Edalyn Clawthorne let out yet another sharp sigh as she gazed out the window of the Boonchuy van. She had the window partially down, letting the wind blow against her face as the countryside passed her by.
"Are we there yet?" Eda impatiently groaned.
"Khwām dī k̆ chèn kạn, Eda. You sound like a Child." said Oum.
"Sorry, but it's been hours and I'm getting really bored watching the trees go by." The Owl lady groaned.
"Just another 15 minutes." promised Bee.
Eda let out another sharp sigh.
"Khwām dī, Eda." exclaimed Oum again. "Your son is behaving better than you, and he is only FIVE!"
Eda looked at her son in question, who was sitting between her and Anne. And indeed, Olivier had been very quiet...Mainly because he was engrossed in a handheld videogame that Marcy had lent to him which had kept him entertained throughout the entire Two Hour trip, while Anne bopped around to the music of her headphones.
And Eda had to admit... It was rather embarrassing for the actual children in the car
to be acting more "mature" than herself, who was not only an adult woman but a mother.
And that embarrassment finally quieted down the Wild Witch of the Boiling Isles.
"This trip had better be worth it..."
OWLPHIBIA
Eventually the party reached their destination. Bee parked the Minivan at a makeshift parking lot as he, his wife, their daughter and her friends all left the vehicle.
Eda was the last to come out, stretching and cricking aches in her joins. Once she was done, looked at the Fairground that was set up in an open field: To be honest, calling it a 'Fair' was underselling it, as from Eda's perspective it looked like a full blown Carnival.
It even had a huge Ferris Wheel that you would have to blind to overlook.
"DANG, now I see why this fair wasn't in town." spoke Eda. "That's a full blown Circus!"
"It is?!" spoke Marcy, who gasped. "DOES THAT MEAN WE'LL SEE ANIMALS!?"
"It was just a figure of speech, Marcy." said Oum. "This is a Fair, not a Circus."
"Aww... I wanted to ride an Elephant." spoke Marcy, sadly.
"Cheer up, Mar-Mar!" said Sasha. "Fair's also have animals; we'll probably see a Pony or a really fat pig."
Marcy smiled again. "I can work with that!"
Eda grimaced. "Hope this is just a Fair, and not an actual Carnival. I... had a bad experience at one when I was a kid."
Bee and Oum looked to Eda with soft expressions.
"You got lost in one?" asked Oum.
"You could say that... : Eda grimaced as some of the WORST memories of her childhood came back to her: And considering the usual amount of crazy in her life? That was saying something; a thought that was shared with the Boonchuy parents.
Something Eda realized; their curiosu but worried faces making it clear they wanted to respect her boundaries, but also wondering what the heck was worse than running away from all you'd known to avoid becoming sex slave on a plantation run by a cultist who was actually GOOD at avoiding public eyes.
Again, one must remember the stories the Clawthornes had told.
It wasn't just the Boomchuy parents; Olivier seemed to be put 'admire and inquire about everything his eyes saw' on hold and was looking up to his mother in concern.
'This is supposed to be a fun day,' Eda reminded herself. Before, wanting to get this over with, she decided to throw caution to the wind and do something she rarely ever did: Talk about her past:
"Okay…" She sighed. "There was a Carnival that would pass by every year for as long as I could remember. It was the one time we kids were ever allowed, heck, encouraged to leave were we lived. Turns out the guy running it was also a genuine criminal and tried to kidnap me. I got away, but... some other kids I was with weren't so lucky. Since then I feel uneasy around these places."
A silence fell over the group for a moment, but it soon ended when someone hugged Eda's ankle. Looking down, the Owl lady saw her son was the one hugging her.
"It'll be okay, Mama. I'll protect you from creepy men." Olivier promised with every fiber of his being. Well, as much as a five year old could.
Eda smiled and knelt down to ruffle up the boy's messy red hair.
"I'm sure you would, you cute lil' ankle-biter."
Oum then approached Eda with her husband. "I completely understand your worry...
Sometimes these places aren't too safe. But so long as we all stay together as a group and be mindful, I am sure we'll be alright."
"Yeah! So let's all try and have some fun and put our troubles behind us for awhile." said Bee.
Eda shrugged. "Okay... if it's for the kids."
The party of seven grouped together and made there way to the Fairgrounds.
Upon entering, Marcy and Sasha were hopping up-and-down like rabbits. The two REALLY wanted to see the fair, but with their parents busy with different things the only chance they had at seeing it was due to the kindness of Anne's parents to bring them along.
Marcy was very quick to be thankful for, while Sasha needed to be reminded a few all honesty though, it really was no problem for the Boonchuys. They knew how much Anne loved Sasha and Marcy; bringing them along was like having a Birthday on Christmas for her, especially with Ollie coming along as well.
Speaking of, the fair was a new experience for Olivier. Having never really been to anything like this before, his head kept darting around at all the sights, sounds and smells of the fair. It may not have been much to the Boonchuys, Marcy and Sasha, but for Olivier today may as well been a trip to Disneyland.
Fun fact; Disneyland was a trip the Boonchuys were also planning on doing for the boy ONE DAY; hopefully with Eda even she did HATE most of the princesses for reasons that…well, considering what they thought she'd gone through, they could understand.
Speaking of Eda, she was still on guard. Her eyes searching for any sign of fowl play and examining the faces of every Fair Employee as if trying to match them to a criminal database…which she had had access to during that one stint she helped out the LAPD way back when
"WOW, Mom! Look at this thing!... And look at THAT thing!" exclaimed Olivier, awestruck at everything. "What is that? Can we play that game? I want to go on that ride!...Wait, why are people eating pink wool on a stick?"
But dang nabbit, her baby boy made it hard to focus!
Eda was forced to smile at seeing how happy her son looked as she slowly began to lower her guard. Make no mistake, his safety was still her Number One concern, but he deserved to have a little fun in his life.
Especially now that they didn't have to worry about any Coven Guards in this realm.
"Stay close to the group, Olivier." said Eda as she pulled him back from running forward. "It's very easy to get lost here."
Olivier looked up at hos mother with a bright, warm smile. "Don't worry, Mama. I won't."
Anne then hugged Olivier. "Yeah, don't worry, Miss Clawthorne. I'll stay close to Ollie so he don't get lost."
"ME TOO!" chirped Marcy, joining in.
"Make that Three!" said Sasha, as all three girls hugged the boy.
"Mama... Help! They're squeezing me!" exclaimed Olivier, as the trio nearly smothered him.
Eda couldn't help but chuckle at this sight and quickly snuck a photo.
"MOM!" exclaimed a red faced Olivier, although whether it was from a lack of air of his being embarrassed was anyone guess.
"Sorry, Owlet. but Ten years from now, you'll be glad I preserved this moment."
(No one knew how right Eda would be proven to be one day...)
"Okay, that's enough you three. Let the boy breathe." said Bee.
Anne, Sasha and Marcy reluctantly released Olivier, who gasped for air.
"Sorry, Ollie. Didn't mean to suffocate you there." said Sasha.
"It's... fine. I'm okay." said Olivier, once he caught his breath.
"Okay, let's start off small by partaking in some games." said Oum.
Eda took one look at the rows of stands with hanging prizes and scoffed.
"You're better off saving your money. ALL of those games are rigged... and I should know." said Eda.
"Oh, we know that... But it's still fun to play." said Bee.
Eda rolled her eyes at this.
If it wasn't for the fact that his daughter was her son's friend, she would've easily denoted Bee Boonchuy as 'easy pickings', as he was just the kind of sucker she would've scammed back home in the Boiling Isles.
Now it seemed she had to keep the 'poor sap' from getting scammed by her fellow con artists.
"STEP RIGHT UP, FOLKS! KNOCK 'EM DOWN, WIN A PRIZE!" exclaimed a Male 'Barker'.
"Ooh!, this looks fun!" said Bee, running over to a stand; one with three rows of Ten milk bottles stacked up in a triangle shape.
Eda rolled her eyes, immediately knowing how this con was done just by looking. It was literally the oldest trick in the book; have the bottles glued tohether or have a hidden thread that would keep them up or down.
"How much?" asked Bee, excited.
"Five Bucks for Three Shots. One for each stack." said the Barker. "You just knock 'em down, and win a prize. Small one for one, Medium sized for Two. And if you can knock down all three, then you get THE BIG ONE."
The hanging plush dolls were indeed of various sizes, and the kids were mesmerized at them.
"I don't know what that thing is... But I want it!" said Marcy, pointing at a plush of a….creature of an undetermined species; it had the bill of a duck, triceratops horns, the body of a bear and a racoon tail with spine spikes on its back.
"No problem, I can do this!" said Bee, as he slapped a Fiver down on the counter.
"Here it comes..." muttered Eda, as she watched this scene play out.
The Barker gave Bee three baseballs, and with confidence the Thai man took one.
4"Alright, Kids! watch and learn how it's done." said Bee, with pride as he threw one ball... but it missed.
"Oooh... Tough luck there." said the Barker.
Grumbling, Bee threw another ball... but it also missed.
"DANG IT!"
"One more shot, bub. Make it count!" said the Barker.
Bee took the last ball, did a wind-up... and threw it as hard as he could.
But despite hitting the very center of the stack, it bounced back and…
(*WHAM!*)
Hit Bee square in the head, making Olivier, Sasha, Marcy and Eda grimaced.
"HONEY!" exclaimed Oum, grabbing her husband.
"DADDY!" exclaimed Anne, running over to her father.
"i'm... oh-okay." muttered Bee. "wa-wait... why is there... SIX of you?"
Olivier, Sasha, Marcy and Eda grimaced again.
"Ohh... tough luck there. But, you win some, you lose some." the Barker smugly noted.
"Awww... I really wanted that, whatever it is." spoke Marcy, disappointed.
Not liking to see his friends in such a state, Olivier looked up at his mother, and gave her a knowing look. Eda nodded, and slapped a Fiver down upon the counter.
"Hit me."
"No, please! not again!" exclaimed Bee, still delirious.
The Barker grinned as he looked at Eda. "Ah! So, the LOVELY lady wants to try..."
Olivier's eyes twitched at this, but restrained himself for now. His mama knew what she was doing.
Eda took the three baseballs, and sneakily drew an invisible spell circle, enchanting the balls.
The Owl Lady took one and tossed it in her hand for a moment. Already formulating a plan in her head.
With a smirk, she simply threw the enchanted ball at one of the stacks... which hit it with such force, the glued together bottles shattered.
The Barker's jaw dropped.
Eda grinned as she then threw the second ball at a wall, which ricocheted and shattered another stack.
The Barker was still in shock, as were the Boonchuys and the Trio.
Eda then flashed an 'evil' look as she threw the last ball... Right at the Barker's head,
which bounced off, ricocheted a few times before shattering the third and final stack of bottles.
"Guess I win." said Eda.
The Barker couldn't argue this, as he was out cold.
"Oh, no, don't get up on my account, I'll help myself." said Eda, as she grabbed the biggest prize and handed it to Marcy. "here ya go, kiddo..."
"IT'S SO FLUFFY!" exclaimed Marcy, aggressively adorable.
[One Cold Ice Pack Later...]
The Adults were all sitting on some chairs, watching as the children rode a Merry-Go-Round.
Bee groaned as he held an ice pack to his head.
"You doing okay, Bumblebee?" spoke Eda.
"yeaaah... a little bit." said the Thai man, still dizzy but doing much better. "Thanks for the ice."
"eh, no problem." said Eda, as she waved to her son as he passed by. "you know... I think you might've been right before."
Oum looked to Eda. "About what?"
"About doing this for the kids... I've never seen Olivier look so happy before." Said Eda.
"I mean... he HAS been happy before, but never quite like this."
Oum smiled. "After what you told us, he deserves to have a day where he can just be a kid
and not have to worry about looking over his shoulder all the time. He deserves to have a happy childhood."
Eda exhaled sharply. "I have tried to give him that...I love him so much, but sometimes I wonder if he would've been better off with someone else. I mean... I have TRIED to be a good mother, but even I know there are far better mothers out there."
The Boonchuys frowned at this. Oum then breathed out and swallowed her motherly pride.
"Eda... you are MORE than a good mother: You are a Great one... more than even me."
Eda and Bee did a double take at this.
"Boonchuy say what now?!" Eda asked.
"Come again!?" Bee followed.
"Yeah, I cannot believe I am saying it either." grumbled Oum. "But even I can't deny that the sacrifices I have made are nothing compared to yours. Whenever I think about all you've had to do for Olivier, I can't imagine myself being in a similar situation.I sometimes ask myself... Could *I* be willing to do the kind of things Eda has done? What if it was only ME, and Anne living on the run. No real home, no stable job, no... Bee?"
Her husband held her hand.
"The more I think about it... the more I realize just how lucky I am to not be in that kind of situation. It pains me to admit admit it, but... You ARE the better mother here Eda. You are so much stronger than I am to have endured what you have all alone. I fear that if we traded places for the day... I might've broken down within hours."
Bee hugged his wife, unable to believe what he'd heard. He whispered something to her that made her tear up, then clear her eyes and hug him.
Eda meanwhile, was…shocked to hear all of that. Honestly, she wasn't sure how to react to that; yes, she knew she had the right to be proud of how she was caring for her son, King and Hooty, but given how Oum and Bee had bulit up a resteraunt from nothing and raised Anne to be the firecracker she was?
The Owl Lady felt nothing but respect for the Thai woman,
For a full minute, no one said a word, the parents focusing instead on the kids enjoying the ride.
"wow... that must've really hurt to say all that." Eda finally broke the silence with a grin.
Oum scowled. "VERY much, yes."
Eda's smirk became a genuine, gentle smile.
"Well... Thanks. coming from you? Those words mean a lot."
This surprised Oum, but she smiled.
"But don't sell yourself short, Oumie!"
"Don't call me that."
"Sorry. But seriously; you have one the best restaurants in town, which you built from nothing, you're respected in your community and you're raising one of the coolest kids I've ever known. You're a great mom and don't let anyone tell you otherwise."
Oum's smile grew as she and Eda patted each other on the shoulder.
"This conversation never happened." The Thai woman smiled, leaving no room for argument. "We take it to our graves."
"Agreed." Eda smiled back.
Soon the ride came to an end and the children got off to return to their respected grown-ups.
Olivier ran straight to his mother and tackled Eda as she hugged him.
"Did you have fun on the horse statues, kiddo?"
"Yep! It wasn't very fast, but I had fun." said Olivier.
As Anne, Sasha and Marcy grouped together and stood with Olivier, the party all stood up and started to return to the fairgrounds.
"So, where to next?" asked Eda.
Before anyone could answer, a voice on a loudspeaker rang out.
"ATTENTION EVERYONE! MADAME KASSANDRA'S MAGIC SHOW WILL BEGIN IN 10 MINUTES! WE PROMISE IT WILL BE A SPECTACULAR EVENT, SO DON'T MISS IT!"
This got Eda's attention.
'Madame Kassandra?... no, it couldn't be…'
"OOH! Magic Show!" exclaimed Marcy. "We GOTTA see that!"
"Well, it does seem to be the main event of the fair." commented Bee.
Indeed, there were posters everywhere advertising a 'Madame Kassandra's Fantasmic Magic Show' with styled artwork that hid the titular Madame Kassandra's profile, but made her appear mysterious.
Eda then sighed.
"I guess it would be unfair to come all this way, and NOT see that... even though I can't say I am that excited: These types of things tend to be disappointing."
"Maybe, but I still want to see it!" said Olivier, pulling his mother down to whisper into her ear. "Even if it's bad, I'm curious at how magical it really is."
"True..." Eda chuckled. "Okay, sounds like we have ten more minutes to do other things.
So let's get it all done and get in line before the line becomes longer than Serpent's Pass."
Olivier and the Girls briefly celebrated, elated at the fun that was to come.
10 minutes later
The group managed to get good seats in the second row, along with some food; hot dogs, pizza, slushies and chili fries apleanty.
"Hey Ollie, you want some cotton candy?" Marcy offered Olivier.
"…That's cotton?" The boy asked, unsure how to feel. "Cause…well…"
He recalled an embrassing memory; he'd though cotton Eda had brought back from earth and marshmellows were the same and put some on his attempt to make cocoa for his mom and Hooty; The latter still liked it, but when Olivier taste tested….
Well lets just say it didn't end well.
"Oh no!" Anne, taking a break from her burger, assured him, giving Marcy a look. When Marcy nodded, Anne picked off some candy and swallowed it. "Its good. Give it a try."
Seeing his friends enjoy the treat, Olivier tore off some and placed it on his tongue. Instantly, he entered flavor euphoria, before…
"It vanished!" He pointed out.
"Yeah, it doesn't stick around for long." Sasha said as she chewed on a greasy slice of pizza that honestly looked better than what Pizza Planet served.
Eda and the Boonchuys had opted to share some chili fries and hot dogs and were admiring the growing crowd; a few seemed to be wearing T-shits with the perfomer's name and others had brought posters.
"LADIES AND GENTLEMEN!" A voice called out. "BOYS AND GIRLS OF ALL AGES, RACES AND FAITHS! HERE, FOR YOUR AMAZEMENT, ALL THE WAY FROM THE DARKEST DEPTHS OF A WORLD MAN HAS LONG FORGOTTEN….THE DUCHESS OF SHADOWS, THE SNUFFER OF LIGHT, THE SCARILY LOVELY MASTER OF THE DARK ARTS…GIVE IT UP FOR THE ONE! THE ONLY…..MADAM KASSANDRA!"
A puff of smoke overtook the area as a cowled figure appeared, only her baby blue eyes and a bit of purple hair clear.
Eda stiffened and her eyes widened: She knew those eyes.
From the cloak burst a crow that flew over the crowd before returning to the now dropped cloak, where a staff appeared under the crow and a hand rose from the shadows.
Eda's eyes widned again: She KNEW that crow Palisman!
'Caliban?!'
The hand holding the Palisman was accompanied by another hand, which spun a circle…
Now both Clawthorne's eyes widened; that was a spell circle! A Boiling Isles magic circle! Luckily for them, their party was tyoo enthralled to see their shocked looks.
From the maguc circle came bats, crocodiles and other 'scary beasts' who roared at the crowd before retreating back to their summoner and dancing to a song as the rest of the caster pulled themselves from the shadows.
Madam Kassandra was a lovely woman with greyish skin, a figure that rivalled Eda's and hooped earings on her pointed ears, along with hooped braclets. On her lower left chin was a beauty mark.
Eda's jaw dropped.
"HELLO, LA!" Madame Kassandra smirked, delighting at the cheers she got. "Great to be back! Get ready to be amazed!"
She twirled her Palisman around and lightly tapped on her pendent, from which arose a trianglur figure in a top hat who tipped said hat at the crowd as Kassandra spun another magic circle, from which appeared pinatas in the sky that broke, releasing all sorts of candy and fair passes.
Kassandra then tossed her Palisman to the sky and began cartwheeling towards the edge of the stage, before she leapt upwards and after a few spins, landed perfectly onto the flying 'broom' as many thought it was.
The crowd cheered as Kassandra flew back down, her crow releasing himself from the staff and flying up, over and briefly within the crowd before returning to her side, nuzzling her face.
Kassandra then spun another circle and summoned what looked like slime monsters to dance to a different song along with the creatures she'd summoned previously.
A few more acts later, Kassandra took a bow to a standing ovation, drinking in the sights...
When someone caught her eye.
"Wait a tic….EDDIE?!"
And with that, she cartwheeled all the way over to the familiar face.
"Eddie Clawthorne?!" Kassandra asked, quickly accepting the hug she got
"Kassie Cosmostar, you sneaky little demoness!" The Owl Lady beamed. "What're you doing here?!"
"What am I…? What're YOU doing here?!" Kassandra asked, a similarly beaming smile on her own face. "I thought you'd be causing Lily's hair to grey to pointing out Belos' hypocrisy; not chilling with the saipiens!"
"Well…" Eda began, before she felt a familiar tug on her dress.
"You know her, mama?" Oliver asked.
"…Mama?" Kassandra asked, finally seeing the little boy along Eda. "You mean…? No….No flipping way."
Eda smirked as she picked her son up.
"Kassandra Cosmostar? Meet Olivier Clawthorne." She beamed with pride as she knelt beside her little boy. "Ollie? This here lady was mommy's best friend when she was about your age."
Jaws dropped and the whole area went silent before…
"I HAVE SO MANY QUESTIONS!" Marcy and Bee called out.
OLWPHIBIA
Kassandra had happily given away and signed a bit of merchandise for the girls before inviting Eda and Olivier into her backroom for a drink and some catching up.
"Soda for you, little Clawthorne." Eda said with practiced ease, stopping him from sneaking an apple blood.
"Mama…." Olivier pouted, but he enjoyed his drink and marvelled at Kassandra's room.
"Never thought I'd see the day you were and actual mom." Kassandra noted as she and Eda clinked glasses and then sipped from each other's.
"Well, things happened." Eda confessed, before spying Kassandra's face shifting. "….Kassie?"
"I'm sorry, but I have to know….If not Raine, who…?"
Eda just zipped her lips, but the smirk on her face assured Kassandra the story behind it was a good one and NOT trauma filled.
"Oh, you beautiful witch." Kassandra smirked.
"Don't you know it, yummy succubus." Eda smirked. "Seriously, you look great."
"Well, I'll admit." Kassandra said. "It took me a few years, but now I got a steady series of gigs: The fair's mostly for nostalgia sake…reminds me of our scamming days."
Eda and Kassandra smiled knowingly.
"Those were the days…"
They then spied Olivier looking hopeful to hear some details.
"Oh., your mama would be better for that." Kassandra said, messing with Olivier's hair. "And you, Olivier? You up to no good?"
"Well, as much I can when no teachers are around." Olivier confessed.,
"Lies! He already has his own Odalia and is 99 to zilch on the brat!" Eda smirked with pride.
Kassandra laughed at that, before taking Eda's hands into her own.
"IF you need anything: Money? A gig? Hot date? Let me know." She promised. "I owe all this to you, after all."
Eda's eyes widened and she blushed.
"After how…?" She began, but Kassandra shifted her attention to Olivier.
"Your mommy saved me many years ago after I did something really bad." She explained. "Got me here with her portal, even after I'd said and done…"
She held back a sob, surprised when Olivier patted her hand.
"Its okay." He smiled. "Um…could…Could I call you Auntie Kass?"
Kassandra's eyes widened.
"Darn right you can call me that! Better than…Oh, um…"
"Lily's here." Eda said, delighting in Kassandra's scared look. "Relax; she knows about Ollie and I and is more focused on telling him where we come from."
"Is…is she still…?" Kassandra began.
"Don't know, bujt probably." Eda smirked.
Kassandra fell to her knees and hugged Olivier.
"Don't tell Lilith about Auntie Kass, Ollie! PLEASE don't tell her! Don't make her take me back to pertified…!"
"Okay."
"…Seriously? Just like that?" Kassandra asked.
"You're special to mama and aren't hurting anybody, right?" Olvieir asked.
"Well, I have cursed the occasiomal teenager and stolen work from a few special effects companies…" Kassandra admitted. "But those punks always deserved it and lets be honest? Computers ain't comparing to magic!"
"I THOUGHT the monsters in movies looked fake!" Eda said, pounding it with Kassandra before she noticed the time.
"Gotta get going?" Kassandra guessed.
"Ollie's got school tomorrow." Eda sighed, her son joining her.
"I can call in sick!"
"The Boonchuys are our ride." Eda reminded her son, as Owlbert jumped out of her hair, waving the Kassandra's crow Caliban. "….Okay, yeah we could fly, but…"
"Oh he;s wiped out." Kassandra said, pointing to the now sleeping little boy. Eda sniffed her son's drink. "Oh come on, Eddie! I'm not that bad!"
"Just checking and teasing." Eda smirked as she picked up her son. "How much longer you in tyown?"
"Oh, I'm staying after the fair." Kassandra assured her. "Got a nice place in the Star's Homes; call me up whenever you can and we can do a proper meet up."
The two witches hugged each other, Kassandra sneaking a kiss on Eda's cheek and Eda twirling a lock of Kassandra's hair before she left to join the Boonchuy parents, who were carrying simualrly tried Anne, Marcy and Sasha.
OWLPHIBIA
But unknown to all, Kassandra was smirking evilly as the group left and the fair closed for the day.
"Oh, Eddie…You really have gotten soft." She mused, plots already forming in her head. "And your little boy is all the proof I need, never mind the perfect key to accomplish my dream."
She then took out a poste of a triangle figure surropunded by a circle of symbols.
"Time for a check in….right, Bill?"