Honey I'm Home. "Well here we are." Jamie announced as the carriage came to a stop in front of The Raven's Keep. "This will be the first time I get to see your home." Maria stated excitedly as she stepped out of the carriage and scanned the build, "It looks to be a wondrous place." "Not really my home any longer." Jamie reminded dismally, "It would seem the place is rather busy today." She remarked, noting the cheery sounds that came from beyond the café's walls, Anita glanced at the building, "It seems to be a rather festive place." "That is odd." Jamie remarked, "The Raven's Keep was usually a very sullen place." "Well then shall we see what the occasion is?" Amanda suggested moving around the group of girls and approached the front entrance. "Lady Amanda wait!!" Anita rushed after the girl, "I should accompany you." The two girls entered the little shop. "Wait!!" Jamie called out after the girls, but it was already too late and they disappeared into the café. "What is wrong Jamie?" Maria inquired sensing Jamie's stress. "How can we go in there like this?" Jamie gestured at her teddy bear form, "I will terrify my friends." "You will not." Maria stated confidently, "No one could ever be frightened by you. You are so cute." "But don't you think it will be rather alarming for me to show up as a teddy bear?" Jamie reiterated, "It is not everyday someone dies and returns in a teddy bear's body." "Well, if they are your true friends they will see you for who you are." Maria explained as she approached the café doors, "If not then they were never friends to begin with." She stated boldly. She stopped before entering and turned to face Jamie's body, which was still seated in the carriage, "Are you coming or are you afraid like your other half?" She asked the body. The corpse cautiously got out of the carriage and crept carefully up to the patio. Maria shook her head in disbelief, "Will you two quit acting so afraid. You always told me how close you were to your friends so stop worrying." She opened the café door and stopped dead in her tracks. Jamie was also stunned by what she saw. The café was filled with many strange, fascinating circus performers and their unusual creatures sitting at tables, drinking and laughing, "Wha.... what ha... happened to The Raven's Keep?" Jamie exclaimed in shock. "Well, I guess you were worrying about your appearance for nothing." Maria remarked with nervous smile. "Maria! Jamie!" Amanda called out as she rushed over to them. "Is this place not fascinating? Everyone here is wonderful. That werewolf over there welcomed us to come to his table." She pointed to Jacob sitting at a table with Morbius and Victoria. "Victoria?!?" Jamie was startled to see the café owner sitting with such unusual people. "Is she a friend?" Maria inquired eyeing the shopkeeper carefully, "She seems to be in a bit of a daze does she not?" Amanda took Maria by the hand, "They wished to talk to us all." She exclaimed excitedly, "They do not mind that we are dead. Actually several people here are." She pulled Maria through the crowds with Jamie's body following. Anita rushed to her mistresses side and interlaced her arm in Maria's, "I would like to introduce my mistresses, Lady Maria Greystoke." She announced to the group of strangers at the table, "and her fiancée Jamie Eadwolf." Victoria snapped out her trance, "Jamie!?!" She spun around in search of her friend, "Where is Jamie?" Maria nervously fidgeted with the teddy bear, then held Jamie out to Victoria, "H...here..." She stated nervously. Victoria stared at the bear, "What is this?" She inquired warily. "That would be your missing friend." Jacob stated with a grin, "I was about to warn you of this, however you did not seem to take well to... ummm... things...." He stammered, ashamed of his lack of intellectualism. "Hi, Ma'am..." Jamie greeted with a small wave of her paw. Victoria shakily took Jamie in her hands and set her upon the table in front of her, "Oh Jamie..." Tears filled her eyes, "What have they done to you? I saw your body walk off towards that horrible Greystoke Castle." "Greystoke is not horrible." Maria protested irately, "We are just misunderstood." "That you are, my lady." Morbius remarked with a wide grin, "But that is all about to change." "What do you mean by that?" Maria inquired coldly, "And who are you exactly?" "I am so sorry, my lady." Morbius stood and took a bow, "I am Morbius Morbray, Ringmaster of Morbray's Lair of Malformation and this here is my protégé, Jacob Talbot, a werewolf who specializes in seeing the future and dark arts." "Then you would know how to stop all this madness?" Maria exclaimed excitedly. "Of course we would." Jacob replied assuredly, "But so would you it would seem. Or is that not why you are here? We tried to prepare your friend for this occurrence, but it would seem she did not take things too well." "How do you think I should react?" Victoria demanded irritably, "First a blob like creature kills my friends and brings them back to life and then I find a man hanging in the corner of my café playing music, mind you very beautifully, but that is besides the point. Would someone please explain to me what is going on around here?" Jacob crossed his massive furry arms; "Well you see I sensed the presence of one of the ancient Grimoires here in this town not long ago. Morbius has been trying to recover these books and seal their power so they will not harm anyone, however we could not retrieve the book until it revealed itself and your friend Jamie was the key." "Me?" Jamie turned around to face the werewolf, "What is so special about me?" "Your heart." Jacob pointed at Jamie's teddy bear chest; "You love for Lady Maria was so strong that it called out to the book when you thought she was dead. It is the strength of your love that powered the book." "But the spell did not work." Jamie stated in confusion, "It summoned some kind of creature that killed me." "And it brought you together again, did it not?" Jacob pointed out, smiling from Maria to Jamie and back again. Jamie glanced up at Maria, "I guess so..." She replied weakly. "Jamie you summoned that thing?" Victoria inquired angrily, "It killed Charles and Samuel and destroyed my café." Amanda glanced around the room, "Everything looks fine to me." She stated sceptically. "We fixed the place up." Jacob declared proudly, "Only I lost track of the book. There is to much magic interfering with my senses." He explained miserably. "So you only offered to clean up because you were searching for some kind of magical book." Victoria exclaimed in frustration. "I am sorry miss." Jacob apologized, ashamed of their ruse, "I thought that your friend here would know where the book was seeing as it was linked to her. Fixing your café was not part of the plan. I just wished to help you out." He explained frantically, "Honestly!" Victoria smiled at the cute way the werewolf squirmed in his chair, "If you had asked I would have told you Elizabeth left with a book sometime ago." She remarked bleakly, "But I have not see her in hours." "Beth?" Jamie got to her feet and jumped onto the back of her body, holding tightly around its neck, "We have to find her!" She exclaimed as her body hurried out of the café. Victoria stared at the sight of a teddy bear riding on the back of a cloaked figure, "Ummm... who was that that Jamie ran off with?" She asked Maria. "Ummm... Jamie's body..." Maria remarked, "It was nice meeting you." She stated with a slight curtsy, "Anita, Amanda we need to go after Jamie!" She exclaimed pointing to Jamie as she wove her way through the crowd. "Yes my lady." Anita rushed through the crowd making a path for her mistresses, "Lady Amanda?" She called out to her other mistress. "I am sorry." Amanda started after her friends, "We must get together again sometime." She declared as she followed Maria out of the café. Jacob waved to the girls, "They are a nice bunch of young girls." He remarked with a grin. Morbius took another sip of his tea, "I hope they are ready for what they must face." "So do I." Jacob agreed then turned to Victoria, who was still staring at the entrance to the café, "Miss. Victoria. Could I have another tea?" He inquired politely. **** To be continued...
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