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It was one thing to be wrenched from one's school for lack of attendance, bad grades or even for the sundry of reasons that put the blame on either the student or the school.
It was another thing entirely to be wrenched from one's school due to a family vacation.
And that was much more pleasing to Belladonna, in all manner of speaking.

Thankfully, her most recent school related absence was due to the latter, more specifically, a trip to the beach. At first, the witch had been overjoyed at the prospect of visiting the beach. It was a break from school (not that'd she been overexerting herself by any means), an opportunity to visit with Hemlock, a chance to bask in the dim sunlight and feel the chilly, black waters against her skin.
But it was only a matter of time (short matter, mind you) before the witch realized just what she was missing with this excursion.
Namely, more time with her still somewhat new boilfriend Mort.
And since Prom had become so muddled that the couple had fled before they had really taken in everything and though not on metaphorically shaky ground, their relationship was thusly shaken. Not in any negative manner, of course. Just enough that Belladonna wanted to make sure the boil understood her continued affection for him and therefore felt rather melodramatic about this whole vacation thing.
She promised phone calls, texts and pictures, but with her skellyphone service as it was, she only gave a few short phone calls in the evenings. It certainly wasn't what she wanted, but it would have to do for the short week she was gone.

As it were, things started to heat up back at Amityville just as Belladonna left the campus.
Of course she wasn't aware of any of that. Belladonna only knew sand, black waters and making sure to apply sunscreen to all exposed areas of her body. Which were more abundant than she particularly wanted. It was Hemlock's fault she was stuck in an itty-bitty bikini that had her nearly popping. Hemlock thought it would be fun! Just like Hemlock thought it would be fun to snap a surprise picture the witch had just enough time to smile for.
Belladonna also thought it would be fun to send the picture to Mort.



Happy that she now had cell service enough to send a text, the witch reclined under the family umbrella with a book. Her Mother was enjoying the fine drinks their hotel provided, Delphinium was reluctantly sharing the umbrella with her youngest sister (and glaring daggers at anyone who got too close) while Hemlock and Papa were having a fun swimming contest in the nearby ocean.
Ah, it was bliss.
Until Belladonna received not a reply, but a text all its own from her precious zombie.
With a shriek the witch bounced forward in her chair with a move that had her book flying dramatically away. Her shoulders hunched as she frantically tapped out a message.



That wasn't a very good threat.
It also didn't help that Delphinium was now all eyes and ears as she stared at her sister expectantly.
"What'd you scream for?" Was all she asked, while Belladonna clutched the phone to her chest.
She always missed the heroic missions...

There was no immediate reply, which only furthered the witch's already suddenly frazzled nerves, but she could only clutch her phone and stare out at the black waters before her.
"Hey, Tits McGee. What's the deal? Why do you look like someone stole one of your stupid Treats?" Delphinium asked from across the little space that separated them. Belladonna jumped in her beach chair a little, her eyes wide and cheeks flushed. Her eyes darted down to her chest, the only reason for such an affectionate nickname but quickly refocused on her sister.
"Um! Well... You know my boyfriend, Mort?"
Delphinium rolled her eyes and mumbled a low "Yeah, the zombie."
The Divines had not taken Belladonna's news as poorly as she expected (honestly she thought they would have shouted and demanded they break up), but they had expressed a level of disappointment in her choice. Before, she had chosen a demon they had approved of whole-heartedly and they had never even known about The Wisp Boil.

In any regard, Belladonna nodded softly and soldiered on.
"Yeah, well, um... He's still at school... And apparently some students were kidnapped I suppose, I don't really know all the details, but um... He just texted me and told me they were going on a rescue mission. I do so hope he's alright..." The witch paused and dropped her eyes to the sand. In all the stories he told her, he had tried to be a hero. Maybe not intentionally, but his actions had always been dramatic and he definitely was one to fight. And this worried Belladonna immensely.
What if he tried to save someone and got hurt? Bad?
What if something worse happened?

With quick, clacking fingers the witch shot off another text.



"Calm down, he'll be fine." Delphinium finally issued with a flop back into her chair and with a lazy wave of her hand. "Amityville is crazy, but the students always survive."
The youngest sister brought her eyes up to the oldest sister and stared for a moment. In a low, somber voice she replied, "No they don't."

For a long moment, Delphinium only stared at the ocean, but she finally tore her gaze from those choppy black waters to Belladonna. Wherein she stared a bit longer. After a few more moments of heavy silence, the older witch blinked her eyes, a few shades of pink darker than the witch before her, and finally, finally opened her mouth.
"Now you know Amityville's deep, dark secret. Don't you feel special?" Said with a chill, Delphinium only pursed her lips and quirked an eyebrow in a face that can only be described as "triumphantly bitchy", before she turned back toward the water. Lazily, as though the information she was currently sharing with her sister were mere gossip, she stretched out her legs so that they basked in the small sunlight.
"It only took you until Year Two. I'm so impressed."

While Delphinium only exuded an air of nonchalance, Belladonna, on the other hand, was absolutely shocked.
Her mouth hung open in a slack-jawed manner and her eyes blinked rapidly. The grip on her phone loosened until it fell from her fingers and clattered to the sand, but she had totally forgotten about it.
"You knew? You knew and you still sent me to school?"
It was impossible. Who could be so cruel?
Well, Delphinium, obviously.
"Oh, calm your tits. Its not that big of a secret, you big baby. Everyone knows a student or two dies. All schools have death. Just because you came back doesn't mean everyone does. Its a fact of life." Her face swiveled back around, her ponytail bounced around her face as she narrowed her eyes at Belladonna. "So stop acting like you're the only one."

Strangely, instead of the usual cowardice or fear that usually coursed through the younger witch, something very different flooded her veins.
Something she could use: Anger.
"I might have been lucky, yes, but that doesn't mean that this is not a matter to be discussed! I will not stop trying to fix whatever it is that is currently wrong with Amity! Whatever things that have happened in your life to make you so upset has nothing to do with me."
Wait, no, that wasn't her point. Back to the point Belladonna! Make this speech count!
"And not everyone will be so lucky as me! Right now my boyfriend is in danger and I am not there to help. So please, excuse me if I'm a little angry. I certainly wouldn't want to hurt your feelings, Miss Medium Sized Boobs!" Errr, ok she'd have to work on the name calling.
But Belladonna only furrowed her eyebrows and snatched up her phone from the sand. A few quick swipes brushed away the little bits of stuck on sand to it and she stared at the screen and willed Mort to reply to her.

Of course, a reply never came and the seconds stretched out into minutes. Though she didn't move her eyes from the phone, Belladonna could see that Delphinium had stirred in her chair and after another moment of movement in her periphery, the younger witch looked up.
"Awww, boyfriend suddenly not replying?" Delphinium asked in a falsely sweet voice. She 'tut-tut'd, before she winked at the girl. "Maybe you'll get lucky and this one will die. You've driven the other two either insane or away, so its about time one of them dies."
That was it. That was all it took.
With a shriek Belladonna was up out of her chair and had cleared the few steps that separated the sisters. In a flash her hand was out and with a crack her palm met Delphinium's cheek.
"You snot nosed little b***h!" Delphinium hissed, one hand pressed to her suddenly vibrantly red cheek as she clattered angrily from her chair.
"If you ever say anything like that ever again, I'll do more than slap you." Belladonna told her, her voice low and deep and altogether deadly serious. Though they both stood, Belladonna the shorter of the two, she still held the powerful stance. One finger was pointed at her sister, her eyebrows drawn so fiercely over her eyes that a shadow formed across her face. "I'll hex you faster than you can say 'widdershins', and you know I'm powerful enough that it'll stick. You'll be as plain and ugly as your soul."
Dark pink eyes met lighter ones, but the darker ones faltered, they believed Belladonna. The younger witch held her stance and just as the shadow looked like it made fade, it darkened and Belladonna added one last thing.
"This one is special. Mortimer is a fighter, and a damn good one. He's different than the others. And whatever wrong that's going on, he's going to fix it. Mortimer is special."

And just like that, the atmosphere had broken. Belladonna had lowered the finger she had pointed at her eldest sister, she had turned and headed toward the water. From the waves Hemlock whooped and hollered, cheering for the youngest sister who finally stood up for herself. Both she and their father had watched the exchange, but only a neutral look graced Papa's face. As Belladonna advanced into the waters, that shadow wholly gone, she beamed at her sister and father. They welcomed her into the water with splashes and laughter, but made no move to return to the shore, whether to leave her or check on Delphinium.
The skellyphone lay in Belladonna's chair, silent as the grave and untouched. Delphinium dare not touch it as she sulked in her chair, and the youngest witch knew that things had gone wrong. If he had been able to, Mort would have replied to her eons ago.
It hurt, a little, to know that the missions were a bit more important than a small text message, but it was something Belladonna would most likely grow used to. Or, perhaps if she were lucky enough to retain this bravery, one day she'd be with him on the mission. Maybe one day she could stand with him, their hands locked together as they fought those jackdamned Hunters and saved their friends, their school, their home.
Perhaps, one day.

But not today. Today was the beach, carefree laughing and warm sand.
It was selfish, it was silly, but it was what Belladonna did. Though she worried about him for the rest of the trip and quietly laid in her bed that night and prayed he was safe, for the rest of the day she didn't send him another text. She instead played with her sister and father and teased her mother when she drank too much and even offered to heal the small bruise on Delphinium's face. Naturally, she refused the offer, but it certainly didn't stop Belladonna from smiling as though absolutely nothing was wrong.

~Fin~

((Sorry for the additional tag. XD ))