I went to the Devil's Chair in Cassadaga, FL. Legend has it that if you leave an unopened beer there, in the morning it will be empty and still unopened.
Someone had left the devil a sandwich this morning, and the ants were having a feast.
The House on Hell Lane : "Tea & Tantrums" [Happy Birthday Abri!]
“Where is Olin?”
Standing in the doorway and removing her glasses, Ellian Mancini leaned lightly against the doorway with a tray of tea and chocolate-centered biscuits. She closed the space between them to place the tray on the mahogany table set in the center of the group of loveseats and chairs placed before the fireplace.
Nine-year-old Deacon looked up from where he had quietly been reading a thrilling story of knights and dragons – a book that Tarot had seen Ellian read to her son plenty a times when she was unable to – and beamed at the blonde before scurrying over to grab a biscuit and greedly stuff his face. Ellian scowled and tapped his hand away as he made for another and gave him a soft but firm warning glare.
Deacon looked sheepish and grabbed his own tea cup – a plastic one that Ellian had made for the boy – and sipped it after spooning in a lot of sugar, which Ellian allowed. It was rather amusing to Tarot that long ago they had – in a sense – traded children.
“Othella get your shoes off the loveseat, please,” Ellian ordered as she poured her a cup before walking over to pluck the newspaper off a snoozing Charlemagne’s face, tapping him atop the head with the paper and keeping away. She had learned long ago that Olin’s son would swing. Othella – reading a rather raunchy themed book from Tarot’s personnel collection – gave a typical rebellious teenage sigh before kicking her boots off her feet and off the loveseat before settling back down to read, puffing at a strand of her long hair out of her face.
Charlemagne – Charlie – snorted and jolted before opening his blood red eyes and looking up past his unkept locks of hair and giving a grunt at Ellian who motioned him to sit up. Charlie grumbled, but obeyed, as he had learned long ago to listen when Ellian and Tarot were in the room and both were giving him expecting looks.
Tarot went back to her book before answering. “He had a meeting with Captain Dove this morning. Apparently the good Captain gained a search warrant for our dear Black Forest.” Ellian’s eyes widened slightly but she did not seem too surprised. Tarot looked up and shared a look with each other before Tarot relaxed back into the loveseat and flipped to the next page of her book.
“Surprised it took Dove this long to get the damn warrant,” Charlie drawled in his thick Cajun accent, scratching at the stubble on his chin and rubbing at his bloodshot eyes. Ellian handed Charlie a cup of tea and motioned for him to drink some. He scowled at the cup but complied by taking a few sips before Ellian gave him the water bottle that Tarot had seen her carrying at her hip. The way Ellian acted you would think they were all her children. But Tarot supposed that was fine. She herself was not very mothering and touching and feeling even if she adored her child and cared for her husband’s children, she was grateful to Ellian for filling in the more hands on roles.
Ellian looked out the window and Tarot followed her gaze, looking over the Black Forest to the Tradewind Tower as it struck five PM. “It was only a matter of time, though. With him being close to Tobias Reinhardt and all. All he needed was our dear mayor’s signature and all was set. Besides, ever since the death of the LaRouie woman and her daughter, Hanks been gunning for our prints ever since,” she tsked. Tarot scoffed and Charlie snorted as Deacon looked around at them all, his eyes alight with curiosity as always. “He aint gonna find anything. Aint nothing to find. We made sure of that,” Othella answered what they were all thinking, turning the page of her magazine before wrinkling her nose and tossing one of the biscuits at Charlie as he gave a deep burp. “Disgusting!”
Charlie scowled and glared at his younger sibling, rising with the biscuit and heading to stuff it down her throat, Tarot was sure. Sighing, Tarot shut her book loudly, causing the two to flinch and stop, their eyes snapping to her. It wasn’t often she got between them and they both knew better than to push her buttons. Ellian was the lenient one, Tarot the hard handed one.
Deacon covered his mouth to keep from grinning as his siblings shot him a glare and Tarot raised a brow at the boy. He quelled his smile, though, and went back to his book and tea. Ellian sighed and looked at the clock before scowling. “This is family time and Olin will not get to sit another family time out,” she huffed, turning on her heels and heading towards the library door.
“He’s in his office,” Tarot called out as she opened her book back open and relaxed, although her ears perked and ready for entertainment. If their was one amusing thing about having her dear friend around, it was that the blonde did not take to her husband hiding off in his office or take to his threatening snarls and hisses, handing out her own. They could often be heard all the way on the other side of the estate.
As Tarot listened to the clicking of Ellian’s heels on the marble floor, she turned to watch Charlie toss a ten on the table. Tarot smirked and reached easily between her breasts and removed a ten as well, laying it on-top of his. Charlie reached into his pocket and pulled out a cigar, using the large flames of the fire place to light it, before puffing away and listening quietly like everyone else.
Deacon jumped as he heard a loud “DAMMIT WOMAN!” and a “DON’T YOU YELL AT ME, OLIN!” along with the slamming of a door. He scrambled to hide behind his mothers loveseat as he heard his second mother and father fighting once again and Tarot laughed as Charlie cursed in defeat, slouching back in his seat as Tarot snatched the tens and put them away.
“Loser,” Othella grumbled as she looked at her book. Charlie flipped her off before puffing away and wincing every-time someone slammed something or the voices got to loud. He was too hungover for this shit.
------
I've never written any of these characters before besides Ellian and Othella, so I hope I at least got them as close to right as I can. Happy Birthday, gurl! Hope you like it! Your other gift will be a little late so here's the small before the big!
