Faustus's Extraordinary New Student, chapter 10

The night passed in a calmness they both hadn't experienced in a long time. No nightmares it seemed plagued Faustus, for that Freya was grateful. Upon waking up, she used her fire magic to start a fire nearby and started by cooking a few of the coconuts that had fallen in the night. "You know, if we plan to stay longer, we might need better shelter, and more food." She chuckled softly as she smiled up at Faustus. "How are you feeling today, Love? I noted, no nightmares last night."

"No, I'd no nightmares," Faustus confirmed. "A surprisingly peaceful sleep. Perhaps it's that potion the merfolk gave you. Do you think you'll be up for more spelunking today?"

"I had thought about it." Freya threw Faustus a small smile. "It isn't as bad as I thought it would be. Once I got used to it." She took the coconuts out of the fire and cracked one open and handed it to Faustus. Taking the other, she ate and looked out past the trees towards the water. "Wish there was a way you could go with me, or at least see what I see. I have no idea what to look for." She chuckled softly.

Faustus had a thought. "I could tap into your mind's eye, if you'd allow it," he said. "That way I could indeed see what you see. The only trouble is, it may feel a little… invasive."

"You can do that?" She looked up at Faustus in amazement. "How would you go about doing it, Love? Can we try?" She smiled faintly. "Invasive? having you in my mind? I don't think it would be." She smirked faintly. She already was so in tune with him, that she knew the instant he entered the room, or where he was in said room without having to look. Or read his moods without looking at him. How much more 'invasive' could what he wanted to try be?

It sounded like he had her permission, so he gently touched his index and middle fingers to her third eye.

It was bizarre, seeing himself through her eyes as she looked at him. He kept his own eyes closed so he would see only what she saw. He hummed a soft dirge inside his head and heard it echo in her mind. Perfect.

Now we can communicate better, he thought. Are you ready?

xoxo

Meanwhile, back in Greendale, it hadn't taken long for the Johansson family to make a few unsavoury changes. Mr. Johansson had declared himself Interim High Priest, above Ambrose's objections, for he was quite powerful and had not been under house arrest for 75 years. Under his direction, the women of the coven of "breeding age" had become as his concubines, and anyone offering any sort of objection or dissent was promptly drawn-and-quartered, publicly, as an example.

Ursula was a little bit upset about how her father had overthrown the power balance and set himself up as High Priest. Ambrose had been thrown into the witches’ cell, along with the rest of the Spellman's as well as Nick Scratch. It was utter chaos at first but being the new High Priest's daughter did have its privilege's. Even though she wasn't entirely happy with the arrangements. She had wanted to be the one in the position of power, not her father! But still….it could be worse!

Yet her father was aging and, as a small consolation, at least beginning to groom her for the position of High Priestess. She was his second-in-command— which, he reminded her, was more than Freya had ever been, as Faustus Blackwood was hardly the type to allow a woman in power.

Ursula spent her days, flaunting her new status and she took delight in going down to the witches’ cell to torment Ambrose. He thought himself soooo smart and yet, he had been caught by her mere whiles alone. She wondered what Prudence would think of him if she knew.

"Hello, Hello…" She called out as she entered his cell, for he was in a cell alone, while the rest of the Spellmans were in another cell. "Time for our daily…lessons." She giggled, as she approached him. She never had sex with him or was so in any way. There were more ways to 'torture' someone and she excelled in that part of magic. "Let’s begin…shall we."

Ambrose stared blankly at her. He tried not to give her the satisfaction of reacting to her torture in any way, but that was not always a possibility. He knew she got off on it, in her own sick way. Horrible girl. He would have to figure out a way to get Father Blackwood back as soon as possible… but how?

Ursula took her time today, enjoying the way Ambrose fought her. He was a strong, stubborn one, but in the end, every person she 'worked on' broke. "Strange, that you have held out this long Spellman." She giggled and used her magic to make things very painful for him. She knew curses that not even the Academy would teach, thanks to her father's teachings.

By the end of the time she spent with him, he was bleeding but not badly enough to be dangerous and Ursula felt a lot better about how things were going. Her step light as she made her way back up to the Academy.

Ambrose struggled to stay conscious as he heard her footsteps receding. His last hope was to astral-project and call for help. He sent himself to Blackwood.

'You have got to come back. It's an emergency,' he said. 'The Johanssons have supplanted you. Father Johansson has named himself high priest. Ursula has me here, in the Witches' Cell. All the women are chattel. Come back!' he pleaded.

xoxo

It was a little odd, having Faustus in her mind but Freya found comfort in that knowledge as she stood and headed back into the water. Able to hear him, she swam deeper and headed in the other direction of the merpeople's home; into darker, colder waters.

Even for her, it brought out goosebumps against her skin the deeper she went. Till she saw ruins just ahead of her in the murky depths. This is odd. She whispered to Faustus as she swam closer and saw signs that resembled many she had seen in the Academy and yet different. Etchings of symbols that vaguely resembled the ones they used were strewn all over the place. Why were they here? What had this place been?

It was as she was swimming to investigate another glyph that a harsh laugh startled her out of her revive and she turned to see a strange creature, hiding in the ruins just off to her right. It resembled a merperson, yet the tail was crooked, hooked.

"Ye not find what ye seek here, Little One." It's voice neither male nor female as it swam out from hiding and Freya took a few tail slaps away at seeing the creature. It wasn't a person at all, but some kind of mesh of grindylow and merperson together. "Why for ye come this way? When ye already know the answer to what it is ye seek? Esmelda gave ye answer. Gave ye time."

It went silent for a moment and then smiled, showing off its wicked set of teeth. As if it could sense or hear something that she could not. "Ye be missing a call, ye be. Can ye not hear it? It echoes….and it burns!! Go! Go from this place! It be not for ye, nor yer Mate."

It was at this that Freya went stiff, for just as Faustus could hear her thoughts and surroundings, she could sense his and gently nudged him to release her. Ambrose! She shouted in her mind as she heard a god-awful sound that seemed to come out of the darkness all around her.

"Tried waning ye cheeky girl, I did. Now, ye best swim fast for my mates catch you! GO! Ye be needed elsewhere!"

Quite nice of him to warn you, Faustus thought of the grindyman.

 She didn't have to be told twice, as she turned and without a backwards glance, swam as if the all the fiends of hell were at her tail. For the sounds in those dark depths, she had no desire to meet.

Upon cresting the surface, she made it just in time, to see the faint image of Ambrose, hear his words before he cut off. "We have to go back, Love." Her voice radiated anger as she had heard just the faintest last part of the message. The Johanssons sought to usurp Faustus, did they? They would have to put their search on hold, for they were sorely needed back home.

He nodded and reached out to touch her forehead again as she neared the shore.

"Let's go, then," he said, his only warning before he teleported them out of there.

She had just finished dressing when Faustus reached out and took hold of her and teleported them back to the Academy. She ducked, just in time as a curse went flying past her head! Reacting instinctively, she threw up her shield around herself and Faustus unknowingly that she did so around him as well as they made their way deeper into the recesses of the Academy.

When they got back to the Academy, there was a full-on riot. Johansson was a powerful man, but he was outnumbered by the many women who did not wish to be his concubines. The entrance hall was in shambles and curses were flying back and forth like arrows.

"BE STILL!" Faustus bellowed as he and Freya entered. "Fetch me Ambrose! I left him in charge. Where is he?"

All went silent and still at seeing Faustus's return and it only took mere moments for Ambrose to be fetched from where he had been kept all this time. He was battered and bruised but none the worse for wear. Once before his High Priest, he fell to his knees and took Faustus's hand, as Freya had lessened her shield so that he may do so, and in a rush of words explained what had happened since he and Freya had been away.

All the while Ambrose had been explaining, Freya had let her eyes trail over the Coven gathered and noted that the woman had many different bruises upon them, or black eyes. No wonder they had revolted! It was as her eyes were passing over a smaller group, that she saw a patch of black hair that she would recognize anywhere, trying to sneak away from the group! But before she could react, the witch vanished in a cloud of smoke, which set the lights of the Academy to flickering.

"Ursula has fled….and I don't see her father here either." She said softly. They had their work cut out for them though. The Anti-Pope would be there in a few days’ time and this supplantation had cost them time.

Father Blackwood glared round the room. His coven, which he thought of as his empire, was in poor shape indeed.

"Freya, would you mind whipping up a healing tonic and tending to the ladies?" he asked quietly. "I shall send a familiar to search for the Johanssons. What do you suppose we should do with them? Personally, I'd like to kill them." He kept his voice in an undertone.

Then, to Ambrose, he said, "I am terribly disappointed that you allowed this to happen. Go curl up under your aunts' skirts."

"I agree." Freya whispered softly back; a faint smirk barely touched the edge of her lips as she heard Faustus's words. "Should have just let me strangle the bitch when she upset me the first time, Love." She giggled softly, nodded, and dropped her shield completely as she set out to do as bid. She commandeered Faustus's demonology classroom, for it was the biggest one and able to hold more people as she set about making tonics and healing remedies for those that needed it. She set Anton to helping her, as he oversaw the influx of those coming in and out to be healed.

"Alright, need a line formed right now, of those that need help. From worst to less severe, please." She gave Anton credit; he knew how to step up when called for. Freya wasn't much of a healer, so she called in the Spellman's to help her as well. Hilda was a great healer and was capable, so after a few hours, she left her to it and went back to Faustus's office.

"It is done. The women are being seen to, Love." She was tired and it showed. She came to sit beside him and looked over at him. She could tell he was terribly upset about all that had happened. "Things will work out alright, Love." She sought to make him feel better, but she also knew that it wasn't totally Ambrose's fault. But she didn't think it was smart to say so just yet.

"I should have chosen someone stronger to take my place while I was gone. I should have anticipated this," he said remorsefully, shaking his head. "Ursula has always been ambitious, and it's… due to how she was raised." He sighed and ran a hand through his hair, a strangely humanizing gesture.

"What shall we do now?" he asked. "I genuinely seek your counsel."

"It isn't your fault either, my Love." Freya said softly, leaning forward and placing her hand atop of his. "No matter who you left behind, they would have found a way. What matters is that we are back, and things are slowly going back to normal." She gave him a soft, but warm smile as she spoke.

Hearing that he sought her counsel, however, floored her. Him? Faustus? The High Priest? Sought her counsel? "All we can do, really is wait. The familiar you send out will either find them or it won't. The Anti-Pope will be here in a few days. The Coven must be ready to greet him, which we have already begun by healing and gathering the Coven back together. Wards need to be placed, around the grounds, just in case. But other than that, we have done all we can for now." She said softly.

"We get through the Anti-Pope's visit, then we can worry about everything else." She meant the curse, of which she sorely hoped was close to being over, or over already. Esmelda had given Freya something which she said would hold off the effects of the curse for a few days and she had given it to Faustus. He seemed, alright. Clear headed and himself again, but for how long? They could worry about that after the Anti-Pope came and went. "We will figure this out, together, Love. Just as we do everything else. Don't worry."

Faustus nodded. He didn't like just waiting; he liked to be in action. But he could stand to relax.

"Shall we take a bath together?" he asked, "after we have a proper supper, that is?"

Freya's smile was bright, as she nodded at his suggestion. Now that she had control of her shifting, it seemed, it wasn't awkward for her anymore. Not that it had been in the first place….Faustus never seemed to have an issue with it. That touched her all the more.

Supper was hot and filling and afterwards found them both lounging in the clawed footed tub together. Freya resting in Faustus's arms as he held her against his chest. Her arms around his from where he held her. Her eyes closed a moment, just enjoying the peacefulness. This was her favourite part of the day. Where each let their guard down and simply….were, together.