//------------------------------// // 5. It worked. // Story: Sirens' Wrath // by Arkidonius //------------------------------// The morning light streamed in through the picture window, and outside on the little sill was a tiny bird greeting that same sunlight. Magnus rolled over on his liquid silk coverings with a pleasant moan. He was surrounded by plush comfort. Everything about him was content and relaxed. He had no stress, no pain, no anxiety, and no discomfort. The feeling was amazing. He turned again, a large smile filling his face. He extended his hands out into the ocean of clouds that held and cradled him. He reached out towards warmth he could feel just next to him. His hand grabbed ahold of it. It was also soft, smooth. Perfectly molded to his touch, but also elegant in it's feel. It was vaguely familiar, as if he had felt legs like this before. Leg. It was a leg. Magnus's eyes shot open as he went stone cold. He was griping a leg. He was in a soft, plush bed. Suddenly, as the sleep left his mind, all of last nights events came rushing back. The stories he had been told, Sonata causing a ruckus, Adagio being...ADAGIO! He was in Adagio's bed! And...where were his pants? Magnus turned his face slowly to the left, and met eyes with a sleepy Adagio. "Oh, good morning dearest." "WAH!" Magnus leapt out of bed, only to realize his exposure. Grabbing a pillow, he covered himself with it and looked at her. At this point, the color of his skin was almost indistinguishable from the crimson all around him. Adagio propped herself up on an elbow. Her nightgown was...gone. In fact, with the blankets over her, he wasn't sure WHAT she was wearing. Adagio couldn't help but laugh. "Oh my, is everything alright?" "No! Everything is not alright! Where are my clothes? My pants? Where are yours?! Did...did we...?" Magnus couldn't look at her. He couldn't believe this. Why couldn't he remember anything? This didn't make sense. Did she...take advantage of him? He started to feel sick. He knew he never should have gotten mixed up with these witches. "Easy tiger." Adagio pulled the blankets away from her to reveal a strapless bra covering her chest. It was skin colored. "And by the way, you are still covered." Magnus looked down for real and saw he WAS still wearing boxers. Which was comforting, but was still concerning in how he got to this point. There was a light knock on the door, and both people in the room turned their attention towards it. The knock rapped three times, and the door opened. A straight faced Aria leaned in. "Breakfast will be ready in abo- Oh." She made eye contact with Magnus, her face devoid of any surprise or shock. She simply changed her gaze to face Adagio. "About thirty, you two seem like you might need it." She closed the door before Magnus could explain or defend himself. As the door shut, Magnus hung his head and dropped the pillow. "You alright there kid?" Adagio asked him with a look of genuine concern. "I...ya, I will be." He sat down on the edge of the bed, oddly feeling a lot more calm about the situation. "What happened last night?" He felt like his head was pounding. Almost like he was hungover. He had only had one experience with that kind of thing, but the feeling was indistinguishable. "Well..." Adagio had slowly slithered her way up to Magnus, her hands finding their way onto his bare back. He began to pull away at the touch, but stopped when her slender fingers began to work into his back muscles. He sat there, his head hanging a bit down, his eyes closed, and a content smile filling his face. "Last night you were a MESS with stress and fear. I'm not actually use to that myself mind you, especially when I am in here. So...regrettably, I had to calm you down." Magnus turned his head slightly. "Regrettably?" "Well, I had to use a bit of my magic. Of course, a bit doesn't cover it. You are very difficult to manipulate. I simply could only calm your mind. Why you blacked out is beyond me, maybe I was a bit to forceful and it through up some defenses. At any rate, I simply had you lay down for me. That's it." "That's it?" Magnus asked. "Yes, that's it." "I feel like there is a bit more to this, especially since I am almost naked?" Adagio sighed. "Well obviously, but since you are so nosey. You were a wreck, so I offered to help relax you. I had you lay down so I could try and melt away your stress. I started to rub your back but your shirt got in the way. You asked if you could take it off and I didn't mind. I still don't to be fair..." She dug her nails into his back just a bit, enough to make goosebumps rise up all over him. She giggled and continued. "You didn't want me to stop, and told me to keep going. You asked me to rub everything. Your head, your neck, your arms. Honestly it was tiring, and my nightgown wasn't helping. So I took it off and changed into something that could still cover me." Magnus opened his eyes to focus on her. From what he could see, she had changed into underwear the same color as her golden skin. REALLY similar. It was as if she was completely naked, with the exception of any details, almost like a mannequin. HE nodded and let her continue. "Then you told me to keep going to your legs and feet, so I had you undress fully. At one point you finally passed out. I don't think I've ever been more relieved. My hands are still kind of tired. Still, that was all. Every time I tried to come next to you under the covers you scooted away, so I gave up. Honestly this was the most boring time I've had in here with a guest." Her voice was definitely full of dejection and disappointment. Magnus of course, couldn't really care. He was worried about his mother, he was worried about himself and...wasn't today Monday? "Crap...I have school in...what time is it?" Magnus lazily asked this back at the enchantress still working his back muscles. She seemed to snap out of a little daze. "Hm? Oh. Well let me see." She checked a little digital clock beside her bed. "Six thirty, no wonder I'm still tired." "What? I almost never get up this early." "Yes, well...I doubt you've had this much relaxation to pull you into a real sleep before either, hm?" She wasn't wrong. In truth, Magnus hadn't had a real good night's sleep since him and his mother had moved to this town. Every night was full of nightmares, terror, uncertainty, and terrible, TERRIBLE visions. Mostly of fire. He had been by himself, and without much real social interaction. He had been for the most part alone, outside of casual interactions. The work load and quality of the homework expected at this school was also at a much higher degree than what he was use to, but he had ben told that another school deeper into town was WORSE than this one. He frowned. She was right, but he didn't want her to be. "SONATA! GET UP!" Aria shouted this all through the apartment. Adagio looked annoyed at the sudden noise. "Aria, don't shout!" "You know she won't get up if I don't, so don't start." Aria answered Adagio even angrier than her previous shout. Magnus smiled. "You want me to go get her up?" Magnus stood to find his clothes, of which, they were right next to the bed. HE wasn't as embarrassed as he pulled on his pants. Adagio's presence was becoming more natural. This might have been due to her direct influence...but Magnus still felt off as her eyes watched him with a great intensity as he dressed. "If you want, saves me the usual hassle. Careful though, she's clingy and like cat. You might get bit." Adagio sat up and fluffed her hair back into a perfect poof. Magnus was amazed. It was probably magic, but he couldn't be sure. Finally dressed, he walked out of the room and was sure to close it. It took him a bit of effort as he saw Adagio begin to completely undress while he was still in the room, but as much as he wanted to look, he just COULDN'T bring himself to do that. It was probably his mother coming out in him. He turned to his left as he exited the door and took the little walk down the hallway to the end. He stood in front of the door with the crayon all over it. He knocked a few times. "Sonata? You up?" His answer was a serious of mumbles, and a soft thump as something plush hit the door. He smirked bit as he opened up the door. The inside of this room was like a little girl's paradise. The walls looked as if they were hand painted. A beautiful mixture of pastel pinks and purples, swirled all together in what look like actual hands dipped in paint in places. One wall was covered entirely in what seemed like chalkboard paint, a little bucket of chalk below it. The wall was full of scribbles and doodles. Tiny rainbows, hearts, flowers, and a giant tea party scene that would have made the best of artists lose their breath. Above him, on the ceiling, were giant fake clouds made from cotton and cloth, a large moon was in the corner giving off a soft light, and the window was closed and covered by big thick curtains. All over the floor were stuffed animals of ALL shapes and sizes, thrown in haphazard places. Magnus couldn't help but chuckle to himself softly. For being thousands of years old, to her, age was just a number that didn't keep her from enjoying the simple things in life she actually enjoyed. One whole wall of the room held her giant dressers, also a mixture of pastel blues and yellows, and a large toy box with a few stuffed animals sticking out. Apparently she was bad at picking up her things. In the center was a large circular bed in the guise of a sunflower. And in the middle, sucking on her thumb lightly and snoring like a tiny kitten, was a scrunched up Sonata. Magnus slowly inched his way towards her, being careful not to step on any of her precious creatures. "Hey, Sonata." Magnus whispered as he got closer. Magnus couldn't help but notice how breakable and fragile she looked sleeping. It was like she didn't have a single care in the world. He sat down on the edge of her bed, and gave her shoulder a gentle shake. She scrunched her face and made a small noise, but otherwise didn't stir. She was wrapped up in a soft plush blanket, on sheets of pure silk. Her pillows were all around her, and her one giant pony tail was fanned out into loose hair all around her head in a soft halo. It spread out into a beautiful ocean of greens and blues, all mixing together in gentle waves. He gave her another nudge, this time just a fraction harder. Her face scrunched up a bit harder, and her eyelids opened up only a bit. Her eyes looked up at him as she gently whined. Magnus smiled and brushed a bit of her hair. "Hey there sleepy, it's time to get up. Aria has food cooking." At the word food, Sonata smiled and smacked her lips. Her breathing stopped almost immediately. Her eyes opened fully, and she slowly rose them to look up at Magnus, who had tilted his head at her. He was curious at her sudden change but wasn't given close to enough time to try and figure something out. "BOY!" Sonata shouted and let out a high pitched scream as she stood straight up in her bed, pelting him with stuffed animals. Magnus had to raise his arm to try and block the incoming missiles of fluff as she grabbed the sheets to try and hide herself. "OUT OUT OUT OUT GET OUT!" Magnus fell on his way to the door and have to crawl out on his stomach. He managed to grab the door with his foot and pull it closed as he tucked himself to roll the rest of the way out. He could hear more screaming noises and the pelting of animals against the door, which then turned into quiet sobbing. Magnus sat up and faced the wall opposite the door, completely unsure of what had just happened, or what he had just done. He heard muffled footsteps beside him. Aria was looking down at him with a face with a slight amused look. "Adagio warned you, she's a pain to get up in the morning." "But...why the freak out? I didn't do anything!" "Yes you did." Aria had her arms crossed and was looking at Magnus like a grumpy babysitter, waiting for him to admit his mistakes. But he just couldn't figure it out. He looked at Aria and simply shrugged, prompting her to let out an exasperated sigh followed by a mumble that sounding a lot like 'men' and went to the door, she opened it up, only to be hit square in the face by a medium sized stuffed poodle. This prompted a "Meep!" from Sonata which was accompanied by a "DID YOU JUST HIT ME WITH THAT!?" from Aria. Her expressionless demeanor gone, mama bear stomped into the room holding the poodle like a weapon. The door slammed as sounds of fighting were being heard, most of the crying coming from Sonata. "Magnus, could you come here?" Adagio was summoning him from the kitchen. Magnus of course obeyed, he WAS still a guest here, and he left to let the chaos in the bedroom happen unheeded. Adagio was reading the paper when he got there, her slippered feet resting up on another chair she had pulled over. "Magnus, I have something to ask of you." "Of course, what's up?" He asked as he sat down in a chair not to far from her. Again, all boundaries being almost dissolved after what had happened. "I need you to find someplace for us, someplace quiet and secret." "Ok...can I ask why?" Adagio put her paper down to look at him. "You have been told our story, shown our power, and even spent a night with us. Do not forgot we are a coven of witches here, dear boy, we have upheld our end of things as would be expected of us but more, and now YOU must keep your end." She picked her paper back up to keep reading. "Find us somewhere quiet and safe. Tonight, you give us your oath, and we bind you to us to fulfill our contract." "Wait, you still haven't pet up your part." Magnus said this with a tiny glare, crossing his arms as Adagio lowered her paper slowly to stare back at him with a raised eyebrow. "...excuse me?" Her voice was annoyed with a hint of authority in it. Magnus watched as red came to her cheeks, but not in an enjoyable way. "Would you...like to repeat that?" Magnus was now no longer sure of himself. With the way she stared into his soul and then out the back of him with those eyes that shined with a white hot intensity of insult, he wanted to just die. Or look away, but he was more afraid of her striking like a cobra if he even so much as gazed away from her. "Y-yeah. Remember, you said you would...give me my request." Magnus looked down at the floor. The hardwood of the kitchen was seamless and stained a beautiful multitude or red and brown. "Which was?" Adagio had re-raised her paper and turned a page. Magnus could almost sense her smug face. "I asked for...friends, remember? Friendship, respect, loyalty, acceptance, popularity, love...these were what I wanted, and you PROMISED if I followed you here, and did all of whatever it is you wanted me to do, you would grant this. You promised." In a way, he was right. She had promised all of this, but only after his allegiance. But...he was not patient. All he could think about were things changing for him. Not being alone, and maybe, making his mother less worried and more proud of him. Adagio didn't lower her paper. "It's already done child. What, you think a trio of witches can't make a simple request like that happen? We didn't sleep all night." Magnus couldn't believe it. Already? No flashy show? No display of power. Something didn't add up. "How?" Magnus was on the edge of a lot of emotions right now, but for the life of him he couldn't grasp which ones. Sighing, Adagio put her paper on the table. Aria then walked into the kitchen, hair just a bit disheveled, with a bouncing and happy Sonata trailing behind her. She pulled out her own chair and sat down next to Magnus, smiling big and happy at him, as if the incident just a few minutes prior had been some kind of fever dream. "We got up early this morning while you slept, went to the roof, and performed our ritual. Why do you think we are exhausted? Your request took ALOT from us...which is why you WILL comply and keep your promise. Or...well, you do you I suppose." Adagio made no face at Magnus, but he could tell this was a very serious choice of words she was using. "PANCAKES!" Sonata cried out as she dropped her head hard onto the table, pouting when it hit too hard. "What did I tell you about hitting your head? And we are out of pancake mix, you know this. What else can I get you?" Aria was busy moving from the pantry to the fridge, an apron already on to keep her pajamas clean. Sonata looked back up. "Pancakes?" "No Sonata, no pancakes." "But...it's Monday." Her face looked like it was about to break, tears already welling up in her eyes. Adagio was the one who spoke up. "Sonata, sweetie, we don't HAVE any more pancake mix. And it's too early to make some from scratch. What else do you want?" Her voice was level, but with hints of annoyance. Sonata scrunched her face and yelled. "Pan. Cakes." Adagio growled at her, causing her to lower her head. A single tear escaped her eye. "Hey...how about I bring some here after school, hm? We can have late night pancakes, it'll be an adventure." Magnus had looked over at Sonata and smiled. He couldn't see her like this, it was devastating. Her eyes grew large and she nodded at him with a big smile on her face, showing off all her teeth. The other two sisters were impressed, both of their expressions relaxing just a bit. The next half hour passed by as Adagio and Aria discussed some of the stories in the paper, and the weather changing into something cold. Sonata was rambling off to Magnus about a dream she had while she chowed down on a bowl of cereal that she had been given. Magnus had asked for some toast, never being much of a breakfast guy, and for just a moment, it felt like they belonged together. Like this was just...right. Breakfast done, and with everyone cleaning themselves up for the day, Magnus was looking up on his phone how to get to the school from here. He frowned, it seemed he would be late. "Go downstairs, talk to Winston. Ask to be taken there. Place it on our account." Aria had appeared behind Magnus, she had a paper bag in her hand. "Oh, are you sure? I mean..." Aria simply nodded at him. "What's in the bag?" "Lunch." "Oh, erm...thanks. You don't have to you know." Aria only blinked at him. "I am aware." Magnus felt a little stupid at this statement. He knew that, and so did she, and so did the rest of them. For the first real time since yesterday, he actually believed these three truly saw him as important to them. Either as a tool, or a person, Magnus wasn't sure, but he also didn't care. Magnus took the bag and nodded. As he went for the door to put his shoes on, he felt arms wrap around his waist. "Have a good day at schoooool!~" Sonata had surprised him and gave him a little sing song farewell. Magnus smiled and hugged her back, messing with her hair and telling her to behave. These words were met with an angry face, followed by "DON'T TELL ME WHAT TO DO!" She went to run away, only to hit the back of the couch and tumble over it. She began to cry as Aria yelled at her from the kitchen. "DAMNIT SONATA. EVERY MORNING!?" Magnus got his shoes on, left with a little wave at Adagio, who had appeared in the doorway to the kitchen to watch him leave, and made his way back to the elevator. Inside, he felt his pocket go off. Surprised, he checked it. He had a text from Glass Vial, one of the few guys he spoke to at school. He opened it up. 'Yo, are you going to get here? You are never this late. Everything alright???' Magnus was confused. He had twenty minutes to get to school. More importantly, why did it matter? Realization dawned on Magnus. The ritual. It had already started. ~~~~~ The car ride had been quiet and uneventful, which was good, because Magnus had his hands full. His Face-Place page had blown up with comments on things he had posted through the past months, and he was no wading through upwards of fifty or more sudden friend requests. At the same time, he realized apparently more people had his number than what he remember, and was now fighting off a wave of text messages. He had remembered to send a long one to his mother, giving her an update on everything that had happened. This was overwhelming! Never before had Magnus dealt with this level of sudden desire from anyone. Even when he lived back in his old town, nothing like this had ever come up. When he finally got to school, he had thanked the silent driver...who responding by coughing, and Magnus made his way into school. "Yo Mag!" Glass Vial, a boy around the same age as Magnus, started toward him. He had been waiting by the horse statue outside the main doors to the school. Most of the front of the school was a giant construction zone right now, mostly from that damage that had been done this weekend, and remnants of the Fall Formal still were laying about the ground. He walked up, his short silver hair blowing slightly in the wind. He was a head shorter than Magnus. "Hey Glass, why aren't you inside yet? Don't you use this time to...eat your chemistry book or something?" Glass Vial laughed. "Hey now, I do way more than read, and you know that. Sometimes I try and get ahead on all my homework." He straightened out his button up shirt, and pushed his small rectangle glasses back up his nose. "Well come on man, you miss a SHIT TON at the dance, everyone want's to know why you weren't there." Magnus honestly thought he was in some bizarre lucid dream at this point. Everyone? Who was everyone? He spoke to maybe four people at all times. And he never really fit in with any of the cliques that the REALLY mean girl who goes here had created. The two of them walked through the temporary side entrance for the school, since again, the main entrance and most of the front area were still a giant crater. When they got through the door, Magnus felt as if he was having a stroke. The sight before him was unlike anything he had seen in the previous months here. The groups that had been made to further pull all of the students apart had been dissolved. He found multiple people from multiple groups laughing, having fun, enjoying themselves and joking. But all in a playful manner. It was incredible. What else was incredible, is that people were looking at HIM. Some were waving, some were just looking and smiling, but there was no mistaking that all of their eyes were on him. Magnus was beaming. Everything about this was...overwhelming. People were saying his name, people were slapping his hands as he walked by. "No, but for real, why didn't you go? I have it on good authority that a ... 'certain special cow-girl' " Glass Vial winked at Magnus as they walked, " would have totally taken you for a ride on that dance floor." "Glass stop man, it's not funny." Glass Vial looked hurt. "Hey...I was serious bud." Magnus just looked at him and shrugged. He stopped as his locker and grabbed his book bag. It was the only thing in his locker really. He kept all of his supplies, his books, and his notebooks inside his book bag, and just took that everywhere. It was way more efficient then constantly running back and forth, and it always bothered him how no one else seemed to think so. He snuck a peek down the hallway. Standing by her locker, books close to her chest, was the one. She had her hat on, something not allowed in most classes. It was an old, almost beat up Stetson cowboy hat. She was wearing a slightly pink button up flannel shirt, something out of character for her, and she had plain blue jeans on, accompanied by her usual cowboy boots. She was looking annoyed at one of her friends, the one with the bright pink hair fluff. She squealed about something, and then confetti flew from her hands. Next to her, that prissy, purple haired fashionista covered her mouth to laugh. "So, let me get this straight Glass." Magnus had swung his backpack over his shoulder and had turned to face his friend, shutting his locker. "You mean to tell ME, that a girl who, up until apparently this morning, who didn't want so much as to speak to me at any time, said she would have, and I'm quoting you on this, 'taken me for a ride on the dancefloor' ?" Magnus had an eye of disbelief, but a stomach of desperate wanting. "Yes." Glass said this flatly, like there should have been no questioning of his logic. "And, you have her in math this morning right? Sit next to her, give her a look. See if anything happens." With that, Magnus's friend gave him a bit of a wave and had ran off to get his own things to make it to HIS class on time. Magnus looked down. Was he right? Did his fantasy girl decide to like him? But why? "It worked...it had to. This just doesn't happen. They kept their promise." ~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Magnus had walked almost late into his math class. Normally this would have been met with an angry look from his teacher, but this time she only smiled and welcomed him to the room. Most eyes were on him, but one set stood out the most. One set, the prettiest he had seen. Normally, they were half shut and full of disdain. This time, they were open wide and taking him in. Like two perfectly cut, sunburst emeralds. She blinked slowly at him, and then was aware of his eyes on her. For Magnus, time slowed down. The second their eyes locked, everything stopped. The color from every living and unloving thing around them faded away to shades of gray. He could make out every one of her perfect features. Her long blonde hair, now free from her hat, fell along her back and shoulders in a cascade of blonde perfection. He noticed her light pink button up had the top few buttons loosed, and he could see the faint, yet well defined, lines of her collar bone. She was giving him the most gentle and light of smiles, as if she was letting him know if some passive lady-like way that she was, in fact, giving him her attention. He could just make out the light crisp scent of apple blossoms around her, and...was that just a hint of makeup on her cheeks? It was giving her a small blushed tint. This was very out of character for this girl, as she wouldn't be caught dead in ANYTHING girly in the slightest. Magnus took his steps with the speed that his timeless aura would allow...and then slammed his knee into a desk. "Ah! Son of a bit-" was all he was able to get out until the class had picked up his mistake and began to laugh. Magnus's face turned bright red. He quickly took his seat, which just so happened to be next to her. She had dodged his look and was facing ahead, pretending not to notice his accident, but her cheeks were flushed as she was aware she had caused it. Magnus realized as he was taking out his book and pencil, that...the laughter was different. He looked up, and several people were making faces at him, but ones that were fun, and not really mocking. This laughter was more...with him, and not at him. Something he had become all too familiar with. He looked up at everyone and gave them a half-hearted wave, which was returned with nods and smiles. He was happy, they were happy. Everything was...just good! His teacher had begun her lecture on finding lines or...something. Magnus didn't really care. He hated math. His mind was also on something much more important. He was writing furiously on a piece of paper, trying to make it perfect. He must have spent fifteen or so minutes scribbling out exactly what he wanted. When it was finished, he ripped it out of his notebook and folded it into a nice, neat, small square. Waiting until the teacher was turned away, he nonchalantly tossed it onto her desk. Coming out of a daze of sorts with a slight jump, she quickly snatched the note giving a sideways look at Magnus, who was smiling and focusing on the board. She unfolded it, and went a bit red again as she read it. She quickly scribbled something and handed it back. Magnus read the note. Where he had written the line 'So, what was this about you and me riding at the dance?' , underneath was a simple script. 'Missed you there. Sit with me at lunch?' Magnus smiled. He turned to the girl and gave her a little wink. Deep in his pit, he knew this was not himself. Deep down, he was already changing. The sirens serpentine spell was working it's way through existence, forming it into something it wasn't. Perverting the way things were. Magnus...couldn't have cared less.