The Young and Gifted

81. mental mind

Both Gemini witches woke up in the house again. Josie had returned to her normal state on the ground and her eyes flew to Kaura, who was standing in front of the book. She scrambled to her feet with a hard swallow. "Kaura—"

"I'm fine," she announced and turned to her. They blinked at each other and Kaura, repeated, "I'm fine, Josie. Do you know what that means?"

"How's that possible? Why is the Legendarium not influencing you?" Josie asked with confusion.

Kaura tried to think hard. "Something is wrong with my mental mind. Same thing happened with my morality switch." Must be because I'm mentally broken, she chuckled.

"We have to tell the others."

"And what exactly are we telling them?"

"That the Legendarium is finally under control."

*

What shocked Ric the most was the fact that Kaura had ultimate control over the artifact. He and the other teachers were concerned about her mental health and he almost wanted to push to get her some help. But he knew that it would bee stepping over boundaries but deep down, he wondered how much time he was going to give her until she finally exploded. Stephanie was returned safely and Hope had to watch painfully as Landon soothed her from the trauma she experienced. The Legendarium was safely stocked away.

Kaura stood in front of the doorway, taking deep breathes before she stepped through. Josie was at her desk, reading what seemed to be a book when she glanced up. Thankfully, Lizzie wasn't around so Kaura didn't immediately leave. "Hey, are you looking for something?" Josie questioned, placing the book down.

Kaura cleared her throat and muttered. "I'm sorry." Because no matter how much she was pained by Penelope's death, that agony was tripled in Josie.

The witch sighed and stood up. "I've already mourned Penelope. And I know you couldn't control it. I'm not angry at you for bringing back mason and not her." She brought Kaura in for a reassuring hug and said, "I'm actually glad that you've come to talk to me about it. You've changed so much."

Kaura wrapped her arms around the witch and closed her eyes. "I never wanted to hurt anybody."

Josie nodded and rubbed her back to soothe her. "I know."

Somehow, that lifted a pressure on her chest. They talked for a bit longer and before Kaura could leave to find Mason, a streak of blonde hair caught her attention. She quickly caught up to the vampire and she tapped Caroline's shoulder. "Hey. I know this is probably not the best idea to bring up but I know Clarke meant something to you. I could...summon him?" Since he was a monster from the Legendarium, Clarke was probably in his cell.

Caroline sighed, letting out a deep breath. "I don't think that this school is ready to go through the amount of destruction caused by the Legendarium again. I don't think I'm ready to face him again. So it's best to just not touch it anymore."

Kaura nodded with understanding and told the woman to let her know if she ever changed her mind.

As for Hope, she was trying to get familiar with her bedroom when there was a faint knock on her door. She turned to the girl with dark brown hair standing there, waving awakwardly. "Hello."

"Hey," Hope swallowed, a knife sliding into her heart. "You must be Stephanie, nice to meet you. I'm Hope."

They shook hands and Stephanie blushed. "I know. Landon told me about you and I just wanted to say I'm sorry."

"Sorry for what?"

She chuckled nervously. "You see, I was wondering that too on my way here but I just wanted to say that I'm sorry for what you're going through. It must be really awkward to come back and see...well this. You don't need to worry about me either, I'll make to take good care of him. Landon is happy so—"

Hope scoffed and found herself saying sharply, "Way to rub it in."

Her eyes widened with instant regret. "Oh no! That's definitely not what I meant—"

"You know what, I think I have to get ready for school. I'm going to have to alternate between three classes so I best get working," Hope muttered and held the door open for the human. "Goodbye," she said fakely.

Stephanie nodded with understanding and stepped out without another word. Hope sighed and shut the door, sliding against it. She hated the situation. Stephanie seemed like a great person but...she couldn't get past the fact that she was the reason why her heart didn't want to beat anymore.

*

The school finally relaxed after all that happened but there was still some tension by the time Christmas passed. Whether it was with Kaleb and Jade or with Mason, Jade and Kaura. Or with Stephaine and Hope. 

When Hope returned to classes, it was harder for her to focus on work. It was like her thoughts were trying to drown her at every moment she tried to breathe. Is this what heartbreak feels like? Like every time you climb the mountain, the rock only crumbles, threatening to pummel you to your death? She had had her first turn a couple of days ago and somehow the pain was numbing to her.

"Hope," Davina called from the front. She noticed that the tribrid had zoned out and she cleared her throat. "What can vervain do to a vampire?"

She sat up on her seat and swallowed. "Uh...it's toxic?"

"And?"

"Very...naturey."

Davina chuckled and pointed to Kaleb. "Mr. Hawkins, please catch her up on what we've been talking about since the beginning of class."

Kaleb looked annoyed but he responded, "Vervain can also serve as a barrier to compulsion. It is a herb that can be produced into different things. Perfume, tea, jewelry etc. As long as the human has vervain on them, they're immune to the compulsion."

"Good job," Davina applauded and gave Hope the eye. She knew that she was going through a lot but it had been weeks. Hope sighed and tried to clear her mind. "I think that's enough for today. But I have some good news for you guys." She waited a beat for suspense. "MG is well enough to return to school."

~

"I can work-- I can do the dishes, and help with the janitorial stuff, I can cook..."

try to guess who said it and don't forget to vote ;)