Summary: Amber plots revenge and Sibuna gets a lead on the bel
Evie's Notes: Thank you so much for all of the love and support you have given this story! Hope you enjoy the new chapter!
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Amber was not having a good day. Her aging curse seemed to have hit an all-time low and her body ached whenever she moved the slightest bit. The worst part of it all were the wrinkles marring her previously perfect skin. Amber would be the first to admit that she was focused on her image. In a world where things were constantly spinning out of her control, what she presented of herself was the one thing that she could control. To have that suddenly wrenched away from her was excruciating on both a physical and psychological level. She was obviously in no state to bitch slap the spirit who had done this to her at the moment, but Senkhara had best watch her back because as soon as Amber broke this curse she would be coming after the dead queen with all she's got.
Since the Sibunas had figured out that the ox bell, most likely stolen by Victor, was the instrument they were missing to play the Song of Hathor, Amber's research had shifted mostly to banishment and cleansing spells. She had just started to read a particularly interesting one from a Greek witch when little Alfie and a totally blind Liliana stumbled into the room.
"Alfie please slow down" begged the blind blonde as she was tugged along by the hyper little boy.
"Lili, Lili, look it's Amby! Amby's my favorite!"
"And you're my favorite A-dog" laughed Amber. "Why don't you play hide and go seek while Lili and I talk".
"Ok Amby!" chirped Alfie.
Jumping off of her lap Alfie ran towards the wardrobe while Amber counted "one, two, three..."
Once the boy was hidden Amber turned to Lili "What's up Lils?".
"Sorry for crashing in here like this. Alfie was running me ragged. It is hard to keep up with him on my own when I can't see anything. I thought that we would have a better chance of corralling him between the two of us, then on my own".
"That's fine Liliana. I was just working on some banishment sigils. You can chill on Nina's bed and listen to music if you want. Hopefully Nina and Fabian will find the bell soon and we will be free of our hexes".
*Tears of Gold – Tears of Gold – Tears of Gold*
"Amber, have you seen Lili and Alfie? Jerome is looking for them" asked Nina as she entered the room.
"They're in here Nina" Amber responded. She chucked a balled-up piece of paper at Lili to get her attention. "Alfie is hiding in the wardrobe".
"Come on out Alfie" coaxed Nina softly. The American girl let out a startled scream though when she opened the wardrobe.
"What? What happened?" asked Lili frantically.
"Alfie has shrunk again!" explained Nina pulling out an Alfie who now resembled a one-year-old. "How on earth are we supposed to take care of a baby!".
"Just leave him here with us" ordered Lili taking the baby from Nina. "You need to focus on finding the bell".
Just then the trio were joined by Patricia, Jerome and Fabian.
"Where have you three been?" asked Nina exasperatedly "I could have sworn you were right behind me"
Patricia tried to write a message on her white board, but the letters turned into random signs.
"It's your hex isn't it? It's getting worse"
"Yessss it issss" hissed Jerome angrily. His pupils had become slits and his 's' were once again elongated. "It would be in our bessst interesssstsss to find the missing bell asss ssssoon assss possible".
"Alright, I need someone to be in charge of watching Lili and baby Alfie. The rest of us can split up and find the bell. Fabian did you find out any other leads on the theft from Trudy?" asked Nina while pacing.
"Yes! I had something to tell someone important. I know there was a someone and a something..."
"Ssssspit it out already mate" snapped Jerome.
"Can someone please tell me the plan? Because if Alfie can turn into a baby, what's going to happen to me?" worried Amber. The next stage for her would be death... and given Alfie's sudden de-aging... her next step could come at any moment!!!
"Amber, please don't worry!" disregarded Nina.
"Nina. Listen to me! Patricia can't communicate at all. Fabian's probably going to forget his own name soon, Lili is completely blind, Jerome is some sort of hideous half-man half-snake creature and Alfie is an INFANT!!"
"So... What's going on here?" interrupted Fabian.
"You're right. This is really bad. Maybe I should just check the doll house..." suggested Nina.
Fabian cut her off asking, "No, no, no. I mean, what's going on in here? Who are you people?". Amber's heart broke, they had officially lost Fabian.
"Fabian?" asked Nina, her voice cracking with emotion.
"Who's Fabian? Is this a joke? Who are you? Any of you?" rambled the boy nervously. "I'm really sorry. I shouldn't be here. I'm just going to go". Having said his piece, Fabian turned and hurried out of the room, but without his memory there was no telling where he would end up.
"Fabian, wait!" shrieked Nina following him out of the room.
"Well what should we do?" asked Lili.
"I guess we just wait here till Nina sorts that out" shrugged Amber turning back to her book. This demon bitch wasn't going to vanquish herself.
*Tears of Gold – Tears of Gold – Tears of Gold*
The scene that Nina and Fabian returned to a while later could only be described as pure chaos. Jerome and Liliana were on the phone arguing with Joy about preparations for the next night's New Year's Party. Baby Alfie had led Patricia on a merry chase around the room and knocked over many of Amber's boxes, shredded Nina's homework, and spit up all over the American girl's sheets and Patricia's clothes. Patricia had finally managed to capture the infant and put him back in the wardrobe. Amber simply sat on her bed amongst the chaos and watched with a vaguely annoyed expression while she tried to figure out their ghost problem.
"What the hell is happening in here!" shouted Nina. "I was only gone for twenty minutes tops!"
Amber was far more interested in the object Nina had clutched in her hands than answering her roommate's questions. "The cowbell! You found it! Where was it?"
"Fabian's room" replied Nina guiltily.
"So you did steal it. And then forgot that you took it".
"Well... I don't know" stuttered Fabian.
"NO!" shouted Nina. "He didn't. I'm sure of it"
"Thisss issss sssweet and all but can we focusss on the bigger issssue at hand" hissed Jerome.
"You're right. Now that we have the bell. However we got it. We might as well take it down to the tunnels and use it, then we will sneak it back into the library as quick as we can".
"Sorry, go down where?" interrupted Fabian.
"You're just going to have to trust us" consoled Nina, rubbing Fabian's arm soothingly.
Fabian pulled away from her exclaiming, "I don't even know you".
"I'm Nina. Try harder Fabian! Don't you remember?". Which wasn't exactly fair. The boy couldn't even remember who he was, much less his maybe ex-girlfriend.
"No" he apologized "but I do know that I trust you. With my life even".
"Ditto" Nina replied pressing a quick kiss to his cheek. "It has to be now. We are going to finish that task and put you all back the way that you were" declared Nina.
Her declaration was met with cheers of "hear, hear" and "about bloody time" from Jerome and Liliana.
"Amber, I need you to say here with Alfie and Liliana". Amber opened her mouth to protest but was cut off by Nina. "I know you want to come but they can't go down there. Fabian, Patricia, Jerome and I will play the tune. If you're with me, say Sibuna".
"Sibuna?" asked Fabian
"Sibuna" echoed the others in the room.
"Alright, it's now or never guys. Let's go" directed Nina leading the others out of the room.
Seeing as she would be stuck in her room watching Lili and Alfie, Amber figured she might as well use the time to pick up her room.
*Tears of Gold – Tears of Gold – Tears of Gold*
A mysterious woosh of air swept through the room about half an hour after the others had left. Amber froze as a strong current rushed through her body causing her to drop suddenly to the floor. A startled "EEEPP!" from Liliana and the string of curses from the wardrobe indicated that the others were experiencing the same thing.
Pushing to her feet Amber rushed to the mirror to see what damage the spirit had wrecked upon her body this time. To her amazement she found her beautiful young reflection staring back at her.
The stampede of footsteps echoing in the hallway marked the arrival of the missing Sibuna members. "Amber! Did it work?" asked Fabian concerned.
Whirling around dramatically, Amber flipped her hair and exclaimed "Young, Blonde and Stunningly Beautiful again" while striking a pose.
"Although she's too modest to admit it" ribbed Patricia.
"You got your voice back!" squealed Amber wrapping the sarcastic redhead in a bone crushing hug.
"Yup! It feels SO good to make noise again!".
"Fabian, Memory?" she checked.
"I think I remember you having an old, wrinkly face" sassed the boy.
"Oh! RUDE!" shouted Amber chucking one of her many pillows at him.
"Lils? How's your sight?" checked Nina.
"20/20 again boss. Heck, I could see Victor's pin drop".
"Wonderful!" cheered Nina, "and with Jerome no longer looking like a half-snake person".
"Thank the gods!" exclaimed the con artist.
"That only leaves Alfie" she finished.
The group pivoted to look at the wardrobe they had barricaded half closed to keep the baby version of their friend safe.
"Yeah... about that. If I could have a little help, please" begged the dark-skinned boy sticking his head out of the wardrobe. "I need someone to pass me some clothes".
Luckily Jerome was able to piece together a makeshift outfit that would at least get Alfie to the safety of his room without exposing himself.
*Tears of Gold – Tears of Gold – Tears of Gold*
After Alfie got dressed the Sibuna crew decided to head into town for a celebration supper at the local restaurant, Jackson's. It was decided that Patricia should take the bell and hide it in her bag since she still had to change clothes after baby Alfie puked on her, and she would catch up with them later.
Bouncing down the stairs with her friends, Amber enjoyed the way that her joints no longer creaked and ached with each step she took.
"I forgot how good the world looks at normal height" commented Alfie.
"I will never take my incredible vivaciousness and beauty for granted ever again" laughed Amber. Throwing a flirty look over her shoulder at Alfie she added "And I hope you don't either".
Fabian was with Nina at the front of the group rattling off random bits of knowledge he could finally remember: "The capital of Peru is Lima. The capital of Venezuela is Caracas...".
Amber was sure that nothing could possibly bring her down from her current high. Of course, since the universe hated her, their happiness was short lived.
"Downstairs all of you!" ordered Victor.
"What's wrong Victor?" asked Jerome as the group was ushered into the sitting room.
"Ahh! Thank you, Victor. Please have a seat everyone" asked Mr. Sweet from where he stood in front of the fireplace.
Vera suddenly appeared in the doorway dragging Patricia behind her. "Have a seat now Miss Williamson" directed the housemother.
"What's all of this about?" asked Eddie as he and Joy tumbled through the doorway shaking off the snow that had gathered on their coats.
"Please have a seat you two. Now I am here today because a very serious matter has been brought to my attention" began the headmaster. "There is a very high likelihood that the artifact stolen from the exhibition is in the possession of someone in this very room. Unfortunately due to the likelihood of these claims I must now instigate a spontaneous bag search".
"Each of you open your bags now!" ordered Victor.
"Well I don't have anything to hide" declared Eddie passing over his backpack. "But for the record, ambushing your students like this is extremely unprofessional and borderline harassment. Especially if the stories of how often this happens hold any weight. Especially when it is constantly aimed on one house at this school. I would suggest that you keep that in mind for the future if you don't want to face several lawsuits. I know for a fact that Osiris House is getting seriously fed up with constantly having their possessions ransacked".
Mr. Sweet cleared his throat, "Be that as it may, my source is foolproof and states that the bell is currently in this room. So unfortunately, I must check all of the other bags as well. Now Miss Mercer if you would be so kind as to hand over your purse".
Joy rolled her eyes but complied. Victor and Mr. Sweet worked quickly searching each of the bags until they reached Patricia.
"Just one bag left" smirked Victor. Amber felt like she was going to vibrate out of her skin from the anxiety this situation was causing her.
"We're in big trouble now" whispered Nina.
Amber screwed her eyes shut as she heard the obvious clanking in Patricia's bag. Victor smugly reached into the bag and pulled out... a pencil case?
"And what did we tell you?" asked Victor triumphantly before noting that what he held was definitely not the missing bell. "Wait, what? This is impossible!" he muttered before furiously ripping through the redhead's bag.
"Hey! That's destruction of personal property" snapped Joy furiously defending her friend.
"Umm..." stuttered the headmaster. "Please accept my deepest apologies everyone. It appears that we were acting on unreliable information".
"Well if that's all, Joy and I are still freezing from our walk" declared Eddie. "Also I'm starving".
"Yeah, the art museum was pretty but seriously lacked snacks" giggled Joy.
The group dispersed into the hallway as the boys ran to grab their coats.
"Well, we're going to head into town and grab a bite to eat at Johnathan's. Do you two want to join us?" offered Patricia who had somehow circled around Amber without her realizing and was now on the stairs.
"Yacker! You got your voice back!" exclaimed Eddie happily.
"Yep, those meds the nurse gave me finally kicked in".
"Well we would love to join you Peppermint. We have to change into warmer clothes if we're going to walk into town though. Save us seats?"
"How about I walk with you two?" suggested Patricia. "I want to hear all about the museum and I'm sure that Eddie's rambling about photography would put Amby to sleep" she teased.
Amber watched the trio interact with a bittersweet smile. She was happy for Patricia, but she couldn't help the sting that came with being replaced. Seeing such a happy couple also made her more upset due to the strange vibes Alfie had been giving off ever since they decided to 'take a break'.
"We will be sure to save you three seats at Jackson's" promised Amber. "Don't take too long though, or Alfie and Jerome will have eaten all of the rolls" she joked.
"Sounds good. See you in a bit Barbie!" winked Joy before hurrying upstairs with Patricia.
*Tears of Gold – Tears of Gold – Tears of Gold*
Once the Sibuna Crew, minus Patricia, had their coats on they could finally leave. As the group trudged through the snow, they compared theories about the latest bag search.
"So what just happened in there" asked Fabian.
"I don't know..." sighed Nina.
"I guess we know now that Victor is after more than just the missing bell" suggested Jerome.
"Do we really think it was him who planted the bell in Fabian's room?" asked Lili
"And did he call Mr. Sweet too?" added Amber.
"I don't have any other suspects as of now... well except for Vera" Nina replied.
"We probably shouldn't hold onto that bell for too long though. I wouldn't put it past Victor and Vera to try and search our rooms" Jerome added.
"Jasper and Trudy will be in the library. We need to think up a way to sneak it back in" Lili worried.
"You mean like stealing, but in reverse?" asked Alfie
"A re-heist! But that is definitely a tomorrow problem!" declared Nina opening the door to Jackson's. "Now we just take the night to relax and celebrate our latest victory".
*Tears of Gold – Tears of Gold – Tears of Gold*
Patricia's POV:
"I can't believe that you guys got to meet Andrew Philips! I'm so jealous, his latest nature photo shoots have been incredible! Did you get his autograph?" rambled Patricia excitedly to Joy as the pair stumbled into their room. Only to trail off at the shocking sight lounging on her bed.
"Hey sis!" smirked Piper from her spot reclining against Patricia's headboard. Closing the door tightly behind her, Patricia knew that she likely wasn't making it to Jackson's any time soon.
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Evie's Notes 2: Yay, the curses are broken! Now we enter the reflector arc.
Next Week: New Years, Patricia & Amber have an over due talk, and watch out Amber, because Piper is finally here!
Question of the week: What is your favorite friendship in this universe?
I love hearing from y'all! Let me know what you think of the chapter and the story so far in the comments or my Tumblr House-of-Secrets! Have a great week and stay safe! - Xo Evie