink soon though, I cannot go long without something to drink."
 
"I am sorry to tell you this my dear, but in order to survive this, you will have to do more...." Much more.

"There is food stored, there is food stored in the back, you'll find a room behind the clock." There were jars of preserves, fruits and vegetables, and even meats. On another shelf were jars of dried herbs, bottles of various liquids, it was something like a pantry. There were jars of liquid as well. Wine, of course, and a few other things. No one would call it a proper meal, but rather, necessary sustenance.

There was a small hearth as well, which had lit up along with the candles. A long couch, dusty by soft, a desk, book shelves, strange runes painted along the walls.

"Feed yourself and make yourself comfortable." Hibiscus rolled her eyes, even with no body the girl would want for commands and permissions from her. "You are doing very well." She added.
 
She nodded and went around, exploring the room and figuring out what was there besides tools of magic. The light was dim, but it was enough to see by. After making a loop around the room Cara ended up grabbing some wine and jared fruits.

"Why did this man hate you so? Just for killing him? It seems with magic revenge is important in whatever way it can be achieved." She said, finding a glass to pour the wine in before sitting down on the dusty couch.

Cara figured she could clean after she had some food and wine in her. It was something she knew how to do and did not mind doing.

"Would he torture me if he found me or just simply kill me?" She wondered aloud as she continued to sip the wine and try the fruit. It wasnt as bad as Cara was expecting, in fact she almost liked the taste.
 
"He... Won't simply kill you." Hibiscus decided to be honest. Cara needed to understand the gruesome alternative to escape.

"He will likely seek to collect souls. You will probably die, but be brought back as his thrall or slave. Or keep your soul imprisoned somewhere until he needs it. Or he might give you to someone else..." Hibiscus found herself reluctant, but continued the explanation. "I got a visit from a demon, before all this happened. It was the one your father had... dealt with... I think that demon is the one who will seek you out first. He imagines that he has lost something that belongs to him, but he is also fickle, he might get bored and give up if he finds grander entertainment. Yet, we should not rely upon that fact. For if that demon does find you then... he will know about us, I suppose that they are working together." She waited for the girl to digest her food and the information. "Thankfully, this lesser demon should be easy to evade. He is foolish, and I know his game well."
 
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At this point Cara wasnt even suprised at the mention of soul stealing. Of course that's what most demons do. "I see... You said there was a way to get you back here... Could we do that soon so I can stop with the magic? I rather dislike completing the spells. I would rather have you here so you could do it. I also don't like the fact that you're here, but not here at the same time. I would rather you be physically here." Cara admitted, setting the wine down so she wouldn't get tipsy.

"If you do not have anything for me to do at the moment, if it will take longer to get to the point where you can come back then I will just clean up this place. It is rather dusty."
 
Running for our lives and hiding in a strange place... and she wants to... clean.

"Please do, as you can see, I have neglected the place." The girl was a wonder to hibiscus, cleaning. Yet if that is what brought her comfort, that would certainly do. It would also give Cara a good feel for the place and everything in it. Hibiscus would need to instruct the girl on where to find ingredients. If the girl dusted all the bottles, she'd be able to find 'the red one' or 'the blue one' if it were needed.

Hibiscus was still deciding the best course of action to take. If I come back, she won't have to use magic anymore. That was Cara's motivator. Clean and comfort, get her mind off all the terrible things...

"I'll leave you to it, I need to think as well." Hibiscus would be silent then, retreating somewhere deeper into herself.

My body is decimated, Cara will not take the body of another, how are we to do this then?

Material of some sort was needed to construct a body. Her own spirit was preserved, but how much? was it enough? She could feel herself weakening, how long could she hold on to this girl who despised her?

Not everything of mine is gone, that is why we came here after-all...

Cara will not like that method at all. Hibiscus continued an internal argument with herself. She would never agree ot it, but it is the only way to give her what she wants... what she needs to survive.

What if she would rather die than use such dark magic?

Well, I would rather she not die, so we will not tell her.

No. Best not...
 
The silence in her head seemed deafening. Cara was used to Hibiscus chatting by now and when she stopped... Cara almost felt abandoned.

When she was full enough she put back the cans and wine and searched for something to dust with. In the end she ripped the bottom of her dress, making it slightly shorter, since the ends were already a bit dirty.

As Cara cleaned she started humming to herself. It was a song from her childhood that her parents had taught her, singing was one thing that she had enjoyed. What Cara didn't know was that the song was a spell that would keep the house safe and the living things inside of it. She wasn't singing the words so right now it had no affect, but the humming made her feel more safe.

There were many things to dust and more than once Cara had coughing fits from it all, but after awhile she couldn't find much else to clean without proper supplies.

"Hibiscus?" She called softly. "Have you had long enough to think or should I rest?"
 
Cara's call brought Hibiscus back to the forefront of her mind. "then we can... oh yes. I am here." Hibiscus felt a bit dizzy. She wondered if that is what it was like when a demon was summoned. "I like what you've done with the place." Hibiscus commented. She could not truly see what Cara had done, but knew her well enough to know she had done well. Cara might take it with humor or offense, Hibiscus did not care.

"If you wish to rest you may, or, we can begin to work." She went over her plan in her mind one more time. "I would like to devise a potion for you. It will help conceal your presence from other dark magicians. At the moment, because of me, you probably stink of necromancy. Another dark magician, and even some others, would smell you coming a mile away. They wouldn't know why necessarily, but it's best if we escape their attention."

The potion also had other purposes, but Hibiscus focused on the positives.
 
"I would rather start. I slept enough last night for awhile. What does this potion need?" She asked, looking around and heading towards the glasses she had seen earlier.

Cara didn't like the fact that others could tell that she was there, would know her position if they looked into it.

She didn't know if Hibiscus could see or not, but the compliment still made her blush. "Ah, I didn't do much besides take off the dust." Cara muttered, trying to have control over her body. She hated how easily people could make her blush.

"What are the main ingredients for the potion? And what extra magic will I have to do for it? Perhaps it is in the books I found?" She asked, looking over to the shelf that held them.
 
"We don't need the books, I'll instruct you in everything." If Cara looked at the books she might be able to figure out what she was doing.

"You'll need three bowls. One looks like a skull wearing an iron crown, but if you flip it onto the crown it is a mortar, the pedestal should be nearby it as well. Then a glass bowl, and the iron bowl to go over the fire." She'd give the girl time to gather these things.

"You'll need the blue bottle, purple vial, and then there is a jar of... dried white roots, I believe the cap is a cork sealed with wax. You'll need a knife to open it, be sure to use the pine-handled knife not the black-wood."

"Inside the clock there is a hidden compartment. These are the most dangerous ingredients so take care. You'll find some red jars, you'll need these, but not until the end."
 
Cara looked around, remembering seeing some of the things, but not others. As Hibiscus described them she was able to find them.

"Ah, which knife? Not the black one, but which is the pine?" She asked, wondering which one to pick. There had to be at least fifty different knifes of every size and color.

As she gathered the things Cara set them on the table, putting them in the order Hibiscus had said to gather them.

The clock was rather large and Cara had no idea where to start looking for a hiding place. She started to knock on it, finding a hollow place before waiting for further instructions from Hibiscus on the knife.
 
"The pine knife... it ah..." Hibiscus strained to remember. "It's a lighter color, and is shaped like the crescent of the moon."

"Start with the blue bottle, it is the base, put it in the glass bowl and make sure the bowl is cool to the touch. It should be after all all this time underground. Then cut up the root with the pine-knife. Mince it. Then add it too the glass bowl when you are satisfied."

"The blue bottle is the sap of a strangler fig. Tapped after midnight under the third dark moon. Boiled and rendered under the next third moon, and infused with black bat-flower under the next third. It is sweet should you taste it, though, I wouldn't until we've added the root, which is the antidote it's poisons..."

She hadn't meant to say any of that. She'd just tell Cara to mix this and that in this and that portion and let the girl work, Cara woudl be happier not knowing what everything was and why it must be stirred and measured so carefully. Yet it just left her, the explination, as if she were teaching... She realized that she was quoting her own teacher word-for-word. A shadow of a memory flickered across her mind, a velvety whispering dark secrets into her ear while he put his hand over hers and around the crescent pine-knife and he guided her to cut the root...

"The root is a mixture of shredded mangrove taproot, and dried jaw-worms. Worms are the worlds first necromancers, they take what is dead and transform it..." she found herself continuing to repeat the lesson, it seemed to spill out of her. To be honest it was a pleasant memory, from a time when her skin was still warm to the touch and her life was much simpler...

"That's right dear, now, heat the knife in the fire or on a candle, and use that to stir it all together... then... then..." She felt the memory fade and the warm feelings with it. They didn't have everything they needed on hand. "Did you find the box, Cara?" She made herself say the girls name, feel the cold around her. She shivered back into the present.

That was odd she thought. Perhaps it was a symptom of being only a thought-form now, her own thoughts and memories were more difficult to filter out. I'm weakening she thought, the less control she had over herself the less strength the had, and all the more reason she and Cara needed this potion finished.

There was another matter that bothered her. I'm not supposed to have thoes memories. I sold them... Perhaps the demon missed a spot or two during his feast. Left a trail of crumbs. Sloppy she chided. Or perhaps something has hapened to the demon...
 
Cara did as she said, picking out the correct knife with more details and then opening the blue bottle. As Hisbiscus continued talking, explaining why they had to put what in she started to become tense.

Her chopping of the root became angrier and soon she wasn't paying attention to where she was cutting. "Ah!" She said, sucking in a gasp as she cut her finger. Cara instinctively brought her finger to her mouth to suck on the cut. As soon as she tasted the sweetness her eyes widened. "Hibiscus? Which one is the antidote?" She asked, starting to become nervous. Cara didn't know how poisonus it was, didn't know how long she had to take the antidote before the poison took effect.

"I.... I found the box, its in the clock still, I couldn't get too it, it isn't easy to open." She felt her body start to sway so she leaned against the counter. "Is.... That the antidote? In the box?"
 
Hibiscus was concerned by the note of alarm in the girls voice. "Cara... What did you do?"

Had the clumsy girl cut herself with the knife stained in blue? Or tasted the stuff before she had been warned of the poisons.

"Eat some of the roots for now, that will slow the effects of the sap... Just a pinch. Then yes, you'll need the box...." She can't get it out? Damn. What was the trick to it? Or maybe it's just rusted... "Try jostling it or.... or... the hands! That's it, the hands... Make sure the hands on the clock are at three o'clock. Then it will come loose easily." Unless it's rusted....

~~~

Hibiscus remembered creating the box. Setting the hands to three o'clock, carving the black wood, painting it, resting the red vials and two round black stones among the crushed velvet to cushion them.

He had explained to her once, why magic was so complicated. She told him that it all seemed rather excessive and redundant, she thought that waiting-for-midnight-and-the-proper-phase-of-the-moon-to-hand-paint-your-toenails-with-paint-you-made-the-last-full-moon-before-the-ritual-for-the-next-eclipse-etc was only ornamental and silly. He had said that "Magic, especially necromancy, is all about sacrifice. You have to exchange one thing for another. Energy, time, flesh and blood. Using your time like that is a way to sacrifice and build energy slowly and trap it over time from many different sources, it's complicated but makes the work reliable, but I think you will find it much more graceful than the literal sacrifice of life, killing releases a lot of energy very quickly but it is very hard to control that energy. Without all this effort we'd have to kill something nearly every time, and most of the energy would go to waste. And we are not hear to make waste or death, my young flower, we seek to bring life... vital everlasting life..."

She remembered her lips moving, some response, but in the memory they were quiet and then it faded away. The rest of that memory had been eaten by the demon.
 
"A cut... Just a small cut, but I sucked it." Cara said weakly, taking a small bit of the root and swallowing it. She felt a slight bit stronger, but not much.

When she reached the clock Cara was almost seeing double and had to reach out to touch the hands. "Three o'clock.... Three o'clock." She murmured, moving the hands slowly, trying to make sure they were correct. Once they landed in place she wiggled the opening again. "Ah, it's looser now."

Cara kept jiggling it until it finally detached from the clock. "What.... What now?" She asked, her eyes slowly closing. She was tempted to go to sleep, but she had to keep reminding herself that it was the poison urging her to sleep. "Do I eat what is in the box?" Cara asked, hoping she would not have to move.

At the moment she sat on the ground with her legs spread apart, the clock in the middle. Her back was against the table legs and Cara didn't feel she had the strength to get up.
 
Hibiscus cursed silently. The proper way to create the potion was to boil the ingredients for several hours. But there was no time for that... Cara would die within one hour, and likely faint before long.

They'd have to try it anyway.

"Throw everything into the glass bowl now. Quickly. Use the black knife to stir everything, the rocks will dissolve into the liquid and when it turns red... drink it."

The power of the black knife would accelerate the process. It would turn red almost instantly. She hadn't intended to use that tool, she wanted to create a gentler potion for the inexperienced Cara. She hope that the power of the knife would not throw off the magical balance of the potion either. She had no choice but to trust that the girl could accomplish the task, and that some measure of luck was on their side.

"You'll only need a sip of it. Leave the rest we will need to take it with us." She added quickly.

Several more moments past, Hibiscus hated not being able to see.

"Cara are... are you alright?"
 
Cara crawled to get to the black knife, struggling to reach up to take it off the hook. "Stir... Stir the ingredients." She reminded herself before crawling back.

She set the bowl in her lap and started to stir with the black knife once the other ingredients were in. Once it turned blood red she set the knife beside her.

"Just a sip of the pretty color.... Just a sip." Cara murmured, her hands shaking as she held the bowl up to her mouth. She got a sip in and her mouth formed into a grin. "The pretty red juice is yummy." Cara said, going to take another sip before Hibiscus could say anything.

"I feel thirsty... Should I drink more of the pretty red?" She asked, looking around as if she thought Hibiscus should be near, just sitting somewhere off to the side. The magic was messing with Cara's head, causing her to want to do things that would get her killed.
 
"No no Cara. Just... Just relax." It would be some time before the girl came down from her high. Hibiscus was quite alarmed by the number of dangerous things in this particular room the girl could hurt herself with. More poisons, sharp objects, magic-traps... and who knows, in this state, the girl might start flinging her own power around as well.

"I'm with you... your okay. Just... stay put if you can, dear. Set down the bowl... nice and easy... and just lay back..." She tried to speak in a way that would sooth the girl. "There there... how are you... feeling?"
 
Cara pouted and stood slowly, setting the pretty red drink on the table. "Bye bye pretty red." She said softly before sitting back down on the cool floor, it felt nice on her skin.

When Hibiscus said to lay down she didn't and she sighed. "Everything looks funny now, and pretty. Why are there so many sharp things? I don't like sharp things. My mom and dad used to make me use them, but they hurt people. I don't want to hurt people." She said, closing her eyes and wrapping her arms around her waist.

"Why did I make the pretty red Hibiscus? Do we need it for something?" Cara scrunched up her nose, trying to remember why they needed it.
 
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