Byzantium

Stage 11

"You said they wouldn't try to kill me!" Ivy shrieked. She startled Judah so badly with her outburst that his chair scooted back. Elise jumped slightlytoo but she didn't say anything. Ivy's face was twisted with so many emotions that Elise couldn't identify them all. Ivy took a deep breath and wiped her cheeks. "You said they wouldn't try to kill me."

"I know," Elise whispered. "And I really thought that. Maybe... maybe it was just a threat. They're trying to scare us so we'll cooperate."

"It worked."

Elise immediately made her way to Ivy's side. She knelt down beside Ivy's seat and looked up imploringly at Ivy's face. "Please, we can do this. It was just a scare tactic. I protected you, didn't I? Don't let them win." She swallowed her shame and tried to convey what she was feeling through her gaze.

Ivy looked down at Elise, scared out of her wits. A tear fell onto Elise's cheek but she left it there. "What if you can't protect me next time? What if you're too late?"

Another tear fell onto Elise's face. And another. And another. Elise let Ivy's tears rain down on her. "I won't be."

"You almost were this time."

"Ivy, trust me. I can protect you. These aren't just Host duties anymore. This is my vow that I will keep you safe to the best of my ability."

Ivy managed a weak smile. "So, you weren't protecting me to the best of your ability before?"

Despite the knots in her stomach, Elise broke out into soft chuckles. It infected Ivy and she begun to giggle too. She wiped her tears from Elise's face and ended up leaving her hands there. She cradled Elise's jaw and smiled, wider when Elise seemed to want the touch. "Okay. I trust you."

Elise was so happy she almost sprouted her tail to let it wag. She had Ivy's trust and confidence, and that was what was important. They needed to stick together to make it through unscathed. Elise smiled sweetly and gently touched Ivy's legs. "I won't let you down."

-----

After that fire, there was another round of home security checks. The spells were working around the house, that much was clear to Elise, but that old woman managed to conjure a fire since the front door was open. Elise cursed herself for being so stupid but quickly moved on and promised not to make the same mistake again. She added a screen all around the porch to create an extension of the house then added a screen door in front of the main front door so that if someone was on the porch, that would be the only place that they could affect. She placed the appropriate spells around the porch that were made for one room protection then tested it out. She kept the front door wide open but the screen door shut as she stood on the middle of the porch. She enacted a small spell that would conjure a lick of flame and tried to throw it through the screen door. The flame fizzled, and Elise was satisfied. As a last chore, Elise finally replaced the plastic covering on her pet door, since she felt safe enough to do so. Spells were added around that entrance as well as an extra precaution. She was taking no chances.

Elise popped into the kitchen to inform Ivy of the new additions, and Ivy nodded and pretended to understand the way the magic worked as Elise explained it. The only thing that Elise repeated over and over so that Ivy wouldn't ever forget was to leave the screen door closed at all times when answering the door. As long as the screen door was closed, the house was relatively safe.

Ivy cocked her head at that, crossing her legs. "Relatively safe?"

Elise nodded. "Yeah, we should be fine."