BEWITCHED & BOTHERED

09 ✰ Morning, October 3rd

I vacuumed every inch of my townhouse, including 'no-mans-land', which I called the area under my couch that was rapidly filling with a community of dust bunnies. I scrubbed at each porcelain tile in my bathroom like I had a death wish, nearly splitting the cleaning sponge in half. I wiped each pair of shoes in my closet, and that alone almost had me thinking I should stop getting more.

Keyword: almost.

By dawn, my apartment was squeaky clean and I collapsed onto the couch, spent.

Until I had another dream about Him again.

Then I woke up feeling more sexually frustrated than ever before. To clear my head, I shot Lucy a text and told her to meet at my mom's.

That's how I ended up here, in front of the Winterhaven Mausoleum. I must've fallen asleep in the middle of the clearing while waiting for Lucy.

Slouching my shoulders, I dragged my heavy Doc Martens (the only practical footwear I owned) through the moist undergrowth towards a nearby oak tree and plopped my bottom down in the shade. Lucy followed suit and sat next to me, looking cute in her knitted cardigan and low rise jeans.

Lucy's clean, simple ensemble made me look positively homeless in comparison. I was dressed shabbily in a shapeless black tee and sweatpants; I couldn't be bothered to change from my cleaning attire before heading out.

Not even the sight of my gleaming shoe closet cheered me up.

Oh, if Hugo Jerrod could see me now. He'd have a fit and throw a bin liner over my body to cover the obscenity.

"What did Mystery Man do this time?" Lucy asked, breaking my self-deprecating reverie.

For a moment, I thought she was talking about Magnus, but Lucy was more likely referring to the man in my prescience dreams.

"He pinned me to a wall and kissed me senseless." I folded my knees to my chest at the memory.

Lucy's violet eyes gleamed. "On the lips?"

"Everywhere," I said breathlessly and Lucy sighed.

"You'll find him soon. I bet he's the same guy as your Deflowering One."

I hummed in reply.

I hadn't told Lucy about Elder Lyrina and the Curse's ripple effect.

She didn't need to bear the burden for my own predicament, after all.

I got me into this mess so I was the one in charge of fixing it.

"It's always so serene here," Lucy noted after a beat and I smiled in agreement.

When it wasn't busy blinding people, the sunlight actually casted a beautiful scene as it sneaked between the leaves above us, creating pockets of light on the evergreen grass.

The wind was rustling through the surrounding oak trees, whistling. Together with the sound of water flowing in a nearby river, it created a sort of melancholic, harmonious symphony. The scent of fresh moss and morning dew danced in the air and I placed both hands to the ground, connected.

All at once, my anxiety began to melt away through my fingertips.

The Winterhaven Mausoleum was hidden in a secret clearing behind the main mansion, still within the Coven Compound. Made entirely out of white marble, younger enchanters would normally steer clear of the site, finding its towering exteriors dark and ominous.

But I didn't find the Mausoleum spooky at all.

Honestly, I loved being at the mausoleum knowing that my mother was also in there, resting in eternal slumber amongst other fallen Winterhavens.