Chapter Text
School let out at exactly 3:00 students rushing out of the main doors as if they were running from a murderous monster hidden somewhere behind them in the school. Amidst the horde of teenagers I fought my way through the bumping book bags enough to see the line of pick-up cars. Students filed into their driver’s car and zoomed out of the line as fast as possible. Being stuck in a car when you knew you had homework that needed to be done as soon as possible was a terrible feeling.
Typically I found myself in a similar boat. Wanting to spot my boarding school’s Rolls Royce Phantom and get back to the manor as soon as possible so I could attend evening classes and manage all my homework before dinner. Today, however, I didn’t have any homework besides the typical studying for tests and such.
The line of cars rolled on slowly, having to wait for teens to spot them and get in before taking off. Not even five minutes passed before the Roll Royce pulled into view, driving along the curb in line with all the other cars. It's odd almost coffin-like shape stood out against all the more modern cars in the lot, it was easy to spot.
“Hi Willow, did you have a good day at school?” Charlotte’s sweet voice sounded as I slid silently into the car. I was more than glad to have Charlotte picking me up from school.
Charlotte had been my assigned assistant when I was first enrolled in The Boarding School for Troubled Girls. After the ‘accident’, I wasn’t exactly trusted to be alone so Charlotte was assigned to more or less watch me. The only times I was ever alone was in the bathroom. Even then Charlotte would be outside the door, listening in on me to make sure I wasn’t doing anything wrong or stepping out of line.
While it was quite annoying to have someone follow you around like you were some reckless child, I didn’t mind too much. Charlotte was known to be one of the kindest people in the school. She listened and she listened well. I don’t think I’ve ever seen her judge me, and if she did she made it so I could tell even if I tried my hardest to find judgment in her. Most importantly she didn’t treat me like damaged goods like most of the other superiors at the boarding school did.
It only helped that we got along and had similar interests. Charlotte was one of the only people I enjoyed talking to.
“It was okay. Arizona can be a decently rough state for people like me. Most high school students aren’t very accepting, even when their knowledge on a topic is limited to say the least.” I replied simply, looking out the window as the school and remaining students slowly inched by.
There were plenty of reasons I got called names. My more leftist beliefs were enough to get anyone bullied in a school of mullet wearing red necks. Smaller factors like being almost completely silent throughout the day and showing obvious disgust towards some people, all added up to the majority of the school not liking me.
If people knew about the boarding school I attended, then I would only be harassed more. Our boarding school was very known to produce a certain type of people. We weren’t very liked by the local populations but it didn’t matter. They couldn’t make us leave, and believe me they tried. From the stories I’ve heard, many false accusations and stories have been made about The Boarding School for Troubled Girls, all in a pathetic attempt to make us leave. Even though we have to pull a few strings sometimes, we have been able to stay where we are and we plan on staying for a long while.
I'm more than glad the public can't look at what actually happens on the estate. I could already hear the angry protesters.
“Don’t let them get to you dear. Simple minded people will be simple minded and there’s nothing we can do about that. They often refuse proper education so we have to ignore their words to the best of our ability, because we know at the end of the day they don’t mean much.” Charlotte responded as if she had prepared this ahead of time. As far as I could tell she was completely focused on driving the car and focusing on the road. I admired her ability to drive and be philishpiocal simultaneously.
“Yeah.” was the only thing I could think of to respond with.
We had a few evening classes that focused on being able to control oneself. Truth is, people all throughout your life are going to be assholes. When you’re a person like me, snapping at something as small as words isn’t something you can afford. So I, and many of the other girls at the school, have to learn how to control our anger and not let people's words get to us.
I could see the way Charlotte’s lips quirked up in a quick smile before smoothing out into her normal resting face.
I continued to stare out the window mindless, just waiting to get home. The boarding school didn’t feel like home, but it was really the only thing I had so it became home. To me, home was simply the place you slept and lived for the majority of the time. I never really got the loving family home that other teens got, but I wouldn’t be the first. I’ve heard people talk about the way a home can feel after coming back from some long trip, but I’ve never had that feeling. Instead I tend to either dread or feel neutral in my home. I sort of feel left out sometimes
“You know, Sampson misses you whenever you leave for school.” Charlotte spoke, not being one to handle silence. I barely switched my brain out of auto-pilot enough to understand what she said.
“Yeah I know, he tells me.”
“He’s such a sweet little thing. He’ll come up to me when I’m washing the dishes or assisting someone in reading one of the Latin books and he’ll ask me how much longer it will be before you come back. He doesn’t say anything to me unless it’s to ask where you are.”
“He really only talks to me or others like him. It’s not exactly easy to communicate with other people.” My mind wandered off slightly to the thought of my best friend. Besides Charlotte, Sampson was really the only person I talked to. I’ve known him for a little over four years and he goes with me anywhere he can, school being one place he can’t follow me. Although, I do my best to occasionally sneak him in whenever he’s worried about me.
“How long have you two know each other? Must be quite a while if you trust each other so much. You deserve a good friend.” We turned right off the street, currently heading down the incredibly long gravel driveway that leads up to the boarding school.
“I don’t dislike talking to you Charlotte. I like talking to you more than any other person in that house. At least you see me more than a girl used for lighting your joints.You also don’t get on me when I don’t study my craft every chance I have so that’s a plus” My response got a soft chuckle out of Charlotte although she tried to hide it with disappointment.
“Don’t be mean! We may not be the most fun school, but we are the most helpful for you girls. You are safer with us than with anyone else.” Charlotte pulled into the garage as she finished her sentence. She was right, and I didn’t know if I liked that or not.
The Rolls Royce Phantom fit in with all the other old classic cars. If I were to say anything about this school, it would be that it had a weird obsession with antiques and older items. The school itself hadn’t been around for long, but the furniture and some of the items inside had been around for centuries. A good portion of the books in the shared library were extremely old. They had worn covered and uneven paper that could tear easily. Most of the older books were written in Latin or very old english.
I always found it almost ironic to see a room full of old antiques, and then have teen girls typing away on cell phones mere inches from them. It was a stark contrast from the old roots of the practice.
Charlotte escorted me inside as any assistant did when picking up a student. The blonde woman quickly disappeared down the many halls of the house to take care of something. Although it was a boarding school, the head mistress often reminded the other girls and I that this is not a prison. There are rules and punishments for broken rules but you still have a good amount of free will here. Most of the assistants were here because they wanted to and they liked helping. No one was really forced to do anything. You could leave if you were over eighteen, but you might not ever be let back in if you do.
More than anything I wanted to get to my room and study for an hour or two before any of my lessons started. Hopefully after dinner I would be able to do something I liked. When we exchanged gifts for Yule this year Beth, one of the other students here, gifted me a used copy of Red Dead Redemption Two. I never gamed before really besides cheap computer games that were free and you could play during school so I thought I wouldn’t enjoy it. I surprised myself when I found that I loved it.
The game felt like what I thought home was supposed to feel like. Living as Arthur felt so free because even though he was in a sort of similar situation as I was now, he seemed happy. Or at least he seemed as if he could be happy, and he was happy at a point. It hurt the way it ended. I wanted to have a happy ending for once, because then maybe it would’ve made me a little more hopeful for the way my life will end up. Who knows, maybe I’ll die of some incurable disease, beaten and possibly killed by my mother. She’s said she’s wanted to kill me in the past so I wouldn’t put it past her.
It was a little hard to admit that I thought the majority of the Van Der Linde gang deserved better. They were all outlaws, everyone of them had killed someone besides some of the women and Jack. They took the lives of many people and didn’t seem to regret it, so why did I pity them so much? I was told I sometimes used escapism to cope with my emotions. Lose myself in another world so the real world doesn't hurt as much.
I convinced myself that it was said escapism that made me feel this way. It was easy to have a big heart for people you were close with in your head. I imagined myself away from this dreaded boarding school and instead in the camp, when things become too much all at once. It was peaceful, thinking about hearing Javier’s guitar around the campfire, the sound of Uncle or Reverend’s drunken ranting. No class to attend to in the morning, no hour spent studying the same text in hope of getting it right, no people constantly on my back either trying to kill me or prevent me from death. It all just felt completely calm, in my head that is.
“You’re lost in your head again Willow.” At the sudden sound of a voice I spun around to see the headmistress at the bottom of the stairs, where she had not been mere seconds ago.
The lobby was very open, supposedly it was supposed to look warm and inviting to any new students the school took on, but I thought it just seemed threatening. Their main stairway was huge and led up to three different hallways that all lead to completely different areas of the school. There were also two walkways on the main floor, which lead to the living room, dining room, and lastly the kitchen. So many ways to go and so many places people could come from, it would give any new scared girl a fit of anxiety.
“Just thinking.”
“Meditation is of course good for your mind. I am proud to see how far you’ve come with the ability to control yourself.” Lana, which was the headmistress's first name, commented. She had the ability to seem almost emotionless whenever talking to one of her students. I hate the way she spoke sometimes. She acted as if I had control issues. I broke once! Yet it tended to be the only thing people ever saw sometimes.
“Yeah yeah, I know. I haven’t snapped at anyone like that since the accident, and I don’t plan on doing so either. The classes help.”
“And your other abilities?” Lana raised an eyebrow as the question left her lips. The blonde lifted her hands, an antique candle la bra effortlessly floating off it’s place on a bookshelf into Lana’s open hand.
I had been able to light things aflame before, but not as controlled as I can now. Things used to just combust in flame at random heats, spreading at different rates no matter how hard I tried to focus it on staying in one area.
I didn’t even have to wave my hands for the wicks on the candles to light. Indeed my magic abilities had gotten better. I was put in a lot of fire magic classes because my fire was the second gift I had ever learned. I started with random almost explosions of flames, to being able to burn detailed designs into things with fire.
“Good. Fire is one of the most destructive gifts a witch can ever have. Good intentions can quickly turn into a massacre if an untrained witch tries to do something she’s not ready for.” Lana reminded me, her voice sounded how it always did despite the gentle praise. She spoke again before I even had the chance to speak.
“Walk with me.”
I was in no place to argue so I agreed with a simple nod. The halls of the manor were always well lit even throughout the later hours of the night so the candelabra wasn’t necessary but Lana carried it along anyways.
“Out of all the girls here, I am proud to say you are one of the ones who have progressed the most. You may not have a wide arsionol of magic, but that is better than having more power than you can control. I am truly glad you take such time with your craft.”
“You should know that now I would rather have no powers than have what I have now. My magic and magic in general has caused nothing but problems for me. I could have had a happier and safer life if I was just normal.”
“Pouting will bring you nowhere you know this. Yes, the world today is cruel to women like us but there is nothing we can do to change that. Trying to ignore what we are and the abilities we have will only cause more problems down the line.” Lana’s voice rose ever so slightly with the bitter words.
Lana was right of course when she said this. She should know. Afterall the craft and the preservation of said craft was a hill this woman would die on ten times ove.r I had tried to ignore everything I felt, and that only ended in people getting hurt in ways I didn’t exactly intend.
The pair of us walked until we reached the west wing where all the rooms were located. While I had no real problems with Lana, she was basically my boss in a way. Once I had been handed over to her by my family she became the person I listened to, took orders from. It was hard to be all buddy-buddy with someone like that, it just seemed like I was being a suck up. I was fine with having friendly talks with Lana, but having no stronger relationship with her.
“Something seems off today.” Lana stated simply as we slowly approached my room. The door was closed which was odd but I thought nothing of it.
“I don’t think anything feels different.” I tried to feel whatever Lana was feeling but the school felt as it always did. I sense no malicious entities around. Nothing was wrong.
“At first I thought one of the girl’s had done something, but even some of our most troubled girls have been on their best behavior today. The last thing that comes to mind is you having done something at school, which you haven’t.” I wasn’t going to ask how Lana knew I hadn't done anything, or what she thought I could have possibly done at school without getting arrested or at least beaten a little.
“Maybe you’re just working yourself too hard. You work a lot so maybe it’s your body just telling you you need rest.” I offered, it was the only thing I could think of.
Lana stood in silence as I watched the gears turn in her head, deep in thought. We both knew whatever this was, was most likely something more than Lana needing rest, but there was nothing to be done if we didn’t know what was wrong. I hoped that worrying the head mistress was something that could easily be taken care of. In a manor full of young, reckless witches, demons and other negative spiritual entities are attracted to us like moths to a light. I haven’t been in the school long enough to experience Halloween in the manor, but from the stories I hear it can be an absolute shit show. Every woman in the house will have to go lock down to protect the school from the angry undead and spirits that got to walk free on Hallows Eve.
“I’ll keep that in mind. There’s a divination class in two hours, I’ll see you there.” Lana turned quickly on her heel and walked off with a natural flourish I think only she had. She was a powerful witch indeed, the thing bothering her would have to be serious to worry her like this.
After the day I’ve had, and the new found storm hanging over the school’s head, I was more than ready to relax with Sampson. I could flop down onto my bed and lose myself in some fantasy world. Maybe I could think about going fishing with Hosea. The smell of the lake water and the feel of a wooden fishing rod in my hands. I had never gone fishing and I wouldn’t even know where to start, the game made it look extremely simple. Nonetheless it was still calming to the hurricane my mind constantly was.
< My lady, you finally return! >
The second I opened my bedroom door and took a step in, the sound of Sampson’s voice rang through my head. I cringed at the way he said ‘My lady’ as if he was my butler. He sounded all prim and proper like one.
Sampson sat on the table, curled around himself comfortably in a ball. Sampson, being a pure white corn snake, could sit almost anywhere. Sampson had been with me for around four years now and we had been practically inseparable from the first time we met. The corn snake had since adjusted quite well to a life full of humans and human habits. He could weave through an entire crowd of people without being spotted, despite his stark white coloring.
“I told you not to call me that, I’m not your owner so you don’t have to treat me like a superior being.” I exhaled out, flopping down onto my bed, letting my book bag be crushed uncomfortably under me.
Sampson was a decently sized snake, being able to reach 106 cm. He easily slithered off the desk and onto the bed to join me in my sprawling.
< Hence why I use it, I know it pushes your buttons. >
An unknown chuckle fought its way through my lips as the stress started to seep out from my muscles. Sampson was the only person who had been around for me for a long period of time. Just hearing his voice after a long day was enough to calm my nerves. I didn’t care how much I got bullied for talking to snakes as a kid, or how people thought I was dealing with the Devil because snakes followed me everywhere. Sampson made it worth it. He was as much a person as any other human one. Sometimes I think he even acted more human than most humans.
< A rough day I assume? >
“Just a long day full of idiots and dullards, which is normal I suppose. Doesn’t make it any more fun though.”
< Humans never cease to amaze me. I truly wish I could be with you through school. Your sister witches have started to seek after me throughout the day, I assume they’re keeping an eye on me to assure I don’t follow you out of the house. > Sampson sighed. I watched as his face slowly came into view. He continued to slither up to me until half of him was resting peacefully on my chest. At this point in my life the feeling of snake scales was a grounding feeling, it was the same with having Sampson draped over any part of me.
“You know you can always bite them, half of them still think you’re not capable of much thought.” This time I got a chuckle out of Sampson.
Sampson’s mouth never opened when I heard his voice. He wasn’t like the typical talking animal in children shows. His voice was clear, as clear as if he was actually talking, however you could always tell that it was in your head. Sampson could make himself heard to anyone who he wanted to hear, but to every other passer by he made no sound. It was really beneficial when I wanted to gossip about someone behind their back.
< You smell different. Did someone touch you a lot today, or did some animal possibly pee on you? > The corn snake was questioned. My eyebrows bunched together in confusion as I looked down at Sampson, his tongue darting in and out of his mouth. Trying to figure out what that smell was.
“No. Why would an animal pee on me?”
< I didn’t think that was the cause, but you smell so different I could ignore that possibility. I can’t smell any of you. >
As Sampson said this, his lack of appearance earlier suddenly made sense. Typically when I came back home Sampson would bolt from wherever he was to wherever I was in less than thirty seconds. He could take care of himself plenty fine on his own, but we had come accustomed to each other’s company. By this point being away from each other for too long felt almost lonely, even if we had been surrounded by other people.
“I don’t think I did anything to change the way I smell today, but who knows. I just have a basic human nose so it’s not like I would be able to tell exactly.”
< Indeed you do. It’ll remain a mystery for the ages. >
The ache in my back caused by the hard lumps of books in my bookbag became too much for me. I sat up rather suddenly, Sampson only making a soft grunt as he was abruptly knocked off his warm resting spot.
“I’m not looking forward to tha divination class Beth insisted I should take. Not only is that bitch Marylin there but Aspen also takes the same class and the fact that she’s so perfect at everything makes me want to carve my own eyes out.” I snarled, shrugging my back off my shoulder so I could actually lay down without having to worry about a bad back tomorrow. I could tell Sampson was listening just by how he was still looking at me.
“I mean I’m honestly surprised Lana hasn’t kicked Marylin out or something. I get she wants to ‘save’ as many people as she can, but at one point that girl just won’t be worth it. She acts too high and might be above everyone else around here, all because she mastered telekinesis years ago and has killed so many people with it. Treats everyone like dirt, and don’t even get me started on the shit she pulled with that boy she liked or whatever. She killed the dude when her temper got the better of her, and then had the audacity to do the shittiest revival spell ever! She then proceeded to bring the half dead, half alive boy into the school and just leave him unattended! I swear she’s just so aggravating I don’t understand the way she thinks.”
< Hm, quite. >
I could tell Sampson was judging me slightly about the sudden rant I had out of nowhere. I didn’t feel like explaining myself so I simply looked down at him as he readjusted himself on my chest.
< You’re not truly mad at her, are you My lady? I have no doubt you have a slight hatred for her, but she is not the cause of your current anger. >
He was right, I wasn’t even truly mad at Marilyn recently. I hadn’t even seen the girl in over a week so she had given me nothing new to be more mad about. It was almost incredibly stupid of me to act like this, childish even.
“Today has just been getting worse and worse, and I know having a class with that bitch later isn’t going to help it.” My hands came up to my face to rub it, trying to rub away all the stress and worry that resided in my nerves.
< It should all be fine, My lady. At least I can come with you to your evening classes. I have no problem with accidentally biting that one. >
This time I actually let out a good hearty laugh. I was lonely as a child, hell I’m still pretty lonely now, so times where I actually get to enjoy a genuine laugh come far and few in between. Snakes have a way of making people laugh, I’ve discovered. Even snakes I tend to save from glue traps and then set them free tend to have a few good jokes. Snakes were never as bitter as most people made them out to be. Most of the time they were just scared, and abused. Anyone would act like a bitch if they were hunted to be made into boots or purses. The only reason snakes liked me so much is because I listened to them.
“Who knew you could be so violent, Sam?”
< It’s a secret- someone's coming. > Sampson states simply, wrapping himself loosely around my neck so he could hang onto me as I sat up. It wasn’t uncommon for people to be around, it was a boarding school for Christ’s sake. Sampson was more than used to listening and smelling for people, it was a part of everyday life when you were a corn snake who lived among many people.
It wasn't even ten seconds later when a knock was heard from my door. With a quick ‘come in’, Charlotte quickly opened the door and slid into my room with a wide grin plastered on her face. She had since changed her clothes into more comfortable clothes. Clothing you would wear around the house but not likely to wear out in public. The blonde wore a well fit lavender sweater that paired with some typical black yoga pants. I hated to be a person who looked at a person’s chest but Charlotte had huge boobs. It was a little joke among the students that she got blessed with huge breasts because of how good she was. A gift from the universe if you will. Even then it was a bit of a double edged sword, Charlotte was always complaining about her back pain.
“Hey, I know you had classes a bit but I wanted to see if you wanted to help me a little on something. I was helping one of the girls with a simple change ritual, she wants to change some things in her life so we’re manifesting, anyways back on track. You’ve dealt with a lot of changes and Lana really got you into manifesting when you first joined us so I was thinking you could help out. That is if you want of course.” Charlotte chirped. She always had this glow to her when she was helping people.
“You can come along too Sampson.”
Truth was I really couldn’t care less about helping my sister witches. It’s not like I was a horrible person who didn’t want to help out, I just struggled to find a reason to help. Most students here were at least friendly with each other but we were never close enough to be considered friends. In this school, you became friends with someone to the point of being comfortable with them whenever classes did partner rituals and or spells but relationships didn’t typically grow past that. It’s just how it was.
Enjoying my rare free time was one of my top priorities, but what harm could helping someone manifest do? I’ll help motivate whomever Charlotte was talking about and then go to evening classes. As soon as dinner was done I would have the rest of the night to myself without anyone pestering me about assisting them with tarot readings or what not. I would’ve done my one good deed for the day.
“Sure why not, what harm can it do?” I finally gave in.
Charlotte’s face lit up with joy as she clapped her hands with a high pitched giggle. Sampson had yet to say anything so I assumed he was just coming along for the trip. He could control who heard him but even then he still didn’t like talking around other people.
“Great! I knew you would. Now she really wants to cut ties with her old family.” Charlotte reached for my hand as she started to explain. I let the older woman drag me off the bed and over to the door. All of the sudden my boots felt a little too heavy for my feet. I could walk fine but it felt like they hit the floor too hard.
You know that feeling when you pinch a nerve and a shock of electricity goes through your body? That exact feeling shot through every inch of me for a split second before being filled with a surge of nausea. I watched as Charlotte reached for the door knob, her words now lost in the confusion and feeling of negativity. Lana was right, something had definitely been off.
“So I was telling her that-'' Charlotte cut herself off as she opened my bedroom door and stepped out onto a porch of an old cabin. The gentle hum of cicadas filled our ears as we stared out into an open field.