6. Silver Platters
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She tapped on her son’s bedroom door. The groaning and shuffling of blankets from within told her that she’d woken him up. Probably from a pleasant dream, she thought

“Are you awake, buddy?” She asked. His noncommittal grunt did little to clarify. “I’m coming in.” 

He was lying face down, wrapped in a dragon’s nest of blankets. She rested on the edge of the bed, with the same soft touch that she’d done so many times before. Morning light streamed through the window, landing on the covered mirror in the corner. She kept suggesting he move it, but he never did. 

“Hey, wake up. It’s past nine, and you don’t want to waste the whole day sleeping, right?” She put a smiling lilt into her voice, but despite her best efforts, sadness still crept in. “Your dad and I are leaving, and we wanted to say goodbye.”

“Was sleeping.” The words were muffled from under his pillow. 

“Are you sure you don’t want to get up and send your dear-old-parents off?”

“Mmf.” 

She blinked away tears, and stared out the window to compose herself. Her voice nearly caught in her throat. “Is there anything you want to tell us before we leave?” She’d asked this question hundreds of times, but his response was always the same. 

“No.” It was a lie. The one he’d used for almost a decade. “I’ll see you when you get back.” 

Her breath hitched painfully. She couldn’t force him to do anything he didn’t want to do, but she truly wished she could. If only he would wake up so they could say goodbye. She stood up, careful not to disrupt his position. 

The woman kissed the top of his head. “Go back to sleep then. Dream well.” She turned to look at her kid one last time before reaching the door. He was so peaceful there, wrapped in his layers of blankets. She’d seen him like this dozens of times, but it tugged at her heartstrings no matter what. She wished he had let her and her husband see who he really was. Just once. 

“I love you. I want you to be happy, buddy. Just know that.” The door closed behind her with a gentle click. She would not open it again. The floodgates broke and tears streamed out, as she forced herself forward. 

Her husband was waiting in the kitchen. He wrapped her in his arms to let her cry into his shoulder. “I hope he misses us.” He patted her head as a new wave of sobs erupted. “He’ll be ok, Melissa.” He gently guided her into the garage; their car was waiting. The garage door wound open, revealing the morning sun. 

“He never said goodbye,” she cried. He gave her another quick hug, and nodded. His own tears pricked the edges of his eyes. He refocused on the road before him and started the car. It was an old junker, and he was almost surprised it still worked. He pulled it forward, but stopped before turning onto the street. 

“I love you.” 

“I love you, too.”

They drove forward in silence. In Oliver’s bedroom, he turned over and went back to sleep.

~

I woke up the next morning from the cruelest dream I’ve ever had. I was in my mother’s shoes. She’d tried to wake me up, but I was too stupid to listen to her. Too lazy to even say goodbye. Emotion overcame me and my body started to shake, a trembling that started in my chest and spread through every cell. It all felt too real. A faint memory of her waking me up the morning they left played at the edges of my thoughts, then nothing. Was it possible to see the past in your dreams? I never even got to say goodbye. I didn’t know where they were, my parents. Were they even still alive? Questions flew through my head faster than I could process them, but by the end, I promised myself that I would get them back. Even if that meant burning everything down.

I rubbed my face until it felt raw and then rubbed it some more, just for good measure. That had always been a coping method for me. What was my life even coming to? My very existence had been upended in less than twenty-four hours, but it felt like weeks. Months even. I didn’t want to believe any of this was happening.

I slumped off my bed and sat with my back against it. Minutes stretched to hours, as my mind tried and failed to understand what was happening; what had happened. Who was I? I’m just some random schmo. Why were so many people interested in me? Church had said that I wasn’t worth anything, but it felt like everyone else disagreed with that. Then again, she’s an objectively terrible person, so it couldn't hurt to reject her words out of hand. Even so, I could feel them wriggling under my skin. 

Once again, I wished my parents were here. Being alone was the last thing I wanted, as I alternated between just shaking and crying again. I had been falling into my routine of emotional suppression, something I’d perfected over the years, but the computer and the note just fundamentally broke me. Were they from my birth mom? The apartment? I didn’t know what was real anymore. 

“Is there anything I can help you with, miss?” A wispy voice said. Fade. Fuck, that was another thing. What was she? Who was she? My entire life was nothing but questions. I’d only graduated high school last month. If this is what adult life was like, I was going to go insane within a week. 

“No. Fuck off. Leave me alone.”

“Understood, miss.” She disappeared in a blink, and I winced at my reaction. I didn’t want her to leave. I desperately wanted to have someone to talk to, but I’d conditioned myself to need isolation when I was like this. I screamed at the ceiling in an ineffectual attempt to solve all of my problems with sheer emotion. Focus Jules. 

I slapped myself a few times to kickstart my brain. Step one, my parents. The message spell didn't work and I didn’t have a phone. In a moment I had composed another message spell and sent it off. I doubted it was going to work, but maybe I’d messed up the spell that first time. God, wouldn’t that be a cruel joke. My parents could have been fine and my own incompetence ruined my life. I stared out the bedroom door, suddenly remembering that I now have a computer. That someone sent me. If my birth mom sent it, what does that mean? Did she set up this whole trust thing and the apartment too? It seemed fishy to me. I didn’t trust it. I tried to smile at my own joke. 

Willing my body to its feet, I returned to the kitchen where I’d deposited the computer. The letter had dropped on the floor when I had fled the room. I wiped my eyes and steeled myself. The note wasn’t wrong, I needed to feel normal right now. As much as I wanted to, turning into a sopping mess was not going to solve my problems or answer my questions. I had to get to work. 

My messenger crow flapped back into my apartment through the kitchen window. I gave it a devilish glare when it cocked its head at me. The worryingly-familiar emotions of anxiety began to crawl through me, but I stamped them down so I could return to unpacking the computer. 

“Uh, Fade.” 

“Yes, miss.” She popped into view next to me. Fade was dressed in a simple smock, and maintained a neutral expression at all times. It was mildly disconcerting, if I was being honest. 

“First, I’m sorry for yelling at you. Things right now are just…” I made a wavy gesture at my head. “You know? And I shouldn’t have been a bitch to you.”

“Understood, miss.” 

“But you’re a house spirit, right? That’s what you said. What exactly does that mean?” 

She blinked twice and seemed to search my eyes for something. Her lips turned up slightly, into a hospitality smile. The kind that’s not authentic but was a projected happiness meant to put the other person at ease. She didn’t smile with her eyes. 

“I am responsible for all of the household duties of your home. I am able to clean, bring ingredients and food, launder your clothes, and any other small task you need of me.”

Okay, so kind of like a servant. Only problem is, I’m really not a huge fan of being waited on hand and foot. Shit, what if she was a slave? “Wait, are you alive?”

“No.” 

“Er, not alive. Like, sentient? Sapient? That whole higher thought thing.”

“I am as sentient as necessary to do my work.” 

That answer felt odd to me. Truthfully, a lot of things about her entire visage felt odd or rubbed me the wrong way. But her response felt like a dodge. “Do you have to work here? Like are you a slave?” I’d prefer if she wasn’t here at all. The fact that she could be watching while I was asleep was deeply unsettling to me. 

She gave a single nod. “I am tied to this home.”

I rubbed my face again, instantly regretting it because my skin was already dry from earlier. “Ffff, ok. Do you have to do everything I say?” She nodded, and I sighed. “Okay, I want to lay some ground rules. I’d really prefer if you didn’t watch me when I’m sleeping… And I don’t want you spying on me or anything either.”

“Understood, miss. Is there anything else you need from me?” 

“Uhhhh.” I realized I was surrounded by a rather large pile of boxes and wrappers. “Can you take out all this trash? That'd be helpful. And then take the rest of the day off? I dunno how this works.” I didn’t entirely trust having a pair of eyes looking over my shoulder all day, but I didn’t have the brainpower to deal with it at the moment. Giving her the day off would push that problem to tomorrow. 

Fade looked confused for a moment, before nodding again. “Of course, miss.” She faded slowly, and the trash with her. Huh, neat. 

I returned my attention to the computer, and quickly began putting it together, letting myself get lost in the game of matching cords to ports. There was a small office just outside the kitchen, and I relocated it there. I had a momentary burst of panic when I couldn’t find the power cord before I remembered the letter. 

The computer had come pre-installed with Windows, which was nice. However, when the login window appeared, it showed my name. My actual name, not the old one. “Welcome, Jules Coyler.” If my birth mom sent this, someone had to have told her what my name was, because I’d only been using it for a day. Then again, magic is real. So all bets are off. 

Once Windows had informed me that ‘all of my files were in place’, I was surprised to see that they were. Everything from my laptop had been imported here. Out of habit, I opened my usual programs: Discord, Steam, and a few others. Against my better judgement, I sought out my parents' Facebook pages, once the browser loaded. Mom usually posted sappy memes, and dad just commented on them with dumb captions. The site threw up an error when I looked for them, and that cold dread found its way into my gut again. Every variation of their name and method I knew of to find their accounts all threw up the same error. ‘These accounts do not exist.’ How much could magic affect? 

I was so distracted that I almost didn’t see the private message notification from Discord. 

Stitch Witch: @BejeweledFool Your online? Whereve you been dude?

The ‘dude’ sent a shiver down my spine, and sunk my mood further. I knew Stitch Witch called everyone ‘dude’, but it still hurt. Moreso now. She was one of the people I’d met on GVTeal’s server. And despite Teal calling everyone ‘her daughters,’ I'd always felt like the guy of the group, and I had hated that. I guess I knew why now. Looking at Stitch’s username again, my breath caught in realization. It carried new meaning, when I read it. Was she an actual witch? How much did she know? I flicked Discord open on my second monitor, momentarily reveling in the novelty of two screens. I was tempted to just come out and tell her everything, but the nagging doubt that she wasn’t an actual witch ate at my mind. 

BejeweledFool: Just life, you know? Check Teal’s server. Have an announcement to make, I guess. 

I swapped over to her server. It was pretty small, just the few of us who consistently played with her: the twenty-odd players in our guild and the few strays that had clicked well with our group Only a few people were active at the time, and I wasn’t sure if that was a good thing or a bad thing, yet. 

BejeweledFool: Hey, everyone. Sorry I’ve been away for a few days. But I just wanted to let everyone know that I’m a girl, I guess, so I would appreciate if you called me Jules. 

I was instantly beset by everyone typing at the same time. It daunted me. Stitch Witch was the first to cross the unspoken finish line. 

Stitch Witch: OMG! I’m sor sorry! ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh

Gabs, Wine Aunt: Neat

BadBoiBlue: I figured as much. Congrats. 

Glitterball: WE NEED TO GO CLOTHS SHOPPIG

Glitterball: SHOPPING*

Their enthusiasm, while it didn’t surprise me, was refreshing after the past day. Stitch Witch began spamming me with crying emoji and apologizing for calling me ‘Dude.’ I actually smiled, despite myself.  

BejeweledFool: @Glitterball, You live in Germany. 

Glitterball: I don’t see how that matters. 

BejewledFool: Honestly, even if I had the money (I have like twelve dollars right now), I don’t think I could. I’m supposed to start some kind of orientation thingy at this school I’m touring. Idk if I’m gonna do it, but I can’t imagine they’d be happy with me leaving.

Gabs, Wine Aunt: School? Like Uni? You hadn’t mentioned applying anywhere. Where at? 

BejeweledFool: It was kind of an unexpected thing, I was… invited (I guess), to a research project. 

Gabs, Wine Aunt: Yeah, but what school? 

BejeweledFool: Idk if I’m supposed to say. I’m not sure if I should accept. 

Glitterball: Do ittttt!

Stitch Witch: Yeah! itll be fun. Serious though where are you at? Indiana is dumb and far away. 

BejeweledFool: Haha, yeah. I’m not actually sure, because the invitation was so out of the blue, and I traveled here with someone else. Farther west though. 

BejeweledFool: Are we doing a raid next weekend at all? 

Gabs, Wine Aunt: Don’t deflect, we want to know where you are. Being cagey just makes me think you were kidnapped. 

I snorted at Gab’s comment. It wasn’t too far from the truth. Everyone’s levity felt so calming and normal, and for once, there was a spark of hope. Maybe things could turn out alright. I don’t know how, but hope can be as irrational as anxiety after all. I tossed around the idea of just sayin where I was. Considering my parents, I sighed at the thought, didn’t know where I was, it would probably be a good idea for someone to know, in case the worst happened. I quickly searched the name of the university online, and was surprised to find an actual website; however everything was whitewashed and scrubbed of anything magical. At a glance, it wouldn't reveal that magic existed or anything beyond humanity. 

BejeweledFool: Fiiine. You all beat it out of me. I’m at a little private college called Fifth Stone of the Meadows. I’d never heard of it before so I can’t say more about it. If I die here, tell the police that a lady named ‘Church’ killed me. 

BadBoiBlue: Fifth Stone? Oh my. 

Stitch Witch: WAT @GVTeal AHHHHHH

Glitterball: @GVTeal We need you!!!!!

Gabs, Wine Aunt: @GVTeal

GVTeal’s icon on the userlist flicked to green, as her name began typing. An ominous dread began filling my body. My mind raced through the billion reasons why everyone had to ping her. 

GVTeal: Are you all moved in then? I was surprised to hear you were at Fifth Stone already. 

I felt like the floor was let out from under me. Was everybody on the server a witch? I felt betrayed in an odd way. Why couldn’t they tell me? I mean, the answer was obvious, but it felt like all the time we spent playing together was hollow. I wasn’t just the ‘guy’ of the group to them, I was the token human. And that hurt. 

A private message from GVTeal popped up, and I forced myself to open it. 

GVTeal: Are you at your apartment right now? I’ve been dying to meet you properly, and I have another housewarming gift for you. 

BejeweledFool: I’d rather not. 

GVTeal: Are you sure, Jules? I know how hard it can be to break into our world. Goddess knows that when I did, I was a complete mess for weeks.

BejeweledFool: ???

GVTeal: I was a wildling too, once upon a time. 

GVTeal: Accidently stumbled into a fae ritual in South Side Chicago. Thankfully, another witch saw me go in and managed to rescue me before too much happened. I was absolutely shook to walk into an empty building and find myself surrounded by fifty people with green skin and antlers. 

GVTeal: So let’s chat, we can go for a walk around campus or get coffee. 

BejewledFool: I… I just don’t know.

GVTeal: I think it’d be good for you. Our society isn’t great at that whole ‘welcome to the world’ thing, which has been one of my bigger projects as of late. 

I weighed all the options in my head before offering a response. As much as I enjoyed wallowing in my anxiety about my parents, being able to talk to someone who actually knows me and has been through something similar was probably a good idea. At the same time, this apartment, even if I decided not to stay here, was beginning to be my safe space, and the thought of leaving made me blanch. I sat there, staring at her messages for a few minutes. 

BejeweledFool: Just to talk? Nothing else?

GVTeal: Just to talk. Unless you’re hungry, then I know a good Woudenite who can make a deep dish that almost tastes like the authentic thing. 

BejewledFool: Ok. Where should I meet you? 

GVTeal: Outside the admin tower? I need to chat with the headmistress about something, but I’m good after that. 

I sent her a thumbs up emoji and leaned away from the computer. Was everyone in my life magical other than myself?

~

By the time I got to the tower, I was once again reminded how ill-fitting my clothes were. Even if I stayed here, I would have to fix that soon. Looking around, there didn’t seem to be anyone searching for a new wildling, so I settled on a bench and waited. 

A few minutes later, a middle-aged black woman stepped out of the building. She was dressed for business casual, with nice dress slacks and a simple grey blouse and cardigan sweater. A rather constant stream of spell messengers dogged at her feet, mostly small white mice, but a scattering of other animals were there as well. Her head swiveled wildly before homing in on me, and she dismissed the messengers once we locked eyes. As she walked over, a small quadcopter drone appeared and delivered a travel mug of coffee to the woman. She noticed me staring at it and half-chuckled.

 “His name is Devin. He’s my assistant.” She extended a hand. “I’m assuming you’re Jules?”

I timidly shook her hand, but kept my eyes on the drone as it flitted about her head. It was the first real technology I’d seen since I arrived; everything else was magical. It was odd to see, and made this world feel that much more foreign to me in retrospect. 

“You’re GVTeal? Should I call you that here? Cause it feels weird to say in public.”

“Most people call me Grace, or Miss Grace if they’re feeling bougie.” She gave a mock bow, carefully keeping her coffee upright. “For I am the one and only Miss Grace Vaughan Tealman. Limited term lecturer at Fifth Stone and Tech-wizard like no other. How’ve you been liking the computer I sent you so far?” 

“Wait, you sent that?” I facepalmed. That made sense, I guess. “Did the letter have to be so vague? Did you do the apartment too?” 

Grace shook her head and laughed. “No, that was from even before me. I may be a matron, but I don’t have the resources to just set up something like that. If I had been the one to set it up. I’d have included a few clothes.” She looked me up and down. “Girl, you must have gotten yourself whisked here real quick. No chance to get anything new to wear? Maybe you should take Glitterball up on her offer to go shopping.” 

“Wait wait wait!” I pressed my eyes with the heels of my hand to keep myself from screaming. “That’s a lot of things to just drop on me. You’re a matron? Do you know who set up the apartment thingy? Why didn’t you claim me earlier? Is everyone on the server a witch? What the fuck is going on?”

She plopped down next to me with a sigh. “That’s a lot of questions, Jules. First, yes, I’m a matron. I represent the domains of science and technology. Second, mostly everyone on the server is a witch. Although BoiBlue’s a seer, and a couple of fae-touched hop on every now and again. You’re not the first wildling I’ve found online. As for the apartment, to tell you the truth, I’ve no clue. I know a few people it might be, but I haven’t had the time to investigate. When Saewara told me that it was yours, I figured I’d do what I do with most of the wildlings I find and try to give you a slice of normalcy, hence the computer. I didn’t mean to mislead you, but it was definitely a mistake not to sign my name.”

“It was,” I grumble. “First, my actual mom disappears, then this whole magic witch thing all but says that my birth mom was a witch. Your letter threw me hard. And that was just another thing to throw on the pile of WTF that my life is becoming.” 

“Yeah, things are rarely fun when you break through. What happened to your mom, thought? I thought you said she was going to Detroit?”

I quickly recounted the past day and a half of my life, although I refrained from mentioning anything about my heartspike. Professor Church’s reaction to it had scared me, and even though I trust Grace, she had kept this world of magic to herself for all the years I’d known her. Talking about my parents tore at that open wound once again and I found  tears were pouring down my face, and I tried to wipe them away. Grace went to pat my back for comfort, but I slid away before she could. 

“Jesus...” Grace said, once my explanation was over. “That’s a lot, and I can hardly imagine what it was like to go through that.” 

“I just want them back, Grace. And then Crow left, and I just have no idea what’s happening. Is this what I get for wanting to be trans? Magic just comes around and tosses my life in a trash fire.” 

“Well, one of the first things you’re going to learn is that there technically is no limit to what magic can accomplish. If magic is what made your parents disappear, doesn’t it stand to reason that it can bring them back?” 

Chills ran down my spine. Was it that simple? “How? Can you do it? Show me!” 

She gave me a rather depressed look. “No, I can’t. I wish I could, but raw magic and spell reversals aren’t really my thing, technology is. Sorry, Jules.” My heart sank, and I knew she could see that. She rested her hand on my shoulder, but I didn’t shrug it off. “Let’s think about where you are. You’re at Fifth Stone, headed by one of the oldest witches in existence, who has spent her entire lifetime collecting every shred of magical knowledge that she can find. The uni might be the best place for you.”

Grace paused to collect her thoughts. “Look at it this way, Jules. You have resources here. There are connections that you can make. Talk to the Estellen witches, they’re the ones most in tune with magic. Use the libraries. Learn divination. There are so many things you can do here to try to learn what happened. I can’t guarantee that you’ll find any answers, but you’ll have a better chance here then elsewhere. Plus, it’s not like the human world is off limits. You can go there anytime you need. Hell, I live in Chicago most of the time.” 

“Why?” I realized the moment I said it how stupid of a question that was. She was a matron, can people even tell a matron no?

“Cause I grew up there, and it’s my community. I run a few human businesses around the city. And with those connections, if for some reason you hate it here, I could get you a decent job back in the human world. It won’t be as safe as Fifth Stone, but I’d be willing to set something up. It’s the least I can do, considering how long we’ve known each other.”

I didn’t respond as I thought about her offer. We sat there for several minutes, in a companionable silence. At some point, Devin flew off and returned with a new mug of coffee for Grace, as she had drained her first without me noticing. 

“Is he your familiar? Because Saewara has, like, a shapeshifting dog thing as one? Do all witches get familiars?”

Grace smiled. “No, Devin’s just a drone that I built to do things for me. Familiars are a very rare kind of magical creature. Other than Lady Saewara, I only know of two witches who have them, and both of them are matrons.”

We returned to our silence for a few minutes more. It was a pleasantly peaceful morning, almost identical to yesterday.. Looking around the campus, it still felt as magical now as it did the first time I walked through it. But now, I realized how manicured everything was. None of the flowers had any blemishes, the streams crossing through campus were as clear as glass, and not even a single dead leaf could be seen under any of the trees or bushes. 

“Grace, why didn’t you claim me?”

“I couldn’t."

“W-what? I don’t understand.”

“Jules, on at least three separate occasions, a matron tried to claim you. Whisper said she tried at one point, but I’m not sure when. Fox tried in December. And myself. Do you remember that meetup we were planning in July last year?”

“Yeah, I’m still sad I couldn’t go.” I didn’t say that my parents had forbidden me from going because they didn’t want me driving that far away. At least, that’s what they told me. 

“I was going to claim you then, had everything planned out, but even my preliminary rituals failed. There was a super strong enchantment protecting you.” My hand unconsciously moved to my chest. I could still faintly feel a raw energy pouring from my heartspike. My pulse quickened with the sensation. “It was the strangest bit of magic that I’ve ever—” 

Grace froze in that moment and began looking around with a confused and concerned expression.” 

From the distance, “Miss Grace!” A somewhat-husky voice shouted. “Miss Graaaaaaaaace!” 

In an instant, Grace had dodged to her feet, narrowing her eyes in the direction of the shouts. A thin blue glow popped over Grace the moment before a denim-covered missile crashed into her at the speed of mach 5. The matron tanked the collision like it was nothing.

As my eyes deciphered what had just happened, I saw that the rocket propelled jeans were, in fact, a girl. A girl who was hugging Grace with  rabid ferocity and seemed to be trying her best to break the older woman in half. Grace, in her defence, was having none of it, and patted the girl on her head. 

“Alright, Kain, that’s enough. I’m glad to see you too.” 

Kain, I guess that was her name, wagged her tail and let go of Grace. I seemed to distract her next because she shot me finger guns and mouthed a kiss. “Hey there.” I gave a very confused wave in greeting. 

It was only in that moment where it registered that Kain had a tail. And wolf ears poking up through her unkempt brown hair. She was wearing a patchwork denim jacket and dark paint-stained jeans. Her entire ensemble gave her a manic energy that was hard to ignore. 

Kain turned back to Grace. “Yo, Miss Grace. They got fuckn’ books here.” I honestly couldn’t decipher if she was using ‘fuckn’ as an expletive or a genre. 

Grace laughed. “Yes, Kain, that’s the library.”

“It’s fucking awesome!” 

Grace saw me sitting there looking mildly terrified and very awkward. “Uh, Jules. This is one of the other wildlings who’s going to be at orientation, Kain. She’s one of my witches. Kain, this is Jules. We’ve known each other for a few years.”

I shifted my eyes between Kain’s non-human parts and Grace, trying to do that thing adults do where they can communicate without speaking, but she didn’t seem to pick up on what I was asking. Kain flew onto the bench and sat cross-legged next to me. 

“Are you like me?” God, her energy was terrifying. Terrifying isn’t the right word, but that’s the only way to explain why my heart—my... spike?—was trying to pound out of my chest. 

“I don’t know.” I managed to squeak out. 

“You know you’re cute?” 

My heart fled, and I desperately wanted to join it. “Why are you doing this to me?” 

Grace, curse her soul, was watching on in bemusement. “I’ll leave you two to it. I have some things to take care of at my shrine. The LAN went down again.” However, she paused before leaving. “Actually, Kain, where’s your guide?” 

The girl shrugged. “Dunno, I smelled you and just knew that I had to come say hi. I’m sure she’ll find me. She’s always managed so far.” 

Grace gave a thumbs up, and disappeared in a flash of green symbols. Not a moment later, the voice of the second to last person that I wanted to see right now rolled over the lawn. “For Goddess’ sake, Kain. Slow down!” 

Fern crested the small hill and rested her hands on her knees, deeply out of breath and very flustered. 

“Oh, hey, Jules.” She said, panting. I groaned in response.

Title Song is Silver Platters by Les Gold

Ok, first and foremost, I want to apologize. After finishing this chapter, I realized I kinda laid too much on too quickly. I could blame that on this being my first attempt at long-form fiction, but no matter what it's still my fault for going too hard. I'll be slowing down the pace a bit for this next arc, to let Jules and the other characters breath. 

School ends for me after next week, so hopefully I'll be able to speed up my writing process and get chapters out sooner. 

As always, Chiri and Telomere have been absolutely invaluable for their advice and input as I craft this. Witching Hour would not have gotten this far if it wasn't for their help. 

And as always, thank you for reading. If you have any thoughts, comments, or criticisms, please let me know. I'll love you forever. 

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