Chapter 5

“What did you do to Franklin, Mother?” Susan asked curtly as she stepped into the study, “The poor boy has never been this miserable.”

The old woman looked up from her book and as she lifted her reading glasses onto her hair she replied quietly, “Since when are you ignoring my rules, Susan? I’m not to be disturbed when I’m reading.”

Susan placed her hands on her hips and spat, “I don’t care about your stupid rules. You’ve broken my son, and I want you to tell me what you’ve done to him.”

Franklin’s grandmother pulled down her glasses again and as she turned a page in her book she answered, “Your son is not worthy to be a wizard, so I revoked his ability to perform any kind of magic.”

“Not worthy? It’s his birthright!”

“Not if he believes it’s alright to molest people with his power,” Frankie’s grandmother responded without looking up from her book, “I’m curious who told him about so called ‘impure’ races and that they can be treated as trash.”

“But we are superior,” Frankie’s mother replied defiantly.

She stopped reading and laid the book on her lap. Her laugh was condescending. “May I remind you that you are just a mundane woman and that your body solely was used to conceive the next Aspen wizard? I can tell you that any woman of any race would have sufficed. It’s only because my son fancied you.”

“That’s a lie!” Shouted Susan hysterically, “Charles loves me!”

“Perhaps he does,” said the old woman coolly. “But at the moment I see nothing but a vessel to procreate in front of me, especially if you think you’ve earned a place in this household by marrying my son. You’ve failed in your one and only task. It’s a shame you’ve spoiled Franklin in such a bad way.”

“It’s not my fault,” she sobbed, “Charles made me do it.”

The old lady slapped her book closed with a loud snap that made Susan jump. As she stood, she looked down on Susan. “It only confirms your weakness Susan,” she retorted, “We still are humans who must follow the rules like everybody else. Being blessed with magic power doesn’t make us better, it gives us a responsibility to maintain the balance in the world. You of all people should educate those values in your son, not me.”

Without waiting for a response from the shocked woman, she walked out of the study.

Winnie waited patiently for Betty to return to the bedroom. She smiled because her BFF was such a fusspot; she’d lost count of the number of different outfits Betty had tried. The poor girl had to secretively roam through her mother’s wardrobe to find something that wasn’t too slutty or too outdated. She was lucky that her older sister had left a lingerie set in the naughty box that fit her perfectly. Betty’s mum’s bras were just too small, which meant that the number of tops and blouses that fit were limited.

“Oh, I don’t know,” said Betty dejectedly when she entered the bedroom. “I might as well go naked to your house.”

Winnie looked at the outfit the sad girl was wearing and concluded the blouse was too tight over the chest. The thin fabric showed the delicate lace of her bra that put an extra emphasis on the large size of her breasts.

“I guess a sloppy sweater might be a better idea,” Winnie suggested.

Betty pouted. “They make me look fat.”

Winnie looked at her phone and said, “Tell you what. If we go now, we’ll still have time enough to find something in my wardrobe.”

“All right,” the black-haired girl sighed as she quickly unbuttoned the blouse, “I just need to clear up the mess in my mum’s closet.”

Winnie rolled her eyes because she knew it would take ages if she didn’t give Betty a hand and said, “I’ll help.”

Nana still had her eyes closed to preserve as much energy as possible. Lately her body felt sluggish and that told her that her end was near. It was slightly disturbing that the Aspen family’s balance had skewered significantly. It had diminished the subtle energy flow that she used to top up her reserves.

Luckily her great granddaughter managed to replenish the flow. She thought it was remarkable how quickly Winnie had managed to restore the balance.

She opened her eyes as soon as she felt the slight disturbance in her close environment. Olga Aspen had crossed one of her wards she had created many years ago. The Aspen witch was on her way.

She checked the old clock on the wall and chuckled softly. Olga was a stickler in protocol and would never be too late for any appointment. It wasn’t the first time that Olga had paid her a visit but this time she had the suspicion it might end up escalating.

She knew Winnie’s power level was superior to Olga’s power, but she lacked the required experience. With a trembling hand she moved towards the capsule, double checking if it was still in the same position. She sincerely hoped she didn’t need to use it. The raw power stored in the glass vial would disrupt the balance and it would definitely shorten her life to just a few days, but she would be strong enough to disable Olga for a week.

A sturdy knock at her cottage door told Nana her rival had arrived. With a precise calculated amount of energy, she opened the door and said upbeat, “Welcome my dear Olga, it has been too long ago.”

“Nana,” the old lady replied with deference as she entered the living room, “Such an honor to see you again.”

Nana studied the Aspen witch and concluded that there was something bothering her. She indicated for the woman to sit and said, “It seems that our protégés have disturbed the balance at different levels.”

Olga nodded slowly. “They certainly have, Nana.”

“I must apologize for Winnie; she just has awakened.”

“There’s no need,” Olga reacted bitterly. “Franklin is lucky he’s still alive.”

Nana nodded slowly. “Her awakening was quite powerful.”

“Look,” Olga said softly, “Franklin has made a few mistakes, and he has been punished for that.”

Nana slowly shook her head. “You’ve upset the Balance by revoking his power.”

“I had no choice, Nana.”

“But there’s more isn’t there?”

“Has Winnie ever had any training?” asked Olga studiously avoiding the question.

Nana raised her eyebrow and responded curtly, “No, of course not. I’ve seen many mishaps Olga, it’s just not worth the risk.”

“Right.”

“Please Olga,” sighed Nana, “just tell me what’s bothering you. I mean let’s stop wasting time here.”

Frankie’s grandmother cleared her throat before she said softly, “Winnie has cursed Franklin,”

“Now, that explains a lot,” Nana muttered. “It probably has saved Franklin’s life.”

“Indeed, it did.”

“But you can’t lift it,” Nana gushed in awe, “that is remarkable!”

“It’s more an annoyance,” she huffed.

“Oh my, my, my,” responded Nana. “She must have been extremely pissed off.”

Olga chuckled as she steeped her fingers together. “There are many layers of frustration and anger confined in that curse.”

“That explains the immense power of it,” said Nana thinking aloud. “It also means Winnie is the only one to lift it.”

Winnie looked at Betty’s reflection in the mirror and realized they could’ve been twins apart from their hair and skin tone. They both were wearing satin blouses that followed the voluptuous curves of their bodies. The tight-fitting jeans made them look incredible sexy.

“What about make up?” asked Betty nervously.

“I’m not sure,” Winnie pondered. “I think red lips will be a little over the top, don’t you think?”

“So, lip gloss and eyeliner?”

“Okay, but how about mascara?”

Her BFF shook her head. “I might cry.”

Winnie pursed her lips as she nodded. “You’ve got a point.”

It didn’t take long to get themselves ready and as soon as Betty closed the lip gloss Winnie said, “Right let’s go. It’s almost time.”

Betty shuddered a little. “This is going to be very interesting, being the only one who isn’t a witch.”

“Hey,” replied Winnie soothingly as she hooked her arm into Betty’s, “Nothing is going to happen to you.”

“I hope you’re right.”

“I’m sure of it,” Winnie said calmly. “Even my mum didn’t make any fuss when she saw you, did she?”

Betty laughed nervously. “She hardly had time to react.”

“True,” confessed Winnie as she opened the back door to guide Betty into the large garden, “And now we’re going to tell Frankie’s grandmother exactly what happened yesterday.”

“Okay,” Betty replied a little unsure. “I just hope we’re not getting blamed for what happened to Frankie.”

“I hate to think what would have happened to you if I hadn’t turned that corner,” Winnie said while she kept on walking to the end of the garden, “Frankie assaulted you very badly and there’s no way he’s going to get away with it.”

Betty nodded in agreement. “I can still see his foul smile while I was about to suffocate.”

They stood in front of the cottage and Winnie grabbed Betty’s hands. “Right,” she said firmly. “We are right and strong. Nobody can stop us.”

“Hell yeah,” murmured Betty.

Winnie opened the door and pulled her BFF inside the cottage.

Nana smiled when she heard Winnie’s pep talk to Betty and said to Olga when the door opened, “Well, here they come.”

Olga’s eyes became as big as saucers when she saw the two girls confidently strut into the living room. She couldn’t believe how both girls looked completely different than she had seen in Frankie’s memory. She shuddered when Winnie’s enormous magic power almost crushed her own magic aura, and she knew instantly Franklin had been extremely lucky.