Second Generation Witches

Green bottles and Black Shadows

I'm sorry.

When Arissa came back from her jog, she acted as though nothing was different. There was no way that she could possibly have figured out how the boxes would open, as far as her family was concerned.
Ten minutes into the time when Julianna and Arissa worked to open the boxes, Arissa casually handed her friend her own box and said, "here, try opening mine."
"Why?" Julianna asked.
"I don't know. It just feels right," Arissa shrugged, playing with her nails.
Julianna held the box in her hands and pulled on the top as if she were opening any box in the world. As soon as she did, she gasped. The lid had opened, and they could see inside.
"You are so smart! How did you ever think of this?" Julianna exclaimed.
For a moment, Arissa completely forgot about Joel and the alleyway and was convinced that she had figured it out. "It just came to me."
Arissa took back her box and braced herself for what was inside.
"That's odd," She murmured. She pulled out a tiny, green glass bottle identical to the one she already had.
Julianna's eyes widened, and for a second, she was looking at Arissa in horror, but the look soon vanished. "Why do you think you have that?"
"I don't know," Arissa whispered, staring at the bottle. "It's empty."
"Hmm," Julianna said thoughtfully.
"Do you want to open yours?" Arissa asked.
"Actually, I kind of want to wait. It may sound odd, but I just feel like I should wait," Julianna admitted.
"Alright. I'm going to go put this in my room and think over what to do with it," Arissa informed.
"Okay," Julianna called.
Arissa ran to her room and put the empty bottle next to her filled one. All of this was driving her insane. What was it about those bottles? She knew her parents and Julianna all loved her. She KNEW it. She may not think of herself as her favorite person, but she was still fairly proud of how her life was turning out.
What was it? Why did they make her suddenly feel as of all that wasn't true? What had Joel done to her? In the morning, her eyes looked sad and lonely, and in the afternoon, her eyes were crazy and insane. She had to figure all of this out, but she was scared. Tomorrow and every day after that for a week, she would be going to Joel and working for him. She shivered as she thought about the horrible things he would have her do. It was worth it, though, wasn't it? Surely this could bring her and Julianna closer. They knew they needed each other now, right? Right?

Julianna watched her friend leave her room, anger boiling inside of her. As soon as she had seen that stupid green bottle, she had remembered. Oh, she remembered all of it. The crazy look in Arissa's eyes, her voice, the same but not the same, and the memory charm. How dare she? What was it that was driving her crazy? It had to be the bottle. That stupid green bottle. She was going to go tell Elphaba. That's what she had to do.
She rose from her bed and reached for the door handle when something grabbed her arm.
"Surprise," A voice whispered.
She looked around. Nothing. Not even anything on her arm. Then how could she feel the weight of it? How could she hear its breathe?
"Who are you?" She called.
"My name is Joel. I am here to fulfill a promise," The voice told her.
"A promise to who?"
"Arissa," It hissed.
Before she could say anything, her knees buckled and she tumbled to the ground. She saw the man from the alley close in on her and she gasped. The gasp soon turned into a scream. It felt like a million knives were piecing and prodding her brain. Two black shadows rose from the ground. She could hear them calling to her in whispers. She wanted their company. No, she needed it to survive.
They got closer, and she screamed once more. As she did, they flew into her mouth and filled her whole body with their pleasant darkness. Her eyes shifted and stared blankly ahead. Her body seemed powerless. She sat there, in the dark, for three hours. But it wasn't really her anymore. No, she was gone. Julianna was practically dead.