The Raven's Apprentice - Chapter 19

"We thought we were so cool," Cassie sighed.

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Duplantier House, Willow Creek, 2000

"I can't believe you did that," I laughed.

"What, it was on my card," Carmilla said. "Besides, someone had to get it."

"Dressed like that?" I said. "I can almost see your nips."

"Yeah, and it's cold out there," Carmilla grinned. "I'm sure the pizza guy got the full high beams."

"... and you told him he was delivering to a 'lesbian slumber party?'" I said.

"What, it's my slumber party," Carmilla smiled, "and I'm a lesbian, so..."

"I'm confused," Gwen put in. "Why is it OK for Carmilla to show the pizza guy her nipples but I can't play naked in the rain?"

"Because it's not OK for her to... do that," I insisted, trying to ignore the image my imagination was painting.

"Oh, we won't stop you," Carmilla said, clearly not ignoring whatever images her imagination was conjuring up. "In fact, I might join you."

"Oh, Bella would love that," I rolled my eyes. "No boys, no booze, no pot, no mischief. I guarantee running around naked in the rain counts as mischief." 

"Plus, you said it was cold out," Molly added.

"All these rules.. I guess it's a good thing I couldn't talk Gramma D into picking up some extra beers," Carmilla mused.

"Probably," I agreed, honestly thinking I could go for a beer right at that moment and Bella's rules be damned.

"And I have no idea where we could get any pot," Carmilla said. "Which is kind of lame if you think about it."

"Well, I don't either, so we're both lame," I chuckled.

"I don't even know what you're talking about," Gwen admitted.

Molly didn't say anything.

Carmilla pounced. "Molly... are you holding out on me?"

"No," Molly insisted. "I mean... not really. It's just... I mean, you know some kids at school can get pot. Mom can't prove it but she's pretty she knows at least one dealer."

"Names," Carmilla insisted.

"George," Molly said. 

"Oh God," I groaned. "Creepy guy," I added for Gwen's benefit.

"Yeah, he's definitely into you," Carmilla said. "Hey, maybe he'd give some free pot if you..."

"I am not making out with George for free drugs," I insisted.

"So, where are we? No booze, no pot, no playing naked in the rain," Carmilla said. "I guess that just leaves boys... and count me out on that 'cause lesbian here."

"Yeah... not interested in any of the boys at school," I said, trying play it cool.

"Same," Molly agreed, also playing it cool.

This time it was Gwen's silence that drew all eyes.

"Oh," Gwen said. "No, I'm not interested in boys."

"Umm... are you interested in girls?" Carmilla asked. Did she have to sound quite so... interested?

"I hadn't really thought about it until recently," Gwen admitted. "But, yes, there is a girl I think is... interesting."

"Names," Carmilla insisted.

"Oh, I couldn't say," Gwen said. "I don't know how she feels... I mean, I think I know... but I'm still working on recognizing the difference between what Will Be and what I Want To Be."

"Well," Molly said. "Who's up for some dancing?"

"Me," I said, grateful for the out. 

Much as I wanted to hear who the girl Gwen thought was... interesting, I also didn't. What if it wasn't me? What if it was!?

Dancing, at least, I could lose myself in the music and movement. I could pretend I wasn't very aware of how Gwen's hips swayed and the way the hem of her nightshirt slid against her thigh as she...

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"Mom," Miranda interrupted. "Too much information. We don't need all the details of you looking at Gwen's butt."

"Hush, details are good," Mariah insisted.

"Anyway," Cassie continued.

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There was a loud crash upstairs, almost directly above us, and what I could have sworn was a man's deep laugh.

Molly and I both jumped, startled, but Gwen... Gwen's look was pure, unfiltered fear.

"What was that!?" she demanded. Her voice was panicked in a way I had never, in my life, heard before.

"It's OK," Carmilla said. "Really, it's OK. I mean, it might be Guidry but he's harmless. Really."

"Who's Guidry?" Gwen demanded, suspicion and anger adding a hard edge to her panic.

"Just one of Gramma D's stories," Carmilla said, surprised. "Come on, sit down and I'll tell you."

"It's OK," I said soothingly as we sat down. "You're safe." 

It was a little like calming Alexander down after he panicked over the Monster Under the Bed, but the fear in Gwen's eyes was deeper and more... real. I was forcibly reminded of why Gwen was in Willow Creek at all... her mother and grandmother, killed by intruders. Of course she was afraid. 

"So, who's Guidry," I asked, turning to Carmilla.

"Claude René Duplantier Guidry," Carmilla said. "He was Gramma D's... I think he was her great uncle. Anyway, he's a relative and he lived around the turn of the century. That's his portrait, over by the TV. 

"According to Gramma D, Guidry was a famous spiritualist and medium... and he was a bit of a Casanova. The story goes, he was engaged to this wealthy woman named Temperance... but Guidry was also, secretly, in love with a maid in her household, Brunhilda, who also was secretly Temperance's half-sister."

"I think I saw this on a soap opera," Molly put in.

"So, Guidry left Temperance for Brunhilda," Carmilla continued as if uninterrupted. "Temperance was so furious, she actually had a heart attack and died. Guidry was away, on a spiritual investigation... but he was found dead the next morning. Gramma D says that Temperance was so angry at being jilted that her spirit reached out and killed him!

"Poor Brunhilda insisted that her lover would come back for her. So, she just sat and waited for him... until she withered away."

"She died?" Molly gasped.

"That's what most people say," Carmilla. "But Gramma D told me Brunhilda didn't die... she withered away to a living skeleton, still waiting for her lover. For his part, Guidry is trying to reunite with her. So, on certain nights, his ghost comes back to his family house... this house... looking for her."

"So, those sounds were Guidry's ghost?" Gwen asked. 

"Is that supposed to make her feel better?!" I demanded.

"No, it does," Gwen said. "Ghosts are OK."

"So, there's a lovelorn ghost banging around upstairs?" Molly asked.

"That's what Gramma D says," Carmilla nodded. "Hey, we could find out for sure!"

"How?" Molly said, suspiciously.

"Cas!" Carmilla said.

"What?" I asked, but I smiled a little because I was pretty sure where she was going with this and I was into it. I wanted to show off. All things considered, it probably would have been better if I'd just worn the little panties instead.

"You're a medium," Carmilla said. "You know how to perform to be a seance. We could call up Guidry's spirit and talk to him."

"That's..." Molly started, clearly a little nervous.

"... perfect!" I said. "Let's do it!"

"Come on. I know just the place..." Carmilla said, leading us all upstairs to call up a ghost.

The Raven's Apprentice - Chapter 18

"Heading over to Carmilla's, I wasn't worried about monsters... except maybe Elly," Cassie chuckled. "Which just shows how little I knew."

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Duplantier House, Willow Creek, 2000

"I checked on the Monster under Alexander's bed," I told Bella, "but I know he'll feel better if you could look in on him at bedtime."

"Which one of us is the mom here?" Bella chuckled. "I'll check on him. Now, you..."

"I know, I know," I smiled back, "No boys, no booze, no pot, no mischief... Jeez, what kind of slumber parties did you go to, Bella?"

"Just be safe," she said. 

For as protective as Bella was, you'd think I was going to Oasis Springs. Carmilla's family were our neighbors.  Duplantier House was practically across the street. 

At least, I managed to convince her not to walk me all the way to Carmilla's door. She didn't even hover, watching me go... much. I had the brief thought that, if she could, Bella would probably have someone following me, to keep an eye on me.

Of course, as soon as I saw Gwen, I quickly forgot about such thoughts. 

"You're here," Gwen smiled at me. "I was... Molly said you still weren't sure Bella would let you come."

"I managed to convince her," I smiled back. 

"Told you," Molly said. "This is going to be great... like old times."

"Your friends are all here, then. Hello Cassandra," Mrs. Duplantier, Carmilla's grandmother, said indulgently. "I'm going up to my room. Give you girls your space. Have fun."

"Goodnight, Gramma," Carmilla said.

"What did I tell you," Carmilla said once her grandmother had gone upstairs. "We have the place as good as all to ourselves. Let's get this party started."

"So, Gwen, how was the City?" Molly asked. "Was it amazing? Is the Gallery incredible?"

"The City was... loud," Gwen said, wrinkling her nose (in a way I found incredibly cute). "Loud and smelly and crowded and... just very unpleasant. The Gallery, on the other hand, was incredible. The paintings and murals and... oh, the music. I think I could tolerate the City for the sake of the Gallery."

"Cool," Carmilla said, with a hint of impatience, "but what about you, Cas? You haven't said anything about the raven's message and it's been days. Did you find the book? What was it?"

"I... I did," I stammered. 

I'd been so eager to tell Gwen about my mother's book and the magic but suddenly, under Carmilla's hungry gaze, I didn't want to say too much. It felt like a secret, and I wasn't ready to share.

"Well?" she insisted.

"Yeah, I mean there's a book," I said. "A book my mother left for me. It's got all kinds of thoughts and things she wanted me to know. It's... pretty incredible." 

"That's amazing," Carmilla said. "Gwen has an incredible gift... being able to share a message from the Netherworld like that."

"Oh, well, I just listened to Roac... the raven," Gwen said, clearly surprised.

"You're amazing," Carmilla repeated in a way that made me a little uncomfortable. 

Why was she looking at Gwen like that?

"So, is this a slumber party or what?" Molly put in, breaking the momentary tension.

"Right," Carmilla smiled. "Let's get changed."

"Changed?" Gwen asked.

"Into sleepwear," I explained. "It's kind of a slumber party tradition... we hang around in our pajamas."

"I've got the bathroom first," Molly said brightly.

Gwen looked at me, puzzled.

 "Over there," I nodded toward the downstairs bathroom door. "To change clothes in," I added, forcefully pushing away the sudden image of Gwen changing into her sleepwear right next to me.

Molly quickly dashed off and came back in her comfortable looking pajamas. I feel like I could always count on Molly to be comfortable, practical and, at the same time, a little more grown-up than she seemed at first glance. With the simmering tension I felt when I was near Gwen, seeing Molly relaxed me a little.

Of course, Carmilla managed to banish that relaxed moment and rachet up my tension. If Molly was being comfortable with herself, Carmilla was showing off.

I mean, seriously... who actually wears a gauzy black teddy at a sleepover? I swear I could almost see through it, and I was pretty sure she wasn't wearing anything under it. I could almost see... I mean, not that I was looking that closely or anything. 

I suddenly kind of regretted that I'd left my little panties at home in favor of the shorts. Still, I guess the shorts looked nice. I mean, I definitely had the legs for them. 

The smile Gwen gave me made me feel good about them anyway. It did nothing for the butterflies in my stomach, but in a good way. 

I'm not really sure what I expected Gwen to come out wearing. It occurred to me that just about anything was possible. From the odd comments she let slip sometimes, she was clearly... um... comfortable in her own skin (and nothing more). I had the sudden panicked thought - did she wear anything at all to bed? 

I was a little relieved when she come out of the bathroom in a simple nightshirt. It was plain, comfortable looking and... absolutely breathtaking.

"OK, now it's a slumber party," Molly said brightly as Gwen sat back down next to me. "Oh, careful there Gwen... I almost got a peek at your undies."

"Hmm," Gwen looked puzzled. "Oh, no... you didn't."

"Oh yes, I did," Molly smiled. 

Carmilla was visibly holding herself back from trying to get a peek.

"No, you couldn't," Gwen explained with serene confidence. "I only wear panties when my courses come, and that isn't for a while."

"Wait," I blinked. "You're not wearing... You never wear panties?"

"No, why?" Gwen said.

"Don't let the boys at school know," Molly laughed. "There'll be an epidemic of dropped pencils around you."

Gwen just looked slightly puzzled.

"Well," Carmilla said, "on that very interesting note... what do people want on their pizza?"

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Author's Note: There will be a bonus chapter this week, posted Friday 5/24.