=:= Cindy =:=

"This is... A little underwhelming." Cindy said as she looked around.

Zoe shrugged, "It's been six hundred years Cindy. What were you expecting?"

The two of them were standing in the middle of a manicured grass 'lawn'. There were some grass-covered lumps that formed a sort of large rectangular shape around them. This was all that remained of Blakemere manor, once home to Baron Talbot, and his daughter Anne.

"I dunno." Cindy sighed. "I guess I wanted to see what the place looked like, back in the day?"

While she wasn't in any way related to the noble family who lived here six centuries ago, Cindy was actually named after them. Almost three years ago, when the Goddess cursed her into this new life, She gave her the name Cindy Anne Talbot. And a little over a year ago, She had told the coven about Baron Talbot and his daughter Anne, and admitted that Cindy was named after them.

Zoe's tail twitched and her ears dipped down slightly. "Sorry Cindy. Maybe we can find a painting or a drawing or something, that will show you what it looked like?"

"Yeah, maybe." Cindy sighed again.

The catgirl moved closer and put an arm around the short blonde's shoulders. "At least they've preserved this place and made it a park. C'mon, we can explore the rest of the grounds. I mean, even if the building's gone, all this was still Talbot land once. Let's go survey your namesake's property."

Cindy put her arm around Zoe's waist and nodded, "Ok."

Zoe's ears and tail both perked up a bit, and the two walked away from the lumpy field that had once been Blakemere manor. They ignored the stares from other tourists and visitors to the area. Both of them were used to being stared at by now.

Despite the fact that Cindy would be officially nineteen next month, people tended to assume she was a few years younger. At five-foot-two and around a hundred pounds, she tended to look like she was fifteen or sixteen. She wore dark leggings and a navy blue knee-length dress, and had sneakers on her feet. She had a black hoodie on over her dress, and a small dark grey backpack slung over one shoulder.

Her skin was fair and her eyes blue, and her sunny blonde hair hung down to her shoulders. She wore a little make-up, and had learned to style it to make herself look a bit older. Still, people always tended to think she was at least two or three years younger than her 'actual' age.

Of course, the other reason people tended to read her as being younger was her personality. She tried to be careful and act older, but she frequently slipped up and acted child-like, and as soon as she did, people would assume she was much younger. She wasn't sure if that was something the Goddess had done to her on purpose, or if it was an unintentional side-effect. Either way, it was mildly annoying that she had to either suppress part of her nature, or put up with people thinking she was a kid.

Having people treat her like a child always frustrated her, because in truth she'd actually be about twenty-five by now. She'd forgotten most of her old life, but she knew she'd been a tall, strong, athletic man. And she knew that she was twenty-two when she was cursed. She also knew why she'd been cursed. That was the one detail from her old life that never faded. The memories of what she'd done to Jessica that night remained crystal clear, even as everything else had gradually been forgotten.

While people tended to stare at Cindy trying to guess her age, the reasons they stared at Zoe were obvious. Her short lilac-coloured hair caught everyone's attention from a distance, and then the two lilac-coloured cat ears ontop of her head and the lilac-coloured cat tail pretty much guaranteed ongoing slack-jawed stares up close. Her skin was pale, and her eyes were a slightly intense shade of violet.

She turned twenty in the spring, and while she wasn't cursed to stay small like Cindy, Zoe was still somewhat petite. She stood about five-foot-four, though her ears added a couple inches to her height when they were standing up straight.

Zoe was wearing a pair of blue skinny-jeans and a tight pink t-shirt, and sneakers on her feet. Her jeans had been modified to do up at the back, with buttons holding the waist closed over a gap for her tail. Over top of that she was wearing a light grey hoodie, and her own small purple backpack was centred on her back, with the straps over both shoulders.

Despite the attention the pair attracted wherever they went, neither were worried. Although they both looked rather small and vulnerable, the truth was they were both witches. Zoe had been initiated into the coven about a year ago, and she had something of a natural talent for working magic. Cindy had more or less devoted her new life to learning magic and spells. She'd spent nearly three years working at both increasing her strength at casting spells, and her understanding of how magic worked.

Cindy didn't like to brag, but she suspected that only the Goddess Herself could wield more power than her. The Goddess was definitely the only one who had more experience manipulating magic. She was confident she was the strongest witch in the coven, anyways. The Goddess had even granted her the title of 'Sorceress', due to her knack for coming up with new spells.

As the two of them wandered around the park which had once been part of the Blakemere estate, Cindy let her head lean a little against Zoe's shoulder. She'd known the catgirl for almost a year and a half now. They'd become best friends not long after they first met. And for the past four or five months, they'd been 'friends with benefits'.

Cindy wasn't sure if she and Zoe were actually girlfriends or not. They definitely enjoyed each other's company, and they had a lot in common. And a few months ago when she'd decided to leave the coven and travel the world, she was afraid of leaving Zoe behind and then ecstatic when the catgirl asked to accompany her.

Eventually she realized she was daydreaming, and decided that she'd seen enough of the park. The scenery was pretty and there was a small lake which was nice, but there wasn't really anything unique about it. It was much like any other park or estate. And they both got tired of the tourists and locals staring or taking pictures of them.

They wandered back out to the road, and after a short walk they were back in the town of Whitchurch, walking along the appropriately-named Talbot Street. They had an early dinner at a small pub, then finally returned to the Bed-and-Breakfast where they were currently staying.

The B&B was owned by a friendly couple, who greeted them as they returned. Cindy gave them a smile as she and Zoe made their way up to their room.

Flopping onto the large bed together, Cindy sighed. "I guess it was nice to see the place, even if there was nothing to see. Nice to like, walk on the same ground that they did back then. Still, it was kinda disappointing."

"Sorry Cindy." Zoe said. "I mean, you're not really related to them, so I don't really get why it's that important?"

"Yeah..." Cindy frowned. She finally admitted, "I guess it's cos I don't have any family or anything? Like, I sorta sprung into existence about three years ago. I mean, 'he' had a past and a family and stuff, but that's not my life, that's not me... And I don't remember any of that stuff now anyways."

Zoe nodded, and shifted so she was laying on her side next to Cindy, so they could cuddle a little. "I know, cutie. I'm sorry."

Cindy leaned into the cuddle, then asked "Is there anything else you wanna do while we're in Shropshire?"

Zoe shook her head, "Nah. We already did all the touristy things I wanted when we were in London."

Cindy smiled a little. They'd spent the first six weeks of the trip in and around London. Zoe had a list of sights to see and things she wanted to do, and they'd taken their time enjoying it all.

"Ok... Then how about tomorrow we start making our way to Wales? I know it's a long-shot, but I'm hoping we might be able to find Her old temple, or maybe even the village where Her people used to be."

"Whatever you like." Zoe smiled. Her expression became a little more serious as she added, "Just, don't get your hopes up too far ok? I mean, we saw what six hundred years did to that manor right? It's... There's probably not going to be much left of a little village. And we don't even know exactly where it was."

"Yeah, I know." Cindy nodded. "This one's a much bigger long-shot, but I think it's worth it to try. It's not just about my own made-up heritage, this is for the whole coven. And maybe the Goddess too... If we could find Her old temple that would be really nice."

• • • • •

Zoe was still curled up next to her when Cindy woke in the morning. She grinned a little, the catgirl was almost always first to sleep and last to wake. Typical kitty behaviour, Cindy thought with a smirk.

She didn't want to move around too much yet, there was no rush. Instead she reached over and picked up her phone from the bedside table, to check for any messages or emails. She'd promised the others back home she'd check in once a week or so, and she was probably a week or more overdue now.

Sure enough, there was an email from Nikki. It was only dated three days ago, so Cindy wasn't too worried. She opened it and quickly read through the details. The coven wanted Cindy to come up with another variation on the transformation spell, something they could use to help trans people without attracting too much attention. Nikki said they were hoping for something that could be varied in how long it took, and maybe have it work in stages.

Cindy frowned a little, visualizing the spell in her mind. After a few seconds she decided it was possible, so she tapped out a response, telling Nikki she'd work on it when she had time, and would get back to them in a week or two with the result.

As she was setting her phone aside, Zoe stirred and opened her eyes.

"Hey...Good morning." The sleepy catgirl grinned at her. "How long have you been awake?"

Cindy smiled back, "Not long. Few minutes, long enough to check my email and stuff."

Zoe slowly uncurled herself then yawned and stretched, arching her back a bit. Finally she relaxed again, laying on her side facing Cindy. "Any interesting emails?"

Cindy watched her friend, letting her eyes roam over the naked catgirl's lithe body. Then she shrugged, "Nikki asked me to come up with a new variant of the transformation spell. She didn't say she was in a hurry for it though, so I'll worry about it later. Maybe in a week or two."

"Liar," Zoe smirked. "You're going to figure it out in your head over breakfast."

Cindy giggled, "Maybe.... But I'll still make her wait a week or two before I send it. I don't want to spoil the others, or they'll start expecting miracles from me all the time."

Zoe yawned again, then asked "Speaking of breakfast, what time is it?"

"We have about an hour before our hosts have it ready... Enough time for both of us to shower and get dressed."

Zoe looked thoughtful, then moved in close, wrapping her arms around Cindy, cuddling up against the small blonde. She purred "Or an hour to fool around... We can shower and dress after we eat."

Cindy grinned and whispered, "Naughty kitty..."

=:= Jessica =:=

"Well this is just...underwhelming." Jessica sighed.

It was Monday afternoon, about half past three. Jess was slumped in a chair next to Kara, while Maria stood nearby holding a cup of coffee.

Today was supposed to be the big re-opening of the support group. They had signs up, they'd advertised, and they'd even had it catered. One of the meeting tables was set up with trays of assorted appetizers, tiny sandwiches, veggie sticks, fruit, and some fancy desserts.

The phone had been almost as quiet, the only calls they'd had so far were two people calling to cancel the appointments they'd made last week.

Maria pursed her lips and nodded. She looked disappointed as well, but kept her comments to herself for now. The social worker just sipped her coffee instead, then sighed quietly.

"I think we know what the problem is." Kara said softly, a slight scowl on their face.

Jess frowned as well, "Yeah." Raising her voice slightly, she called towards the front of the office, "Kelly? Are they still out there?"

"Yep," Kelly called back. "About a dozen of them."

Kelly was one of the volunteers, here to answer the phones and greet people when they came in. She was in her early twenties, and a student at the local university. The people she and Jess were both referring to were a group standing around outside, protesting QSAW's new headquarters.

They were ostensibly from some church or something, but they were outside preaching hate and intolerance, and probably scaring away anyone who actually did want to come in and talk to them.

Jessica scowled, "There must be something we can do about them."

"They're sticking to the public sidewalk." Maria sighed. "I don't think they're breaking any laws, just by standing around out there with their signs." She was about to say something further when she was interrupted by her phone.

"Excuse me," Maria said to Jess and Kara, as she stepped into her office to take the call.

Jess just nodded, and grabbed another tiny sandwich from one of the trays. She slumped back into her seat next to Kara again and sighed. "I wish we could do something to scatter those bigots... What's the point of having magic if we can't mess with assholes now and then?"

Kara put their arm around her shoulders. "We both know Sam wouldn't be happy with that... Though maybe if they're still out there when Sam and Nikki show up, the Goddess will have something to say about it."

Jess grinned, "Let's call and ask them to come over early."

"Would you call Sam and Nikki please, ask if they'd like to come by early?" Maria asked as she emerged from her office, looking frustrated. "I have to head over to the high-school... Somehow all four girls have gotten in trouble, and I have to go speak with their principal."

Jess's grin widened to a smile, "Sure Maria. Good luck with the school stuff."

=:= Maria =:=

Maria's shoes clicked with each step as she walked through the school hallway, on her way to the principal's office. The halls were nearly empty, only a few students standing around here and there. It looked like most of them cleared out quickly after their classes ended.

As she approached the office, she spotted Sadie's girlfriend Ashley loitering in the hallway across from the office door.

"Hi Ms. Watson." Ashley gave her a slightly bashful smile. At about five-foot-six, Ashley was an inch taller than Maria. The teen had long black hair, bright green eyes, fair skin, and a pretty face. She was a couple months older than Sadie and Amanda.

Maria slowed her pace a little, "Hello Ashley." She raised an eyebrow as she asked, "You aren't in trouble too, are you?"

"Nah." The teen smiled a little. "I'm just waiting for Sadie."

Maria's expression shifted back to a slight frown. "Depending on what the principal has to say, Sadie might wind up grounded. So don't get your hopes too high up."

The smile vanished from Ashley's expression. "Yes ma'am. I hope you'll hear their side of things too, before you make any decisions."

"Of course I will." Maria nodded slightly, then opened the office door and stepped inside.

To her right, sitting on a bench were all four of her girls. Beth was nearest the door, then Jenny, then Amanda, and finally Sadie. The four of them were staring down at the floor, putting on a good show of looking sorry for whatever they'd done.

Beth and Jenny looked like sisters rather than cousins. They shared fair skin, light blue eyes, and light blonde hair. Jenny's was longer, reaching halfway down her back now. Beth's was just about shoulder-length. Beth was also a couple inches shorter, at about five-foot-two. Jenny was tall for her age, at about five-foot-four she was the same height as her older sisters. The two younger girls were both in grade nine and were both thirteen, though Jenny was about six months older than her cousin. Beth's birthday had been less than a month ago.

Twins Amanda and Sadie were seventeen, and in grade twelve now. They were nearly-identical, the only physical differences were their hair and eyes. Amanda had hazel eyes and her shoulder-length blonde hair was a little darker than that of Jenny and Beth. Sadie wore her hair longer, partway down her back. Her hair and eyes were both brown, the same shade as Maria's brother's had been. The twins' complexion was a little darker than that of their younger sister as well, both looking slightly tanned.

Beth was wearing some plain jeans and a t-shirt. Jenny was in leggings and an oversized tunic-top. Amanda wore her favourite skinny-jeans and a tight shirt, and Sadie was wearing a skirt and blouse like usual.

Maria sighed slightly at the girls then approached the secretary's desk. "Hi. I'm Maria Watson. Here to collect these four." She gestured back towards the bench behind her.

The secretary, Miss Simmons, nodded. "Hello Ms. Watson, thanks for coming in. Mr. Deacon would like to speak with you first, if you'll wait a moment?"

Maria nodded, and turned to look back at the girls. Jenny, Amanda, and Sadie were still staring at the floor. Maria could see Sadie was fighting to suppress a smile, and Amanda wasn't looking that worried either. Jenny's expression of regret and nervousness looked a little more genuine than the ones on her older sisters' faces.

Unlike the other three, Beth was looking up at Maria now. From the look on her face, Maria could see the girl was upset, nervous, and possibly on the verge of tears.

Maria moved back from the secretary's desk and crouched down, putting an arm around the youngest girl.

"It's ok Beth," Maria whispered. "Whatever's happened, things are ok now and you're safe. All right? I'm just going to speak with the principal, then the four of us will be going home."

She felt Beth nodding slightly, and the girl replied softly "Ok aunt Maria..."

Maria was still holding the girl when she heard a man clearing his throat behind her. "Ms. Watson? Would you join me in my office please?"

Maria slowly let go of Beth then straightened up. She gave the anxious girl a little smile, then turned and followed Mr. Deacon into his office.

The principal was a heavyset man in his mid-fifties. His short hair was turning grey on the sides and back, and had gotten quite thin across the top. He had a small moustache and beard that was darker than the hair on his head, but with flecks of grey appearing throughout.

He was wearing a dress shirt and a tie, and Maria could see faint sweat stains under the arms and around the collar. He settled behind his desk into a creaky chair, and Maria sat on one of the uncomfortable wood chairs infront.

"Sorry for dragging you in here like this Ms. Watson, but your er, nieces got themselves into some trouble this afternoon." The expression on his face told Maria it was something serious, and she sighed a little.

"All four of them? What have they done?" she asked, keeping her tone level.

He replied, "Jenny attacked another student after class this afternoon. He needed medical attention... he might have a broken nose."

Maria had a hard time keeping the surprise off her face. "Excuse me, Jenny did that? I find it hard to believe she'd attack someone. Certainly not unprovoked. What about the other three girls?"

The man wasn't really looking at her as he talked, and that made Maria a little suspicious of him. As his eyes wandered around his desk, she quietly cast the truth spell while she listened to him.

The principal replied, "To be fair, Beth wasn't involved in the fighting, though she may have been part of some verbal instigation before-hand. After Jenny attacked the boy, two teachers got involved, and that's when Sadie and Amanda stepped in and tried to interfere with the teachers."

His unspoken words came across as well, thanks to the spell. The girls had tried to tell him their side of things, and there were other details he'd been told by the teachers, which he was discounting or ignoring.

The boy and his friends had originally singled Beth out as the new girl. He was picking on her, making fun of her and calling her stupid because of her memory problems. Jenny stood up for her cousin and tried to get the guy to back off. Then the boy started making some transmisic comments towards Jenny, and calling her slurs.

Then he started using the slurs toward Beth as well, implying the younger girl was also trans. That's when Jenny decked him. The boy's friends tried to go after Jenny, and Amanda and Sadie stepped in to try and calm everyone down. Then the teachers showed up after the fact.

Maria sighed. She knew she couldn't call the principal out on what the spell had revealed, but at least she knew Sadie and Amanda hadn't done anything wrong, and Beth and Jenny were both victims in the whole thing. Of course Jenny shouldn't have hit the boy, but Maria felt in this case it was a forgivable offence.

In the end she just asked, "So what do you want to do?"

Mr. Deacon replied, "The school has a zero-tolerance policy for violence. All four girls will be put on suspension until next week."

Maria frowned. Her tone was sharp as she asked "What's the policy on bullying, and hate-speech? If I find out this boy or his friends were picking on some vulnerable girls who've recently lost their mother, or spouting intolerance at a young trans girl, I'll expect to hear that they are facing equally strict discipline."

The principal's face took on a slightly red hue as he replied, "Yes, we have very strict policies against bullying and intolerance. If faculty hear anyone behaving like that, they will be dealt with accordingly."

Maria nodded slightly "So the teachers you mentioned were near enough to witness Jenny hitting a boy, but not near enough to hear him provoking her or Beth?"

The man was clearly on the defensive now as he cleared his throat again, "Yes well they noticed the disturbance and arrived in time to see Jenny strike him."

Maria fixed a slightly disapproving stare on the principal. "Mr. Deacon, I hope you understand that I will be looking into this myself. If I find any indication that my girls are being treated unfairly by the school, or the faculty is turning a blind eye to bullying or intolerance, you and the school board will both be hearing about it."

Then in a friendlier tone she continued, "So Jenny is suspended for fighting, and by your own words, Beth wasn't involved. On what grounds do you intend to suspend Sadie and Amanda?"

He cleared his throat again, "Ah, they both contributed to the disturbance, and interfered with the teachers who were trying to get the situation under control."

Maria could tell the principal knew he'd lost control of the meeting now, he was definitely on the defensive. "So... Their crime was what exactly? Coming to their sisters' aid? Disobeying a teacher?"

The principal seemed to decide he'd had enough of the conversation, and his features hardened into a frown. "Ms. Watson the decision has already been made. All four of them are on suspension until next week. Now please, it's been a long day and I have other work to deal with before the day's over."

She stayed where she was for a few more moments, a frown on her face as she looked him in the eyes. Finally she said, "I understand. I'm sure we'll be meeting again soon Mr. Deacon. Until then, good day."

With that, Maria stood and exited. She nodded to the four teens where they were still seated on the bench, "Let's go home girls."

Ashley was still waiting out in the hall, and with all five of them in tow, Maria headed back through the halls toward the parking lot.

Without looking back at them, Maria said "Jenny, you shouldn't have hit that boy."

"I know aunt Maria. I'm sorry." Jenny replied, sounding remorseful. "Am I in trouble?"

Maria stated "We'll talk about it at home, Jenny."

"How'd you learn to hit like that anyways?" Ashley asked, sounding impressed.

"My dad taught me how to throw a punch when I was ten!" Jenny answered proudly.

There was a quiet giggle from one of the girls, that sounded suspiciously like Sadie. Maria just sighed as she led them out into the school parking lot.

PurpleCatGirl

If you're enjoying our work and you'd like to support us, please consider joining our patreon & get early access to new chapters!
https://www.patreon.com/purplecatgirl