Celia and Caprice in GhosTown - Part 1 - The Horned King
Alone. In GhosTown. Jeany hadn’t even come to get them settled in. She also didn’t know the reason was because he and Chess were ordered to stay home on Zombie Island and had their portkeys taken from them.
She also didn’t know the very person she ran away from was now downstairs in the infirmary with Docky, her father injured. His worst fears for his daughters come to life. He always warned them about the bounty hunters from Hell who would do anything to get him, or any one of his offspring.
Caprice wanted to get away and be alone? She certainly got it. She wasn’t used to all the people. She stayed the first day and night without even looking out the door of the bedroom. Julian might not have completely locked them up on the farm with deadbolts like he did with the triplets but the plain and simple truth was, all they really knew was that farm, just like Jules, just like all the rest of them. They spent what seemed like years of their life behind Heaven’s gates not this earthly station and when they were, it was the farm. They weren’t old enough to remember much of the circus. They were infants. It always came back to that farm. But, now?
Now Caprice wondered if she’d ever see it again. She’d tell anyone who would ask that she didn’t want it. Didn’t want anything to go back to the way it was because the way it was sucked. She couldn’t seem to forgive her Dad’s boyfriend. BOYFRIEND!! He broke her arm and tried to eat Uncle Kay and several people she cares for at St. Mary’s.The truth was, maybe the broken arm she could have forgiven. But then it just accumulated. Then she got scared for Kay. Then …
As she thought of the deaths of the many sisters and other children in St. Mary’s that she’d had to grieve, had to mourn, people Nicolo never even asked her about, didn’t care about and never would, so she thought, she couldn’t wrap her 12 year old mind around why her father still wanted him. He destroyed everything she loved, not just broke her arm. That healed nicely. But, he destroyed all the feelings of safety the girl had ever known. That remained broken.
But, then after all this…
Caprice finally had a moment while alone in GhosTown, in the room Uncle Re built for them and it finally struck her that she had to settle with Re killing her big sister. Everything happened so fast back on the farm. It was one tragedy after another that nothing could be processed even as an adult. It was that much more confusing for a child. Hell in the grand scope of things her own father was barely an adult himself, only in the human world did he have such clout. They still looked at him as just a kid from Heaven or Hell’s demonic and angel eyes.
There was so much her underdeveloped young mind couldn’t grasp. Like why she hated Nicolo so much and couldn’t forgive him, yet her first instinct was to call Kay and she’d jumped at the chance to go live in GhosTown, the place where her sister’s murderer reigned. She knew it was Kay’s suggestion she followed that started it all. She knew it was her own choice to throw the blood. She also knew Kay came to the rescue that night. Why wasn’t she mad at Jeany and Kay for staying with Re and wanted to gouge her Dad’s eyes out for sticking it with Nicolo?
Or maybe she was? Maybe she was furious? She really was. She was more thankful than ever Celia didn’t cop out because for the first 2 days, all she did was hang onto Celia and cleaned up the room in this terrible silence that neither one wanted to break, like speaking at all could be too much and shatter what glass world they had left around them.
They were tough girls. Really they were. They were raised by Jules after all. They were hardly lightweights when it came to creepy or scary or knowledge of Hell and evil. For their age they were far more equip with information and training than the average bear. They weren’t scared to see zombies or creatures like vampires and werewolves or shifters. They grew up around some of those on the farm. But, she was raised secure. Knowing of things and seeing things first hand were two terribly different things. But, Caprice was scared of change even though she’d initiated it. She loved her home. Leaving it where she couldn’t get to either one of her fathers (being the only two children that ever saw Jeremie anymore) was scary. She had the saint in the clouds on his time. But, on earth, Jules was her guidance and she just ran from it. Ran kicking and screaming and shouting in anger too. She had so many ideals she was being taught. She played directly in God’s heaven and knew of the great peace and beauty there. She also has a world of demons she loves. And no matter what great grand design Caprice and Celia harbor secrets of from God himself, her young mind could only see the suffering that’s now, no matter what projected somedays and promised eternities. Celia wanted to cling to the higher ideals. It was the only way she could find any solace in all this crazy chaos that was her family’s life. It was bound to happen. People had different internal landscapes and it was starting to drive the twins apart. But, now, in this moment, when nothing seemed right and nothing seemed fair, all they could do was embrace each other.
They were both scared. They knew what was out there. They’d been to GhosTown before. They both knew fun could be had right outside those doors like pleasure island or neverland in any kid’s eyes. But, they stayed in that room… together.
They would both look at the door as sounds passed outside of it. It was like with every lost boy that happened by they’d both pause wishing for the door to open and see their Jeany on the other side of it. For Caprice, she also envisioned Kay. A look of disappointment would fall on them both when nothing would happen.
But, eventually hunger built and survival kicked in for the grieving. She held tightly to Celia’s hand and vise versa as they finally got brave enough to go to the kitchen alone. They already knew where it was.
A familiar aroma hit Celia’s nose. “I know that smell.” It was a very distinct smell from a very safeguarded and family made recipe that only Chess would make at the farm. (Though Kay did once there too) It was Maria’s recipe. Both of their eyes lit up. They started to run, grinning thinking they’d see Chess standing there.
From the back it looked to be Jean and Celia squealed, “JEANY!!” all excited letting go of Caprice’s hand and hugged him tight from behind as he was stirring sauce in a pot, cheek plastered against his back.
The fact he was cooking at all probably should have tipped Celia off. It did Caprice. She stopped cold where Celia left her hand. That was not Jeany.
Re’s arms rose and his body turned sideways to see the excited intruder who dared to fuck with him while he was over a hot stove. His expression was dire.
It was that face that hit Celia hard and realized who she was hugging and she jumped back quickly.
"Um. Sorry Unck- um Re. I thought…"
"I know what you thought." Re snapped, "And I thought we’d been through this. I’m not your fucking uncle. I’m just Re. I’ll cut your fucking tongue out if you say it again."
That’s what had her jumping back even more as the word uncle almost slipped. He’d threatened her before. She never took any of it seriously even though Jean and her father tried to warn them both to be careful around him. She probably would still have smacked him on the butt or who knows what after if it hadn’t been for the fact she now knew that this man murdered in cold blood her immortal big sister. She looked more scared than she ever had around him.
The expression on Celia’s face alone made Re’s day. He shot her a shifty smirk and went back to his sauce. But he could feel them just standing and staring at him behind him. It went on so long he couldn’t take it.
"WHAT?! What? What do you want? If you have something to say, say it. If you don’t, go to the fucking skate park, the arcade, anywhere but here. Go. I’m trying to cook here." Then he spouted something off in French, mostly derogatory things. He wasn’t sure why it came out like that, but his own mouth caught him off guard. But, it didn’t show on his face.
Caprice spoke right back in French, “Then why let us be here, Uncle Re?” She showed a slight tremor in her hands, but she still stood up, bold as brass and stepped in front of Celia calling him uncle.
Re remembered what Kay told him. Caprice would thrive in GhosTown. Celia would eventually go home to Jules. He put his wooden spoon down on the counter and crossed his arms looking her up and down. Then his smirk started to grow again, slowly, and low, “You have it don’t you?” He meant she was the twin harboring the shared immortality. “How big and bad will you feel when you don’t? We don’t protect the weak here Caprice. This is a hive for the strong, the wanting, and the worthy…”
"You don’t know that." She seethed through gritted teeth.
Re’s brow lifted. Out came his wand and with tiniest patronizing flick he aimed it right at Celia peeking out from behind her. Perfect shot. She fell to the floor crying like she was in absolute agony, gut wrenching curls of breath like she could hardly catch air, hiccupping between shrill sounds. Blood started to trickle from her ears and nose and mouth. Fear grappled her eyes, blue, so blue, closely resembling the triplets’, if one didn’t look hard enough, they’d think they were the same. But, they weren’t. It was a slightly different shade of sky. Jeremie’s eyes.
Caprice dropped like a heavy cannonball with a thud to the ground next to her sister and grabbed both her hands exchanging the immortality so that whatever Re just did could heal and heal fast. Once the switch was complete daggers shot from Caprice’s eyes up at Re shouting angry. “Are you crazy?!”
"Yes." He said in a light tone and picked up his ladle. "To answer your question from before, Because you won’t last long anyway." Then he went back to stirring his sauce as a 12 year old girl painfully healed writhing on the floor behind him.
Caprice saw red. She saw absolute and completely nothing but brilliant bright red as she watched him stir that pot. She was seething.
Celia healed eventually and was slowly sat back up and wiped her eyes and tried to dust off the situation like it hadn’t happened, composing through quickly drying tears. She remained silent. Re could still feel them both doing it again. He didn’t even turn around this time to say it. He said, “I think Kay’s wrong. I think you’ll be the one to crack Caprice. Not Celia. You’ll be the one running home to Daddy.”
Caprice was so angry right then. Too many emotions to keep up with. Who was he to tell her what she could do. She shot back, “No I won’t!”
Re was leaning over his pot and sipping a sample taste to test his sauce from the edge of the wooden spoon. “Still needs more salt.” He mumbled to himself before putting his attention back on Caprice. “Your Dad’s in the infirmary.” He said it so casual but the glint in his eyes catching hers; she knew it was like a test. Would she run to him?
Celia shot all the way up and ran off towards the hospital wing without even a word to either. She just ran.
Caprice however stood her ground, being beligerant, refusing to let Re win. She wanted to know how hurt he was. She wanted to ask a lot of questions. But she thought that would make her look foolish.
Re was tossing a dash of salt in the pot and stirring one more time. Then he put a lid on it and came to the table close to Caprice and sat down. He pulled a cigarette and fired it up. A limp wrist wafted daintily in the air as he crossed his legs. He blew smoke in her direction before saying, “You want me to tell you why you’re sister is stronger than you?”
Caprice’s eyes glared and she said no verbal answer and only the most minute shrug of her shoulders responded.
"She knows what she wants." Re began.
"She doesn’t want to be here." She retorted fast to one up him.
"Ah, but she wants you. She’s willing to do absolutely anything, even be here, away from everything else she wants, because she wants you more." He paused and let that sink in. "What are you willing to do get what you want Caprice?"
But Re kept talking, “And will you do it completely unprotected? Without your power? Are you willing to risk everything, even your life, for the thing that you want the most?”
"And what happens Caprice when you’ve realized no one’s going to let you have the thing you want? What if the answer is no? What if every rule in every book and every authority looks you right in the face and shakes their head?"
"I saw it in your eyes. You wanted follow her. Yet you stay right here. With me? Your sister’s killer. To prove what?"
She swallowed with what appeared as a very dry throat and her eyes were fighting tears as he brought up Stacey but she managed to keep them back.
"To prove you can be like us? Keep on here? That you won’t run? You don’t want to be anything like me. It’s written all over your face. Staying here to show me up won’t do shit honey. Because I don’t care if you make your life miserable until you crack. By all means stay and torture yourself you little masochist. But, don’t think I’ll give two shits what you’re doing here until the day you break. Why don’t you just go to Daddy now and save yourself the trouble?"
Her eyes shifted to the door then looked back at Re without moving.
Re scoffed and shook his head as he took another drag. “Let me tell you reason number two your sister’s stronger than you. She faces her fears. You just saw her run as fast her feet could carry her, like the mother fucking wind towards every fear she has. I heard you guys murdered Daddy’s boyfriend and then ran here to hide. You think her heart’s not pouding at the consequences? You think she’s not scared of how Daddy will be now?” He leaned forward and stubbed out his smoke on a tray and looked her right in the face up close, “All while you hide here in the kitchen with your sister’s murderer just to avoid that very thing. You’re not facing me. You’re hiding like the big coward you are.” Then he leaned back in his seat and put his feet up on the table to light another. “Fucking coward.” He said through an airy inhalation before blowing it in her direction again.
Caprice’s teeth clenched harder and harder at every word…
He didn’t stop there. “Let me give you even a third reason why Celia is stronger than you, why she’s lost boy material…. and well…” He let out a funny chuckle, “… you’re not.”
"Shut up." Her first words.
But Re didn’t pause a moment, “She knows I’m the fucking King. She sucked it up like a big girl too when she realized it. She stood right there scared out of her mind but looked me right in the eye with more respect than she ever has. Her quiet wasn’t just fear. It was the fucking clouds lifting from her eyes. You’re still under the delusion you’re an exception.”
Re’s legs fell off the edge of the table and clomped hard on the floor. His tone lower and raspier and more vile, “Andy and Stacey learned what thinking they were exceptions does, didn’t they?”
"You’ll never be an exception Caprice, not like this. Blood will never make you one either. Blood didn’t help Stacey. What the hell makes you think it’ll help you? There’s mental patient certified wack jobs running around here that get more exception than you. You want to know why?"
"I HATE YOU!" She stood up from the table knocking down her chair in the process.
Re sneered and laughed, “That’s what your brother said too, right after I killed your sister.” He tapped his lip with one finger before wetting them with a scowl laced smirk, so patronizing. Then he said, to this twelve year old girl, “Let me tell you why he’s an exception and you’re not. He doesn’t actually hate me. He’s like Celia. She has too much respect to hate. You’re so hateful right now you can’t see straight. Anger and respect run a thin line and you jumped it ran miles in the other direction. Jean only wobbled. He knows exactly who I am, like Celia. I know he does.” Voice vulgar and haneous, “I know it because he skipped out on your sister’s funeral to be with me and he was grunting out I was the king like a fucking pig while fucked him, loving every damn second of it, sucking my cock half the night to make up for saying he hated me. He knew he messed up. Just like Celia. She knew when it was time to stop.”
Caprice shoved Re right in the chest hard enough to knock him back three steps before she ran, hair disheveled, following the same path her sister took.
Re called out behind her, “Looks like Celia’s the smart one too!”
Then he went back to his sauce as if nothing happened at all. He even laughed and texted Kay as he leaned against the counter. “You’re right. Caprice is a bitch. I like her too.”
But where had Caprice really run to? What was happening with Celia and Jules?
((Part 2 being worked on… it got so long and I hate read mores, found a place to dissect it))
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