A Witch's Way

Chapter 9

Serena and Jasper tumbled out of the willow tree and she looked up, dazed at the orange sky above them. Stella hitting the ground, pinned by the girl, kept replaying in her mind.

Jasper held his left shoulder, poking Serena as she stared at the sky, lost in her own world. "Serena..?"

Serena looked to Jasper, startled as if he had appeared out of thin air. "Where's Rosemary and Clark?" she asked, looking around.

"Master Jasper? Miss Serena? Rosemary should be coming soon," Clark fluttered down, landing--this time--on the ground, in front of them.

Serena waited, but Rosemary never came. "Where is she?" The sky continued to darken, the orange fading to a dark blue. Stars peeked out from behind the dark clouds.

Clark, now a human again, held up a finger. "Patience, Miss Serena."

A few minutes later, the air seemed to be shimmering, from the heat coming off the water or something else entirely. Rosemary flickered in and out of view, until she was tangible. Serena launched forwards and threw her arms around Rosemary's neck, smiling.

"Hello dearest. Miss me?" she teased, nuzzling Serena's shoulder with her head. "If you think a small nullifying potion could stop me, you're wrong."

Serena laughed and stood back up, brushing the grass and dirt off her knees. "No, I guess I shouldn't worry so much."

"Serena?" Jasper asked, giving her a smile. "Do you have a phone? Remember?"

Serena started to point, but decided to just come with Jasper instead. She walked him through the garden, hearing a rustle in the bushes. They spun around to see a raccoon in the middle of the stone path behind them, staring up at them innocently.

"Aw! It's kinda cute!" Jasper said, bending down. The raccoon hissed and Jasper fell backwards on his butt, startled by the raccoon's reaction.

They watched it run off, and scurry underneath the fence. "Well. It didn't like you too much, did it?" Serena quipped, turning around to go inside. She'd have to fix that fence later.

Jasper pouted and grabbed Serena's arm, pulling himself up. "That was mean," he muttered, following Serena the rest of way into the house.

Serena grabbed the phone and handed it to Jasper. He shot her a smile and dialed, bouncing nervously from side to side on his feet.

Serena smiled back at him, amused to see him like this. She felt Rosemary's damp nose tap her hand and she peered down. "It's okay," Serena whispered, watching Jasper scratch the back of his head. "I'm just worried for Stella...she..."

Jasper jumped, hitting his back against the side of the table. He shot an apologetic look towards Serena, holding the phone away from his ear slightly. Serena could hear the faint voice of his boss. Serena made a face of surprise, she guessed he wasn't joking when he had only hoped that she would understand.

"It's okay. She's not one of the leaders for anything, dearest," Rosemary assured her, looking to Jasper who was disappearing into the kitchen, still muttering.

Serena listened to Rosemary, finger tapping nervously against the table. "I...yeah. You're right. I usually don't get so worked up about this but..."

Clark hooted and sat down--more like perched--on the back of the chair. "If I may intrude, Miss Serena, I dare say that everything will be, infact, quite alright," he claimed, staring at her with his wide, amber eyes.

Serena opened her mouth to reply with a snapping remark, but faltered when she saw Clark staring at her so sincerely. He was just trying to help her, afterall. "I...thank you, Clark," she muttered, putting a small hand on his head. He was surprisingly soft and she stroked the top of his head carefully. She couldn't believe that she was touching a bird. A bird. She swallowed, trying to stay calm.