Last Week, dear reader, Belinda informed poor Bella of her disappointing discovery; she cannot dispel the curse that courses through Bella’s veins! Forlorn at the news, Bella sat in the Starry Realm and wept, then silently pulled herself and her emotions together. After giving her some time alone, both from our storytelling and her companions, Hailey and Belinda return to continue the conversation.

“Girl,” Belinda says, breaking the silence, “you have moped about quite enough. It is time for us to discuss what we can do about this problem.”

Glancing up from her tearstained hands with a determined look, Bella answers, no trace of her previous tears in her voice, “We’re going to lock me up, then I won’t be able to hurt anyone.”

Huffing in irritation Belinda begins to voice an objection as Hailey shouts her own denial as well, but before either of them have the chance Bella rises to her feet and stomps her foot down on the ground, sending the mists scattering in all directions. “NO. I am not going to end up killing anyone, especially if we can prevent it. If I have to turn myself over to the government, I will.” Her fierce expression dares either of the two to say anything to the contrary.

Taken aback, Belinda pauses before turning to Hailey and saying with a wry tone, “This school, what are they teaching you girls? I’ve never met such a collection of noble little fools,” then she turns back to Bella and fixes her with a stern gaze, “I said the curse would remain, I did not say that the situation was hopeless.”

Hope springs into Bella’s eyes as she inhales sharply before saying, “So… so there’s another option?”

Brusquely, Belinda turns to Hailey once more and says, “Well child? You were the one to suggest it after all.”

Hailey smiles and steps forward saying, “Yep, so if you wouldn’t mind telling me how amazing I am one more time Bella…” she leaves the phrase hanging with a cheeky grin before waving it away with her hand and continuing in more serious tone. “I think Bel and I figured out a way around the curse.”

Bella immediately asks, “HOW!” bursting with excitement, her earlier morose attitude completely gone.

To which, Hailey answers, “Well from what you said the spell book told you that you’ll transform whenever you feel the same negative emotions again. So the first thing we need to do is help you learn to control those feelings, and keep you far away from those three nasty bit-” with a guilty look towards Belinda, Hailey amends her statement, “nasty girls. Obviously that’s a long term project, so in the meantime Bel and I will create a piece of jewelry to help you regulate your emotions. We’ll give it a warning trigger for me in case things get out of control,” pausing, Hailey looks at her friend and asks, “Speaking of, do you want earrings, a necklace, or something else like a bracelet?”

Bella considers for a moment, thinking hard about the choice as only a girl contemplating fashion accessories can before answering, “Necklace. If possible could you enchant something I already have? My Mom gave me a cross necklace for my confirmation and if I have to swap it out for something else it would break her heart.”

Glancing and Bel and seeing her nod, Hailey answers in affirmation before continuing, “The last thing we need to do is teach you to handle all the magic inside you. Which means you’ll be learning to become a witch along with me! Unfortunately, in your case it’ll just be to get some control, if you actually tap into the magic you’ll transform back into Belladonna.”

Bella smiles, relieved, “That’s fine, I’ve had enough of magic to last me a lifetime.”

Belinda chimes in with a hint of warning in her voice, “Indeed girl, it will last a lifetime. Your vigil against this monster will be unending and unrewarding. Success will mean you go on living as you have before with added responsibilities. Failure will likely mean the death of innocents, and likely yourself.”

Seeing Bella’s blank and confused expression at this sudden interjection, Belinda explains, “You will need to convince me of your dedication. I did not agree to impart my knowledge upon Hailey so she could play guard to your inner demon, she and I have a task of our own to complete.”

Bella starts in surprise at the note of finality in Belinda’s tone, and then turns to Hailey with a questioning look. Her friend’s only answer is a quick shake of the head, clearly signaling that some things remain secrets between them. Her expression conveying her hurt, Bella turns back to Belinda and says, with a hint of anger in her tone, “I’m not asking her to watch over me and I’m sorry I’m such a freak now. If you feel so imposed upon, why don’t you just cut me loose?”

Belinda’s eyes go cold, the mists in them stilling. Her entire body follows suit, the swirling lights underneath her skin dimming while the mist congeals. Slowly she raises her hand and points to the viewing crystal. It begins to lurch, popping free of the pedestal in a puff of mist. Then it floats over and begins to replay the scenes Belinda watched earlier, the fight between Belladonna and Eldritch.

Expression unwavering, Belinda gestures for Bella to watch the destruction she wrought. Bella turns, her wounded expression swiftly turning into one of agony as she sees herself yell at Eldritch and then begin to fight her. As Belladonna strikes Eldritch with the poison of the mind, the view shifts to the strange vision that captivated Hailey before Belinda’s desperate spell freed her. Hailey silently turns away, the memory still fresh. But she cannot dispel the sound of Malefic’s taunts or the telltale hiss and pop of the flames she conjured to pummel Eldritch with.

Watching her friend suffer, tears begin to fall down Bella’s face. As she drops her face to her hands, Belinda’s voice cracks like a whip, “Watch.”

Sobbing, Bella lifts her gaze once more and continues to watch herself fight with Eldritch through the school. She flinches at each blast of acid and wavers with each strike, but Belinda’s first warning was enough, Bella forces herself to relive the events of the day.

When it ends, Belinda banishes the crystal back to the mist and walks towards Bella, who crumpled into a heap of tears. Leaning down and lifting her chin, she says, “That is the price of failure. Internalize it, dream of it, fear it, and you may yet avoid it happening again.” Then she slaps her smartly across the cheek, “Cease your tears girl, you’ve no time to cry now.”

Clutching her cheek, Bella stands up. Wobbling slightly she wipes her face with her hands, making a mess of her tearstained face. But she cries no more, and with a few moments to compose herself she says with a determined glint in her eyes that stands in stark contrast to the wobble in her voice, “Alright then, if this is the rest of my life we should get started. When do I have my first lesson?”

Belinda smiles slightly, “Tonight. Both of you need rest and I need time to prepare the spells for your necklace.”

Nodding, Bella turns to Hailey and says in a contrite tone, “Thank you. I didn’t understand what I’d done until I watched it from your perspective. You could have attacked me right away before I finished my spell. I might have died, but it would have been a lot easier, not to mention safer, for you if you had.”

Smiling, Hailey answers in a playful tone, “Well I gotta live up to my heroic reputation, and if you aren’t around who’ll rescue my grades? I’m a thousand times more terrified of Mr. Laurisen than your evil alter ego.”

“Go now, girl.” Belinda interrupts with a wave of her hand as she glides away towards the library. As the two begin to fade, Bella pipes up in curiosity, “Why ‘girl?’” turning to look at Hailey she adds, “and why is she ‘child?’ we’ve got names.”

Belinda answers in a haughty tone, “Because you are a girl and she is a child. Someday you will be women, and then I will call you as such, but that title is earned.”

“Earned?” Bella asks, missing Hailey’s suddenly mischievous smile as she continues indignantly, “do you mean…” Bella trails off as her face flames red with embarrassment, floundering forward she says, “like when we, oh you know, like with a boy-”

Belinda cuts her off in surprise saying, “A boy? Why would you need a boy to make you a woman?”

Bella swallows, finding herself at a loss for words as she struggles to answer, “You know… because, because,” visibly wrestling with herself Bella slowly sputters as the red in her cheeks deepens at the obtuse reaction Belinda gives to her obvious innuendo. Finally, throwing her hands in the air she cries out, “Because isn’t this about sex!?”

“No, what gave you that idea?” Belinda asks in confusion.

Unable to contain her laughter anymore, Hailey interjects through giggles, “Bel doesn’t think much of men Bella, trust me that’s the furthest thing from what she meant.”

Nodding in assent, Belinda says, “It is an unfortunate reality that the inferior gender exists, made worse by the sheer mindlessness of your fascination with that boy Theo. But away with the both of you, if you must indulge your patriarchal belief in the necessity of talking about males it will not be here, not in my sanctuary.” With that statement, Belinda claps her hands and the purple robes the two girls wore fall to the ground empty.

As they dissolve into the misty ground, Belinda frowns, gazing at them with a distracted expression. Raising an open hand to the air, she forms a book out of the mist and opens it, then reading aloud the incantations within she begins to walk back to the library and her workspace.

Waking suddenly, the two girls stare at each other for a few seconds before dissolving into giggles. In between her laughs, Bella wheezes, “The inferior gender,” mimicking the stern tone of Belinda. Then she rolls back on the bed continuing to laugh as Hailey sits up straight and affects the same tone to answer with, “indulge your patriarchal belief.” Finally, the two finish laughing and Bella calms down enough to ask in a semi-serious tone, “So Bel… does she like hate men?”

Hailey shrugs noncommittally, “Dunno, but she is a raging feminist. No matter what you do, never talk to her about what they teach us in school. According to Bel, our entire history class is a stilted narrative constructed by the patriarchy to keep women subservient.”

Bella nods and replies, “I take it you’ve made that mistake before?”

Hailey shudders, “Do you remember that week Mr. Memely gave me and Theo weird looks throughout every class? I let Bel help me on a test, and we got sidetracked on question one.”

Bella looks at her confused, “But that’s our math class…” she trails off as Hailey responds saying, “Exactly! The first question was about two runners going in different directions, Carl and Sarah, and Sarah was moving slower than Carl. I think you can imagine how that went over. I spent the entire hour writing an essay on how sexist it was to assume that the man would run faster. I just wanted to take the test but Bel wouldn’t shut up unless I wrote something and by the time she was finished pointing out everything problematic in the question I’d lost the entire hour.”

Bella gapes at her in terror before asking, “Did you fail?”

Hailey smiles and shakes her head, “Mr. Memely swapped the names and asked me to retake the quiz. He told me if I was having relationship problems or anything else was bothering me I should really talk to Mr. Rutter, the guidance counselor, or at the very least leave it out of his tests in the future.”

“Oh my God,” Bella groans with a roll of her eyes, “that is such a man thing to do.”

The two stare at each other, suppressing giggles as long as they can before collapsing once again into laughter. As they do, dear reader, we take our leave. For with this friendship restored, indeed rebuilt stronger than ever, our attention turns across the city to another young lady.

Alighting from her private jet, Ginny S. Napp returns from her sandy beach vacation sporting a deep tan and deeper desire to publicly show-up Eldritch once and for all! Tonight, however, her aims are much less ambitious. Ginny would be content seeing her father happily waiting at the end of the tarmac for her, but alas, he is at another airstrip. For stepping off a Government Issue private jet is a man known to the world as Beacon! And waiting to greet him is none other than the absentee patriarch of the Napp clan. This fateful meeting and more is the subject of next week’s episode… “A Tale of Two Men!”